ohtani's jacket

I got a big batch of stuff from your source the other day and will be in British wrestling heaven once I get through all this 2000s puro. But you really have done a great service laying the groundwork with your reviews. What kind of stuff did you get?

This was an old formula AJW liked to use where a pair of younger workers would take on a more established pair. You kind of need to suspend disbelief that the younger workers would trouble the veterans so much, though Yoshida and Ito were certainly growing in stature around this time. I personally prefer the JWP style where you'd have senior/junior vs. senior/junior as it strikes me as more balanced, but I might have gotten into this if it had been more of a trial by fire for the young workers and not so even. Shimoda and Toyota took over towards the end as you'd expect, but I couldn't really get into the rhythm of what they were doing. I did like the sassy attitude Shimoda showed, but I wished they'd slowed it down at times instead of working the entire match in top gear. Maybe a bit of heat on the youngsters, a well timed comeback, that sort of thing.

This was an erratic performance from Toyota what with headbutting the ring post and throwing a near tantrum on the mat.A scatty performance even without the blown spots. At least it was short I guess.

This was probably the weakest of the six mans from this era, but at minimum a good match. Things picked up in the stretch run and I found myself willing the technicos on since if they weren't winning in Hamada's anniversary match they were never gonna win. The way they put Kaientai away was badass, which is all you can hope for from faces.

Didn't Destroyer also show signs of decline in the late 70s?

