70s Joshi on Wednesday: Kai! Ikeshita! Nancy! Victoria!

61. 1979.09.2X2 - 04 Leilani Kai & Yumi Ikeshita vs. Nancy Kumi & Victoria Fujimi (After 9/21, possibly October)

K: This has a heated energy to it that’s been missing in the earlier matches on the show. Things explode almost from the off when things go to the outside and Golden Pair get the better of the heels on the outside with some classic throwing wrestlers into chairs action. When things get back in the ring Leilani Kai behaves like she’s completely insane while choking Fukimi. Shaking her head and and screaming her head off loudly even by AJW standards.

It’s been a long time since I said this, but I thought Nancy Kumi really showed out here. Not that she was even necessarily the standout of the match (I thought all 4 put in good performances really) but she really got the crowd behind her both with her selling and the fiestiness she put into her offense when she managed to get some hits in. It felt that she was lashing out in anger at the dirty tactics she’d been subjected to and the crowd seemed to feel it and get excited for her. So it annoyed me more when she got submitted by Leilani to end the 1st fall, who then did this smarmy little celebration dance. The little shit. She gets pinned by Fujimi to finish the 2nd fall and pulls an even more deranged face at her afterwards.

I haven’t been keeping count so this is just based on memory, but I feel like Black Pair (or 1 Black Pair & Foreigner) ⅔ falls matches go one of two ways based on who takes the 1st fall. If the babyfaces take it, the heels go really wild and over the top with brawling on the outside, interference and weapons to try to get things into their kind of match. If the heels take the 1st fall, we have a slower, more calculated grinding down of their opponents with stuff like the Hide The Weapon special. This is what we got here, and the exciting brawling comes a bit later in this version as it’s the babyfaces who need to bring it when they get their comeback in, and any ‘unsporting’ moves from them at this point are justified retaliation.

The 3rd fall holds this back from being a great match. It wasn’t bad or anything but it felt like a bunch of stuff they’d established and built well in the 1st and 2nd didn’t get paid off. The heel team just smothered the babyfaces for several minutes until they got the win and it felt a bit deflating. Fujimi did get a bit of an exciting comeback at one hitting spin kicks but it was very short, if she had a minute or so on offense and looking like she might get the win to build to a climax I think this would have been a lot better.

***½

Oh and the music video at the end haha. Well they were trying to get Jackie Sato over as a solo pop star after Beauty Pair ended, but it comes across a bit like a personality cult. It didn’t really work, well she was super over with the live crowds, but they were getting smaller and she was never anywhere near as a big a star on her own as Beauty Pair were as an act. Think of it as a precursor to the more successful Chigusa Nagayo personality cult.


MD: This was a very good tag that was marred by the heel ref stuff and it was unfortunate since it really didn’t need it. You had the Golden Pair reunited (they had fought previously) for the first time in a while and Ikeshita teamed up with a very game Leilani Kai. She was primed and ready right from the bell, living her best life dancing as she was introduced and the two heels never looked back. I probably don’t give Ikeshita quite enough credit relative to Kumano because she lasts longer and is better known and doesn’t get the same sort of credit that I want to give Kumano, but she really is just as good. She can go from rubbing a face into the mat to stepping on a heel on the outside while her partner is choking to taking these huge flapjack bumps over and over or hitting a killer missile dropkick or a nasty side suplex or her rana off the ropes. Or maul someone with a chair. She could really do it all.

First fall here had a nice burst against Kai to start by the Pair but they got swept under pretty quickly. Hope spots, as they were, ended up disrupted by the ref. Just the usual Black Pair mauling with Kai adding a bit of effective Moolah-ism to the mix. Second fall had the a ton of hide the object, which was vicious and fairly entertaining though having a heel ref made it seem just a little silly maybe; he was letting them get away with murder even if they were doing a pretty good job at hiding the evidence. It did make one of Kumi’s big comebacks seem all the more impressive since the odds were so against them, but then they just got swept under again so maybe the pacing was a little off? The finish of the fall was spectacular though as Kumi slammed Kai and Fujimi came flying in off the screen to press up off of the turnbuckle to hit a splash. Just a wild move. It was all for naught though for in the third fall they got swept back under and despite Fujimi putting on a couple of submissions, Kumano burst out of nowhere at the last second to interfere so that they couldn’t break up a pin. Again, this was good but it didn’t need the heel ref stuff. They could have cheated more legitimately (I know that sounds funny but it’s wrestling) and things would have been all the better for it. Kai fit in well though and this is probably the best I’ve ever seen the Golden Pair look. I’ll let Kadaveri cover the music video that followed this if so inclined.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 4/21 - 4/27

AEW Collision 4/26/25

RUSH vs AR Fox

MD: I liked this because it was so different than almost every other AEW match. It didn't go two segments. There wasn't a commercial break in the middle. Yet Fox is a guy who has gotten both focus and competitive matches as of late. You need baselines and certain things are timed for ratings, but now and again you need exceptions, for things to feel different, to be weighed by hierarchy. I actually think the company's been doing a pretty good job of that at late, whether it be the use of Blake Christian or Max Caster's challenges or what. It keeps things moving, gives an air of unpredictability and makes stars feel like stars.

Fox is very good at what he does and while not all of those things are always the things I value the most, he does enough of what I value extremely well that I'm certainly happy to give him credit. Here, right from the get go, as Rush charged in with a forearm, he bumped and sold all around ringside, not just throwing his body into it, but being vocal and expressive. This wasn't going to go long but Fox went out of his way to make every moment jump off the screen. While that's not necessarily hard when you're up against rush, this was not a one man show and the sum of these two together was more than if Rush was up against someone without Fox's talent.

Then, after Rush took him just a little too lightly (tranquilo) and Fox came back. With just two or three moves, Fox left an indelible mark in the people watching live that night. It was a packed show, to the extent that the crowd couldn't quite get up for a really good main event (Kyle needed to be bleeding as he was fighting back defiantly, sorry; that's probably what the match needed). But they're not going to forget just how far Fox sailed across the ring from the top with his swanton (after he ran around the ring to get Rush from a surprise angle on it which was a clever but you don't usually ever see). Rush shut him down almost immediately thereafter but it did hit all the marks. Not everything has to shoot for all the stars. This was efficient and effective and I wouldn't mind seeing them run it back with Fox getting just a little closer.

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Found Footage Friday: KONG~! KANSAI~! HAMADA~! SATOMURA~! STOMPER~! HEENAN HANDCUFFED TO T~!

Frank Hickey vs. Mongolian Stomper Kansas City 1960s

MD: This was another old match that Charles from Wrestling Playlists posted last year in one of his huge tape buying sprees. As best as I can tell, the Geigel match from earlier in this show was online but this wasn't. It's certainly a moment in time and a moment in pro wrestling canon in its own way. More on that in a minute. Stomper, at this point, had the look (mostly shaved head, fu manchu style goatee) but he talked just like a normal guy and wasn't affected (in his inner ear) by the crowd's boos. Hickey had an elaborate costume with a cape and a headguard. They don't call him the Spaceman here, but he was. I don't know if this was heel vs heel or what but these were just two big guys throwing big shots for the most part. Hickey controlled this more than I'd expect, honestly, as Stomper was pushed harder and talked about going after Thesz post match. Midway through the match, a hulking figure with glasses from the crowd walked up to ringside and had to be shuffled away. That was a debuting Ox Baker (no facial hair) and one subplot through the match was the commentary talking about how they had to turn him down when he wanted to wrestle before because despite being 300 pounds he wasn't trained. At the end of the clip,  after Stomper had won somewhat anticlimactically, they said that the promoters were going to allow Ox to wrestle that coming Thursday and he got to introduce himself. Interesting little angle/gimmick for the 60s. To me, it was just strange to see the Stomper not even trying to put on foreign airs.

Superstar Billy Graham vs. Hercules WWF 8/15/87

MD: This was another recent Richard Land find so you'll have to go find his patreon. While there was absolutely no way it could live up to its promise on paper, it was still pretty great, all the more so because I didn't realize what the post-match was going to be. This was when Graham was stepping in for Patera. The match itself was ok. Hercules created the motion with a few big bumps. He had some nice cutoffs. Graham controlled the middle and was able to stand tall with his strength. They had a nice finish where Hercules tried to slam Graham from the outside in and got rolled through on it. 

The real appeal here, however, was Heenan. This had the one-two punch of Heenan handcuffed to Mr. T and the losing manager having to get whipped, so you can only imagine all of Heenan's mannerisms as he got yanked around by T and then the whole hoopla of the post-match with Hercules trying desperately to protect his manager and then Graham and finally Patera getting their shots in on a writhing, squirming Heenan as the crowd went wild. I wish there was more of it. A lot of the time we just got glimpses in the corner of the screen of Heenan's reactions. This was definitely more for the live crowd, but I'm glad we got to see it at all.

ER: I thought Heenan's promo to start this whole segment was far and away the most cutting thing. Heenan wasn't funny at all, he was ruthless. I mean, he was funny, but he came off tough, like a guy who ran a hard card game. When he was talking about being cuffed to Mr. T he straight up told Ken Patera to put the cuffs on himself, as a little stroll down memory lane. He talked about how everyone you see with big arms and a big body is unemployed, because working men can't spend 8 hours lifting and 8 hours working. He makes fun of Graham for eating 19 cans of tuna and 65 raw eggs all day. It's a promo that felt like real hate, and it made the match more disappointing for having hardly any hate at all. I don't think any of the Heenan/Mr. T payoffs were there and it was one of those reminders of how big wrestlers were and how small actors are. When Bobby Heenan is larger than Mr. T and he just cut a promo about real tough men from the midwest, I want more than just 10 minutes of Heenan cowering from T on the floor. 

It's insane how Billy Graham aged 30 years in 10. 1987 Billy Graham works like 75 year old Jimmy Valiant. 10 years earlier he was the most charismatic man in the building and here he's like 1999 Terry Gordy. Hercules I thought looked great. His kneedrops and elbowdrop and knuckle locks and big bump to the floor selling for Graham all looked strong. He had a pretty steep hill to climb and the stipulation would have been more fun if it had ended with Heenan bumping for Mr. T and Patera instead of absorbing pulled belt shots thrown by a one armed man and a suddenly elderly man. 

Aja Kong/Dynamite Kansai vs. Ayako Hamada/Meiko Satomura GAEA 6/22/03

MD: It's hard for me to write this one up. So much happens. It's one imaginative, iconic spot after the next. You watch it and by the end you forgot that Aja branded the guardrail at one point even though it was awesome in the moment. They just pack in so much in twenty minutes and while there are themes (Kansai going for the Splash Mountain until she gets it, it gets broken up, and then she gets it again for the win, for instance), and while I'd even say it comes together and never entirely falls apart, it's just a lot to keep track of. Here, of course, you have not just the problem of Aja early on but also the problem of Kansai where she can just catch you in a claw and slam you to the ground. Even worse for Hamada and Satomura is when you get the problem of both, where you can put one down but the other is creeping over to hit you with a lariat. There was one point where Hamada was pinballing back and forth to kick Kansai to try to break an ankle lock on Satomura and then nail Aja so Aja wouldn't flatten her and she had two or three tries to do that before she just got crushed by Aja.

In some ways, despite all the spots and bombs and bumps (and occasionally weapons) this did have a bit of a sports feel where Hamada and Satomura would get lots of little shots on goal, but all it would take would be one breakaway from Kong/Kansai to end it and everyone knew it. Some of that was from the two teams just constantly pressing forward and never letting up, even though things still had weight (of course they did) and impact. It felt like a big deal when Hamada and Satomura got their opponents down and on the ropes, and they had some very big bombs of their own (literally as they power bombed Kansai onto Aja for instance). That said, it was all just a matter of time, of course, but it was a spirited time while it lasted.

