Found Footage Friday: FUCHI~! INOUE~! EIGEN~! OKUMA~! OGAWA~! KIKUCHI~! MOMOTA~! KITAHARA~!

Mitsuo Momota vs. Tatsumi Kitahara AJPW 8/30/88

MD: We've covered a couple of matches on this card (The first Kobashi vs Kawada and THE V~!) but I thought we'd go back to tackle the first three. This was maybe five months into Kitahara's career and he had spent a lot of that time wrestling Momota. Momota is someone who could work comedy or Jr. heavyweight title matches, who had a connection with the crowd with his compact charisma and lineage as the son of Rikidozan. I don't think we have earlier matches between these two, but by this point, there was a lot he could do with Kitahara. They stayed on the mat for the first two thirds or so but Momota let Kitahara control the arm, working himself in and out of an armbar and selling accordingly. When things picked up, Momota was good enough to make it seem like he was in danger. At one point, as Kitahara was going for a moonsault, he did the Samoa Joe walkaway bit only for Kitahara to land on his feet and hit a dropkick. There was always the sense that Momota could put him away at any moment with a chance reversal or hold and that Kitahara might not have had the tools necessary to put Momota away. Things played out that was, as Kitahara went for one too many Irish Whips to set up a move and Momota reversed into a backslide. Still, it was a testament to both Momota and how far Kitahara had come in a relative short time that he was given so much of the match.

ER: Man this was cool. I think every single time I write about any of this All Japan footage my fingers just automatically start typing "Man this was cool". But I am not a liar and it's how I freshly feel every single time I type it. This was cool because it made me actually think about my history with Koki Kitahara. Kitahara was a guy who I really didn't even notice until NOAH, and then he just became another great part of my favorite roster in wrestling as I devoured 2000-2008 NOAH shows. I don't think I was even aware of his existence during his entire All Japan stint, but this match right here is Kitahara before he even had 50 matches under his belt. This does not, to me, play at all like a match from a guy less than 50 matches into his pro career. He's polished and has a cool moveset, but what was most striking is that the match was laid out so that he controlled the entire thing. 

I'm so used to seeing All Japan rookies get completely dominated in openers for the first year+ of their careers that I was fully expecting this to be a Momota control showcase with perhaps 1 minute of Kitahara throwing kicks. Instead, it was 7 minutes of Kitahara throwing kicks and controlling Momota until Momota hits his excellent floatover backslide (the one that I frequently say "I can't believe no modern wrestler has stolen Momota's excellent floatover backslide). Kitahara throws big kicks and works the arm, and brothers I cannot believe Mitsuo Momota of all people does a Samoa Joe walk away spot in 1988. When I saw Samoa Joe do that spot live at a 2004 PWG show, it was a revelation and my friends and I lost our minds. I never thought about where he got the idea from, and while this spot is not something I associate with Momota and I doubt Joe was actively lifting from Momota, I do now want to know where he got the idea to Walk Away. I love how cool Momota looks while walking away, and how he doesn't realize Kitahara lands on his feet, timing it perfectly so that he turns around straight into a dropkick. I swear, every single one of these handheld matches - literally every single one - has an event that feels like some kind of minor-to-major revelation. 

Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi AJPW 8/30/88

MD: It's always striking to me that Ogawa was active as early as '86. He doesn't really start to come into his own until '91 or so. This is more like month 6 of real matches for Kikuchi, however, and he also had been put primarily against Momota (though not exclusively). It's always weird to see him in anything but the Japanese flag trunks. He already had a certain explosiveness in his movement. He took the early parts of this, which was mostly on the mat, though with chippiness - especially in his chops - Ogawa too over. He was the junior member of Revolution and obviously was trying to impress Tenryu as he just chopped Kikuchi's face off. Kikuchi came back, including hitting a massive diving headbutt across the ring that almost had me, but then he missed the dropkick. Finish was one of the world's ugliest small packages by Ogawa though it's hard to say who should get the credit (or lack of such for that). They kept this moving and past the finish, it came together pretty well. Kikuchi was definitely more of a natural than Ogawa, but it's kind of fun to imagine an Ogawa who got to stay a Tenryu disciple for longer.

ER: I love the coincidences that handhelds bring us. Kikuchi is about as young in his career as Kitahara in the match before him and, as Matt said, most of his first six months was in singles matches with Mitsuo Momota, with a handful of Isamu Teranishi and Okuma matches. We don't have most of those matches, but because of some guy most of my lifetime ago in Osaka, we have Tsuyoshi Kikuchi's first singles match with Yoshinari Ogawa. I guess it's not notable that this is the first time Kikuchi ever fought Ogawa, but they had 20 or so singles matches over the next two years and it's cool that some guy was there recording the first one. 

