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Post by AndrewGB79 on Feb 25, 2024 1:05:51 GMT -5
I went to the "Strongly Encourage 10 Matches to Watch" thread and picked out a couple that sounded interesting:
Yoshihiro Tajiri & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Gedo & Jado vs. Kendo Nagasaki & Satoru Shiga vs. Kengo Kimura & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Shoji Nakamaki & Takashi Okano (BJW, BJW Tag Titles, Five Way Scramble Match, 06/03/97)
This deserves to be better known.
In style it’s similar to FMW’s US match with Santo - serious wrestling in the ring, bloody violence outside of it.
It’s not as good. But it’s not that far off. And Tajiri does a great job of being the workhorse for the match.
Plus, for me at least, the result was always in doubt. As while I couldn’t see Kimura and Ishikawa jobbing to any of these guys, I also couldn’t see BJW putting the belts on them.
Chaotic fun, plenty of action, no downtime.
****½
Jun Kasai vs. Hyper Misao (TJPW, Eat A Bag Of Chocolate Or Fall Count Is Disabled Falls Count Anywhere Match, 05/03/18)
Hyped as one of the better matches of 2018.
I don’t see it approaching that level but it was fun, it was short, and I’ve got no complaints.
***½
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 6, 2024 22:55:21 GMT -5
I had a great time going through AJPW's 1993:
Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 02/28/93)
Great violent fight.
The opening was great, the finish was great, but the middle meandered a little. A pity as it seems like these two should’ve had multiple classics together.
Though I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
****½
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 03/27/93)
This wasn’t too different from the above match.
It got off to a good start and the long finishing stretch was excellent. But the middle which saw Kawada controlling the action with facelocks was a little on the dull side.
****¼
Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 04/16/93)
It’s a pity this wasn’t pro-shot as while the fancam is perfectly watchable, a match this good deserves to be in better quality.
Kobashi goes after Hansen’s lariat arm using Hansen’s own strategy of relentless offense. And Hansen does a great job of selling while looking for the opportunity to attack.
It builds to a fantastic finishing stretch and a definitive finish.
I do prefer their 1991 match, but this was still top-notch.
****¾
Stan Hansen vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Champion Carnival Final, 04/21/93)
Common wisdom says these two never had a classic.
But this was pretty close.
They spend the bulk of the match going back and forth with strikes. And though it’s great it doesn’t quite hit the level I wanted.
Then the lariat hits the elbow - or vice-versa - both men are down and the drama escalates.
A four-and-a-half star match with a five-star finishing stretch.
****¾
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, Triple Crown, 05/21/93)
This almost felt like the opposite of their previous match.
The work in the body of the match felt better.
But the finishing stretch, with Misawa repeatedly going for the facelock was nowhere near as exciting.
****½
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, World Tag Titles, 06/01/93)
The first time these two teams met.
And they go all out.
The action is amazing throughout and the opening sequence between Misawa and Kawada is phenomenal.
They seem determined to show they’re taking things up another level.
And they more than succeed.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW, 06/03/93)
Two days later they did it again with a couple of juniors.
And the result is almost as good.
The action’s top-notch and they work different sequences to the above match.
And Kikuchi and Ogawa don’t look out of place and work a tense finishing stretch.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW, 07/02/93)
Not quite at the level of the above match.
It’s “just” very good, bordering on great for the first half.
Then Misawa and Kawada get violent with each other and it massively picks up.
If it had been at that level throughout it would’ve easily been the greatest 6 man tag so far.
****¾
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW, World Tag Titles, 07/26/93)
This does not compare favourably to the last few matches.
The action’s slower and simpler and it goes on for far too long.
Though the crowd seemed to like it.
*½
Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, 07/29/93)
This felt like a remake of their April match.
But it’s not quite as good.
The action there was more focused with Kobashi going after Hansen’s arm and it did a great job at building the drama.
Here Kobashi doesn’t target any body part and it takes away the drama.
Though the action’s still great. As you’d expect from these two.
****
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Triple Crown, 07/29/93)
A bit of a disappointment.
Some of the individual moves and selling were great. But it’s massively hampered by pedestrian pacing.
There was never a sense of urgency to the action.