ER: I thought this was good but never came close to approaching the greatness of the Kong/Meiko match from the week before (which Matt and I wrote about earlier this month). Meiko is one of our great punishment takers, an out-laster on the same level of Yuki Ishikawa. I buy it from Meiko, it's Ayako I don't buy it from here. The excitement of the Aja/Meiko matches is how Aja is going to walk through most of Meiko's offense, and be honest about the things that slow her down. You don't just get leniency from Stan Hansen, you have to move him before he sells for you. Aja is the same, you actually need to move her or bounce her on her head, and Dynamite Kansai can do the same thing. Aja and Dynamite as a team are similar to the problem created when Vader and Hansen teamed in All Japan. They are going to walk through almost anyone and Ayako's well thrown but worked elbow smashes are not going to be taken seriously by either. I need some real fire from an underdog outsized babyface and if you're still holding back a little on arm strikes after Kansai stomps on your fucking face from the top, then I stop buying it. 

But I did like this. I made a prolonged noise I've never made before in reaction to that double stomp to the face. I let out of deep guttural oof at the finish when Aja presumably broke one of Meiko's ribs with a kick to the stomach harder than any Kawada ever threw. I liked the way Aja treated Hamada like a little pest, finally hitting her with a backfist without much effort and then sitting on her while Dynamite disposes of Meiko. There were stretches where kicks were missing and timing was behind, and that's just not going to be enough to stop two monsters. Also, it's crazy how much faster Kong's kicks look than Hamada's or Meiko's. She's like Scott Norton with speed, it's unreal. 

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We'll Meet Again Terry, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When, But We'll Meet Again Some Sunny Day

Black Terry vs. Mr. Condor vs. Pirata Morgan Zona 23 8/11/19 - GREAT

PAS: Terry in the junkyard is really special. This wasn't close to singles Mr. Condor match a couple years later (but honestly what in wrestling history ever was), but it was three awesome old men beating the shit out of each other in a rain storm and a junkyard. Lots of great punch exchanges, including an awesome one between Pirata and Terry, with Terry peppering him with jabs, and Pirata countering with a huge hook. Condor also nukes Pirata with a bottle. I think with a finish this might have touched EPIC territory, but instead it had a long meandering run in finish with Ovitt maybe? Some fat dudes who couldn't match the energy of the senior citizens they were beating up. Still this was sick.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Tomi! Williams!

60. 1979.09.2X2 - 03 Tomi Aoyama vs. Vicki Williams (After 9/21, possibly October)

K: Well I agreed way back when we started this over a year ago that I’d do a write-up for every 70s match we had, and I don’t regret it, but boy I’m glad that AJW stopped having Moolah’s girls taking up so much space on the cards pretty soon after this. Who is to blame for this is another article in itself, but the result of her methods is a bunch of wrestlers who almost always just work the same kind of very limited match and everyone else just has to work within it. Things did improve a bit later on with some of them (I’m thinking Judy Martin & Leilani Kai especially), maybe because Moolah herself stopped being a prominent part of the tours.

This is similar to the last match with the twist that the babyface gets way more offense in, so I guess there was booking logic in putting them back to back. At least we have the Queen Angel with the more exciting offense so we get a few fun moves heh, that’s not something I’d usually single out for phrase in a match but you have to take what you get here. Tomi has incredible energy to her. In one of her big outbursts she does a very cool flying kick (not a dropkick she’s almost vertical throughout) which Vicki Williams springs up to in one of the freakiest ways I’ve ever seen I’m not even sure how to describe it. It looks like she’s a puppet and there’s someone pulling her up with strings.

I noticed the fans heckling the ref with the “referee kaere” chants (literally means “Go home referee!”, but it sounds ruder in Japanese). Shiro Abe wasn’t the first to get that thrown at him. This did get better heat than most of these matches, but within a couple of minutes of this hinting that it might even get good they just go to a double countout after a bit of brawling on the outside and that was the end of that. Well actually the end was Tomi getting revenge on the referee by dropkicking him in the back to a big pop. I guess that added to things. This was one of the better Japan vs. USA matches, but I don’t want to see any more of these.

**1/4

MD: Wright (at least I think that’s his name) was the referee again and by this point it’s just getting frustrating. The tags aren’t so bad but these singles matches are getting painful, especially after considering the standard level of quality (not through the moon or anything but definitely consistent) earlier in the year. That’s not to say this one was a particularly bad offering in these US vs Japan matches because it wasn’t. Tomi came back over and over and when she got dragged down it was due to the ref and interference, so there was a flow to this. Plus the big stuff was pretty big. Williams would take big bumps (and had one weird bridge up that was like nothing I’d seen before). She crashed into chairs. Tomi almost decapitated her with a catapult onto the bottom rope (the ref stopped her). There was a nasty bit of hairpulling as all the American team worked on her from the outside as Vicki held her legs on the inside. Vickie survived the giant swing through both hook and crook (the ref delayed the count but only after Tomi missed her first splash attempt), and things spilled out to a chaotic mess of chairshots and grabbed legs to spur a double countout. Post-match Tomi dropkicked Wright into everyone and got some revenge and the fans popped for it but this really should have been done and over after the Jackie match and the moment that the Japanese referee came in to intervene.

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This Sweet Thought Will Cheer Terry While Dying, We Will Miss Him When He's Gone

Black Terry vs. Multifacetico IWRG 4/17/08 - EPIC

PAS: Out of this world great match. There is something special about Terry in his house Arena Naucalpan, throwing left hooks, smashing people into beer coolers and spilling blood. I loved how he just tortured Multifacetico early, breaking his back by twisting his body in the rope, cracking him with perfcet punches, and then cutting him off mid air with a backcracker for the pin. Exactly what you want from that rudo beatdown fall. Loved the comeback he fed Multifacitico in the second fall and it all leads to a dramatic third fall with lots of blood. Terry has so many different great notes he could play, but this kind of dramatic fist fight is his best.

JR: They keep advertising their myspace page here: zona de combate. Can you imagine how great Terry would have been in mid 00s CZW?

There is a lot to like here. In the first fall, Terry works at such a deliberate pace, almost the closest we get to a WWE heel from this era. He doesn't preen, but the structure of the fall is so similar to something you might see on TV from Orton or someone else in the states just a few years later.

From there, we get Terry in a style that feels more familiar. The match quickens, and I think would come across significantly better if the camera had lingered on Multifacetico from ringside. The closer we got to him the more compelled I felt to root for him, but the hard cam here does him no favors.

The third fall is good, falling into some of the apuestas rhythms that I find so comfortable. Terry works holds that feel consequential and Multi finds flashes that make it seem as though he is in the fight. The seconds add very little here, muddying the waters in ways that lucha gets away with more often than other styles, but the finishing stretch feels mostly earned and suitably triumphant.

In a way, I like this match as an example of a match that feels taped together by Terry. There's nothing particularly exclamatory from him but I can't help but feel it would be decidedly worse with someone else taking his place. I don't mean for that to sound backhanded, quite the opposite. A Terry performance that for him seems so rote is inherently valuable, inherently above replacement.

Matt reviewed this match here

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

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Oh Bury Terry Not on the Lone Praire

Black Terry/Pantera vs. Negro Navarro/Pirata Morgan IWRG 7/23/11 - GREAT

PAS: Compact 13 minute match which kind of felt like an awesome first fall, where we never got the second and third. Match opens with 5 minutes of Navarro and Terry grappling which was delightful and an obvious highlight. Pantera hits a cool tope from the apron through the ringpost, and there are some cool eliminations. Pirata had a moment or two, but this was worth watching for that uncut raw Terry vs. Navarro.

 
MD: It's a joy to watch Terry and Navarro do their thing for a few minutes. They're wrestling's odd couple. Navarro makes everything look theatrical, able to somehow make a straight line look stylized and curved. Meanwhile, Terry's entirely business-like, poised and practical, able to make something infinitely complex seem simple and professional. Navarro is eternally bombastic and will take you on the scenic route pointing out every landmark true and fabricated along the way and Terry somehow finds a shortcut to wherever he's going, getting there two minutes early yet still leaving you completely satisfied by the quality of company. When you put them together, they play perfectly with one another's strengths, the contrast driving the entire endeavor and leaving you not wanting to look away.

Morgan was fun here too, pulling out a few things that, while maybe not contributing to a greater whole would be memorable: an abrupt contorting cradle when he first got in there, the rare double rotation Casita for one elimination and then a rolling sort of Anaconda Vice that felt just as rare for the second. And then Pantera added just a bit of flash and motion (not too much) with a few high spots. As Phil noted, this ultimately felt like a really good primera, never boiling over, never leading to heat and comeback, but as exhibitions go, any one that'll start with a few minutes of Navarro vs Terry like this is well worth watching.

JR:   This match is mostly an exhibition, although there are certainly worse people to have that sort of match than Terry and Navarro. There are fun holds and some good exchanges that might look too cooperative in the hands of lesser performers. Pirata Morgan hits a slingshot senton that I can only describe as a non-ironic version of the slow motion one Chuck Taylor used to do in Chikara.

After the opening portion, when Terry and Navarro tag out, there is a brief moment that will stick with me as Pantera struggles with Pirata Morgan. I found myself thinking, as I watched this, of Cubs' wonderful obituary from today. In it he talks about the truly beautiful outpouring of support for Terry and how beloved he was as a trainer and teacher. Terry was observant of new trends and styles and was willing to teach things that were not to his taste if he thought it would help his students succeed. Close to the corner, Terry crouches down and talks to his partner, giving what I can only assume are instructions. My relationship with Terry has always been purely critical, of course. I've never seen him train or eaten at his table or heard him tell stories. I've only watched him perform. Perhaps this was a performance as well, but in that moment I saw Black Terry not as a wrestler, but as someone that cared and wanted to help his partner sincerely. I saw the type of trainer he might be, offering quiet but serious suggestion.
When I picture Terry, I think I'll always picture a man brawling, grunting. I'll picture effort and sweat. Tonight, I am glad that I can briefly picture something else that makes me feel closer to the whole of him.

TKG: This is pretty much a one fall sprint with Terry and Navarro doing their ras de lona work, Pantera getting in his big dives and a small tease of Pirata v Terry.

At turn of century when both AAA and EMLL where both stripping out first fall technical exchanges…the indies fully leaned into them, highlighting the work of the older maestros keeping the style vital and alive.

I really popped when after the initial submission exchanges, Terry started the technical leverage throw section with a big monkey flip and Navarro answered with an impressive nasty suplex.
As maestro’s got older we’d see fewer big suplexes. Your Hechicero generation of technical wizards really don’t do suplexes as part of technical display. That moving from leverage submission holds into leverage arm drags still happens but the subs into suplexes is something we see less and less and I miss.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 4/14 - 4/20

AEW Dynamite 4/16/25

Athena vs Mercedes Mone

MD: There was a post that went viral a month or two ago where people were besmirching the good name of Manami Toyota because she didn't hit some of her stuff clean. I've some issues with Toyota structurally (because of course I do) but that's the last thing I'm going to criticize her on.

You want wrestling a little rough around the edges. You don't want everything to hit clean. You don't want things to look collaborative, even when you know they have to be. You want that grit, because with grit comes determination, and through determination, you get emotion that you can latch onto as a fan. Go back and watch Jumbo from the 70s, watch Fujinami from the 80s. Watch the sweat come down grimacing faces and veins all but popping out of necks. That draws you in, immerses you. It doesn't make for as good a gif but it makes for a far better match.

Almost nothing in this match looked like it hit clean but almost every single thing looked like it hit nonetheless, and it hit messy, and it hit dirty, and it hit after deep struggle, not just a struggle between the wrestlers and one another, but a struggle between the wrestlers and themselves as they worked to heft up their opponent. One might think that would pull people out of the match (feel "botchy"), but it did exactly the opposite. It drew them in all the more because it gave a viewer something to push off against, something real to underpin the fantastical world of pro wrestling, something worth believing in.

What, then, bridged the gap between two people struggling to hit moves and a match so gripping that it's still hanging on to me almost a week later? Some of it was the stakes. This was a big, first time match, champion vs champion, hot act vs hot act. The outcome was up in the air.

