Posted October 6, 200816 yr comment_5435046 DVD #1 1/1/85 Special (taped 12/28/84 MSG) - I assume we're ignoring this per our decisions on how to handle the stuff in Calgary and Mexico. I didn't see any matches worth nominating anyway. Antonio Inoki vs. Dr. D David Shultz Cobra vs. Black Tiger Hulk Hogan vs. Iron Sheik 1/4/85 (taped 1/1/85) Cobra/Kantaro Hoshino vs. Hiro Saito/Umanoseke Ueda - Hmmm, Ueda didn't show up on tape much, though I loved him in the 3/26/86 elimination match. I generally enjoy Saito's interactions with Cobra and Hoshino, but this didn't offer shining examples of either match-up. Kengo Kimura/Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Strong Machines - Pedestrian. Tatsumi Fujinami/Antonio Inoki vs. Wild Samoan/Hulk Hogan - This hummed along with plenty of action, teasing the first Hogan/Inoki confrontation since Inoki busted him open with the enziguri. The Samoan played a solid secondary hand in these matches, bumping around for the Japanese so Hogan could come in and look stronger. Anyway, the Machines showed up and interfered, ruining a pretty good match. I'm really growing to hate them and their whole pale imitation of Ishin Gundan. 1/11/85 (taped 1/11) Cobra/Hoshino/Fujinami vs. Strong Machines - Part of my complaint with the Machines is that the Masks really rendered them faceless. Roles are so integral to Japanese wrestling that if you can't distinguish one guy from another, why bother watching? They did a spot here, where one Machine came in for another without tagging and the ref didn't notice. But they didn't do enough of that to make the lack of individual identities an angle in itself. Can't wait for them to go away. Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Abdullah the Butcher - I've liked this match-up consistently because they just savage one another. I appreciated their previous match more because they went after each other's ears. Both don't need to go on the set. But this was fun. Kengo Kimura/Antonio Inoki vs. Wild Samoan/King Kong Bundy - Samoan and Bundy made a solid gaijin team. This followed the predictable pattern of them clubbing on Kimura only for Inoki to exact revenge in the end. I'm glad to see Bundy on the scene because he at least might crank out a nomination-worthy match. This one didn't stand out enough.
