ohtani's jacket

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88) This was awesome when they were beating on each other and slow and meandering when they weren't. Fortunately, there was more beating than meandering, but it still didn't hit the spot. The finish didn't make Hansen look like a GOAT contender at all. He just looked like an idiot. But it's the match layouts that stop me from taking Hansen seriously as an elite guy. Tenryu was quite clearly SWS Tenryu here, which isn't as good as WAR Tenryu. That meant he was going to sell, work from underneath and make fiery comebacks. Not great, but that's where Tenryu was at both in terms of his development and his career. The onus was on Hansen to deliver an awesome performance and all he delivered was a match; nothing more and nothing less. And to me that's sort of lazy; but also indicative of this period in Hansen's career. You want to see earlier incarnations of Hansen vs. Kawada or Hansen vs. Kobashi and they're just not there. He didn't slap on as many restholds here, but it wasn't a particularly dramatic bout, and he didn't go all out with the stiffness. Of course, if it had been something special it would have been part of All Japan folklore already, but it did finish pretty high on the DVDVR set, so I was a tad bit disappointed. Not sure 80s Tenryu is the direction to be heading in.

That hairdresser video was weird, but it was to keep you all on your toes no doubt.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/8/15) * It's been a while since I've seen a Tanahashi match. Unfortunately, the only version I could find featured dub over English commentary from two guys who meant well but went over the psychology of each move in minute detail and kept trying to paint a bigger picture of a tension between Tanahashi and Shibata that they don't quite understand. After enduring a few too many "oh my god's" and "are you kidding me's?!" surrounding each high spot, I muted the match, put a record on, and went back to the beginning. * Solid bout, but at no point was it as exciting as English dub over dudes wanted you to think it was. They weren't wrong about the psychology as such; they simply overreacted about it. I thought the finish worked quite well as opposed to the usual dramatic grandstand. A really good tournament finish and paid off Tanahashi's strategy throughout the bout. * Somewhere between *** and *** 1/2 stars depending on how much Tanahashi facing a different sort of challenge floats your boat.

That Horner video sounds like many a night at karaoke. No harm. no foul.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88) Man, it's weird seeing Tenryu in his thirties. This is going to come across as a strange observation but his complexion was so much whiter. In Japan, white skin has traditionally been considered the height of beauty, and as strange as it may sound, for men nowhere is that truer than in sumo. I used to know a woman that went to the same gym as Genichiro Tenryu, but I wonder if he also hit some sort of tanning clinic because I can't believe he went on vacation enough to get the darker skin tone he had throughout the 90s. Oh well, I told you it would be weird. This was awesome when they were beating on each other -- as in 'everything you want from a Tenryu match' awesome -- and not so awesome when Hansen did his "ask him!" submission holds. I understand the rationale behind taking a break, but they were restholds pure and simple. I guess it makes sense now why Tenryu worked from underneath so often in SWS as that was his modus operandi here, but it's a bit more compelling when it's Stan Hansen beating you up. I hated the small package finish here, though, and the post-match rampage from Hansen bordered on parody. Going apeshit with the cowbell, beating up the ref and shit might be cool for some but it's a cop out finish in my book and didn't make Tenryu look strong. On the contrary, he looked like the Bret Hart of Japanese wrestling and not in a good way. Still, this was a decent appetiser for more Tenryu/Hansen matches. .

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Karbala, 1960s) At first I thought this was the Baghdad match shot from a different angle until I put two and two together and realised it was a different match. Again there was a lot of tough, no frills matwork in this, and again I thought Campbell took too much needle without striking back, but I guess he was brought in to make the national hero look good and that's what he did. Al-Kaissie liked to clobber the back of his opponent's head and neck and there were a few holds where he looked like he was trying to twist Campbell's head off. You'd think that would be like poking a bear, but the most Campbell retaliated was with some thumping side headlock takedowns. He did kick out of the Al-Kaissie body slam, which was a small triumph, but then there was a huge cut to both men sitting in the corners being toweled down without any indication of what had happened, whether they'd been a fall, and who'd won. In the same vein, the finish wasn't shown. I think we can presume that Al-Kaissie won, though it would be amusing if state censorship had erased any documentation of a Campbell win. I liked when they'd intercut a shot of the nervous dignitary watching on as Al-Kaissie basically dominated the physical contest. Still, this is an important historical record of wrestling in the Middle East and I'm glad I took the time to watch all three matches.

