Found Footage Friday: KOX~! SHEREEF~! WRESTLING LA RAMS~! MAEDA~! YATSU~! LUCHA ROBOCOP~?!

Killer Karl Kox/El Shereef vs. Don Chuy /Joe Carollo WWA 2/2/67 

MD: The family of Killer Karl Kox shared this and I think it's the earliest Kox footage we have on tape. Chuy and Carollo were LA Rams (offensive tackle, I think) and they did this during their off season. They even had runs in Japan (teaming with Kox) if I'm not mistaken. Shereef brought bigger bumps and Kox brought ones that went over with a bit more effort and grounded things. Things got a little disjointed towards the end of the first fall as Kox jumped in once to break up a pin but was supposed to get shaken off the second time and the ref didn't quite stop the pin. Things reset and the football players hit their big charges and back body drop charges.

Second fall stared with some crowd pleasing grinding headlocks, lots of big selling and arm waving, that sort of thing. The heels took over though but the Rams fought out of the corner and hit a series of double charges until the ref threw it out. The third fall was quick, just three minutes and it ended with Kox planting Carollo with the brainbuster. I knew he did it in the 70s but's crazy that he was doing this as early as 66! It was treated like absolute death Carollo was out for the rest of the match. They did a fourth fall due to the thrown out second and they made short work of Chuy, two on one, and he fell to the brainbuster too. Great look at mid-30s Kox and maybe historical for the Rams on top of that.

PAS: So cool that this showed up, Kox has maybe 10 matches in full that are out there, but looks incredible in all of them. I also just love this kind of match with local heroes, bumping around willing heels. I dug how so much of the Rams offense was tackles and blocks, and all of the crowd pleasing payoffs, like Kox jumping off the top with stomp to break a Chuy headlock, and then when he tries it again Carollo shakes the ropes to spill him off. This must have been building to a big rematch of some sort, because Kox really dominates the end of the match, spiking both Rams with his brainbuster for clean pins in both falls. Would definitely make the fans buy a ticket to next month to see their heroes try to solve the problem of the Killer. 

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu NJPW 1/6/84

MD: Maeda and Yatsu were more or less finding themselves here. This would have really been something three and a half years later. As it was, though, they had all of the prerequisite skills. Both could take it to the mat. Both weren't afraid to strike. Both had a suplex or two. They also had plenty of animosity for one another based on the fact that they were on opposing stables and in plenty of tags and trios against one another. This had been out there but only in the form of a tiny, unwatchable, real player sized file. This is much more watchable. They'd go at it from the bell to the post-match after a double count out and it wasn't in the least bit refined, but it was chippy and active, including some armwork by Maeda and a nice seated octopus by Yatsu. Once they started throwing suplexes, Maeda somehow managed to drop Yatsu exactly on his head but Yatsu was unfazed and stumbled up to hit a belly to belly of his own. It was pretty grisly stuff. Overall this was rough around the edges but full of fire, so they definitely had that bit down. 

ER: I thought this was incredibly cool, a very grown up version of a match I wouldn't have expected from either at this point. This felt like a couple older pros, especially Yatsu, who moved spry and almost like a cruiserweight but obviously not. Both looked lithe and had incredible ring confidence. It was some great halfway point between Choshu/Fujinami and Young Lions. Maeda was about to go on a pair of month long WWF excursions, but Yatsu feels like the perfect 1984 WWF Japanese wrestler. Yatsu works this like  shootstyle Mr. Fuji, with some fast unstoppable throws, takeovers and strong-cradled pins, but with a throat thrust and elbowdrop assortment that would play well in Buffalo working Terry Daniels. Akira Maeda got to work a couple months of WWF as Akira Maeda. If I was given the information that a) Akira Maeda worked a couple WWF tours in 1984, and b) worked a tour somewhere early in his career as Kwick-Kick Lee, I would bet so much money on there being a New Haven card with a Kwick-Kick Lee vs. Rene Goulet time limit draw. Yatsu's quick, strong style would have fit well in 1984 WWF, even if it would have just inevitably lead to a tag team with Tiger Chung Lee. 

The submission work and movement within holds was really captivating. You could see the legitimacy in how they worked to prevent the unpreventable or grapple like real heavyweights. Maeda almost scorpions Yatsu with an overhead belly to belly - it's not as bad as it initially looks, with Yatsu taking a lot of it on his forearms and not his neck - and plays it as a successfully blocked takedown, scrambling straight up to his feet and Maeda's waist to pivot into his own belly to belly. It reads as a real way an Olympic level freestyle wrestler would sell the same. They're so good at grappling that they manage one of the great abdominal stretch spots, some beautiful work of real cool fighting over who could secure an abdominal stretch, sending both tumbling hard through the ropes. The way I wrote about it makes it sound like an inevitable end to that spot, but they way they did it didn't feel like it was going that way. It was this shoot authenticity they worked their pro wrestling with, an abdominal stretch do-si-do leading to the stiffest strikes of the match being thrown on the floor to double count out. They could have worked this exact same match just two years later, nothing changed about the wrestling, but now perceived as bigger and bigger stars. They got big reactions for what they didm, and the crowd reacted to this like a fight between two names. But nowhere near the names they'd become, but the wrestling was real. 

Principe Franky/ROBOCOP vs. Ministro de la Muerte I/Ministro de la Muerte II CMLL 1992

MD: This is blurry but kind of novel because I'm not sure how much Robocop footage we actually have. Franky had been Polimero Espacial but lost his mask quite recently in a tag with Latin Lover against Sangre Chicana and El Sanguinario, also in Monterrey. From what we see, he looks solid. There's a fun moment late in the match where his partner teases a dive and we just see him come flipping from off the side of the screen as a blur instead. Robocop is, as promised, Robocop, with a plush looking but intricate costume, visor and all. It's a much more elaborate costume than the other match we've covered years ago. He moved surprisingly well in there, able to do a couple of tricked out armdrags and to finally win it (after teasing that dive) with the diving back headbutt off the ropes. He actually had some presence too. When he came in to break up a submission, there was a little extra swagger in how he moved. Los Ministros are pretty generic rudos but played their part well in this sub-ten minute match. That meant basing for a guy dressed like Robocop and throwing fouls when Robocop was duly distracting the ref. This was undercard stuff and didn't go long but it was fun while it lasted, for the novelty of Robocop as much as anything else.

ER: I can't pretend to know any of these guys and I can't pretend I knew there was a lucha Robocop but I assumed that was likely. I was impressed at how good the Robocop suit looked. I'm not sure what I was specifically expecting from lucha Robocop but this was a quality looking suit. Intricate, as Matt called it, but allowing for smooth movement. No way a 1992 Monterrey luchador working a Robocop gimmick should have a Robocop suit this good. In our grainy tracky footage he looked like La Parka, or a Storm Trooper. He moved smoothly for being the largest guy in the match (maybe some of that was suit weight and mask height) and had an armdrag reversal on the back end of a backdrop that surprised me, and his topes en reversa landed firmly. Ministros were my kind of rudos, guys who would each take a backdrop and are good at catching dives and taking complicated armdrags, working over Franky's knee in a way appropriate in a short lucha match. Franky's dive looked crazy, visible only in the background, Robocop in the foreground, Franky already upside down when he enters the frame. Cameras catch the wreckage on the floor and Robocop wins right after. Opener undercard lucha remains winning.  

