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Post by KB8 on Dec 1, 2023 15:46:36 GMT -5
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Kevin & David Von Erich (All Japan, 6/10/81) - Tenryu with the rainbow boots! Kevin wearing any boots! This was pretty damn okay, although maybe 10 minutes rather than 17 or whatever would've made for an easier ride. Tenryu looks as lean as I've ever seen him, damn near ripped, yolked, PEELED even. I mean Kevin was only marginally more so. This was not the lumpy Tenryu who was ready to go to war against the world, clearly. The Von Erichs were determined to lock in that stomach claw and that was the thread running through this. Tenryu and Jumbo would avoid it early, but the claw was inevitable and before long they made it stick. Even with boots on Kevin has the SPRING on his dropkick and big height on his crossbody, enough that the crowd were evidently impressed. That springiness was perhaps a curse in the end though because he flew into a forearm that knocked his brother off the apron, long enough for Jumbo to capitalise.
Genichiro Tenryu v Mammoth Sasaki (WMF, 12/27/03) - Tenryu coming into some indie beefboy's house and showing them how to REALLY throw some weight around is just about can't fail as a prospect. Mammoth Sasaki was a bit of a favourite of mine back around 2008, when I was watching and following a bunch of Japanese wrestling in real time, but before this I probably hadn't watched him since...well 2008, I guess. It didn't take long for him to try and assert some dominance. Tenryu released clean on a rope break, then when it was Sasaki's turn he didn't do the same. Tenryu sold it with genuine surprise, like he actually thought one of these laddies would know better for a change. Or that Sasaki would at least wait until Tenryu did it first. Then Sasaki did it again and Tenryu punched him square in the face. One of my favourite things about early-2000s Tenryu is that he would often show his displeasure by picking things up and throwing them at people. Sometimes he would just hit those unfortunate people over the head with those things. Sasaki was an FMW guy in a previous life so he decided to take this to the floor and turn it into a brawl. Tenryu was happy to oblige and you knew Sasaki made a mistake when Tenryu went looking for something to throw or use as a weapon. When he picked up a bottle and fucking smashed it over Sasaki's head I nearly fell out the bed. From there on out Tenryu was in full misanthrope mode and some of the kicks to Sasaki's face were vile. Sasaki would crawl around and try to fight back, blood dripping from a cut in his shoulder (probably the smashed bottle that did it), but there are only so many times you can get dropped awkwardly on your neck before your time's up.
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Post by KB8 on Dec 4, 2023 15:28:10 GMT -5
Negro Casas, Atlantis & Mr Niebla v Tarzan Boy, Dr Wagner Jr. & Rey Bucanero (CMLL, 8/30/02) - This was a red hot two falls. Normally you'd be disappointed at it not going three, but when everyone's as fired up as they were here it's hard to feel short-changed. It certainly never felt like we missed a payoff. I've seen bits of the Casas/Tarzan Boy feud before, but never the hair match and maybe I should change that at some point? Tarzan Boy was a really fun jacked up moron here and he and the rest of the rudos went right for the throat before the bell even rang. Bucanero and Wagner held Casas in place as Tarzan Boy made a show of flexing the bicep before taking a free swing at him. I guess Wagner and Atlantis were still tearing strips off each other in 2002 because they were both at the mask-ripping and throwing the other into objects that have no give. At a few different points the match spilled to the floor and someone was getting chucked into rows of spectators or nearly off the ramp, and into the segunda a ring girl nearly got caught in the crossfire as well. There was a great close-up shot of Casas, practically draped over three fans, with this look of "why am I still doing this in my 40s?" The tecnico comeback was sensational and the rudos leaned into every bit of payback that came their way. Bucanero was a nutjob and took one monkey flip over the top where he cleared the fucking top rope by a foot and a half, then he took another one over the post and how he never snapped an ankle or knee or both is a miracle. In the end it comes down to Casas and Tarzan Boy, mano a mano with no bells or whistles, and that feels fitting. Maybe I really should watch the hair match.
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Post by KB8 on Feb 5, 2024 15:30:14 GMT -5
Samoa Joe v Darby Allin (AEW Dynamite, 1/4/23) - This feels like a matchup made in heaven. Darby getting thrown around like a sack of potatoes by an angry ogre? Probably would be good under the majority of circumstances. It had a great start with Darby interrupting Joe's bullying of Nick Wayne by hitting the bullet tope. It was sort of a glancing blow by its usual standards, but in a way that made it look all the more reckless. It wasn't measured, it was reactionary and even a glancing blow at the speed Darby hits it at will stop you dead. Darby has to go for broke immediately and the 1-2 punch with the skateboard shots and ladder dive was great. Joe taking over with the STO on the steps was repulsive and pretty much one of the best transition spots ever. Darby is fucking certifiable taking that right on the jagged corners and the suddenness of it was shocking. I loved his selling after that too, super groggy and basically just trying to buy himself time. Then he got his head mashed into the ring post and the bump off of that was only marginally less nuts than the one on the steps. His selling got even better from there as well, to the point where I wondered if he hadn't actually gotten his bell rung on the post shot. From there it's basically a case of him trying to survive in the hopes of fashioning half a comeback before Joe squashes him. I haven't really watched any Joe in AEW but it's a blast seeing him clearly love what he's doing here. I'd kind of forgotten how good he was at his peak before revisiting that a few years ago, and by all accounts he's found another lease of life after the last WWE run. He was so good at cutting off Darby in interesting ways, sometimes with a big chop or headbutt, then at other times with some killer knee work. The cross-legged kneebreaker thing was awesome and the way he hit that senton as Darby's legs were bent underneath himself looked gross. They needed something creative to make Darby's win plausible after everything he'd endured, and the stuff with the exposed turnbuckle as Darby's big opening totally worked for me. So did the double Coffin Drop, first to the back and then the second landing full body on Joe's chest. A really good wrestling match, obviously.
