Posted May 22, 201015 yr comment_5451116 5/30/87 1. Tiger Mask/Great Kabuki vs. Ashura Hara/Jason the Terrible (6:28 shown) I can see why this had to end in a count out. These are two teams that NEED protecting after all. We couldn’t have Jason doing a job, as we need to keep him strong. TM has really wimpy looking kicks. Hara is the greatest possible IZU (i.e. he’s awesome) and Kabuki has a nice thrust kick. Move along. 2. John Tenta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Rusher Kimura/Goro Tsurumi (9:22 shown) Tenryu was an absolute beast in this one, but Tenta is a real awkward babyface. Whenever Rusher was in it was a real good time, with him kinda being a dick to Tenta, then Tenryu coming in and just completely picking on Rusher. Really blasting him with shots. Still, Goro wasn’t too on and he and Tenta worked a lot of this. 3. Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. George Weingroff (8:40 shown) Oof. I couldn’t find much info on Mr. Weingroff other than he did a couple AJ tours and worked a little WCCW. He also trained with Ken Shamrock and worked a Pancrase show in the early 90s. He is YOUR bad Dr. Death Steve Williams and this is just about the most heatless, one-sided boring beating you’re gonna find. Yatsu doesn’t take him seriously, the crowd doesn’t take him seriously, and judging by his wimpy he offense he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Yikes. Phil told me after this match that he is supposedly legally blind...but that just seems too strange. I think Phil's trying to work me here, like when he told me that Hybrid 9-way ladder match was really awesome. 4. Hiroshi Wajima/Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Jeet Singh/Texas Red (8:00 shown) This wasn’t actually that good, believe it or not. I know on paper it looks pretty mindblowing, but it wasn’t. Singh was really a blast here, throwing chairs and stomping on people. Texas Red really wasn’t good. Bad clubbing forearms, sandbagging Wajima AND Jumbo on EVERY suplex, just really awful. It was what it was. 6/5/87 (6/6/87) 1. John Tenta vs. Karl Von Steiger (5:34 shown) This was…odd. Von Steiger was a fake Nazi who apparently works a lot of listless hammerlock holds and leg bars before Tenta decides to just do a few back breakers and then it’s over and…yeah. 2. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Shinnichi Nakano vs. Ashura Hara/Goro Tsurumi (6:06 shown) Man, this was pretty hot shit until Goro got too choke happy right in front of the ref for the DQ. Hara continues to bring it with a HUGE clothesline on Yatsu and more cool uppercuts. Goro deadlifts german suplexes Yatsu and both guys punk out Nakano. I realllly liked this but not QUITE enough to nominate it. 3. Tor Kamata/Jason the Terrible vs. Great Kabuki/Jumbo Tsuruta (11:20 shown) This was a decent match that was totally dragged down by Tor Kamata. I mean, the dude is super fat and 50 yr. Old in the match, which is normally a formula that gets a nomination from me, but he was really bad here. Leaning out of people’s offense, botching a back drop, etc. Kabuki and Jason matched up really nicely and the match always picked up when they were in, really made me want to see a singles match. Kabuki looked awesome here dancing with what brung him: throat thrusts and thrust kicks. But hey, do what you do best. 4. Hiroshi Wajima/Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Jeet Singh/Texas Red (8:00 shown, Tenryu’s heel turn begins!) Well this is just plain crummy. Singh is the only one who shows any fire here, and Texas Red – whoever you are – is just lousy. I’m not sure he ever appears again. Wajima has tons of limp offense here and Tenryu takes it all with a couple enziguiris. The heel turn is fairly non-existent as well, with Tenryu getting the pin while Wajima is fighting Singh on the outside. Tenryu just walks to the back, while Wajima fights Singh to the back. I must not be good at picking up on all that subtle dissension.