And that crowd wanted it so badly. The crowd reminded me of the crowd for Ospreay vs Danielson, a crowd that was reverent, almost too reverent, that was just happy to be there, that knew they were seeing something special. That it was in Boston meant that Mercedes wasn't even a de facto heel, and no one really got cheered or booed. It reminded me too much of that Ospreay vs Danielson crowd, where they weren't necessarily reacting to specific moments but instead just were glad to be there, glad for anything that happened. It's the sort of crowd that you can do anything for and that you can do nothing for. That Fletcher, Callis, the Death Riders were so over as heels later on (and Nick Wayne for the ROH taping) was such a testament to them and their performances both on that night and over time. So it was a special crowd, but that too was a double edged sword. I would have liked to see this somewhere other than Boston. I'd like to see it again somewhere other than Boston.

What really put it over the top for me though was the reactions of Mercedes and most especially of Athena. You watch her face throughout the match, watch her eyes, and you see someone reacting in the moment to everything that's happening, every success, every failure, every advantage, every mistake. Even if she might make the same sort of shocked face you'd get out of other wrestlers (let's say the Adam Coles of the world) on a two-count kickout, there's something that her eyes do a moment later as she shifts gears that almost no one else in wrestling is managing.

And here, it was contagious. I'm not sure I fully bought into the lock up that took them up the ramp and back but once things crashed out on the ring with the fight on the apron and the dive later, everything clicked for me, including Mercedes' own reaction. I haven't seen her this alive in years, and it lasted through the second battle on the apron, through the tombstone sequence, all the way to the finish. I don't know if this is the destination for All In or not. I don't know if Athena's just headed back to ROH where she can continue to anchor it. I'm not sure if she's made for live TV since she's so used to freedom and excess, but as an attraction, she makes everything (and I mean everything) more special around her whenever she's around. Even if there's maybe a potential cost to that, it's one worth paying now and again.

ROH TV 4/18/25

Dustin Rhodes/Ross Von Erich/Marshall Von Erich vs MxM Collection/Johnny TV

MD: There was a moment at right around the halfway point on this one where I was wondering exactly what they were going for. MxM and Johnny took out the champs on the way to the ring and Dustin was on the floor for almost the entirety of the match, but there was a modified shine here. Ross and Marshall fought off everything Mansoor and Johnny threw at them.

And then it hit me, I'm watching Von Erichs. That's exactly what Kerry and Kevin would have done in this situation, and it would have gone just like this for them right until Mason came in, because in this situation, Mason was Gordy and even if the Von Erichs could stand tall and fight off Buddy and Michael, they weren't going to be able to handle Gordy too. Von Erichs are a force of nature but then so's Mason Madden, and I'm not sure I've ever felt that quite so much as I did here.

Everything built to a great hot tag sequence where they made sure to nail Dustin again on the floor so it could go around and around a few times until he finally got in there. By holding back Dustin (as beloved a star in the hearts of the fans as AEW has) so long in these six-men, not only does it really give Ross and Marshall a chance to shine, but it also ramps up the pressure for Dustin to come in and hit his stuff.

This had lots of clever bits down the stretch including the set up for Shattered Dreams off a missed Mason shot and a claw-assisted triple nut shot that was sort of like a pro wrestling Rube Goldberg machine in the best way. There was a lot of wrestling to watch over the last few days but I'm glad I caught this one.

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Terry's Calling, Terry's Crying, Some Are Born Some Are Dying

Black Terry vs. Arez Lucha Memes 11/1/20 - GREAT

PAS: This was worked sort of like Arez was excited to work a Black Terry dream match, the way someone might work 2 Cold Scorpio on a Mania week show. They ran through all of the cool things Terry brings to a match, starting with Terry doing the Maestro catch and release submissions, where Arez would shoot in and get tied up with something cool, Terry would let him go, only to tie him up again. Then it spills to the floor and we get a great Terry punch out, with Arez hitting him harder then you would expect someone this old to get hit, and Terry firing back with great looking jabs and rights. Then there is a nifty finishing run with a great looking top rope back cracker. Everything looked great, it felt a bit exhibition-y which keeps it from EPIC, but Terry exhibitions are pretty great exhibitions. 

ER: I thought this was a really smartly worked almost meta Hero match, with Arez acting almost awed as Black Terry showed him close up magic llave as a crash course fantasy camp, until Arez gets tired of the maestro shit and starts kicking him. Es es unable llave, clap, nothing up my sleeves, veteran psych out. I thought Terry's snares were pretty incredible. There was no slowly applied submissions, this was all slick ankle pick sleight of hand knot tying as good as he was doing 15 years ago. It's pretty amazing really. People love his maestro submission artistry, enough that there's a loudly protesting chinga tu madre whistle over Arez's ropes course escape, protesting The New Ways. 

The fighting escalation in Black Terry Coacalco matches always manages to catch me off guard, always manages to surprise me with some of the violence. Arez can land some really forceful kicks to the stomach and Terry was taking some real shots to the torso. There was a great spot where Arez knew it was his turn to take his medicine and Terry went off with body kicks as crisp as Regal working Dave Taylor. Terry takes a backcracker down the home stretch that literally bounces him off Arez's knees, and all it does is make him want to drive his own knees into Arez. Jumping off the middle buckle to drag a man down onto your knees is crazy behavior for a man in his late 60s. In other words, a Black Terry Coacalco match. 

TKG: I really like the way this match is structured, it is almost like a backwards veteran Ric Flair underestimating upstart young Sam Houston. Arez as upstart youth puts on the first submission and makes a big production out of announcing ‘Now , that is a hold’ and then Terry just dominates on ground, putting Arez in holds at will as Arez super sells getting worked over. Eventually Arez can’t take any more and throws the first cheap shot strike only to find that Terry again can go on floor, with Arez getting in bits of desperate flurries. This isn’t an even match at all . This is about long sections of Terry control and desperate young Arez dealing with the beast.

There is a spot where Terry sidesteps a leg takedown to set up a submission that I watched multiple times. And favorite moment from the brawling was when he’s beating up Arez in chair but won’t allow the chair to tip over. Grabs Arez’ foot and goes , no I’m hitting you some more.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

2020 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: PIRATA~! MS-1~! JAGUAR~! DEVIL~! FUJINAMI~! KOSHINAKA~! CHOSHU~! SAITO~!

Devil Masami vs. Jaguar Yokota AJW 9/7/83

Kadaveri: I think the context of this match finally surfacing needs a bit of explanation for those who aren't 80s Joshi nerds. Jaguar Yokota and Devil Masami were the top two stars of AJW in the 1981-84 period in between Jackie Sato retiring and the Crush Gals becoming megastars. This WWWA Singles Title match was the main event to one of the biggest shows of the era and essentially the blowoff to their feud, which goes back at least as far as them feuding over the AJW Junior Title in 1980. Jaguar & Devil went on to form the tag team 'Empress Duo' and never wrestled each other in a singles match again.

Sadly though, the match was missing. The source for most of the early 80s AJW footage you'll see online is one Japanese guy's collection of home-recorded VHS tapes of AJW broadcasts on Fuji TV. I got in contact with him a few years ago and specifically asked him if he had this match, as I noticed a Crush Gals vs. Mimi Hagiwara & Noriyo Tateno match (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_qqf3xDkrE) from the same show was circulating. Turns out that back in 1983 when recording the episode he'd mistakenly inserted a tape with only about 25 minutes left, so we got the first match of the episode but then it cut off and the main event wasn't recorded. Imagine making a little error like that, and finding out someone from another continent is upset about it 40 years later. It's far from the only big match of that era missing but I'd say it's the most historically important one. I'd hoped for years that surely someone else had recorded and kept a copy, but most of these older Japanese fans aren't very online so this hypothetical person might not even be aware that they have something rare.

In more recent times there have been different people uploading their own recordings of 80s AJW broadcasts to YouTube, which has filled a few gaps. You might see me in the comments asking if they have the 1983 Jaguar vs. Devil Title match, but to no avail. Despite there being no footage, I felt this match was important enough then when I made the 1980s Joshi Set last year I inserted a magazine description of the match into the video (https://vkvideo.ru/playlist/640112534_2/video640112534_456239022) to let everyone know the match happened, rather than just disregarding it entirely.

So for decades, all we had to go on to learn about this match was descriptions in Japanese media at the time, and references to it in future interviews. When Devil Masami defeated Dump Matsumoto to win the WWWA Singles Title in 1985, she referenced this match in her post-match interview, saying that she felt her performance had made up for her deporable display in the 1983 bout, where she was so upset about losing that she'd threatened to quit there and then. At the time, AJW was still running a strange mix of worked pro-wrestling with an element of legitimate competition. Specifically, while most matches were entirely worked, sometimes they'd do matches where the majority was worked for entertainment purposes, but there was no pre-determined winner. Rather, after some kind of signal had been given, the wrestlers would take turns to try and legitimately pin the other for a 3 count.

Then in July 2024, this Japanese blogger uploaded clips from the match, saying that someone who had a copy invited him to his house to watch it and allowed him to record some moments on his phone.  https://ameblo.jp/kimumasa992/entry-12860724586.html I only had to watch a few seconds of the clips to verify that this indeed was the 9/7/83 title match. Whether this directly led to the full match being uploaded isn't clear, but it's possible the buzz among the tiny number of 80s Joshi nerds about this footage being confirmed to exist caught the ear of the mysterious uploader who put up the whole broadcast several months later.

Now to the match itself. The match length was 38:26, with 25 minutes shown on the TV edit. My more wider thoughts on it is that it changes my ideas on the development of AJW's house style by quite a bit. My working theory at the moment is that in early 1984 we saw their working style(s) diverge into what ended being the most varied but somehow still cohesive wrestling products of the era.

Firstly, there was an escalation in quickening the pace of matches and adding innovative moves, which brought us the style most associated with Jaguar Yokota, the Crush Gals and the Jumping Bomb Angels.
Secondly, while brawls and evil cheating heels totally existed beforehand, Dump Matsumoto kept that style relevant by upping the ante considerable, adding horror elements and a level of unhinged spectacle far beyond anything the likes of Abdullah the Butcher ever did. Thirdly, in what feels like a restraining move on the other two trends (even if not conscious), there was a movement (in big title matches especially) towards slower, epic feeling matches based around holds (taking some influence from early shoot style) and longer control segments compared to the far more fluid Joshi house style. I associate this more with Devil Masami, but Yukari Omori also excelled in this.

What's thrown me off about this one is, while Devil Masami was still in her uber-heel phase here, this match is actually fought more like a 'Style Three' type of match that I thought didn't come until around a year later. There's barely any dirty play from her at all in fact, even though she doesn't do her turn from heel to 'tweener' until a big angle in February 1984. So I think this match is in fact a first draft in front of a live audience of the style that really peaked in the Crush Gals boom era of 1985-86. Also, this is before the UWF's first show, so while I do know that shoot style did influence some AJW wrestlers a bit after this, it clearly wasn't the only thing going on.

We get an opening flurry in the first couple of minutes where both wrestlers get to throw some offense but to little effect, and then things settle down and for the next ten minutes this is very grounded wrestling. Sometimes they're on the mat exchanging holds, and they switch things up by taking to their feet for tests of strength, but the one consistent thread is that Jaguar is the superior wrestler. Devil is competitive and gets ahead a few times, but Jaguar always comes out on top in these exchanges. There's a familiar moment where Jaguar has Devil in a facedown leglock and Devil just can't break out of it and tries going for the ropes, familiar because Devil would put Chigusa Nagayo in a similar predicament in their big title match two years later.

Eventually Devil needs to break this dynamic and she does it by throwing Jaguar headfirst into the ring post and throws her into some chairs on the outside. Within  the context of the match I guess this is a dirty play, but watching Devil up to this point with her liberal use of weapons and outside interference, it barely counts.

