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Post by microstatistics on Dec 11, 2022 13:52:04 GMT -5
Interesting that you liked the I Quit match more than the GAB bout. In these parts, the opposite view tends to prevail.
If you are gonna watch more Flair, I'd recommend the Cage match vs. Ricky Morton from GAB 1986 (which is one of his most acclaimed matches on this board) and also the I Quit match vs. Mick Foley from Summerslam 2006 (which, to me, is the best of old man Flair).
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 11, 2022 19:08:14 GMT -5
Interesting that you liked the I Quit match more than the GAB bout. In these parts, the opposite view tends to prevail. If you are gonna watch more Flair, I'd recommend the Cage match vs. Ricky Morton from GAB 1986 (which is one of his most acclaimed matches on this board) and also the I Quit match vs. Mick Foley from Summerslam 2006 (which, to me, is the best of old man Flair). GAB had the advantage of the blood, but other than that I thought the I Quit match did everything better. I'm definitely going to watch more Flair. I had the Morton match on my list, but not the Foley match, thanks. |
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 12, 2022 1:11:21 GMT -5
Quick update with a match I been looking forward to.
FTR vs. The Briscoes (ROH, ROH World Tag Team Titles, Double Dog Collar match, 12/10/22)
I wanted blood and violence from this.
And it delivered. Everyone bleeds - including the ref. It’s intense and hard-hitting from the bell. And the big spots look dangerous.
It might lack the more technical work of their previous matches, but that doesn’t matter. They make full use of the gimmick to deliver a great brawl.
Excellent match and the best of the trilogy (though only just).
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 13, 2022 3:21:29 GMT -5
Turns out FTR vs. The Briscoes 3 didn't last long as my MOTY.
Josh Alexander vs. Mike Bailey (Impact, Impact World Title, 11/19/22)
I can’t say I was particularly hyped for this.
But as Impact were kind enough to put the full match up on YouTube, I thought I’d give it a try.
And I’m glad I did as this is now my MOTY.
It’s body part vs. body part psychology as Alexander’s working with a weakened shoulder and Bailey injures his knee in the match. And it turns into a war of attrition as both men absolutely refuse to lie down.
The drama builds throughout and there’s no downtime for the hour the match goes.
The commentators called it an “instant classic” and I don’t think they’re too far off.
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 17, 2022 19:00:14 GMT -5
Heading back to my journey through Fujinami's work.
Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch (NJPW, MSG Tag League Final, 12/05/84)
I’m not massively familiar with either Adonis or Murdoch, but they impress here.
They’re smooth, incredibly so considering they’re both sporting a fair bit of excess weight. And they do a fantastic job of working as a team. They cut the ring in half and help each other out at the slightest sign of trouble.
But the trouble is they’re too good here. They take far too much of the match.
And despite their quality work, it ends up a little repetitive.
***¼
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, 09/19/85)
A solid technical match.
Not quite as good as I wanted, but it’s engaging throughout and they struggle for every slight advantage. It doesn’t take long before both men are drenched in sweat.
It’s dragged down by an overly long figure 4 section. And a bad finish, from guest referee Lou Thesz, that it seems the wrestlers weren’t expecting.
But there’s still plenty of great matwork here from two experts at it.
****
Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (NJPW, Elimination Match, 03/26/86)
A red hot crowd, non-stop action, and great drama make this another one of New Japan’s multi-man classics.
Even the seemingly out-of-place Ueda is used perfectly here.
*****
Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Kengo Kimura, Seiji Sakaguchi & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Maeda, Kazuo Yamazaki, Nobuhiko Takada, Osamu Kido & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW, Gauntlet Match, 05/01/86)
A near classic.
This gets off to a great start with Yamada taking it to the mat with Takada. Though it’s surprising how small the future Liger looks, he more than makes up for that with constant aggression.
And the finishing stretch is even better from when Fujiwara enters until the bell.
But unfortunately the middle drags it down with some lifeless match-ups that go on for too long.
Still, the good far outweighs the bad here, making this another New Japan multi-man must-watch.
****¾
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (NJPW, IWGP League Block B, 06/12/86)
Fujinami tries to play Maeda at his own game.