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Found Footage Friday: KIMURA~! FUJINAMI~! INOKI~! HULK~! CHOSHU~! YATSU~! KHAN~! MAEDA~!

Kengo Kimura vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 11/19/82 NJPW

 

MD: Another day, another Japanese HH channel. This one feels particularly interesting as it's a new challenge by Kimura for Fujinami's title and in some ways it feels like a precursor to their 86/87 singles feud after they have great success as a tag team. Kimura comes in with a chip on his shoulder, refusing to shake Fujinami's hand and then immediately bypassing the early feeling out process for a belly-to-back and a jumping kick to the head off the top. Throughout this match, Kimura would strike first, but Fujinami would shut him down until slowly, surely, he rose to a level of competitiveness and likely anger to meet him in the middle. Case in point, Fujinami would wrestle his way back into the match, containing Kimura, but Kengo would refuse to break clean in the ropes, slapping at Fujinami multiple times before Fujinami started to return the favor. No matter how much aggression Kimura showed, Fujinami could hit a dropkick out of nowhere and get back in it. Eventually, Fujinami had enough and started working at the leg. Kimura took advantage of that eventually by catching a kick and hitting a dragon screw. That opened Fujinami up for a pile driver. He was able to fight back though, reversing a whip into the rails on the floor before eventually taking over just enough to hit a belly-to-back (with a close kickout) for the win. I know it took a few more years for it to all bubble over, but Kimura did not look like a guy who fully got it all out of his system here. Definitely an interesting piece of the puzzle.

Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami/Akira Maeda vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi NJPW 10/19/83

MD: I've seen a bunch of these tags and six-mans from this feud but I don't have a chronological sense of everything and how this one fits in. The universal traits are all there though. Over time, six-man tags have been about a lot of different things. Right now, very often, they're an opportunity to get in as many spots as possible, to keep cycling through to ensure that the action never ends. Here though, it was all about the mood of danger. If you got too close to Choshu's corner, you were going to pay. If you couldn't stop them from pulling you back in that direction, you would pay. The extra person took up an extra ten, fifteen percent of the apron and created an additional danger zone. Likewise, if you were able to roll towards your corner desperately, there was that much more chance you'd be able to tag your partner. The physical space of the ring had a different value assigned to it than in normal tag matches and they leveraged that value to create an overarching sense of peril and opportunity. It's fun to watch it play out in the moment. Everyone had a chance to face everyone else here. Maeda got to hit his suplexes and spin wheel kick, Fujinami his dropkicks, Choshu to throw some lariats. Obviously, the most electric pairings were Inoki vs Choshu and Fujinami vs Choshu, but everything felt dynamic. There was a moment where they were able to down Inoki with a couple of double teams (which contrasted with the moment early on where Inoki shrugged off a double headbutt to burst out of their corner), and Choshu, sensing the opportunity rushed at full speed towards him to lock on a Scorpion as only he could. Choshu just had an extra theatrical gear he could tap into that electrified the crowd and made everything feel larger than life, and of course, if he was doing with Inoki, the effect was multiplied. Things broke down eventually, as you'd imagine, but Inoki got at least a moral win by throwing everyone out as the bell rang. Nothing particularly stood out here relative to other matches in this series but it's all good so that's ok.

Antonio Inoki/Hulk Hogan/Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Killer Khan/Tiger Toguchi/Yoshiaki Yatsu NJPW 11/19/83

MD: What stands out immediately is just how hot the crowd was for this, or at least how hot they were for Hogan and most especially Inoki. He was getting chants far before arriving and when he and Hogan came out in matching robes, the place went nuts. This was more or less back and forth but I didn't agree with all of the backs and all of the forths. Starting with Fujinami and Toguchi made sense. Things cycled around with a slight good guy advantage until Khan carried Fujinami over to his corner so they could double team (a fireman's carry clubber followed by an Argentinian backbreaker clubber). Then the other side cycled around on Fujinami until he came back on Khan. That was unfortunate. I don't mind double heat with some comeback/control in the middle but it would have been better if it was, let's say, Yatsu getting his leg worked over as opposed to the monster. There was a bit of a foreboding feeling as it cycled back around to Fujinami doing it as you just knew Khan would come back, and of course, he did. Eventually Fujinami got a hot tag and Inoki and Hogan cleared house. Things built to Hogan vs Yatsu, which went about as you'd expect. At one point, Yatsu half ducked an Axe Bomber and I'm not sure Hogan expected it as he followed up with some big clubbers before doing it again. Things devolved into chaos and everyone getting counted out shortly thereafter. Hogan was repeating himself a couple of times and Yatsu especially wasn't there yet, but they were very, very over and that's always fun to watch.

ER: A very entertaining Tiger Toguchi and Killer Khan match, with them and Yatsu carrying a kind of uninspired Hogan and Inoki (Fujinami was plenty inspired). Inoki has this major presence and the crowd is dying for him, so it's funny when he finally gets into the match and just ices everything down with a standing leglock. 1983 Hogan in Japan has that Bodybuilder Dauber Dybinski posture, lumbering around and looking like a neanderthal with no juice. It's alarming how wild the crowd is for Hogan as he doesn't acknowledge them once the entire match. But if Hogan was a first year Batista and Inoki was mostly indifferent, Toguchi and Khan knew how to keep this moving. 

Toguchi looks like the largest possible Japanese member of Mamas and the Papas and I love how he never hesitates to step to Hogan or Inoki. The longer the match goes, the bigger Toguchi bumps, and he has this great Clumsy Taue motion. He gets run upside down in the corner and takes a big bump through the ropes to the floor from a Hogan knee. He bumps so hard to the floor, and Hogan just stands in place like Bull Buchanan. Killer Khan has to jump to the floor and tell Toguchi to stop selling and get back in the ring because Hogan wasn't budging. Hogan didn't budge until Yatsu ducked instead of taking an axe bomber, but wound up making the spot cooler by getting scalped and stumbling face first into the ropes. Hogan doesn't see it that way and is suddenly Stan Hansen but in a kind of bratty way. Look at the slappy stampy way he tags out after stiffing up Yatsu and hitting his Realest axe bomber. Hogan stiffs up Yatsu and suddenly looks really overpowering, and it stands out as the first time he's looked alive all match. The thing is, that's basically how overpowering Khan looks whenever he is in. Khan is a huge guy who knows how to wrestle big. He's one of the all time great Hogan and Inoki opponents because he could push pace and fall big for stars. But you see Inoki's jawline and pompadour and it's pretty easy to see why he still gets the biggest reaction in Chiba for his loaded up enziguiri. 