My big takeaways from this match were how incredible a chopper Ogawa was in the 80s, and how the All Japan mat looked so hard and unforgiving that Kikuchi would have been safer taking bumps on a sidewalk. The match wasn't a great match, but I always enjoy seeing wrestlers I'm familiar with in their infancy. Young Tamon Honda works a style I hate, six years later Tamon Honda was working a completely different style that I loved. Young Ogawa is kind of a trip. Ogawa is a guy I love who I could also possibly talk myself into describing as my least favorite wrestler on several different years of AJPW and NOAH rosters. I don't mean that as any kind of dig at Ogawa, and probably more of a statement on how much I loved so many years of those rosters. I don't think it's a secret that I like him and I've written glowingly about his specific role in Kings Road. But you watch enough full NOAH and AJPW cards and you see it's a roster filled with guys who have great execution on most of their offense and sometimes here's Ogawa throwing jabs that wouldn't break wet paper, drop toeholds that shouldn't fell a man, and a jawbreaker that relies too much on the opponent's bump. Masao Inoue is an Ogawa comp, but Inoue works his ineffectiveness into his entire being, whereas Ogawa's ineffectiveness was placed into prominence. 

And I guess it's shocking to me how much better I think Ogawa would have been as a wrestler had he stayed a Tenryu acolyte rather than becoming a Misawa buddy. Ogawa's chops here looked like something Benoit would do to Regal. Even the ones that didn't land under Kikuchi's chin or off his teeth were thrown with more force than I've ever seen Ogawa throw anything. When I think of Ogawa's offense I don't even think of him as someone who throws chops, let alone ones that would have made him the most violent junior on the 90s roster. But I think I probably would have still chosen Ogawa's upwardly angled chops over any of Kikuchi's back bumps. When Kikuchi missed a flat back bump dropkick it looked like he jumped off a Wal-Mart into the parking lot. There was no give of any kind and it boggles my mind how the human body adapts to doing that multiple times a night 150 nights a year. Seeing Kikuchi 6 months in and knowing the abuse he would endure and cause over the next 35 years...it all just makes me realize that I understand even less about wrestling than I thought. 

Also somebody tell me how Kikuchi didn't get his neck broken when Ogawa snapped it over the top rope. I really need to know. 

Masanobu Fuchi/Mighty Inoue vs. Haruka Eigen/Motoshi Okuma AJPW 8/30/88

MD: We're in 88, not 89, so Rusher's tagging with Tsurumi against Baba and Wajima towards the top of the card. That means this Eigen match will deviate from the usual formula. That formula, to refresh your memory, usually had him goading Rusher, dodging him, with Okuma taking over on Rusher's partner, then Rusher, and everything building to a the huge spit-spot moments of comeuppance on Eigen. Not here. For one thing, Inoue and Fuchi weren't going to take his shit. They're two unassuming looking guys, but I would not want to encounter them in a dark alley. They spent the first half of the match beating on Eigen and drawing Okuma away so that a tag couldn't happen. The fans found it pretty funny at first, but I think they earnestly got behind Eigen as time went on. The back half had Okuma come in, headbutt everyone, and then work with Eigen to control. With these four, you had a nice balance of of stuff that looked solid and painful and fun bits where Okuma steps on someone and hits the falling headbutt as Eigen holds them down. It built to a comeback ending with Inoue doing his cool headscissors takeover leg hook cradle. Amazingly, no spit spot. Fun, solid stuff overall though.

ER: Man I'm so in the bag for these matches and these All Japan handhelds, I think I've lost the ability to properly judge them on their merits. I couldn't tell you if this was a great match or a below average match but I tell myself that it has to be great because I love literally everything about this match. I think I say that about every one of these Eigen, Okuma, Fuchi, etc. handhelds but I mean it with all my heart. I love every single step and every single piece of offense in this match. I love every wrestler and think I would reach true nirvana just watching these guys work a 10 minute match in a vacuum as the only wrestling I consume for the rest of my life. 

