October 10, 200915 yr Author comment_5444988 What's missing that should have been included: 9/23/81 WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. El Solitario 1/1/82 WWF Junior Heavyweight Crown Decision Match: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 7/23/82 Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 10/26/82 WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 2/7/83 WWF Jr. Title: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger If full version exists 6/2/83 WWF Junior Heavyweight Crown Decision Match: Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 2/7/84 Kid/Smith/Cobra 8/2/84 NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: The Cobra vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 9/19/85 Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 8/7/86 IWGP Junior: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kazuo Yamazaki 9/16/86 Antonio Inoki vs. Bruiser Brody 12/10/86 IWGP Junior: Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kazuo Yamazaki 2/15/88 Top of the Super Junior League Match: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka 8/8/88 Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami Are these matches you have actually seen? I want you to go one by one the same way Childs did and explain why they SHOULD have been on the set.
October 19, 200915 yr comment_5445227 So I got this on Saturday and motored through the first disc over the weekend. I enjoyed everything, even though I wasn't as big a fan of the Hansen/Inoki stuff as some were. Almost unreal to think there's still 14 discs worth of this to see. Can't wait to get to the UWF invasion stuff. I'm pretty much sold on Fujinami, too. So yeah, forget the complaints about matches that should've been included and all that; Will, Phil and Childs are machines for watching as much stuff as they did to get this final 175.
October 24, 200915 yr Author comment_5445347 What's missing that should have been included: 9/23/81 WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. El Solitario 1/1/82 WWF Junior Heavyweight Crown Decision Match: Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 7/23/82 Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 10/26/82 WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 2/7/83 WWF Jr. Title: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger If full version exists 6/2/83 WWF Junior Heavyweight Crown Decision Match: Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 2/7/84 Kid/Smith/Cobra 8/2/84 NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: The Cobra vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi 9/19/85 Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 8/7/86 IWGP Junior: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kazuo Yamazaki 9/16/86 Antonio Inoki vs. Bruiser Brody 12/10/86 IWGP Junior: Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kazuo Yamazaki 2/15/88 Top of the Super Junior League Match: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka 8/8/88 Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami Are these matches you have actually seen? I want you to go one by one the same way Childs did and explain why they SHOULD have been on the set. I am still waiting. For everyone else, I would love to get your comments on the set if it has arrived yet.
October 24, 200915 yr comment_5445348 Really good set so far. The stars have been Andre and Fujinami. Hansen/Andre was such a awesome match. Some of the junior stuff(Tiger Mask vs DK) haven't held up very well. As for matches missing: What about Perro Aguayo vs Gran Hamada 4/21/1982? That match is 100 times better than Mask/DK 1.
October 25, 200915 yr comment_5445355 Really good set so far. The stars have been Andre and Fujinami. Hansen/Andre was such a awesome match. Some of the junior stuff(Tiger Mask vs DK) haven't held up very well. As for matches missing: What about Perro Aguayo vs Gran Hamada 4/21/1982? That match is 100 times better than Mask/DK 1. I liked that match, but it was really short.
October 25, 200915 yr comment_5445356 The best thing about the set is reappraising guys like Choshu, Inoki and Yatsu, who were always "ugh" guys for me but awesome in the context you've provided. I figure I'll have a top 30 that I love and maybe 155 matches I'm indifferent to, but so far I'm enjoying this more than I expected.
October 25, 200915 yr comment_5445358 Just got my set today, about to put it in now. You were low on Yatsu OJ?
October 25, 200915 yr comment_5445369 What I wrote at DVDVR: Disc 1 rankings: 1. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) 2. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80) 3. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Johnny Londos (9/19/80) 4. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Chavo Guerrero (5/9/80) 5. Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (1/18/80) 6. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 7. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80) 8. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tony Rocco (9/11/80) 9. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (2/8/80) 10. Gran Hamada vs. Babyface (4/3/80) 11. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (5/9/80) 12. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (2/3 Falls) (2/1/80) I think my ballot is going to be weird again. Fujinami is all kinds of awesome, and he is definitely the top worker of the disc, but the Inoki/Hansen feud really landed right in the sweet spot for me.