**½
Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams (AJPW, Triple Crown Contender Match, 08/31/93)
These two seem determined to prove who’s the toughest. And neither are willing to give an inch.
They smack each other around from bell to bell. They throw everything but the kitchen sink at each other.
And it’s a ton of fun as there are few workers more suited to this type of match than these two.
The ending gets criticised for being overkill, but given the match they worked I’m not sure any other finish would have fit.
*****
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 10/23/93)
It seemed like they were trying to replicate the Kobashi/Williams match.
But whereas that was incredibly fun, this just went on and on with them hitting each other and not selling.
A few of the sequences were good, but this just went on for far too long.
**
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, AJPW World Titles & RWTL Final, 12/03/93)
They finish the year with another classic.
The action’s not quite on the same level as their June match, but they’re more focused on story here. Kawada’s got an injured knee and Kobashi takes full advantage.
Which does mean the ending is almost inevitable, but it’s still a lot of fun getting there. Especially as Taue does everything he can to grab the win.
Another great outing for these teams.
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 12, 2024 10:22:03 GMT -5
Onto AJPW's 1994. And they're starting to dominate my top 100 list now. Not entirely sure how to put them in any sort of order I'd be happy with.
Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 03/24/94)
Reviews for this tend to mention only 20 minutes of a 30 minute match aired, but the full version is out there. I found it on DailyMotion for anyone interested.
These two might not seem like the best opponents for each other, but they match up surprisingly well. And this is a great all-action bout.
Though a bit more high-end offense for Taue wouldn’t go amiss. And he would get that next year. So hopefully we’ll get a rematch that improves on this at some point.
But this was still some top quality wrestling.
****½
Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 04/10/94)
It’s their two matches from the previous year that get all the praise, but I thought this was better than either of them.
Hansen looks vulnerable here. No longer the relentless battleship of the eighties. But given half a chance he’s still capable of tremendous violence. And Kobashi does give him that chance.
Everything about this was amazing. The drama, the story, and the offense and selling from both men.
Another classic match in their rivalry.
*****
Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 04/11/1994)
In the previous match Hansen injured his ribs and Taue takes full advantage.
His offense is great, including a nifty boston crab variant where he turns Stan onto his side and then sits on his ribs. Hansen’s selling is excellent. And they put together a great finishing stretch even though the result never really seems in doubt.
But it’s hurt by being oddly heatless. The crowd barely responds to anything until the finishing stretch.
****
Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Champion Carnival Final, 04/16/94)
Last time I saw this I thought it was a classic, but I’m not quite as high on it now.
As it felt a touch slow and repetitive in the opening stages. With a little too much no-selling.
Though once the action gets going, it’s as good as you’d hope from these two.
****¼
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW, AJPW World Tag Titles, 05/21/94)
Fantastic all-action bout.
My only complaint is that it was too long for the type of match they were working. Even when they kick it up a gear for the finishing stretch, it didn’t feel that different to all the work before it.
But that’s a minor complaint when the work is this good.
****¾
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Triple Crown, 06/03/94)
When I first got into Japanese wrestling in the late nineties this was viewed as the classic singles match.
I never saw it at that level - the hype probably hurt it for me.
But I thoroughly enjoyed it this time. And while it’s not going to be a top contender for greatest match ever, it’s going to rank high.
The drama builds and builds and the action gets more and more heated as the match goes on. And the finishing stretch is one of the greatest ever.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJPW, AJPW World Tag Titles, 07/22/94)
I went in with the wrong expectations for this.
I was thinking it was going to be like the four pillars tags, but it wasn’t, it felt much more lightweight.
But it was pretty much all action. Very easy and entertaining to watch. And they did go big for the finishing stretch.
Very fun.
****¼
Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, Triple Crown, 07/28/94)
Dr. Death maybe didn’t take his previous big matches as seriously as he should.
He no-sold, he went a little theatrical, sticking his tongue out, but all that’s gone here. He takes this match as seriously as it deserves. And that makes him a very dangerous opponent.
He targets Misawa’s back and focuses on for the entire length of the match.
And the match gets better and better as it goes. And more and more dramatic as the work on Misawa’s back takes its toll and he struggles to make his comebacks.
Fantastic story-driven title match.
*****
Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Triple Crown, 09/03/94)
The finishing stretch here was top-notch.