I think that's true in general, but the 1994 Williams match is outstanding.

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Baghdad, 1960s) I think this is from either 1968 or '69, but I can't be sure. Ian Campbell was a giant 20 stone Scotsman who like most British big men had impeccable mat technique for a man his size. It never ceases to amaze me how skilled the British big men were. Apparently, he was a fiery rule breaker in his pomp. but he was wrestling here in front of a huge Iraqi crowd and had to play it nice. In fact, he copped a fair bit from Al-Kaissie but didn't really dish any back. There were moments where they would have slid into a forearm smash contest in the UK, but I guess Campbell thought discretion was the better part of valour in front of the Minster of Defence and what looked like a hundred thousand Iraqi fans. Pretty long broadway where the psychology was more about trying different strategies to win a fall than targeting a particular body part. There was a lot of tough, no frills matwork and a few holds that went nowhere, but for the most part it was an old-school chess like contest. Al-Kaissie again won a fall with that body slam of his. That was all right I suppose, but later on when Campbell body slammed him, Al-Kaissie kicked out at one. When in Iraq, I guess. The finish saw Campbell not able to recover from a leg submission Al-Kaissie had used and Al-Kaissie kicking the shit out of his leg and dumping him over the ropes a couple of times. Each time Campbell got up bruised and battered, covered in dust and a little weaker than before. I thought he could have shown a bit more fire as he was allegedly a pretty fiery rule breaker in his pomp, but he was there to do the job to Al-Kaissie and did so tidily. Some moments of skill, but a big investment of your time so be warned. Campbell seemed like a fun worker, though. Apparently, he once wrestled on Coronation Street and he was in the cult film Wicker Man, so that's cool.

Whoops, turns out there was more to the bout than this. The body slam was the finish to the first fall. Lees responded by attacking Al-Kaissie somewhat viciously, but Al-Kaissie was able to fend him off and forced him to submit to a half Boston. The extra footage didn't add much to my overall impression, but if you bother watching this you'll need to piece together the video parts properly to make sure you see the entire thing.

All in due time. I'm going through his stuff oldest to newest and it's taking a fair old while. THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 19 Chic Cullen vs. Robbie Hagan (Cage match, Beaumaris, taped 3/7/91) Another night, another cage match. This was a decent scrap. Cullen's a good worker and another guy who's had his reputation restored with me by watching him work Reslo. Match was escape heavy and dragged on a bit, but good to see Cullen still kicking about in 1991. Rick Wiseman vs. Jeff Kerry (7/3/86) This was a decent little match but nothing worth going out of your way to see unless you're super into British wrestling. Kerry was a new kid on the block out of the burgeoning Bristol scene that had produced Danny Boy Collins and Ritchie Brooks, and Wiseman was a solid if unspectacular pro who apparently worked in engineering so must have been a fairly clever guy. Wiseman only had a few more years experience than his opponent, though seemed considerably older, and guided him through a fairly typical newcomers bout. Terry Rudge vs. Patrick Lopez (Newcastle Emlyn, taped 2/5/92) Lopez' gimmick appeared to be that he was a French rugby player. For all I know he may have actually come from a rugby background, though I've never heard of the guy. He stalled a lot and kept trying to get the crowd to chant along with him. Rudge's voice always throws me for a loop as I don't expect him to sound like the milkman or the local fruit seller. The match was good when Rudge was beating on Lopez and a bit labourious when Lopez was clapping and foot stomping. Can't blame Rudge for that. Again he did the job, which doesn't correlate with my view of him as being a wrestler supreme. He was looking fairly old here though and starting to drop some muscle, but fuck it, it's Rudge and he should have beaten this clown. Dave Finlay vs. Tony St. Clair (Chain match, Caernarfon, taped 4/6/90) This was all right, but like a lot of Finlay matches from this era it was more showy than the violent spectacle it could have been and it wasn't a patch on the Johnny South/Schumann fight. St. Clair brought some female bodybuilder to the ring to presumably mitigate the threat of Paula interfering, though she may have been a wrestler herself. I'm not sure because I haven't been watching the female stuff. All I know is she posed for the audience and gave Paula the fingers, which is about as British as it gets in my book. Some decent spots with the chain, but the finish was shit as you'd expect from the Dave & Paula show. They have to rank as one of my least favourite acts in wrestling. Barcud Du vs. Golden Boy Graham (Unknown location, taped 1985) Masked wrestler beats the shit out of some kid. Matches like these bore me to tears. Someone on YouTube hypothesised that it was Johnny South under the mask. From out of nowhere comes Orig Williams. Off comes to the shirt... you hurt my friends and you hurt my pride! Orig's on the mic now. It's a thick Welsh dialect, but I think he said something like "Whatcha gonna do brutha when El Bandito runs wild over you?" Ooh, a tag match came out of this. Dare I watch it? Tune in next time.

