Posted July 4, 201015 yr comment_5452712 DVD #25 12/6/86 (aired 12/6/86) Tiger Mask/Fuyuki vs. Martel/Zenk - JIP. This moved along at a fine clip but didn't include anything memorable. Jumbo/Tenryu vs. Choshu/Yatsu - This match was too rich with incident for me to attempt a play-by-play. But they continued with the theme of neither team being able to gain the advantage for more than a few moves. I loved how hard they fought over simple holds and how every strike had extra mustard on it. Tenryu delivered brutal strike exchanges with both Yatsu and Choshu. In another neat moment, Jumbo grabbed Tenryu from the apron so he wouldn't bounce off the ropes into a lariat and then stormed into the ring and dropped Choshu with a big boot. After a lot of hard grappling in the first 15 minutes, the last 15 was all heavy blows, big moves and nearfalls. Like a lot of draws, this reached a climax and then went on for a few minutes. The crowd sensed it, losing a little steam. But I liked the actual last spot, with Choshu trying a powerbomb on Tenryu as if to say, "Fuck it, I've exhausted my own repertoire." Anyway, I can't imagine this failing to make the set. Funks vs. Hansen/Dibiase - Reviewed on Classics. (aired 12/13/86) Ishikawa/Fuyuki vs. Hansen/Dibiase (12/9) - Fuyuki actually got in some decent work on Hansen's arm but in the anti-surprise of all time, ate a lariat for the fall. Tiger Mask/Baba vs. Choshu/Yatsu (12/9) - This had a stronger heel/face dynamic than the Choshu/Yatsu v. Jumbo/Tenryu matches. I loved Baba's looks of disgust when Choshu and Yatsu drilled Misawa with their double teams and when Choshu managed to lock him up on the mat. I was a little surprised that the crowd didn't respond more fervently when he fought back. The match transitioned to more of a Misawa story, with him surviving the punishment to reel off a few of his highspots. He delivered a nice springing elbow off the turnbuckle to a running Choshu but took a lariat for the fall a few seconds later. I was thinking this might be a nomination if the Baba/Choshu stuff reached a satisfying conclusion, but the Misawa story intrigued me less. He wasn't a standout sympathy seller, and about half of his moves looked terribly awkward. So I'm going to leave this one on the shelf. Wajima/Baba vs. Martel/Zenk (12/12) - Martel and Zenk showed some real professionalism by making Wajima, who sucked, look like the sensation he was supposed to be. Martel started on the mat with him and boy did he look slick as hell. Then Zenk bounced around like crazy to put over Wajima's higher-impact moves at the end. Meanwhile, Martel and Zenk got in some nifty double teams on Baba to set up Wajima as the hot tag. I don't think this match would make a big impression on the set, because the voters won't have seen the truly dreadful Wajima matches. But I kind of want you guys to take a look anyway, because it was a performance that really impressed me in context.