And they went big, kicking it off with a top rope belly-to-belly suplex.
But the body of the match goes on for too long without going anywhere. It started to feel like they were just killing time until they could start throwing their bombs for the finish.
Though the good here still far outweighs the bad.
****
Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Triple Crown, 10/22/94)
This felt like there was a classic match trapped inside of it.
But it just went on for too long. They could easily have cut ten minutes, maybe more, from it.
A pity as we get some excellent selling from Williams here as he struggles with a bad knee.
Though I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
****½
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJPW, RWTL & AJPW World Tag Titles, 12/10/94)
This felt similar to their July match.
Great action, great finishing stretch, just a little lightweight.
Though this does have the added bonus of Johnny Ace mocking Kobashi by doing the fist pump and moonsault.
****¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 14, 2024 12:22:58 GMT -5
Took a break from AJPW as some kind individual has compiled the entire Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón feud into one 90 minute YouTube video.
And though the action is great in all these matches, they're hurt by a complete lack of audio from the ring. They seem a little like silent footage with a crowd and commentator dubbed over the top.
Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón (WWC, WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, 10/12/86)
This did exactly what it had to.
It was a simple brawl that established Hansen as a monster. And he made the interesting choice to antagonise the fans. Not sure PR is the best territory to try that in.
***½
Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón (WWC, WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, 11/9/86)
This was building to be better than the previous match.
It had the same brawling, but they added in limb psychology. Though out of nowhere Hansen loads his elbow pad with something and gets disqualified, cutting the match short.
***½
Stan Hansen & Chicky Starr vs. Carlos Colón & Huracan Castillo Sr. (WWC, 12/21/86)
This was nothing special.
The ending where Hansen attempts to lynch Colón is great.
The rest’s fine.
***
Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón (WWC, Bullrope Match, 01/06/87)
This is where they kick things up a gear.
The action’s great, they build drama, and there was no commentary for a good chunk of this which made it much better.
Though I didn’t understand the finish. It seemed Hansen had to start from scratch touching the corners each time, but Carlos didn’t.
Even so this was still a great match.
****¼
Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón (WWC, WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, 02/28/87)
This was more of a “proper” match than their previous encounters.
Colón works the leg and Hansen does a great job selling it and fighting from underneath.
This went on for a bit too long, but it’s still another quality match.
****
Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colón (WWC, WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, No DQ Cage Match, 03/14/87)
The action’s violent and intense, but not being able to hear it really took me out of this one.
If that doesn’t bother you, then this is probably a classic.
Just not for me.
***½
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 16, 2024 21:38:51 GMT -5
Some quality, face-punching violence:
Johnny Valentine vs. Wild Bull Curry (NWA Houston, ⅔ Falls, 06/20/69)
This was a lot of fun. And Bull Curry certainly has a distinct - barely evolved - look.
The first fall was all Valentine. He wears Curry down with holds and mixes things up just enough to keep it interesting. The second fall Curry fights back by repeatedly punching Valentine in the face. Then everything falls apart in the third fall.
A stronger final fall and this could’ve been something special.
But it’s still a great match with two highly enjoyable falls.
****
Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper (MACW, 07/09/83)
They punch each other in the face.
A lot.
And it’s violent, intense, and with a great attempted-murder finish. And it’s helped by a red hot crowd.
I don’t think they quite hit top gear, but even so this is a quality brawl.
****½
Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper (NWA, Dog Collar Match, 11/24/83)
The July match was excellent and they take things up another notch here.
It’s not dissimilar to that match, but it’s more violent and dramatic as the chain comes into play.
The only thing that lets it down is a bad, anticlimactic finish.
****¾
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 20, 2024 1:37:51 GMT -5
It's All Japan's 1995 Champion Carnival:
Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 03/21/95)
On the same level as their match from the previous year’s Carnival.
Kobashi had clearly grown since then and went into this one thinking he was the man. But unfortunately for him Taue had grown more.
Great back-and-forth action throughout. And then it takes things up another notch for the finishing stretch. ****¼
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 03/26/95)
A really fun all-action match.
It’s loaded with big moves and exciting exchanges.
But that’s about it, in terms of story or drama it’s on the lightweight side.
Still a highly entertaining match.
