Found Footage Friday: BATTLE OF THE BAM BAMS~! Los Cadetes Del Espacio~! MARTINELLI~! JARQUE~!

Tony Martinelli vs. Gregorio Jarque New Jersey 1959

MD: New Wrestling Films find. Jarque was from Spain and I imagine if he was in there against Tony Oliver in Barcelona around this time, we would have gotten something special but there wasn't a ton to see here. This was a Bill Stern reel entitled "Rasslin' Ref" and the match was pretty much built around the ref getting rolled on top of during pins and then jawing with Martinelli. Solid stuff but nothing spectacular and a pale imitation of what was happening (even the comedy work) in France at this time, obviously, but I liked the consistency of what they were trying to do at least. They had a nice bit of trading mares towards the end until the ref got crushed one last time and just called it a draw.

Terry Gordy vs. Bam Bam Bigelow TWA 1/27/90

MD: This was a third Battle of the Bam Bams that we didn't know was even filmed but here we are. They had a strong sense of just what they had here and made every lock up feel like a clash of the titans. I expect Terry Gordy in 1990 to bump around and create motion a lot more and he did but only when he was charging towards Bam Bam in order to knock him down, just that extra oomph. He worked a little bit bigger than he did elsewhere in the year to signify the titanic struggle for the crowd. Bam Bam met him equally, as he's another guy that you expect to move around a bit more, and I don't just mean the cartwheels. But they kept this grounded for the most part, selling every knockdown as a big deal and working up to the next piece of contact accordingly. Despite this video being almost twenty minutes with very little before or after the match, there were some annoying cuts that made it hard to tell how thing went from Point A to Point B but you definitely got the overall idea. They worked in a chair battle at the end which gave everything a nice crescendo before the inevitable non-finish. 

ER: This is really exciting for me. We finally got the best version we're ever going to get of the Battle of the Bam Bams. 1990 was the only pre-coma year they fought and thus was the best time for them to ever cross paths. The best possible Gordy/Bam Bam match would probably have been either 1993 or 1987, but we know those don't exist and this is the best it's going to get. Also this match was not at all what I expected. I did not expect these two behemoths to go into Philly and work a slow-paced (not in a bad way) minimalist heavyweight clash. It goes on a bit too long but there was weight behind everything they did, and what's wild is it went on so much longer. There was a "20 minutes have elapsed" call at the 12 minute mark of the video meaning the 2-3 cuts to that point meant 8 missing minutes of footage (depending on how much the ring announcer was kayfabing the time call). At 12 minutes in, the match was already feeling a little long, but I love the majesty of the two largest men lumbering through a minimalistic 28 minute match at Temple University, an unlikely great wrestling venue. I love this venue as a Wrestling Venue, with those steep bleachers climbing up so high I don't think we ever saw the top. Both men took some great bumps, spread out well through the long run time. 

I loved Gordy's counters to Bammer's kicks and enziguiris, catching his leg and making him hop around, shoving him off into off balance out of control stumbles. Gordy takes a big back bump through the ropes to the floor and Bam Bam saves his biggest for the end of the match when Gordy head of steams his way through him for a clothesline to the floor. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that Gordy made more interesting bump choices than Bam Bam but I am. The match peaked when the two giants squared off with chairs. Bam Bam swung a chair around more compellingly than almost any wrestler I've ever seen, in a way I have never seen him do. Bigelow was like an expert sign spinner, decades before that job existed. Bam Bam swung his chair around like a balletic Leatherface, a dangerous visual spectacle of a spot done as well or better than the ECW chair duels that came nearly a decade later. What an awesome showdown at a very good American college. I love these two daring to work a 30 minute clash of the titans, sending larger than life magic to the back row of a wrestling venue I'd never known before but now adore. 

Super Astro/Ultraman Jr./Solar vs. Divulios Negros I + 2/Sergio Romo, Jr. Arena Solidaridad

MD: A handheld match. I'm sure someone knows the dates and whether this one is found or new but it's new to us and it was a lot of fun. Very much what you'd expect from the Space Cadets, but worked well and balanced even better. They did pairings and matwork to start, fed right into rudo clowning (Super Astro with his little jump, etc.) and the tecnicos taking the primera. Pretty solid rudo beatdown in the segunda with Romo hitting from odd angles and a nice triple team submission and corner succession attacks. Plus some working over the mask. They had swagger. The comeback in the tercera came on a missed charge the tecnicos got their revenge, did some more clowning, and they built to the (very solid) dives and Solar tying up a Divulio for the win. Nothing revolutionary but getting to see these guys do their thing one more time is always a joy. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: A Devastating Arrival

Week 44: A Devastating Arrival

As we covered last time, the Universal title is no longer vacant. Carlos Colon was able to defeat Greg Valentine in a cage match and has once again ascended to the top of the WWC mountain. But Colon’s celebration would turn out to be a very short one,as almost immediately after being given the Universal title belt while still recovering outside of the cage, Dick Murdoch rushed out and attacked the unaware Colon. Murdoch had said in interviews that he wanted Colon and he was wasting no time in making sure that message was understood. The attack ended when Murdoch left Carlos laid out on the ballfield with a brainbuster. It certainly looks like we have a new Universal title challenger already. As for the other title matches held on February 2, with the exception of the World tag team titles, all other titles remained with their current holders.  Invader #1 and Bronco #1 were able to use the taped fist to their advantage and become the new World tag team champions. Does this mean that the feud with the Texas Hangmen is finally settled?  Let’s go to the February 9 Campeones episode and see where things stand. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcnNcOK-aG0

Hugo and Profe welcome the viewers by going over what we’ll have on the program today, and also talk about the latest happenings. This includes what’s new in the Miguelito Perez and Kim Duk rivalry, what happened in Bayamon between the Super Medicos and Valentine & Mendoza, and what happened at the past week’s  TV taping between TNT and the Original TNT. They'll also show the lumberjack match from a few weeks back between Invader #1 and Bronco #1 against the former World tag team champions the Texas Hangmen (to which Profe gets snippy about Hugo emphasizing former in his mention of the match). But before all that, first we’ll see the latest in the ongoing rivalry between Sasha and Monster Ripper.The clip rolls and we go to January 26 in Caguas, as Sasha gets a pin attempt off a small package. Ripper is able to grab Sasha and throw her to the outside, giving Ripper a chance to catch her breath and showboat a little. Sasha tries to get back in but is kicked back down by Ripper. A second attempt by Sasha is also met with a kick and this time Ripper follows outside to continue the attack. Ripper tries to ram Sasha ino the ringside table, but Sasha blocks it and instead rams Ripper. As the two women fight around the table and then on the ground, the ref calls for the bell. It’s a double countout but the two wrestlers continue fighting on the arena floor. 

Due to this result a few weeks ago, tonight Sasha and Monster Ripper will face off in a streetfight. Hugo also mentions that tonight will see the debut of a new associate of El Profe along with said associate’s new wrestler, as General Skandor Akbar and the Motor City Madman have arrived in Puerto Rico. We will have TV title and World tag title rematches tonight as well. Hugo also takes a moment to highlight the merchandise available for fans at the events And with that we go to our first match of the program, as Miguelito Perez takes on Kim Duk. 

MD: We get the last couple of minutes here. Ripper does a good job keeping Sasha out of the ring and thrashing her in the ringside area. Sasha definitely fits the territory as a sympathetic babyface who can draw he support of the crowd from underneath. She comes back at the last moment as Ripper tries to run her into a table on the outside and takes over wildly before the whole thing gets thrown out. 

EB: This is from February 2 as Miguekito is looking to get revenge for his car windshield being cracked by Duk. Perez wastes no time and attacks Duk on the field, getting several blows in before tossing Duk into the ring to formally begin the match. Hugo runs down the list of things Duk has done to Miguelito (including salt thrown into the face and the car incident), but Profe immediately protests that no one saw Duk smash the windshield and he has been unjustly targeted for this. Miguelito continues the attack with standing punches in the corner, and then follows up with chops, punches and a clothesline. Perez even bites Duk on the forehead. Miguelito’s assault is stopped when Duk sneaks in a jab to the throat. Another jab allows Duk to slow things down and he resorts to raking Perez’s eyes. 

We go to a commercial with Duk in control but come back with Perez hitting a powerslam. Profe jumps up on the apron and Perez goes after him, saving Duk for the moment from potentially being pinned. Duk takes advantage and knees Perez from behind. Hugo gives Profe some static about interfering but Profe says that he was just minding his business. Sometime during the break, Huracan Castillo has come to ringside to back up Miguelito. Huracan is out there to counteract Profe, although Profe on commentary says that there is no reason for Castillo to be out there to make it a two on one disadvantage for Duk. Kim does a tree of woe and some chokes in the corner, but Perez is able to counter with a back suplex. However, Duk hits a back suplex of his own when Perez goes for a side headlock. Perez is able to do a reversal out of the corner to try for a pin attempt but things break down a bit as Castillo starts yelling at the ref, who decides to stop the count and go argue with Huracan. Profe comes in and misses a kendo stick  swing, hitting Duk by accident. This time the three count goes through and Perez wins the match. Hugo starts getting on Profe’s case about the screw up costing Duk the match, as we see Duk  mad at Profe. Eventually Profe is able to calm down Duk, but Kim was not happy with getting hit by the kendo stick. Profe on commentary says that it is all good now, Duk has a bit of a temper and it’s understandable that he would react like that in the heat of the moment. 

With the win, Miguelito has earned a shot at the Caribbean title tonight in Caguas. Profe and Duk give an interview about the upcoming title defense, with Profe insisting that the win was only due to a small accident. Tonight there won't be any accidents. Duk says some words and promises to show Perez who is better with no accidents happening. Miguelito says that he was able to win last week despite the attempts by Profe and Duk to cheat him out of the victory. Perez promises that tonight he will be focused on winning the Caribbean title.

MD: Perez had a car to avenge and came in hot. Duk really showed how valuable he could still be in a mid-card feud here. You wouldn’t necessarily want him higher but he fed for Perez early, played hide the object and went for the eyes later on, and then took a couple of belly to backs and played right into the interference laden finish where Castillo tried to counter Profe (who had disrupted a power slam pin midway through the match) only for Profe to try to interfere as the ref was distracted with Castillo; it backfired, Perez won, and Profe and Duk almost came to blows postmatch. In the subsequent promos Perez noted if he did it once, he could do it again for the belt and Duk and Profe assured one another that there would be no further accidents this time. Perez does feel elevated by this feud.