This doesn't work well for Devil though. Jaguar flies back into the ring and unloads some big flying offense on her before taking back control and getting her on the mat stuck in a hold again. It's an unconventional layout in that Jaguar is the smaller, faster babyface, but actually she's the one who's trying to keep things grounded and slowed down with Devil fighting from underneath. So it feels like she's the one whose comeback has been built to when she manages to counter Jaguar's hold with a headscissors and then hits a cool seated-piledriver like move for her first protracted segment of offense of the match. We get some feats of strength with her big delayed bodyslams but soon they're back on the mat but Devil has Jaguar grounded now. Her camel clutch feels like such a more heelish hold than anything Jaguar did however. But this just leads up to what I think is the match highlight, one of the sickest ganso bombs I've ever seen it's borderline attempted murder. Devil just plants Jaguar straight down on her head and Jaguar stays down looking like she'd had the life knocked out of her.

The big ganso bomb changes the match completely. The next section is all Devil-dominance and Jaguar is selling like she's at 50% energy at most for the next several minutes. It's not the kind of 'holding a specific body part' selling we're more used to in modern times, just a general sense of being out of it and just about holding on to survive. Jaguar does get in a counter by hitting a backdrop, but is too hurt to capitalise and they tease a double KO for a bit before they're both up (Devil actually gets up first). Jaguar also tries hiding out on the outside to recover, making the most of the 20 count. It's a really good selling performance. Bear in mind we are missing about 13 minutes of the match (I assume nothing was cut from here on as it's the finishing stretch and the time calls add up), so the exhaustion on display probably made a bit more sense if we were seeing this in full.

Now we get to the spicy bit. The ring announcer makes the call for 35 minutes passed, and Devil goes for the win as per the secret rules. She stands horizontally to Jaguar, who is lying flat back on the match, and Devil just goes down flat to try and hold her down for the 3 count. On the replay, I have to admit, it looks like Jaguar cheats a little bit. The rule was that you're not allowed to try to bridge out until the cover has already been applied, but she goes up a split second before. Might not have made a difference, but Jaguar is able to turn onto her front and keep herself in the match. It's her turn to try to win next. Devil again goes for a cover, but those in the know will see she wasn't trying to win this time, it's a spot for Jaguar to do her signature bridge out straight to her feet to come running off the ropes, which she follows with a very nice jump over Devil's head (she gets impressive height on it) to get back into the match. Her turn is next

The spiciness continues. Jaguar hits a butterfly suplex and she goes for the win as per the rules. Devil's shoulders are clearly down as Jaguar begins the cover, and she tries to fight her way out of it but can only get one shoulder up at any one time. There's an almighty struggle over this, but Jaguar definitely does manage to pin Devil's shoulders for a 2 count. But a 3? Well, this video quality isn't great so it's not entirely clear, but it does look to me that Devil's shoulder was up just before the 3. Anyway, Devil was convinced her shoulder was up and was outraged. I've read all about this incident but never seen it for myself, with Devil saying the referee was biased and Jaguar says Devil was just mad she lost. But she goes right over the announcer table to scream at Commission Ueda (who isn't just an on-screen authority, he was actually the most powerful person in the company who wasn't a Matsunaga) that she's been screwed.

While it would still be the norm for rookie matches, this would be the last time AJW had a World Title be decided by shoot-pin rules. Which is another thing which makes this match historically significant and I'm so glad we finally got to see it. While that aspect of the company would be downplayed going forward, they also created a template for the kind of epic title match that AJW would really specialise in over the next few years. This is a lot rougher than the later matches, there are some lulls in the action (I mean in terms of being captivating, not literal movement) and it feels like it'd take a little while longer for the AJW crew to fully figure out how to get the most out of this style. I'd say the 7/19/82 match between these two is still probably the better match, albeit a very different one. It feels a bit weird to give this a star rating considering the context, but I'm going to give this a flat 4. But for it's place in history this is a must watch for anyone interested in 80s Joshi. I'm so happy this has finally surfaced.

MD:  To my credit, I am back in 1979 still, right? And while I've seen the Dump stuff that's canonical, I'm less versed on this stuff. But this is a big match, and a lost match, and we'll jump right in. It really felt like a title match and a struggle, especially the holds where it was obvious just looking at Masami and Yokota just how much effort they were putting into them, and especially the finish which had Yokota forcing Masami's shoulders down almost from force of will alone (or as Kad pointed out, from true force alone). This had kinetic action that ground back into the holds in a way that gave the match substance. It never broke down into chaos or interference. It always went back to the center and therefore it never lost its way.

Throughout the match, Yokota would get an advantage with speed and grit, often times just throwing her body at Masami (which is really how the match started), and then Masami would grind her down with power (again, how the match started) and bombs. Some of the specific holds really worked for me, such as the way they were able to trade bodyscissors early, working basically all the way around the world shifting holds and positions until they switched places on who had on the bodyscissors. 

Masami would drive Yokota out of the ring or leave her laying, but Yokota came back again and again. The comeback towards the end had her basically vault straight up over Masami's head before hitting a rana. Even then Masami shut her down and tossed her off the second rope from a fireman's carry. So while it was all grounded, they built to some pretty big spots, before the finish which was scrappy as could be and still felt contested nonetheless. I don't know if those shoulders were down.

Riki Choshu/Masa Saito vs. Tatsumi Fujinami/Shiro Koshinaka 9/5/88

MD: This one's on us. We've had access to this HH since 2018 or whatever but I don't think anyone actually gave it a good look. It's the IWGP Heavyweight champion and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion up against the tag champs for the belts. And it's really good and goes twice as long as I expected. 

After some opening title match feeling out between Saito and Fujinami (two of the most credible guys ever so it was good like you'd expect), Shiro wants to tag in against Choshu and we're off to the races. Koshinaka is a guy that I like a lot more in tags than singles. He (and Takano/Cobra) were really expected to be the heirs to Tiger Mask in having exciting, over the top Jr. Title matches and you really end up with a lot of noise. But he was a plucky underdog with a special connection with the crowd and a real sense of theatricality. Earlier in 88, he started being the only guy in the promotion (not even Inoki) who would sometimes "Hulk Up" and the fans couldn't get enough of it.

Here he quickly got outgunned by the superior hierarchical forces and what we ended up with was a tale of survival as he tried to punch his way out of first Saito's Prison Lock and then Choshu's Scorpion. There's probably nothing the fans in 88 New Japan would eat up more than someone fighting valiantly against holds like that and at one point they were clapping along to each valiant Koshinaka punch in a way that I'm not sure I've seen them do before. They cycled through this twice until, fighting a Scorpion attempt, Koshinaka was able to crawl over and make the tag.  

I thought things would go home shortly hereafter (once Koshinaka recovered enough to make it back in of course) and there was a bit of that, with Fujinami having to survive some of the holds Koshinaka fought out of as they targeted his knee. Shiro did come back in and they had the advantage for a while, but they were fighting from a deficit. It was Fujinami that got overwhelmed instead, posted on the outside by Saito and opened up to create a dramatic (and surprising) next act to the match as Saito bit the wound and Fujinami fought for his life.

Koshinaka tries to intervene and got trapped in the ropes just as Fujinami turned the tide, fighting off both Saito and Choshu until Choshu's lariat finally prevailed. Super dramatic stuff, the sort of which you can only get out of New Japan at its best. 

Pirata Morgan vs. MS-1 (hair vs hair) CMLL 3/15/91

MD: There's a moment at the end which is honestly remarkable and we're going to lead with that. After a solid tercera where I'm not sure MS-1's selling was warranted, but they sort of made you go for it anyway, Morgan gets a small package through countering a move for the pin. The commentary says that this move was invented by Lex Luger, champion of the world, and is called the Total Package. Honestly, this was worth dusting off just for that.

This is in the found, or at the very least, underlooked category. I'm sure most people haven't seen it. It's interesting but doesn't rise to the level you'd want it to, mainly due to some narrative quirks. It has some things you almost never see in a hair match, and despite Morgan wearing white with his black, it doesn't get quite as bloody as I thought it would.

We come in with MS-1 controlling in the primera. He is, of course, good at that. Morgan goes for a few comebacks but the ref gets in his way; it's that kind of match. They make a big deal out of the fact Morgan doesn't have a second. After MS-1 puts him away to win the first fall, he absolutely cracks him on the post on the outside. They made it sound as loud as any shot like that I've ever heard but then there isn't the massive amount of blood to follow it up. Morgan tries to come back with some big shots but the ref again gets in his way, which feels like an inversion to earlier apuestas matches. It'd be like the ref disrupting things after Chicana's big comeback punch vs MS-1. It just felt wrong.

As the segunda goes on, MS-1 keeps pulling Morgan up, which you almost never see in a hair match. He steps on his chest and then steps off before the three, that sort of thing. Eventually, Morgan tries coming back again and this time the ref pushes him out of the ring. That was the cue for Morgan's brother and Hombre Bala to come out to second him which symbolically turns the tide of the match and leads to his big comeback and some big dives before the finish. Along the way, there are some other weird quirks like Morgan rolling in the ring to get into position and some rope running that felt out of place, but in general, it ends well with that famous move invented by Luger and the fans are happy with the outcome. It all could have been just a bit more grounded and grisly though. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: California Studs?

Week 47: California Studs?

EB: March 2 had a high profile card for CSP, with two big apuestas matches and the second match between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch taking place. Let’s recap what happened that night in those three matches.

Dick Murdoch won the second match against Carlos Colon by using the ropes for leverage. Murdoch is now 2-0 against Carlos, having also won the first match using the ropes for leverage. Both times Colon and Murdoch fought after the match, with Murdoch taking some cheap shots and attacking Carlos with weapons. As a result of these two victories, Murdoch has now earned a Universal title match. Carlos Colon, angry at being cheated out of victory twice in a row, has demanded that they bring in a special referee to make sure Murdoch does not cheat him out of the Universal title.

Invader #1 and Bronco #1 won the World tag team titles and the Texas Hangmen’s masks. After this defeat, the Hangmen have left the territory. Also on that night, TNT defeated Original TNT with the name and paint on the line. Due to this, Original TNT can no longer claim to be TNT or dress up like him. He is now going by the name of Action Jackson. It wasn't all bad news for El Profe though, as on the March 3 card in Cabo Rojo, Scott Hall was able to win the Caribbean title from Miguelito Perez.

So with all of these developments taking place, let’s go to the TV programs from March 9 to see where things go. Let’s start with the Campeones episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX30u7w5bGU

Hugo and El Profe welcome us to the program, with Profe posing and preening to show off how good he looks. Hugo introduces Profe as the supreme leader of El Club Deportivo along with his general Skandor Akbar, and also makes note of Profe modeling for the camera. Profe remarks that what keeps the great presidents in power are their generals.Hugo again remarks that he is impressed that El Profe has secured the services of someone like Sksndor Akbar, it establishes him more globally. They run down what they’ll have on today's program, with Profe mentioning that we’ll see the newest acquisition for El Club Deportivo and Devastation Incorporated, a team called the California Studs. Also today we'll see a very special look at the feud between Sasha and Monster Ripper, including footage from their most recent battle in a street fight. Hugo also mentions that they will have plenty of interviews, including one from the special guest referee for tonight’s Universal title match in Carolina between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch. Profe is happy about the guest referee because finally it’ll be someone that won't allow Carlos Colon to cheat, this gentleman has so much experience and such stature, and  tonight we will finally have a worthy Universal champion in Dick Murdoch. Hugo points out that Murdoch also won’t be able to cheat tonight, to which Profe says that Murdoch does not need to cheat to beat Colon. Hugo reveals the guest referee’s name and it’s none other than ‘Nature Boy’ Buddy Rogers. Tickets are on sale tonight and they also talk about the VHS tapes and merchandise available for purchase.

