Even More Random Matches

Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Yoshinari Ogawa (01/09/1994, AJPW): Fulton and Rogers wrestled as "The Fantastics," a team I don't think I've ever seen before but, according to Wikipedia, wrestled extensively (with Jackie Fulton taking over for Rogers at times) for close to 30 years in multiple territories and even WCW and WWE (briefly) in the 90s. They're pretty generic but not bad or anything, which is kinda how I'd summarize this match overall. It is "joined in progress" but I'm not sure all that much was cut-off. Ogawa was clearly still developing as a worker and not yet the arrogant asshole character that made him one of my recent favorite "discoveries," while Kawada was the bad-ass who basically ended this match the minute he came in. (2/5)

Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (08/18/1991, AJW): I'm not surprised that this earned 4-and-a-quarter stars from Meltzer in the Observer back in the day. This is a true "I Quit" match without being an "I Quit" match at all, built almost entirely around Inoue's incredible arsenal of submission holds. Toyota still gets to hit plenty of awesome dropkicks and and a crazy cool moonsault at one point, but Inoue controls so much of this match that I found the finish to be really satisfying and logical in the sense that, despite Toyota's toughness and resiliency, she eventually fell prey to Inoue's technical mastery. I'm not sure this made it to "must see" level but if you're at all a fan of submission-style wrestling, this is about as good as it gets in that department. (3.5/5)

Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa (05/21/1994, AJPW): Known collectively as The Four Pillars of Heaven, this was a showdown between the Holy Demon Army - Kawada and Taue - and the babyface unit of Kobashi and Misawa. There was already plenty of history to draw from in 94' and everyone was in the middle-of-or-close-to theiTr prime so it should come to no surprise that this match is held in super high regard by the wrestling intelligentsia. There is lots to love here and everyone is playing their role perfectly - Kawada is a prick, Akira Taue is a bully, Misawa is as valiant as ever, and Kobashi's ever-awesome emotional expressions are plentiful. The match goes 40+ minutes but never feels slow or even like they are pacing themselves or "holding off," though the final 10-15 minutes show that they did, in fact, have some serious aces up their sleeves in the form of false finishes and surprising shifts in momentum. This is the sort of match that does require some contextual knowledge, setting it apart from some of the other classics out of Japan that I've reviewed (and, honestly, enjoyed more), but in terms of match structure, performances, and storytelling, this is a very strong match that rewards your attention and engagement. (4/5)

Sami "El Generico" Zayn vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (01/30/2010, PWG): Going into this, it's hard to get too excited when you see that the match goes under 15 minutes, but that's not to say this is a total dud. Zayn is able to move and fly much better than Liger could at this point - he was 46 at the time of this match - and it helps considerably that he can bring that movement because Liger was seemingly only interested in doing just a handful of his signature moves and very little of it involved leaving the ground. Someone on Cagematch made a good point when they talked about how charismatic both Generico and Liger are considering they're both silent performers with their faces covered up. This is fun but not the all-timer that I'm sure these guys could've done had they both been at the peaks of their power. Good for what it was and certainly above-average, but this wouldn't make it on to either guy's list of even 50 best matches probably. (3/5)

Bull Nakano vs. Kyoko Inoue (09/07/1991, AJW): Like the other Inoue match I reviewed above, this might not be for everyone just because so much of Inoue's initial attack is submission-based. That being said, it is a sight to behold to see Nakano sporting a crimson mask from early on (that never seems to really stop bleeding) and getting punished by Inoue, who was challenging for the WWWA Championship. When Nakano does finally get some offense going, her power and toughness is enough to quickly even the score. I really loved Kyoko actually getting Nakano up towards the end of the match as it really showed how desperate she was at trying to finally put the champion down. Great stuff. Nakano's suplexes were nasty, but her selling throughout the match was what really made this work. This is what a Championship match should be. (3.5/5)

Sting and Barry Windham vs. Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson (01/17/1988, NWA): I found this on YouTube and it features two cool commercials - one for the official NWA magazine and the other for Captain Lou Albano's 900 number - but the match itself is your run-of-the-mill TV main event with a weak, indecisive finish to sell tickets for the next time these two rival pairings will do battle. Good performances out of everyone, though I'm something of a Tully mark so it's his bumping and selling that is most impressive to me. Having JJ Dillon on commentary was fun too. Nowhere close to "must see," but solid enough. (2.5/5)

Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto (01/04/1992, AJW): A good match that starts really hot and then slows down a bit as they get into the extended submission/ground-based stretch before picking things up a bit in the final 5-6 minutes with the head drops and nearfalls. Hokuto hits two big moves from the top to the floor but when she goes for one in the ring towards the end, it ends up costing the match by giving Inoue the opening to hit an airplane spin and then a powerbomb. It's not the most innovative or riveting conclusion, but this match was more a battle of wills than it was a game of human chess. They went at eachother with lots of stretches, dropkicks, powerbombs, etc. and it ended with one wrestler barely getting a pin on the other (Hokuto kicks out at 3.01). Somewhere in this 25+ minute match, there's a sharper, streamlined match, but this slows down a bit too much for my taste. (3/5)