EB: Monster Ripper is with Rick Valentine and Galan Mendoza. Ripper says some words about Sasha getting involved again  and promises that she will get hers. They show what happened at the recent TV tapings, where Sasha pulled Medico #3 out of the way of Mednoza’s loaded glove punch, and then put an object inside of Medico #3’s mask. One loaded headbutt later and Medico #3 gets the win. Back in the studio, Ripper continues complaining about the Medicos having to use Sasha’s help in order to cheat their way to victory, But it won’t matter tonight.  Mendoza says that it is beyond the pale that Medico #3 had to use a woman’s help and a foreign object to defeat him. Tonight Ripper will take care of Sasha and they will take care of the Medicos. Ripper closes  by saying that she’ll make sure that Sasha won’t even be able to make it to ringside once Ripper is done with her in the streetfight.

We get a rundown for tonight’s card in Caguas: a TV title rematch as TNT challenges Original TNT; rematch for the World tag team titles as the new champions Invader #1 & Bronco #1 defend against the former champions the Texas Hangmen; rematch for the Caribbean tag titles as the Super Medicos challenge Galan Mendoza & Rick Valentine; Caribbean title match with Miguelito Perez challenging Kim Duk; a streetfight between Sasha and Monster Ripper; Giant Warrior vs the Motor City Madman; and a rematch for the World Jr title as Huracan Castillo Jr. defends against Mr. Pogo. 

MD: Lots of help from Sasha here as she both rolled a Medico out of the way of the loaded fist drop but also loaded up his mask so he could hit a headbutt and score the win. Mendoza is really looking like Chicky at this point. I wonder if that was intentional. 

Lots of returns matches on the upcoming card, and the Motor City Madman is in to fight Giant Warrior. And there’s a Mr. Belvedere commercial. 

EB: Our next match is from February 2, as Dick Murdoch takes on El Corsario. This was supposed to be Norman the Lunatic but it looks like Norman did not appear. Murdoch has Joe Smith at ringside. The match is pretty much a Dick Murdoch showcase, as Murdoch immediately goes after Corsario and does not let up. On commentary, Profe starts asking where Carlos Colon is, insinuating that Colon has been hiding since the attack Murdoch did last week after the cage match. Profe starts saying what kind of a man Colon is by hiding, typical Puerto Rican (or at least that’s what Profe says Murdoch told him). In the ring, Murdoch decides to toss Corsario outside and take him over to the fence in order to ram Corsario into the chain link. Murdoch exchanges some words with the fans and grabs a piece of wood from the dugout. Corsario gets hit on the back with the piece of wood and Murdoch drags Cosario back to the ring area, ramming Corsario headfirst into a ringpost. A shoulder breaker into the ringpost follows, and Hugo complains about Murdoch’s wild style (although Profe says now one can see why Carlos Colon is in hiding). The announcers briefly talk about Joe Smith and how Murdoch says he is going to train Joe into becoming a wrestler, as Murdoch ends the match with a brainbuster. 

MD: Unfortunately one-sided, but it is a pretty solid destruction of Corsario outside the ring and then inside. The best bit was when they were headed for the dugout with people throwing things at Murdoch and he just found a random piece of wood to clock Corsario with. He ran him shoulder first into the post as he is want to do and then finished him with a brainbuster in the ring. His second was out there in a baseball uniform. I would have liked to see him backpedal a bit but maybe not against Corsario.

EB: The Super Medicos get a chance to say their piece about tonight’s match. Medico #3 says that the rudos have been complaining about what happened at Miramar with the loaded headbutt, but they conveniently forget what they did last week in Bayamon. They show the clip of the ending of the February 2 no-DQ match. Mendoza uses his loaded glove to attack Medico #3, but since it is no-DQ it is legal .The ref escorts Mendoza out of the ring and Medico #1 breaks up Valentine’s cover. He then switches out with Medico #3.  Medico #1 also has an object in his mask and hits Valentine with a headbutt to potentially get the win. But the ref had been taken out earlier with a missed crossbody attempt and was not able to make the count. As Medico #1 waits making the cover, Monster Ripper comes in and hits Medico #1 with her boot. Ripper puts Valentine on top of Medico #1, the ref comes too and the rudos retain the Caribbean tag titles. Back to the Super Medicos in the studio, Medico #1 states that is why they did the loaded headbutt at Miramar, and if the rudos want to play dirty, then they can do that as well as anybody. 

MD: That match was full of hooha, shall we say. We just get a minute of it but there was masked confusion, a loaded mask, a ref bump, Ripper interfering, etc. I’m starting to wonder if this feud has maybe run its course. You can only keep tweaking things week after week for so long. 

EB: El Profe and the Texas Hangmen are hyped for tonight’s World tag title match since Invader won’t have the taped fist, and they promise the new champions’ reign will be the shortest ever. Invader and Bronco know that the Texas Hangmen are going to be coming on strong tonight because they are upset about losing the titles. They won’t make it easy for the Hangmen and will be ready. 

After the card rundown for tonight’s house show, we go to the feature match of the program. It’s the lumberjack match from a few weeks back between the Texas Hangmen and Invader #1 & Bronco #1. The tecnicos control the first part of the match via quick tags and working Psycho’s arm. The tecnicos remain in control as we go to commercial break, but once we return  Invader eats some boots to the face on a corner charge. The Hangmen work over Invader with some facelocks on the mta, as the lumberjacks look on. Invader tries a comeback but gets cut off, as it seems that Hugo has finally learned how to tell the Hangmen apart on commentary. The tide turns in the tecnicos favor when Psycho goes to the top turnbuckle and Invader runs into the ropes, causing Psycho to crotch himself on the top rope. Invader makes the tag to Bronco, who comes in hot. Bronco gets several pin attempts on Psycho, but Killer comes in to break up each attempt. Invader recovers and all four men end up in the ring. The lumberjacks start getting restless as Galan Mendoza jumps up on the ring apron and grabs Bronco. All of the other lumberjacks gather to where Mendoza is, with the tecnicos trying to pull Mendoza off and the rudos trying to stop the tecnicos. The referee goes over to try to get Mendoza to let go of Bronco and, in the confusion, the Hangmen grab the bullrope and use it to knock out Invader. The Hangmen cover and retain the World tag titles.  

MD: This feud isn’t quite there yet though. It’s still churning. Pretty soon they’d do well to switch the babyface teams maybe? I don’t know. I love how animated the Hangmen are in their promo. Bronco’s holding the mic for their promo for some reason which is kind of weird. Most important thing to know about the shine is that right before it goes to commercial (after a chaotic start where Bronco and Invader take over and the Hangmen feed/stooge like crazy), Invader does the Garvin Stomp which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him do before. He looks great in general but once we hit the break he gets swept under quickly. 

That means he continues to look great as a face-in-peril, sneaking in those hope spots, before he is able to lunge at the ropes to knock a Hangman down upon them, crocheting him. The lumberjacks have really only made this match feel more contained by this point; kept it in the ring solely by their presence alone, but none of the previous matches have been so contained so this feels actively different. And then, you know what, Invader looks great after the hot tag when he gets to come in again to set up the finish. More than that, Mendoza, as a lumberjack gets involved, which is interesting considering what I was just saying (they’re hearing me through history or maybe this all just makes sense), allowing the ref to get distracted and the cowbell to end things for the good guys. 

EB: To close the show, Hugo presents some fan drawings they have received, with Profe saying the only good one was the one of him. Hugo does a final sell for tonight’s card in Caguas and they sign off.

MD: There’s a drawing here of Rafael The Ninja Turtle and Carlitos Colon. I’ll let Esteban explain it. I love that some kid cared enough about Giant Warrior to draw him too. That’s very charming.

EB: So what happened during the title matches on February 9? We actually have a bit of footage of what happened during that weekend during the following week’s TV programs. Let’s find out how things advanced as we first go to the west coast version of Superestrellas from February 16. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcryafi6WuY

Hugo welcomes the viewers and immediately the video cuts to Hugo introducing a clip of what happened this past Saturday in Caguas between the Super Medicos with Sasha in their corner and Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza with Monster Ripper in their corner. We go to the clip and Medico #3 has Rick Valentine in an airplane spin. After tossing Valentine to the mat, Medico #3 goes for a cover but Monster Ripper jumps on the apron to distract the referee. As the ref is busy telling Ripper to get off the apron, Mendoza comes in and hits Medico #3 with the loaded glove. However, when the ref turns around, he sees Mendoza in the ring and escorts him back to the rudo corner. As this is happening, Medico #1 gets in the ring, breaks up the cover Valentine has on Medico #3, and them rolls Medico #3 out of the ring in order to switch places with him. When the ref focuses back on the wrestlers in the ring, it’s Medico #1 who is in there. Medico #1 fires off some punches and knocks Valentine down with a clothesline. As Mendoza protests and inadvertently distracts the ref, Medico #1 leans over to where Sasha is. Sasha puts an object inside Medico #1’s mask. The action continues and Medico #1 gets a backslide on Valentine, but Mendoza jumps in and breaks it up. Medico #1 hits Mendoza with a headbutt that sends Mendoza flying to the outside. Valentine sneaks up behind Medico #1 and hits a back suplex. Medico #1 is able to counter being sent into the ropes with a sleeper and at this point the seconds get involved. Ripper hits Medico #1 with a boot to break up the sleeperhold and Sasha comes in to go after Ripper. Sasha and Medico #1 drive Ripper and Valentine away, meanwhile Mendoza and Medico #3 remain knocked out on the floor thanks to the loaded hits they took. 

Due to what happened, tomorrow in Hormigueros we will have a rematch for the Caribbean tag titles but Sasha and Monster Ripper will be handcuffed to each other at ringside.  We will also have a rematch for the Caribbean title, with Miguelito Perez challenging Kim Duk. Last week in Hormiguero, Kim Duk did not appear and Hugo showed a clip to explain why he didn’t appear. During the match in Caguas on February 9, El Profe had another accident and hit Duk in the throat with the kendo stick when Perez ducked out of the way. Due to the pain Duk was in from that blow, he wasn't able to appear last Sunday but the rematch will happen tomorrow. The main event for Sunday will be a rematch for the World tag team titles, as new champions  the Texas Hangmen (who regained the belts last Sunday in Hormigueros) defend against Invader #1 and Bronco #1 in a streetfight. The card will also have Giant Warrior vs the Motor City Madman, Original TNT vs Huracan Castillo Jr, and Invader #4 vs. Mr. Pogo. 