I finally got around to watching that 60s footage from Iraq featuring British wrestlers. John Lees vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Iraq, 1960s) John Lees came from a bodybuilding background and was actually Mr. Universe in 1957. A few years later he turned his attention toward professional wrestling, and while the Heritage guys on his profile that he was a skilled wrestler who could hold his own with the likes of Joyce, Robinson, Davies and Wall, I've heard whispers that workers like Robinson didn't think much of him. That shouldn't come as much surprise given he was a bodybuilder in an era where a lot of the top guys were rippers. This footage was a series of clips and there wasn't a lot to judge Lees on outside of a couple of strength holds and a flurry of takedown attempts. He didn't look bad, but he wasn't exactly awe-inspiring either. The finish was weak even by the standards of the day as Al-Kaissie pinned him from a body slam and the ref took an age to make the three count meaning that Lees stayed down for a mighty long time from a simple body slam. Massive crowd on hand for this. I dunno if they were there of their own volition as there was plenty of top brass around, but there was a sea of people filling up an outdoor football stadium and a constant blare of music and cheering similar to what you'd expect from a national football match. The stadium noise cut in and out as the narrator did his voice over, which was annoying. All up not much of a revelation but novel enough.

If he was facing such limited opposition he should have taken over on offence more as Tenryu dishing out a beating is far more compelling than Tenryu selling for plodders like Hara or Yatsu. Tenryu is excellent at selling and good at working from underneath, but he's not a naturally sympathetic babyface and that's kind of a weird position for a Japanese ace to be in anyway. He was much more effective working as a heel outsider in New Japan regardless of the level of opposition, and later as a Terry Funk-esque vet. The SWS stuff represents a phase in his career that doesn't strike a chord with me. You watched more of it than me so perhaps I'm not giving him a fair shake, but then again I thought the Takano match was clearly the best of the lot so we're not really on the same page. .

This was on the New Zealand Herald's website this morning -- http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11497352

