70s Joshi on Wednesday: Hori! Iwai!

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

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

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

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

*3/4

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

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

AEW Collision 1/11/25

Daniel Garcia vs Katsuyori Shibata

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ROH 1/09/25

Trish Adora vs Harley Cameron

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

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

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

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

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

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NO-MAS: Omos in NOAH, New Year Reboot

 

Omos/Jack Morris/Yu Owada vs. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr./Galeno Del Mal/Saxon Huxley NOAH 1/2/25

ER: Omos's second match with the company felt like an incredible step backward. It's his second night with the company and he's working a throwaway trios match at a half sold Shinjuku FACE show, in a match where the focus is on Yu Owada's heel turn and not the gigantic black man entering your small building. The fans boo Owada in his Team 2000X when he enters the building after Omos as their mystery partner. To start the match, Omos locked up with Wagner. Obviously he won the lock up, easily, but why is this giant man locking up with a luchador half his weight? It would have been preposterous if Undertaker had worked a test of strength spot with Crash Holly, but at least it would have made sense within Holly's character. Omos doesn't need to be doing collar and elbow tie-ups with any other wrestler.  

I liked the stretch where Morris came in and cut Wagner off, Wagner selling a pump kick like Terry Funk before powering through and headbutting Morris, falling hard first, recognizing it was a bad idea as Morris was plopped on his butt rubbing his jaw. I liked how Morris set up Huxley's offense, selling a kneelift falling chest first into the middle rope with his arms draped over the top, getting bounced off the ropes as Huxley built steam, turning around just in time to catch a boot under the chin. Morris himself has bad hand clap offense but he can sell some difficult stuff well. Owada, the true focus of the match, is at minimum good at getting blown up by a shoulderblock. 

I wanted more from the Omos/Galeno shoulderblock exchange climax. They kept the big men mostly out of the match and they didn't even let Omos bump Galeno with a shoulderblock. Omos shoulderblocking Galeno into the ropes and then celebrating was like Luger celebrating his count out win against Yokozuna. The big double chokeslam was a nice ending and I especially love that it was so sudden. Galeno took one bump for Omos but it was for the finish. Crazy that Galeno took the slam so much better than Marufuji. 

TL: The only match I know Eric likes more than a battle royal is a NOAH six-man tag. To hear him glowingly praise Tamon Honda busting out freaky Rolling Hell variations or IZU throwing gnarly headbutts and sumo rushes or waxing poetic on Kikuchi's facial expressions brings me great joy; this is, predictably, a far cry from that, but does have its highlights and retains some of the spirit those matches had in their heyday.

Omos gets less to do here but does look markedly better than he did in the tag title win. Him single-handedly taking out Los Wagnercitos and Huxley with two big body slams and a lariat came off well to establish the gap between him and everyone else in the match. Eric mentioned how Omos needs to really lean into his strikes more and while the lariat was his only one in this match, it looked fine. There wasn't much of note from Morris or Owada. Morris did some basic stooging and bumped big on Huxley's knock off Brody running big boot, but Owada did a bunch of half-hearted stomping and striking in his faction debut and quickly faded into the background. Those performances by default made Omos being so dominant look that much more impactful.

Huxley got the shine here, which was odd. The Wagner Brothers were over pretty strongly and the crowd was playing along with their shtick. Hijo did well starting the match when Omos again got the early tag in, taking a powder and then trying to goad him into rushing him down, even stepping on his feet to try and get an advantage. I liked Galeno as NOAH's resident power brute knowing he was screwed but also knowing his best shot was bringing the fight to Omos anyway, even if it did fail spectacularly and he ate the fall.

Omos got a bit of a chance to show his staggered sell and recovery during Galeno's tackle rush, and it's obvious he's really trying to control the atmosphere as soon as he's between the ropes. He's working methodically like most big men, but he's aware of his surroundings and has the charisma to make it entertaining. He's also talking a lot of shit, and I think he could talk even more at this point; shit-talking in wrestling today is often either contrived or ironic, but Omos could make it his calling card if he wanted. While I was excited after the tag, this was more of a wakeup call. There's more to be unleashed and it will be interesting to see the path they decide to take to get there.

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Found Footage Friday: VILLANOS~! UNIVERSO~! PIRATA~! PANTHER~! ESPECTRO~! MANDO~! MARKUS~!

Villano IV/Villano IV/Milo Caballero vs. Universo 2000/Hijo del Gladiador/Babe Face Monterrey 1991

MD: The sort of lucha trios that hits just right for the most part. Villano IV was paired with Babe Face who was happy to stooge all over the place, feigning getting hit by low blows and making faces. Villano V was matched with Universo who was heatseeing (punching the post and getting DDT'd for instance). Both pairings were heated and seemed to have issues. Gladiador and Milo were more or less along for the ride.

Lots of feeding (more than basing) in the primera with an exciting escalation. When the rudos took over there was a nice bit of Villano V grabbing fans' hands on the outside after he took a beating. The comeback moment was just Milo recovering and attacking from behind but the Villanos more than made up for that. V got some great punches in on the floor on Universo while IV doled out justice on Babe Face. They rushed to pinfalls in the tercera but then had the Villanos make an illegal switch despite the fact they were the tecnicos here. The rudos complained but it was too little too late. Fun stuff but it almost would have been served better as a straight tag.

Pirata Morgan/Mascara Sagrada/Kato Kung Lee II vs. Indomito/Blue Panther/Espectro, Jr. Monterrey end 91/early 92

MD: The big appeal to this one was that the rudos had recently turned on Morgan and now he was with the tecnicos. It was straightforward overall with more exchanges than heat even with Morgan's turn but it was all pretty masterful so you don't mind. Primera pairings were Panther/KKL, Indomito/Morgan, Espectro/Sagrada. Lots of Panther matwork. He worked a short arm scissors/gotch lift sequence with you don't see every day in Lucha. At the start ot the second round of exchanges (rope running) he knocked KKL out of the ring immediately before eating an arm drag on his way back in and that was funny for the matter-of-factness of it. Equally funny was watching Morgan work staright tecnico including some flashy things like a Mule Kick out of nowhere. Espectro  and Sagrada didn't go as long but the had the most tricked out stuff overall.

Rudos took the primera with a beautiful Panther northern lights out of nowhere. That led into a fairly simple beatdown, simple because it didn't last long. The second they cycled to Morgan, he started firing back and tecnicos won quickly. Likewise, the third fall was quick, full of crowd pleasing tandem stuff (including an estrella with KKL using a victory roll into the center instead of a 'rana. So fun stuff but I wanted to see Morgan really go on the offense and that wasn't what this one was about.

Mando Guerrero/Centurion Negro/Monarca vs. Corsario Negro/Gran Markus Jr./Azteca de Oro Monterey 1991?

MD: This, on the other hand, was all heat. The issue was between Centurion Negro and Corsario Negro (the latter of which had no mask anymore). Corsario dodged him well enough during the primera (which was full of posturing), even if it meant that his team was at a bit of a disadvantage. In the segunda, they went all in on Centurion's mask, tearing it apart. The commentators were trying to get any glimpse they could, noting definitively that he did not have a mustache. The comeback in the tercera was because they were focusing too much on the mask allowing Mando and Monarca to come in and even the odds.

At that point, Centurion laid a pretty colossal beating on Corsario. The refs wanted to just award it to the tecnicos but they didn't want to stop. Nothing wildly over the top, just stomps and stomps and more stomps but they were pretty brutal ones. Eventually that let the other rudos come in and even the odds and they fairly quickly got a banana peel win. Post-match they had to do everything they could to keep Centurion and Corsario away from each other. If this led to an apuestas match, I would have bought a ticket for it. I think we might have five or six minutes of a JIP match actually. I should look at that.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Mimi! Victoria! Day! Masami!

45. 1979.08.XX2 - 02 Cheryl Day & Tenjin Masami vs. Mimi Hagiwara & Victoria Fujimi

K: This has a crazy start where Victoria Fujimi just recklessly launches herself through the air only to splat herself on the match. Well that set the scene for a wild match. Strangely though, she tags out for Mimi Hagiwara soon afterwards and then barely does anything for the first half of it, and this is a very long one.

There’s little to criticise about the work in the moment here. Mimi’s selling of strikes stands out as particularly good. But this is just way too long and they aren’t able to structure things out for us to have anything to really dig our teeth into. It feels like they keep backtracking on themselves to pad the length out. For example there’s two separate segments where the match spills out into a brawl on the floor, but the 2nd time they do this it’s played out so similarly it’s also as if they forgot they’d already done this. So you don’t get any feel of progression watching it, they’re just doing stuff. It’s never exactly ‘boring’ but it doesn’t exactly suck you in either.

If anyone felt like the weak link here it was Tenjin Masami. She’d go on to be a far greater wrestler than any of these three, and she does clearly have a good presence about her here. But she just hasn’t really figured out how to wrestle properly yet. You won’t hear this said about a young wrestler very often, but she actually seems like she’s less of an athlete here than she’d become several years down the road. She’s a bit stiff in the way she moves, and she doesn’t seem to have the strength to just launch her opponents. Obviously I’m watching this being familiar with her peak and maybe it’d be better if I didn’t think about things that way, but I can’t really help it.

I liked the finish though. Cheryl covers Mimi after a butterfly suplex and Masami dashes across the ring to cut Victoria off before she can break it up. It felt like the finish to a shorter match though, which this should have been.

*3/4

MD: Long tag match that probably would have benefited from being two-out-of-three falls instead of just the one fall tag it was. It went probably around 24 minutes which is as long as just about any tag we’ve seen I think. It was structured with heel offense early after Fujimi crashed and burned at the start, a long heel-in-peril bit in the middle and then chaos over the final third. You could have inserted falls in between each of those segments and it would have flowed better.

