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Post by elliott on Jul 29, 2023 15:26:46 GMT -5
I’ll be primarily watching tag team wrestling from now until the tag team project because I’ve been looking for an excuse to watch every match the Grapplers or the Interns ever had so here we are. If you’ve got match recommendations feel free to share them. I’ll watch as much as possible. Tag team Smorgasbord 2023-2024!
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Post by elliott on Jul 29, 2023 15:27:14 GMT -5
Tracy Smothers & Little Guido vs Tommy Rogers & Solo - ECW Wrestling Fan Cam Marietta, GA 10/4/1998
Tremendous FBI performance that includes a little bit of everything that makes them a great team. Well a lot of it actually. Some amazing stooging & stalling, interacting with the crowd mixed with fast paced dynamic tag wrestling. Rogers doesn’t do a whole lot so it’s really our heroes walking this Solo guy through a terrific match.
Gedo & Jado vs Shoji Nakamaki & Yukihiro Kanemura (Scramble Bunkhous Death Match - WING - 8/26/93)
OK, Gedo & Jado coming out to Sharp Dressed man while wearing their awful bright red early 90s matching outfits is tremendous. These guys know how to build up goodwill before the match starts. Sadly a lot tamer than I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong they use chairs, forks, barbed wire bat, they bleed but their hearts weren’t in it & neither was mine.
Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs Razor Ramon & Savio Vega (WWF - 8/7/95)
A real sense of everyone is sleep walking their way through this in the opening moments before finally Yoko cuts Razor off from the apron & we get a really strong Razor in peril section with Owen busting out a bunch of different stuff & Razor taking some big bumps. Really good stuff. I almost gave up on it after a few minutes but it turned into a strong match.
Sheepherders vs Roddy Piper & Stan Stasiak (PNW - 12/1/79)
Good first fall with the hot babyface open based around wrenching headlocks, a really good Piper in Peril & a good hot tag to Stan including a couple of dropkicks. Herders look great already. 2nd fall is short bc Piper gets distracted when Buddy ROse sets his kilt on fire. Kind of a shockingly large fire actually. Third fall is short before Rose comes in and attacks Piper. Fun match while it lasted. Herders look strong. So does Piper
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW - 11/26/87)
Doesn’t live up to the on paper billing. Feels like they just never kick into the next gear and ultimately it’s just kind of a back & forth match lacking any real hook
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Post by elliott on Jul 30, 2023 0:11:27 GMT -5
Eddie Gilbert & The Nightmare vs Al Perez & Wendell Cooley (Mid-South - 11/11/85)
If you want to complain about WWF doing heel in peril, I give you 15 min of Al Perez & Wndell Cooley babyface arm work. It’s actually really good but I bet my tolerance for that sort of thing is a lot higher than most hahahaha. After a LONG heel in peril section we get a nice transition out of it & Gilbert/Nightmare’s heel work is good. It’s basic stuff non flashy rough house stuff like punches & kicks but they all look good becuase these guys are pros. Some awesome cut off spots including a great Gilbert lariat and a nasty spot where Nightmare pulls the rope down & Cooley takes a nasty spill over the top & it turns into the key spot of the match. Finish is pretty damn spectacular. This was really good. Took a while to get going & not for everyone but a great one for me.
Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis vs Seiji Sakaguchi & Yoshiaki Yatsu (NJPW - 7/31/82)
Joined in Progress but we get about 10min of good work. When I watched a fuck load of the WWF tag stuff from the 80s (basically every non jobber match of the 80s & early 90s) Adonis & Murdoch looked like the best team in the WWF so I’m looking forward to revisiting their NJPW stuff even though I know it’s polarizing. Anyway, a fine way to kill 10min. Stiff, well executed & fast paced. Everyone looked good.
Lord Steven Regal & Bobby Eaton vs Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (WCW - 4/8/95)
I gotta give it to Eaton, he is totally committed in the pre-match. Carefully folding his robe up with precision. It’s their first match together & it’s a lot of fun before it ever starts. Horner’s even more committed to his spectacular mullet. Regal looks incredible early on. Completely in control of everything. Spectacular sequence starting with a test of strength knucklelock between Eaton & Horner & building to a Thesz press off the top by Armstrong. Terrific stuff. Amazing transition out of Armstrong in peril when Eaton puts his head down for a backdrop but he does a reall exaggerated telegraph including putting his hand behind his back & Armstrong plants him with a suplex. Finish is great. I remember the Blue Bloods as a more solid than great team but this was awesome & they look really good.