****¼
Akira Taue vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 04/08/95)
Excellent clash of tag team partners.
They hold nothing back and get increasingly nasty with each other as the match goes. And though it looks like Kawada has the upper-hand, Taue absolutely refuses to stay down. He looks more determined to prove himself here than I’ve ever seen.
Great action, great story, and great drama make for a great match.
****½
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Champion Carnival, 04/13/95)
The opening action was great.
The finishing stretch was great.
The duelling leg work in the middle felt like filler and added nothing.
A pity as you know these two have got a classic in them.
****
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJPW, Champion Carnival Final, 04/15/95)
The last time I watched this I thought it was a classic.
But not so much this time.
It felt a little too slow-paced, Taue didn’t go for the injured eye enough, and it didn’t generate anything like the level of drama seen in Misawa’s Triple Crown matches against Kawada and Williams from the previous year.
That said, the action’s good. And after Taue hits his chokeslam off the apron it picks up considerably with some excellent selling from both guys. Though the finishing stretch felt a little too one-sided.
A great match, just not the classic I was hoping for.
****¼
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Post by microstatistics on Mar 20, 2024 21:09:36 GMT -5
Can't say I agree with the points made in the review for the 95 Champion Carnival final, but I like you going against the grain on some of the sacred 90s AJPW matches, while going big on some less acclaimed ones.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 20, 2024 21:58:16 GMT -5
Can't say I agree with the points made in the review for the 95 Champion Carnival final, but I like you going against the grain on some of the sacred 90s AJPW matches, while going big on some less acclaimed ones. I went in expecting it to be a top 10 pick for me. Maybe my expectations ended up souring it. And I think what might just be the best thing about this board is the lack of group think on the matches.
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Post by nintendologic on Mar 21, 2024 17:41:25 GMT -5
I've found that expectations can significantly influence my perception of a match. If I go in expecting a match to be a sure-fire top 10/50/100/whatever, I'll frequently be disappointed. Just as frequently, I'll be a lot higher on the match after I watch it again with diminished expectations. There have been several times when a match has fallen on my ballot or dropped off entirely when I watched it before the deadline and it didn't connect with me on the level I was expecting only to regret that call when I watched the match again after submitting my ballot.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 22, 2024 2:28:46 GMT -5
I've found that expectations can significantly influence my perception of a match. If I go in expecting a match to be a sure-fire top 10/50/100/whatever, I'll frequently be disappointed. Just as frequently, I'll be a lot higher on the match after I watch it again with diminished expectations. There have been several times when a match has fallen on my ballot or dropped off entirely when I watched it before the deadline and it didn't connect with me on the level I was expecting only to regret that call when I watched the match again after submitting my ballot. Yes, I think that's definitely come into play with a few of the matches I've seen. I'll have to start a list of matches to rewatch before I submit my ballot.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 24, 2024 13:51:06 GMT -5
If the Carnival left me a little disappointed, then the rest of AJPW's 1995 more than makes up for it:
Dan Kroffat vs. Rob Van Dam (AJPW, AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title, 06/09/95)
This was always sold as RVD’s best match.
I’d never seen it until now, and I’d be surprised - and a little disappointed - if it was.
The first half’s bland, but it does pick up considerably for the second half. And RVD gets over with the crowd. Or at least his big moves did.
Fun little junior match, but not much more than that.
***¾
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, AJPW World Tag Titles, 06/09/95)
The greatest match ever?
Well that’s up to you.
But I think it’s the greatest I’ve seen so far in this project.
The action, the story, and the drama are all top-notch. It felt like all the pieces lined up perfectly for this match.
And whether they were intentional or not, the callbacks - a Giant Baba sequence, a Crush Gals spot, and Kobashi selling the leg like Kawada in the 1988 tag final - were perfect and only added to the match.
A truly epic tag match.
*****
Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJPW, Triple Crown Contendership League Match, 07/24/1995)
Where did this come from?
It takes the back-and-forth action from their previous two Carnival matches and elevates it to another level.
This was an amazing, all-action bomb fest. It doesn’t seem like the type of match Taue would excel at but he pretty much matches Kobashi move for move.
And it features what might be the greatest sleeper spot I’ve ever seen. I started to believe it was going to finish the match. In All Japan. In 1995.