Masami was still just showing us the start of who she’s going to become, but she’s weighty and solid here. She hit hard. Her stuff had heft and force behind it. Day had a lot of throat based offense (even her one foot dropkicks) and she struck a bit more like a surgeon. The two of them together, even as things were breaking down in the end, never portray the same sense of mayhem that the Black Pair do.

Fujimi had come a ways since we first saw her. She even had her own cheering section! I like her hefting gourdbuster that she used down the stretch a lot. The middle section here was the two of them working over the legs and Hagiwara is a natural figure-four user. Masami kept trying to interfere and the ref stopped her which was a little odd since usually the heels get to do whatever they want. The biggest chaos in the match actually took place with Yokota, seconding Mimi and Victoria, zeroing in on Masami and dragging her around the ring to inflict violence upon her. That led to the heels finally coming back though by then it was a 50-50 stretch. Day was able to split Mimi and Victoria apart well enough to pick up the win though. I’d argue that this was probably structured backwards and if it was ⅔ falls then it probably wouldn’t have mattered as much, but since it wasn’t, it did. That’s not to say they didn’t fill the time in an entertaining manner though.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/30 - 1/5

Stardom New Year Dream 1/3/25

Athena/Thekla vs. Mina Shirakawa/Tay Melo

MD: Pretty fun attraction tag here with a lot of moving parts. You had Athena debuting in Japan, her first time teaming with Thekla, her first time facing Mina, Tay's first match back in forever. Lots of interesting stuff. Athena was absolutely herself here. There was a moment relatively early on when Thelka was taking it to Tay on the outside where Athena seemed to be just soaking it all in and Thelka yelled at her to go after Mina, but other than that, the full Athena experience. She didn't adapt her act, but then she didn't have to. The stuff early on where she was able to react to Mina in her natural element was excellent (and I get the idea that Mina is thought to be underutilized relatively in Stardom, but she also felt entirely natural and confident here; more on that in a second). Since not that many people saw this, they can easily play this back in the states to high effect. The bit where Mina had Athena trapped and forced her to clap to We Want Mina was a great bit I'm not sure I'd seen out of her before and of course Athena's facial expressions during it were gold.

I really liked Thelka here too, incredibly vocal, always talking to Athena, to her opponent, to the ref, to the crowd. I'm not entirely sure it worked but I think a lot of that wasn't necessarily her fault. Just match card placement and lack of familiarity maybe. Tay looked good coming off such a long break. I don't think they nearly tapped into what they could have with her as an over the top heel, but she has a natural likability that mixes well with the MMA stylings. She'll be a fresh opponent for Athena if they wanted to go that route, but one great thing about Athena is that she came out of this with natural, organic animosity towards everyone anyway, even her own partner.

WrestleDynasty 1/5/25

Athena vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Persephone 

MD: Honestly, this was one of the most enjoyable four-ways I've seen in forever. Usually they're a doomed sort of match because of contrived spots, nothing resonating, people acting completely out of character to make things work, and wrestling physics getting thrashed, plus lots and lots of people laying outside the ring. This had some of that but not much at all.

What made it work was that everyone stayed true to both who and what they were. There was a sort of different styles feel to this at times and there were mini stories within and then individual moments that both played on them and happened around them. Persephone worked well with Willow as a base but she also seemed absolutely intent to run gutsy strength spots against her and she managed around three throughout the match each one hitting better than the next. While I don't think Momo was the biggest presence here, she had a strong heel vs heel standoff with Athena. 

Then you had the moments. Athena, Willow, and Persephone reacted so well to everything that happened around them (with Momo not quite getting the same opportunity to do so that I saw). Athena would nail Willow with a forearm in the corner, the biggest most natural and organic smile and turn right into a shot from someone else. Likewise after Willow snuck in to make a pin or Persephone realized she had and opening. They were feeling the moment and riding the high of it all. Nothing (not even the dives) felt overly contrived. The finish was not just clever but played off the previous tag and was gripping visually. It looked like Watanabe took Athena's head off. Definitely one of the best 4-ways I've seen in ages. It just worked (and that is no small thing).

Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara vs. Sho/Kanemaru

MD: This is a fun bonus to 2025 that you would not have predicted, maybe ... well, ever. Just a fun pre-show match where Sammy really got to shine. That meant the big moonsault early, a nice face-in-peril performance including absolutely sailing across the ring on a back body drop. I was kind of sort of wondering how many more chances he'd get but maybe he deserves one more to reframe himself as a big-bumping upper mid-card heel (a la 1989-90 Mr. Perfect) who can make the up and coming babyfaces look great. Down the stretch you got Kanemaru/Dustin shtick which is really what you wanted in the first place and wouldn't mind seeing again. I liked the bit during the heat when Sho stepped on the belt too. You don't see that specific jerk move often. This hit the right marks.

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I don't repost every twitter notepad essay here (so if you want to see them all, give me a follow: https://x.com/MattD_SC) but I think this one maybe deserves it.  

The Emperor and his Clothes: Will Ospreay Coming off of World's End

Kyle Fletcher had an amazing Continental Classic. Coming off of Full Gear, he was that rarest of beasts in 2024, the heel who actually had heat. On that first night against Shelton Benjamin, the fans let him know it. Both he and Shelton leaned hard into the opportunity and they had maybe the clearest, sharpest heel vs face matchup AEW offered in ages. He went on to have similarly remarkable matches against Okada and Briscoe before ending the round robin section against Garcia in a match that felt like a prelude to a bountiful, vibrant future before us.

It all led to the semi-final (re)match against Will Ospreay. If you had asked me a week and a half ago, I would have told you without hesitation, without doubt, that AEW had to strap up Will Ospreay as soon as possible. He had to be the guy to lead the company, the hot hand. The Death Riders experiment stumbled because of a lack of commitment by the company to let it be a true central focus. Now with the soft reboot onto MAX, they should run with a hot babyface and push him hard. I like Ospreay as a personality even if he's not my favorite wrestler. He's earnest and warm and amiable. He can obviously make a splash with his physical prowess.

And they had assembled a sort of Ospreay-verse of suitable opponents over the last year: Fletcher, Ricochet, Takeshita, Okada, guys who had that extra gear to keep up with him. Even better, all four of them were starting to stooge and stall and play to the crowd differently, so not only did they have that extra high gear, but the low gears they needed to serve as contrast and get under the skin of the fans so that it wasn't all fireworks all the time, so that the fans weren't just glad to be there and witness Greatness but that they also wanted to see Ospreay triumph and the heels fail. It seemed like a pretty solid engine for success, even despite my own misgivings.

After World's End, I have second thoughts. As spectacular as he is, I just don't think Ospreay has the wherewithal to be the sort of breakthrough ace they need. He can make a splash, but to diminishing returns. It's all because he leaves so many narrative opportunities on the table in his matches. He takes up the air in the room so nothing can breathe. It's fine with an attraction. It's fine with the International Champion there to have matches like this; it's not fine on the guy you want to build the company around. Not as he is now.

The Fletcher match started out well. Ospreay shined early and Fletcher, scoundrel that he was, retreated from the ring and stalled to force it to breathe a little,  to give it weight and contrast. This built to Fletcher catching Ospreay on the floor and lawn darting him into the barricade, opening him up. From there, it was lovely pro wrestling, Fletcher working the wound meticulously, wretchedly. Eventually, he savored it too much giving Ospreay a hope spot, which Fletcher cut off with another lawn dart into the turnbuckles.

All of this was to set up the big counter spot to send them into the finishing stretch, a third lawn dart attempt turned into a poisonrana. All well and good. The problem is that in between the cut off and the comeback, Ospreay had an extended 50-50 segment with strike exchanges and escalating counters. By the end they weren't booing Fletcher (unlike every other Fletcher C2 match despite him being more vile than ever) but instead cheering the match.

Likewise, in the Okada match, Ospreay, coming in damaged, survived a first round of heat only to get caught up in the ropes and hurt his leg. Okada started on it but it was just a tease as they went into 50-50 for the entire second half of the match.

There isn't one right match structure. There isn't one right way to tell a story. But if you're going to run with a babyface ace, there may be a best way. There are human impulses that manifest in most fiction. You build up emotional pressure. You pay it off. For some reason, Ospreay seems mostly disconnected from this notion.

Vs Fletcher, it would have worked so much better if Ospreay, despite brief moments of hope, didn't get to come back and stand tall until after that third lawn dart attempt. The pressure would have built far more and they could have done strike exchanges and everything else down the stretch to greater effect. Vs Okada, they wanted to mimic the NJPW tournament final style, but they could have still done so much of that after Okada worked a second round of heat. He was losing and he would have more protected him more after gutting through two heat segments.

I'm not telling you you're wrong for loving these matches. They are spectacular and exciting, but these great things can be even better if he stayed focused on letting them build without throwing in a bunch of counter sequences mid match. He jumps to sensation too soon and leaves emotion on the table. Without realizing that (or having someone that understands the ebb and flow of wrestling matches help him with it, be it a coach, someone like Jake Roberts who has spoken about it at length and in the most wonderfully vulgar ways, or TK himself who I know gets it), I don't see how he can possibly be the babyface ace they need.