Wasn't really feeling this. Tenryu works from underneath too much in SWS and against a guy as immobile as Hara it's really not that interesting. I kept wanting Tenryu to switch back on offence where he was dishing out one mother of a beating on Hara's shoulder. Hara being forced to sell that more would have been a hell of a lot more compelling than him staying in the same spot all the time and delivering clotheslines. This really wasn't all that dissimilar from the Yatsu match. The strikes were arguably better, but again there was a my turn/your turn feel to it and the transitions left a lot to be desired. Nothing makes a pro-wrestling match more ordinary than dull transitions. And as for the finish... if yesterday I thought Onita botching the powerbomb was some amazing Tenryu counter then today I'm not sure that you can actually classify what Tenryu executed as a 'powerbomb'. It looked more like a folding press. Aside from that Tenryu looked awesome on offence; we just didn't see enough of it. On the whole, his SWS work has to be regarded as a failure in terms of both match layouts and the way he carried himself in the bouts. He was much more effective as the ace of WAR and the outsider in the New Japan feud than he was as the top guy in SWS. The promotion was plagued by troubles from day one, which was no doubt disruptive, but we can only really judge him by the in-ring product and that wasn't up to scratch regardless of the quality of his opponents. I don't know if I'd call it a strike or a black mark against him. Perhaps he learnt from it and that's why his WAR stuff was so much better. But I believe in a warts and all approach to wrestling and this was a big chunk of the early 90s that was third rate by Tenryu standards.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ashura Hara (11/10/91) Wasn't really feeling this. Tenryu works from underneath too much in SWS and against a guy as immobile as Hara it's really not that interesting. I kept wanting Tenryu to switch back on offence where he was dishing out one mother of a beating on Hara's shoulder. Hara being forced to sell that more would have been a hell of a lot more compelling than him staying in the same spot all the time and delivering clotheslines. This really wasn't all that dissimilar from the Yatsu match. The strikes were arguably better, but again there was a my turn/your turn feel to it and the transitions left a lot to be desired. Nothing makes a pro-wrestling match more ordinary than dull transitions. And as for the finish... if yesterday I thought Onita botching the powerbomb was some amazing Tenryu counter then today I'm not sure that you can actually classify what Tenryu executed as a 'powerbomb'. It looked more like a folding press. Aside from that Tenryu looked awesome on offence; we just didn't see enough of it. On the whole, his SWS work has to be regarded as a failure in terms of both match layouts and the way he carried himself in the bouts. He was much more effective as the ace of WAR and the outsider in the New Japan feud than he was as the top guy in SWS. The promotion was plagued by troubles from day one, which was no doubt disruptive, but we can only really judge him by the in-ring product and that wasn't up to scratch regardless of the quality of his opponents. I don't know if I'd call it a strike or a black mark against him. Perhaps he learnt from it and that's why his WAR stuff was so much better. But I believe in a warts and all approach to wrestling and this was a big chunk of the early 90s that was third rate by Tenryu standards. And then there was '94-95, which were also wasted years in terms of output. I think I'll turn to his 80s work next as I can't see much merit in watching him work in the 00s unless someone can convince me otherwise.

I try for a match or two a day. Either early in the morning before my wife and daughter get up or late at night after they've gone to bed.

Recommend me an Orig match that's good and I will watch it. The best one I've seen so far was that tag against Finlay and Duran.