An excellent, exciting match.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, Triple Crown, 07/24/95)
Not at the level of their epic from the year before.
But still an amazing piece of wrestling.
Fast-paced and action-heavy they work it differently to their 1994 match. Though the theme is similar. Misawa just has too much for Kawada to compete with.
And I had a great time with it.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, Triple Crown, 09/10/95)
This was full of quality action.
And some of the exchanges were top-notch such as Misawa absolutely refusing to take the chokeslam off the apron.
But it all felt a little lightweight. A bunch of stuff with little to hold it all together.
That said, it was still pretty good stuff!
****
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Gary Albright (AJPW, 10/25/95)
This is the match Takada should have had with Albright.
The head-kicker versus the suplex machine.
And while the work might not be at the five-star level, especially compared to other All Japan matches of the time, the atmosphere and red hot crowd more than make up for it. It’s a pity AJPW didn’t go down this route more often. Not necessarily working more shoot-style, but bringing in outsiders to mix things up.
The crowd reaction to Albright alone surely should have signalled a Takada Triple Crown run was worth it.
*****
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW, Triple Crown, 10/25/95)
I always thought their January 1997 match was the start of their top-tier work together.
Turns out I was very, very wrong.
It starts out all action as Kobashi throws everything he’s got at Misawa. Then it gets increasingly dramatic as it becomes apparent he’s not got enough. But also that he’s absolutely determined he’s going to win.
Great action, great drama, great storytelling, and a real feeling of violence and bad intent behind the moves.
I thought this was fantastic.
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 25, 2024 14:36:55 GMT -5
Some random Sunday night viewing:
Jesse James vs. Al Costello (NAWA, ⅔ Falls, 06/08/60)
The first thing I noticed was that Red Berry, accompanying Al Costello, was wearing a jacket with “I Am Right” printed on the back. Which instantly made me a fan.
And the first fall was top-notch. Tight technical work with plenty of struggle. The next two falls were more focused on striking which I didn’t like quite as much. Though they were still well done and they were working stiff.
A great match.
And one that makes you sad to think about all the quality grappling lost to time.
****
Masaaki Mochizuki, Yoshikazu Taru & Takashi Okamura vs. Masakazu Fukuda, Kamikaze & Hiroyoshi Kotsubo (WDF, 06/10/97)
This had zero story or structure.
But it was pretty much all action. And surprisingly good action - a mix of shoot-style and MPro high-flying.
Though with no let up or room for any of the moves to breathe it did start to get a bit much.
Great match that could’ve been even better with a little structure.
****¼
Felino, Black Warrior, El Hijo del Santo, Silver King, Dr. Wagner Jr., El Satanico, Kevin Quinn & Scorpio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon, Atlantis, Negro Casas, El Dandy, Shocker, Mascara Magica, La Fiera & Brazo de Oro (CMLL, Torneo Cibernetico, 04/18/97)
Lucha’s yet to click with me, but even so I still had a blast with this.
First they all pair off and exchange moves on the mat. Then they loop through again and focus more on striking and bigger moves. And then they start going for eliminations and getting more serious.
Zero downtime. Plenty of variety. And an escalation of the action throughout. Pretty much the perfect version of this type of match.
*****
Keita Yano vs. 326 (Wallabee, 11/30/14)
This did not click with me at all.
Everything about it was amateurish.
It takes place at what looks like a small martial arts gym, with no ring, just a green tarpaulin with black tape marking the boundaries. And the only audience seems to be a few other wrestlers.
326 throws some kicks, Yano no sells them, closes the distance, takes him down, they end up off the mat, the ref stands them back up again.
Rinse and repeat.
It does get a little more interesting towards the end, but it’s too little too late.
*
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Post by Kadaveri on Mar 25, 2024 18:36:21 GMT -5
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW, AJPW World Tag Titles, 06/09/95)
The greatest match ever? Well that’s up to you. But I think it’s the greatest I’ve seen so far in this project. The action, the story, and the drama are all top-notch. It felt like all the pieces lined up perfectly for this match. And whether they were intentional or not, the callbacks - a Giant Baba sequence, a Crush Gals spot, and Kobashi selling the leg like Kawada in the 1988 tag final - were perfect and only added to the match. A truly epic tag match. *****
I am absolutely delighted that you called it "a Crush Gals spot." Everyone else goes "oh they did the 6/9/95 spot" because we all see this match about 10 times first.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 25, 2024 23:03:56 GMT -5
I am absolutely delighted that you called it "a Crush Gals spot." Everyone else goes "oh they did the 6/9/95 spot" because we all see this match about 10 times first.