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NO-MAS: Omos in NOAH

 

Team 2000X (Omos/Jack Morris) vs. Takashi Sugiura/Naomichi Marufuji NOAH 1/1/25

ER: Around Christmas, Tim told me that NOAH was bringing in Omos as a Nigerian Kaiju and wondered if I'd be interested in checking out how they handle a guy who's completely different than any NOAH wrestler in history. Omos has been in WWE for four years now and for whatever reason they are scared about using an Actual Giant in a wrestling match now. There are fewer Big Men in wrestling than ever before. Why!? It can't be the "quality" of the ring work, that doesn't make sense. I've seen plenty of fucking Xyon Quinn or Cora Jade matches. They can't care that much about people looking bad in a ring. 30% of their roster is made up of people with lifted asses and blown out knees working spots in half speed, but I guess a literal Giant moving at the speed of a Giant isn't something they can visualize working in Pro Wrestling. Pull the damn trigger on a guy who is 7'3 and Looks Cool. Omos looks cool. He's a Black Giant who looks cool. He's not Eli Cottonwood. He's not Shanky. Is it because he's the only black giant? Is that why they're so afraid, because he's the tallest black wrestler they've ever been around? Suddenly the tallest black wrestler in history comes along and can pull off facial hair and dress well, and they get too racist to understand what they have? He's the tallest black wrestler since Karl Malone and that means something.  

Now I don't think there are any guys on the NOAH roster I actually care about seeing against Omos - this is a far cry from MY NOAH of 20 years ago - but the idea still intrigued me. I don't know why they scared the Big Man away from pro wrestling but it fucking sucks, and now NOAH is courting one with the intention of making him a big attraction. Their first step in making him a big attraction? To have him do something he's never done before: Win the tag titles in his first match with the company. 

This tag was a fine way to debut Omos, even though it was nowhere close to as good as his debut 4 years ago. I thought Jack Morris and Marufuji looked awful. Morris had really bad stomps and clubbing shots, and is a real bland guy to pair with your new giant. As I was thinking about how bad most of Morris's offense was, Marufuji blazed out of the corner with a 5 hit combo that missed so badly I assumed was intentionally thrown as a 0 hit combo. I thought he was just backing Morris up with near misses like they were breaking into Low Ki vs. Red but then Morris took a big Sean Salmon bump and I had to rewind to see what had made him bump. 

I don't know how Marufuji came up through All Japan and has strikes that look this bad. He's in his mid-40s and has a fuckboi perm and I wish he had gotten the shit kicked out of him by Kanemaru and IZU or Makoto Hashi in 1998 because he blows. His work with Omos is really bad too. He has no idea how to work a giant and he's terrible at setting up spots. He throws a punch to be caught and he throws it like he was fighting AJ Styles. Omos has to deadlift him on a backdrop and Marufuji hops early on the double chokeslam. It means more symbolically that he easily pinned Marufuji on his first night in Japan but it would have been much better to pair him off for a big match with Sugiura. I like Sugiura and he knew exactly how to work Omos. He was also much better at doing something with Morris, burying knees in his stomach and leaning into Morris's one cool bump (one his shoulders taking a brainbuster off the middle buckle) and he knew he could actually throw some elbows at Omos for him to no sell. Sugiura's looks after Omos absorbed those elbows were well above the level of the same expected looks from any Performance Center alum. 

As for Omos, I don't think he did enough, and he needs to actually throws strikes. Sugiura can take a club to the back, dude. Marufuji's best moment was getting kicked off the buckles to the floor, and it was Omos's best moment too. He needs to swing harder and not be afraid to be a giant. Stan Hansen swung big and missed big. Swing to hit. Miss like a Giant. 

Tim Livingston: WWE has been sending talent to Pro Wrestling NOAH for two years now. That exchange has led to predictably blah stuff (outside of Mutoh becoming an Hall of Famer, an outright cool distinction), but it all pales in comparison to the most intriguing thing of all to come out of this relationship.

In an interview during their August excursion, Josh Briggs and Tavion Heights asked Mutoh and Marufuji who they thought would do well coming over from WWE to NOAH. Mutoh excitedly exclaimed OMOS, citing his love for big guys and later saying he could help make Omos a star attraction. The homogenization of outsider talent in Japan has led them to be so same-y and tryhard over the past several years. Being able to drop f-bombs and flip people off = cool in 2025, apparently. Someone like Omos being in Japan has a chance to make an actual impact if done correctly.

Lo and behold, Omos DID get announced for the NOAH New Year show, as the mystery partner of Jack Morris. No, not the fringe Hall of Fame pitcher; this guy is a Scottish pro wrestler, although now I wonder if Verne ever approached Jack about making an appearance at an AWA show at one point. They were even facing Marufuji and Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. I asked if Eric would want to check in one someone I know he likes and figured we'd follow his exploits for the green brand as long as he's there. Or, given he's still in the throes of his '97 WCW project, get his comparisons between OMOS and Ron Reis at the very least.


Omos immediately jumps off the page here, especially standing next to Morris, who is a bit generic. The wide shot of Omos walking down the aisle was a great production choice. You can see just how much he stands out in the arena, and it hammers home how a simple presentation can get so much across. Him staring down Wakamotoharu at ringside, a high-level sumo and big pro wrestling fan doing guest commentary, was downright mesmerizing given he hadn't even entered the ring and had already created a buzz.

The match layout could not have been better here: instead of teasing out his eventual tag into the match, Morris tags Omos in right away and the match becomes immediately intriguing. Omos rightfully comes into this match knowing he owns the two legends across from him in nearly every facet, even withstanding Sugi trying a few tricks and failing hard. Another great piece of production, inadvertent or not: Omos hits a corner avalanche and the impact is so strong it shakes the corner cam out of focus.

Omos' second control segment on Marufuji was even better. I love how Marufuji tried what Sugi tried only to eat even more shit. The Omos big boot knocking him off the buckles to the floor looked amazing; a prelude to him getting bieled back in right on his hip after being lifted off the floor by his cranium. Omos busts out the basketball shooting taunt, and it's one thing for someone like Carmelo Hayes to work basketball gimmicks into his stuff, but a 7'4" dude doing it just hits harder.

It should be pointed out Marufuji hits nothing but air on a strike combination "towards" Morris that was so hilarious it would lead any blooper reel. This is a guy who looked up to Misawa, came up in the All Japan dojo, and after nearly three decades can only really throw a chop with any authority, with two of those spent on top of a promotion. Boggles the mind.

The finishing stretch hammered home Omos as a difference maker and was tremendous. You get the splash from Morris standing on Omos' shoulders (with the low camera shot to sell the height Morris jumped from), the murdering of Sugi on the apron with a chokeslam, and then the double choke bomb to give Omos (and Morris, I guess) the belts.

Omos has roughly 200 matches under his belt, a majority of those being off TV, but this is as good as I've ever seen him look. There was meaning in every spot, his overall presentation was superb, everything he did was efficient and impactful. He wasn't hidden or limited in any way. In ten minutes, you learned everything you needed to know about what Omos can do while leaving plenty in the tank for the weeks and months to come. A great piece of business and a great start. 

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Found Footage Friday: Hanover 1981

Hanover 1981

MD: Another Richard Land (@maskedwrestlers on twitter) find. He has a ton of these from a recent haul that he'll slowly go through. We've already seen the next and it's full of great stuff. If you are, however, let's say the biggest Adrian Street fan in the world, do feel free to reach out to me. Some things really need to be seen.

Achim Chall vs. John Quinn

MD: Quinn had a size advantage here and could pepper in shots from almost any angle whenever he wanted. Chall was obviously skilled, both generally and in kayfabe, presented as such. He was able to score clever takedowns and get in jumping knees. The problem is that Quinn gave him no room to breathe. He was constantly being admonished by the ref for picking Chall up too early or kicking at him while he was down or stepping on him. When he hit moves, it was dropping him throat first on the ropes. He would put illegal holds on and hide punches with a headlock. You could hear the announcer mention some slight he did every few seconds. Eventually the ref had enough and red carded him, awarding the match to Chaim. It wasn't satisfying but because of those little glimpses of Chall's skill maybe it was effective in getting Quinn heat for the tour overall, allowing Chall to beat him without hurting Quinn at all (even if it didn't help Chall a ton) and reinforcing the rules, always important in the grand scheme of things.

Adrian Street vs. Francisco/Paco Ramirez

MD: Street's song is so effective at making him stand out, even in 1981 Germany. It just transfers anywhere and is so unique relative to everyone else's presentation even though people tend to come out to music here. But he was going to stand out anyway. This was one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen. He was a babyface at times in the States but he was still the Other and it was much more about seeing the heel get embarrassed in the South by someone who you'd never invite to dinner. This was different. It was celebratory in the most German way. It was Cabaret. There was pure elation for everything he did, whether it was using Ramirez' arm to mimic sexual acts while in an armbar or dancing with high kicks between falls or menacing the ref. Street may or may not have been the best wrestler in the world on this night in 1981 but he was the most appreciated and maybe the most alive. I've never seen him quite so free to be this over the top in everything he did but the fans absolutely ate it up. It was on Paco Ramirez, one of our old friends from the later French footage to play the straight man. Yes, Street was over the top, but it took incredible skill and understanding of pro wrestling (including, yes, the mechanics) to make this all work. No one could have done it quite like him and we've never had footage of him doing it quite like this.

PAS: Killer stuff, the decadent Weimar German's are eating up his act with a spoon, really reminded me of a crowd super into an all timer lucha exotico like  Pimpinela or Cassandro. Really made me wish we had an epic bloody lucha Adrian Street apuestas match. Not a ton of actual wrestling in this, but you could tell that Street was a master of that part of it all as well.  This was a couple of years after Bowie moved to German, but it had that Bowie spirit. This isn't the kid of thing which encourages a lot of written scrutiny, bit what a delight.