Hugo then brings up that there is another notable match tonight, as the team of Scott Hall (who is the new Caribbean champion) and the Motor City Madman are facing the new World tag team champions, Invader #1 and Bronco #1. Hugo also mentions that they took the masks off the Texas Hangmen, to which Profe complains that they won by cheating and they don’t recognize that victory. Hugo mentions that the Texas Hangmen are done, they lost their masks and they are no longer a factor. Profe says that tonight it’ll be different since they have a wall of humanity in there, the smaller of the two is like 6’9”, the rudos will simply steamroller and end those two mediocrities. ‘Invader and Bronco will pay dearly for what they did last week’. With that, Hugo presents the special look at the feud between current Women’s champion Sasha and Monster Ripper.

MD: At the start of the show, Hugo congratulates Profe for having Akbar with him now as it makes him global. They also hype a video tape and a bunch of merch.

EB: The feud recap for Sasha and Monster Ripper starts with one of their first encounters back in mid October (around the time Eric Embry made his return to Puerto Rico), as Profe talks about witnessing the beauty of Monster Ripper compared to ‘that thing in white’. In the clip, Sasha was mainly in control with the fight going to the outside before cutting to the next match. We then go to November 10, where the highlights again focus on them fighting outside of the ring (including some ringpost smashes and ramming heads on the ballfield ground). Hugo points out that you can tell these matches are not focused on holds but are straight out fights between the two ladies. Next is a clip from their November 22 encounter, showing each of them briefly in control. Hugo mentions that Sasha had shown that despite the size difference she has not backed down. Next is a highlight from January 12 in Carolina, where Ripper has a sleeperhold on Sasha, who fights out of it. Next is a clip from January 26, where Ripper body slams Sasha on the arena floor. Ripper then tries to ram Sasha onto the ringside table but Sasha blocks it and rams Ripper into the table several times instead. This match ends in a double countout as the two women fight on the floor near the table.

The last clip is from their most recent encounter, a streetfight. Both ladies are dressed in street clothes (with Ripper wearing overalls). Ripper is in control, ramming Sasha into the ringside table and into the ringpost. Hugo mentions that Sasha is bleeding from the attacks. We also see Ripper ram Sasha into the wood panel stack and hit Sasha over the head with what looks almost like a dining room chair. But it was not all Monster Ripper, as Sasha got fired up and countered with several blows and ringpost rams. Now Ripper is also bleeding. As the two women continue fighting on the floor, they head over to the ringside table and even end up in the crowd fighting after Ripper gets tossed over the barricade.  They cut to them back in the ring, where Sasha has lost her shirt and is hitting Ripper with what looks to be a weight belt or a wrapped up object of some sort. During this exchange, Ripper appears to pull out an object, which she later uses to knock Sasha out for the ten count. Tonight, Sasha defends her title against Monster Ripper and expect it to be a fight.   

We then get promos from both ladies. Ripper promises to win the title tonight, because everybody knows Sasha is a cheater and Ripper is the best in the world. The title is going back around her waist. Sasha mentions that tonight is an important match because the title is on the line and wants the fans to come out and support her to victory.

MD: Big takeaway here is that they were really laying it in. Second big takeaway was that Sasha more than held her own despite the size difference. She was just a bruiser in her own right. The streetfight we only get clipped here but it honestly looked great. Ripper had of-the-times overalls like she was on Blossom or something and they battled all over the stadium, including up in the stands, until Sasha ran into a shot and got counted out. That was non-title and the title match was coming with Sasha ensuring everyone knew she was defending the title for the people.

EB: We also get a  quick promo from the Super Medicos, who are facing new arrivals the California Studs tonight. Medico #3 tells the Studs to come prepared, because tonight may be the beginning and end of them in Puerto Rico. Medico #1 mention that they are aware of the Studs’ reputation from coast to coast in the U.S.,  but if they think they've come to the Caribbean to also have their way, then they are mistaken because the Super Medicos are here. ‘Remember, from A to Z, we are the rulers and masters of that ring’.

Next is the card rundown for tonight’s show in Carolina: Carlos Colon defends against Dick Murdoch in a Universal title match with Buddy Rogers as guest referee; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 (the clip they show them has them with the titles and the Hangmen masks in their hands) defend the World tag team titles against Scott Hall & Motor City Madman; TNT & Kim Duk vs Action Jackson (the ex-Original TNT) & El Profe; Mr. Pogo defends the World Jr title against ‘El Nene de las Nenas’ Ricky Santana; Sasha defends the Women’s title against Monster Ripper; Galan Mendoza & Rick Valentine defend the Caribbean tag titles against the Caribbean Express; and the Super Medicos vs the California Studs.

Next is our first look at the California Studs,a new team brought in by Skandor Akbar. A limo is arriving at the airport, where it parks to pick up two guys in sunglasses, bow ties and jackets (but shirtless), and it seems they are in their wrestling gear.  Skandor Akbar gets out of the limo to greet them before all three get inside. In the limo, the California Studs say they are going to show everyone what they are all about as they zoom in on a tv monitor in the limo. It then cuts to the Studs in tv studio action. By the way, you may have recognized who these two wrestlers are (if not we’ll identify them soon), but it is clear that neither of their accents screams California. We then get a video that is intercut with scenes from the tv studio match and scenes of the Studs posing on a bridge (including being served champagne by their female limo driver). The video is followed by a promo featuring Akbar and the California Studs. Interesting enough, they still have not identified either of them by name. Both Studs cut a promo followed by Hugo translating. If you have not recognized them by now, the California Studs are Tony Antonhy and Brian Lee.

MD: The funniest part here was Hugo talking after each Stud and Akbar coming in early since he was going to follow Lee, and then glaring at Hugo as he started talking while the Studs tried to call him down. The second funniest bit was Lee’s accent being dubbed a California Stud. so it’s Brian Lee and Tony Anthony, which is a total surprise to me, but they’re going to fit in just fine in Puerto Rico. Anthony cut a good promo about how the Medics don’t know them but they’ve done the research.

The card, by the way, is pretty interesting, with Buddy Rogers coming in to ref the Colon vs Murdoch match. While the Studs are in underneath vs the Medicos, Valentine/Mendoza and Motor City Madman/Hall seem temporarily above them on the card. They call Original TNT Action Jackson too so I’m sure they’ll explain that to us later.

EB: El Profe is with Scott Hall and Motor City Madman, and they are there to talk about tonight's World tag title match ‘against those two imbeciles’. Madman dubs their duo “The Twin Towers" and can’t believe that the tecnicos will be able to beat them. Hall mentions that the hot streak Bronco and Invader are on is out of luck. Hall actually mocks Bronco’s dance (and does a pretty good imitation of it) and says that the champions can’t measure up to the madman and the blonde outlaw.

Invader and Bronco respond, wearing their title belts and holding the Hangmen’s masks in their hands. Their opponents may be strong but they better come ready, because Invader and Bronco are ready to fight to keep the titles around their waists. In a nice touch, Invader has one of the Hangmen’s hands around his fist and it waves around as he gestures throughout his promo.

MD: Madman and Hall are up against Invader and Bronco for the titles. Madman calls them the “Twin Towers.” and Hall makes fun of Bronco’s dance. We get more lovely pantomime as Hall and Madman figure out what to do with their hands as Profe talks. But even better is that Invader and Bronco have the Hangmen’s masks. Great symbol there.

EB The Dick Murdoch music video we’ve seen before plays next, although it has been updated to include some highlights from Murdoch’s feud with Carlos Colon. Besides the brainbuster on the ballfield we’ve seen before, the video includes clips of when Murdoch busted open Carlos in the tv studio, Murdoch attacking Carlos with a stick after their first match, and a post match attack after their March 2 match (where Murdoch attacked Carlos with a chair near the dugout after carlos had shoved the referee out of the way).

As mentioned earlier, the Universal title match has a special referee. We hear from both participants as well as the special referee. Up first is Dick Murdoch with his sidekick Joe Smith. Except now it’s Joe Don Smith due to the great job Joe has been doing  at basically being Murdoch’s stooge. Joe is happy about the middle nama and also mentions that  Murdoch now has him living in a home with windows. Murdoch complains about Buddy Rogers being named the special ref, but it doesn’t matter who the ref is because Murdoch will beat Colon for the Universal title. Murdoch wants Rogers to call things straight down the middle, because if he doesn’t he will get slapped. Last time in Carolina, Murdoch left tColon laid out and he’ll do it again tonight with the Universal title on the line. Murdoch promises Colon that this will be one of the greatest matches of both their careers and that the title is coming to him.

Buddy Rogers is next and gives a basic but solid promo about being happy to be in Puerto Rico, refereeing what will be one of the greatest matches in the Puerto Rico area, that he will take no favorites, and there will be a clear winner.

Finally, Carlos Colon has his say about tonight’s match. Colon makes clear that he requested Buddy Rogers as the referee because  he’s tired of Murdoch stealing wins in their matches by cheating. And with the Universal title on the line, Colons definitely wants to be sure Murdoch is not able to do his usual cheating antics. That’s the only reason he requested a special referee, to stop the cheating, because he does not need any help in giving Murdoch a beating. Tonight he is going to give Murdoch a bigger beating, so be ready.

MD: Very good Murdoch music video made better maybe by the shaky VQ? There’s stuff from Texas of him fighting Funk which makes me wish that happened in Puerto Rico. His promo is pretty funny too as he’s given a middle name to Joe (He’s now Joe Don) and he’s got real windows for the first time in his life. Buddy Rogers’ promo is very straightforward and he’s good at not trying to do things with his hands as Hugo translates. Again, they’ve done another good job of making a match seem suitably big and important.

EB: The final match on this Campeones episode is one we have covered before, it is from the feud between the Caribbean Express and Los Mercenarios that led up to Aniversario 1990. It’s being shown since the Caribbean Express are challenging for the Caribbean tag titles on tonight's card. Before the match, Profe is complaining about the cut of his suit, with Hugo suggesting that perhaps it is because Profe has gained weight. Hugo also starts needling Profe about his tag match tonight, where he may end up alone against TNT and Kim Duk. Hugo also gets Profe’s thoughts on the other matches tonight, with Profe predicting wins for the rude and insulting the tecnicos. Hugo wonders why he bothered asking Profe for his opinion as he throws it to the match. Afterwards, we go back to Hugo and Profe for the show close. Before he forgets, Hugo wants to give a thank you to the limo driver from the California Studs video, who was very professional, especially considering how the California Studs can behave. Hugo thanks the fans for their letters and reminds them about tonight’s card and when to catch Campeones weekly.  

We now go to the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha libre for March 9. Quick note for those that watch the videos, you can skip to the 4:30 mark here since the first few minutes are the intro to last week’s episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZIF-V4D_U

Hugo welcomes the viewers to another episode of Superestrellas and goes over what we’ll see today on the program. Our main event will feature the Invaders (#1 and #4) taking on the Motor City Madman and Scott Hall. We also have the debut of a new team brought in by El Profe and Gen. Skandor Akbar, the California Studs. Besides the scheduled matches, there was an incident that occurred in the studio while they were taping another Superestrellas episode (I’m guessing Hugo is referring to the promos and wraparounds they filmed for the SJ Metro version of Superestrellas). There is a change to a match that was scheduled for today's TV program due to that incident and Hugo asks the director to show what happened. They cut to Hugo talking about what is scheduled for tonight’s show in Carolina when all of a sudden Action Jackson (the former Original TNT) and El Profe  show up on set. Jackson is angry and shouts that he does not want to wait to face TNT tonight, he wants him right now. TNT shows up and the two get into a brief argument and agree to face off for the TV title right now instead of waiting. We cut back to Hugo and he announces that our first match today will be TNT challenging Action Jackson for the TV title. Regardless of the result, this does not affect their scheduled match for tomorrow, the only thing that could change is who is defending the TV title based on how the upcoming match goes. Hugo takes a moment to run down tomorrow’s card in Aguadilla and also says that they are proud to return to their west coast home which is the arena in Aguadilla. After running down the card, Hugo then introduces the impromptu TV title match.