I got a comp made of Tarzan Johnny Wilson matches, but since I'm probably the only guy who cares about Wilson I thought I'd stick my thoughts here rather than in the Microscope. Johnny Wilson vs. John Elijah (7/11/84) These are two of my guys, but even I have to admit that watching a 35 minute 8 round bout is tough going. It was everything I'd want out of John Elijah vs. Johnny Wilson in terms of strength holds and powering out of moves, but very much a one pace bout. And it went to a draw, which ain't much of a return on your investment. Johnny Wilson vs. Barry Douglas (9/11/84) This close to the end of my World of Sport viewing and I'm still getting suckered into watching Barry Douglas bouts. I'm sure it's because the Heritage guys compared him to Terry Rudge, but they clearly don't share the same opinion of Rudge that we do around here. This wasn't that bad actually, but I'm not sure if Douglas could have been any more bland. He came from the family of one of the Joint Promotions promoters, but even that didn't help him rise above his station. I guess he deserves respect as a long time pro, though. Professor Adi Wasser vs. Johnny Wilson (5/12/81) Professor Adi Wasser was a masked French star who worked on British cards in the 60s and 70s and was evidently having another run here. I couldn't find any information about him other than the fact he was billed as a jiu jitsu expert. His gimmick was that he had a devastating sleeper hold ala Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie during his run in England. No prizes for guessing what Johnny's role was on this particular night, but I liked the way they treated the sleeper like death. Tom Tyrone vs. Johnny Wilson (9/3/85) Wilson wrestled this defensively and didn't attack as much as he usually did, and Walton would not stop going on about how there was something wrong with him and how he was terribly out of form. Personally, I was enjoying some of the defensive work but Walton wouldn't stop harping on about it. He could be really annoying when he got his bee in a bonnet over something. Johnny Wilson vs. Lee Sharron (7/27/81) Sharron was this ancient rule-bending heel. He may have been good in his prime, but he looked so washed up here he was a castaway. Johnny Wilson vs. Bully Boy Muir (5/11/82) Bully Boy Ian Muir was another fun 20-stoner in the vein of King Kong Mal Kirk. He was a rampant cheater and you could see the inevitable DQ coming a mile off, but there was some fun big man vs, smaller man psychology along the way and Wilson got to show off his strength by lifting a guy who was 21 and a half stone. Skull Murphy vs. Johnny Wilson (12/19/84) This was the final of the 1984 Grand Prix Belt tournament. Not quite as good or as heated as it could have been as Murphy wrestled a mostly clean bout (with Walton even trying to get sympathy for him over the recent death of his father Roy Bull Davis.) Murphy's bruising style really lent itself to rule-bending so this was a bit dry at times, but the psychology was excellent with Wilson's neck gradually being weakened in anticipation for Murphy's gator submission. Because this aired on the final WoS show of 1984 a winner had to be decided so they worked a sudden death overtime session and Murphy got the win with an awesome looking clothesline by British wrestling standards. Kind of a strange guy to put over in these circumstances, but I'm happy to say that Murphy has cemented himself in my thoughts as a key player from the 80s when I had initially bagged him. Dave Finlay vs. Johnny Wilson (8/21/84) What I saw of this was deliciously enticing, but the first three rounds were missing. They got up in each other's grills just as you'd hope and there were plenty of forearms traded. The fact that Dave got the win decisively over a heavier bigger man kind of tells you Tarzan Johnny Wilson's lot in the grand scheme of things, but he kept getting a cheque through to the end of the ITV run so they obviously saw some value in him. Tom Tyrone vs. Johnny Wilson (12/17/86) This aired in '87 as part of the 1987 Grand Prix tournament, which was opened to heavyweights, Knockout tournaments aren't my favourite aspect of the television, but this tournament was some of the better TV from 1987. Tyrone was clearly higher on the totem pole than Wilson for whatever reason, but Johnny was a pro and they worked a decent bout. Johnny Wilson vs. Bruno Elrington (1/31/79) This was a fun bout. Elrington was a limited big man, but he had a strong grasp of psychology and it's possible that his execution was better in his heyday. I enjoyed watching the strategies that Wilson implemented here and he got to show a lot of raw strength with these unique throws/takedowns he'd do where Elrington was literally held in a vertical position before being taken over. Elrington basically looked like a giant from the Highlands, and while he tried to remain a sportsman he would lose his cool at the drop of a hat and fire up by slamming his hands on the mat, letting out a primitive growl, eye gouging his opponent, or threatening to box the ref. It was entertaining stuff. They went with a typical booking pattern here of having the younger guy up a fall before succumbing to injury (in this case Wilson's knee buckling as he tried to lift the 20 stone Elrington.) The St. John's men came out and Wilson did a full stretcher job. Pretty good selling, I thought. John Elijah & Dave Bond vs. Peter & Johnny Wilson (6/28/83) This was a very good tag in the John Elijah/Johnny Wilson heavyweight style. By far and away the best Peter Wilson match I've seen. I had no idea how big he was until I saw him work comparatively shorter heavyweights in Bond and Elijah. One thing I'll say for the 80s is that the tag matches were generally better than they were in the 70s. The Bond vs. Wilson sections here were awesome and amongst the best stuff on the entire comp. Ray Steele vs. Johnny Wilson (5/4/88) This was part of a knockout tournament for some Community Shield. The shield had this blue ribbon on it that someone had marked "1st" with a black marker pen. No expense spared by the Crabtrees. I actually think the heavyweight work holds up the best of the late 80s work, a bit like how the tortoise won the race. If we had this in full instead of the three rounds they generally aired there might be more late 80s stuff worth pimping. Walton still told the same story about Steele's third professional fight that he was talking about in 1970. I don't know how many gin and tonics he was having to get through these broadcasts but he sounds almost depressed at times.

Hey, the fat guy I mentioned was even worse than that. He couldn't get in the ring by himself. He was actually a decent bloke by all accounts, who got treated like shit by the boys in the business and eventually got out of it, lost the weight, got married and started some new endeavour. But as a wrestler he was so bad that his only television bout wasn't televised and he was subsequently ignored by the promoter after spending all his money on a new leotard. Poor blighter.

You could probably argue that Kurt Angle was a disappointment for a lot of folks since he was meant to be the second coming of every great territorial wrestler ever. I'd put him in the same category as a Barry Windham or an Akiyama. My pick for lucha would be Angel Azteca, who I felt could have been a Lizmark/Atlantis/Solar type and wasn't.

The stuff I know is only really a drop in the bucket. I'm still learning things all the time. Sadly, I have one final order of British wrestling coming and that's it for me aside from the dregs and the rewatches. I started watching this stuff seriously sometime around 2008 and the finishing line is in sight.

Where are the best places to read about British wrestling history? That Heritage site? Wrestling Heritage is a good place to get info. The old Britishwrestlingarchive.co.uk message board posts are helpful as well. i usually just google "Bob Kirkwood wrestler" and see what comes up.