 

Alex Dieter vs. Moose Morowski

MD: There's a noted classic 1980 match between these two that I'm not nearly familiar enough with, but I can say safely that these two were familiar with one another here. Dieter attacks right from the start and controls for the entire first round and the fans chant his name and love it. You get the sense that Morowski deserves it as well. Nothing flashy but a thorough beating. Then Morowski returns the favor in the second round with violent, rudimentary offense incensing the fans. After tossing Dieter out of the ring, a fan decides to take matters into his own hands and tosses a chair in. Morowski immediately beelines towards the ropes and charges at him and that's basically all she wrote for this one. We see the camera trying to track what's going on but it's hopeless. Completely unexpected. Totally wild. True heat and immediate consequence. Pro wrestling, everybody.

PAS: I loved the 1980 match

https://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/11/all-time-moty-list-head-to-head.html

This felt like a house show version of the epic 1980 match, and clearly had some building to do until the fan chucks the chair at Moose ending the match. Would have loved to see the beating Morowski clearly put on that dude, and that is certainly a legit memorable finish. 

Grand Vladimir vs. Caswell Martin

MD: Pretty enjoyable stuff! Vladimir is very funny at first, doing everything over-the-top sporting to Martin and the crowd's surprise. A lot of raising his hand and shaking his hand and really making a show of it. Martin returns the favor by holding on to a cravat for the entirety of the second round despite every attempt by Vladimir to escape. One idea executed perfectly. In the third round, Vladimir goes for another handshake and then hits a gutshot and tosses Martin out as the ref is distracted and it's lovely payoff to all of the build. He ultimately gets disqualified but then is run off post-match. 

Goro Tanaka (Tsurumi)/Kengo Kimura vs. Cowboy Ed Wiskoski/"American Football Star" Jim Neidhart. 

MD: Goro totally gets it. He does a big sumo introduction including a split where Kimura bounces on his back. Wiskoski comes out with a cowboy hat and to "Some Girls" by Racey which is not a song I had ever heard before but it's quite the entrance overall. This is two out of three falls but none of the falls get a lot of time. Tsurumi is working for the last row and Neidhart is a tank. He catches Kimura off the ropes for a stampede to end the first fall. Second fall ends with them doing a bunch of silly karate moves on Neidhart, with the third ending abruptly with a dropkick to reverse a bodyslam into a pin. Things were simple and straightforward here, with one inversion instead of six, but it was all very effective. Just a weird match on paper and in practice though.

Moose Morowski vs. Pat Roach

MD: Roach took the first quarter of this by controlling the arm with a double wristlock and all sorts of other offense. But once it opened up, they absolutely pounded on each other and never looked back. Just a total war of attrition. It spilled out multiple times and came back in. There were cheapshots at the end of the round and then cheapshots to counter the cheapshots at the end of the next round. I don't think there's a whole lot to say about it, but that it's just great pro wrestling, blurry, gritty, full of animosity, with the most believable late match selling you'll see. Of course they were exhausted. Of course they could barely get up. They'd been going for minutes upon minutes just laying it in on one another. You could get parts of a match like this today but not, I think the total sum of it.

 

Achim Chall vs. Bret Hart

 

MD: This being on the tape was why it was prioritized and I'm glad it was for the Morowski matches and the Street match, but there's not a lot here. Chall is obviously very skilled at doing simple things extremely well. This is all Bret working the arm and Chall countering with some fun cravat stuff. They'll work up to their feet and crash into each other and go back down into the holds. Perfectly solid stuff. The highlight was probably Bret doing one of those bridge arounds to keep the hold that always look so slick and that I've never seen him do before. It ends just as simply with Chall falling on Bret for the pin.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: No Vacancy

Week 43: No Vacancy

EB:  The TV title tournament was held on January 26, and while we do not have the complete brackets of who faced who in the first round, we do know that the final match of the tournament was between TNT and Original TNT. When the numbers were drawn, Original TNTr received the bye to the finals, where he faced a tired and bloody TNT. Thanks to these circumstances (and a well placed salt throw) Original TNT became the new TV champion.In addition, the two tag title matches held that day resulted in disqualification wins for the tecnicos, with the circumstances surrounding those wins leading to stipulation rematches for February 2.  In the case of the Super Medicos vs. Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza we have a no DQ rematch. For the Texas Hangmen and Invader #1 & Bronco #1, the Hangmen’s actions resulted in them stealing Bronco’s mask and Invader making the save with his fist taped up. If you have been following along on our journey you know that the taped fist appearing means things have reached a serious point.

Adding to everything going on heading into February 2 is the awaited cage match between Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine to settle the Universal title vacancy. Overall, there is a lot that’s been happening so far in 1991 and it looks like a lot of issues may be settled on February 2. Lucky for us, the Superestrellas de la Lucha Libe episode we have for the February 2 weekend gives us the opportunity to put a lot of these ongoing feuds in context, since it consists almost entirely of highlight videos for each of the ongoing feuds. It is the west coast version of Superestrellas that we have, so the focus is on promoting the February 3 card in Hormigueros, but as usual it’s basically the same card that will be held on February 2 in Bayamon (so we’re getting the build up here). If you were wanting to have a fuller context of what has been happening in CSP throughout January of 1991, this is the TV episode to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c78Y1d8JfiA

Hugo welcomes the viewers to the program and runs down what will be on today’s show. Hugo mentions that we will see Norman the Lunatic and Dick Murdoch in action (although we do not get any Norman in the episode, so it may be edited out of this version we have).  Hugo also mentions that we will have some special videos going over the ongoing feuds, with highlights about what has led up to this weekend’s house show matches.

We cut to the feud highlight video for Miguelito Perez vs. Kim Duk. This started January 19 in Caguas, upon Miguelito’s return from a Japan tour. Miguelito gets his signature powerslam and makes the cover, but Duk gets a foot on the ropes to stop the count. Miguelito thinks he has won the match and briefly celebrates, but the ref explains to him that the count was stopped due to Duk’s foot being on the ropes. While Perez has his back turned, El Profe hands Kim Duk something. Miguelito heads back towards Duk and sends him into the ropes to set up another powerslam, but on the rebound Duk throws salt into Miguelito’s face.  Duk is disqualified but Perez is down and temporarily blinded on the mat. Duk takes the opening to start attacking Migueltio with a kendo stick, hitting several blows on the defenseless Perez. Some days.later, Miguelito got a surprise when he was leaving the studio and found his vehicle’s windshield smashed up. Fans that were nearby informed Miguelito that it was Kim Duk that had done it with a baseball bat.

El Profe and Kim Duk cut a promo on the upcoming match with Miguelito Perez, with Profe saying that Kim Duk’s leg is all better now (it seems that Duk claimed he was injured last Sunday to avoid facing Miguelito) and there will be no excuses when Kim Duk  finishes Perez this weekend. We go to Miguelito with Hugo, and Hugo talks about everything that has happened so far, such as the salt being thrown in Miguelito’s face, Duk’s knee being hurt last week, and now the incident with the windshield. Perez wants all of the fans to be there tomorrow night because he wants revenge. It’s true that he didn;t see Kim Duk break the windshield of the car, but the fans that were there said they saw Duk do it. Miguelito is also convinced that last week Duk was faking that he was hurt or ill so that he wouldn’t have to face Miguelito. Tomorrow night in Hormigueros, both of them will be there and Duk will pay for what he has done. Perez asks what is up with Duk no longer coming out here with the baseball bat, all of a sudden he is back with the kendo stick. Hugo and Miguelito talk that maybe Duk is hiding it due to a guilty conscience or that he does not want to get any more fines for carrying it around. Miguelito also sends a warning to El Profe about not getting involved. Miguelito is coming for Duk’s head.

MD: This feud seems to have come out of nowhere but it’s a solid mid-card feud that moves Perez up the ladder a little bit if they need him to be moved up. I keep waiting for them to cycle the Hangmen (or Valentine/Mendoza) to the Caribbean Express but I guess it’s not time for that yet. Here Duk got DQed for using the salt in front of the ref, attacked with the kendo stick post-match and then trashed Perez’s car with it. So obviously Perez was out for blood. They got a ton of mileage out of 90-91 Duk all things considered. 

EB: We cut to the feud highlights for Giant Warrior vs. Scott Hall. We get the highlights from the Christmas Day tag match where Scott Hall turned on Giant Warrior due to Hall believing it was Warrior who had hit him with the chair. Hall had left Warrior laying and the feud was on from there. We go to their most recent encounter from January 27 in Hormigueros, where Warrior was well in control of the match and attempting several pin attempts. However, Hall made his way to the ring apron and was able to catch Giant Warrior when the latter attempted to bring Hall back in. Hall took advantage of having Warrior on the ropes and grabbed his bullrope from the turnbuckle. Hall then proceeded to choke Warrior out with the bullrope as the ref rang the bell, signalling a disqualification. Hall snapmared Warrior down with the rope and then started whipping Warrior with the bullrope. This has resulted in a bullrope match being signed for this weekend.

The interview with Hall is edited out of this version of the episode but we do get Warrior’s interview. Warrior has the bullrope with him and makes note that they will find out if Hall is man enough to be attached to the other end of the bullrope when facing Warrior.   The bell can do a lot of damage to a man’s head and Warrior is looking forward to defeating Hall and paying him back. Hall can’t run anywhere.

We then have a rundown for tomorrow’s card in Hormigueros (which is likely the same card scheduled for that night in Bayamon): Carlos Colon vs. Greg valentine for the vacant Universal title in a cage match; a rematch for the World tag team titles as Invader #1 (with his taped fist) and Bronco #1 challenge the Texas Hangmen; TNT challenges the new TV champion Original TNT; Giant Warrior vs Scott Hall in a bullrope match; Norman the Lunatic vs Dick Murdoch; a no DQ rematch for the Caribbean tag titles as  the Super Medicos challenge Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza; Miguelito Perez vs. Kim Duk; and Huracan Castillo Jr. defends the World Junior title against Mr. Pogo. 