Dusty Rhodes vs. Nick Bockwinkel (05/20/1983, Houston Wrestling): Not much to say about this sub-15 minute match as it was built around Rhodes challenging for the AWA World Championship in Houston (this was not an AWA show) and Ted DiBiase issuing a challenge to the winner before it even took place. This is really just a bunch of "ga-ga" with Bockwinkel bumping all over for Dusty, who alternates between throwing his signature punches and chops and strutting around. Dusty eventually applies the figure four but DiBiase comes in and bloodies him when the ref isn't looking, leading to Bockwinkel getting the cheap pin. Wrestling-wise, there's not much to this, but all the extra elemens, including the pre- and post-match promos, the hot crowd, and the "color" that Dusty help considerably. (2.5/5)

Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron vs. Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa (12/10/2025, AEW): This was the finals of the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship Tournament and the opening contest on the "Winter Is Coming" episode of Dynamite. The crowd was excited for this, which definitely helped because the actual in-ring work was far from great. Cameron is highly entertaining with her promos and character, but is not a smooth worker or particularly athletic. Willow and Toni's interactions drew the biggest responses and were the highlights of the match, reminding me of some of the AJPW tags from the 90s where you had Misawa or Kawada teaming with a wrestler of lesser status and the match was built around when the "aces" would get in the ring together. I'm not sure why or how Meltzer saw this match and thought "4 stars" aside from just acknowledging the "feel good" vibe of it. (2.5/5)

Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Jun Akiyama (07/08/1995, AJPW): A solid match with a straight-forward but effective story of Ogawa going after Akiyama's knee and doing enough damage to keep things close despite the size advantage that Akiyama has. This isn't groundbreaking in any way but there's always something I enjoy about watching Ogawa's expressions and heel work and this offers a concise, compact canvas for it. Akiyama is no slouch either, a good babyface that was on the rise at the time and had some very explosive offense. (3/5)

Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (06/09/1995, AJPW): Hailed and hyped by many as one of the greatest matches of all time, the Four Pillars do battle in what I would consider, based on my admittedly limited viewership, to be the epitome of King's Road style. These four guys know each other well and that history and ability to withstand and counter each other's signature moves, from the very first minutes of the match, comes into play and then stretches out over the course of a 45+ minute match. Considering the duration, one would think this match would have some dull stretches, but it keeps an incredible pace (which isn't to say its non-stop action, but that it is consistently building and building towards the finish). Everyone's performance is top tier. Kawada is a bastard that has no issue attacking Kobashi's damaged leg (taped up before the match begins) or breaking up pin attempts at every opportunity. He is in "refuse to lose" mode, but because this is AJPW, its not like he's going to outright cheat the way an American heel would. Akira Taue is his usual bullying self, preventing pins and going after Misawa's eye (which is a key element of the match that I wasn't aware of prior to reading about it). The ever-stoic Misawa shows his grit and determination throughout with big forearm shots, suplexes, and dives. Kobashi, the most dramatic seller of the bunch, gets to not only show off that part of his game but also gets to have one of his famous and ultra-emotional comebacks. The near falls in the final third of the match are excellent and the audience bites on several. There are not as many "shocking" moments as one might expect in a match considered to be among the best ever wrestled, though there are definitely a few: Taue choke slamming Misawa from the apron to the floor, Kobashi draping himself over Misawa to try to save him from getting stomped on, the two-person chokeslam by the heels, the tremendous heel heat they get when they attack Kobashi's knee for the first time. If you look on PWO and Cagematch, you'll find nary a criticism...so what about this didn't hook me? Watching this match without full context takes some of the emotional weight away from it. This is not necessarily a match you can put on "cold" and immediately enjoy as it isn't actually the stiffest or most violent or most action-packed match these men have had with each other or others. There are some big throws and suplexes, but this is not filled with guys landing on their heads or necks and getting nearly paralyzed. There are plenty of cool strikes, but this is not Kawada or Hashimoto caving their opponents' chest in with kicks. As noted above, everyone involved is playing their role well, but that almost means you have to understand those roles and not hope for anyone to start "coloring outside the lines," which is usually what moves a match from one gear to the next. As good as this match is, it doesn't beat you over the head with its "epicness" - though your mileage may vary when it comes to Kobashi's emotiing. This match might be the epitome of a certain style (King's Road) and a certain era of wrestling (90s AJPW), but if you're not enthralled by that particular style and time, this match is not the one I'd automatically send you to as a starting point. (4/5)