TNT and Action Jackson start off hot, exchanging several punches before Jackson gets the advantage. Eliud Gonzalez on commentary makes note that Action Jackson is furious about TNT stripping him of the name and paint and he is out to get revenge. Jackson rams TNT into the corner, but TNT comes back with several blows. TNT hits a backdrop on Jackson ,who then rolls out of the ring to catch his breath. Back in, TNT continues in control and makes a pin attempt. Jackson regains control with an eye rake, controlling the next couple of minutes with elbows, eye gouges and rear chinlocks. TNT briefly gets a comeback by ducking a clothesline and hitting a bodypress, but Jackson quickly gets back on offense. Eventually, Jackson misses a corner charge that allows TNT the opening to hit a couple of strikes to the midsection. TNT sends Jackson into the ropes and a karate chop gets a two count. TNT tries another whip into the ropes but Jackson counters and Profe trips up TNT. The referee sees this and calls for the disqualification. The two men continue fighting after the bell, with Profe trying to help out Jackson. TNT briefly fights them off but eventually Jackson is able to surprise TNT from behind. Both Jackson and Profe attack TNT, and Profe helps Jackson hit a piledriver. With TNT out, Jackson takes out a towel and wipes the paint off TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect. The commentators mention that Jackson is doing to TNT exactly what Jackson had done to him after losing their apuestas match last week. Kim Duk runs out to chase the rudos off, as TNT tries to cover his face. This certainly seems like a feud that is not yet over.

We get some promos from Action Jackson (with El Profe) and TNT about tomorrow’s TV title match. Jackson promises to finish TNT, he’ll take his paint off again to embarrass TNT again. He’s sick and tired of beating TNT but he’ll do it again tomorrow, TNT is wearing his head mask and mentions that taking off the paint was an act of disrespect. He’s worn that paint for years and no one has dared to do what Action Jackson did. The one and only TNT is angry and tomorrow he will take that TV title off Jackson, just as he did the name and paint.      

MD: TNT won the rights to the name so now Original TNT is Action Jackson. He’s still got the TV title so he has that going for him but now he has some colorful tights instead. They have the confrontation and an impromptu match which is very neck vice heavy. Maybe Jackson was worse off without the karate gimmick. TNT would fight from underneath and get cut off repeatedly until he finally took over, got tripped by Profe and then, when he took back over Profe came on in for the DQ. They needed to heat things back up so they did with Jackson wiping the paint off of TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect, an affront. Kim Duk came out to make the save. The promos were about what you’d respect with TNT talking about the sanctity of the paint and Jackson, kind of amusingly, cutting his promo and then talking on as Profe translated for him. Probably still some juice left on this program with the high heat angle.

EB: They do the rundown for tomorrow's show in Aguadilla: Giant Warrior vs. Dick Murdoch; Invader #1 & Kim Duk vs Motor City Madman & Scott Hall; Action Jackson defends the TV title against TNT; Ricky Santana vs. Rick Valentine; Bronco #1 vs. Galan Mendoza; Sasha vs. Monster Ripper; and the Super Medicos vs. the California Studs.

Up next is Ricky Santana vs. El Condor.The match is joined just as Condor has jumped Ricky Santana and is ramming Ricky’s head into the turnbuckle. Condor irish whips Ricky and follows up with a clothesline, but a second irish whip is reversed and Santana hits a backdrop. From there it's all Santana in a short match, hitting a flying splash to finish off El Condor.

Monster Ripper, Galan Mendoza and Rik Valentine are in the interview area to talk about their singles matches tomorrow in Aguadilla. They each insult their respective opponents and give guarantees of victory tomorrow. Ricky Santana is next, sending a hello to the fans in Aguadilla in Spanish but then does the rest of the interview in English. Bronco #1 also cuts a promo on his match tomorrow against Galan Mendoza, warning Mendoza to be ready and that it won’t be easy.

MD: They’re in Aguadilla for another card they’re hyping with a different line up, including Santana vs Valentine and Bronco vs Mendoza. The Santana match was JIP and pretty quick with him fighting back and hitting the top rope splash. Valentine said he was only back to the island due to a court date for stealing hubcaps. Obviously, Santana cutting a pretty solid promo in English did not appreciate that. Mendoza went after the locale and its people more than Bronco but it was going to be a singles match between two of the different tag title holders, so that made it a little interesting.

EB: Our next match is a replay of the Dick Murdoch vs Giant Warrior match that we saw just a week or so ago. It's being shown to build up tomorrow’s main event between Giant Warrior and Dick Murdoch. This was the match where Murdoch busted open Warrior and continued choking him after the bell. After the match we go to Hugo in the interview area with Dick Murdoch and Joe Smith,  or rather Joe Don Smith due to the great job he has been doing for Murdoch. Joe also makes sure the west coast fans are aware he now has windows in his house. Murdoch promises that he’ll beat Warrior even worse than last time. He also promises that if Colon shows up he will beat him up as well.  

Hugo follows with a voiceover over clips of Giant Warrior, who is on his way back to Puerto Rico from a foreign tour  and who spoke with Hugo over the telephone. The clips include opponents such as Atkie Mulumba, Nitron, Roadblock and Abdullah the Butcher. Hugo lets the fans know that Warrior has been training and is now more aware of how Murdoch operates. Warrior is looking forward to dealing with this menace and shutting up Murdoch once and for all.

MD: They know they have good material so they reuse it, I guess, with Murdoch giving Joe a middle name again and them talking about a house with windows. Murdoch navigates his feud with Colon and going up against Warrior. More fun bits with Hugo translating in between them including the two of them miming the brainbuster in unison.

EB: The California Studs are in the interview area with Skandor Akbar. The interview starts with Akbar presenting the team and bragging about how accomplished they are. Again they do not name either of the Studs in the interview and each of them has a chance to talk about their match tomorrow against the Super Medicos.

Afterwards we join the California studs vs. El Corsario and Tito Carrion match already in progress. Lee and Antohone are just tossing their opponents around and having their way with the tecnico team. It’s an impressive showcase for Akbar’s new tag team, as the Studs win the match with a powerslam into a flying kneedrop combo.  

MD: It’s interesting how they haven’t quite worked out the patter of Hugo translating after everything they say yet. Anthony tried to throw it to Lee and then they had to wait for Hugo. Akbar was a big pick up really, honestly feeling as big as getting Greg Valentine or Harley Race. That hasn’t quite played out on top yet, but he just adds gravitas to everything. Even the goofy sunglasses. Squash was pretty straightforward. A lot of quick tags and control. Pulling up at 2 by the hair. I don’t know about Lee’s top rope kneedrop finish but otherwise he was a big man that could move.

EB: El Profe is with Skandor Akbar, new Caribbean champion Scott Hall and Motor City Madman to talk about tomorrow’s tag match with Invader #1 and Kim Duk.  Akbar runs down the tecnicos, especially that traitor Kim Duk, who owes Profe an apology. Madman talks next and makes a racist insult involving food, with Hall finishing the interview by saying they have the brains and the brawn to handle Invader and Duk tomorrow. Duk and Invader cut their promo from the backstage area in the arena, with Duk threatening the rudos with his kendo stick and Invader urging the fans to come out and support them. Their opponents may be big but Invader has a partner with a lot of heart and fortitude in Kim Duk.  

MD: Case in point, Akbar talking for these two. More fun hand motions (in tandem) as Hugo translates. Hall is the Caribbean champion still. Invader seemed to be chomping at the bits to speak for Duk but it’s a pretty fresh match at least.

EB: The Super Medicos cut a quick promo about facing the new arrivals of the California Studs. They promise that they won't; back down, they have faced many great teams before and beaten them. It won’t be easy for the California Studs tomorrow.

MD: Straightforward stuff here as they prepare for the Studs. Other teams have come in before and they’ve faced them down. Medico 1 says that the Studs better be in good condition because they’re facing some tough “super middleweights.” I’ve got some high hopes for this feud at least.

EB: Our main event for this program is a tag match between Scott Hall and the Motor City Madman vs the Invaders. Both Profe and Akbar are at ringside for the rudos. The Invaders start off the match with their signature armwork and quick tags on Scott Hall. Invader #1 takes down Hall and works a hammerlock, but Hall is able to get back to his feet and fight out of it. Madman is tagged in, but Invader is able to scoot through Madman’s legs to avoid an attack and gets an arm wringer. Another series of quick tags and arm works is done on Madman. Eventually, Invader #1 is backed into the rudo corner and Hall gets tagged in. A double clothesline from the rudos gets an unsuccessful pin attempt. Invader #1 again is able to scoot through his opponent’s legs and gets an arm wringer. Quick tag to Invader #4, who continues to work the arm but is overmatched by Hall when they get into a punch exchange. Halls gets a tornado punch and a body slam, before sending Invader #4 into the rudo corner.

Madman is tagged back in and the rudos work over Invader #4. The rudos manage to keep Invader #4 isolated, with Hall getting a variation of the abdominal stretch on Invader #4. Invader #1 comes in to break the hold, but the rudos continue to keep Invader #4 near their corner. Hugo mentions that the rudo team has impressed him with their moves and how well they are working together as a team. Invader #4 gets a sunset flip (with an assist by Invader #1 in knocking Hall down) but he is unable to tag Invader #1 in. The attack continues on Invader #4 but eventually Invader #4 is able to roll away and make the hot tag to Invader #1, who starts cleaning house on the rudos. All four men end up in the ring fighting and, in the confusion, Invader #4 gets backdropped by Hall over the top rope to the floor. Invader #1 gets a backslide on Madman, but Hall comes over to break up the pin attempt. Invader #1 backs Hall into the turnbuckle and starts punching away as the referee tries to break it up and send Hall back to his corner. On the other side of the ring, Akbar has given Madman one of his boots. When Invader turns around, the ref gets tied up with Hall and does not see Madman hit Invader with Akbar’s boot. Madman covers and gets the pin on Invader #1.

Hugo then closes the show by hyping up tomorrow’s card and reminding fans about where to get the merchandise and VHS tapes that are available for purchase.

MD: This goes about ten and was pretty good. Invaders were masked (and it was a good way to build vs Invader/Bronco defending against the “Twin Towers”). Invaders controlled early with quick tags and working the arm. They finally took over on Invader 4 in the corner and did a long, super credible heat with some clever hope spots as Invader 1 intervened. This gave you a great sense of how big Hall and the Mad Man were. They just loomed over their opponents. Invader 1 came in hot after the tag but an Invader (4?) went crashing to the floor hard and in the confusion, the Mad Man used a weapon and got the win. Nice way to heat up the bigger match.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we’ll find out what happened in the Universal title match. Do we have a new champion? Did Buddy Rogers call it down the middle? What exactly happened post match? Also, we get a new dirty arrival to Puerto Rico and a final  look at one of the stalwarts of Puerto Rican wrestling.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Lucy! Grable!

59. 1979.09.2X2 - 02 Joyce Grable vs. Lucy Kayama (After 9/21, possibly October)

K: The Japan vs. USA series continues with another similar match to what we’d previously covered. I still dislike the structure of these and think they would work better if they didn’t insist on having the heel totally dominate the first few minutes of the match. At least let the Japanese wrestler get a hold in first or something. But nonetheless, this worked a bit better than average. Firstly the crowd was vocal in cheering on Lucy, which mitigated her getting beaten up without putting up much of a fight early on.

One of the memorable moments was Grable draping Kayama’s neck over the top rope, then again over the 2nd rope and sitting on it to choke her while (I think) Leilani Kai punched her from the outside. They made the most out of this as when Kayama’s comeback began, she managed to stay in control for quite a good bit, but then she went for revenge and tried putting Grable into the same choking predicament, but she wasn’t able to pull it off so well (perhaps she’s a lot less experienced in these nasty illegal maneuvers as the Americans) so Grable was able to escape. That was the decisive moment of the match, as Grable was able to take back control and before long won with a very good powerful missile dropkick to get a 3 count. Very low ceiling on this kind of match, but they did alright.