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Post by elliott on Jul 30, 2023 13:35:29 GMT -5
Steiner Brothers vs Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda (WCW - 6/24/89)
Short. The Steiners, especially Scott, don’t work anything like we normally think of. Scott is super green and it shows. They lack the explosiveness & offensive chops at this point. It’ll be interesting to see when that changes
Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW - 9/7/90)
JIP about 9 minutes into a 20min long match. Good match with the MVC looking really good as a team. Setting each other up for spots & just gelling as a team really well. Jumbo & Taue also look good. Hard hitting, low-tech but enjoyable. Dr Death looks really good with his big power moves or throwing violent headbutts. I love the spot where Jumbo inteferes on the OK Stampede & then Gordy’s assisted OK Stampede fucking rules.
Rey Mysterio Jr & Kidman vs Psicosis & Juventud Guerrera (WCW Nitro - 9/10/99)
Short but spectacular with lots of great spots well executed. There are some flashes of heel misdirection & stooging comedy from Psic & Juvy where you could easily envision them being a Midnight Express kind of workhorse heel tag team. Too bad for reality. Anyway, fun 5 min
Faces of Fear vs Wrath & Mortis (WCW Saturday Night - 8/23/97)
Pretty fun short match with FoF beating the crap out of Wrath & Moris mostly.
Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Al Snow & Unabomb (SMW - 7/6/95)
Fun tag match. Thugz look great. Kane does a fucking springboard leg drop. Al Snow looks pretty shitty at times and ok at other times. Worse ways to spend 6 minutes
Mr Wrestling II & Buck Robley vs The Grapplers (Mid-South - 11/6/82)
Another good TV match. Robley needs a deep dive & I love the nameless generic masked territories guys like the Gapplers so I’m looking forward to more of them. They look good here. Good offense & good bumping. Fine way to spend 5 minutes
Rip Oliver & The Assassin vs Brett Wayne Sawyer & Steve Pardee (PNW - 9/11/82)
Really long old school tag match. I love Brett Wayne Sawyer as the fiery up & coming babyface & I’ve been meaning to take a look at Oliver & Assassin THey don’t disappoint. Basic match overall but they do an awful lot and it all looks good. Every knee or forearm or armlock looks good. Easy breezy wrestling with the fun bonus of Sawyer cutting an Eddy Guerrero or Great Muta level blade job towards the finish. .
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Post by elliott on Jul 31, 2023 16:12:20 GMT -5
Brian Pillman & Steve Austin vs 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Bagwell (WCW - 3/7/93)
Fantastic match. Both teams look great even Marcus Bagwell looks good here. Love it. Watch this one.
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Tiger Jeet Singh & Umanoseke Ueda (AJPW - 6/1/82)
Dynamite start with Jumbo showing signs of the grumpy Jumbo we’d all come to love. Tenryu doesn’t mind stomping Tiger in the face. Typical 80s AJPW finish & short match but exceeded expectations. Good stuff.
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (AJPW - 4/20/82)
Outside of a gutwrench suplex from Jumbo where Brody just takes it & stands up, I really enjoyed this. THey keep it moving, it’s hard hitting, Hansne &Brody clothesline Baba with a chain leading to Baba choking Brody with the chain later. So this hits the spot in a lot of ways. Not quite great but good easy watching.
Pretty Wonderful vs Patriot & Marcus Bagwell (WCW Clash of the Champions 29 - 11/16/94)
Loved this. It’s not a blowaway great match or anything just a super solid well executed southern tag with two good teams with 4 distinct characters & roles. Roma is unfairly hated, Orndorff is wildly underrated, Patriot is super solid & I have zero complaints for Bagwell as a mid 90s babyface tag worker. He’s perfectly competent. This is really good. Check it out.