MD: I could be wrong but this feels like the opposite camera angle of how we saw it last time. Still lots of moving parts and I think it’s leading to Sasha handcuffed to Ripper.

EB: Our first match of the program is one we have covered previously, the Kim Duk vs Super Medico #4 match from January 6. After the match, we get promos from the teams involved in the Caribbean tag tile feud. Ripper promises that Sasha will not be able to get away with interfering since they will be handcuffed together. Valentine insults Sasha by calling her stinky. The Super Medicos and Sasha respond, with Medico #1 saying that Ripper won’t be able to interfere since Sasha will be handcuffed to her  and this time that will be the difference maker in their quest to win the Carribean tag titles.

MD: Ripper/Mendoza/Valentine have swanky new robes and… well, whatever sci fi thing Ripper has. They’re all hyping up the match with Sasha handcuffed to Ripper. I really do get the sense that Sasha “gets it” and was very good at what she did. 

EB: Miguelito Perez is up next and talks about Duk not appearing last week after the kendo stick mishap. Perez is thankful that he wasn’t the one hurt but will be ready for tomorrow. He also warns Kim Duk to be wary, but not of him. Duk needs to be wary of El Profe, since he keeps hitting Duk on acccident and Duk may end up not being able to wrestle. 

MD: They did a good job here of making it seem like Perez was going to win the title off of Duk (or at least that he had a much better chance than he would have a few months earlier) given the build and the miscommunication. By the way, in the promo for the live show when they announce the jackets, Perez is out with his Ribera jacket. 

EB:Next is Dick Murdoch facing off against Sabud, who wastes no time in going after Murdoch and gets some martial arts thrusts in. Murdoch flees the ring and ends up in the boxing ring that is nearby. Sabud makes a mistake by going in after Murdoch and gets caught. Murdoch quickly throws Sabud outside of the boxing ring and rams Sabud face first into the ringpost. Murdoch briefly rolls back into the wrestling ring to break up the ref’s ring out count, and then goes back to attacking Sabud on the outside by ramming him into a table and using a chair. Joe Smith is at ringside watching all of the action go down. Both men end up in the ring and Murdoch makes short work of Sabud to get the win. Afterwards,  Murdoch motions for the camera to follow him and he goes to the ringside table to get a microphone, but the video cuts away before he can talk. 

MD: Murdoch is even more unleashed than usual in Puerto Rico, even more onerous, probably driven by real things it’s best not to focus on. Here he feeds a bit for Sabu’s karate shots but then ducks into a different ring (there was a regulation boxing one set up here too) befuddling his opponent so he could take over. From there it was chairs and cheapshots and some brutal elbows as he got quick revenge.

EB: Kim Duk and El Profe are interviewed by Hugo about tomorrow’s Caribbean title match. Hugo makes sure to stir things up by bringing up Profe’s accidental hits during the last couple of weeks. Profe gets defensive, insisting that those were accidents and they won’t happen again. Hugo actually tells Kim that he hopes his neck is feeling better before Duk talks about the upcoming match. Duk says he accepts Profe’s explanation that it was a mistake that won’t happen again.

MD: We are reassured here that Profe won’t make the same mistake again. I can’t see a Kim Duk babyface run (though we do have that 70s Korea match with him now), but could see this covering a title switch.

EB: Motor City Madman is next with a promo on his rematch with Giant Warrior, promising that what he did last week to Warrior is nothing compared to what will happen tomorrow. We go to Giant Warrior, who says that Madman showed his true colors last week by jumping Warrior from behind. Warrior will be ready this week, since he now knows that Madman does not play by the rules. Giant Warrior will walk out the winner tomorrow.

Afterrthe promos, we get a TV studio match with Motor City Madman taking on Justo Maldonado. Hugo mentions that Madman is a recent acquisition for El Club Deportivo courtesy of Skandor Akbar and El Profe. The match lasts less than a minute, as Madman gets Justo up into an inverted backbreaker vice and then proceeds to ram Justo’s head into the turnbuckle several times while in the hold. After the match, Invader #4 and the Medicos helped take Justo out of the ring on a stretcher. 

MD: They’re promising me Skandor Akbar with Madman and he just hasn’t shown up yet. After the lovely picture we saw from some kid last week, I do believe Giant Warrior when he says in his southern drawl that he has a connection with the fine people of Caguas. Maldonado was not a small guy so Mad Man crashing through him and hitting his finish of the backbreaker into the repeated head drops onto the top rope (did he do that in WCW? I have to take a look) is impressive. I enjoyed the Medicos being out there to stretcher Maldonado out. It just makes sense.

EB: Hugo introduces a clip of what happened last week in Hormigueros when Invader # and Bronco #1 were defending the World tag team titles against the Texas Hangmen. All four men are in the ring but Bronco and Psycho go outside. Invader and Killer remain in the ring and Invader is whipped into a corner. Invader does a reverse bodypress out of the corner but Killer ducks and Invader accidentally takes out the referee instead. Invader gets a small package but there is no one to count. Profe stands at ringside shaking his head no (indicating that this wasn’t going  to work for Invader) and Bronco gets back in the ring to find the ref out on the mat. For some reason, Bronco decides to make the three count himself and Invader lets go of the hold. The Hangmen jump the tecnicos, but an attempted irish whip results in Bronco and Killer colliding. Invader and Psycho end up as the wrestlers in the ring. Invader starts to go after Psycho in a corner but Profe gets in the ring to try to help his guys out. Invader sees Profe and attacks him before Profe can do anything, but this gives the Hangmen a chance to get the bullrope and hit Invader with it to get the win to regain the World tag titles. 

We go to an interview where Profe and the Hangmen are celebrating their title win, but Hugo mentions that there will be a rematch under streetfight rules. Psycho says that brawling is up the Hangmen's alley, so they’ll bust the tecnicos up. Killer reiterates that they like bloody brawls and will leave the tecnicos in a pool of blood. Invader and Bronco respond, with Invader saying that any fans that can’t stand to see the sight of blood to not show up tomorrow since they will leave the Hangmen drenched in blood. They are on a mission to regain the World tag team titles. 

MD: Invader’s timing is really good on the finish here where he cuts across the ring to attack Profe and then turns right into the rope shot. Promos worked for me as you had the sense that the Hangmen would be naturals in a streetfight and Invader and especially Bronco were super animated.

EB: Dick Murdcoh is up next with an interview talking about his attack a few weeks back on Carlos Colon right after the cage match against Greg Valentine. Murdoch says that maybe Colon did not attack him, but Murdoch delivered his message. Murdoch wants Colon to stop being a coward and sign the contract for a match against him. Murdoch throws in a few insults about the local culture and also mentions still wanting to train Joe Smith and turn him into a wrestler.

MD: Just a great, great promo here. I can’t do it justice, but Murdoch was next level at being self-aware. No “Let me tell you brothers,” out of him. Real Southern Gothic type stuff in its own way. And then when Hugo (Jerome) translated, he’d be making faces at various words Hugo said. You should go watch this.

EB: We have a match joined in progress between Huracan Castillo Jr and Mr. Pogo, This is from February 9 in Caguas and is for the World Junior title. Hurcana does a sunset flip from the apron into the ring, but Pogo grabs onto the ropes and tries to hold on to avoid going over. The ref kicks Pogo’s hands off the ropes but Castillo only gets a two count. Hugo on commentary actually mentions that he has always felt that the ref should not have the leeway or discretion to kick someone’s hands off the rope in that situation, because he thinks that refs should not physically get involved with the wrestlers. Pogo hits a suplex and puts Castillo in a sleeperhold as Hugo finishes his remarks. Castillo answers the arm check and fights out of the sleeper, but Pogo cuts him off with a knee to the midsection. Pogo misses a fist drop from the turnbuckle, and Castillo starts a comeback that is punctuated with a high knee and several elbow drops. Castillo gets several near falls of different cradle and press attempts, but Pogo stops Castillo with a spinning kick. Pogo misses a splash from the turnbuckle and Castillo goes to the top. A bodypress lands but the momentum is enough for Pogo to roll over Castillo. They end up near the ropes with Pogo’s feet landing on the ropes for leverage. The ref does not see the feet on the ropes and makes the three count. Pogo has won and is now the new World Junior champion. 

MD: It’s funny now after we’ve had months and months of Duk that this could have been Pogo’s role. He’s a perfectly credible midcard heel and this is good for what we get of it. I love Castillo’s jumping knee. I meant to say that before. He almost hits more with the inside of the leg than anyone else. It’s a nice move. Pogo has his spinkick cutoff too but then misses a top rope splash. Nice finish as Pogo rolls through on a Castillo flying body press but he lands perfectly with his feet on the ropes to assist with the pin. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that done quite like that before. 

EB: The last part of the show features a minis match that we’ve already covered but it is bookended by promos from Original TNT, Huracan Castillo Jr and TNT. Original TNT and Castillo are facing each other tomorrow.in Hormigueros. Original TNT says that he beat up the impostor TNT last week so they should take the name and paint away from that impostor before saying that he will beat Castillo tomorrow as well. Castillo has some remarks about the match tomorrow, with Castillo saying that everyone knows that the real TNT is the one from here. Hugo mentions that Castillo has been taught the sleeperhold by Victor Jovica and that is something that could come into play against the Original TNT. Hugo mentions that we have an interview with Carlos Colon about the recent controversy surrounding Dick Murdoch but it’s cut off in this version of the episode we have.

After the minis match, TNT has some word for Original TNT and Profe, He says that Original TNT defeated him last week but it was due to cheating and help from El Profe. TNT throws out a challenge to Original TNT for a no time limit match and to also put up the name and paint. TNT wants to take everything from Original TNT, the TV title, the face paint and the name. We then get Hugo with the show close where he hypes the card tomorrow in Hormigueros. 

MD: Not too much to say about these last promos. Original TNT really does come off as believing his own bluster no matter how ridiculous it is. I wonder if Pogo should be doing the Cobra if Duk and both TNTs also use it but I guess it could set up one more Pogo vs TNT match if they needed to go that way. 

EB: We also have the Campeones episode from February 16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdJdlUJ92JU

Our hosts are Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, with Hugo welcoming the viewers to the usual 4pm Saturday time slot on Channel 11. A lot gets mentioned during the opening segment, as Profe starts bragging about how all of his guys are champions (Texas Hangmen with the World tag titles, Original tNT with the TV title and Kim Duk with the Caribbean title). Hugo also mentions that the supreme leader of El Club Deportivo (referring to El Profe)  has been joined by General Skandorr Akbar, to which Profe says that Akbar is not here this week because he is on a scouting trip for new recruits. So El Ejercito de la ‘Inmudicia’ better start shaking in fear of the people Akbar and Profe will soon bring in. Hugo is annoyed that by next week they will have more cheaters, but Profe corrects him and says it will be reinforcements. Profe chuckles as Hugo worries a bit about what the combination of Akbar and Profe might be planning. Hugo then runs down what they'll show on the program, with the featured match being the TV title match between TNT and Original TNT from the previous week. Profe reiterates that the local TNT is the fake one. 