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Found Footage Friday: All Japan 12/5/85

Haru Sonoda vs. Shinichi Nakano

MD: Good performance here from rookie Nakano. He showed a bulldog's tenacity in attacking Sonoda's arm (especially good headbutts to it) and never felt like he shouldn't be in the match. I'd seen him quite a bit recently in 89-90 and past a bit of meandering at times, I would have believed you if you told me this match was from that era. Maybe that was part of the problem in him not advancing more. Sonada (who was Magic Dragon but I imagine most people reading this would know that) came back with headbutts and inside shots and a lot of focus on the eyes. Nakano sold an eye rake with a back bump which was a choice. Finishing stretch was okay in that you at least wondered if Nakano had a shot.

Nick Bockwinkel/Curt Hennig vs. Mighty Inoue/Masa Fuchi

MD: This was what drew me to this show as much as anything else. A new Bockwinkel match. Against two of my favorites of the decade for AJPW in Inoue and Fuchi. AWA babyface Hennig was in for a lot of this, having his leg dismantled by Inoue and Fuchi as they cut off the ring. The nature of the handheld made the ring look huge and the distance insurmountable at one point for Hennig. There were a couple of clips there in that part but you got the idea. Once he did make it to Bockwinkel, Bock was amazing as usual. He immediately pressed Inoue in the corner, then raised his hand in a flamboyant gesture of an exasperated clean break before laying in some shots anyway. He followed it up with a deep slam across the ring before Fuchi came and the two of them scrapped their way to the floor. When it was Hennig's turn to get some revenge, he showed a lot of fire. The finishing stretch was definitive but unique, with Bock lifting Fuchi up for a Hart Attack move with Hennig's "Axe" and then hitting a rare power bomb for the win. I don't think it was ever better than the sum of its parts, but the parts were all very good.

ER: Normally I'm a fan of minimalist wrestling but I wanted a bit more from this one. I was hoping to see Hennig and Inoue work quick and land hard and instead it was a lock of Inoue holding Hennig in a leglock. It was engaging enough, but it wasn't the kind of engagement I wanted. Mockingly, the handheld cuts away right as Hennig starts punching Inoue from his back and Inoue starts connecting back. Fuchi wasn't as much of a dickhead here as he'd become, wrestling much more like Jumbo lite. I did really like Fuchi catching a Hennig kick and Hennig punching him a couple times while hopping on one leg. Bockwinkel hit hard when he tagged in, and the finish was spirited. Inoue splats Bock with his senton and then hits the mat just as hard when Bock rolls away from the next one. The Hennig Axe bomber Hart Attack looked awesome, and Bockwinkel's powerslam finish looked just as good. 

Tiger Mask II/Genichiro Tenryu/Motsohi Okuma vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Isamu Teranishi/Norio Honaga

MD: First couple of minutes here had me a little worried as everything was nice and clean and sportsmanlike. Then Yatsu came in and everything changed. 85 Yatsu came off as far more of a disruptor and dissident than Tenryu, a real chip on his shoulder, a real attitude, and more than happy to toss people around with one throw after another. Tenryu would meet him halfway, blasting him with shots and tossing him around on the floor, but he wasn't nearly as violent against anyone else, even Honaga who he was paired up with in the finishing stretch (a standard "junior getting some hope against a star before getting put down" bit). In fact, it was Okuma who came off as both a force and, really, a star, even though he was teaming with Tiger Mask and Tenryu. His headbutt act was perfectly suited for a house show setting and over. Following up from a bit where Yatsu (using Teranishi's distractions) kept coming in to break up submissions, Okuma did the same with headbutts. Eventually, the other side got revenge by all getting their own headbutts in on him (with the crowd egging Honaga along as he was the last and most hesitant of the bunch). I would have liked some of the teams' control segments to last a bit longer as it all felt a little too back and forth but once they got past that initial reluctance to really fight one another and Yatsu reset the mood, this became overall enjoyable.

British Bulldogs vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi/Fumihiro Niikura

MD: Pretty typical ten minute Bulldogs match here. It's 85 so Dynamite was mobile but roided to the gills. Kobayashi especially made the Bulldogs look good, not that it took a ton of work. They were leaping off of pin attempts for both of them and not just Davey Boy which I found interesting. Davey always looked like he was having so much fun in there while Dynamite never did. When it was time to eat offense for the Bulldogs, that was Davey too. I don't know. Unless we're talking 1980-2 jerk heel Dynamite, I always see the stuff I expect to in his matches. Hard to come in with an open mind. This was fine though.

Jesse Barr/Harley Race vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Giant Baba

MD: I had some hopes for this one. Generally, I think Race gives way too much in Japan given who he is and what his rep is and how awesome he can be when he's really laying it in. His partner here was Barr though so I couldn't imagine Barr carrying too much of the offense. This still had a decent amount of Race stooging though. Some of it was pretty ginger. He moved super slow out of a corner whip, for instance, but then he walked right into a belly to belly, so it's not like you can complain. When he did go on offense, it was pretty great, with some killer headbutts out of the corner and then holding Jumbo up for the world's longest delayed pile driver. Even the way he'd turn a Jumbo front facelock into a suplex, just the way he powered him over, had a ton of presence behind it. Barr was okay, bumping big for Baba (and glad to do it) and rewarded later by getting to belly-to-back him. The finish had Jumbo and Baba repeatedly kill Barr only for Race to save him again and again until both teams got counted out. My favorite part towards the end was the guys with the handheld camera shouting out what they thought Jumbo's next move would be (they got the clothesline right but didn't realize he wanted to do a revenge pile driver instead of the belly to back).

ER: This managed to be a bit dull and a bit surprising all at once. Jumbo had a couple dry runs on offense, and Race was a bit slow and deliberate at times, but I love these kind of matches because it's always fun seeing guys like Jesse Barr interact with huge legends. Race bumps a lot, getting big air on a Jumbo hiptoss and really tossed with a belly to belly, gets the legs knocked out from him by a Baba back elbow (after Race punched Baba in the eye), and down the stretch he takes his big rope flip bump backwards to the floor. I agree with Matt that it's more fun when Race fights back harder, and we get a feel for that when he's punching at Jumbo and gives him a hard atomic drop. I think '85 Jumbo is more interesting as a dynamic seller than on offense, buckling his knees at the impact of Race's strikes. 

Jesse Barr interacting with Baba and Jumbo delivered what I wanted, and I liked how the guys recording this either really liked Jesse Barr, or at minimum were pretending to like Barr to crack each other up. Every time Barr would pull off a move they'd yell "Barrrr!" I didn't really hear them react to any Harley Race offense, but they reacted to Barr the whole time. Barr had a really nice high bearhug on Jumbo that Baba had to come in and break with a chop to the back of Barr's neck, and later he got to throw Jumbo with a nice belly to belly, and drop Baba with a high delayed back suplex. Jesse Barr dropping Giant Baba with a huge back suplex was too much, I love it. Baba had a bunch of great chops and Jumbo knocked Barr to the floor with a big running knee, then Barr rearranged every ringside barricade with his body. It had dull parts, it had some great stuff, it's a good enough 12 minutes. 