Dirty White Boys vs Ken Raper & Mark Ragin (CWA - 9/15/84)
Super solid extended competitive squash. DWB look great with good ofense & bump when needed. Good stuff. Not gonna blow your mind but a solid way to spend 8 minutes on a TV match.
Ken Patera & Crusher Blackwell vs Roy Rogers & Dewey Robertson (St Louis - 12/27/81)
Smartly worked match that has Patera & Blackwell looking dominant & Robertson kept strong despite taking some punishment. Another solid TV match that won’t blow your mind but is well executed & tells a story.
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Post by elliott on Aug 1, 2023 13:51:52 GMT -5
Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson vs Magnum TA & Dusty Rhodes (JCP - 8/11/85)
Mostly a really strong match that drags in a couple of spots but is otherwise quite good. You might call it a slow pace but this is the definition of methodical. There’s intention to the pacing from the Anderson’s. They do a great job cutting off the ring & using ring positioning to tell a story. Magnum looks fantastic. Could’ve used a little more from Dusty but otherwise again a mostly strong match.
Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs Rock & Roll RPMs (CWA - 11/28/87)
Yet another really good TV tag match from this project. 10min time limit so it’s a fast paced southern tag with some early firey babyface action, a little FIP, some hope spots a quick schmozz finish when DUndee runs in. Super solid. Every looks great & plays their roles well. No complaints.
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs Dynamic Dudes (AJPW - 8/29/89)
JIP about 4 min in. Fine match that would’ve resonated a lot more with me 10 years ago. Some good action & sequences. Moves & displays of athleticism. Some terrific spots but not exactly what I’m after from tag team wrestling tbh. The only thing that really separates it from a singles match is the ability to use double team moves.
Tracy Smothers & Little Guido vs Blue Meanie & Nova (ECW Wrestlepalooza - 3/5/98)
Wildly exceeded expectations by actually being a good match. A good example of what makes the FBI a GREAT team with a seamless mixture of good solid wrestling & comedy against a pretty shitty team. LOts of bullshit & shenanigans including bodyslams from the referee but it kinda works & is just a lot of fun.
Roddy Piper & Rick Martel vs Sheepherders (PNW - 1/26/80)
Not really for everyone probably but I loved it. A long old school tag match where things like vertical suplexes are treated like huge spots. Sheepherders are a tremendous traditional tag team not just brawlers or comedy workers. Really enjoyed this.
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Post by elliott on Aug 2, 2023 13:46:13 GMT -5
Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Akira Taue & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW - 2/24/90)
Solid methodical slug fest with Gordy & Williams dominating. Williams has some crazy athletic spots.
Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (AJPW - 6/1/90)
Man, I liked this so much. Misawa & Kobashi are a great plucky underdog team with some firepower. Kabuki has taped up ribs which evens up the hierarchy & experience & gives our babyface heroes something to focus on. Jumbo & Misawa are ready to just throw fists at each other and give you flashes but leave you wanting more for the big singles match. Really great stuff. I love THIS era of 90s AJPW.
Road Warriors vs Crusher Blackwell & King Kong Bundy (AWA - 11/22/84)
Opening lock up + shoulder block segment between Animal & Bundyis fucking incredible. Road Warriors do an awesome job putting Bundy’s size & power over. AWA crowds love Blackwell & who can blame them? The rope running spot between Hawk & Blackwell leading to a teased Blackwell splash was a little on the awkward side but I applaud them for coming up with it. It’s a cool thought & I think would’ve come across a bit better if Hawk stayed down a little longer on the drop down giving Blackwell more of an opportunity to milk the attempted splash. Anyway a small quibble because it’s a really good match. Underrated looking at its placement on the AWA set results. On paper a tricky match but the Warriors are a LOT more well rounded & capable than people give them credit for with a surprising amount of tools in their bag & of course Blackwell & Bundy rule.
Steiner Brothers vs Doom (WCW Halloween Havoc - 10/28/89)
Early Steiner’s are a lot of fun because they’re still figuring out what works so they’ll try things like Scott doing a flying lariat from the middle ropes. Doom is awesome & might be the Steiner’s best opponent. Feels like more of a match than your typical Steiner bomb fest but there are some huge spots still. Great stuff. I could watch like 20 of these matches. Well paced traditional southern tag mixed with a freak athlete bomb fest. Fuck yeah. All day.