Hugo starts talking about tonight’s card in Caguas, starting with the Caribbean title match where Miguelito Perez challenges Kim Duk with the kendo stick on a pole. Hugo points out all of the accidents Profe has had with the kendo stick lately, but Profe says that they’ve been honest mistakes and tonight nothing will happen. Hugo says either way the kendo stick will not be in Profe’s hands tonight and instead it will be up on the pole. Hugo thinks Miguelito has a good chance at winning tonight, but Profe insults Perez by saying “Miguelito may look like a monkey because of all the hair he has, but he doesn’t have the agility of one.”

There will also be a streetfight as the new World tag champs the Texas Hangmen defend against the former champions, Invader #1 and Bronco #1. El Profe thinks the tecnicos are being fools by fighting the Hangmen in a match that is their specialty. The Hangmen are used to fighting with Mexicans and latinos in Texas. Hugo counters that both Bronco and Invader have their experience fighting in brawls, but Profe says it’s not the same thing fighting a couple of drunks in the gutter as fighting tough gangs, not those weak underweight Domincans Bronco fights. Hugo cuts Profe off and we go to the Huracan Castillo Jr vs Johnny Rinco match from earlier in January.  The match is joined in progress and gives you a bit of a look at Johnny Ringo in a more competitive match. The match clip is more of a showcase for Castillo though and Huracan retains the World Jr. title.

MD: When you come across someone as off the radar as Ringo, you do give him an extra look and you know what? He was fine. On offense (Castillo missed a corner charge and hit the post), he had a bunch of stuff. I liked his body language as he took things, especially how he tended to drape over the ropes. There just wasn’t a lot of room for juniors in 1991, but he’s another guy who could have fit into the Global light heavyweight division no problem. Castillo came back and won it clean with a Northern Lights which is not something I’ve seen him do too much.

EB: We next have a Dick Murdoch promo that gets cut off but not before he complains about the disgusting beans he’s been forced to eat down here. 

MD: This episode is not in full and we get about ten seconds of Murdoch complaining about the local food as only he could.

EB: We go to some promos form Original TNT and Huracan Castillo Jr, who are scheduled for tonight in Caguas. OriginalTtNT insists he beat up the fake TNT last week and promises to also do the same to Castillo tonight. Castllo dares Original TNT to make good on that threat and says that one advantage Castillo has is that he has better endurance.

MD: Again, these are clipped, but they’re setting up Original TNT defending against Castillo (I’m a little surprised he survived TNT so far honestly; seems like a relatively short program to finish things up from the previous feud that never got paid off, but he’s still here and still has the belt) so I guess it was nice we had that competitive win against Ringo for Castillo. 

EB: Hugo and Profe introduce a music video for Motor City Madman set to the tune of ‘Born To Be Wild.’ It shows Madman spray painting his name on a chunk of wall, shooting pool, and also highlights from different matches. One impressive clip is from a match vs Giant Warrior where Madman picks up Warrior in an inverted body vice and proceeds to smash Warrior’s head several times into the top turnbuckle. After the video, Madman and Warrior cut promos about their match tonight. Madman says that Warrior will make a big mistake facing him again after causing Warrior to be stretchered out last week. Warrior responds by saying he did not like being humiliated last week and says that he has not lost a match yet in Caguas.

MD: Good for the Madman to get a music video. You get to see him do his over the shoulder backbreaker snake eyes bounce move over and over in this to the music, even to Giant Warrior! Also riding motorcycles, spray painting things, shooting pool. What a guy. Apparently he stretchered Giant Warrior out last week and Warrior wants revenge.

EB: Carlos Colon cuts a promo about Dick Murdoch. Carlos says that he understands Dick Murdoch is looking for him, but he must not be looking too well since Carlos is not hard to find. Carlos says it is him who is looking for Murdoch, he wants to avenge what Murdoch did to him many years back while in the U.S. (and also the attack a few weeks ago) and now they are hours away from singing that match. This won’t be just a match, it will be a fight because Murdoch has offended Colon before and now Murdoch will be paid back, especially since they are now in Colon’s homeland of Puerto Rico. Colon guarantees that when they clash, blood will flow, and’ it will be yours dog.’

The feature match is last week's TV title match between Original TNT and TNT. Profe again calls out Juan Rivera as the fake TNT before going to the match .TNT wastes no time in attacking Original TNT, throwing several punches at ringside (and still wearing his gi).  TNT takes off his belt and chokes Original TNT with it. They get in the ring and TNT remains in control. Meanwhile, Hugo and Profe are having a back and forth on commentary about Profe not respecting the wrestler’s names and calling TNT out by his real name. Hugo points out that none of them are throwing out Profe’s real name because they are honorable gentlemen and respect that (which causes Profe to be a bit afraid for a moment  Hugo was going to give that secret away). The match continues with TNT on the attack, once again taking the match to the arena floor. Hugo starts pointing out that Original TNT can’t hit those kicks and movies like the real TNT can (with Profe complaining that he thinks Juan Rivera must be bribing Hugo to put him over as the eighth wonder of the world apparently). 

The beating continues, with TNT hitting several kicks on Original TNT. We go to a commercial break with TNT still getting all of the offense in so far in the match and then come back with Original TNT in control, throwing TNT out of the ring. Profe says that we have things under control now. Hugo mentions that TNT has been dominating most of the match so far, but Profe sas it has been the other way around with Original TNT dominating the impostor Juan Rivera (which causes Hugo to once again admonish Profe for not respecting the wrestler’s names). Profe starts rattling off examples of other wrestlers whose real names are known (specifically the Invaders) but Hugo says that’s different because they have chosen and allowed their names to be known. Meanwhile, Original TNT has rammed TNT into the stacked floor panels near the fence area and goes back to the ring, leaving TNT recovering on the floor. Original TNT goes back out to attack TNT, smashing him face first into the ringside table and then using a chair. Hugo notes that TNT has started bleeding. TNT then gets his head rammed into a ringpost. Original TNT gets back in the ring as TNT struggles to stand up, with his forehead noticeably bleeding.TNT stumbles into the ring and OriginalTtNT starts choking and slapping TNT.

TNT fights out of a chinlock and hits a back suplex, leaving both men down on the mat.We get a second commercial break, and come back with TNT starting a comeback. Hugo mentions that they’ve been fighting for over 25 minutes (in a match with a 30 minute time limit). They go to the outside and TNT rams Original TNT into the ringside table, busting Original TNT open. Back in the ring. TNT bites the cut on Original TNT’s forehead. TNT tries a few pin attempts but Original TNT is able to kick out or get his foot on the ropes. Original TNT is able to get a surprise powerslam and gets the cobra hold on TNT. Profe celebrates at ringside as TNT struggles in the hold but eventually goes to his knees. The bell rings and Original TNT lets go of the hold thinking that he has won the match, but it rang because the time limit has ended. It is a time limit draw. 

MD: This gets a ton of time and you get the sense we get most of it. TNT, gi still on, jumps him from the get go. The first third has Jackson flying and bumping and staggering around as TNT hits sweeping blows and karate strikes. Very energized stuff to the crowd’s delight. Original TNT takes over midway through and really grinds TNT down, opening him up. He comes back big and for a while they’re really showing the effects of it all, selling the weight of the match until TNT gets a second wind and takes over in a big way, hitting him with the belt on the floor and biting the wound. Original TNT is able to catch him with a power slam out of nowhere though and locks in the cobra but TNT doesn’t quit. Profe and Jackson think that he does and I’m not quite sure what the ending was as TNT stood tall in the ring as they cut back to the hosts. Past that finish, a very complete match here that got a lot of time for something shown on TV.

EB: We go back to Hugo and Profe for the show close, as Profe insists that Original TNT showed his quality against the imposter Juan Rivera. Hugo reminds the fans to go tonight to Caguas. 

Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones, Invader #1 and Bronco #1 face the Texas Hangmen in a streetfight, Colon vs  Murdoch is official, Skandor Akbar is back and Ricky Santana makes his return to CSP. Plus, will Profe finally avoid making another mistake in Kim Duk’s match? 

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Ripper! Kumano! Nancy! Rimi!

48. 1979.08.XX3 - 03 Mami Kumano & Monster Ripper vs. Nancy Kumi & Rimi Yokota

K: The opening to this was strange. The first pairing is Monster Ripper vs. Rimi Yokota, but it looks like Monster has no interest in wrestling little Rimi, she ushers for Nancy to get in the ring. Rimi tags Nancy in. Monster and Nancy size each other up a bit, but before and contact is made Monster seems to change her main and tags in Mami Kumano. Nancy beats up Mami but a bit, but then Monster Ripper bursts in just pummels her. Maybe they’re getting across that Monster is a bit unpredictable/won’t just fight fair and square even if she is already the biggest and the strongest.

After that, this is a very one-sided mauling. The babyfaces get to tag in/out a couple of times, but only because Monster’s so strong she sometimes throws her opponent to the other side of the ring and isn’t able to stop them from making a tag in time. Not that it matters, as she just beats up the new person instead anyway. I had expected this to be a bit more competitive, not for any real reason tbh, but I should have remembered Monster’s the WWWA Singles Champion now and has a title match with Jackie Sato to build, so there’s not much to be gained in heating either of these two up against her.

So I’d accepted by the time we got there that there wasn’t going to be a big morally vindicating comeback. Instead, Rimi & Nancy managed to successfully double team Monster for a while in a way that didn’t really make them look that good, but it was fun. Especially when Mami ran in swinging a chair trying to save things but just hit Monster by accident. But still, Monster Ripper was able to overcome these little twerps. It took a few more moves to finish her off, but once she hit that big flying seated senton on Rimi, that was the end of her getting any more offense.

**1/2

MD: This was a mauling with a hot comeback at the end. They announced Yokota by noting her nice smile, but it was Kumi who struck first, dragging Kumano in from the outside with a double underhook and sort of turning it into a slingshot butterfly suplex. That’s about all she got as they got dragged down immediately thereafter. They had one bit of hope where they both got a shot in on Ripper together but then she ran through him. The brunt of the rest of the match was the Black Pair destroying Yokota, including some extended masterful hide-the-object work from Kumano (not that she needed an object). She showed some other stuff we hadn’t seen out of her like a cavernaria and bow and arrow type stretch.