Tully Blanchard vs. Barry Windham (01/23/1988, NWA): This was for the Western States Championship, one of my many "regional" championships under the NWA banner at the time. Quick note: If you're wondering why Tony Khan doesn't shy away from adding title after title to his company, it could be because of his love for old school NWA. Anyway...Windham controls early, sending Tully to the outside to regroup. Windham goes for a pin early and Tully gets out of it by poking him in the eye (love the small details there). Windham hits a powerslam but Tully gets his foot on the rope and then strategizes with JJ Dillon on the outside. A knee to the midsection allows Tully to get some offense in and he applies a headlock, only for Windham to power out of it with a back suplex. After a commercial break, we come back to Tully grapevining Windham's leg. Windam fights out with a series of headbutts and body shots but the damage has been done and Windham is hopping on one leg and selling the knee heavy. Tully targets it with a single-leg takedown and then another grapevine, working the knee. Windham grabs holds of his head and turns it into a body scissors. Luger shows up in a picture-in-picture and says he thinks Windham will be able to win despite the leg damage. Thanks, Lex. In the ring, Windham continues to sell the leg injury but is fighting through the pain. Windham applies a tight headlock but Tully turns it into a knee breaker! They trade nearfalls, both guys exhausted and unable to hit much of anything. Windham goes for a suplex but Blanchard lands on him for another 2 count. When we come back from a second commercial break, Blanchard has a figure four applied. Windham gets to the ropes but Blanchard keeps the pressure applied. It is announced that 25 minutes have passed (meaning a good 10 minutes of this went unseen by the TV audience). With only 4 minutes remaining, Tully connects with a snap mare and a headlock takedown but Windham bridges out of the pin! Big suplex by Windham! 3 minutes left! Tully stomps on Windham's knee and then goes to the top, but Windham meets him in the corner and calls for the superplex! He can't pull it off and slips to the mat. Windham hits a running lariat and the bell rings at 1?!? JJ rang the bell! There's all sorts of confusion and referee Tommy Young is brought to the outside and told so by the commentators (and Luger). Young watches the monitor and the last 90 seconds of the match are replayed. Back in the ring, Tully attacks Windham from behind and rolls him up for 1...2...Luger stops the pin! Tully goes after Luger! Dillon nails Windham! In comes Flair and Anderson! Pandemonium! Anderson hits a DDT on Luger! A fan comes in the ring and is taken out by Anderson and security! In comes the Stinger! As a match this was good-not-great with a very good babyface-in-peril performance by Windham with his extended selling of the knee, but its the post-match that elevates this into slighty above-average territory. A solid TV match with a very hot ending in front of a crowd that was fully into it. (3/5)

Bull Nakano, Yumiko Hotta, and Suzuka Minami vs. Akira Hokuto, Etsuko Mita, and Mima Shimoda (08/30/1992, AJW): Before the match, we get a some words from the heels (The LCO) and their babyface opponents but because I don't speak Japanese, I have no idea what they're saying. As soon as the announcements cut away, its brawling time as the women fight it out outside the ring. The LCO work on Minami in the ring, but she tags out to Hotta, who hits a piledriver on Mita. Nakano comes in and nearly takes her head off with a clothesline before delivering another piledriver. The pin is cut off by Shimoda. The babyfaces continue to punh Mita with Minami hitting an impressive backbreaker for another 2 count. In comes Hokuto, though, who stiffs her with a pair of heel kicks off the ropes and then a dropkick from the top. Shimoda comes in and we get a really cool spot wheree they hang Minami in the ropes and Hokuto comes down on her with a cane (!). This only gets 2 and Hotta comes in, fighting back and hitting a series of snappy kicks to Mita and then a suplex. Nakano comes in with a clothesline off the top for 2. Nakano takes out all the heels and then hits a release atomic drop before applying a dragon sleeper on Mita. Nakano swithches it into a camel clutch and Hotta comes in and just kicks her straight in the face! The double-teaing on Mita continues but she manages to kick out of a pin attempt. Minami comes in and hits a release front suplex and then a legdrop for another 2.9. Piledriver by Minami and another nearfalls. We're less than 10 minutes into this and Mita has withstood a ton of punishment. Hotta hits a spinning heel kick from the top. To the outside we go for some crowd brawling - always a pleasure in these types of matches.  Back in the ring, Nakano nails Shimoda with a huge clothesline and Shimoda's bump is incredible. She then applies a crazy submission but it gets broken up by Hokuto, who swiftly applies a Sharpshooter (only to get cracked by a Hotta kick). The heels take control until Hotta hits two reverse powerbombs on Hokuto! I'm not sure I've ever seen better ones. In fact, I had to check my playback speed just to make sure I was watching this in normal speed because Hokuto is moving so fast. Minami hits a pair of powerbombs but can't get a pin and tags in Nakano. Hokuto surprises her with a roll-up and then tags out. Nakano hits a clothesline and then a double suplex on Mita and Shimoda but pins the illegal woman. Nakano hits a bridging suplex but the pin is broken up. We get a series of tags and big moves and then a brilliant sequence of offense by the babyfaces that ends with a Hotta splash to the outside. Nakano calls for Minami to bring Hokuto in but Nakano misses the leg drop! Hokuto with a German suplex for 2.5! Mita goes for a dropkick but Nakano no sells it and powerbombs the heck out of her! In comes Hotta but Hokuto cuts her off with a crazy crossbody from the top. Hotta hits the underhook powerbomb she was going for but Shimoda breaks up the pin and gets the tag. Shimoda with a German suplex for 2 and then she goes to the top. Hotta meets her up there and hits her with a German suplex from the top rope! Holy cow. Minami tries another reverse powerbomb but Shimoda counters it into a pin attempt. Hokuto comes in. More chaos! More nearfalls! Minami with a straightjacket suplex for 2! Minami goes to the top but misses a dropkick and gets suplexed by Hokuto for 2. Hokuto with a front-flip senton for another nearfall! Scoop slam by Hokuto and a tag to Shimoda, who comes in for a big splash but Minami gets her feet up. Big German suplex by Minami to finish it! Wow. This was really, really good stuff and a ton of fun to watch. They squeezed every last bit of action possible into this match's 20-minute runtime. I wish I understood the meaning of the post-match scene as two women - I assume, AJW wrestlers - stood up from the front row and walked out as the crowd chanted something (and Nakano and Hokuto stared them down). (3.5/5)