MD: The 1/27 match between these two actually looks pretty good. They’re working well together. It ends with Hall using the bullrope which, I mean, great, and it sets up a bullrope match for the upcoming card (which looks really good by the way, one of the best single cards I’ve seen them promote in ages and that’s saying something). But, they have the Texas Hangmen! They use a noose. It’s really similar! Maybe they should have clearly put Hall and the Hangment together as a unit? 

EB: We join a Dick Murdoch vs Nick Ayala match in progress just in time for Murdoch to hit a brainbuster and get the pinfall win. Hugo makes note that Murdoch has a young man with him at ringside, it appears Murdoch has said that he is training this person and wants to make him into a wrestler. Murdoch speaks briefly with the unnamed man and they shake hands before leaving the ring. We go to an interview with ‘Captain Redneck’ Dick Murdoch and this unidentified man. Murdoch calls Hugo ‘Herman’ and quickly moves past talking about Norman the Lunatic in order to complain about the loss of a beautiful lady on an island where there are none to be found. Murdoch also says that he found the man that made Puerto Rico famous in major league baseball by striking out in the World Series. The man is named Jose but Murdoch quickly tells Jose that he will get him to stop speaking ‘that trashy Mexican talk, that trashy Puerto Rican talk’, he will learn English like the rest of the world speaks. and that from now on his name will be Joe Smith. Murdoch insults the viewers and then tells ‘Herman’ that after Norman, he wants Carlos Colon.

MD: We’re robbed of the Ayala match as we come in just with the brainbuster. Murdoch’s promo is something else. He calls Hugo Herman. He has a guy with him who he calls Jose and says is a famous baseball player who struck out in a key moment who he will teach wrestling and call Joe Smith. He goes on about a bunch of other stuff and it’s all exactly what you’d expect. After Norman, his eyes are on Colon.

EB: Next is the recap of the feud between the Super Medicos and Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza. This feud began with Embry getting injured during the fire match held on Christmas Day and thus a new tag team was formed with Valentine & Mendoza looking to avenge what happened to Embry. January 12 in Carolina saw Mendoza use his loaded glove to help his team get the win. The two teams faced off on January 19 for the Caribbean tag titles, where once again Mendoza used his loaded punch to hit one of the Medicos. Valentine made the cover but the time limit rang before the three count was completed. The rudos complained about there being irregularities with the timekeeper ringing the bell when he did, so a rematch was held at the January 23 TV tapings in Miramar. Once again Mendoza used his loaded glove to hit one of the Medicos and this time the rudos were able to get the win and became the new Caribbean tag champions. The Medicos wanted a rematch and they got it on January 26 jn Caguas. The Medicos had the match in hand with several pin and submission attempts on Valentine. However, Mendoza kept breaking up the pinfall and submission attempts. Finally, Medico #1 got Valentine in a sleeperhold, which caused Mendoza to leap off the top rope in an attempt to break the hold up. Medico #3 had rushed in though, and instead was able to intercept Mendoza and put him in a sleeperhold as well. The ref had seen enough of Mendoza’s interference and called for a disqualification, which meant the rudos remained the champions. The Medicos kept the sleeperholds on and left Valentine and Mendoza laid out in the ring. This weekend they face off in a no DQ match.

We cut over the rudo team's interview and go to the Super Medicos. Hugo asks Medico #3 for his thoughts and Medico #3 says that everyone knows that the rudos stole the belts from them but they will regain them tomorrow. Hugo then asks Medico #1 for his thoughts, since the fans saw how Valentine & Mendoza cheated to win the belts in that bloody match they had on TV.  Tomorrow it is no DQ, so anything goes from either team. Medico #1 says that moments ago the fans saw clips of the battles the Medicos have had with Valentine & Embry and now Mendoza, and also the ways that the rudos have cheated, It’s now no DQ and the rudos say that they have the tiles and now want to get rid the Super Medicos. They may have the titles, but getting rid of the Medicos will be impossible for them to do.

MD: Not a lot to say here because we’ve covered a bunch of this but it’s been a very solid feud overall. Again, they got a ton of mileage out of Rick Valentine between 90-91 and multiple partners. Everything’s built to a big No DQ match which you think would favor Valentine/Mendoza but we shall see.

EB: We go to the feud highlight video for TNT and the Original TNT. El Profe is the narrator for the first part of this highlight video (so we are going to get his slant on things), where he recounts the start of this feud in 1989. Original TNT found out through a wrestling magazine that here in Puerto Rico there was a faker named Juan Rivera, who had gone to Loiusiana and decided to copy the name and style of TNT (which is not true). So Original TNT made his way to Puerto Rico to put a stop to this fake (again, this is Profe’s rudo slant on what happened). Hugo then continues the narration, indicating the two men were scheduled to face off at Aniversario 1989 in a winner take all match for the identity of TNT, but Original TNT did not show up.  Now in 1991 Original TNt has returned and the feud restarted on January 19, when TNT made a surprise appearance to save Carlos colon from Original TNT’s attack. TNT put Original TNT in the Cobra Dinamita and left him knocked out in the ring. They faced off for the TV title in the tournament finals on January 26, where Original TNt was able to steal the win. The next day in Hormigueros, they faced off in a singles match, where TNT hit a spin kick in the corner that sent him flying to the outside. TNT landed on his feet and surprised Original TNt with a sunset flip pin attempt to get back in the ring. They continue fighting, with Original TNt getting a back suplex. Both men’s shoulders are down as the ref makes the count. At two, TNT gets one of his shoulders up. The ref completed the three count and Profe celebrated thinning Original TNT had won. The ref raises TNT’s hand as the winner instead.

We go to Original TNT and El Profe in the studio, talking about the upcoming TV title defense against TNT. Profe says that there cannot be two TNTs in wrestling, one will cease to be tomorrow. Original TNT reiterates that he is the real TNT and the other is an impostor. We then go to Hugo and TNT, with Hugo reminding the fans that this started back in 1989. TNT mentions that the dog impostor forgot to mention how he won the TV title. TNT had two matches before the final (meaning Original TNT got the bye) , TNT was very bloody and, to top it off, Original TNT had to use salt to help him win the TV title. Tomorrow it is one on one, face to face, and this time TNT will be fresh. He proved last week that he can beat the dog impostor despite also bleeding, because he was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He’s looking to get rid of the impostor and hurt him in the process as well.  

MD: Nice to finally hear AC/DC over the TNTs fighting. Looks like the TV title was decided with Original TNT winning the coin flip, so TNT had to wrestle an extra match that he didn’t. Then the finish the next night was him winning  on a banana peel slip by getting his shoulder up after Original TNT belly to back suplexed him. So now they face off again in fairer circumstances for the title.

EB: We have now the feud highlight video for Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs the Texas Hangmen. This starts on January 6 in the first teamup of Invader and Bronco. The Hangmen are attacking Bronco in the ring, since Invader had chased Profe back to the dugout.  The Hangmen get Bronco up to hang him, but Invader (who had emerged from the dugout dragging Profe with the other noose) noticed what was happening and went to the ring to make the save. We go to January 26 where the two teams are facing off again. Invader makes the hot tag to Bronco, who starts cleaning house on both Hangmen. However, Invader fell to the floor after the tag from the damage taken in the match. Bronco continued attacking the Hangmen and remained in control, but one of the Hangmen snuck around to where Invader was outside of the ring and hit him over the head with a chair. The Super Medicos came out to check on Invader and help him back to the locker room area. This left Bronco alone with both Hangmen and he was eventually overwhelmed. The Hangmen signal that they are going to unmask Bronco and actually follow through on the threat, taking off his mask. Bronco quickly fell to the mat and covered up his face, as Hugo reminds the fans that this is the ultimate insult to a masked wrestler. The ref disqualifies the Hangmen but they don’t care and attack the defenseless Bronco. All of a sudden, Invader emerges from the stairwell and he has his fist taped! Remember that Invader’s  taped fist heart punch is considered to be a very dangerous maneuver in Puerto Rico. The Hangmen do not seem to notice and send Invader into the ropes, but before Invader can wind up and let it fly, El Profe grabs Invader’s legs and trips him up. Invader decides to go after the unsuspecting  Profe for interfering and hits him with the taped fist heart punch. Profe is laid out on the arena floor and Invader chases both Hangmen off before checking on Bronco. The Hangmen notice Profe on the floor and check on their manager. 

In the studio, El Profe is with the Texas Hangmen. Profe mentions that they know how dangerous the taped fist, with Profe knowing from experience, but they won’t be afraid tomorrow night. The Hangmen have Bronco’s mask with them, mocking Bronco for being unmasked and repeating that they are not afraid of Invader’s taped fist. They will keep the World tag titles. 

Invader and Bronco are somewhere in the arena for their promo, with Invader showing off his taped fist. Bronco is irate about the Hangmen going for his mask, something that they shouldn't have done. The mask is to be respected and Bronco and Invader will teach the Hangmen a lesson. Invader says they have the taped fist and that when the final bell rings, they will be the new World tag team champions. 

MD: The feud continues. This time a Hangman hits Invader with a chair from while he’s waiting to be tagged in and the Medicos take him to the back. That lets the Hangmen pull off Bronco’s mask. But Invader comes in now with the Heart Punch ready! Another bit of escalation. They started with a straight up match and had all these points they could escalate to. It’s just great week to week booking for a promotion like this and I think there’s a lot ot be learned for modern wrestling.