*3/4

MD: We’ve got a Japanese referee here (Yanagi?) so at least this will be clean. I don’t have a great sense of Grable and while a lot of her offense wouldn’t change the world, I really did like her reactions, both on top and when she had to work from underneath. She was jawing with the crowd and the ref and over the top as she’d bite the hand secretly when she had a wristlock. When Lucy did take over and did a drop down body scissors with roll back slams, she sold it as well as she possibly could. I kind of want to track down more of her stuff now.

Otherwise, this was a lot of what you’d expect by that point from Moolah’s camp. Grable controlled for the first five minutes. She had Moolah and Williams/Kai (I think) out with her and they were happy to help cheat and choke and what not. One was wearing a stenciled “American Power” shirt. Lucy had her cheering section and had a way of throwing herself into everything with abandon. She had her big comeback but then got hefted over the top as she went in for a knee by the ropes. Grable had a power advantage and pressed that towards the end to set her up for a second rope missile dropkick. Post-match Kayama took out the ref just for the heck of it. These US vs Japan matches have their ceilings certainly but I thought Grable had about half of what she needed here at least.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 4/7 - 4/13

ROH 4/10/25

Dustin Rhodes/Ross Von Erich/Marshall von Erich vs Violence is Forever (Kevin Ku/Dominic Garrini)/Davey Bang

MD: This was sub-five minutes but there's absolutely something to be said about the value of skill and polish in an enhancement match like this. It's great that ROH gives younger talent a chance to get some reps and a little spotlight and a chance of being on "TV." I know who Sid Ellington is now because I saw him fly around for Satnam a month or two ago. That said, that's not the only purpose of ROH TV. Because of a Von Erich injury, we just haven't seen these guys in forever, and they are building to a trios match next week. I'm not saying it's going to make or break the ROH streaming service if Dustin and the Von Erichs aren't reestablished as meaningful six-man champs, but I am a firm believe that doing things well and properly does matter. Booking matters. Matches matter. If you're going to do something (even pro wrestling tv for the sake of pro wrestling tv) then do it well. And in that case, the six-man champs needed to be reestablished, and these were ideal opponents to do so with this setting. 

That meant that Ku was in the right place at the right time with the right attitude, throwing not just his body but his presence into all of Dustin's signature stuff. It meant that when Garrini got in there, he stuffed a Von Erich with the most credible, sudden, impactful knee to the gut you'll ever see. They were going to get swept under, but with just a few moves, they made it seem like Dustin and the Von Erichs had to work (even in dominance) for a win that mattered. And some how, Ku and Garrini managed to crash into one another three times in a five minute match with each time seeming organic. And then Bang made the finishing Claw pendulum slam look great too. 

ViF could contribute in any number of ways up and down the card. AEW's a promotion that lives and dies on great wrestling matches, and you could stick them on Collision and they'd heft up the number of great matches for the year week in and week out, but if they're going to be used in a spot like this, they're going to get the job done, and they absolutely did here.

Collision 4/12/25

Athena vs Harley Cameron

MD: I'm still struggling with babyface Cameron. She's obviously a hard worker. She definitely wants to be there. She's incredibly talented. But one issue with babyface turns since the beginning of time is that some of what made the wrestler over in the first place ends up watered down in the process. For Harley, it was that wild spontaneity that she might do anything at any moment. She's kept that to some degree backstage with the puppets and guitar and what have you, but it's not in the ring as much. I'm not sure if that's just part and parcel with the turn, where she has a more choreographed entrance and makes sure to work in the catch phrase in more of a rote way, or if it's just not having Saraya with her anymore to bounce off of. 

The match with Mone, for instance, was fine, but it had a sort of carefully practiced feel to it that you often don't get from a lot of the rest of the roster. Which again is fine to some degree! Harley does not have a lot of matches under her belt. The problem is that she's pushed at a fairly high level and put in a position to be a little overexposed. She's learning as she's going and I'm sure she'd rather be out there in the spotlight, but it's all a high ask for her. On some level, everything that will best ensure that she looks competent and acceptable as a talent at this level clashes with the sort of zany unpredictability that got her over in the first place.

Enter: Athena. I've noted before that there are diminishing returns about me writing up Athena matches as you'll hear the same things over and over again: She's in the moment. She's reacting to everything. She's alive in there. She's intense. She's believably explosive both in her offense and in her personality. You don't want to look away because you might miss a little glance or look to the camera or interaction with her opponent and the ref. There's no hesitation. There are no strings. It's not performative. She's living and breathing pro wrestling. There are only so many times you can say that.

This match brought something else into focus, or at least lets me refine all the above. So long as she is all that and does all that, she's able to make anyone in the ring with her not just better, but also clearer. I was struggling with exactly who babyface Harley was even after the Mone match. But here? In this one? It was absolutely obvious. Case in point: Harley just trying to grab the early headlocks to show that she belonged in there, that she could stand up to a bully, that everyone was worthy of a chance so long as they worked hard and tried their best, no matter how zany or different they were. She had a whole program with Mone and I saw that all the more clearly with just one headlock with Athena. It's wild. It's Stan Hansen-ian in how a wrestler can show her mettle against her. And it kept this match shining as Harley had to work from underneath against Athena and Athena got frustrated every time this affectated upstart was able to escape something or even get one in on her. 

There are limits to this, of course. It works well in a controlled start of a match when everything's being established. It works well during the heat when the heel can really drive things and there's a clear story engine. Down the stretch as things break down, more specific athleticism is asked for from both wrestlers. There were clearly moments where Harley was physically anticipating the next move. Again, she'll get more fluid at that in time and with reps and practice. I have total faith in that. The trickier part will be to lean hard into that character (through the physicality but even above and beyond it since it's far more important than any single spot) even when she doesn't have someone like Athena to push off against.

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Found Footage Friday: 1989 Copps Coliseum WWF Show

1/16/89 WWF Copps Coliseum Toronto

MD: This is another Richard Land find and you should be checking out his stuff at (@maskedwrestlers) since he provides about 1/3 of the new footage coming out today.

Red Rooster vs. Danny Davis

MD: This made me feel like I have to check out a lot more Danny Davis, honestly. He got on the mic at the start and said Heenan was paying him for this but he would have done it for free. Then he shoved Taylor and ran around the ring from him, got chased in, did some rope running, stopped, taunted, and walked right into a punch before taking a powder, all before his ring jacket was off. Great stuff to begin. Then came the real stalling as he just pressed himself in the corner and covered his head. When Taylor finally did get him he begged off until he could turn an arm wringer into a clothesline and then he looked pretty solid in control. There was just a spring to his step. He had some nice stuff (a weirdly balanced shot off the second ropes, a throat cross chop when Taylor started to come back) and then begged off again towards the finish where Taylor got him with the Scorpion Deathlock. I enjoyed this one.

ER: Imagine what a crushing day it was when Terry Taylor was told he had to get the top of his hair dyed bright red. I can't imagine, but it's a conversation about your career as a top pro being over and done with. Look at him here, with his blond locks and no red, a man existing as a man and not as a rooster. But I am much more of a Heel Terry Taylor man. Let me see that evil Mark Harmon unleashed, like you find out the guy running your goof around summer school is actually a real hard ass who will probably assault more than one of the students. No, this match is owned by Heel Danny Davis, and I agree with Matt that more Danny research must be conducted. Fans hate this man on sight, even before he gets on the mic to say, "Bobby The Brain Heenan paid me a lot of money to come to this god forsaken place! But brother, he didn't pay me a dime because it's gonna be myyy pleasure." Then he one-handed shoves Taylor.  

Davis has great movement and plays to the crowd expertly, the kind of guy who you'd want to keep as a heel house show undercarder. How he punches Taylor over the referee, that stiff quick short arm clothesline to break an arm wringer, those great running short kicks to a downed Taylor's jaw, his very good short right hands aimed straight at the chin - including a fist shake out after one, thus cementing Davis's status as a Great Puncher - all of it is stuff that Danny Davis performs far better than we've ever given him credit. If you were doubting his Great Puncher status, he also throws nice corner 10 count punches and dropped a hammering fistdrop from the middle buckle, and if that's not the trifecta then man I don't even know what we're doing here. The thing is, even better than his corner 10 counts? His shoulder shrugs in the corner. You remember how Batista always had real awful shoulder shrugs, coming in way too light and making it obvious just how much he was holding back? Soothe yourself by Danny Davis going hard into Taylor's stomach and ask yourself why we don't demand better. Demand Danny Davis. 

Curt Hennig vs. Rick Martel

MD: This was a draw that did air but was clipped in half or so. I can't speak to that version. I will say that the good stuff here was very good. The feeling out process where Hennig won the first few exchanges only for Martel to turn it around and toss him around with all the babyface fire anyone might want was just as good as you'd expect. Martel's one of the only guys I've ever seen that was so into the flow of what he was doing that he'd do flat back dropdowns to set up an armdrag. After that rope running they went into extended controlling of the arm by Martel and they kept it interesting enough, with lots of escape attempts by Perfect, before building to an elaborate bit where it looked like Perfect might get him three times before finally dropping him with a belly to back.

Perfect's control started out engaging (especially as he was still selling the arm) but they went into a long front face lock. Obviously, these are two guys that could work that, and Martel was going to work from underneath well, but it was also clearly eating up a bunch of time in a twenty minute draw. The payoff was good though as again Perfect was going to rush right in to all of Martel's fire. Once he cleared the ring of him that was the time limit so it didn't really even build to the sort of nearfalls you often get with a draw. It more felt like they were just calling it a day (even if Martel tried to invite Hennig back in).

ER: This did not need to be a time limit draw, and it didn't need the moments you knew they were working towards a time limit draw, but I also thought Hennig was fantastic throughout all of it. Look at black trunks Perfect in '89. It's easy to talk about Hennig the bumper but it's really all about Hennig the ball of energy. It's going into every exchange with real aggression, real purpose. You see how hard both men are leaning into a collar and elbow and you see how Hennig throws everything - armdrag, hop toss, fireman's carry - with real purpose. His punches look like he's really trying to mess up Martel's pretty face. This era Hennig was going to come in hard and then feed even harder, making his opponents' bodyslams and hiptosses look more violent than his own. Before things settle down into arm work and front face locks, he takes a great bump off a light dropkick, flying out through the ropes and off and over the ringside table, then faceplanting all around the ring while Canadians lose their minds. 

I love how hard he pushes all the rope running that leads to him eating shit. He pushes Martel fast, like he's trying to get him to mess up a sequence, but it always ends with him on the mat kicking his legs in a hold. He does two different missed charges into the turnbuckles that lead to long series of him eating bigger bowls of shit. The arm work is long but Perfect makes it look so convincing that I heard two different people - women! - yelling for Martel to break his arm. He's good at timing how long to keep the crowd engaged while kicking in a hold, and knows when to start breaking out match ending fireworks. Curt Hennig is perhaps our finest wrestler ever at bumping like a heel who has his shoelaces tied together. A lot of the Minnesota guys were great at that. Was it common practice to work 2 a day drills while pantsed or something? Hennig gets kicked around hard before fleeing at the sound of the bell, and every fall is that of a man escaping a ransomed kidnapping. We act like it's a foregone conclusion that this was "just another match clearly worked as a time limit draw" but this was the first time limit draw that Hennig worked during the Perfect era. This wasn't just a thing he and Martel were doing around the horn, this was a Copps exclusive where some tag specialist took Perfection to the limit. 

Rockers vs. Brainbusters

MD: This had Billy Red Lyons interview the Busters (no Heenan) before the start. Nothing notable but nice to see. The match itself started great with Michaels looking like a huge star outclassing Arn (Arn feeding for it perfectly) and then escaping to slap the hands of the fans like he had escaped with the crown jewels. Then, he, being Michaels, doubled down on it and no sold all of Tully's stuff (Tully still bumped huge for him), and it wasn't until Jannetty came in that they even started the false transitions. Just another case where this would have been better if Michaels took that first win, gave Tully a tiny bit, and then overcame. Ah well. Jannetty looked great as he overcame (including fighting out of the corner and hitting a backflip to reverse a double top wristlock.).