The comeback came with Kumano getting too close to the ropes as she was using the object and getting pushed out. That let Kumi and Yokota get a shot or two in on Ripper before trying a double suplex. They were struggling but Kumano still went for a chairshot only to miss and hit Ripper. Unfortunately, despite buying themselves a minute of advantage, they couldn’t put Kumano away in time and Ripper, once recovered, absolutely crushed them. After the top rope standing senton and vertical splash by Kumano and Ripper respectively, she finished Kumi off by grabbing her arm leg and giving her a giant swing that way. They were building to the next Jackie match but also raising the specter that Ripper might take the belt back to the US as a truly unstoppable force.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 1/20 - 1/26

AEW Collision 1/25/25

Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole/Kyle O'Reilly/Roderick Strong) vs Daniel Garcia/Matt Menard/Angelo Parker

MD: I haven't made it a big secret that I'm high on Daniel Garcia and what he's trying to do. We've got a few heels who are showing signs of life when it comes to stooging, mugging, stalling, getting actual heat (Nick Wayne was great against Samoa Joe along these lines for instance). You need babyfaces willing to be earnest and honest and vulnerable, to show that they care even if it means they're not "pro wrestling cool." A lot of my problems with Adam Cole last year is that he's come off as a "Cool Face" who refused to take any real responsibility for what he did with MJF or his heel run in general. Maybe there's something to that in 2025 when you're supposed to just tweet through it, but I refuse to believe that life or pro wrestling works like that. I believe that things can matter, that choices made in and out of a match can matter, that believe need things to believe in and not just to blandly root for because they happen to win.

It's not easy though! It's not easy for people to be vulnerable, especially when not everyone's doing it. Cole refusing to do it doesn't just hurt the fans' ability to connect with him, but it potentially hurts the fans' ability to connect to anyone. If Cole doesn't care and Garcia does, it risks presenting that openness in the wrong way. The trick is being consistent, refusing to falter, not giving up. That's what a babyface is all about in 1985 or 2025. 

The problem is this: Garcia needs contrast to work against, and a "cool face" or a "stoic face" like Shibata aren't enough. Mark Briscoe, the only other guy on the roster who can match that same level of earnestness, is definitely not it. Garcia needs heels. I get that there have been some weather-related issues, some scheduling issues, but they've spent the last month putting him up against other babyfaces. This is the time where he needs to establish the ten count punch, to establish the charge at ringside, to get over the jackknife pin all the more. And by putting him up against faces instead of heels, it's been setting him up to fail. 

But he hasn't. Maybe the crowd didn't go up for his entrance, but they were absolutely with him by the end. What did the trick? Part of it was having Menard and Parker at his side. Menard's affection for him is so honest and believable that it's infectious and he's so over the top that you buy into everything he does. 2.0 was always a breathe of fresh air in the tag division because they were able to act as contrast for the more high-impact, spot-heavy teams while still taking all of their stuff. It was great to see them back together again.

It was the spots during the commercial break that really got the crowd going, exactly as they were meant to: the multiple ten-count punches, the body slams one after the next. They built to each bit, both in the moment, and by doing three in a row, and by the end of it, the literally freezing cold Jacksonville fans had been heated up not by crazy spots but by simple things that the wrestlers put their heart into.

And the Kingdom did their part. O'Reilly and Strong make for such a fun babyface duo, both in how they interact with one another, and in their tandem offense. As did Shane Taylor Promotions at ringside, the Infantry being over the top, Taylor being full of bluster, and Moriarty seething at the spotlight that he was denied.

Garcia would have been far better served by knocking down heel after heel for six months (and getting knocked down a few times and getting back up along the way). Then, once his act is established, he can go up against faces more frequently. It's asking a lot to get the fans behind what he's trying to do, when it's so different from what anyone has been trying to for years otherwise. It's reeducating the fanbase from scratch, but if it's allowed to work, the gains for AEW could be huge. Its an investment though, and it's working through willpower, talent, and dedication alone, but its up to Khan not just to be a matchmaker here, and to make exciting matches, but to ensure that the investment is protected and set up to succeed. If he does, we'll all benefit.

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2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Harley vs. Mina

 

17. Harley Cameron vs. Mina Shirakawa AEW Collision 11/16/24

ER: What a silly match, that I have been looking forward to for what feels like months. This is easily the best the AEW women's division has ever been and a dozen of them feel like actual marketable superstars. I've been wanting to write about Harley Cameron, one of many AEW women who I feel have been giving off Superstar Auras over the last year. This was a match that I never wanted until I got caught up in the laugh out loud funny promos building to the match, peaking with Harley's guitar promo with Renee that "went long" and cut her off mid-proclamation. To quote Harley, "What does Mina have that Harley Cameron doesn't? NOTHING!" 

She's not wrong, and she wasn't even bragging about how much better she is in the ring than Mina. That might seem like a hot take, but it's true. To any viewer who had never seen a single AEW women's match, none of them would guess Harley Cameron is - as of this match - not quite 50 matches into her wrestling career. Compare her to other AEW women who are also relatively new, and there is no comparison. Julia Hart has taken some steps, but still clearly wrestles like someone with less than 100 matches. Anna Jay - 130 matches - on this same episode of Collision took an entire 60 burdensome seconds to get a table and set it up in the ring. Nearly 10% of her main event match was spent slowly setting up a table while Mariah May had to crawl around selling. There is no immediacy to anything she does, and she didn't take even one second to put in some extra boots to Mariah while in the long process of moving a table. It was awful. But there, earlier in the evening, you see Harley work her match at the exact right pace, with strong selling, working directly to her opponent, and it's clear she does not wrestle like someone less than 50 matches into her career. Hell, look around at the women who have had hundreds of matches and counting - Willow Nightingale, Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander - and none of them have the balance, control, and ring placement of Harley Cameron. How is that possible? 

She does not look like an athlete, yet she runs the ropes better than any woman I just mentioned and her offense actually fits her movement. She moves through that offense more naturally than any of the  women I've mentioned, which is another thing that just should not be. She works snug on her strikes and surely does not need to do so. Find me the other women in AEW with harder clubs to the back or betting looking elbow smashes. Queen Aminata for sure, Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter, maybe Serena Deeb. That's all, by my count. Go watch Kyle Fletcher throw a club to the back, then watch Harley Cameron do the same and tell me with an honest face that Fletcher's is better. You won't be able to. 

Perhaps more surprising than her strikes is the way Harley leans in to strikes. I am still surprised by how long she hangs in on offense that is aimed at her face. She waits for the contact with no arms held out in front. Mina's whipping kick, a big rolling elbow, a springboard kick, all of them taken with her head and face leaned in for contact, hanging in until impact. It's not just that she's good at taking her opponent's strikes and offense, she's somehow good at occupying herself while waiting for that offense. The way she occupied herself arguing with the ref before turning around directly into a rolling elbow was just one example of her strong timing. If you're talking her ability to make offense look good, look no further than the way she took Mina's slingblade. I don't think Mina has a very good slingblade - most wrestlers do not - but you wouldn't know it from watching Harley take it. It is a Bad Slingblade but Harley hangs in straight until the whip, then flies backward like her head outweighs her whole torso. 

It's not just the way she takes offense, it's the way she sells that offense, which is sometimes more layered than you'd think. I love the way she got staggered by an elbow, a sell that realistically reacted to the actual strike. She fought hard for rope breaks and her performer's intensity she showed in selling Mina's knee work was great. Again, find me any examples from any of the experienced names above who have sold knee work better. I haven't seen them. Harley abandoned a fireman's carry early because of that knee, and I my favorite part was how Mina progressively kicked out Harley's leg. It took five kicks to the knee and thigh to finally knock her down to a knee but each one furthered the damage and each kick was sold appropriately, small bits of selling leading up to one big goal. 

Look, I don't know what the future holds for Harley Cameron. In modern wrestling it seems like anyone who comes in as this much of a natural is eventually corrupted by all the worst elements and pick up habits that only make them do the same bad things as everyone else. Harley has a tough line to walk and I don't know what will happen. We'll always have her first 50. 

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: BRAZOS~! CASAS~! LOVE MACHINE~ BEYER~! LUBICH~!

Dick Beyer vs. Bronco Lubich NWA Upstate 1962

MD: Just watching them get introduced, I half wondered if this really was Beyer. We couldn't get close enough to see the nose and the frame from a distance seemed a bit off even for the youngest Beyer I would have seen, but no, within the first few seconds, he gets Lubich in a full nelson and repeatedly slams his head in the top rope and that was enough to convince me. I'd continued to be convinced as the match went on. He wrestled with incredible confidence and presence and ingenuity and imagination. That's Dick Beyer.

He was given the Destroyer gimmick this year so this was towards the end of him wrestling unmasked. Lubich was longer in the tooth and may have even been more managerial. They mention a birthday cake at the start (a birthday cake angle in 1962!) and Poffo (presumably Angelo) as allied with Lubich but hard to say exactly what was going on there. If it's documented somewhere I'd love to hear about it. This was all about Beyer having his way with Lubich though, with Bronco finding ways to get some shots in at the margins. For instance, Beyer dropped him into the leg nelson (with quickfire legwhacks) but right on the rope break, Bronco was on him. Or Beyer got him with an airplane spin but when he went for the second, Lubich grabbed the rope and landed on him. Or after a Giant Swing, Lubich rolled out and was able to ambush Beyer and drive his head into the side of the ring.

Lubich was credibly tough but Beyer looked like the best wrestler in the world and kept on him, finally beating him with a rolling bodyscissors sort of deal and a dropkick. Just a great look at Beyer in 62 right before he'd become the Destroyer.

ER: I wonder if there were any Sell The Arm fans in 1962 Buffalo who were upset at the ways Lubich never paid much mind to Dick Beyer standing and stomping and dropping knees onto his arm and shoulder. Some smart guy in Buffalo rolling his eyes after Dick Beyer gets run the length of the ring apron and flies off into the ringpost, because Bronco was in the ring holding up both arms instead of rubbing his shoulder. Maybe that man existed, because if Dick Beyer was moving like this in 1962 Buffalo then I'd believe anything. Beyer was so far ahead of his time and moved like no other American wrestler, so quick and crafty while built like a spark plug, an acrobat with thump. I love the desperate little ways Lubich tries to stop the onslaught, with his only chance briefly shifting his weight by grabbing for the ropes. If he wasn't a manager, it was a great "wrestling like a manager" performance against one of the coolest to do it. 

