New Footage Friday: RAVE~! DANIELSON~! MATTHEWS~ J-ROD~! LEATHERFACE~! GOTO~! COLLYER~! YONE~! RASTAMAN~! TAKESHI ONO!!!!

Leatherface vs Tarzan Goto IWA 3/1/96

MD: Really enjoyable superheavyweight collision from what we could see. We couldn't see everything, but you could fill in the blanks easily enough. This was a straightforward battle, not complicated rocket science. These guys hit like a ton of bricks, with Leatherface using his girth to bully Goto around the ring and Goto using his strength to put a stop to it. We could see things best when they were in two of the corners, but even in missing the impacts on a lot of Goto's elbow drops, you could just tell how intense the impact would be from the set up and drop off screen. He spent a good chunk of the match trying to contain Leatherface since he could monstrously swarm back at any point but was finally able to end it when he landed a few headbutts and controlled the action long enough to launch a clear whip for the clothesline. I wish we could see a bit more of it but what we could see was good stuff.

ER: Some random IWA Japan main event from 25 years pops up featuring another feather in the cap for Tarzan Goto, I'm cool watching the match from the POV of a man hiding underneath chairs while secretly recording pro wrestling. What defines a hero, anyway? This is a testament to how powerful a gas tank Goto had, as there's a lot packed into this 13 minute match and all of it is very active. He hits hard with punches and shoulderblocks, and manages to make every lariat hit harder than the last (they all look finisher worthy). Goto is so active, constantly leaping onto Leatherface's body, dropping heavy horizontal elbowdrops (Goto had the finest elbowdrop form of any native in Japanese wrestling), just ATTACKING Leatherface. And I laugh, thinking of this burly solid Japanese man in a Tarzan singlet working over Leatherface's leg in the backwoods of Texas. 

Rick Patterson is such a presence as Leatherface, and I'm sure we all have early tape trader memories of getting a death match comp and seeing this giant guy named Leatherface running through a gymnasium with a chainsaw. Goto's legwork is pretty violent, and as this is an untaped house show we really get to see how much of a Japanese Finlay he was. Every time he jumped on Leatherface's leg it looked nasty, and while Leatherface is huge, Goto has lariats strong enough to sent him flying over the top to the floor. Leatherface has a cool out of control reckless energy, like how he sends his legs flying as he bumps for those lariats or how he throws the sloppiest missile dropkick...except it's a 6'6 350 lb. man in a mask and wig and jeans and apron attempting to throw a missile dropkick. Goto saves some real dynamite for the finishing stretch, including an insane brainbuster (crazy to even try one on a guy this big). Awesome, weird find.

PAS: The parts of this we saw were pretty dope, just a pair of big corn fed guys pounding on each other. Goto had such certainty and force with everything he did. I loved his little uppercuts, such a great strike, and Leatherface's big looping rights looked great too. I wish we could have seen some of the crowd brawling, I imagine it would have been awesome. Both Goto suplexes looked killer, as did Leatherfaces's awkward tumbling top rope drop kick. I love that this finished with a hooking lariat. Goto threw great ones, and that is the kind of thing that would even drop a giant manifestation of evil. 

Chad Collyer/Rastaman vs. Takeshi Ono/Mohammed Yone BattlArts 6/3/00

PAS: Chad Collyer has been uploading a bunch of cool handhelds from his personal collection. We covered a couple of Danielson matches a while back, and he just dropped another big batch. This is a BattlArts tag which is something we are of course going to jump on. Takeshi Ono is an all time great wrestler with a very limited tape footprint, so new Ono is a celebration. I thought most of this match was a bit meandering, but like most BattlArts tags it ended with a big showdown. This was Rastaman versus Ono and it was pretty damn great. Takeshi unloads the kitchen sink on Rastaman and it is a deep sink. He turns him all around, landing a crazy combo in the corner, a big straight right hand and a furious Octopus attempt. Rasta is so much bigger and he is able to eat all of that, then land a decapitating lariat and an armbar for the tap. This wasn't much up until the finish, but a heck of a finish. 