EB: We finally get a look at some highlights from the Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine feud that has been going on since December 15. While we have described what has happened so far,  it’s always better when we have footage to help show as well. We start with the match from December 15, where Greg tried to use his shin guard to assist with the figure four leglock, but Colon managed to push Greg away. This results in Valentine colliding with the ref and sending El Vikingo to the outside. Shenanigans occur when Profe interferes and helps break Colon’s figure four on Valentine. Greg gets his own figure four on Colon ,with a second ref coming in and calling for the bell. However, El Vikingo had seen Profe interfere and, after discussing it over, the second ref Victor Quiñones declared the Universal title was held up. A rematch on Christmas Day ended with Valentine disqualified for using the shin guard as a weapon. Valentine busted open Colon and attempted the figure four, but Carlos again kicked Valentine away. Carlos got hold of the shin guard and attacked Valentine in turn. Another rematch for the vacant Universal title happened on January 6, one that saw interference from Dick Murdoch and Giant Warrior. Colon ended up winning the match, but Profe and Greg filed a protest due to Giant Warrior interfering and helping Colon win. Carlos  announced on TV that he was not accepting the win this way and the Universal title remained vacant. To settle the matter, Colon and Valentine will face off in a cage match to decide once and for all who will be the Universal champion.

Direct from WWF we get a Greg Valentine interview conducted by announcer Miguel Alonso. Valentine talks about the title being held up the last three times they wrestled, outside of the last time when Colon won with Giant Warrior’s help. Valentine talks about stepping inside a steel cage for all the marbles when the video cuts to Colon in the middle of his interview. Carlos is inviting all of the fans to go to the new arena in Hormigueros so they can cheer him on and together they can win back the Universal title. It’s going to be a tough match, but Carlos is willing to give every drop of sweat and blood in order to win in the cage. Hugo wishes Carlos luck as the WWC representative in this match and Carlos says that you have to give Greg Valentine his due as a great professional wrestler. But Carlos has a commitment to the people of Puerto Rico, to represent them well and he doesn't plan to fail tomorrow. He has many reasons to win that match tomorrow and he’ll be dead before losing the match. The episode video cuts off just as Hugo starts his show closing.

MD: Finally we get all of the Valentine vs Colon matches at once, or at least the finishes of them, going back into December. What you can tell from these is that they looked very good. Valentine has great late match selling of exhaustion which makes you think they were long and grueling. It was another of Colon’s signature Figure-Four vs Figure-Four feuds with Valentine’s kneebrace factored in. Lots of ref bumps. Lots of overturned and unclear finishes. Plenty of Profe interference (that guy is doing so much work for the company). Occasionally Giant Warrior got involved to even the odds. The last match ended with Valentine having the figure four on but refusing to let go of the ropes for leverage. We can only learn so much from this recap video but it looks like a solid feud to anchor the territory.

EB: We have two of the top matches from February 2 in Bayamon. First let’s look at the World tag team title match where Invader #1 and Bronco #1 challenged the Texas Hangmen. Invader has his taped fist and Bronco is mad at being unmasked and humiliated by the Hangmen. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v35vTbPy_N8

We are Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel and again we have the match from the raw house show footage, so it’s no commentary but all of the crowd noise and atmosphere. The tecnicos are in the ring as they are introduced, while the Texas Hangmen are outside on the field when introduced. One of the Hangmen (I think it’s Psycho) has Bronco’s mask on in order to mock his opponent, and he even starts doing Bronco’s dance to the crowd in order to further the mocking. The bell rings and Bronco charges out to attack both Hangmen and we are underway. Invader sends Psycho into the ropes for a chop but Psycho bails to the corner and then outside of the ring when threatened with the taped fist. Psycho gets into a tussle with referee Victor Quiñones over wanting to use the bullrope, but Victor eventually is able to hang the ropes over the ringpost in the rudo corner. Profe and the Hangmen start complaining that the ref needs to check Invader’s taped fist for any hidden objects, but the ref ignores them. The Hangmen back away every time Invader squares up with the taped fist during the first few minutes, with the tecnicos controlling the first half of the match via quick tags, working the Hangmen’s arms over,  and the continued fear and avoidance of Invader’s taped fist by the Hangmen.

The turning point for the Hangmen comes when Bronco is backed into the rudo corner and the Hangmen are able to double team Bronco. The Hangmen focus on keeping Bronco in the ring,as El Profe approves of their strategy since it keeps Invader and his taped fist out of the equation. The Hangmen are able to lure Invader into the ring a few times, allowing them to double team Bronco behind the referee’s back (including using the noose to choke Bronco). At one point, Bronco almost makes the tag but is stopped by Killer. Psycho grabs the rope and holds the cowbell behind his back as Killer works Bronco over with a chinlock in the ring. He is not able to use the bell but has the crowd on edge. The Hangmen continue in control (even doing an illegal switch), but a missed corner headbutt charge allows Bronco to tag in Invader. A quick flurry of offense has both Hangmen reeling and Bronco reenters the ring to even up the sides. Both Hangmen are rammed into each other and Bronco dropkicks one of them outside. Invader gets a small package but the pin attempt is broken up. Invader is sent into the ropes but gets a sunset flip for a near fall. A backslide pin attempt by Invader is also broken up, but this time Bronco comes in and dropkicks the interfering Hangmen. The ref is tied up with Bronco and the Hangmen attempt to use the ropes as a weapon against Invader. However, Invader ducks down and backdrops the interfering Hangman over the top to the outside. Invader is sent into the ropes but before anything can happen, he is tripped up by the other Hangman. Bronco jumps onto the Hangmen that is on the floor to break up the double team. Inside the ring, Invader gets slammed to the mat but rolls out of the way of a Hangman splash. Invader gets up, readies his fist and hits the Hangman with the heart punch. The crowd counts along with the referee and we have new World tag team champions. The crowd cheers as the tecnicos are awarded the belts and celebrate on the field.

MD: By this point, the Hangmen were not just a threat and dangerous, but they really had the stooging down. This starts awesome with one of them wearing the Bronco mask they stole and taunting the crowd with the Bronco hop. Then they stalled forever, presumably because they were afraid of the heart punch. Eventually, Invader and Bronco get their hands on one and just smack his arm around from corner to corner in a great moment. Things go as you’d expect from there, with Bronco getting too close to the corner and getting swept under. It builds to a big comeback (Bronco dodges a corner charge) and a hot tag and an exciting finishing stretch which ends with Invader and one Hangman in the ring. He misses a top rope headbutt and Invader hits the Heart Punch and it’s a huge celebratory scene. Great stuff after months of build.

EB: The other match we have from February 2 is the steel cage match between Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine. Will we finally have a Universal champion? Let’s find out as we join the match in progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9D5gGFbXXM

Hugo and Eliud are on commentary as Valentine drops a series of elbow drops on a prone Carlos. Hugo mentions that Carlos had been rammed into the side of the steel cage to knock him down just before Valentine started with the elbow drops. Greg tries to escape through the cage door but Carlos grabs him and stops the escape attempt with a turnbuckle smash (which almost results in Valentine falling out before Carlos quickly grabs him). Carlos rams Greg into the cage and stomps on him as the rain starts falling. Valentine pokes Carlos in the eyes and tries to send Colon into the side of the cage, but Carlos blocks it and instead sends Valentine head first into the side of the cage. Colon continues on the attack with punches and headbutts, staggering Valentine. As Carlos punches Valentine’s forehead to work over the cut, Hugo mentions that the rain is an advantage for Carlos since he is used to working in these open air environments compared to Valentine. At around the 2 minute mark of the video we get a 5 minute time call, so we really have not missed too much of the match. Carlos makes an attempt to leave via the door but Greg stops him. 

A series of elbow smashes helps Valentine stun Colon and allows Greg the chance to gain control. Colon’s head is rammed into the ringpost as Valentine continues focusing his attacks on Colon’s head. Both men are busted open and exchanging punches as it continues to rain. A headbutt by Carlos sends Valentine down. After a clothesline, Carlos again attempts an escape through the door but Valentine stops him. Carlos wins another punch exchange and does a cartwheel as Greg begs off. Carlos again makes another escape attempt but is stopped.when Valentine grabs his legs and pulls Colon crotch first into the ropes. Valentine quickly crawls over Colon to try to escape but Carlos is able to stop Valentine. Carlos continues attacking Valentine, but it is becoming noticeable that both men are tiring a bit from the punishment and bleeding they have endured. Carlos makes an attempt towards the door but Valentine knees Colon in the back to stop him. Valentine does some clubbing blows on the mat and cinches on the figure four. Hugo makes note that this is to hurt Carlos since the only way to win is via leaving the cage. Carlos tries to break the hold by hitting Valentine’s leg, but Greg cinches the hold on even  more. Carlos tries to reverse the hold but is unsuccessful, as the crowd tries to cheer him on. Hugo takes a moment to send a hello to the fans watching the program in Curacao, all over Latin America and Panama. 

Valentine finally releases the hold as Carlos lies prone on the mat holding his knee in pain. Valentine starts crawling towards the door but Carlos is able to maneuver close enough to grab Valentine's leg. Carlos is able to pull Valentine back in and drops him crotch first on the top rope. Carlos falls down to the mat from the exertion, followed by Valentine .The air horns sound as both men get to their feet and a rope counter sequence leads to both men colliding. Carlos falls closer to the cage door than Valentine and starts limping in that direction. Valentine catches Carlos in a back suplex and both men are down again. The cage door remains open as the 15 minute time call is heard. Valentine is the first one to his feet but Carlos surprises Valentine from behind with a dropkick that sends Greg into the corner,  bouncing off it and falling to the mat. Calros gets a second wind and works over Valentine’s leg, he is setting up the figure four. Carlos starts applying the hold, but Valentine kicks Carlos away from him. However, the cage door had been left open for the last few minutes and the momentum of the kick sends Colon flying through the ropes and out the door. Carlos has escaped the cage and won the vacant Universal title. The video cuts out right as the ref raises Colon’s hand in victory.