Los Brazos vs. Jaque Mate/Dusty Wolfe/The Viking Monterrey 1992

MD: I have no idea who the Viking is. I know it's our job to figure this stuff out for you but no idea. Past one fun staggering bump into the corner off a Porky headbutt, we don't really care about him anyway. Dusty Wolfe is doing his best Jimmy Jack Funk impression with a silly mask but we don't really care about him either in this one. We're laser focused on El Brazo and Jaque Mate, because right from the get go, Mate opens Brazo up and never, ever looks back.

Brazo spends a chunk of this out on the floor bleeding buckets. They seem almost reluctant to put the camera on him before he towels off which is something I'm not sure I've ever really seen in lucha from this era. That's how much blood we're talking about. And while Mate's happy to beatdown the other Brazos with his compatriots, he makes sure to come back out to do more damage. At one point he goes for a chairshot and a fan puts a chair up to try to block it. They even play music to try to rouse the Brazos.

Eventually, Viking tosses El Brazo back in and he goes wild, crashing across the ring, rubbing his own blood on his fist to use it as a weapon, tearing at Mate's mask and then opening him up on the outside. It's a great Brazos comeback but ends abruptly with a Mate foul that the refs miss and the rudos taking it. Great bloody mayhem here.

ER: What a world. Exhausted on a Friday night, I throw this on and am taken away to another world where somebody's 1992 Monterrey tape survived and we get a perfect color distorted tracking lined masterpiece that may as well have been from another dimension. This is a bloody match even within the annals of bloody lucha matches, with Brazo's entire face and torso covered in blood maybe two minutes in, and a long primera beatdown where Porky and Oro also get busted open. It's an all time bizarre rudo team as Jaque Mate recruits two real American goobers - longtime WWF job guy Dusty/Dale Wolfe and another guy doing a truly great job Bad Brody impression - and they all punch the shit out of Los Brazos. I actually liked The Viking as a poor man's Sylvester Terkay, and I thought Wolfe did a real good job punching and scraping away at Porky. Wolfe's punches to bust Porky open were on point and he kept doing a bunch of cool things to work over a cut, like scraping his boot eyelets across Porky's face. 

But yes, the real show is the brutal beating El Brazo takes at the hands of Mate, and the way the crowd physically rallied behind a man completely covered in blood. Men in white dominant polo shirts are coming to Brazo's aid as he's trying to catch his breath and maintain his balance, and then things get surreal when they start playing music mid-match. With the hazy video and choppy tracking, it feels like another channel is bleeding over into ours. Brazo is bleeding out and suddenly an angelic choir is playing over the top of it and it elevates everything to high art. Porky and Oro were great at taking secondary beatings throughout, knowing their brother was the show but not content with hanging back and out of the way. Porky was still in there taking backdrops and getting worked over by both Americans. The Brazos comeback in the Segunda, with a primera dragged out long enough to build that anticipation, was shockingly brief and even more shockingly ended in a Brazos loss. We never get the full satisfaction of Wolfe or Viking getting busted open, even if we get Porky and Oro throwing headbutts that look like they should open cuts. As we eagerly await these American goons getting squashed in various ways by Porky, Jaque knees Brazo in the balls for an undignified loss, music still playing, his brothers confused. Now we need another 30+ year old Monterrey tape to surface that has Los Brazos' bloody revanche.   

Love Machine/Apolo Dantes/La Fiera vs. Negro Casas/Hijo del Solitario/Stuka Monterrey 

MD: Stuka was a replacement for Black Magic. Everyone else was fine in this one, but this was the Casas vs Love Machine show. Two dynamic, imaginative wrestlers, who knew how to mug and make the most of things. You always see something new with both of them and they were matched up here. We start with Casas beating down Love Machine with a table, including jumping on it repeatedly from the apron with it on top of him. Later on, Love Machine gets some great revenge, taking Casas's head and driving it down into the ground from the apron before chasing him into the crowd. And then towards the end, we get the spot that closes the circle, with Love Machine basically punching the table towards Casas. It's just a joy to watch these guys do their thing. Completely iconic stuff.

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2025 Joshi on Thursday? Sareee! Satomura!

Sareee-ISM Chapter VI 1/23/25

Sareee vs. Meiko Satomura

MD: Didn't expect to be writing about this one, but the stars aligned and I had a few to quickly jot down some thoughts. I am 100% a tourist in modern joshi. I'm starting back in the 70s, remember? While I've seen my share of everything that followed, I've got a working knowledge at best. While I have plenty of general admiration for Satomura, I couldn't tell you my favorite match of hers. I've seen just a handful of Sareee matches from the last few years. But it's fun to be a tourist, right? Trying to be a completionist becomes a burden. Trying to keep up with everything is a chore. We're in an amazing world that we can just drop in on CMLL or a show like this or Globo de la Muerte in Puerto Rico or the latest DPW show and then pop out and come back whenever you want. Amazing times. 

And this was a pretty amazing match to drop in on. It felt big, bigger than the venue, bigger than the stakes on paper. It felt as big as anything in the world so far this year. The sense I get is that Sareee is particularly good at that, of carrying forward that Ace quality of making matches feel bigger than they should, just because she's in them, because of how she wrestles. And of course Satomura, on her retirement run, carries herself with such stature and presence, literal stature even; she looks carved out of granite and wrestles just as tough as it. When Sareee got right in her face before the match, it set the tone immediately and from there they never looked back.

Everything was tough here. That was the point. That's what made this special. It was relatively close to 50-50. Neither wrestler was able to carry momentum for long, but because everything felt like a struggle, all the way from the first lock up to the finishing Scorpio Rising shining axe kick, it had a certain substance that most matches structured similarly couldn't begin to match. If a wrestler left her feet, it was for a specific reason. At one point, each wrestler needed to step up on the ropes to enhance an armdrag or takedown. It wasn't done for flash. It was done because they needed to get that extra bit of leverage to take their opponent over. That sounds like a given, so matter of fact, but it's actually incredibly rare for me to see a move like that and feel like it was not just warranted but necessary, that it was substance instead of just style (and style's ok! But to have it be both is always superior and like I said, so, so rare).

Sareee just gets it. She balances explosiveness and hard shots with expressiveness in the moment and engaging with the crowd. If they start to clap and it dies down, she'll slap the mat to keep them going. If she's about to lock on a hold intended to last for a little bit, she'll get them going again so that they're with her the whole way through. When it came to a stand up strike exchange, she went down hard after each blow so that she could rise back up, determination on her face, whacking the mat to show how much she cared, how much the fans should care, how much it all mattered. 

That's pro wrestling. She created something out of nothing with her reactions and attitude and body language and added it to everything already in the air (Satomura's retirement run, the specialness of these Sareee-ISM shows, her own position as a freelancer ace, the weight behind Satomura's actual forearm) to create a moment and a match that was far more than the sum of its already impressive parts. Just a hell of a place for a tourist to find himself in the middle of a frigid January week.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Victoria! Day!

47. 1979.08.XX3 - 02 Cheryl Day vs. Victoria Fujimi

K: Cheryl Day starts this match with a strange leaning back a few inches more than you’d expect pose like she’s about to start doing the limbo. Whatever this tactic is it doesn’t work as Victoria takes over the match pretty quickly with one of her typical flurries of screaming offense, only to get over-zealous on one of her flying crossbodies and crashes and burns.

The match then follows that basic formula through to the end. Cheryl Day continues to aim for the throat in much of her offense, but there’s not that much malice to it really and she just moves a bit too slow for it to feel like she really beating Victoria down. I get leaving space between moves to ‘milk’ things but it wasn’t effective here. I did think it was a little bit interesting that both of Victoria’s comeback moments where basically her being on the outside and then storming into the ring throwing everything she had at Cheryl. It’s not a comeback I remember seeing very often yet she does it twice her, the second time Cheryl was unable to turn the tables on her and she got the win with what the announcer called a ‘Manji’, but really was an Octopus Hold.

But overall, not a memorable match at all. Looking forward to the next two matches we have from this card though.

**

MD: We’ve seen almost 50 matches now and this is one of the first ones where I came in thinking that we weren’t going to learn much of anything from. And that was more or less true. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t competent. Day was very good at controlling the pace and her stuff absolutely looks credible. She has a lot of different knee shots, single and double. Her stuff looks consistently good but even when she’s causing havoc on the outside, it never quite transcends in the way the Black Pair do, for instance. There were good and even memorable bits here, the two of them standing up and slugging (and Day’s slip under armdrag), Day basically flipping a table on to a heavily selling Fujimi (helped by Kumi) on the outside, and the two big comebacks were Fujimi rushed in from the floor with big fiery flurries. That included the finish where she hit a really nasty gourdbuster more or less stopping time from the impact, before finishing Day with maybe the first Octopus Hold we’ve seen in the footage. I don’t think the sum of the whole was greater than any of the parts here. Both Day and Fujimi are better as role players for someone else’s story maybe?

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 1/13 - 1/19

AEW Collision 1/18/25

Dustin Rhodes vs Adam Priest

MD: Priest is one of the best unsigned guys in the country. He's able to wrestle with anyone, any shape, any size, completely consistent and compelling in presenting a character, an idea, a vision for pro wrestling, for making everything matter, for expressing how he feels (and that he cares) at every point, always on, always interacting with the world around him. He's very good. 

When Trevor Lee ended up back on the indies last year, part of me wanted to see a sort of southern strategy to ROH, where Lee, Priest, and the Workhorsemen (and maybe Kiera Hogan if that wasn't crazy) carried things with a geographic focus where they could be faces for part of the country and heels for the others. It's hard to think through any such strategy to ROH because unlike AEW proper, it's really hard to figure out what the business (or even creative) plan even is. I enjoy ROH as wrestling for the sake of wrestling building to hybrid PPVs made up half of matches with the normal roster and weeks of TV setup and half of fly-ins for the sickos. But I have no idea what the plan is or what a metric for success is past ending up in a TV station, maybe. It's more important than ever in a post Elevation, Post Dark, Post Rampage world though. That's for sure. Anyway, southern strategy. Lee/Priest/Workhorsemen (and some associated southern female). It's a vision.