That may be the case, but his kanji is 高野 讓治 and initials usually come from either hiragana or kanji. Perhaps his father wanted to call him George but his mother wanted to use kanji. In any event, I think JT comes from his kanji and not the katakana.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 18 Dave Finlay vs. Orig Williams (Denbigh, taped 1988) This was the last chance saloon for Orig Williams to convince me his matches are worth watching. There were some fun moments early on with Finlay stiffing Williams, but it soon disintegrated into some BS countout victory for Finlay and Teenage Tracy somehow got involved (looking distinctly like Cyndi Lauper.) Finlay had to hold Paula back to spare us from her overacting, and all of this dreck signaled the end of me watching Orig Williams. Skull Murphy & Kendo Nagasaki vs. Pete Roberts & Steve Adonis (9/6/88) This was the main event of the Mick McManus VHS tape, which a bit of research tells me was called "The Mick McManus World of Wrestling." The commentator whose name I couldn't make out before was Lee Bamber. Fairly typical sort of British tag. All-Star at least tried to work more of a Southern style tag format than Dale Martin, so there was a big FIP segment with Nagasaki and Murphy working over Roberts as the crowd grew increasing livid. That was the highlight of the match really as some of the crowd had a real go at Nagasaki in particular and things got a bit dicey when the heels went over. Nagasaki's manager got a lot of stick as well, but he always did as he was openly gay. He pretty much gave up on his post-match promo to kick at a ringsider. Not a lot of action otherwise. Adonis looked hopeless green, Nagasaki was old, Murphy's great work from earlier in the decade had taken a dive, and Roberts was too long in the tooth to hold it all together, not that the great workers ever really could in these British tags. Make like VHS and fast forward to the end. Danny Boy Collins vs. Ritchie Brooks (Cage Match, Cardiff, taped 3/30/90) This was the last match I expected to be any good. Anybody who's followed this thread will know how I feel about Ritchie Brooks and Danny Boy Collins and here they were in a cage match on TV with escape match rules. Not a great recipe for success, but I really, really enjoyed this. Brooks dished out a meaningful beating to Collins. Collins sold well and hit some big offence. A couple of big spots off the top of the cage including a missed splash from Brooks and a superplex that was straight out of the Hart family playbook. There was also one cool spot where Brooks stopped Collins from escaping out the door by using the side of the cage to run up the ropes and deliver a diving stomp. A bit hard to describe, but I'd totally pinch that if I were a wrestler. Anyway, I was right into this. My only criticism would be that Brooks should have stayed down longer from the move that let Collins escape instead of popping up quickly to dramatise his shock and disbelief, but that's a minor quibble. One of the big surprises thus far. Johnny Saint vs. Barry Douglas (Corwen, taped 4/7/90) Another decent Saint match. A short technical bout with a lot of cool looking escape holds. Straight up with very little in the way of shtick. Douglas couldn't really add anything to the bout, but that's all right. It was fun watching Saint. Dave Taylor vs. Robbie Brookside (Caernarfon, taped 1987) Short match with a heel Dave Taylor squashing a young Robbie Brookside. I'm not sure what the timeline was on Taylor turning heel after being the ladies' favourite in early Reslo, but he was offside with the crowd so he clearly made a go of it. Brookside had one offensive tear, but then it was goodnight nurse. Marty Jones vs. Ross Hart (12/7/83) This had extended squash written all over it and sure enough Jones was just brutalising Hart here. If you ever want proof of how great Jones was on offence during this time period then this is a good example. There was some awkwardness between them when they ran the ropes, but otherwise Jones decimated Hart. It was as though they didn't belong in the same ring together. Whether Jones really felt that way I don't know, but he often wrestled that way when he didn't think his opponent was up to scratch. Wish Hart had stayed down longer on some of the suplexes, but I suppose it doesn't pay to quibble about squashes. Boston Blackie vs. Yavus Selectman (Caenarfon, taped 1988) The matwork in this was so cool. I have no idea who Yavus Selectman was, but his name alone suggests East European mat wizardry. Blackie looked rock solid as well, and things were going great until they stood up and botched the finish. Blackie was supposed to be laid out on the floor unable to beat the count while Selectman made it back into the ring, but they botched the tumble over the ropes and Blackie ended up kneeling against the apron waiting sheepishly to be counted out. Shit finish to a fun bout.

Well, according to the Yearbook thread it was a botched lift from Onita and not an amazing counter from Tenryu, but it worked for me regardless. I also didn't pick up on Tenryu brushing aside then ducking Goto's final two enzuigiri attempts while I was caught up in the moment.

Who is this guy?