Tom Zenk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (03/30/1986, AWA): This is a pre-"Z-Man" Tom Zenk. A slow start with lock-ups and the occasional slam but things pick up when Zenk hits a series of hip tosses and a slam. The commentator notes that there's a chunk cut-out due to "TV time constraints" so, when we come back, Zenk is in full control and working Bockwinkel on the mat. Zenk applies an arm bar but Bock gets back to his feet and things even up a bit until Zenk hits yet another slam and hiptoss and re-applies the armbar. Not a ton of variety here...Zenk applies a wristlock and Bock backs him up into the corner. Bockwinkel runs his knee into him and goes for a shoulder in the corner but Zenk evades it and applies another wristlock into an armbar on the mat. Bock again gets to his feet and whips Zenk into the ropes, decking him in the gut with a big right hand. Zenk spills to the floor. When Bock tries to capitalize, Zenk connects with blows across the chest and then slams Bock's head into the buckle repeatedly. Zenk hits a dropkick and gets 2. Zenk follows it with an atomic drop and Bockwinkel lands neck-first on the bottom rope. Zenk hits some stomps and then another scoop slam for 2. Back on their feet, they ended up bumping heads off the ropes. Bock attempts a bodyslam but Zenk turns it into a pin attempt for 2 and then hits a legdrop for 1...2...nope. Zenk tries an Irish whip but the bell sounds and the time limit - a mere 20 minutes - has has expired. What a shit ending to an okay-but-not-great match. I'm guessing this was designed to make Zenk look good, but he didn't come off all that interesting or great or charismatic and Bockwinkel was fine, but clearly taking something of a "night off" compared to his bigger, more remarkable outings. The lack of a finish didn't help this at all. (2.5/5) 

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Eddie Guerrero (10/01/1995, WCW): This one starts off really hot, but then slows down a bit too much for me. It doesn't help that we're missing a chunk of action due to a commercial break. It feels a bit "exhibitiony" because there's not a storyline or championship on the line. I wouldn't call this a "hidden gem" because it's hard to recommend or even fairly rate a "clipped" match, plus the energy of the opening minutes isn't sustained. Good, not great stuff. (2.5/5)

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kurt Angle (06/12/2016, RevPro): The entrances and ring introductions go longer than the actual match, but it's hard - and unfair - to be too negative on a "match" that was designed to be more like a "Thank You" ceremony to Kurt Angle from his fans across the pond. From bell-to-bell this goes 9 minutes, which should tell you all you would need to know about the level of wrestling and competition in this match. In those 9 minutes you get Angle's "Greatest Hits" and a few glimmers of Sabre doing his thing but that's all there is to it. This match carried by the atmosphere and hot crowd, not any of the ring work. Knowing how limited Angle was by this point - it is unbelievable that he continued to wrestle for 3 years after this (though, that 3 years featured a whopping 28 matches and most of them were very short or multi-mans) - I was surprised they didn't stretch things out with Sabre's joint manipulations or heel shtick, neither of which would've been too taxing on the Olympic Gold Medalist. (2/5)

Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto (11/26/1992, AJW): The entrance design for this show were excellent. Hokuto hits an awesome german suplex early that sends that Inoue to the outside to regroup. Inoue fires back with a super-lengthy airplane spin and then a fireman's throw, which is a move that more folks should be doing in 2025. A really cool pinning sequence follows with Hokuto getting smashed front-first into the hard mat and then Inoue applies a picture surfboard. This is awesome stuff. Inoue applies a nasty camel clutch and then hits two stiff kicks off the ropes but Hokuto catches her third time and nails her with a clothesline and then a bonkers jumping piledriver. Holy cow. Another great pin attempt and now its Hokuto's turn to apply a clutch. She even fish-hooks her mouth! She hits another jumping piledriver for 2 and then applies a Sharpshooter. Inoue reaches the ropes to break the hold but Hokuto reapplies it and leans all the way back. Inoue gets close to the ropes but Hokuto pulls her by the hair to keep her from reaching it. Cruel. She eventually gets a hold of it so Hokuto whips her into the ropes and she hits a springboard dropkick off the second rope and then another! Inoue locks Hokuto up with a nifty leglock and then a half-crab, really wrenching on the knee. Inoue shifts gears again into another couple submisisions, really showing off her arsenal. She goes for an atomic drop but Hokuto rolls out of it and hits her with a bunch of big knees and then a standing spinning heel kick to the head and another that's even nastier for 2. Hokuto applies a tight headlock on the mat and then a dragon sleeper. Inoue reaches the ropes and Hokuto goes to the top, only to get brought down with a press slam. Hokuto springs up and they tease a superplex but Inoue spills to the floor. Huge splash to the floor by Hokuto! Perfect execution on that. Inoue is dazed on the floor, staring at the lights, in yet another excellent visual. Hokuto hits her with a missile dropkick when she tries to get back into the ring that sends her into the rail and then hits a front-flip splash! Inoue is barely able to crawl into the ring and Hokuto perches herself on the top rope as she rolls in and then hits her with yet another dropkick for 2. Hokuto goes to the top again and goes for a splash, but Inoue rolls through and gets a nearfall of her own. Hokuto goes for a German, Inoue counters, and Hokuto counters it into a victory roll for another near fall. Inoue with a bridging german suplex for 2! The champion hits a bodyslam and then hits a running springboard back senton/"Coffin Drop"! Holy shit. She goes for a powerbomb but Hokuto counters it into a pin attempt for another nearfall. Inoue goes for another springboard back senton off the middle rope but Hokuto counters it with a dropkick! Hokuto goes for a scoop slam but Inoue cradles her for a 1...2....2.7! Hokuto manages to hit another bridging German Suplex for 2! Hokuto climbs to the top and goes for a splash but Inoue gets her knees up! Inoue can't capitalize, though, as both women sell damage and exhaustion on the mat. Inoue is up first and goes for another springboard back senton but Hokuto gets her feet up and Inoue's head hits her feet dead-on! Oh my. That was awesome. Hokuto only gets 2, though, so she hits the Northern Lights Suplex, dropping Inoue on her head, and this one is over. Wow. This hit every mark. No notes. This match blew my mind, beginning to end. The psychology was there. Multiple insane sequences and spots and brilliant counters and cut-offs. Not a single "slow" moment. Perfect camera work. Not too long, not too short. Even an emotional and satisfying post-match. It is incredibly rare to see a "perfect match," but this is it. (5/5)

Super Crazy vs. Tajiri (01/21/2000, ECW): This is a Mexican Death Match but, in ECW, that doesn't necessarily mean anything because matches rarely (never?) ended in a DQ and using weapons was commonplace. Regardless, this match is terrific. We miss a minute or two in the beginning because of a commercial break, unfortunately, but what we do get is wonderful. Highlights included Tajiri dropkicking a 3-chair stack into Super Crazy's face and busting him open, a double stomp through a table, a great moment when Tajiri mocks Crazy's anguish, Crazy hitting a moonsault off the bleachers and through a table, and the ECW crowd counting his punches in the corner in Spanish (and then chanting "Uno Mas!" to encourage him to do it again). This is all killer-no filler stuff and worth seeking out. (4/5)

Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage (12/12/1983, CWA): This is an interesting watch if you stumble upon the same video I found on YouTube as, instead of commentary, its Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer basically just talking over the match and helping to provide context as to how this match and rivalry came to be. Unfortunately, that also means you can't hear the crowd. Anyway...very classic cage match with only one crazy spot (Savage flying off the top of the cage) or extra "gimmicks" and a surprising lack of blood. It works, though, because Savage is such an electric performer and Lawler had expert timing and pacing (to go with his signature punches). Throughout the match, Savage shows off his bumping and theatrical ability, all of his movements big and loud. Lawler teases the illegal piledriver at one point, but the match ends with a crappy run-in from Joe LeDuc. (3/5)

Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada vs. Aja Kong and Bull Nakano (01/24/1993, AJW): A very good tag team match loaded with all the things that have made me a huge fan of joshi wrestling this year: super stiff kicks by Yamada and Kong, Manami Toyota's high-flying, an errant Uranake, Bull Nakano's leg drop from the top, Stretch Mufflers and fireman's throws and straight-jacket suplexes and nasty powerbombs and Nakano casually whipping Yamada into a sea of chairs...it's all here. This isn't a transcendent match like some of the others I've reviewed this year, but it's not far from it. Unfortunately, some of the typical pitfalls of this genre are apparent here - a lack of following even the most basic of tag wrestling rules, some noticeably sloppy spots, blatant use of weapons (in this case, nunchuks) getting used without a DQ - but the good outweighs the bad. (3/5)