The Nightmares vs The Batten Brothers (CWA - 12/29/84)
Quick & good TV tag. Classically structured, well paced & executed. Nightmares look really good leading this thing . Looking forward to watching more of them as this goes on. Batten’s are fine.
The Grapplers vs Ricky Morton & Tiger Conway Jr (Houston - 11/26/82)
Long ⅔ falls match and it’s tremendous. Grapplers are one of the teams I’m most excited to really watch in depth over the course of this project & they have already exceeded expectations at least in this match. Morton is the God of tag wrestling so of course he’s great. Conway Jr is really fun. The Grapplers look fantastic. Lots of good looking offense, strong psychology, are able to make the babyfaces look good. Just an awesome tag match. If the Hart Foundation & British Bulldogs worked this exact match people would call it the US Tag match of the decade. The best match I’ve watched in the tag team project so far.
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Post by elliott on Aug 3, 2023 12:57:14 GMT -5
Dudley Boys vs Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley (Street Fight - ECW Heatwave - 7/18/99)
Weird match. For a few minutes at the start I was thinking it was awesome & on it’s way to being maybe the best Dudley’s match (such a low bar but still) then we went to a long segment where D’Von & Spike were walking through the crowd in the dark and Bubba & Balls were trading off letting each other rub the cheese grater on their faces and the match just fucking dies for me. Then after Bubba & Balls are disgustingly bloody, they go through a walk in the crowd in the dark. Lots of slamming full beers in plastic cups in each others heads. The shitty crowd brawling at least leads to a big Spike balcony dive so that was fun. Back to the ring and they do a long & terrible build to simultaneous counters into powerbombs & from here the match just falls into a long & dull Dudley’s on top section before the build to the nearfall palooza finish. By the end they’ve completely burnt out any good will they had at the start and I’m so over it. Dudley’s have always been one of my least favorite acts. The less said about the prematch the better.
Dirty White Boys vs Randy Savage & Bart Batten (CWA - 10/13/84)
Great Batten in peril section early on. DWBs look fantastic & there are some really awesome near tags. They do a great job building the drama for this. Early on it feels much better than it has to be. Savage in Memphis is really special & he elevates this with his intensity & desperation to get involved during the long Batten in peril section. Batten works most of the way for his team & does his job well. This is a really good match on paper and managed to exceed expectations.
Midnight Express vs Mr Wrestling II & Magnum TA (Houston - 1/27/84)
Goddamn this rules. I mean, no surprise given the teams but it was nice to verify that the on paper match in my head between these two is still awesome. MX spend most of the match stooging & bumping. Which is great because they can bump & stooge & these are two awesome ass kicking babyfaces. Anyway, tons of fun.
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (AJPW - 4/28/82)
Starts with long beatdown of Jumbo & outside of a shitty test of strength between Jumbo & Brody, it’s a fun beatdown with both heels looking strong. Hot tag to Baba is fun. Brody even takes a bump. They cut him off fairly quickly. Baba eats a piledriver. Stepping outside the wrestling bubble, it is insane to me that man is being held upside down but wrestling is magical. After watching the MX Express bump & stooge their way through a match, I’m not hating the Hansen & Brody ass kicking team. Hansen does a running knee attack to Baba’s head. All the kids love those running knee attacks. Hansen & Brody do the demolition decapitation on Jumbo only instead of an elbow, Hansen drops the fucking knee. Yeah, outside of the shitty test of strength I quite enjoyed this.
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Post by elliott on Aug 4, 2023 16:03:45 GMT -5
High Flyers vs Crusher Blackwell & Big John Studd (AWA - 2/20/81)
JIP about 5 min but we get about 12min of match. I won’t pretend I’m an expert in Big John Studd matches but this must be the best I’ve seen Studd look in a match. I can’t remember him ever looking so imposing. He bumps & stooges well. Genuinely impressive performance from him. Greg in peril to start & everyone looks great. The heels kicking his ass but also giving Greg logical hope spots. The hot tag is awesome. Work to the finish was good. GOddamn one of the biggest surprises. Blackwell & the Flyers of course are awesome but Studd really made me proceed with caution but I shouldn’t have. Watch this match!
Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke vs Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck (ECW Anarchy Rulz - 10/1/00)
It was fine. Some good action. Mostly its Guido & Mamaluke getting their asses kicked and it’s fine. Tajiri looks great as usual. Some huge bumps. Just ultimately disappointing because these guys are capable of a lot more and ECW needed to give Da Baldies vs Balls & Chilly Willy the same amount of time as this and it’s like just make this twice as long you fucking morons.
Chavo Guerrero & Hector Guerrero vs Hacksaw Duggan & Jose Lothario (Houston - 7/6/84)
There are a couple of mistimed spots with Duggan but there are also some great & beautifully timed spots. It’s really way more great than mistimed spots so I shouldn’t have led with that. Guerrero’s are awesome bumping & setting up big punches from Lothario & Duggan. I enjoyed their work on top as well. I thought the ref bump towards the finish was spectacularly timed. Really good stuff overall.
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Post by elliott on Aug 5, 2023 14:00:13 GMT -5
Steiner Brothers vs Doom (WCW - 12/1/89)
I love these two teams & this rivalry but this is a tough hang early on with Ross & Cornette drooling over Woman and Ross alluding to his attractions & making not very subtle Cornette is gay jokes and it’s just a fucking nightmare let me just watch the match. It is MINDBLOWING that people thought Jim Ross was good at any point. GOes to show how stupid the self labeled “Smart” fans are. Match itself is really good. Typical hard hitting slugfest you can expect from these two teams with Doom really bringing the structure. A terrific match, it’s just too bad about Jim Ross.
Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch vs Akira Maeda & Seiji Sakaguchi (JIP - NJPW - 7/1/83)
JIP but we get 10+ minutes and everyone looks good. Just solid action
Masa Chono & Hiroshi Tenzan vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW – 2/17/95)
One of my favorite NJPW matches of the 90s. Very chaotic & Hate filled. Chairs, interference, a well done ref bump. Just a hell of a match unlike the usual thing you expect from a NJPW tag match .
No Fear vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (AJPW - 6/4/99)
Gave this a shot & ended up turning it off. Long, slow, boring. Not at all what you want. Looked fun on paper.
Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs Harley Race & Dick Slater (AJPW - 12/2/82)
Some good spots & moments but ultimately on the disappointing side. Feels like it’s lacking a real hook. Not bad by any means, just kind of unmemorable. The whole ended up less than the sum of its parts maybe.
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Post by elliott on Aug 5, 2023 23:33:24 GMT -5
Antonio Inoki & Riki Choshu vs Hulk Hogan & Paul Orndorff (NJPW - 11/6/80)
Good match. Hogan & Orndroff were a good team with some nice team work & double teams. Good chemistry. Mostly a beatdown of Choshu but it’s prettyvaried stuff & well executed. Not a lot of sitting around in holds, but a lot of doing stuff. Hogan…I swear belongs on the short list of greatest tag wrestlers who weren’t regular tag wrestlers. He just knew how to work. On paper a neat looking match that ends up satisfying.
Rip Oliver & The Assassin vs Billy Jack Haynes & Curt Hennig (PNW - 6/4/83)
I love the Oliver & Assassin team. This is a long match against an in-experienced team that has some tools for sure but ultimately have to rely on the heels to carry the match & set them up for their stuff. And do they ever. Oliver & Assassin have a deep well to draw from offensively while mixing in your standard heel cheating stuff & are super solid bumpers (especially Assassin). What results is a match that is a lot more fun than it might seem on paper if you’re unfamiliar with this team. Good stuff.
David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs Hercules Ayala & Ali Mustafa (WCCW Star Wars - 2/22/81)
I thought this was pretty damn good. Von Erich boys in peril most of the way & they actually sell & the heels beat their ass. Amazing spot where Mustafa slingshots David & Hercules catches him in a bearhug. Hercules is one of the most underappreciated wrestlers ever. He’s so good. This really exceeded expectations. That’s been my experience with Ayala. Von Erich boys look good.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen & Terry Taylor (JIP - AJPW - 7/19/90)
Weirdly boring & uninteresting for a match with Hansen & Kobashi. Way more laying around than you’d expect. Terry Taylor brings everything down by his mere presence even if he’s technically good.