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445373 What I wrote at DVDVR: Disc 1 rankings: 1. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) 2. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80) 3. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Johnny Londos (9/19/80) 4. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Chavo Guerrero (5/9/80) 5. Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (1/18/80) 6. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 7. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80) 8. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tony Rocco (9/11/80) 9. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (2/8/80) 10. Gran Hamada vs. Babyface (4/3/80) 11. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (5/9/80) 12. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (2/3 Falls) (2/1/80) I think my ballot is going to be weird again. Fujinami is all kinds of awesome, and he is definitely the top worker of the disc, but the Inoki/Hansen feud really landed right in the sweet spot for me. I'm glad you enjoyed the Inoki-Hansen. I was surprised how many people shat on it.
October 26, 200915 yr Author comment_5445375 Childs, I think alot of people have the same initial reaction I did when I watched it a year ago. However, I thought the September match was the best and the May match the weakest so I can understand how many other people would feel the same way. If people rewatch the series later on, I think they will come to love it like I did. With that said, only one of the matches has a crack at my Top 50 and even that isn't a lock.
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445377 I thought Inoki/Hansen was a good rivalry. Not great, but good. I agree with Will that the Sept. match was the best of the bunch, though I'd rate the Feb match below the May match for last in the series.
October 26, 200915 yr Author comment_5445379 Go back and watch the Feb. match in a couple of months when you are disconnected from it. It is a match that deserves a 2nd chance.
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445381 I think my ballot is going to be weird again. Fujinami is all kinds of awesome, and he is definitely the top worker of the disc, but the Inoki/Hansen feud really landed right in the sweet spot for me. If you like Inoki-Hansen, Will's Hansen set has quite a bit more of it. There's also a more of it that didn't make Will's set that can be found on some Dan's NJ Classic re-release along with his recent NJ Original TV set of disks. It has a pair of singles from 1977 & 1979 that hadn't been out, along with five tags (including a Bisco & Hansen vs Inoki & Sak from 1979). There's still more Inoki-Hansen out there, including their first two singles matches which never made Classics for some reason. One really wishes that this one could get a full release: 10/17/79 NJPW TV Taped 08/17/79 at Stampede Grand Victoria Pavilion, Calgary 1. WWF Jr. Title: Tatsumi Fujinami DCOR Dynamite Kid 20:33 2. NWF North American Title: Tiger Jeet Singh COR Seiji Sakaguchi 11:51 3. NWF Title: Antonio Inoki d. Stan Hansen 9:15 First meeting between Fujinami and DK on TV. NJ stars road trip to Canada, which fits into Inoki's dream of being an international star. Frankly, I never could figure out why the Inoki-Backlund from Miami didn't make classics since it got good heat in Miami. Inoki never got his match with Backlund in New York, but that one was a good match in the US. Anyway, I digress. There's more Inoki vs Hansen out there. Will probably pulled the best of the stuff from the 80s to hit the DVDVR Set, and also pulled other stuff he thought was good as well for his Hansen set. John
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445383 I think I have them: 9/11/80 4/3/80 2/8/80 4/23/81 5/9/80 The top three will probably all be on the top half of my ballot, but none will push for the upper reaches. Just too much great shit from 1986-89. I would agree with the good not great characterization, but as the promotion's leading heavyweight feud from 1980-81, it holds up well.
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445386 I had them.... 9/11/80 4/23/81 4/3/80 2/8/80 5/9/80 9/11/80 feels like a lock for my top 50, and 5/9/80, while not really a bad match, will probably end up pretty close to the bottom. The other three, who knows. There were matches on the Memphis set that I loved that ended up in the 80's and 90's, so on a set with 175 matches, anything can happen, really.
October 26, 200915 yr comment_5445390 Go back and watch the Feb. match in a couple of months when you are disconnected from it. It is a match that deserves a 2nd chance. If voting time permits, I'm going to try and rewatch everything at least once.
October 27, 200915 yr comment_5445399 Floyd's Master Plan to ruin the results (Part 1 of 15): Here's my Disk #1 rankings. 1. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 2. Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (1/18/80) 3. Gran Hamada vs. Babyface (4/3/80) 4. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Johnny Londos (9/19/80) 5. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80) 6. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) 7. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (2/8/80) 8. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Chavo Guerrero (5/9/80) 9. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (2/3 Falls) (2/1/80) 10. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80) 11. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tony Rocco (9/11/80) 12. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (5/9/80) ------------------------------ - Tatsumi Fujinami is awesome and may be the best technical wrestler of the 80's. He had awesome matwork and it was always varied and never got old. - Don't think I've ever seen Kengo Kimura before, he was really impressive in the Disk #1 match. - The Inoki/Hansen series was fun to watch seeing how it progressed through the 4 matches. No one match really stood out though. 163 matches to go!