The result?
Fujinami gets his head kicked in.
And his selling’s excellent. All the stand up action’s excellent.
Though Maeda’s matwork is disappointingly dull and the finish is bad.
But while those stop it from being an absolute top-tier match, this still made for a highly entertaining watch.
****¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 21, 2022 15:09:23 GMT -5
Finishing off my look at Fujinami's work in the 80s. He was part of some amazing matches. And I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with all these classic multi-man matches in my top 100. I don't want the list to get bogged down with a group of similar matches, but neither do I want to leave off genuinely deserving matches.
Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda, Kengo Kimura, Riki Choshu & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Kantaro Hoshino, Keiji Muto, Seiji Sakaguchi & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW, Elimination Match, 08/19/87)
I’m pretty sure if you look up non-stop action in the dictionary, you’re going to find this match.
It barely pauses even for the eliminations. And the crowd is red hot throughout.
A perfect example of why I’m a fan of muti-man matches.
*****
Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Masa Saito, Seiji Sakaguchi & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW, Elimination Match, 09/17/87)
Not all that dissimilar to the previous match.
And though the action here isn’t quite on the same level, it makes up for it with better drama.
It also gets off to a bit of an odd start. Kantaro Hoshino’s taken to the back by Inoki and replaced by Dick Murdoch. Choshu protests rather heavily. Then it cuts to the action with both Choshu and Murdoch having been eliminated.
But thankfully it doesn’t take anything away from the match, it just seems a bit weird.
And while a slight step down from the previous match, it’s still a top-notch affair.
*****
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, IWGP Heavyweight Title, 08/08/88)
This was what their 1985 match should have been.
They fight over every little advantage and it makes everything they do feel important.
And while they do start repeating moves in the final third, the atmosphere of the match more than makes up for it. Plus, it feels like this is the purest example of Inoki’s vision of pro-wrestling. And one of the last matches of its kind before the more highspot focused style would take over.
Technical, dramatic, and hard-fought throughout.
*****
Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiroshi Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (NJPW, Elimination Match, 09/12/88)
Every aspect of this from the crowd to the action to the structure is a level down from the earlier 10 man tags.
So it says something about their quality when this is still a great match loaded with great action.
Keiichi Yamada in particular gets a chance to shine here and shows that his rise to stardom was inevitable. He also looks like he’s bulked up a fair bit from the 1986 gauntlet match.
A great multi-man tag, but not one of the classics.
****¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 25, 2022 1:20:12 GMT -5
Though I'd start my journey through PWG's best matches.
Oh, and merry Christmas!
Bryan Danielson vs. El Generico (PWG/wXw, PWG World Title, 10/28/07)
This opens with the announcement that Generico’s injured his shoulder and can’t wrestle.
But Danielson tells him he’ll never get another title shot if he doesn’t wrestle.
So the match goes ahead and Danielson relentlessly attacks the injured shoulder.
It’s all solid work and makes for a fun, if by-the-numbers little match.
***¼
El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi (PWG, 09/04/09)
Another perfectly acceptable match.
The work’s a little on the bland side and when they go to the big moves for the finishing stretch it doesn’t flow all that well.
But it made for an easy enough watch.
***
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero (PWG, PWG World Title, 09/04/09)
This seems to be regarded as one of PWG’s finest matches.
But it didn't click with me.
They spend the first 15 minutes showing off their technical skills. The next 15 hitting each other. And then they pull out some bigger moves for the closing run.
It just felt like them doing a bunch of stuff.
And they do it so casually and with so little urgency that nothing they do really seems to matter. At one point Danielson gets busted open and it seems like they’re going to up the drama, but they don’t do anything with it.
Some cool spots, but not a lot else.
**½
The Young Bucks vs. El Generico & Kevin Steen (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, 11/21/09)
A good tag match that didn’t live up to its potential.
The Young Bucks take most of the match and Generico plays the face-in-peril role. And they keep things interesting with their moves and how they keep cutting off the tag.
The issue with the match is the action never really flows. It’s a bit too stop and start, as if they’re constantly having to readjust and set themselves up for the next sequence.