And this was a match. We're in a post-Rampage world, like I said, so the usual booking formula of building someone on Rampage with a TV win over a ROH-level or local talent in order to heat them up so that they can wrestle someone who needs to be heated up for an actual feud is disrupted. We're in unsure territory, but if I had to guess, they're heating up Dustin to lose to MJF as part of the MJF vs Jarrett build. And since I want to see MJF vs Dustin, I am a-ok with that. That they brought in Adam Priest to do it is all the better.

I said Priest could face anyone, and he can, and the size difference was interesting here. It played out the most when he went over nasty for the power slam (drawing the dreaded "oof" call from Nigel), and especially with the very cool entry point to the Cross Rhodes, as Dustin just kind of draped his arm over Priest's face. Smooth as silk in a way you never see. Dustin, like Windham before him, is able to work big when he's on offense and small when he's selling, and the few points where Priest did get some stuff in here worked so well because Dustin was working small and Priest was working confident. Just two guys who really knew what they were doing.

Obviously this only went a few minutes but I'd love to see Priest against most of the roster, especially on ROH where he'd have time (and less hierarchy issues). Here, though, they came in and accomplished exactly what they set out to do, and whenever that happens, it's beautiful pro wrestling in my eyes.

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2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Strong vs. Hook

 

15. Roderick Strong vs. Hook AEW Dynamite 9/25/24

ER: I've been saying, and I know I'm not the only one, that AEW needs to hit the 8-12 minute sweet spot on matches a lot more. Here's a great nine minute example of why that works so well. They worked this at such a brisk pace that 14 minutes of it would have been overkill. The offense wouldn't have felt as tough if they kept it up that long. This was a quick nine minutes, but I never felt like anything was rushed through or undersold. 

Roddy is a great opponent for Hook. In fact, a lot of people seem like great opponents for Hook. That probably means Hook is well beyond his years for a guy under 80 matches in. He was a hit on arrival and even though this is the first Hook match I've actually written about, I've been admiring the act the entire time. I missed a lot of his 2024, so I still haven't seen a lot of the "long" Hook matches. He was a great squash worker, and he's nestled in nicely to the 8-12 minute sweet spot while AEW seemingly doesn't know what to do with him. His takedowns remain strong the whole match, and I buy him doing all of it. His poise and feel are so good this early, that I worry he's going to lose his charm the more polished he gets at pro wrestling. He's at his best when he's not moving like a wrestler, and I hope he maintains what makes him unique when he's closer to match 200. 

Hook understands a ton just 80 matches in, while Roderick Strong is a guy who can still seem wise beyond his years 1,400 matches in. I don't think I would have predicted this 18 years ago when my buddy was obsessed with him as the Master of the Backbreaker. This episode of Dynamite was sold on a very specific kind of 2006 indy wrestling nostalgia, with Nigel McGuinness getting his final return match against Bryan Danielson. Bryan Danielson had one of the most acclaimed final runs in wrestling history, and a career even the many Danielson optimists (we were all Danielson optimists) couldn't have imagined in 2006. But Roderick Strong has been there the whole 18 years since then, and he's kept his style just as relevant to each era as Danielson has. Roderick Strong has quietly been really, really good for nearly 25 years now. I don't think Strong has the high end classics that Danielson has, but he keeps finding ways to be the perfect TV match worker, and I love TV workers. He became a Christian level TV guy with slightly less opportunity and visibility. His NXT TV matches were a highlight of that run, and his house show work had the kind of tight execution that plays well in that environment. He does tired indy things better than the other indy workers: He knows how to throw an elbow, knows how to blend thigh slap offense, and hits chops designed to echo in a gymnasium or stadium. Roderick Strong embodies more about 2006 wrestling than Bryan Danielson and he's fucking great at it. He's just now entering his 40s and he doesn't Move Weird like Christopher Daniels (yet). He only seems to be getting faster and tighter and he hits just as hard. He's the kind of worker who can adapt to any opponent, an evergreen Good Hand. 

I dug how he and Hook went after each other. The opening scrambles were cool, Strong having actual answers for Hook's difficult-to-counter judo. Bennett and Taven added the right amount of spice on the floor, with each taking a big bump for Hook that led to Strong yeeting Hook into the ringpost. I don't think I've ever used that word before. I don't know if people are saying that word any longer. I think I'm using it properly and it's the only way to describe what happened. Hook's suplexes look like Hook's. They're not quite the same as you've seen them. He's small but throws larger. His hiptosses and northern lights look just different enough. He judo throws Strong off three different chair edges in one throw and Strong was so good all match at feeding into all things Hook big and small with that same energy. Man has had That Energy since 2006. We need our 8-12 minute kings, to nurture the next generation of 8-12 minute kings. 

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: VALENTINE~! GARVIN~! CENA~! JOE~! BOTSWANA~! DOUG~!

Greg Valentine vs. Ronnie Garvin WWF 1/14/89

MD: Another new Richard Land find (go seek him out on twitter if you want to see this). Apparently this show did exist but with terrible VQ to the point where it hasn't been looked at. From entrances to leaving this goes ~15 and it's probably even better than you'd expect coming in, which is saying a lot. They're able to balance the best strike exchanges in the history of the company with just enough variety, stooging, stalling, and other little tricks to tie it all together.

The exchanges are amazing, but varied as well. Valentine might go high and low with punches or throw chops. Garvin will fire back out of the corner, in the center, will pick him up to knock him down again. And they do such a great job not just registering each blow by throwing their head back (whether in the corner or not) or Valentine spacing out, but by setting up the anticipation of it all with Valentine dancing back or stalling in the ropes or both of them throwing hands. It's the ultimate combination of anticipation, execution, and reaction that makes this amazing, strike exchange after strike exchange, with Garvin throwing in enough other things (a jackknife pin, slamming Valentine's head into the corner) and Valentine doing his big stooging sells to make it more than just a slugfest but a complete living, breathing tapestry of violence.

ER: We all keep writing in various ways "Greg Valentine's case as an All Time Great only rises with every new match we find" because it just keeps happening. Since we started Found Footage Fridays 5-15 years ago Valentine has been one of our frequent topics, appearing in the feature 10+ times, and each one of those times only raised his stock as a worker. He's incredible. 15 years ago, I had no idea what a huge Greg Valentine fan I would become. It really started with the DVDVR 80s WWF Project, the first set in the project that would make for the best years of my wrestling fandom. Valentine/Garvin was the kind of WWF match I had never seen before and didn't realize was ever happening there. Years later Valentine would be the reason I'd start my favorite wrestling project ever - Complete Berzerker - after seeing his brilliant match against Berzerker. Every piece of footage I've seen since - new, old, seen, unseen - just confirmed how great Valentine was. 

Now here's another new piece of the Valentine lore and it takes me back to 2006 (that can't be right) and the first time I saw the Valentine/Garvin '89 MSG match. It finished very high on my DVDVR 80s ballot, and I got to talk to Valentine at a convention about their matches. He said that nobody liked working Garvin because he worked stiff, and so they paired Valentine with him a lot because Valentine didn't mind working stiff with Garvin. That's the simplest explanation, those were Valentine's words, and then I proceeded to talk to him about BattlArts without ever buying an 8x10. I didn't know the rules, sorry. 

Now we get another take on them beating the hell out of each other and crowds slowly catching on to just how hard these men are hitting each other. Dick Graham catches on pretty quick just how hard the men are hitting each other. My favorite realization from Graham is when Valentine kicked Garvin in the face like Tenryu right in front of the ringside camera, and Graham just shouted out "SHOOT!" You have no idea, Dick. You watch this, and realize this whole thing cannot happen with Valentine. I love Garvin, but Valentine could have worked this match with anybody. Valentine is the one falling all over the place for him and leaning in to his toughest shots. Valentine is the one permitting every piece of nasty action to proceed. When Garvin starts teeing off on Hammer in the ropes, throwing hard overhand chops, mixing up punches to the forehead and body, finishing him with a shot to the forehead in the corner that sent Valentine skidding down each turnbuckle to the mat, I can see why not many others were willing to work Garvin. But Valentine makes it all into more than just stiff shots. Valentine showcases the willingness to throw hands and the over-willingness to stooge (the man must have timberrrrrrr fell to the mat a dozen times for payoff blows), but most importantly Valentine knew how to put over every single thing Garvin did. 

My favorite part of the match might have been Garvin's crucifix pin, because I don't know if I've ever seen a more ligament stretching crucifix. Garvin tied up Hammer's arms and slowly started pulling him back, and if you'd never seen a crucifix pin before you'd think Hammer was getting his arms slowly broken behind him. Valentine made his taking the move look more like a shoot pin than I'd ever seen, like his necktie was caught in a shredder and the more time he spent struggling the closer he was brought to his death. This match could have been All Hands and still been one of the best WWF matches of the decade, but Valentine knew how to take things higher. 

Doug Gilbert vs. Botswana Beast (Kimala II) Barbed Wire MECW 1999

MD: This was supposed to be One Man Gang vs. Doug and you can't just make a substitution late on a match like this and just expect it to work, but they made a pretty good effort overall. Gilbert went into the wire real early which was sort of the only logical way to do this (he took it right to Beast but couldn't actually whip him) unless you were going to take out a knee and keep it on the mat or something. So there wasn't exactly build and payoff. Instead, they actually went to the floor which I'm not sure I've ever actually seen in a barbed wire match. More than that, you had to rationalize Beast even being able to get out under the bottom rope without killing himself. That did allow Gilbert to get some reasonable offense with the chair and then, back in the ring toss Beast in at least once. He came back and had a fun marathon whipping of Gilbert into the wire again and again before dropping the splash. When he went for a second one PG-13 came out to break things up and smash Beast with the hubcap. Reno Riggins hilariously made the save with a chair, which he immediately put down before hitting anyone with it, thus allowing for himself to get swept under so Beast could make the save. Doug Gilbert's Bobcat Goldthwait faces made this work despite the substitution.

ER: Ever since I was the high voter on the Botswana Beast vs. Terry Gordy match from the World Class set, I feel a strong connection to Beast that might not actually be present in his ring work. I've always been fascinated by Beast/Kimala II/Uganda in a similar but different way than I'm fascinated by Gallagher II. Kimala II might have been the worst All Japan worker of the 90s, yet there he was wrestling 800 matches in the greatest workrate fed of the decade, dressed up as the shorter, fatter version of a guy whom everyone in attendance knew. I love that Kimala II existed, I sincerely love that Gordy match, and if he's the worst All Japan worker of the 90s then I love that he got to exist there during that whole magic era. This was from '99, when he was working ECW shows in the states between All Japan tours and is a fun spectacle without being much of a match. My favorite bits were all centered on Beast's low center of gravity, showing how impossible it would be for Doug to shove him into the ropes against his will. I loved that Irish whip spot where Doug pulled with all his might only for Beast's feet to slide a bit forward on the mat, before Beast whipped Doug into the barbed wire with the strength of Andre. 