More of the same from the M-Pro crew. Watching them today they come across as indie rock legends as though they were at the forefront of a new style of work. I didn't care for Sasuke and Togo brawling around the gymnasium, but it was soon forgotten as the rest of the crew worked some cracking exchanges. Hamada was more involved here than in other bouts, and this was another stiffer 6-man compared to their more famous multi-man spotfests. I really liked the mural in the background too on what looked like the curtain for a stage. The only negative I'll say is I don't know why the faces couldn't have won more of these bouts. This was a bout they could have totally taken out and Kaientai wouldn't have suffered at all. It's not big a deal, but I felt the momentum was with the faces here and the pop for them scoring the pin would have been nice.

Man, the Fiera/Dandy feud is sky rocketing in my estimation and I haven't even rewatched the hair match yet -- http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/blog/8/entry-435-the-fiera-vs-dandy-feud-1/

El Dandy/Pierroth Jr./Ultimo Dragon vs. Negro Casas/La Fiera/El Supremo, CMLL 10/30/92 Hot damn this was good. The Fiera/Dandy feud is much better than I realised. This was an outstanding trios with an early 80s feel to it. Fiera had a great scummy look to him with his jacket and chain and cheap pair of dark sunglasses. I've always thought Sangre Chicana was the scummiest of the early 90s luchadores, but Fiera looked like he was not only snorting something around this time period but pushing it in the locker room. He was the Man in this. Not only did he methodically and systematically take apart Dandy's shoulder, he was throwing right hands like an absolute chief. No-one had respect for anyone in this bout. It wasn't just Fiera vs. Dandy, everyone kept getting up in each other's grill. The great thing about it was that instead of the meandering rudo bout it could have been there was a continuous flow of guys intervening and working awesome brawl exchanges. You'd have these sequences like the one where Casas and Pierroth were fighting in the ropes and Ultimo jumped on top of Casas and spilled to the outside where he was immediately attacked by Fiera. Later on, Supremo, who was surprisingly great in this, was pummeling Pierroth into submission when Ultimo jumped in and began wasting Supremo with knee strikes. All of the cut offs and double teaming were awesome in this. Pierroth and Casas had this fantastic rivalry going on where Pierroth would chop him right in the nose. The stuff they did together was so great that this could have easily made Vintage Negro Casas of the Day. Casas vs. Pierroth is now a dream match for me after seeing this. Ultimo vs. Supremo was also brilliant for what was the third string match-up and you also had moments of Casas vs. Dandy peppered throughout, including a nasty looking posting Casas gave Dandy on the outside. If that wasn't enough, there was even some Pierroth/Fiera interactions as pretty much everyone took turns working each other here. The finish seemed confusing and weak at first, but on replay it was amusing as everyone bar Casas was scattered on the outside and Casas did a wickedly funny impersonation of Roberto Rangel counting everyone out. Pierroth had a lot to say afterwards and just seeing Dandy in shot with him afterwards has got me pumped for the continuation of this feud. This was quality.

Tanahashi is a performer not a wrestler's wrestler. To me that's a key difference. If you look it from his perspective, if he can't really work the mat or work holds then he might as well excel at something else ala Michaels. My (limited) take on him is that he is anti-MMA influence in wrestling and loves the pro-style so he's all flash and stretch runs. Ishii to me is a poor man's Otsuka.

Tanahashi's decision to work light is a conscious and deliberate thing. His forearm strikes are awful (except for in that recent Shibata match), but I think too much is made of his offensive struggles. Someone mentioned his dragon screw leg whip once, but he executes the move more effectively than Daniel Bryan as an example. He has his formula and it produces decent match after decent match and sometimes something great. He's a much better worker than Ishii. I don't expect to get much agreement on that, but Ishii is a fun albeit uber limited worker and can't produce matches of the scope of Tanahashi's broadways.

Gilbert Leduc vs. Le Bourreau de Béthune This started off with some decent grappling and a lot better work than the Quasimodo bout, but soon descended into a methodical knockout of poor old Leduc. The Executioner's heel work wasn't particularly outstanding (at least in this match), but he looked like a fair worker. He had a tremendous physique for a guy his size and his upper body and torso were so big compared to his legs that he almost appeared like a caricature. Again there was a neat comic book aspect to this.