This was a hell of a match. Interesting contrast at the start with the FMW team coming to the ring with feudal era flags and a huge entourage while the WAR boys arrived with a minimum of fanfare. Really wild, chaotic opening to the bout with some big men flying about trying to knock each other out. Things dipped a bit during the Onita face in peril segment, but picked up again when Tenryu chased after Goto for interfering in the bout. He dished out his harite attack as Goto was crumpled against the guard rail and that set off a chain reaction that ended up costing the WAR team the bout as Goto attacked Tenryu with a chair leaving Hara to fend for himself in a two-on-one situation. Hara's not really great at any one thing, but he always puts in a solid shift and his selling was decent enough to keep things ticking over. However, the glue that held this together was Goto. I thought he was immense in this both in dishing out the revenge spots against Tenryu and keeping the crowd hooked when Hara in peril was the main focus. As for Tenryu, well what more can be said about his selling. I think he may be entering the upper echelon of sellers for mine. I was really impressed when Hara made the hot-ish tag and Tenryu launched into a high tempo attack then staggered backwards against the turnbuckle selling both his cut and his wooziness. The stretch run was full of great images and a bucket load of passion, which is what you want from these interpromotional matches. Goto worked overtime to ensure his team got the win, Hara was out of action with taped ribs, and Tenryu was fighting on guts alone. This had so much going for it that even Tenryu's abdominal stretch hold felt like a huge moment. I absolutely adored the finish with Goto hitting the enzuigiri and then Tenryu fighting desperately against the Fire Thunder Powerbomb. That first counter to the powerbomb where Tenryu made it impossible for Onita to lift him despite the fact he was hanging upside down in a compromised position is one of the coolest powerbomb counters I can remember seeing. Onita nailing the second attempt sent shock waves through the crowd and the commentary put over what a shock win it was. Great match. I was even excited watching the highlights afterwards.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto (3/2/94) This was a hell of a match. Interesting contrast at the start with the FMW team coming to the ring with feudal era flags and a huge entourage while the WAR boys arrived with a minimum of fanfare. Really wild, chaotic opening to the bout with some big men flying about trying to knock each other out. Things dipped a bit during the Onita face in peril segment, but picked up again when Tenryu chased after Goto for interfering in the bout. He dished out his harite attack as Goto was crumpled against the guard rail and that set off a chain reaction that ended up costing the WAR team the bout as Goto attacked Tenryu with a chair leaving Hara to fend for himself in a two-on-one situation. Hara's not really great at any one thing, but he always puts in a solid shift and his selling was decent enough to keep things ticking over. However, the glue that held this together was Goto. I thought he was immense in this both in dishing out the revenge spots against Tenryu and keeping the crowd hooked when Hara in peril was the main focus. As for Tenryu, well what more can be said about his selling. I think he may be entering the upper echelon of sellers for mine. I was really impressed when Hara made the hot-ish tag and Tenryu launched into a high tempo attack then staggered backwards against the turnbuckle selling both his cut and his wooziness. The stretch run was full of great images and a bucket load of passion, which is what you want from these interpromotional matches. Goto worked overtime to ensure his team got the win, Hara was out of action with taped ribs, and Tenryu was fighting on guts alone. This had so much going for it that even Tenryu's abdominal stretch hold felt like a huge moment. I absolutely adored the finish with Goto hitting the enzuigiri and then Tenryu fighting desperately against the Fire Thunder Powerbomb. That first counter to the powerbomb where Tenryu made it impossible for Onita to lift him despite the fact he was hanging upside down in a compromised position is one of the coolest powerbomb counters I can remember seeing. Onita nailing the second attempt sent shock waves through the crowd and the commentary put over what a shock win it was. Great match. I was even excited watching the highlights afterwards.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 17 Barry Douglas vs. Ian McGregor (7/3/86) Barry Douglas came from wrestling royalty as part of the most famous family in the North, but was one of the most colourless journeymen on the circuit. He wasn't a bad wrestler per se, but bouts like this were indicative of his lack of showmanship. McGregor was one of the better teenage wrestlers around. Instead of working an exciting bout to put the kid over, Douglas took it easy on him. I wouldn't even call it a workmanlike performance. It was almost as though kayfabe wise he was thinking "well, here's a night off." Flat pace and a bit uninspiring. Mick McMichael vs. Greg Valentine (4/16/86) This was the final of the 1986 Golden Grappler trophy between veteran Mick McMichael and Farmer's Boy/Promoter's Son, Greg Valentine. It was obvious to all in sundry who was going over here. Max Crabtree clearly wanted a vet in there to make his boy look good. There was no way in hell that McMichael was winning this thing. McMichael usually annoys the shit out of me, but he got stuck into his work here and delivered a quality performance without any mickey mouse bullshit. It was actually a pretty good match with Valentine looking just how his old man wanted and Mick earning his paycheck. Surprised me as I expected it would be dreck. Pete Roberts vs. Barry Douglas (1/28/86) There was no taking a night off against Pete Roberts, who may have been the best guy in the promotion at this point. He was certainly the guy who delivered the best matches in the first year that wrestling became a stand alone program. Speaking of which, this video includes the ugly opening credits for the stand alone show and that awful voice over narrator guy I can't stand (the poor man's Dickie Davis.) This was a good match. I'm the only Pete Roberts mark I know outside of the Heritage old-timers, and even then he's at the tail end of the era that they're invested in. But it's always a pleasure to watch him work and the fact that working with him prompted Douglas to step up his game is a sign he was respected among his peers as well. Because he was well traveled, he brought slightly more high impact offence to the ring, and while Douglas made a strong start to the match, Roberts was able to mow him down in the end w/ a beautiful suplex. Supa Desutoroia!

Sweet, I'll check that out later.