MD: We get the last ten minutes of this but I don’t get the sense we missed more than five or six more? It feels almost like a Bruno cage match where he’s willing to go for the door but only after he’s satisfied he’s beaten on his opponent enough. Valentine’s constantly going for it. It builds to a hot bloody finish where Valentine caught Colon with a foot over the rope on the way out and started working the leg. He put on a long figure four and then it was down to Colon to find the strength in his leg to stop him. Valentine’s late match selling was excellent here and we get the bloody visual of him crawling away from Colon towards the door. Carlos does find the strength to come back and eventually gets the leg himself but he’s kicked while trying to put on his own figure four. Unfortunately for the Hammer, he’s kicked all the way through the cage for the finish. Pretty iconic stuff overall.

EB: We finally have settled the Universal title vacancy and the champion is Carlos Colon. We also have new World tag team champions in Invader #1 and Bronco #1. But what of the other title matches from this weekend? We’ll find out in due time if any others changed hands.

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, Carlos Colon is not given much time to celebrate his Universal title win as Dick Murdoch makes his move. Also, has Invader finally gotten his revenge on the Texas Hangmen? And who is the new associate El Profe has brought in to help manage the rudo wrestlers? 

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/23 - 12/29

AEW Dynamite 12/25/24

Darby Allin vs. Ricochet

It was a Christmas miracle. 

Ricochet hit a 630 senton from the top through a table to the floor onto Darby Allin in the Hammerstein Ballroom in front of the smarkiest fans imaginable and there was no This is Awesome chant. There was no AEW chant. There was no Fight Forever or Both These Guys. There was concern for Darby Allin. There was jeering for Ricochet and his antics after the fact. There was a face and there was a heel and there was a clear preference from the crowd that one wrestler beat another. The fans were invested in something other than the idea of perceived greatness. They were responding to the action unveiling before their eyes in real time, but more than that, they were moved by the consequences of that action. If that's not a pro wrestling miracle here at the end of 2024, in front of this crowd, after a spot like that, with a wrestler like Ricochet who I'd never imagine it possible six months ago, I don't know what would be.

Stooging is an investment. It's a means to an end. Just like everything else in a match. It generates heat. It creates a pressure for the heel to get what's coming to him. It builds it up and when it's paid off, there's a feeling of gratification and justification. It shouldn't be done for its own sake just like nothing else should be done for its own sake. It can also be considered an investment because it does have a cost. It takes the place of more conventional, traditional action. There are critics who will stack demerits onto a match for it. But this was such an amazing demonstration of its power. 

Ricochet started the match by complaining about a hairpull in the corner, Ricochet being the baldest man alive. When Paul Turner cried foul, he immediately went to the tights as if Darby pulled them, changing his story. As Darby had him in headlocks, he made faces as he strained, mugged. He eventually slipped out by using the baldness as a tool and then celebrating as if he'd truly accomplished something special. He was consistently on, hitting flashy spots after he had taken control with a cheapshot in the corner, but the immediately rubbing it in the crowd's face. 

The match had a second, smaller miracle, one of the best, most fortuitous hope spots of the year. The crowd has started throwing toilet paper at him (the sort of streamers a heel like him, so full of himself, deserves). If not for safety and clean-up concerns, I half think they should have Swerve debut toilet paper with Ricochet's face on it that they sell in the arenas. Maybe it's worth it despite all that. Anyway, the hope spot was Darby sweeping a distracted Ricochet's feet off the apron. But what made it all come together was that there was a roll of toilet paper on the apron and Ricochet made it so the distraction was due to him throwing it back into the balcony. They couldn't have possibly planned for that but it call came together perfectly (Ricochet was constantly "on"), as did the cutoff where Ricochet cruelly slammed Darby's back in the post, giving the fans absolutely nothing to like about him. 

So when Ricochet hit the 630, they absolutely didn't have to "give it to him", or celebrate how wonderful AEW was in general. They were honed in on how much they hated him, how much they loved Darby, how worried they were for him, how much they wanted to cheer for him and how much they wanted him to stop Ricochet from making it to the semi-finals of the tournament. There's not one right way to do pro wrestling, but there's not any one way quite as right as that. 

There's a change in the air in AEW: with Fletcher, with Ricochet, with Okada, even guys like Takeshita. They're more willing to look vulnerable, to stooge, to be something other than cool athletic marvels who go 50-50 with the most exciting matches they can possibly have. It's unlocking tools left long dusty and the crowds are reacting. The reaction for Fletcher vs Benjamin and Fletcher vs Okada was nothing short of remarkable, and the reaction here for Ricochet vs Darby was, as I noted, miraculous. 

Don't get me wrong. I think in a match like Ospreay vs Komander or Ospreay vs Dante Martin (or even Ospreay vs Okada as the finals of the C2, even if it's not the match I would have chosen; instead I would have had another five minutes of Okada working the leg after Ospreay got stuck in it as a second heat and then built to an even bigger comeback), it's a great sign of success to have those This is Awesome chants. However, you don't want that when there's a clear heel doing fiendish and underhanded things. You don't want that when there's a wrestler the fans are supposed to dislike and ideally pay money to see lose, or at least to revel in their losing after they've already paid money for the AEW experience. 

In a situation with a clear heel/face dynamic, a This is Awesome chant isn't necessarily a sign of success. It's a sign that the fans aren't engaged in the storyline being told and are instead enjoying things in their own way; if that's the case, then why are you even trying to tell the story in the first place. In that case, it becomes something done for the sake of it, waste and to some degree, a failure. 

But this match right here is proof positive that by leaning into the old ways, of having the heel stooge and be as unlikable as possible, even when they do escalate down the stretch, the fans are going to be not just entertained, but also invested (as the stooging itself is an investment) in the actual outcome of the match and in the face overcoming and the heel getting his. It's still possible in 2024, and it's another, incredibly potent tool in AEW's toolbelt, one that create an even more engaged and loyal fanbase. 

So no, maybe this wasn't a miracle. It was an experiment, a hypothesis. 

It was proof.

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Found Footage Friday: TAJIRI~! HHH~! BABA~! EIGEN~! FURNAS~! MVC~! SPIVEY~!

Dr. Death Steve Williams/Terry Gordy vs. Dan Spivey/Doug Furnas AJPW 10/19/90

MD: I like Kroffat as much as the next guy, move even, but Spivey being in there instead increased the hoss level considerably. This was heated from the start too. Doc had it out for Furnas for some reason. He gave him the middle finger before the match. Furnas returned the favor by swinging a kick at him as he was squaring up with Spivey. Doc wiped his sweat in Furnas' direction. Furnas gave him the finger. Doc told him to kiss his butt. You get the idea. It's a good way to start a match. 

It doesn't let up from there. Furnas uses the three point stance to knock Gordy down, but Doc's able to grind Furnas down well enough that he makes sure to rush over and smack Spivey around a bit too, before mouthing off and maybe even spitting at him drawing Spivey in and it's just an absolutely chaotic feel early on.

What follows is about five minutes of the best wrestling you'll ever see. Doc catching Furnas in mid air and bringing him to the top rope, the two of them trading slaps and Furnas leaping over him to hit a belly to belly. Doc and Spivey smacking each other all the way out of the ring. Spivey hitting a bossman slam on Doc and boos ringing through the air as Gordy breaks it up. The place absolutely exploding as Furnas press slams Gordy only to eat a lariat. It's a hell of a five minutes before everything settles down to holds.

They take it down before building it back up and the overall effect is a hell of a thing. Gordy and especially Doc get a ton of heat. Furnas is able to clap up Spivey. There are a bunch of great nearfalls down the stretch before an extremely definitive ending but one that took that bit of extra effort. These are the sort of lost matches we hope to find.

ER: I love All Gaijin matches in All Japan because it's interesting to see how they can organically draw heat and interest without any kind of Nativism at play. No side is necessarily more loved or hated, only more established. Dr. Death understands that and leans into the MVC's established rep and for seemingly no reason goes hard on Doug Furnas. I have zero reason to believe there is any kind of animosity between Dr. Death and Doug Furnas, but everyone in this match made me believe there was. Doug Furnas was fairly established at this point. Not at the level of beating teams like Doc and Gordy, but already a two time All Asia tag champ who had beaten big teams. Doc quickly turns him into an underdog babyface which leads to a more spirited wild eyed performance from Spivey and some incredible payoff when Furnas finally starts throwing them around. 

Everyone was so good in this match that I fully bought into Doc and Gordy as two guys who actually hated Furnas (they didn't), Furnas as a guy out of his depth (he wasn't) and Spivey as a guy fearlessly telling MVC to back the fuck off and stop taking liberties with Furnas (they weren't, but at times it didn't seem like Spivey realized that). Doc was doing some performative middle fingers and phony baloney heat drawing across the ring while Furnas looked like a guy making the universal face of "Hey man I didn't do anything to you do you have the right guy?" You could tell Doc had the right guy when he sat Furnas on the top rope and slapped Furnas so hard to break. Furnas looked like Allen Covert and sold the slap by making the face that Allen Covert makes when his girlfriend leaves him in one of the few Sandler movies where that happens. Doc is great at bullying Furnas to rile up Spivey, and Spivey is that great combination of large and reckless and Just Getting Real Good so that he always gets too amped up on his first punch of an exchange and throws some potatoes before dialing back a little. He always looks ready to pop off, and it's a killer distraction from Furnas finally popping off. 