And this stops it from being a great match. Which it could, and should, easily have been.
But it was still entertaining enough.
***¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 28, 2022 19:15:21 GMT -5
Continuing with my PWG journey. And I had a great time with all (well all except the iron man match) of these. It's fun, easy-watching wrestling.
El Generico & Paul London vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Cutler Brothers (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, Guerrilla Warfare, 07/30/10)
Now this is what I expected from PWG.
Plenty of action and big spots. Almost zero downtime.
Not a classic, but a lot of fun.
****¼
Akira Tozawa vs. Kevin Steen (PWG, 12/11/10)
A simple match, but it tells an engaging story.
Steen’s the big bully and Tozawa’s the victim trying his best to fight back.
It never gets to the level I was hoping for, but as a midcard match it’s perfectly acceptable.
***½
Akira Tozawa & Kevin Steen vs. El Generico & Ricochet (PWG, 05/27/11)
The first half was them killing time.
But for the second half they upped the action for an extended finishing stretch.
And though spotty it was highly entertaining.They just needed to put more effort into the first half of the match.
***½
Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (PWG, Battle of LA First Round match, 08/20/11)
This was some quality professional wrestling.
They work a much more traditional match than the norm for PWG with Castagnoli working over Generico’s back. And it builds to a dramatic finishing stretch.
Nothing spectacular, but an enjoyable, well put together match.
***¾
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico - Steen Wolf (PWG, PWG World Title, Ladder match, 10/22/11)
This is little more than a collection of dangerous spots.
But it’s incredibly compelling as you want to know what madness they’re going to do next.
****¼
The Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen & Super Dragon (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, Guerrilla Warfare, 12/10/11)
Not a patch on the previous Guerrilla Warfare tag match I watched.
As while this does feature some crazy spots, it’s a bit too meandering. And there’s too much downtime between the spots.
***¼
The Super Smash Brothers vs. The Young Bucks vs. Future Shock (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, Ladder match, 07/21/12)
Continuing from my previous review…
It seems this type of match benefits from having three teams. As it cuts the downtime because there’s always at least one person free to do something.
And this is one of the best examples of it.
You’re not going to find world class psychology or storytelling here.
But you are going to find a near seamless collection of crazy spots that still hold up a decade later.
If this sounds like you’d enjoy it, then it’s a must-watch for you.
****½
AR Fox & Samuray del Sol vs. The Inner City Machine Guns (PWG, 03/22/13)
On the fourth day of Christmas PWG gave to me:
Four fliers flying!
Similar to the above match, this is a pure spotfest. And another top-notch one.
It features some amazing sequences and a great finishing stretch.
A ton of fun.
****½
AR Fox, Rich Swann & Ricochet vs. Brian Cage, Kevin Steen & Michael Elgin (PWG, 03/23/13)
A classic battle of speed vs. strength.
And it features a fair few impressive sequences with everyone given the chance to show what they can do.
But it goes on for too long. And by the end it feels like they're doing stuff just for the sake of it.
***¾
Adam Cole vs. Sami Callihan (PWG, PWG World Title, 60 Minute Iron Man match, 06/15/13)
60 minutes is too long for them.
But the commentary helped make it bearable.
**
Kyle O'Reilly vs. TJ Perkins (PWG, 08/09/13)
The best way to describe this is as a technical spot fest.
It’s really not all that different to the crazy ladder and Guerrilla Warfare matches, except they keep it on the mat.
Which makes it easier for them to keep the action flowing. Which they do, there’s zero downtime here. And it’s a close fought encounter with neither man ever gaining a lasting advantage.
It kept me engaged throughout and I had a great time with it.
****
The Young Bucks vs. The Inner City Machine Guns vs. The Dojo Bros (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, Ladder match, 08/09/13)
Another fun multi-team ladder match.
It’s not as spectacular and the action’s not as non-stop as the other ladder matches.
But it’s still highly enjoyable and The Dojo Bros deliver some great, hard-hitting sequences.
****
ACH vs. Kyle O'Reilly (PWG, Battle Of LA Quarter Finals, 08/31/13)
These two don’t quite gel here.
