Posted February 23, 200916 yr comment_5437679 DVD #19 10/19/88 Koshinaka/Kimura vs. Perro Aguayo/El Canek - Not much to this. Masa Saito vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - This non-finish bothered me more than most, because they had built the base of a pretty good match. Bigelow attacked Saito's back with headbutts, a bearhug and a swank snap suplex. For a rugged guy who often worked heel, Saito made a hell of a plucky underdog. His suplex made a great out-of-nowhere momentum changer, and it always looked particularly good when he hoisted monsters such as Bam Bam. So yeah, things were swimming along and all of a sudden, Bigelow dumped Saito over the rail. I don't mind that finish when guys are brawling wildly or the heel is looking for an easy way out. Here, it didn't fit the story. Inoki vs. Choshu - Hot finish here as a bloody, enraged Inoki choked Choshu down on the apron and refused to break no matter how hard the ref tugged. Overall, however, the match felt smaller than their best efforts. I liked it but not quite enough. 10/27/88 Shiro Koshinaka/Hiro Saito/Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Perro Aguayo/El Canek/Biff Wellington - Aguayo was pretty badass in this one, nailing the Japanese right in the face with his dropkicks and hitting a chunky senton off the top on the usual senton master, Saito. On the native side, you had the story of Koshinaka slowly becoming comfortable with his rivals and ultimately, forming a deadly combination with Kobayashi. Koshinaka also worked unusually well with the luchadores, perhaps because of his experience in Mexico. Not a high-end match but really enjoyable stuff from an unusual combination of workers, so I'll toss it on the block. Choshu/Strong Machine vs. Tony St. Clair/Steve Casey - St. Clair hit some nice looking offense, but I never got the sense that Choshu treated him and Casey as serious threats. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Inoki - Similar finish to the Choshu/Inoki from the previous episode with the choke against the ropes and Inoki refusing to break. This was pretty good but fell a step short of nomination territory. Bigelow didn't quite come off as the force you'd want him to working monster against Inoki.