Doug Furnas gorilla press slamming Terry freaking Gordy - and the scared face Gordy makes while being held up high in that press - is an incredible spot. It would have been an amazing press slam anyway, but once Furnas added a pump it became an all timer. The crowd lost their minds at that press slam and that hyped Doug up so much he did a backflip and then ran as fast as he could into Gordy's biggest clothesline of the match. Doug finally suplexing Death was so cool. I love the way Doc bumps when he's reeling, just as I love when he decides one turnbuckle isn't enough for a stampede. MVC made damn certain that they were the bad guys here and were so convincing that the fans bought them as bullies against two of the toughest dudes. Terry Gordy out here getting booed over and over for breaking up pins and picking on Mega Athlete Doug Furnas.   

Giant Baba/Rusher Kimura/Akira Taue vs. Harkua Eigen/Motoshi Okuma/Masa Fuchi AJPW 10/27/90

MD: This is a recent Classics drop and a Baba 30th Anniversary match. Jumbo gives him a plaque before the match and everything. This gets a ton of time, 20+ it feels like and it's just packed full of character and comedy. It's hard to do justice to it all or even half of it but I'll point out a few things.

First, Eigen, amazing as always, really shines at the start. He faces off against young Taue to start but then darts to the corner and slaps Baba before running out. They reset, he does the same thing but this time teases Baba and slaps Rusher. Then when facing off against Rusher, he ducks and slaps him twice before leading him to the corner for a long heat segment. They kick away at him forever before we ultimately get some goofy stuff with Okuma and headbutts. There are a ton of headbutts in this match and while Rusher gets some in, a lot of them are eaten by Taue.

Taue's a lot of fun here. I've seen every bit of 1990 footage we have of him and he wasn't there yet, but here he's got this sense of wild abandon, limbs flying and flopping about, that would soon be gone from him. He looks like he's going to become an entirely different wrestler here between his selling of the headbutts and a sort of physical recklessness.

This refuses to end, a lot of the normal things you think might end it getting broken up. They run some of the best Eigen spit spot stuff ever, as both Taue and Baba get to do it, with Baba getting it on his hand and everyone almost cracking up (and Kobashi cracking up decades later on commentary). Then Rusher goes for it, but he's blocked, and Baba comes in from the other side with a chop and it's pretty hilarious let me tell you. The finish is a fun combo of Taue hitting an atomic drop sending Okuma into Baba's foot and then right back into Taue's belly to back. My only regret is that they didn't repeat the atomic drop/boot sequence a couple of times first. Great fun that no dirtsheet would have appreciated at the time but that we can absolutely appreciate now.

ER: This is one of those Wrestling Heaven situations for me. I love my King's Road, and I love my boys. Give me 20 minutes of VILLAIN SHOKAI up to their old bullshit and the nuanced twists that come with every new 20 minutes. It's crazy how many ways they found to do their same bullshit slightly different over the years. You recognize the behaviors but there are always things they do different, things I've never seen, or realistically perhaps things I've seen a million times but don't care because they all work so well together that I don't ever get tired of them. All of these old men matches (Masa Fuchi was 36 lol) were written off unfairly by morose tape traders, so now everything in them is ripe for discovery. Nobody was talking about how great Haruka Eigen was when I got into trading, none of these guys were getting any kind of acclaim. We're long past that now.

Now, before this even starts, you just know Eigen is going to get up to shenanigans before Villain Shokai starts bringing headbutts and hamstring kicks. Eigen starting the match with a slap and run routine on Baba and Rusher is so classic, celebrating in the aisles with young boys you barely recognize, knowing he was going to get paid back down the stretch. A lot of these start with long heat on Kimura, eating boots and headbutts and selling the headbutts so believably (that happens here), but that's not where the match stays. I thought they did a great job integrating everybody and keeping Baba's involvement short and exciting. Villain Shokai made quick tags and this settled into me being excited watching an Akira Taue who didn't wrestle a single thing like my favorite wrestler Akira Taue. 1990 Taue is so cool as can see hints of the Taue that would be there just a couple years later but you'd only notice them if you were familiar with them. For the most part, he's a totally different guy with totally different offense and movement. 

His most important characteristic that he apparently always had, was his realistic approach to bumping. Watch how he sells an Okuma headbutt to the mouth, watch the way he falls with limbs flopping around and not in a controlled wrestling school back bump. The realistic bumps and selling were the things that instantly drew me to Taue at the end of the 90s, and with all the '90 Taue we have as evidence we can see that it's just who he is, a thing that would be near impossible to teach someone. He also has completely different offense and I love "elbowdrop Taue who doesn't use his giant feet in any way" but maybe I only love it because I know we're not far away from "big feet to face and the best chokeslams ever" Taue. 

You get so much tough guy sneaky prankster Eigen that you forget they had already started honing the Spit Spot this early. It's still early, as the front row all knows what's happening when it's happening, but nobody is holding up newspapers. People are fleeing, which only draws attention to one woman who is not moving at all while every other woman around her scurries to safety. Baba getting involved in Eigen's Spit is a thing that does not happen in most of these, and his involvement here brings two incredible moments: Baba clutching Eigen under the chin and clubbing his chest, only for Eigen to spit all over Baba's hand, leading to Baba wiping off his hand all over Eigen's head; then when Rusher is winding up to club Eigen, Fuchi intercepts his arm. While the two are locked in struggle, Baba creeps in from the other side and just knife edges Eigen. Taue's back suplex drops like a damn anchor. These 20 minutes always feel like 5 to me, something I never say about Modern Epic Wrestling. 

HHH vs. Tajiri WWE 1/25/03

MD: This is the sort of Vault drop that we're looking for, Hunter reign of terror match or no. Previously we only had a few minutes of this. With the introductions and post-match this is 30+ minutes. The biggest takeaway, past maybe how good Tajiri is here and how it's a shame we don't have a bunch of other 20+ minute matches with him from this era, is that Hunter consciously worked it differently than almost any other match of the period. Maybe even almost any other match of his career.

There's the whole bit about Hogan doing two extra bits of chain wrestling in his Japanese appearances (when it's more the reckless energy and Axe Bomber people should be looking at). To me, this was more about Hunter getting to work the sort of classic NWA Title match style that he didn't think the current WWE audience would appreciate. The problem was that he just didn't have the reps with it (which isn't really his fault). It meant he did the sort of stuff you'd expect him to be good at (feeding into headlocks and other holds) well, but when he tried some fancier escapes, it didn't quite click. The headstand escape to the headscissors was cute and all but people haven't clipped him basically comedically putting himself back into the hold to set up the positioning for it.

What did work were the transitions, the hope spots, the cutoffs. Hunter took over by clipping Tajiri with a clothesline on the handspring and that looked great. They worked a lot of hope spots given the time the match had to breathe and it meant when Tajiri did comeback, it felt momentous. Lots of moving parts and hoohah on the finishing stretch but the fans certainly got their money out of all of it. I loved hearing Earl talking up close too. That's something you'd rarely get in the heavily produced WWE, even in the early 00s. This just felt very different and refreshing in a sea of 2002-2003 Hunter matches I have memories of but really don't want to revisit.  

ER: I remember being 21 and reading about this match in the Observer and DVDVR but now I'm twice as old as I was then and my wants and priorities have changed. How far away, the post college years where my friends and I split an Observer subscription for several years and my friend Jason would use his work photocopier to copy even double issues for all of us. If this match had been taped, I would have traded for a tape to see this match. The 2025 version of doing that is me making 30 minutes of time to watch a HHH match. I'm glad I did. It closed a loop and lived up to its release. I love that it's shot handheld, I love the format, and I loved the story.  I always love the story of a guy who isn't World Title level getting a lengthy main event title match. If it exists, I'd be equally excited to see Brooklyn Brawler getting a long Shawn Michaels title match on a house show after winning a battle royal. 

HHH works this much more like a heel Bret Hart match and shows that he's better at that than when he's working his touring champion Flair match. Thank god this isn't his touring Flair match only in Japan. He's more execution focused than when he's in his Flair Entertainer mode and while I don't think he's anywhere near Bret as an execution guy there were several moments that I thought he looked a lot tighter than expected. He's better at bump as Bret than he is bumping as Flair and it made the match come off harder hitting than theatrical. Tajiri's kicks were great ways for him to storm back into the match and I liked how he would use them as unpredictable combos thrown at different body targets. HHH is bad at standing still making an "I'm waiting to be hit face" but much better at taking strikes that are less expected. We didn't have to see him hold his head a certain way as he waits to hair whip react to a punch, instead we just got Tajiri throwing kicks up and down his body. 

HHH as a guy working over shoulder back breakers is one of the coolest versions of HHH. Do more of that. Less Irish whips and more backbreakers! When Tajiri finally slips out the back of one of the backbreakers it's this great spot that looks like it's going to fall apart entirely and end in an awkward tangle but it somehow bumbles expertly into a clean sunset flip pin away from ropes. I thought for sure both men were falling and going to wind up in an ugly heap of blown spot but instead it made it all look like HHH was struggling to stop Tajiri's momentum. Tajiri using the Tarantula while the referee was out seemed like the one time where it would have been acceptable to let HHH Act. Just let him scream and NXT sell for a full minute while completely stuck, no ref to save him. I was disappointed that Tajiri maintained the 5 second rule. We didn't get enough of Tajiri maniacally refusing to break Tarantula. 

Tajiri kicking out of the Pedigree was something we all read about in 2003, but it plays far crazier than it reads. This is a detail I remember reading about. It was shocking to hear that Tajiri had kicked out of a Pedigree, but the details at the time actually downplayed what really happened. When it was reported, the reporting made it sound like the Pedigree was hit and Hebner - blinded by mist - took an eternity to make the count. That makes sense and it still sounded surprising that Tajiri kicked out. In actuality, the whole thing happened in under 10 seconds. Tajiri kicked out of the Pedigree less than 10 seconds after it was hit, which nobody else was doing in 2003. 

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