A lot of the sequences feel awkward and some are on the verge of going wrong.
Plus, outside of some impressive athleticism, ACH’s offense is dull. Though O’Reilly does his best to carry him to something decent by focusing on working over his arm.
And the result’s not bad, but far from great.
***
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Jan 2, 2023 20:01:38 GMT -5
I'm continuing my journey through PWG. (And I also edited my top 100 to remove all the 4-star matches.)
Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O'Reilly (PWG, 03/28/14)
I don’t really get Johnny Gargano.
He’s perfectly competent in the ring, but he almost always comes off as bland to me.
And that also pretty much sums up this match.
They go too long. And it was just a bunch of stuff. Good stuff. But still just stuff with little rhyme or reason behind it.
***
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly (PWG, PWG World Title, KO or Submission Only, 05/23/14)
Probably the biggest issue with this match was the shoot-style rules because they telegraph an O’Reilly win.
But Cole managed to keep pace with him for most of the match. And they do some great bodypart psychology with Cole attacking O’Reilly’s knee and O’Reilly going for Cole’s shoulder.
If this had more energy and urgency it could’ve been great.
***½
The Young Bucks vs. The World's Cutest Tag Team (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, Guerrilla Warfare, 07/26/14)
This is one of the matches I was most looking forward to.
And it almost lived up to my expectations.
It’s a good brawl with plenty of action. But it’s let down by the finish as it felt a bit too sudden.
Plus, Candice LeRae does an impressive blade job, but it seems like she does it for the wrong move and it would’ve been better if she’d waited.
****
Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega & Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 08/29/14)
There are some really good sequences in this.
And I especially liked Cole’s frustration with ZSJ’s style.
But it’s just a bunch of stuff with little build or story.
***
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Battle of Los Angeles (PWG, Battle Of LA 2nd Round match, 08/31/14)
This was a good match from two evenly matched wrestlers.
But it came off a little underwhelming simply because it felt like they weren’t going all out.
***½
Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, PWG World Title, 04/03/15)
A battle of ZSJ’s technical skills against Strong’s high impact offense.
And it works because unlike a lot of PWG’s matches, they keep things focused and stick to the story they’re telling. They don’t go into doing stuff just because they can or to pad out the time.
The work’s great throughout it. Strong looks dangerous and ZSJ looks like he’s more than capable of getting the win. And it builds to an excellent finishing stretch.
Top quality wrestling.
****¾
Roderick Strong vs. Mike Bailey (PWG, PWG World Title, 06/26/15)
Before the bell, Strong gets on the mic and tells Bailey he’ll finish him in under 5 minutes.
But it doesn’t quite go to plan for him…
This had everything I want in a wrestling match. Great storytelling, great action, and an amazing finishing stretch which saw the crowd biting on all the nearfalls.
I wasn’t expecting PWG to deliver a 5-star match, but here we are.
*****
Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 06/26/15)
This got off to a great start and I thought we might be getting two 5-star matches in one show.
The story gets established quickly. Hero's working with an injured finger and ZSJ immediately goes after it. And Hero tries to counter by blasting ZSJ in the head with elbows and kicks.
It’s hard-hitting, bloody, and a lot of fun. But sadly, the longer it goes, the more repetitive it gets. Though it does pick things up for a great finish.
Excellent match that had the potential to be a classic.
****¼
The Young Bucks & Roderick Strong vs. Marty Scurll, Tommy End & Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 08/28/15)
The Bucks and Strong are at their heelish best here.
And this is filled with great sequences from both teams.
But it just goes on for too long.
****
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Post by kas on Jan 2, 2023 20:15:04 GMT -5
Enjoying the thread so far, Takeda vs Kodaka in your top 20 is awesome.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Jan 2, 2023 22:26:05 GMT -5
Enjoying the thread so far, Takeda vs Kodaka in your top 20 is awesome. Thanks! It'll almost certainly make my final 100, though I'd be surprised if it stays top 20. |
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Jan 6, 2023 2:25:47 GMT -5
Finishing off my journey through PWG. It might not have been overflowing with classic wrestling, but it was all fun and easy to watch.