This is great in different ways than other matches with these guys are great, as I'm so used to seeing Eigen being a little shit that I loved seeing Inoue and Fuchi absolutely refuse to let him be a little shit and instead just isolate him and punish him. They were great at starting with a more comedic build, finding funny ways around Fuchi preventing Okuma from tagging in and at first the spots were funny but they perfectly transitioned into it being an actual southern tag where the fans wanted notorious shit stirrer Eigen to get the tag so Okuma can start mashing frontal lobes with headbutts. The build to this match is so satisfying and I cannot stress enough how I loved every single piece of offense. Every guy lays in their strikes, and it feels like every new All Japan handheld I watch brings forth a new favorite wrestler. Literally every guy on this roster is worth deep diving, but in the last few years I have appreciated Eigen more than ever. Last year late 80s/early 90s Okuma finally clicked with me so deeply that I don't think I can even imagine how much of a badass this guy was in the 60s and 70s. Fuchi has been a known quantity to most of us for years but then a match like this makes me love him as much as ever, seeing his dedication to simple shit without needing to murder Kikuchi. But it was Mighty Inoue who really clicked for me here, a guy who looked so good in this match that he just joined the long list of all my other handheld favorites. Inoue hit like a truck, his cradled headscissors was gorgeous and snug, but it's probably always going to be his super high backdrop bump that reminds me I love Mighty Inoue. I just love these boys.  

Read more!

SEGUNDA CAIDA DECLARES WAR!!! SWS Wrestle Dream in Kobe 4/1/91

Bringing it Straight and Strong, we start with a slowly panning back shot of a padded dining room chair sitting in the woods, with bad hotel flower art propped on top of it. The camera pans back through the trees, the sun's rays reflecting off the frame of the bad art, obscuring it's image. In the background we see cars flashing by, so these "woods" are basically just off a roadway. What a curious intro. Straight and Strong T-Rex saves us from whatever that deleted scene from the Ring videotape was.

1. Kenichi Oya vs. Masao Orihara

ER: We get some kind of perfunctory matwork through the first half of this, not bad but nothing that was going to factor in to the finish in any way. There are still great little things, like Orihara thudding on a HARD mat after a big missed senton and Oya being a bit of a bully with hard bodyslams. Orihara slips on a springboard (which feels like a sentence I've typed before in SWS reviews. But Oya keeps him honest and soon things break open with Orihara hitting a huge moonsault to the floor. Back in Orihara throws a Saito suplex but Oya shifts his weight, landing awkwardly on Orihara. Oya shows him how to throw a mean suplex, dumping him rudely on his head. Oya muscles him into the buckles and charges, and Orihara just obliterates him with a mule kick, pushing up and back off the top rope. Oya look like he got kicked by a horse. He rolls over and he's drooling. He kicks out, and immediately blasts Orihara with a great short arm western lariat. Awesome finishing stretch to an otherwise inoffensive match.

2. Samson Fuyuki vs. Tatsumi Kitahara

ER: A not bad chubsters match with a sloppily executed finish that draws deserving boos from the crowd. Fuyuki seems kind of on autopilot mode throughout, though both men really do aim to smother on their chinlocks and that kind of thing at least raises the floor of a match. Things snap a bit once Kitahara starts throwing roundhouse kicks, although Fuyuki sells some of them kind of funny. They fumble around a little while Kitahara does a couple DDTs, though Fuyuki starts bumping them early both times. Finish is a total flop, with Fuyuki going for a suplex off the top, Kitahara shifts weight and lands directly on top, and then Fuyuki just rolls out from under and pins him. So Fuyuki pinned him...after taking a move from him. The crowd was correct to boo. This could have and should have been better.

3. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Fumihiro Niikura

ER: Niikura got bossed around by Greg Valentine in a later SWS show I watched, so knowing Niikura was lowest on the SWS hierarchy (other than probably Don Arakawa) got me excited for overmatched underdog vs. Fujiwara. And it is about as one-sided as things can get, with Fujiwara even acting like Niikura's attacks aren't hurting him, and openly mocking him. And that stuff would have been fine, if it had lead to any kind of comeuppance then this match could have been special. Fujiwara is at the peak of his magic here, so even him bullying a guy and taking 90% of the match is really fun. It's peak period Fujiwara having a sparring session, and there's value to that. He shrugs off some spirited strikes and blasts Niikura with his own combo; He let's Niikura get him in a heel hook just so he can reverse it. He wrenches in holds just far enough from the ropes that Niikura has to fight to reach them, and the escapes do progress to real drama as it becomes a game of "how long will Niikura last?" Fujiwara is stronger, craftier, more talented, etc. So what chance could Niikura have? But watching him survive, watching him not give up, him knowing as much as us how little chance he has but still not quitting until his arm was bent disgustingly underneath him. We get a charismatic Fujiwara showcase and a gutsy underdog performance from Niikura, and that's enough.

4. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Naoki Sano

ER: I was kind of surprised at what a one-sided mugging this was. Sano never felt entirely out of the match, but he also never looked like he had a shot against Funaki. Funaki always has a prickish charisma, even when he's not overtly being a prick. He bullies Sano around with kicks and even a sick German suplex at one point, getting in close with palm strikes to open Sano up for kicks. The only break Sano gets is when he accidentally kicks Funaki low. Funaki comes back from that with a vengeance but Sano seems close to figuring him out and even hits a fast German of his own...that Funaki immediately turns into an armbar for the tap. This was all well done shootstyle, though never built up very much drama. Both guys looked impressive, but I need some more pro wrestling drama in my shootstyle.

5. Great Kabuki/Takashi Ishikawa vs. Kendo Nagasaki/Ishinriki

ER: Ishinriki always tricks me, as I regularly forget who he is, and his name seems like he's going to be a big lumpy scowling sumo guy. So I'm always surprised when I see him and get reminded that he's more of a Kobayashi or young Hase. And his early stuff is a little flimsy, including a spinning heel kick that looks like it shouldn't have even moved Ishikawa. Things change for the better when Kabuki tags in and just cracks Ishinriki with an uppercut, leaving him down on the mat holding his jaw. Ah. Now we can get down to business. He was a little miscast in this match anyway, as this should have been about large thick-torsoed brutes smacking into each other, and he wasn't going to contribute to that; nor did he contribute to much underdog babyface work. Instead he was treated as a kind of equal to the others, which I thought didn't work. He did hit a huge springboard crossbody to the floor late in the match on Ishikawa, and I was not expecting that, but the big guys falling on each other was always going to be the better part of the match. Kabuki squaring off with Nagasaki was a nice lumpy highlight, and the moments we got of Kabuki picking on Ishinriki were inspired (including his great stiff leg thrust kick), but this could have been more.

6. John Tenta vs. Koji Kitao

ER: This is a pretty infamous match, where Kitao got booted out of the fed after deciding mid match that he didn't want to sell for Tenta. The unprofessionalism adds to the aura of the match, as these are two big dudes clearly not getting along, and when the mood changes you start seeing the sinister looks and get into the gamesmanship. This is a match where not a lot of things happen, neither guy takes a bump, but it's always intriguing due to that danger factor. I love sumo on sumo matches anyway, so sumos that hate each other? Yes. Obviously. Now it clearly would have been much better if their hate turned into nasty strikes instead of just uncooperative lock ups, but there's still intrigue to be had. Kitao throws some sneaky low kicks, Tenta gets pissed and throw one of his own, Kitao throws a tantrum and throws a table outside (that's the point where Tenta has a clear "What the fuck are you doing?" face). Tenta shouts him down the rest of the match, keeps his distance without backing down (even pointing to his head at one point to show how smart he is!). Kitao starts comically holding out his fingers to eyepoke him! Tenta still doesn't back down, eventually Kitao shootkicks the ref for the DQ. Kitao was basically out of wrestling for 3 years after this, getting KO'd by Takada at some point before his boy Tenryu brought him in to WAR. Once the ref rang for the bell Tenta laughed and raised his arms right in Kitao's face. The way Tenta handled this match just made me love him more.

7. George Takano vs. Bret Hart

ER: The word "solid" kind of gets thrown around a lot to describe wrestlers, and it usually seems to be used as a replacement for "I can't think of anything this guy does that is spectacular, but he also doesn't offend my senses". I don't use solid that way, and this was a solid match. Workmanlike. Simple. Effective. Solid. It's more of a Takano match than a Hart match, which is amusing as Takano is basically Japanese Bret Hart. So you get to see the Bret Hart you've seen countless solid, workmanlike 12 minute matches, versus a Bret Hart with a different moveset. It's satisfying. It's like a better version of Michael Fassbender kissing himself in Alien: Covenant. Hart works subtle heel which makes this much better, as the changes are minor but just the thought of a good sportsmanship handshake fest sounds dull. So instead you had hart bumping hard on suplexes and doing little things like rub Takano's eyes across the top rope. It warmed my heart on a cold rainy day to hear that eye burn get actual boos from the crowd. Takano and Hart each have a nice offense, and both use it well here. Hart really snaps him on the backbreaker, and especially plants that knee into his undercarriage on the atomic drop. He whiffs on the elbow drop off the middle, allowing Takano to take back over and eventually win with a big splash (featuring a kickout damn close to the 3 by Hart). There were tons of little joys in this, aggressive lock-ups from Takano, Hart taking his always violent chest bump into the buckles even faster than normal, Hart bodyslamming Takano only for Takano to hold onto a snug hammerlock on the way over (a spot I don't see much anymore and truly miss), tight Takano cravates, simple vertical suplexes landing hard. This was simple, solid, effective pro wrestling. Match of the night so far.