Dory Funk Jr. vs. Riki Choshu

MD: First and last third of this were really good but I thought they'd be striking a lot more. Instead they worked the mat and that first third had them moving in and out of things frequently and really fighting for positioning and counters. Gritty stuff. In the middle, it devolved a bit more into fighting for one particular hold, be it a half crab or the Scorpion, but they picked things back up for the finishing stretch. At one point Dory hit a belly to back followed by a butterfly suplex and a Russian legsweep. Just boom, boom, boom. Then Choshu blocked the fourth boom (an atomic drop) and started throwing the clotheslines leading to one great near fall where Dory ducked it. Eventually, they hit the floor and Hansen and Dibiase (and then Hara and Rusher) came out to cause chaos and set up the next match and that was that. The good stuff here was very good.

ER: I thought this was pretty great, a hardscrabble match where nothing looked easy. This looked like a real workout for Dory and Choshu, and I thought Dory was especially impressive. Choshu is a real bulldog and goes after Dory on the mat, and it's cool to start a match with 6-7 minutes of catch as catch can before going into the stuff where you really need a gas tank. Dory was just a couple months away from his WWF stint and looked really big, far bigger chest and arms than he had earlier in the decade. That extra size comes in handy as he and Choshu have some pretty nasty collisions. The matwork was tough on its own, both guys working hard to block single legs and Funk fighting off the Scorpion, and I didn't think the finishing run would be as hot as it was. Not only did Dory start dropping Choshu, but both guys were getting to their feet quick, and the excellent camera work really zoomed in and showed how hard that 1985 AJ mat was. 

Every bump looked body jarring and Funk really looked like he was powering a heavy Choshu up. Funk's back suplex looked great and his butterfly suplex was strong, guy looked like he was out there on the farm loaded bales, and if Stan Hansen hadn't pulled a Russian legsweep even more deadly looked in the very next match then I would have said Dory clearly had the best legsweep on this show. Choshu threw a few lariats right at Dory's neck, and I like how accurately Dory sold them: one knocked him flat on his back, one to the side of his neck knocked him sideways and onto one foot, and when Riki started swinging his arm my man had to act fast. Dory ducking THEE lariat was perfectly done, as Riki swung for the fences and Dory just dipped his head under and hooked the waist, a nearfall on an O'Connor roll that would have been a really good finish. Tough as hell match, shocking this kind of workout was what they were doing when the cameras weren't rolling. 

Rusher Kimura/Ashura Hara vs. Ted Dibiase/Stan Hansen

MD: This had one clip in the middle but probably not a big one. Hara and Rusher took it right to their opponents, with both sides trying to drive each other back into the corner when possible. Dibiase tries hard but when paired with Hansen he always comes off as a guy trying to wear his dad's suit. This was short and entirely back and forth but it had the sort of energy you'd want given who was in there.

ER: Man how cool does Baba look at ringside with his yellow stripe on black track pants, black shirt tucked in? Our director was 100% right to zoom in on him. The Yellowjacket ringside track suits were a real highlight of 1985. There was a cut in the middle of this one, so I'm not sure how much we missed, but what we have is 8 minutes of a real good fast-paced scrap. Everybody comes off like a tough son of a gun, with Hansen bullying Rusher around and the still-spry 44 year Rusher fighting back hard. Rusher was easier for Hansen to bully 5 years later, but he was still beefy and mad in 1985. I love the way Hansen tangles guys up and spins and rolls around the ring with him, really tussling. His body language is always the best, and he pays close attention to things that could easily be throwaways, like the way he clamps heavily on Rusher and Hara's traps when he locks in a nerve hold. 

Hansen never makes it easy on anybody. He's always pulling on you, laying on you heavy and not giving you rest holds, and always hitting so damn hard. Hansen is just the most annoying opponent, more relentless than Fit Finlay and 60 pounds bigger. And I like when guys like Kimura and Hara can deflect that relentless energy, even if only temporarily. I loved the finishing building to Rusher's hot tag, when Hansen rushes into a Hara boot and spirals his way dramatically down the length of the ring. Rusher tags in and throws a ton of headbutts and Hansen reacts to them like he's in a swarm of bees. I liked Dibiase here too, holding his end of Large Gaijin Hansen Partner of a big tandem shoulderblock that knocked Hara ass over elbow, and bringing the beauty of the falling fistdrop to Hiroshima. He dropped a bit of the technique here and to focus on the energy, and I kind of like Dibiase wrestling like Joel Deaton. Hansen hits one of the smoothest violent Russian legsweeps I've ever seen, Dibiase wins it with a big rotating powerslam, and Hansen slides out of the ring and gets the hell out of that arena like he was missing his bus. Great stuff. 

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Found Footage Friday: KUNG FU~! ROCCO~ HANSEN~! JUMBO~! TENRYU~! AWESOME KONG~! DEVIL~! BORSHOI~!

Kung Fu vs. Rollerball Rocco UK 11/19/85

MD: Rocco is a guy who always feels like he's too bombastic for the style, always ready to explode out at any moment, always too quick to rush back to action, never settling for the comparatively refined (even when entirely dirty and underhanded) World of Sport wrestling. Here, he was able to draw entirely outside the lines and it felt like Cheshire by way of Puerto Rico, especially in the first few minutes which had brawling around the arena, a low blow, a flip bump from the stage back into the ring, moves off the top, choking with a cord, the corner pad taken off and the buckle used as a weapon. It was all pretty wild. Meanwhile, Rocco was leaning in and through and around and up and over for all of Kung Fu's offense, making kicks and straight shots look absolutely deadly, and more than happy to hit some bombs of his own, like dropping Kung Fu with a back bump pile driver of sorts. It calmed down a little in the back half and felt more like a normal Rocco match, to the point where the escalation almost went in reverse, but it was all quick enough that you never were too far away from that crazy beginning. Primarily, this whole thing made me badly wish that 85 Rocco vs 85 Colon in a baseball stadium in San Juan had somehow happened.

PAS: This was great, totally different then you would expect from a match in England. Matt's comparison with Puerto Rico was on point, because it totally had that unhinged vibe, it also reminded me a bit of Poffo's ICW. Rocco was great in this bringing intensity from the beginning, All of the brawling on the stage was awesome, including Rocco eating an insane beal from the stage into the ring. Really liked Kung Fu's Chuck Norrisish martial arts, that thrust to throat looked sick, and his kicks were more Stan Lane then Low-Ki, but great looking Stan Laneish kicks. These guys matched up a bunch, and I want to watch them all, it feels like two guys that meant to be matched up.


Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Great Kabuki vs. Stan Hansen/Genichiro Tenryu/Samson Fuyuki AJPW 7/3/89

MD: This was recently uncovered by the new round of Classics and it's a match that fits the moment, that period where Hansen had just joined with Tenryu, a month after Tenryu had taken the title from Jumbo. The clash up against each other with absolutely no give for thirteen or so minutes here, never, ever, allowing for the least bit of disbelief. It's all suspended the whole way through. There's no space for doubt. Revolution controls the ring better, but Jumbo's more than happy to charge in and assert himself when he's not the legal man. In the few matches we have of them working together, Fuyuki always seems more confident when he's with Hansen. Here, even though he eats the early big boot by Jumbo (and Jumbo loved to do that to Footloose), he comes back with his own later as Jumbo's trying to get into the ring. That would set up the exchange they'd have towards the end when Jumbo finally put him down. The match opens up a bit after Hansen and Tenryu hit an assisted powerbomb on Kabuki. 

Yatsu ends up brawling on the outside with Hansen but Jumbo targets Tenryu, absolutely crushing him with a jumping knee in the corner, which led to bleeding and Jumbo being absolutely unrelenting with repeated stomps. Kabuki having to shove Jumbo to get him off felt like a real lost (and now uncovered) definitional moment for 89 Jumbo and the fury he felt towards Tenryu, the only person who could really get under his skin. For all of Jumbo's high and mighty sportsman's nature and noble chin, Tenryu could bring him down to his level, in the gutter with blood and violence. Otherwise, Kabuki was in there to lose the offense a few times (as was Fuyuki) and launch those awesome uppercuts at Tenryu and Hansen. Fuyuki made a try at it towards the end, but he was overexuberent and Jumbo caught him off the ropes with a hotshot and the belly to back for the win. Post match, the violence unsurprisingly continued with bullropes and tables getting involved. This was a worthy release from the AJPW archives that sums up the moment in time very well.

PAS: Goddamn was this my shit. Just six nasty crowbars unloading on each other. I am a low voter on World Champion title match Jumbo, but pissed up Jumbo stomping and punching Tenryu until he is bleeding I am all the way in on. Hansen was great as a background character in this match, a half blind bulldozer smashing everything in sight, I loved the sections where he was getting strafed by Kabuki uppercuts until he unloaded with a knees and punches. Yastsu, Hara and Fuyuki also bring the appropriate level of crazy and this match basically never lets up. This was WAR before WAR, mixing in pissed off Jumbo and reckless Hansen, and I couldn't recommend it more. 

Command Bolshoi/Devil Masami vs Amazing Kong/Haruka Matsuo JWP 9/18/05

MD: Interesting match that covered a lot of ground. Very different Bolshoi than what we've been seeing from her stuff a decade later. Here she was competent and quick but not some sort of maestro. Kong was probably still finding her legs to a degree. She worked to her size fairly well but not so much so as she would a couple of years later. Some of her positioning felt a little more obvious. Each of the exchanges here were a little bit different and the most memorable probably ended up being Matsuo vs Masami, where Masami was just an absolute tank against her. At one point, she ate a dropkick right in the face while she was kneeling, to the point that you could see the flesh move, and she just shrugged it off and pressed on. Later on, she not only prevented Matsuo from making it to the corner with her hair alone, but then threw her across the ring with said hair. It was pretty wild and maybe not something I'd want to see over the span of multiple matches, but dropping in to see her as a force of nature counterpoint to Kong with Matsuo just bouncing off of her was ok for one match. And Matsuo, while she earned many of her openings with Kong's help, did certainly throw herself with everything she had against Masami. I would have been curious to see what the Bolshoi we've been seeing lately might have been able to do with a Kong from a few years later. 

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New Footage Friday: YATSU~! TAKANO~! RED~! JOE~! FUGO FUGO~! TAKAYAMA~! JOETA~! CHAINS~!

Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Shunji Takano AJPW 6/5/89

MD: This was a recent Classics drop, a match we never had from the big 6/5/89 show. We don't have a ton of singles Yatsu matches from this period, as most of his big ones were tags or six-mans, so it was a welcome pick up. Takano is a guy that, if you had asked me in 89, and from performances alone, I would have told you would have been a much bigger star than Taue. He was a couple of years younger than him but much farther along, with more presence for his size, able to scrap with anyone on the roster, possessing a decent athleticism, and with those kicks that he'd use when the situation was warranted against someone like Abby or Hansen (or as the case may be here, Yatsu) as his secret weapon. They were loose allies as Takano was often the third guy in a Jumbo/Yatsu trios and started respectfully enough, but after Takano took a but too long on a break, Yatsu just exploded out of the corner on him with forearms and knees in the ropes and it became a heated ten minutes from there. This was 1989 AJPW so you could get a momentum shift from Yatsu just catching Takano off the ropes and shoving him down or Takano escaping a hold and just stomping Yatsu in the head on the way up. We got most of their big stuff, including Yatsu's power bomb (and a top rope elbow which was not one of his usual moves) and this great full rotation Saito suplex from Takano. When Takano did lay in those kicks in the corner, it felt like a full payment receipt for those early knees from Yatsu. The finish was weird, as Takano did seem to get his shoulder up and he was hot after the match. Definitely a good one to have escape the archive.

PAS: 80s All Japan is going to deliver big dudes hitting each other very hard, and this totally delivered that. Yatsu especially threw real heat including some big shots in the corner and a great looking throw. Yatsu had really powerful hips and he also got a ton of torque when he chucked someone. That finish was pretty badly blow which is why I imagine this was stuck in the vault for 30 years, but it was an entertaining 10 minutes nonetheless. 

Red vs. Samoa Joe ICW 6/26/15

MD: If the Red vs Rey match we saw a few weeks ago was worked like a dream match, this felt like much more of a sub-10 minute TV match sprint. It was a lot of fun though. The first half had Red try something only for Joe to one-up him: he hit a punch exchange and Joe just crushed him into the corner with a flurry; he got some chops off and Joe flattened him with one of his own. Things picked up to the point where Red's speed got him a DDT and a frog splash but the size differential made it so he could barely even reach over to hook a leg. After that it was just a matter of time before Joe caught him out of the corner and dropped him with the muscle buster (which Red somehow managed a face-first bump out of). You could haved tacked on a few minutes at the start with Red evading Joe and in the middle of Joe grinding Red down to have a more complete match but it was fun for what it was.

PAS: This was really fun stuff, it did feel like the best TV match of a week. Joe is a great bruiser and Red is one of the best working babyfaces of his era. I loved Joe just running through Red with a big shoulder block,  and his killer punch flurry in the corner. Red's comeback's worked really well, that snap rana was very cool, and the frog splash landed big. All of Joe's big bombs looked huge and it ended right when it should have.  