Andrew Everett, Biff Busick & Trevor Lee vs. The Young Bucks & Super Dragon (PWG, Guerrilla Warfare, 08/29/15)
Your typical PWG multi-man tag.
Big spots and plenty of action.
But this felt a bit too one-sided. As if it was a showcase for Dragon and the Bucks rather than a competitive match.
Though there’s still plenty of fun to be had here.
***¾
The World's Cutest Tag Team, Chris Hero & Mike Bailey vs. The Young Bucks, Adam Cole & Roderick Strong (PWG, Guerrilla Warfare, 12/12/15)
This goes even further with the one-sidedness.
The faces get almost nothing and it’s all about the Bucks, Cole, and Strong.
And here it’s very much to the detriment of the match.
**½
Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, PWG World Title, 03/05/16)
Not as good as their bout from 2015, but this was still a great title match.
And they do a good job of making this competitive while at the same time leaving little doubt as to the outcome. Because after over a year as the champion Strong’s too broken down to mount a proper defense here. While he can just about fend ZSJ off, he lacks the firepower to put him away.
It did get a little bit repetitive towards the end, but then it picked up for a great finish.
Given their previous match, this wasn’t as good as I hoped, but it was still a nice piece of storytelling.
****
Matt Sydal, Ricochet & Will Ospreay vs. The Young Bucks & Adam Cole (PWG, 09/03/16)
This pretty much delivers as promised.
It’s a spotfest loaded with great sequences and big moves.
The only thing preventing it from rating higher is it needed to flow better.
****
The Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Penta el 0M & Rey Fenix (PWG, PWG World Tag Titles, 03/18/17)
Same as the above!
But with three teams they managed to make the action non-stop.
Though it started overly choreographed, it got better and better as it went with some crazy dives along the way.
And the finish felt a little abrupt, but other than that this made for a great watch.
****¼
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chuck Taylor (PWG, PWG World Title, 07/07/17)
It seemed like they wanted to put on an epic.
But it didn't work.
Taylor never seemed like a threat.
**½
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Walter (PWG, 10/21/17)
A great example of a power vs. technical trickery match.
Walter plays his usual, relentless, almost Michael Myers type character. And ZSJ has to pick his spots and grab any opportunity he gets to go on the offensive.
Though this is a little different from the usual Walter match as here both men sell the accumulated damage meaning it gets slower and slower as it goes. And this adds to the drama and creates a genuine sense of doubt about who’s going to win.
As good as you’d expect from this pair.
****
Black Taurus, Laredo Kid & Puma King vs. Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus (PWG, 07/26/19)
I don’t get lucha.
I’ve watched a lot of the classic matches and it just hasn’t clicked with me. Though I will be trying again for this project.
But I do appreciate the luchadores and their skills. And this is all about showing off those skills. It’s an incredible spotfest with moves I’ve not seen before.
How well it’ll age, I don’t know. But it was tremendous fun to watch.
****¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Jan 9, 2023 2:08:49 GMT -5
Though it about time I saw Anarchy in the Arena. And because it was on YouTube gave Hero/Kingston Last Man Standing a go too.
Angelo Parker, Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager & Matt Menard vs. Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Ortiz & Santana (AEW, Anarchy in the Arena match, 05/29/22)
Brawls aren’t something I typically go out of my way to see. But given all the praise this has received, I thought I should make the effort.
And I had a great time with it.
It fully lives up to its name. It’s chaotic from start to finish. With a nice mix of violence and big spots.
My only real problem was it didn’t seem to go big enough. Especially the ending which came off as a bit flat. Especially given all that had gone before it.
****¼
Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston (IWA MS, No DQ Last Man Standing match, 09/29/07)
They hit each other a lot.
They hit each other with chairs, tables, trashcans, and guardrails.
They even get desperate enough to throw in a few wrestling moves towards the end.
This was a lot of fun. It would’ve benefited from being shorter, but it was still a great watch.
****¼
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Jan 14, 2023 19:30:15 GMT -5
Starting my journey through AJW.
Rimi Yokota vs Chino Sato (AJW, AJW Jr. Title, 01/04/80)
This felt a little sloppy and a little basic.