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Post by KB8 on May 8, 2024 11:18:49 GMT -5
Dick Murdoch v Vladimir Berkovich (New Japan, 8/5/89) - This was Murdoch working a New Japan house show against a Russian grappler like it was in front of 3,000 people from Central Missouri in 1982, and I mean that in the best way possible. However many questions we may have about Dick Murdoch's background - and there are many - I don't think we'd ever conclude that he had one in MMA (or a singular martial art for that matter), so it's kind of amusing seeing him sell the cross-armbreaker like a regular pro wrestling armbar. I think the crowd cottoned onto it as well because there wasn't the same buzz when Berkovich grabbed it like there would've been if that was one of the natives in there. They knew this was a different sort of match, one maybe outside the stylistic box that they'd come to expect in 1989. Maybe a bit of a THROWBACK~, if you like. Berkovich goes after that arm a few times so Murdoch goes after the leg in response, which made for a nice enough dynamic over seven minutes. The build to the first time Murdoch connects with an elbow to the knee is perfect, then the reaction for him throwing his first punch to the face is even better. I wasn't even really paying attention to how he milked those moments, but he got tetchy with the other Russians in Berkovich's corner and he was always on the cusp on clocking someone and then he did. He knew how to get the exact response from the crowd that he wanted. I don't think they gave a shit that he didn't know jiu-jitsu.
Kazunari Murakami v Kensuke Sasaki (Big Mouth Loud, 3/22/06) - About as good as you'll get for three and a half minutes. This was Murakami making deranged faces while getting hit very hard. It wasn't your usual dick-swinging tough guy nonsense - Murakami absorbed the blows as well as he could, but he didn't shrug them off so he could hit back and then stand around just to be hit again in return. He took the shots and tried to fight through them because he's a psychopath, but Sasaki just clobbered him over and over until he couldn't stand up again. Sasaki didn't wait for Murakami to hit HIM. He just saw that Murakami wasn't going down and so he did what any other angry man built like a tree would do and he fuckin hit him again. Some of the Sasaki lariats were damn near decapitations and then he chopped Murakami in the back of the head and it was repulsive. Murakami punched Sasaki in the face like he punches everyone in the face, then the ref' got in his ear and Murakami had to argue because he couldn't help himself and Sasaki flattened him. Sometimes you only need three and a half minutes.
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Post by KB8 on May 16, 2024 17:58:17 GMT -5
Inca Peruano v Jacky Corn (French Catch, 2/21/78) - This was JIP before the second fall started, which is always going to be a bummer because it means we miss one fall of an Inca Peruano match. I guessed pretty early after the second fall started that Peruano had lost the first one because he was a menace within a minute or two. He's always trying to lure Corn into the ropes so he can use those ropes to either whip into Corn's face or wrap his arm around them and twist the shoulder at ugly angles. The crowd bite on it every single time and Peruano is just sensational at throwing in these little niggly cheapshots. When they're not furtive blows he's just outright walloping Corn with uppercuts and those are awesome too. The fighting over holds while they both kick each other in the face wasn't bad either. This was quality stuff and Inca Peruano is most definitely up there as a high draft pick if we're taking people we wish we had 200+ matches of on tape.
Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert v Pretty Young Things (Falls Count Anywhere) (Memphis, 5/14/84) - Hadn't watched this since the Memphis project in 2008. If it even made the set anyway. I'm guessing it did because it's probably a top 20 Memphis match of the decade. First half is more of a traditional tag match but there are still moments where it spills to the floor and things get wild, like when Koko punches Eddie Gilbert in the willy. Koko smashes a piece of wood over Gilbert's neck and then later uses a piece of it to stab him in the throat! Gilbert is on the canvas trying to get up and Koko is just fucking obliterating him with some of the greatest punches you've ever seen. At least two people got heaved over the announce table and metal rods were used as weapons and Eddie Gilbert used the steps as a trampette to fling himself at Koko. The back half turns into a FULL free-for-all rather than just a partial one and they all brawl around ringside and up the stands and then eventually the Mid-South Coliseum stage. Rich and Norvell Austin make it up there first while Gilbert and Koko fight in the bleachers and Koko takes a Puerto Rico-style bump over one of the safety railings. Gilbert fully torpedoing himself at Koko's nuts with a diving headbutt was some phenomenal revenge and then he just chucks him off the stage. Norvell tries to piledrive Rich and the people react like a legit murder is about to occur and when Rich reverses it the place erupts. You don't even care so much that the match gets thrown out in the end, particularly because Jerry Calhoun got clobbered enough that he probably wouldn't have been able to count a fall anyway.
Rey Misterio Jr. v Psicosis (AAA, 9/22/95) - Hadn't watched this since even before 2008. It must be going on close to 20 years at this point. IIRC it was one of the first lucha matches I ever checked out, partly because of the familiarity with the people in it, but also because I remember John Williams saying that this was better than every Kurt Angle or Shawn Michaels match ever and when you first foray onto the internet wrestling message boards that'll certainly pique your interest. I thought the first couple falls were fine and the third was spectacular. Even nearly 30 years later the dives are jaw-dropping. Psicosis' tope suicida is legit one of the best ever and he CRUSHES skinny Rey between the horns on his head and the barricade. It was a couple nights ago when I watched this so I don't really have a ton to say about it, but Rey/Psicosis is a very good pairing and this was a very good iteration of that pairing. Maybe the best iteration. Probably not better than every Kurt Angle or Shawn Michaels match ever.
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