Fugo Fugo Yumeji/Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Joeta/Kendi Takeshima WUW 1/1/15

PAS: EXIT Underground is my new favorite wrestling thing. Takayama fits the chains perfectly as he has always been his best as a guy pushing the limits of violence, and he lays Takeshima out at the end of this match with a great looking side suplex and vicious knee strike. Still these matches are Fugo Fugo showcases and he delivers here, his stuff is like a mix of FUTEN and Kurisu which is an incredible mix. I love how he just will shut off all strike exchanges with sick headbutts, and he splits Takeshima with one after the match. He has great chemistry with Joeta and they are really killing each other with strikes and kicks in this match, Joeta has one whip kick from the floor which looks like it sends Fugo's jaw into the stand. Nothing I love more then super stiff wrestling in a filthy looking arena and this totally delivers on that promise.

MD: This wasn't quite as confined as the last match we saw with the chains, but no one was going anywhere anyway (except for that time where Fugo Fugo got knocked out of the ring). This had a real sense of inevitability given the way Takayama towered over his opponents and just crushed them down at will. It then became about whether or not Fugo Fugo would ever kick out or if he was bullheadedly going to fight off two guys forever. For a while, you got the sense he just might, just meeting them strike for strike for strike, just nasty shots all around. At one point they had him in their corner and you got the sense that Fugo Fugo's hubris might do him, but he roared back and when his thirst for violence was finally sated, he made that tag and that was basically the end of it. These chain rope matches need to make the rounds so they become Daniel Garcia's signature match and his blow off with Dante Martin in 2025 is in a match like this where Dante can't make use of the ropes to vault off of. In the meantime, we're more than happy to see 2010s Japanese vets beat the snot out of each other.

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On Brand Segunda Caida: Bossman in Japan!

Big Bubba/Tom Magee vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Tiger Mask II AJPW 4/4/88

ER: It's kind of amazing how much one guy can drag down a match with three legends, but there really isn't much you can do with 1988 Jumbo. Hey folks, we have a lot of fun here. Magee was truly one of the most clueless wrestlers in history, a clearly athletic guy who couldn't get up for a move to save his life. He's like if David Flair had enough athleticism to get himself into trouble. But this match is entirely worthwhile for every single second of Bubba and Jumbo in the ring together. It's fantastic. We get some fun work around shoulderblocks, with Bubba absorbing a couple before taking down a suspender strap, and while he preps to absorb a third that's when Jumbo surprises him with a leaping knee right to the face. Hell yeah. Watch the awesome moment late in the match where Bubba whips Jumbo hard into the ropes, hitches his pants up like a big fat guy does, and is right back in position just in time to yoink Jumbo up into a bearhug. Bubba was so good with barely a full year under his belt, and '88 Jumbo was really great, my favorite Jumbo time period. Bubba's positioning throughout the match is impressive as hell, and he had this great way of bumping expertly right to the spot he needed to be. This whole thing is worth it just to see Bubba whip off his XL belt and start choking the life out of Jumbo. What an absolute monster!! Bubba also has a bunch of impressive tricks for a guy still under 25; my favorite is his missed clothesline. He whips his huge arm so low and fast but it's 100% safe. He holds his arm out for a big lariat and the split second someone passes it he swings it hard, guaranteeing a miss but making the miss look great. So, Tom Magee. Well, Magee throws a nice dropkick and a couple surprisingly nice body shots...and the rest of the time it's almost impressive how completely baffled he looks. He had no idea how to stand, no idea how or where to fall, there's a beyond embarrassing mat section with Misawa tries grounding him and works a figure 4, but Magee is arguably more clueless on his back than on his feet. Jumbo tries his best with him and the guy can't even get up for a bodyslam. At one point Bubba seems like he accidentally tags Magee in and instantly regrets it, like he just stumbled into a carefully arranged stack of plates. The frustration from everyone is palpable, though Jumbo and Misawa keep it pro and don't rough him up, in a way that seems like they just felt bad for the guy. Before this match Magee was a relatively protected gaijin, winning more often than losing. After this match he lost every one of his last 14 matches on the tour, and never returned to Japan.

Big Bubba/Jimmy Snuka vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Yoshiaki Yatsu AJPW 4/15/88

ER: This was not exceptional, but it was filled with near constant moments of near joy. Bubba was so massive at this point, like a giant mean teddy bear, like a guy who seems like a cool fat young dad, but also a guy who would work perfectly as one of Ben Gazzara's goons in Road House. I love his swinging double axe handle attacks, and the finish with him being assaulted on all sides by Jumbo and Yatsu before being dumped by a man sized back suplex was really cool. There were small moments throughout that made this worthwhile even without a man who looks like a gigantic short order cook on a job interview, such as Snuka lying on his side with a "man, REALLY?" look on his face after Jumbo yanks him off a Yatsu pin, or Snuka hitting a great diving headbutt that kind of just looked like he splashed Yatsu's face. Inessential, but needed.

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New Footage Friday: Double Tiger Conways, Mark Lewin, Kawada, Tenryu, DiBiase, Hansen, Jumbo

Tiger Conway Jr./Tiger Conway Sr. vs. Mark Lewin/Gary Hart Houston Wrestling 5/9/79

MD:This looks like it might be the last new match we get out of Houston for a while. You have to love the crowd. There's one wide shot where you can just feel how electric everyone was, even for an attraction match like this. Some of that was a testament to Gary Hart (and how consistently and single-mindedly Hart and Lewin had down their heel game), but so much of it was because of the Tigers.

Lothario was the real "find" of the Houston footage, but Conway, Jr.'s notable as well. He feels very much a local guy, sort of a more mid-card Bill Dundee, who the crowd loves and who delivers match after match. He was an incredible seller and a real fiery comeback. Before all of this Houston footage, he was a guy lost to time and a throw-away mainstream gimmick. This was my first look at Sr., and he was spry and willing but there wasn't a ton to see. They were sure over though and that, along with Jr. doing everything well and Lewin and Hart being sufficiently despicable, made this fun.

PAS: There is something so classically pro wrestling about a youngster bringing in his old retired dad to even the score against an interfering manager. Conway Sr. is great in the Dusty/Bullet Bob role of dancing babyface who can bring it if necessary. Hart doesn't bump but he takes some shots to the face and some demonstrative headbutts. I liked Conway Sr. getting the pin in the first fall, but getting laid out and taken to the back by a throat chop in the second fall. That leaves Jr. to have to take out both heels at once, and he does a great job only to get smashed with a table leg after pinning Hart. I would love to see the blowoff to the Lewin vs. Conway feud, because this was a great taste.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted DiBiase AJPW 3/21/82

MD: We gravitate towards the oddities and the B-sides, the bursts of violence and glowing lights lost in the fog of history. This is none of that. This is a Classic. This, had it not been buried, would be canonical. It would have done well in the 80s AJPW DVDVR ballot. It'd be on some Lynch or Meltzer or McAdam list. It's just a good, high-effort, wrestling match with dueling limbwork and incredibly hard fought transitions. 82 Ted has the best, leanest gutwrench suplex I've ever seen and this crazy tendency to bump out of the ring when he probably shouldn't. Tenryu stays right with him including what is probably the earliest top rope sunset flip in recorded history. It's a draw but there's enough escalation and progression that you don't feel too cheated by it. Really, this was what NWA champion Dibiase probably would have looked like when he was working neutral and it was a pretty good showing for him all around.

