Posted June 10, 201015 yr comment_5451800 DVD #1 January1：Korakuen Hall (aired 1/4/86) Tiger Mask/Takashi Ishikawa vs. Shinnichi Nakano/Kuniaki Kobayashi - JIP. Non-descript juniors stuff. January2：Korakuen Hall (aired 1/4/86) Tiger Mask vs. Mil Mascaras - They started with some reasonably smooth mat stuff that didn't go anywhere. When they tried to pick things up, they got really sloppy, with a few botches by Misawa and real half-assed effort by Mascaras. When they spilled outside to set up the inevitable countout, Misawa tried to whip Mascaras into the rail, but Mil went about quarter-speed and barely tapped the metal. I know he was old but fuck that. They had begun a strong push for Misawa and I had to laugh at a post-match highlight video that showed him mislanding a cross body on Mascaras' hip in super slo-mo. January1：Korakuen Hall (aired 1/4/86) Isamu Teranishi/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. THE RUSSIANS - Reviewed on Classics. Riki Choshu vs. Tom Magee - They billed this as a mixed match which meant Choshu had to work five-minute rounds with a guy who had no grasp of offense, wrestling or otherwise. Magee was billed as a "powerlifter" but he mostly showed off by doing flips and attempting weak-ass high kicks. Riki just kept him in holds when he was on offense. I was relieved when Choshu finally took it home with a suplex and a flurry of lariats in the third round. Actually, Magee appeared to kick out before three on the planned fall, but Higuchi called for the bell anyway. Choshu looked ready to murder Magee and really, that would have improved the match greatly. Just a total trainwreck. January2：Korakuen Hall Genichiro Tenryu/JUMBO TSURUTA vs. THE RUSSIANS - Will is right; the Russians should not have been allowed to work without Ivan. Nikita and Kruschev just held the natives in bearhugs and other rest holds for most of the way before taking the DQ by hitting Jumbo in the throat with their chain. This show sucked. January11：Kitakyushu Nishimoto comprehensive display room (aired 1/11/86) The Great Kabuki vs. Isamu Teranishi- Short clip and nothing I'd care to see again. HARU SONADA/Tiger Mask vs. Fumihiro Niikura/Kuniaki Kobayashi - Just a clip of the finishing run. Misawa and Kobayashi were still doing the same stuff they had done for all of 1985. Takashi Ishikawa vs. Mil Mascaras - Reviewed on Classics. FUYUKI/JUMBO TSURUTA vs. MIKE ROTUNDO/BARRY WINDHAM - Windham got to show some of his considerable talent, working a hardfought mat section with Fuyuki, bumping huge off of Jumbo's high knees and retaliating with a big backdrop suplex of his own. But the match never built into anything memorable, and the finish, with Windham reversing into a pin off a Fuyuki dive, came off poorly. Motoshi Okuma/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Riki Choshu - Choshu and Tenryu were always good for some heat, but they rushed through everything here. Just when I got interested in Choshu's arm attack on Tenryu, it was over. And Choshu sold for about 15 seconds when it was his turn to be in trouble. No chance for a nomination.
October 4, 201014 yr comment_5456748 Okay we totally need to have the Tiger Mask "Eye of the Tiger" intro video on the extras list.