Really a never ending heel in peril (though one full of entertaining individual bits) until Michaels ducked a Tully clothesline on the outside only to run into an Arn one. Thankfully the Busters were great at making the most of their time on top. Michaels knew how to be a star already and was constantly trying to fight back. I think a babyface should be doing that but maybe he didn't quite have the proper escalation in it. Arn crotched himself on Michaels' knees to set up the hot tag and things got chaotic but the Busters fairly quickly snuck one out. The great stuff was absolutely great but in part due to Michaels' tendencies and Arn and Tully being happy to just go along with them, this didn't come together like it could have.

ER: This really did feel like a 15 minute match where Tully bumped and stooged and made narrow misses for 13 of those minutes, and I did not mind that layout one bit. I was wildly entertained watching the Rockers punch through Tully for a long tag, as Tully is wildly entertaining at getting run over by punches. He cannot just walk a straight line to a destination and it's perfect. When he's punched, it's a turning drop to the knee before getting punched in another direction; when he misses, it's a quick turn back to his target to take his medicine. He finds several safe and less safe ways to fall to the floor and continue his constant motion and I loved them all. I loved the theatrical slow mo Sgt. Slaughter bump to the floor and the ways he would fall off the apron into a back bump. He treats every punch from each Rocker as something worth bumping for, and it makes his eventual tag out moment even greater when he turned a near tag out into an inverted atomic drop. The Brainbusters really didn't have a lot of offense here - that Arn clothesline on the floor that the camera missed, Tully's atomic drop to set up his tag, and Arn's spinebuster after ducking a clothesline - but the Rockers didn't really have any offense either. Even when Michaels goes up top after they hit tandem superkicks, he only comes flying off with a punch. And I'll take it. The finish is fantastic, even if uncommon. Marty goes for his first flying headscissors but it's too close to the ropes, and Tully pulls his head down from the apron and slam dunks his head over the top rope.     

Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Paul Roma

MD: I'm honestly a little astounding how good this was. (Eric will not be, but he is a Mike Sharpe truther). It was 80% shtick and 20% Roma hitting dropkicks, but the shtick was really good and Sharpe was incredibly entertaining. He's one of the most vocal wrestlers ever and there were times where I could shut my eyes and still know exactly what was going on just from hearing him stammer. Mainly when he was begging off but not always. And he did a lot of begging off. A lot of stalling. They got tons of mileage out of a handshake bit at the beginning, out of him threatening to leave, out of Roma catching his foot on a kick attempt. Just one bit after the next after the next with Sharpe throwing himself into it completely and Roma being a perfectly fine straight man. It's the sort of match the sheets would have grumbled about in 89 but that plays a lot better in 2025 when there's nothing like it in the world anymore. You can see the value so clearly now. Honestly just a great show for stooging up til this point, and from guys that don't get the credit for it like Davis and Sharpe.

ER: We get an honest to god Iron Mike Sharpe ring entrance and the fact that he is in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario and announced as such does not give him a single second of goodwill from his town. These are his people, and the people of Ontario fucking hate the mirror that he is holding up for them. The women scream for Roma as he removes his jacket, but when the match is over I will challenge those same women to tell me anything Paul Roma did during the match. They won't be able to, because this is Iron Mike Sharpe's town, and Iron Mike Sharpe's match. To use an already dated out of existence joke format: Mike Sharpe is the Tully Blanchard of Barry Darsows. He has the size and sound and lack of offense of Darsow, but watching him directly after a Tully match you really see what a large adult son Tully Blanchard he is. He is not as hateable on sight as Tully (few men ever have been) but how much of an instant turn off does one have to be within pro wrestling to be booed on sight in his own hometown? 

I love how quickly Sharpe takes armdrags and how it's the only bump he really takes differently than his standard arm waving back bump that he uses for everything else. His swinging arm into Roma's stomach looked excellent and the man gets tied up in the ropes more efficiently than any wrestler other than Andre. But where Andre was always a temporarily inconvenienced giant, Sharpe has a way of making it feel like he just might be stuck in those tangled ropes for the rest of the evening. The finish is outstanding and probably something that no wrestler other than Sharpe would even want to do: Sharpe loads up his cast and swings it at Roma, but Roma catches it and throws Sharpe's loaded arm back into his head. It's so stupid and so hapless that it can only be a Mike Sharpe finish. We didn't know how good we had it, and as Matt points out, it's because nobody comes close to being a Mike Sharpe any more. We didn't recognize how essential different workers were to a roster. 

Greg Valentine vs. Ron Garvin

MD: Another awesome match in their feud. What can you even say about this really? They lay into each other in the corner. Garvin's great at firing back out of it just when you think Valentine has him. Valentine's great at stumbling about and getting a sneaky advantage right until he doesn't. There were some really brilliant specific moments which shows you they weren't just hitting each other blindly. At one point, Valentine's about to do the flop and Garvin catches him so he can hit him one more time first. Valentine takes over with a shinbreaker but when he goes to the second, Garvin nails him before he collapses so they both go down. Finish had Garvin wanting to use the shinguard as a weapon and getting distracted by the ref so he got rolled up but post match he hit a punch version of the Garvin Stomp to a prone Valentine and nailed him with the shinguard anyway. The world would have been better off if we had whole promotions based around this style instead of whatever else we got in the 90s and after.

ER: It would be a good idea if we just kept getting new Garvin/Valentine matches every couple weeks. Every single one we have has been a real gift, and while there are a lot of similarities among them there are always new ideas and ways that certain sequences can be extended. This was, I think, the shortest one we have, and I think going less than 10 actually made their strikes play harder. The first two minutes is just them shoving each other in the chest with both hands and I would have been happy if we never even got to the punches. I could have watched them shove each other and burn out their arms for eight minutes, just to see who would be the first to fall. 

But I do like the strikes. 

Valentine always takes more punches than he gives in the Garvin battles, but I think this one takes the cake. He just gets battered. There is often a corner punch out stretch of their match, and Valentine's selling made this stand out from the rest. Garvin kept punching and chopping him and Valentine kept getting knocked to his ass, hitting the bottom buckle and getting pulled back to his feet only to be punched and chopped some more. When he finally can no longer stand and begins pitching forward into a Flop, Garvin actually holds him up with both hands on his chest. Garvin looks like a support beam propping up a leaning building in the Philippines, and it's all so he can just punch him in the head one more time.  

When Valentine does flop, there is no rest to be had. Garvin starts raking his back and Valentine sells multiple back rakes so well that it made me think of how Tenryu might've sold a back rake if that had been something that any wrestler in WAR ever did (they did not). But it's all back rakes that Valentine sells incredibly, punches to the nose (that Valentine sells incredibly), a fantastic headbutt, and one of those sleepers that starts like a violent clothesline. Garvin is a monster and I don't think there was anyone else on the roster who would have put up with this. Garvin has his own great run of selling when Hammer turns a side headlock into a knee breaker, then does it again. Garvin is limping around on one leg, and after he takes the second knee breaker he landed one big punch that knocked Hammer to his back while it spiraled him into the mat. 

I think calling Garvin's punches after the bell a punch version of the Garvin Stomp kind of undersells how nasty those punches were. Garvin just got into mount and threw disgusting punches while Valentine was on his back. He threw eight of them, and Valentine couldn't really move to absorb them, so Garvin just stood over him raining down shots that built into even more disgusting hammerfists, both fists held together like an ape attacking his handler. Hammer can barely move and has to take a rapid succession of wicked punches and man....is this the best of the Garvin/Valentine matches? I think this one packs in the most action, and it felt like they went even more violent with the shorter runtime. 

Randy Savage vs. Bad News Brown 

MD: This has been out there before but I'm not sure I've ever seen it. It's a street fight. Bad News is out with a Mets shirt. Savage is out with a white shirt with a Gold's Gym tank top over it and grey Zubaz type pants and pink elbow pads so it's a look. Liz looks like Liz. That feels like a missed opportunity. It's basically ten years before its time. You give it a couple more minutes and some more goofiness around the finish and it could have been a 1998 Austin No DQ main event. Brown started with a chair but then missed a punch on the post outside. Savage used the timekeeper's table and kept on him. Then he took the weight belt off and used that. Brown came back with a chair. They set up a table and but the ref got crunched in between it and Brown. That's when we got the Ghetto Blaster and the visual pin, then a hilarious second one as Brown got the ref up and slammed Savage but the ref did a face first bump as he passed out again. When he came to Savage rolled up Bad News for a quick pin and that was that. Post match they went at it with Brown getting an early advantage and Savage fighting back as the locker room cleared. Pretty bizarre to watch overall, but it worked well for what they were doing especially if they went back to it.

ER: This was on the very first DVDVR 80s set, the one that was assembled and arranged differently than all the other eventual sets because this was the very first time we were doing this and nobody had any idea how large this project would grow with subsequent sets. "Controversial" is not the correct word for it but I remember some people wondering why this match was included at the time. There were a lot of imperfections and missing matches on that first set, and I still can't believe that was 20 years ago now. 2005? Impossible. It was not well received by the people who participated in that first ballot. It finished in the bottom 10 out of 100 matches, and it almost surely wouldn't have been included were the set put together with the same method that all subsequent sets were assembled. From the very next set (Other Japan Men's) we were watching every single match from the territory/fed and picking among the very best. There were plenty of matches that should have been included in a WWF 80s set, and we sadly never got to re-do that one. I can't find my initial ballot either, so I have no idea how high/low I ranked it 20 years ago, when I was a 24 year old man, but now I think it's pretty safe to call this pick ahead of its time.  like a pretty ahead of its time fiat pick (that I believe was made by David Bixenspan, credit due).

Maybe it belongs just for the gear. Nobody shows up for a fight like this and they're idiots for that. I loved Bad News in his 50-50 poly-cotton Mets tee and Savage just went over the top with gear. The Golds tank top and Zubaz would have been enough but the tight undershirt and pink elbow pads that looked like knee pads he was wearing on his elbows make it insane. It's possible Big thought it belonged on the set because it was a unique match for 1989 WWF. Savage was the World Heavyweight Champ and it's not like he and Bad News were working Harlem Street Fights around the horn. This was the first (and only one that exists on tape) and they worked just eight total over the next couple months. It's short, it's a tough fight, Savage takes some tough spills - including getting thrown hard over the railing to the concrete, a girl in her neon green sweatshirt helping push him back over the guardrail so he can go after Bad News. Bad News punching the ringpost felt like a novel spot in 1989, and him setting up a table in the corner and running a ref straight through it feels even more novel. That ref got crunched man. The bullshit finish is incredible, with Bad News getting a real long visual pin over the champ, then reviving the referee just for the man to collapse again just as Bad News re-secured the pin. Maybe people disliked it 20 years ago because it was too short? It's less than 8 minutes long, which feels more like a snack than a World Heavyweight Title match, but I'm glad I watched it again now that I'm sliding down the other side of the mountain. 

Jim Duggan/Hercules vs. Ted Dibiase/Virgil

MD: This was already out there as well so I'll keep it quick. Herc and Duggan team up very well. Two versions of the same sort of visual idea with big shots and driving motion. Duggan constantly moving forward especially on his hope spot punches is something I didn't appreciate enough for a lot of my life. Honestly, Dibiase is fine here, feeding and stooging, but he doesn't give himself over to it in the same way a lot of the people earlier in the card. Everything is technically sound but it almost feels more like him putting himself in the right place at the right time in a more modern way as opposed to that sense of total abandon that we got from Davis or Sharpe or (in different ways) the Brainbusters (or in a different way) or Valentine (in a different way). Virgil is interesting here as he never really does much, mainly just plays interference and holds someone for Dibiase. It's actually a clever use for him. This was ok, and fit well on the card. I just don't think Dibiase stood up well to his predecessor heels.

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