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW - 3/2/90)
I enjoyed this very much. MVC are really hitting the spot as an authentic hard hitting tough guy team that can come in & kick ass. But both guys can bump too. Jumbo looks great as usual. Yatsu isn’t really up to the other 3 though
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Post by elliott on Aug 6, 2023 11:17:49 GMT -5
Gino Hernandez & Tully Blanchard vs The Grapplers (SWCW - 3/21/83)
Short (~8min) match but it’s really fun. Heel vs Heel but it’s setting up a Gino & Tully split and a Gino face turn. They do a great job accomplishing this. Gino & Tully cheat but the Grapplers cheat even more. A couple of Gino & Tully miscues lead to Tully getting knocked around. Simple match but super effective. Really enjoyed it
Tajiri & Mickey Whipwreck vs Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke (ECW November to Remember - 11/5/00)
Mickey is just crazy sloppy early on in this. Even for him. His opening sequence with Mamaluke has some real near miss disasters. When Tajiri is in there it’s much better. Long break in the middle as Mikey sells an injury & a stretcher gets brought out. Match continues with ECW cameras missing the Tajiri mist to Mamaluke but cutting back in time for a badass Tajiri strike sequence on Guido. It doesn’t last long since it’s ECW and so Mamaluke kinda blows off the mist & they go for a double team. And then Super Crazy’s music hits and he comes out. Fuck ECW. I’m glad it died. The big move Crazy uses to take out Mamaluke (who remember blew off mist less than 3 minutes earlier) was a Monkey Flip. Mamaluke sold that big. Crazy does his triple moonsault thing in the corner but the middle moonsault was a rolling senton and he blew that & the 3rd moonsault. Now it’s just setting up spots & wandering around. Fuck ECW. Now we’re just settling back into a regular tag match. Horrible selling. Fuck this. Bad finish. ECW at it’s worst. Take 4-5 ok to awesome wrestlers and pigeon hole them into this bullshit. Guido & Tajiri deserved better.
Steven Regal & Bobby Eaton vs Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (WCW - 5/6/95)
Really fun TV match. Armstrong gets isolated & works the majority of the match. Regal looks incredible. He might be the best wrestler in the States. Eaton is of course Eaton. I’d say he’s a little too content to work chinlocks, but they end up using them to build them to hope spots so I can’t complain that much. Eaton & regal work so well together. Armstrong is fun getting his butt kicked. Finishing moments incorporating a ref distraction are well executed. Really enjoyable match. Not gonna blow your mind but a very good showcase for the Blue Bloods.
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (AJPW - 12/9/82)
Handheld match and solid, hard hitting well paced 12ish minute long match. Some fun Hansen & Jumbo interactions. Good crowd. No complaints about Brody. He actually flies off the top rope with a chop to break up a Jumbo submission & it’s pretty damn cool. Finish is actually awesome & feels like a major deal (Brody pins Baba clean)
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Post by elliott on Aug 7, 2023 13:52:09 GMT -5
Steiner Brothers vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW Starrcade in the Tokyo Dome - 3/21/91)
Well, they do lots of spots. My favorite was the lariat by Sasaki & the crazy bump Rick Steiner took for it. They also have a really fun rope running spot that leads to a powerslam that I loved. Everyone bumps well. When they’re not actively throwing each other around or bumping this really drags a lot. Hase does what has to be his worst ever giant swing on Rick Steiner & just kinda falls over before Scott can reach him with the planned lariat to break up the giant swing which could’ve been awesome. Ultimately a disappointing match unless you’re just looking for movz
Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik vs The Destroyer & Texas Red (AJPW - 12/6/77)
Ok quick match with some flashes. I really enjoy Red’s interactions with Abby & Sheik here. Short and more of a tease.
Briscoe Brothers vs Ricky Marvin & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH - 1/21/07)
We start with a long choreographed sequence with well executed but horribly timed spots where they’re just sort of standing theyre watching each other get in position. Leads to a big dive spot eventually. This is a long match & it’s a tough start. For the record I’m tapping out just after the 5min call when they did a long 4 person top rope spot that led to a reverse top rope hurricanrana immediately followed by another top rope hurricanrana. Crowd actually negative popped at the 2 count. They were politely cheering and then just went silent at the kickout. Follow up move was a double back elbow off an irish whip. Also got a 2 count. Sure fuck it. There’s 24 minutes left in the video. NO.