But at the same time you can clearly see elements of what would become the promotion’s style in the 90s.
They bridge out of pins. There’s little medium and long term selling. The reffing is on the lenient side. And they’re not afraid to make some noise in the ring.
Though something I can’t recall seeing before is that the girls actively avoid pin attempts by rolling onto their stomachs. And surprisingly Yokota seems to run out of offense and ends up spamming a butterfly suplex.
It’s not a great match, but it was fun to watch with plenty of action.
***
Devil Masami vs Jackie Sato (AJW, 11/27/1980)
This was a big step up from the previous match in every way.
It was more deliberately paced and both wrestlers looked more polished and showed off higher-end offense. With Sato using a great-looking vertical suplex into a backbreaker I can’t believe I’ve not seen before.
A very good match.
***¾
Rimi Yokota vs. Jackie Sato (AJW, 12/16/1980)
Good action, but felt a little lightweight.
At least until we get a double countout finish. As after that it’s restarted and things suddenly become more intense for a couple of minutes until the real finish.
***½
Jackie Sato & Rimi Yokota vs. Nancy Kumi & Ayumi Hori (AJW, ⅔ Falls, 01/06/81)
It was full of good, back-and-forth action.
But there wasn’t much more to it than that.
***¼
Rimi Yokota vs Jackie Sato (AJW, WWWA World Title, 2/25/81)
This seemed like it was going to be the first great match of my AJW journey.
Yokota had massively improved from where she was just a year ago. She looks sharper and brings much more offense to the table. And she was only a few months away from ditching “Rimi” for “Jaguar”.
This slowly builds as if we are going to be getting something special. And then, out of nowhere, they just take it home. And with a rather odd finish.
A little disappointing as it could’ve been so much better.
***½
Jaguar Yokota vs. Monster Ripper (AJW, WWWA World Title, 1982)
And another match that had the potential to be great but didn’t quite make it.
It tells the story of Ripper’s size and strength against Yokota’s speed. Ripper’s surprisingly good here and Yokota pulls out even more new offense. Including a step-up moonsault armdrag that’d still be pretty much state of the art forty years later.
Though the match is hampered by its length. It didn’t need to go as long as it did for them to tell their story.
But there’s still plenty of great work on show here.
***¾
Jaguar Yokota vs. Devil Masami (AJW, WWWA World Title, 07/19/82)
A little slower and more mat-focused than what I was expecting.
And Yokota keeps adding to her offense. At this point she’s a completely different wrestler from the girl who resorted to spamming a butterfly suplex just a couple of years earlier.
Masami matches her step for step, though I’m not sure the heel’s ring gear should be bright purple with pink flowers on it.
And as the action picks up for the finish, it seems Yokota has enough of Masami, throws her out of the ring, and starts beating her with a chair. Masami finds a weapon of her own and the match breaks down.
I wasn’t a fan of the finish, but everything leading up to them attacking each other with weapons was great.
***½
Mimi Hagiwara & Jaguar Yokota vs. Devil Masami & Tarantula (AJW, WWWA World Tag Titles, ⅔ Falls, 01/04/83)
It’s anarchy in AJW!
The first fall makes it seem like this is going to be a showcase of quality in-ring work. The heels dominate, but Yokota manages to chain together some offense to take the fall.
Which Masami clearly does not appreciate.
So she turns the match into a wild brawl. She drags Hagiwara out of the ring and beats her with a microphone so you can hear the thud of the impact through the sound system. And the heels take the second fall.
At which point Yokota decides the ref’s to blame, pulls him out of the ring, picks up a table, and repeatedly smashes him in the head with it!
Then the third fall gives us the amazing visual of Masami gorilla pressing Yokota and throwing her from the ring to the outside.
Usually brawls aren’t my thing as I find they’re seldom as intense as I’d like, but this was top-notch.
****¼
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Post by Kadaveri on Jan 15, 2023 5:03:23 GMT -5
This slowly builds as if we are going to be getting something special. And then, out of nowhere, they just take it home. And with a rather odd finish. It ends a bit abruptly because this was a match with no predetermined outcome and the pin attempts are shoots. That's a stipulation AJW did at the time. |
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