PAS: DiBiase is a guy who I like as a brawler, but have never really rated as a technical title match guy. This is really the first time I have seen him perform at the level of an NWA champion in an NWA champion style match (this wasn't for a title, but was very much in that style.) We get some solid matwork early, with Ted working a bunch of different variations of a hammerlock, and Tenryu putting on a tight front face lock. Much of the match is contested on the mat, but we get some big stand up sections including DiBiase taking a big spill to the floor and eating a really nice looking Tenryu tope. Tenryu also unloads with some great looking sumo thrusts which send DiBiase to the floor again. I loved the gutwrench and powerslam by DiBiase, and Tenryu really nails an enzigiri and piledriver. Would have liked a finish, but I get why this went to a draw. I agree with Matt that this would have been highly though of if it was around earlier, and while I prefer stuff with a little more flash, this was a hell of a meat and potatoes bout.

Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Masanobu Fuchi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Genichiro Tenryu/Stan Hansen AJPW 11/20/89

PAS: I think the Kawada/Tenryu/Hansen trios team has got to be the most violent trios team in history (although this is zebra stripe Kawada which is significantly less violent then black and yellow Kawada), and the Yatsu/Jumbo/Fuchi trio has to be up there. Yatsu comes into this match wearing a rugby helmet which is usually used to prevent concussions or while recovering from them(I never wore one because I am not a pussy, although now I can't remember any event that happened in my 20s), as one might imagine both Tenryu and Hansen take sadistic pleasure in stomping and elbowing Yatsu right on the side of his head. The presence of that helmet really adds to the violence of their attack. Kawada is the target of the other team, and he takes a pretty good beating including selling an inverted atomic drop like he took a croquet mallet to his nards. Finish felt a bit abrupt, but I am all for the Hansen kill shot lariat. Overall a nifty discovery with six all time greats doing their dance.

MD: This was exactly what one would have expected, a bunch of guys who would continuously bring the unrelenting pressure with ebbs and flows and big shots. I liked how they would work sequences and then grind down to holds before switching partners. I liked how well they contained Hansen early on. Yatsu was a blast to watch as he made sure to sell with every foolish, effective headbutt he threw. I like how when he tried the jumping kick on Tenryu it did absolutely nothing. The Total Elimination spin kick/jumping kick from Kawada/Tenryu, on the other hand, was a thing of beauty. It all escalated into bombs towards the end and that one ever-present kill shot by Hansen. Satisfying as you'd expect.

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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!!!

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SEGUNDA CAIDA DECLARES WAR!! SWS 9/17/91

I'm an SWS novice, but 30 seconds in I already love the "Straight and Strong" tagline with a Godzilla T-Rex logo. Just some straight and strong wrestling right here. And also here's a dinosaur.

1. Samson Fuyuki & Shinichi Nakano vs. Kendo Nagasaki & Great Kabuki

ER: Joined in progress which is a shame, as we open on Kabuki and Nagasaki beating the snot out of Fuyuki. Kabuki throws one of the best running knees I've ever seen, and they roll to the floor to dump Fuyuki on a table and throw chairs at him while he flails in his awesome floral tights. Back in the ring and the Kendo/Kabuki double thrust kick is awesome and since both guys know how to hit a thrust kick it really should be a finisher. Fuyuki hits a falling clothesline on Kabuki, but Kabuki laughs it off, smacks him with a superkick and then shows Fuyuki how to REALLY throw a boss running clothesline. Nakano was a furious house of fire here but was really only in for 30 seconds (at least of what was shown of the 7 minutes), and Fuyuki still wrestles like a junior, and is still mostly junior size, winning with a cradle. I like the Kendo/Kabuki team, as well as the Fuyuki/Nakano team, but Fuyuki's comeback came out of nowhere and wasn't really believable at all.

2. Akira Katayama vs. Kenichi Oya

ER: I really liked Hisakatsu Oya during his FMW days, always thought he was a real underrated guy. I am 94% positive that I have never seen an Akira Katayama match in my life. I'm used to seeing Oya wearing his black karate pants and weird balding-down-the-middle 'do so it's weird to see him still balding down the middle, but wearing lime green and apricot shorts. Katayama is wearing tiger striped tights with "Rocket" written down the sides. It's like a couple NJPW trainees got sick of being forced to wear black trunks and do a bunch of boston crabs and dropkicks, so once they joined SWS they rebelled by wearing the shittiest trunks possible. First 7 minutes of the match are a whole bunch of nothing, but then suddenly a switch flips and Katayama starts working over the arm and it gets good. All the arm holds are put over by Oya's yelling and struggling, and Katayama does some cool knee drops to the bum wing. But Oya immediately ignores it all once he transitions back to offense (even using the bad arm for the first two post-armwork moves he does, an inside cradle and a clothesline). Last 5 minutes are fun as both guys just stop pretending to sell and start busting out all the big moves. We get plenty of nasty suplexes and a couple big dives from Katayama. Katayama also breaks out the stiff headbutts and uppercuts. So it was a total mess of a match, with 7 boring minutes leading into 3 ultimately pointless-yet-engaging minutes of decent armwork, leading to a really fun 5 minute sprint. I really wish this was the match joined in progress.

3. Masao Orihara vs. Tatsumi (Koki) Kitahara

ER: Orihara does not look like a disgraced yakuza button man yet and Kitahara is young and mulleted. Orihara does a bunch of poorly planned and reckless flips to the floor to start, seemingly with no regard to where he lands. Kitahara is gracious enough to catch him. Back in and Kitahara does a stiff legsweep and then points to his head to show how smart he is. Awesome. Then he starts kicking Orihara a bunch, and sassily gets the crowd to cheer for Orihara to make a comeback. One big vertical suplex later and Orihara is dumped to the floor, with Kitahara following to deliver one of the nastiest snap suplexes I've ever seen, right on the rampway. Good lord that was fast and painful. Orihara gets some little flying comebacks, until Koki decides to level him with a short arm clothesline to the neck. This sets up one of the coolest spots I've seen in months: So Orihara just got leveled with a clothesline, and he's taken a pretty man-sized beating and struggling to get up, and Kitahara is smugly leaning against the ropes, waiting for Orihara to get up so he can level him with another clothesline. Orihara gets up, Kitahara sprints forward and swings for the fences, only for Orihara to reverse it with a crucifix roll up for a GREAT near fall. What made it work so damn well was the commitment. Kitahara looked like he didn't expect Orihara to reverse it, so he threw the clothesline with full strength, making him off balance for the resulting takedown and roll up. Great spot. It doesn't matter in the end as Kitahara ends up hitting a mean northern lights suplex to win, but a great moment is a great moment. I don't know if I can call the match really good, as my end impression was that this was more Kitahara flexing nuts on a young boy, and the pacing wasn't great, and nobody really sold anything. These things are hard as shit for me to rank or judge or critique. Basically, all the moves looked good, some looked brutal, but I never felt invested in any of it.