Gedo & Jado vs Shoji Nakamaki & Yukihiro Kanemura(Scramble Fire Death Match - WING - 10/31/93)
I mean it’s a mess, it’s hard to see it’s sloppy but there’s also so much fire. Someone dies I’m sure of it. Craziest shit I think I’ve ever seen associated with wrestling.
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Post by elliott on Aug 8, 2023 0:59:00 GMT -5
Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch vs Abdullah the Butcher & Brian Blair (NJPW - 7/9/83)
Solid hard hitting match that is also probably the tamest I’ve seen Abdullah. He’s just kinda having a match. Adonis & Murdoch look good as usual.
Road Warriors vs Tony Atlas & Jim Brunzell (AWA - 9/20/84)
Warriors do an awesome job putting over Atlas’ power while maintaining their powerhouse aura. It’s such a fine line to walk & they do a good job with it. Hawk & Brunzell do an awesome spot where Brunzell is going for an arm wringer & Hawk stops him with one arm & it works as a test of strength. Really neat spot. Amazing build to a Brunzell dropkick on Animal who takes a fucking huge bump for it. It’s borderline early 90s Mr Perfect or Shawn Michaels trying to prove some weird misguided point to Hulk Hogan level bump from fucking Animal. Throw the Road Warriors in that 70s Superstar Graham boat of guys with terrible reps who are actually awesome. They’re not Superstar Graham level workers but the idea that they’re some clueless roid freaks out there is crazy. These guys know how to work & have a LOT more depth to their work than I’ve ever seen them get credit for. They know how to build to & milk spots, they have great offense, are way better bumpers than you’d think, understand ring psychology, know how to put their opponents over while keeping themselves over. They’re a great team.
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (AJPW - 4/19/85)
Tale of two matches right here as Hansen & Dibiase have a real Funk Brothers dynamic where the match is dramatically different depending on who is in there. It is so much better when Hansen is in there. Dibiase is fine. He’s good down the stretch but comes across very secondary to everyone else. An Al Perez or Brad Armstrong type. The Hansen portions of this are tremendous.
Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Masahito Kakihara (AJPW - 2/28/98)
A small quibble in that I felt Kobashi gave Kakihara a little bit too much, but at least Kakihara’s work was well focused & it paid off when Kobashi kills him at the finish. That said, I fucking loved this. It’s quick, hard hitting, they cut down on late 90s AJPW selling silliness and just have a dynamite sprint. Great dynamics between each team & each individual pairing. You’re just dying to see a singles match with Takayama and either Kobashi or Akiyama watching this. Total blast.
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Post by elliott on Aug 8, 2023 22:23:13 GMT -5
Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (AJPW - 9/29/90)
JIP Some solid armwork on Hansen by Taue & Jumbo changes when Hansen grabs a chair, wacks Taue in the head & Taue bleeds like a motherfucker. This leads to Hansen & Spivey focusing their attack on the cut. Hansen is chopping Taue in the face. Spivey hitting him with piledrivers and big boots. Taue in peril is awesome. I adore the finish.
Raven & Stevie Richards vs The Pitbulls (Double Dog Collar - ECW Gangsta’s Paradise - 9/16/95)
It’s unmistakably an ECW match. I made it about 10 minutes in. Dudley’s run-in about midway through the match did me in.
Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs Quebecers (WWF Royal Rumble - 1/22/94)
Some good parts and some awkward parts early on. Quebecers look tremendous. Bret I feel is pretty wasted in tags & never lives up to his work in singles matches. Owen is pretty sloppy here in the early going. Once this becomes about Bret selling the knee it’s awesome & Bret does a great job.
Raven & Stevie Richards vs The Pitbulls (Double Dog Collar - ECW Gangsta’s Paradise - 9/16/95)
Ok I finished it. LOL. So Bill Alfonso is the fucking best. This whole thing was a fucking mess but its a good time. Like a Michael Bay movie on more cocaine than usual.
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