October 27, 200915 yr comment_5445417 Go back and watch the Feb. match in a couple of months when you are disconnected from it. It is a match that deserves a 2nd chance. I did this at the weekend with the entire series and liked the Feb. match a lot more on re-watch. Gotta say, though, the Choshu/Fujinami series is something I'm loving a Hell of a lot on the first watch. I only just got done with the 4th disc, but Choshu is probably my favourite guy on the set already. Either him or Andre.
October 28, 200915 yr comment_5445446 Floyd's Master Plan to ruin the results (Part 2 of 15): Disk #2: 1. Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81) 2. Tiger Mask vs. El Canek (12/8/81) 3. Tiger Mask vs. Gran Hamada (11/6/81) 4. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Isamu Teranishi (10/8/81) 5. Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (4/23/81) 6. Bob Backlund vs. Stan Hansen (9/30/80) 7. Chavo Guerrero vs. Kengo Kimura (9/30/80) 8. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ron Starr (9/30/80) 9. Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/23/81) 10. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Andre the Giant & Rene Goulet (12/10/81) 11. Tiger Mask & Kengo Kimura vs. Negro Navarro & El Signo (10/30/81) 12. Tiger Mask & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Pete Roberts & El Solitario (9/4/81) 13. Chavo Guerrero vs. Kengo Kimura (11/3/80) 14. George Takano vs. Stan Lane (7/24/81) 15. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (11/6/80) ----------------------------------------------------- - The Tiger Mask/Hamada match was alot of fun. I actually think their match from 2/3/83 is a tad better for those wanting to hunt it down. - Andre was awesome! Not only in the big Hansen match but the tag too. I'm guessing it was the MSG finals? which reminds me of the also fun Hogan/Hansen MSG Tag team matches that missed the final cut. - The name sounds familiar but I can't remember seeing Ron Starr before. he was pretty good although the match was only about average. - Inoki kicked out of the Lariat AND bodyslammed Andre! He deserves his own island! ------------------------------ 148 matches to go!
October 29, 200915 yr comment_5445452 I actually think their match from 2/3/83 is a tad better for those wanting to hunt it down. It was a clipped 10 minutes with a bunch of meh matwork. What was better about it?
October 29, 200915 yr comment_5445453 I actually think their match from 2/3/83 is a tad better for those wanting to hunt it down.It was a clipped 10 minutes with a bunch of meh matwork. What was better about it? I just rewatched it and yeah its about the same (alot of the same moves too), but I'd still rate it a bit higher, just seemed more exciting to me for some reason. Perhapes the crowd or commentary (They seemed more excited!). Maybe cause I watched it along time ago and hadn't seen so many Fujinami matches in a row, the matwork seemed more passable to me. Dunno if its clipped but I got the 18 minute version from the The Legend Tiger Mask 5-DVD set.
October 29, 200915 yr comment_5445454 I actually think their match from 2/3/83 is a tad better for those wanting to hunt it down.It was a clipped 10 minutes with a bunch of meh matwork. What was better about it? I just rewatched it and yeah its about the same (alot of the same moves too), but I'd still rate it a bit higher, just seemed more exciting to me for some reason. Perhapes the crowd or commentary (They seemed more excited!). Maybe cause I watched it along time ago and hadn't seen so many Fujinami matches in a row, the matwork seemed more passable to me. Dunno if its clipped but I got the 18 minute version from the The Legend Tiger Mask 5-DVD set. Yeah, saw the full version now that I look at my notes. I thought the monkey flip sequence was cool, and the end run was exciting enough. But there was a lot of dead time, and I thought Hamada was more impressive in the '81 match.
October 29, 200915 yr comment_5445460 The 4/19/84 gauntlet match may be the best thing I've ever seen. The whole thing went, what, an hour and 20 minutes all told? Fucking nuts that there literally wasn't one moment where I wasn't 100% interested. If anything bumps that from my top spot I'll be surprised. Can't stress how much I've been loving this set, btw. Through five discs it looks like it might actually surpass the Mid-South set as my favourite wrestling purchase ever.
October 30, 200915 yr comment_5445477 I'm only a few matches in but really enjoying it so far. I can't imagine all the work and time that went into compiling this sucker.
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