Thanks! Gotta give credit where credit's due.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 29, 2024 1:19:21 GMT -5
Diving into lucha - and believe it or not I didn't intend to stick almost solely to 1984, that's just how it worked out:
MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (EMLL, Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 09/23/83)
This wasn’t what I was expecting.
It was much more of a Lawler-style match than the lucha style I thought I’d get.
Though I liked it a lot more than most of Lawler’s work as it felt more intense and violent. And I liked both men’s selling as it progressed. The imagery of them lying exhausted on the blood-soaked canvas was great.
Great match, though a bit too minimalist for me to rate it any higher.
****
Atlantis vs. El Satánico (EMLL, ⅔ Falls, 01/20/84)
This is very much the Satánico show.
Atlantis dominates the first fall, but then Satánico takes over. He wins the second fall clean (well, cleanish). Then decides it’s time to destroy Atlantis and starts tearing at his mask and biting him.
The character work from Satánico was top-notch. Though falling for the fake handshake twice didn’t make Atlantis look like the smartest wrestler in the world.
And it’s the third fall that makes this a great match. It’s bloody, violent, and dramatic as Atlantis makes his comeback.
I was going to go 4 stars, but then after the finish Satánico goes to raise his opponent's hand, only to cheapshot him, and walk off to the crowd’s boos.
An automatic extra quarter-star!
****¼
Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (EMLL, NWA Welterweight Title, ⅔ Falls, 01/27/84)
Another match where the work took me by surprise.
As this was pretty much a standard NWA match that could’ve taken place in either the US or Japan.
It’s back-and-forth technical work and the work is rock solid. But it’s a bit too dry and workmanlike to be great.
***½
Solar, Ultraman & Super Astro vs. Sergio El Hermoso, Bello Greco & Rudy Reyna (UWA, ⅔ Falls, 02/26/84)
This was all-action and a lot of fun.
But unfortunately it’s both a fancam (I think) and clipped.
So what we get is great and I’d really have liked the full match.
****
Gran Hamada vs. Perro Aguayo (UWF, 04/11/84)
They throw in everything here but the kitchen sink.
We get some great punches from Perro, some good matwork and good flying, and it ends with a stabbing.
It doesn’t all come together as well as I’d have liked, but all the individual elements were fun.
***½
Gran Hamada vs. Perro Aguayo (UWF, WWF Light Heavyweight Title, ⅔ Falls, 04/17/84)
The rematch is a big step up, unfortunately it’s only available as a fancam.
They get off to an all-action start. Making it clear they’re going bigger than their previous bout.
Perro sacrifices the first fall by getting DQed for giving Hamada a good stabbing. This puts Hamada on the backfoot and he has to fight back.
The action was great, Hamada’s comeback was great, and the psychology was sound with Perro wising up to Hamada’s high-flying when he tries the same moves multiple times.
Quality title match.
****¼
Gran Cochisse vs. El Satánico (EMLL, NWA Middleweight Title, ⅔ Falls, 09/14/84)
One of the matches I was looking forward to.
And though it is a great match, it’s let down a little by Cochisse not seeming to be all that good.
But that does make it all the more impressive for Satánico to carry him to this.
It’s full of quality back and forth technical work. And while it is slow-paced, it works well in the first two falls as it builds tension. Though the third fall didn’t deliver quite enough pay-off for the slower pacing.
A great, long technical title match.
****¼
Cicloncito Ramirez, Bracito De Oro & Mascarita Magica vs. Damiancito El Guerrero, El Fierito & Pierrothito (CMLL, ⅔ Falls, 10/03/97)
Now this is what I thought all lucha was going to be like!
Fast-paced, smooth technical work, graceful high-flying, and submissions I’d never seen before.
This is an incredibly fun bout. The wrestlers are amazing and I'm looking forward to watching more minis matches.
The only knock I’ve got is that it feels rather lightweight and inconsequential.
****½
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