Forbidden Door 2023

AEW Forbidden Door 2023

June 2023 - Toronto, Ontario, CA

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was MJF, the AEW Women's World Champion was Toni Storm, FTR were the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions, Killswitch (Luchasaurus) was the TNT Champion, Kris Statlander held the TBS Champion, Orange Cassidy was the International Champion, and the House of Black were the AEW World Trios Champions.

Forbidden Door 2023 kicked off with Hiroshi Tanahashi challenging the AEW World Champion, MJF. Expectations online were low for this one as Tanahashi was considered well past his prime by this point. Dueling chants and shtick to start things off with MJF trying to take a count-out loss but being brought back when the audience started calling him a coward. MJF gained the upper hand soon after, pulling Tanahashi into the corner by his trunks and then dropping him stomach-first on the top rope. MJF continued to work on the stomach, applying an abdominal stretch and grabbing a hold of the top rope for leverage. Tanahashi hip-tossed out of it (with some assistance from the ref) and hit a flipping senton that looked particularly painful. He went back up to the top but MJF got to his feet. After duking it out a bit on the top rope, Tanahashi hit a crossbody and then hit a guerilla press out of the corner and a sling blade for 2. Tanahashi went back to the top once more but MJF pulled on the rope, causing him to drop crotch-first. MJF hit a beautiful superplex but couldn't capitalize. MJF hit a double-underhook shoulder breaker but damaged his own knee in the process. The back-and-forth continued with Tanahashi's offense looking rough at times (a particularly awkward sling blade. MJF grabbed the championship belt and the ref got distracted getting it back to the timekeeper's table which eventually led to MJF knocking out the challenger with his Dynamite Diamond Ring in a very predictable/generic finish. The crowd's enthusiasm did quite a bit of the heavy lifting in this unremarkable match, though it probably could've been way, way worse. (2.5/5)

Satoshi Kojima vs. CM Punk was the next match, one of the first round match-ups in AEW's annual Owen Hart Invititational Tournament. Having this be a tournament match meant that the finish was never really in question, which hurt things, but the crowd's engagement balanced things out. This being in Toronto - which, I guess, is "Omega Country" - meant that Punk was meant with lots and lots of audible booing upon his entrance, though there were also some "CM Punk" chants at times during the match. Punk worked as a subtle heel, which is the role I think I enjoy him best in. I loved the way he worked on Kojima's knee early on, jabbing at it with unexpected kicks, and then got heat from the crowd by almost mocking the NJPW style with the cartoonish Mongolian chops and then busting out a Hogan-inspired leg drop (Toronto being a famously pro-Hulkster setting). Loved Kojima's nasty elbow drop to CM Punk's groin. The finish was fine, if maybe a touch abrupt. Very solid match and worth checking out if you're a CM Punk fan, but certainly not an all-timer. (3/5)

A fourway for the AEW International Championship was up next with Orange Cassidy defending the title against Zack Sabre Jr., Daniel Garcia, and Katsuyori Shibata. With this make-up of wrestlers, you knew you were going to get a "banger" and that's what this was. Very fun opening with Cassidy doing some shtick before going for a pin on Garcia and getting propelled by Garcia's kickout into a dive on the floor on the other two. I also really liked the bit when Sabre Jr. and Shibata were trading blows and Garcia kept trying to get in on the action but was met by strikes that sent him to the mat. Following Punk/Kojima was going to be a challenge just because of how hot the crowd was for Punk, but they met the challenge by mixing humor, trademark/signature moves, and cut-offs to keep things moving. My biggest gripe was just that guys "disappeared" at times in order for 2-3 of the participants to work through a sequence. I wish they had been given a bit more time, but they loaded up the 11 minutes they got nicely. Good stuff. (3/5)