4. Greg Valentine vs. Fumihiro Niikura

ER: Valentine comes out to some big brassy burlesque number, like he's working some underground strip club during Prohibition. Niikura was in the Viet Cong Express with Hiroshi Hase in the 80s. Match wasn't special as it was basically an extended Valentine squash, but if you wanted to see The Hammer stiff up a Japanese guy you don't really know, then this would be right up your alley. Valentine looked really good here, throwing some of the best elbow strikes I've seen (the stiffest Dusty elbow you've ever seen, really great back elbows, and ends the match after three straight beautiful elbow drops). Is there anybody with better elbow drops than Valentine? Hansen maybe? Probably definitely Hansen.

5. Davey Boy Smith vs. Takashi Ishikawa

ER: On paper I was pretty excited for this one but Davey gasses WAY early and gets super chinlocky the whole match. Ishikawa tries his damndest to make it interesting but any time the match starts to approach any action, Davey Boy locks on a chinlock and loudly breathes, literally wheezing and gasping all over Ishikawa. Match ends with Davey Boy hitting a body slam and winning with a bad flying clothesline off the top. Those two moves were two of the only moves Davey Boy hit all match. Horrible. Ishikawa threw an awesome dropkick and was not responsible for any of the shittiness here.

6. Naoki Sano & George Takano vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Haku

ER: Weird match up as it's two large heavyweights against two juniors and you also had the dynamic of the giant guys cheating throughout the match. So the cheating would get booed, but Yatsu is also clearly one of the biggest stars in SWS so many fans still wanted to cheer his team. Sano looked really good here and his comebacks against Haku were really good, and I really liked Haku's powerbomb variations. Match was building to something and then Haku and Yatsu rough up the ref and the match gets thrown out after like 7 minutes. Booooooo. I think we had some clipping as well at some point.

7. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Demolition (Smash and Crush)

ER: In retrospect Demolition had a horrible look and must have been one of the reasons my parents were filled with shame by my young/current/future wrestling fandom. I know they were supposed to look like Mad Max rogues, but they come off looking more like undercover cops trying too hard to blend in at The Mine Shaft. Barry Darsow is such a weirdo in this. He's still doing his "constant chatter" schtick, but it's so jarring to see and hear a giant leather daddy yelling "Shut your mouth, goofball!" or "I'm gonna beat this stinkin' bum!" Demolition are pretty boring here as their long control segment on Tenryu is just clubbing and chin locks (save for a really awesome and dangerous Smash backdropping Tenryu into a Crush piledriver). Control segment takes a long time, but the fans want Hara. Hara gets the hot tag, and unfortunately the match ends immediately after he comes in and does two clotheslines, and Darsow didn't exactly lean into them so they didn't look like normal match ending WAR type clotheslines.


Soooooo......this card was pretty damn disappointing. The theme of SWS seems to be that any move can end a match, at any time. Which just meant that every match ended out of nowhere on a move that looked like it shouldn't have ended the match. Wish we got the full cut of the Kabuki match.

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Thunder on! Stride on! Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Strike With Vengeful Stroke!

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Antonio Inoki/Akira Maeda vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi NJ 2/9/84-GREAT

This is part of the Choshu's Army feud and Fujiwara got his first big run here and was awesome. The match is focused around the Army triple teaming and beating on Fujiwara. They bust him open and he fights them off with blood running down his face, there is a moment where he blocks a shot, smiles a bloody smile and just unloads with headbutts. Choshu's army matches all pretty much have unsatisfying finishes, and this ends with a crappy ref DQ, still this was the earliest super Fujiwara performance I have seen, and all Fujiwara fans should check it out.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v. Riki Choshu NJ 3/2/84-FUN

Real short brawl, which was still a blast. Fujiwara comes out ready for war and they just go at it. Choshu gets a bit of advantage with some big lariats, and Fujiwara roles to the floor and grabs a bolt and tries to stab Choshu with it. The Army runs in and we get a big multi man brawl. More of angle then a match, but you have to love the intensity and heat from this period of New Japan

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger UWF 9/11/85- EPIC

This is the final UWF 1 match up between these two, and really their masterpiece. Kris Zellner described the beginning of this match resembling a heavyweight title fight, and that is really accurate. The first part has a lot of feints and shrugs, Fujiwara throws some jabs, Tiger tosses some range finder kicks but neither guy wants to make the first move. At one point Fujiwara grabs Tiger's wrist and just yanks him in to take him down.

Then you have the Fujiwara controlling Tiger on the mat. The two most trite moves in the first UWF are the half crab and sitting leg lock. Watch some of the lesser matches from this period and they are loaded with diffident half crabs and somnambulant sitting leg locks, watching Fujiwara work those moves shows the real gulf between him and everyone else. He is constantly moving and working to improve his position, and Tiger is constantly trying to counter. There is never a point in the hold where nothing is happening. After being controlled on the mat, Tiger is able to get a break and unloads a nasty jumping knee right to Fujiwara's face. Fujiwara gets up at nine, backs Tiger into the corner and just blasts him with one of the best straight right hands in wrestling history. And it is on. Most UWF1 matches have a slow build and a hot finish, but this was the best slow build of any of the UWF, and damn near the best hot finish.

The end run of this match was really all about establishing distance. Super Tiger needs to have some distance to unleash his kicks, and when he gets that distance Fujiwara does an amazing job of selling them as deadly, even when they don't land clean. He is drooling, eyes rolling back into his head, checking his tooth to see if it still there, gasping for breath when he gets hit in the belly, Tiger looks like a guy who has the eraser in his feet, he can end a match with one shot. Meanwhile Fujiwara is attempting to keep it close, either on the mat, or in the corners where he can land body shots or headbutts. The finish run is perfect example of that, Tiger gets a couple of near fall KO's, but makes the mistake of locking up with Fujiwara, he tries for a German suplex, but Fujiwara, throws a back elbow, and just drops into a Fujiwara armbar for the tap out. Just an awesome perfect finish for a great match.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Antonio Inoki v. Akira Maeda/Tatsumi Fujinami NJ 9/7/87- GREAT

This is a battle of teams who really match up well against each other, Fujinami and Maeda are two of Fujiwara's best opponents, and Inoki also really works well with both. Built really well, with everyone hitting the mat with vengance, Inoki and Maeda had an especially neat exchange with Inoki using an Elevator to reverse position and land some nasty punches from the top. Finish was spectacular with Inoki avoiding all of Fujinami's attacks and catch him with his enzigiri, however Maeda comes in and catches Fujiwara with a nasty liver kick for the KO. Total chaos at the end which ruled.

The Complete and Accurate Yoshiaki Fujiwara

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