John Cena vs. Samoa Joe WWE 8/26/17

MD: This was absolutely delightful. It checks so many boxes just from the start. A match we never thought we'd get. Unproduced house show footage, clear as day, from 2010s WWE. A hot crowd. Two larger than life wrestlers who knew exactly what they were doing working a house show style. It feels like a million years ago and I'd say it overdelivered my expectations. You listen to the crowd build and build and build as they take them up and down (but each high getting a little bit higher) and that's just what I want out of pro wrestling more often than not. 

I can't even tell you the last time I saw a Cena match. It was probably for FFF. We watched one in 2022. That was probably it. I think that was a house show too. I can't get over how simplistic, minimalist, straightforward this was. Joe won an early exchange and celebrated, the shine was basically just a build to Cena winning a shoulderblock and it feeling like a huge deal. Joe took over with one (and only one) punch in the corner. Cena went down like a ton of bricks.

He never really looked back. Cena would get hope spots because he was Cena and basically anything he did was a hope spot. He'd dash into the ring before Joe expected. He'd block a punch. He'd heft him up into a fireman's carry out of nowhere, but Joe dropped him each time. The fans got louder each time though. Until it was just Cena standing up in the corner that did it. Amazing stuff. Joe ran right through him then, but then, when it was repeated, Cena moved and that's when he got in his signature comeback stuff. Talk about rewarding the crowd for caring. They went into a ref bump and a phantom win before the actual one, adding in a bit of doubt to the proceedings. I'm not entirely sure that was necessary given the match they were wrestling, but it was no real harm overall. Just an amazing reminder how special these guys are.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Hori! Iwai!

 46. 1979.08.XX3 - 01 Ayumi Hori vs. Kazuko Iwai

K: Iwai just debuted on 7/31, Hori is only a little more experienced but she’s also much bigger so gets to look stronger on offense even if this never looked like turning into a squash. They’re both rookies so their offense is very basic and consists of a lot of repeated moves.

I noticed Iwai’s stance right at the start seemed very reminiscent of Jackie Sato’s fighting stance. She looks ok in this. The match has a pretty low ceiling because of the limitations of the wrestlers and the restrictions they’re working within, but everything she did looked pretty decently executed. There is a pretty nifty move where she looks like she’s going for a snapmare, but actually jumps really high in the air with her feet sticking up, and on the way down uses that extra momentum to actually execute a kind of flying snapmare.

Hori takes over by countering a bodyscissors by standing up, pulling Iwai up with her and splatting her on the mat. It’s a transition I recall seeing multiple times now. Her turn on offense isn’t as interesting as Iwai’s. She’s treated as a powerhouse juggernaut but I don’t think there’s ever really enough force in her moves to really convey that, and I know the idea is she’s going on a rampage, but since she doesn’t pull that vibe off it just comes across as unfocused. This does play into the finish though, where she misses and running splash which allows Iwai to get back into it and sneak the win. Not a bad showing, but I thought Iwai clearly looked the better of the two at this point.

*3/4

MD: Some specific moments I liked a lot here. Early on Iwai had to really heft up to get Hori at all. Hori was so big that it didn’t make sense to do snap mares but instead to have the same bodily effect with a headlock. Iwai on the other hand had to fly up high for flying headlock takeovers. On the third, she fell down on her for a pin which was an interesting sort of thing I’ve never seen before. Some of it seemed a little too cooperative overall, but it did lead to a very nice bodyscissors big where Hori had to get out with that great headlift drop you’ll see sometimes. A lot of the rest of the match was just Hori crashing into Iwai until Iwai was able to get a small package out of nowhere. They both had promise in their own way but at this stage in their journey they probably needed to be against other people to shine.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 1/6 - 1/12

AEW Collision 1/11/25

Daniel Garcia vs Katsuyori Shibata

MD: My favorite part of the entire WrestleDynasty card was watching Shibata and Tanahashi lock up. I'm not a big 2010s NJPW guy so I don't have a lot of nostalgia for the specific pairing but I am a big 1980s NJPW guy and it had the same sense of Inoki struggling for a grueling, tortured minute against every inch of a hold. Wrestling is the very best when the wrestlers put so much effort and care into even the smallest of things; if they care, the crowd will care. I certainly did.

Unfortunately, Garcia and Shibata couldn't start with that same sort of lock-up. This goes back to a tricky pothole that we all often fall into with match reviews. A match doesn't exist just for your star rating, to be reviewed and written up. It's part of a nexus of a show, of multiple shows, of the history of a promotion. That grueling lock up? It was needed far, far more for Jericho vs Dax at the end of the night. They needed all the help they could get and complex spots weren't going to cut it. Starting off with that wild intensity as they spilled out of the ring and jockeyed for position? That they could (and did) do.

Tanahashi and Shibata followed the lock up with chops, neither moving, just endless fighting spirit hard shots and that didn't do a single thing for me. They looked tough but there was no cause and effect, just endless cause for no effect until the time was up. Once it was up, it was too late.

Garcia and Shibata went right to chops as well, but it was an entirely different world. Remember, the last time they faced was for the Pure Title and Shibata in so many ways ate Garcia up. He was just crushing people during that run and despite Garcia coming in with bluster as the champ, he didn't have a chance. Here, a more seasoned, elevated Garcia stood tall, but got knocked down. He took the chops like they came out of a shotgun and then got back to his feet and fired back only for Shibata to eat them like they were nothing.

But Garcia kept getting up. He fell down. He got up. He fired back. It didn't work. He fell down. He got up. He fired back. That's a babyface. That's someone the crowd can get behind. That means so much more than even someone like Eddie Kingston, a folk hero in his own right, standing tall and going even with Shibata. That's admirable sure, but it's not heroic. It's not brave. It's mythic, but it's not relatable. Eddie doesn't need us to root for him. It's fine if we do, but he doesn't need us. Garcia does. And that changes everything.

Which meant there came a moment mid match where Garcia who had took shots and took shots and took some more finally found strength within him through channeled the crowd to stand tall and drive Shibata back. Because he had given so much early and because Shibata had given nothing at all, this mattered so much more than guys just shooting bombs at each other trying to impress with sheer quantity alone. This didn't overwhelm. It inspired.

Chops aren't the only part of Shibata's game though. Down the stretch, Garcia locked in the Dragontamer out of nowhere. Shibata is all technique, all struggle, yet he seemed to just let it happen. Once locked in, he calmly pushed himself up and flipped Garcia over into a leghold and then the figure-four leglock. Garcia, selling huge, struggled to make it to the ropes. That's not Inoki but instead Fujiwara, that sense of defensive wrestling, of gamesmanship where he's luring a trap for his opponent. You almost never see it in wrestling today so to watch it play out so beautifully is worth noting.

As is Garcia's Bret Hart-ian (and Darby Allin-ian) ability to snatch victory out of nowhere. Watching Cope vs Bill to start the night, I thought to myself that the spot where Bill hit his head on the exposed turnbuckle and then Cope somehow hit him with a huge power bomb would have been a perfectly fine finish. They instead went around a couple of rotations with some big kickouts (including of the spear) until they did the bit where Cope emulated Moxley (on commentary, Tony picked up on it but didn't go far enough with the idea that you become the monster you're fighting). Maybe the match needed that. Maybe it could have been in the post-match too. But that was such a memorable spot that it would have been even more memorable if it ended the match and it would help further that feeling that a match really could end at any point. AEW matches almost always use those moments for a big kickout and only end matches on set finishers after multiple rotations to get there. We'd be in a much more interested world of matches could end a minute or two earlier on a big, unexpected move.

Garcia's so good at finishing a match with the jackknife now, that I actually buy some of his other roll ups. Garcia's confidence to be vulnerable (with the chops, with having to pull himself to the ropes in the figure-four, with letting himself win with roll-ups out of nowhere instead of a dominant finisher) is a strength. It means the fans feel concern for him in the moment and then share in his triumph when he overcomes an opponent. It means his opponents look strong in defeat and feel like truly meaningful entities to defeat. It's babyface wrestling 101 but so few people over the last decade have dared to do it with open and earnest hearts and it makes Garcia stand out even more week after week.

ROH 1/09/25

Trish Adora vs Harley Cameron

MD: First and foremost, this was a very good effort. Technically, this was Harley's first or second real babyface match and she only has so many matches under her belt in general. She had good energy. She tried to get the crowd into it. She sold sympathetically. She had a good comeback. All good things. Past the handshake right at the start and one shout in the middle, though, I didn't really see enough of what made her stand out over the last few months. 

In fact, Trish came off like the star here, not just basing like a champ (maybe even too good at times), hitting some standout strength spots (a few killer suplexes including two very different Germans), playing to the crowd and the camera and almost just riding the wave of the crowd like it was music at times. 

That's the sort of thing I've come to expect from Harley more. It's tricky. What was getting Harley over were the antics, but there has to be some real worry that without channeling some traditional babyface techniques, she's not going to stay over as a face and get the crowd behind her; she'll just bewilder them. I don't think that's the case. I want Garcia to go fully into those tropes. With Harley, I think she can be more Looney Tunes or Marx Brothers (or Bugsy McGraw or Les Kellett). She can confuse and frustrate her opponent with a sort of mad surrealism and still get swatted down and come back. 

It's a tricky balance. The first time she goes with the Wrath of Harley Cameron, it's funny. When she thinks it's a thing and it's not, that's funny. When it becomes a thing and it's in her tron, then it loses a bit of its appeal. It should come when you least expect it and maybe even when it's least appropriate.  I always thought that the weakest part of her act was coming out to the Outcasts music to the same choreographed moves. She should be interacting with the crowd and the camera on the way down, maybe starting to do some of those moves and getting distracted by the first shiny thing she sees and then try to go back to them and forgetting her place. Something like that. The spontaneity is the key with her. You tune into a Harley Cameron match because you know you're going to see something unexpected and it won't be the same the next time around. If you miss a Harley Cameron match you're going to miss something unique forever. That's the appeal. 

Ritual and meeting expectations are good. But for Harley, the expectation is the unexpected. That would be difficult for a ten year vet, let alone a 50 match rookie, but that's the position she's talented her way into. Big task, huge opportunity. But this (and the Mariah match) wasn't it.

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