MD: This took a little bit to get going but became a nice varied sprint once it did. I liked Collyer taking Yone's shots and feeding into Ono's grappling and unveiling a really nice series of leglocks from a number of different entry points. Rastaman was electric whenever he was in there, just a big force that'd either hit something interesting or take something interesting, until the end when Ono looked positively heroic against him, right up until he didn't. 

ER: Active 10 minute tag with everyone throwing stiff strikes and taking bumps on a hard mat. This was a fun showcase for Rastaman, as you get some lumbering presence with actual cool spots. He press slams Ono back into the ring, hits a wild kick combo in the corner that ends with a spinkick across Yone's jaw, he takes some complicated Ono combos and levels him with a lariat, then tries to break Ono's arm in half with the sick trapped neck armbar finish. Collyer was good at absorbing heavy kicks from the Batt duo, with Yone especially going after Collyer's ribs with heavy kicks and dropping him with hard bodyslams. It's a little formless, but that doesn't really matter when guys are running in making up spinning heel kicks on the fly. Cool look into what was happening on some post peak Batt house shows, with regulars still working hard and odd style clash gaijin throwing a wrench into things. 

Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Kyle Matthews vs. J-Rod RPW 7/31/10

MD: Danielson was, in some ways, in the 80s Flair role here. The world revolved around him even though local issues were at play. His presence allowed the promotion to drive them forward. Rave was the TV champ. J-Rod was his biggest challenger. Matthews was his protege. The first two thirds were good with the highlights being the more story-focused work, when Rave and Matthews both ended up in the ring against each other, for instance, or the cracks of miscommunication between them. J-Rod got solid rub just for being there and for outlasting Rave. The match really picked up when it was just Danielson vs Matthews though. Matthews was still a young lion here and this felt like the sort of match that would make him, at least in the territory if not in the wider community. Danielson switched gears when it was just the two of them and went more aggressive and almost heelish, dismantling the arm. It was pretty vicious, masterful stuff, with Matthews having to fight back at a severe disadvantage, but Danielson was super giving in his role, letting him escape from the Cattle Mutilation and giving him not just hope spots but some very good and meaningful nearfalls as well, as well as taking a huge dive. The last ten minutes were an excellent, star-making exercise from both Danielson and a very game Matthews.

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New Footage Friday: Virus! Commando Bolshoi! Ace Rockwell! Jimmy Rave!

Virus vs. Super Nova Nuevo Leon 5/4/08

MD: The problem with Virus is always footage. We have him as a role player in countless trios but save for when he had a title in CMLL and some late career indy matches (which are still great), it's a lot harder to find him in showcase matches. Even the ones we know about often aren't online for people to see (like the Valiente lightning match that I had to put back up recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfqlxHTQrHs). Another problem is that it's a lot easier to search YouTube for "Negro Casas" or "Hijo del Santo" than Virus, but that's sort of beside the point.

Why is footage a problem? Because the guy is bulletproof. He can do just about everything well, but without the footage (or the opportunities), it's tough to make a case for just how good he is. This is him in a supre libre match and he absolutely delivers on all fronts. Because of his diminutive stature, he can take dropkicks straight to the skull, which is how the match starts, but he quickly locks in the vertebreaker (which is a killer move in 2021 but even more so in 2008) to take a quick first fall and the beatdown ensues after that. It's a great one too, with mask ripping, an awesome posting, just tossing Super Nova over the rail into empty seats and wound biting. Everything you'd want in a rudo beatdown, which means when the comeback happens, it's very deserved and very satisfying. It's all the more so when Virus himself goes sailing into the crowd and bleeds a gusher, basing and feeding and catching the whole way. It builds to a tecera with a lot of selling that actually feels warranted for once, and here he plays around with his clever hooking to score some nice nearfalls before they take it home. Great, visceral showing where Virus basically does everything there is to do.