8. Randy Savage vs. Genichiro Tenryu

ER: I honestly don't know if I've ever seen a Savage match in Japan before this. I don't think he ever went on any tours pre-WWF, worked a few SWS shows and probably did a 90s WWF tour at some point, but I don't recall ever seeing Savage in Japan. Savage gets on the mic and does a short promo like you'd hear from a villain at a theme park action-adventure live show aimed at children: "I'm gonna git you Tenryu, YEAH!" And this is a match up between two legends that you've never really thought about matching up, and it's a real blast. Savage is a more overt heel than Hart was in the prior match, throwing his tassel jacket at Tenryu, jumping out of the ring a couple times to avoid him, jawing with fans, and finally hiding behind Earl Hebner to sneak in a cheap jab on Tenryu. In other words, the match is awesome. Tenryu bullies around Savage with stiff chops, but Savage is the one who keeps going back to eyerakes, and it was weirdly worked like a modern Lesnar/Samoa Joe match where they both kind of immediately go for the kill and start spamming finishers. Tenryu hits an early folding powerbomb that Savage kicks out of, Tenryu kicks out of a Macho elbow drop, and the crowd is feeling it. Savage hits two different axe handles off the top to the floor, with Tenryu selling them like death shots, bumping one of them over the guardrail onto a table. Big part of the match comes when Tenryu gets Savage up for a huge backdrop suplex, but Savage shifts weight and lands full force on Tenryu's face. At least, it appears as if he landed full force, because Tenryu masterfully sells it as if his eye socket got caved in. Tenryu already holds the award for "best piledriver sell", here he's clutching at his nose and eyes with both hands, and he's so damn good that it really looks like something is wrong. Savage hits two Macho elbows but it's not enough to put Tenryu away, and soon hits two leaping, falling elbows of his own (I always love Tenryu's trust fall elbow, as it always looks like he's an inch away from rearranging a guy's face) and Savage kicks out of those! Fans are feeling this, I'm feeling this, you're feeling this. Tenryu eventually folds him with another powerbomb, really pinning to make it impossible for Savage to kick out. The struggle to get to the powerbomb was real good and kind of sloppy, giving it a little more authenticity. Savage blocked it and fell onto him for a pin, but Tenryu immediately rolled through, hoisted him up and planted him. Savage looked like he was somewhat sandbagging each powerbomb, but moreso probably was just avoiding getting dropped from too high an angle. This was a super fun singles match up that I had no clue ever happened (let alone a couple times), and cheating heel Savage in Japan was just too good. Awesome stuff.

9. Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Hulk Hogan

ER: We all know Hogan tends to work differently when he goes to Japan, but this felt even more different than what I've seen before. Even his ring entrance is weird as he seems almost embarrassed to be coming out to Real American, almost eyerolling as he rips his tank top off. But the first 4 minutes of this are the flat out most awesome Hogan you've seen. They take it to the mat and mat Hogan is flat out the best. He takes Yatsu down and locks in a half nelson cravate, which is awesome. We get cool headlock takeovers, a freaking rolling armbar, wristlock go behinds, a Boston crab, just Hogan very competently working the mat as if it was totally normal. Things get a little clunkier once we stand up. He hits a real great back suplex on Yatsu, but really isn't great at taking Yatsu's offense, stumbling awkwardly to his knees on a bulldog and getting seemingly crossed up on some rope running that ends with Yatsu hitting a weird looking leaping punch to the nose. One of them hit their mark way too early and Hogan was left rubbing at the bridge of his nose the rest of the match. Yatsu doesn't give Hogan any chance to wuss out of a powerslam though, as he hits a real powerful doozy. It ends anticlimactically with Hogan hitting a weak axe bomber (his missed axe bomber earlier in the match looked much better). So the last 4 was ugly, but the first 4 minutes were magic. We need a Hogan on the Mat comp.

ER: The WWF matches actually saved this show, which I was not expecting, with Hart/Takano and Savage/Tenryu being really good, the Hogan match bringing the sheer mat joy, and Tenta/Kitao at least bringing intrigue. Outside of that we still got fun performances from Kabuki, Fujiwara, and Kitahara, so the show worked fine for me.


COMPLETE SEGUNDA CAIDA DECLARES WAR!!!

Read more!