I also liked this. Instead of trying to top what they've done before, they took a more minimalist approach and worked a great 20 minute bout. I wish more Joshi workers had adopted this approach. Then perhaps the style could have evolved in something different instead of rehashing the same match structure in the years since. It's true they didn't add anything to the matches they'd already had, but having not watched those matches in years the counters felt fresh. I am totally anti the use of tables in wrestling, but the way Toyota stopped on a dime for that springboard move was insanely impressive. Loved Aja throwing around Manami's dead weight on the suplexes and the final back fist was brutal.

This was a lot of fun, but I guess that goes without saying. It seemed like a forerunner to the 12/16 tag with the grittier mat exchanges and the work having more of an edge to it. Kaientai appeared to be coming into their own here. Hoshikawa slotted in well as Loss mentioned and overall the pacing was excellent. I like that the heels don't isolate one guy and work him over FIP style. Instead, they just beat on everyone. Great breakneck pace with the finishing stretch. It feels like a crap shoot at the end, which is the best way to work spotfests. It's a pity they couldn't keep this up in '97.

Nice to see this brought back. Current Favorite Wrestler to Watch: Probably Shiryu. He seems like the most lucha-esque of the old school Michinoku Pro crew. Last Fun Match You Saw: The MPro tag where Liger showed up. Wrestler You Want to See More of: Invader 1, Jerry Brisco and WWE Rey Mysterio Jr. Match You Are Looking Forward to Watching Soon the Most: A 1950s or 60s Wild Man of Borneo tag feat Lord Alfred Hayes Last Fun Interview/Promo You Saw: Probably the post match to the King Ben/Kilby title match. Last Interesting Thing You Read about Wrestling: Probably some British Wrestling history. Last Worthwhile Wrestling Podcast You Heard: I enjoyed the Titans WoS extra. Most Fun You've Had Watching Wrestling Lately: The MPro multi-man matches are a lot of fun.

I think Sayama's last bout in England was Hanley on 4/18/81. He debut as Tiger Mask on 4/23/81. For some reason he was billed through to September on Joint Promotion cards. Perhaps they expected him to come back.

Shoe, I prefer their bout from '74 as Jack seems like he's the one in control even when he's working from underneath. I will watch the '76 bout again at some point since you liked it so much, but it doesn't seem as though they matched up that well. Jumbo was never that good on the mat, at least not as good as Baba or Inoki, and seemed to mesh better with the bomb throwers like Robinson and Race.

This was a blast. Liger did seem to be enjoying himself as much as you can tell whether a guy in a mask and body suit is enjoying himself. Taka was awesome in this, and I dug his showdown with Naniwa at the end even if they kind of blew a nearfall. I'm glad I watched this as it added to the fun of 1996 Michinoku Pro. Naniwa's koppu kick off the apron was a "whoah!" moment.

If you want I can send you the supporting documents for the stuff I mentioned. This the only really contentious part: "In the late 1960s boxing entrepreneur Jarvis Astaire purchased the Hurst Park acquisitions and subsequently added Best, Wryton, Morrell and Beresford Promotions to his portfolio before selling them on to William Hill." It's possible that Astaire bought everything up before selling it to Hill, but Hill definitely took over Hurst Park because I found newspaper articles pertaining to it, and as I said Astaire appeared to still be in the wrestling game after '71. I wonder if the Wrestling Heritage lineage comes from the Simon Garfield book The Wrestling where Max Crabtree mentions the ownership history? It seems to me that Crabtree was given the book because business was bad under Marino.

We have a new contender, Fatty Thomas "The Incredible Bulk." (Skip to the end.)

As with 1980 we close out 1981 with some quality Big Daddy... Big Daddy/Sammy Lee vs. Le Grande Vladimir/Mel Stuart (1/13/81) This was the same Wolverhampton crowd that went mental for the Pat Patton/Bobby Barnes fight so this was going to be loud if nothing else. The Russian/Dutch/French/Hungarian Vladimir came out to Boney M's Rasputin. Daddy came out to a mash up of the Seekers and the local boys marching squad. This woman with an enormous bosom and no front teeth kept pulling the finger to the beat of We Shall Not Be Moved. Sayama was rocking his Game of Death body suit. I wonder what he made of all this. He rather amusing blew a ton of shit in this bout, but the women at ringside didn't care as they were out for blood. Another worthless tag and another heel buried. Stick a stake in him, Vlad is done.