PAS: Virus is undeniable, much of his stuff on tape is super fast and intricate matwork, and world class basing for high flyers, we don't really have a lot of Super Libre brawls, but of course he is brilliant at that as well. I loved the Veterbreaker as a killshot, setting it up in the first fall allows them to tease it big later, with Nova reversing it to get a submission in the segunda. The rudo beatdown was great, opening up Nova's mask and enraging the crowd, we had some great looking lucha libre fan characters, a big old lady who looked like she was going slap Virus, a weird Dee Snider looking rocker who was enraged by his behavior, real weirdos are way cool then internet weirdos. Nova was kind of along for a ride, although he hit a nice asai moonsault, I kind of didn't buy him rolling up Virus for the pin, Virus is a master, can't believe he don't spin out of that weak inside cradle, otherwise this was great.

Jimmy Rave/Mike Posey/Chip Day/Corey Hollis/Sal Rinauro vs. Kyle Matthews/J-Rod/Ace Rockwell/Patrick Bentley/Adrian Hawkins RPW 10/30/11

MD: It's a War Games that breaks all the rules: the babyfaces start with advantage; it ends up 4 on 4 as people get out of the cage (and head to the back, even). There are only pretty much the only two rules to break: heels get the advantage and there's no escaping the cage. The third one would be that color is needed, I guess, but this checked that box. Despite the broken rules, this still pretty much works. How? Because it leans harder into the traditional shine/heat/comeback structure given the booking. There's a clear two-on-one shine on Jimmy Rave, with him begging off, taking his licks, and bleeding early. It looks like the faces are going to cruise through the periods until the turn happens. After that Matthews gets a hope spot for his side until the numbers game overtakes his side (the babyface advantage doubly damns them due to the turn; for a while there it's 4 on 2 and then 5 on 3). I wish the announcers had built the Rinauro issue through the match a bit more, but I'm sure the crowd watching knew what the story was. He played his part well when he came in and by taking both he and Rave out of the match, they evened out the numbers advantage in a way that made the finish possible. On the one hand, I would have rather some things not be fully resolved (like Matthews tapping Bentley; he could have just contained him or beat on him while the submissions were happening and then gotten a real win later on), but I guess they knew what they were doing for that crowd since they were going to be right back in front of it a week later. I'd say they beat the odds and had a good War Games despite breaking the rules, so full credit to them on this one.

PAS: This had a superkick or two too many for a Wargames match. Jimmy Rave Approved were a bunch of fresh faced youngsters here and I think that this would have worked a little better with the later more grizzled versions of these guys, fat greasy haired Chip Day, the Corey Hollis of Yard Call etc. I also think two turns in a War Games is two turns too many. I still was really into this though, the offense looked like it hurt, the blood was really flowing (especially from Ace Rockwell, that guy was a hidden gem of 2000s wrestling, he always rules). Fun to see Matthews, who was always a technician work in this setting, the Hidaka Octopus hold was surprisingly good War Games submission. I did think they need something to change the babyface advantage in War Games so in that sense the turn worked, but you could get around that by not having a babyface advantage. 



Commando Bolshoi vs. Akira Nakajima JWP 3/16/08

MD: A few moments really stand out here to me. The match started with Nakajima just an absolute dynamo of energy, hitting shots from every direction with wild abandon. She finally gets Bolshoi down and is just pounding on her and time seems to slow down as Bolshoi's leg comes around to catch the pounding arm changing the course of the match instantaneously. Nakajima would wrestle the rest of the match favoring her arm and unable to capitalize on her hobbled offense because of it. The second moment has her catching Bolshoi off the ropes with a sweeping takedown only to get punched straight in the face from underneath; from there, Bolshoi did this spinning armtrap from her back before locking in a triangle of sorts that was just magic. There was one point where Nakajima was laying in shots with her hurt arm, but each one took more out of her than the last and there was just an almost tragic sense of inevitability, one that carried over to her lightning pinfall attempts. It all felt like a matter of time in the best way. I think they ultimately went a little too long with this because of that. It probably should have ended with Bolshoi's triangle and not gone back up to the top again, but the stuff from the top was pretty nasty and dramatic, as was Bolshoi's late Tiger Suplex (easily locked in when she was blocked earlier) because Nakajima had nothing but desperation and hope left. Nakajima never gave up but you spent good chunks of this match eagerly waiting for her to get caught to see what Bolshoi would do to her next. While that admittedly says more about us than the match, it also says something about Bolshoi's wizardry here.

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