"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry challenged Sanada for the IWGP World Championship in the next match. This was my first time seeing Sanada in action. Perry got an STF early but Sanada got to the ropes. Perry connected with a dive to the floor a couple minutes later and then sent Sanada into the guardrail before going for another pin. Sanada tied Perry up in the Paradise Lock, a silly "move" in which one wrestler twists the other's hands and arm between their own legs (leaving them "locked" on the mat). Sanada hit him with a dropkick to break up the hold, but Perry quickly regained some control, hitting a Tiger Driver (Misawa-style powerbomb) after a big lariat. Sanada came back swinging, though, hitting a suplex. A strike exchange followed, both guys willingly accepting blows from the other. Sanada got Perry up in a fireman's carry but Perry countered it into Sanada's own finishing move, a dragon sleeper. Sanada got his foot on the rope and followed it up with a TKO (fireman's carry-into-a-cutter) for 2. After a failed Moonsault, Sanada went for his finish but Perry escaped and hit a reverse-rana but Sanada locked him up with a dragon sleeper and swung him around (not something I've seen before). Perry managed to turn it into a pin attempt but Sanada kicked out at 2. Perry tried another reverse-rana, only Sanada to hit him with one and then a Shining Wizard (The Great Muta's finish) for 2.5! Sanada went back up for a moonsault and nailed it to retain the title. In a company where Moonsault are so common, it didn't feel much like a finisher to a championship level. This was perfectly fine, but not particularly memorable. What was memorable was Jungle Boy's heel turn as he clotheslined HOOK at the top of the ramp (causing Taz to lose it on commentary). (2.5/5)

A 10-man tag followed with Eddie Kingston teaming up with Tomohiro Ishii, The Young Bucks, and "Hangman" Adam Page against the Blackpool Combat Club's Jon Moxley, Claudio Castignoli, and Wheeler Yuta with Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino. Highlights included Ishii and Takeshita's spirited strike exchange and shoulder-tackle trading, Page hitting a moonsault to the floor, Takeshita knocking Ishii out with one of the stiffest forearms I've seen in awhile, Takeshita's flying clothesline getting blocked by a Hangman's spinning forearm, The Bucks holding up Takeshita for a running shooting star press off the apron and hitting some of their signature, high-energy tandem offense, and the surprising twist of Kingston protected Moxley from a double superkick. What I wasn't a particular fan of was Kingston and Mox having an extended strike exchange in a match that had already featured one moments earlier. Also, with so much of this match built around stiff striking and Kingston's face-in-peril stretch, the Bucks and Hangman "disappeared" during the first half of the match. Schiavone noted on commentary that Takeshita was the "MVP" of this match and its hard to argue with that, though Claudio was very good as well. The finishing stretch was expertly timed and executed with everyone hitting their signature stuff in rapid succession and Ishii nearly taking Yuta's head off with a lariat before hitting his brainbuster for the win. I wouldn't call this essential viewing, but it was a fun match. (3/5)

Willow Nightingale challenged Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship next. This was pre-"Timeless," when Toni was still part of the going-nowhere stable known as The Outcasts with Paige and Ruby Soho. Nightingale was the NJPW Strong Women's Champion (I think I got that right), having defeated Mercedes Mone in Japan in an upset. This was okay, but not particularly memorable and even a little sloppy at times (Storm seemed to miss the mark entirely with her first Hip Attack on the apron). As others noted on Cagematch, this felt like a "TV match" of low consequence. (2.5/5)

Kenny Omega defended the IWGP United States Championship in the next match against Will Ospreay, but this was about more than just the belt as Ospreay was trying to even the score after losing to Omega at Wrestle Kingdom and was essentially trying to usurp Omega as the World's Greatest Wrestler. The match went close to 40 minutes and they threw everything they could at each other. As expected, they started with impressive "anything you can do, I can do better" sequences built around their quickness, agility, and counter-wrestling. Don Callis got tossed from ringside and, soon after, Ospreay got the advantage by slamming Omega's head into the announce table repeatedly and busting him open. They slowed things down a bit here, which is not a criticism but noteworthy because both guys have been criticized for a "more is better" approach to wrestling. Omega came back strong, though, and Ospreay ended up even bloodier after getting his forehead slammed into the steps. This match was loaded with huge, crazy spots including an awesome Oscutter on the apron following a Shooting Star Press on the ropes, a V-Trigger into the guardrail by Omega, Ospreay hitting a crazy corkscrew splash to the floor around the 30 minute mark, an extended section built around Ospreay disrespecting the Canadian flag, and even an absolutely nasty Tiger Driver 91'. I wasn't a fan of Callis returning towards the end of the match, but I will say it did lead to me biting on more than one near-fall towards the end. I even dug Omega channeling Hulk Hogan at one point in a moment that got a huge reaction from the Toronto crowd. Meltzer gave this an absurd 6-stars and it has an incredibly strong 9.56 on Cagematch right now, but I won't go quite as high. It is an undeniably great match and I'd even call it a "must watch," but this is a style of wrestling that can be very polarizing with the amount of kickouts and false finishes to moves that should/would otherwise be certain match-enders. That being said, I thought they still did a nice job of making things count and, against all odds and logic, raising the stakes as the match went on, always finding new moves and counters and cut-offs (Omega using a raised knee to stop an Oscutter attempt was brilliant in its simplicity, for example) to keep it engaging and not just feel like a "spotfest." (4/5)

Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki, and Sammy Guevara teamed up against Darby Allin, Sting, and Tetsuya Naito in the next match. This started off relatively strong and fun with good work between Guevara and Naito and then a good exchange between Allin and Suzuki, but then fell off the rails at one point and Sting looked particularly slow-moving and listless. The crowd was into it but had also just seen a very, very long match between Omega/Ospreay and this probably could've used more comedy and maybe some weaponry to keep the crowd engaged for its full 15-minute duration. I was a bit surprised that Darby didn't do more because he's fairly reliable for at least one crazy spot in every match he's in. Good on him for not risking permanent injury in what was a "filler" match between the two actual main events of the card. (2/5)

Main event time - Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. This match was hyped as a bout to determine who was The Best Wrestler In The World so not only were the stakes very high, but the hype and anticipation was through the roof. They get a "This Is Awesome" chant before they even lock-up, setting the bar even higher. I really liked the first third of this match as Danielson controlled and worked Okada's arm, trying to debilitate his foe and prevent him from using his Rainmaker finish. It was smart work. I'm not sure at what exact moment Danielson broke his arm, but the middle third of the match was noticeably a bit messy after Okada delivered an awesome Air Raid neckbreaker in the ring and then a tombstone piledriver on the ramp. I did not like Danielson "playing possum" by convulsing in the ring and the brief pause in the match as it felt cheap (and a bit heelish) in an otherwise ultra-competitive, no-frills, gritty battle. Things picked up in the final stretch but, by this point, Danielson's arm was clearly injured and he didn't have much energy in some of his offense (though at least that made sense considering they'd gone 20+ minutes). The finish felt a touch lackluster despite Danielson's submission looking gnarly as the crowd didn't really react to it. Unfortunately, wrestling fans have grown very accustom to matches ending with someone hitting their big finishing move or applying their signature submission and, by eschewing that formula, the match didn't end with the fever pitch "moment" that it deserved. A great and gutsy performance by Danielson, but, like so much of his AEW run (which is, admittedly, all I've seen from Okada), I'm not sure this match made much of a case for Okada being even in the top 5 Best Wrestlers on the planet in 2023. (3.5/5)

Forbidden Door 2023 was a small improvement from the underwhelming Double or Nothing show from a month earlier, earning a Kwang Score of 2.89-out-of-5. Omega and Ospreay delivered an insant classic if you're into their particular brand of non-stop action, rapid sequences, and state-of-the-art high spots (if this isn't your cup of tea, look elsewhere). Danielson/Okada had great moments but was marred by a clunky "midsection" caused by Danielson legitimately breaking his arm during the contest. Some of the other matches fell short of expectations, including the opener (which exposed just how far Tanahashi had fallen from his glory years) and the Jericho Appreciation Society six-man, which went needlessly long. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

AEW Double or Nothing 2023

AEW Double or Nothing 2023

May 2023 - Las Vegas, Nevada

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, MJF was the AEW World Champion, the Women's World Champion was Jamie Hayter, FTR were the World Tag Team Champions, Wardlow was the TNT Champion, Jade Cargill was the TBS Champion, Orange Cassidy was the AEW International Champion, and the World Trios Champions were the House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Malakai Black).

The show began with a 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royal for Orange Cassidy's International Championship. The fact that it was for Cassidy's title and that he had been on a streak of successful (and highly entertaining) title defenses meant that it was fairly obvious he would likely be one of the last men standing, taking away a good bit of the suspense and intrigue of the match. Still, despite a predictable finish, we did get plenty of good moments here because there was simply too much talent involved for this not to work. Highlights included Brian Cage getting to showcase his incredible strength, a great exchange between Jay White and Penta, the furthering of the Swerve/Keith Lee feud, and Ricky Starks and Big Bill both getting to shine a bit towards the end. It was chaotic and hard-to-follow at times with so much going on, but the crowd was into the big moments. Like every other battle royal I've seen in AEW, the final minutes were better than anything that had come before it with Cassidy and Swerve being the last two standing. I didn't like how they ended up on the apron - why would an Orange Punch, striking Swerve in the jaw cause him to fall back and over the top rope? - but thought their minutes together were excellent otherwise. It almost seemed like a breakout moment for Swerve as, even in the loss, his offense, selling, bumping, and execution was fantastic. (3/5)

Adam Cole took on Chris Jericho in an Unsanctioned Match next. Sabu and Roderick Strong were in Cole's corner to even the sides against the Jericho Appreciation Society. Fun chaos to start before this becomes a 1-on-1 contest. I'm glad they opted to keep this "hardcore" with tables and weapons and didn't try to transition it into a wrestling contest as that would've made no sense considering what Jericho had done to Cole and his real-life girlfriend Britt Baker in the build-up to this match. Speaking of Baker, she eventually came in and absolutely wailed on Jericho with a kendo stick in what was probably the high point of the match. Cole eventually got the W with a series of Last Shot knees to the back of the head, including one with a steel chain wrapped around his leg, and the referee calling off the match as Cole rained down with punches directly to Jericho's eye. The finish would've worked much better had the match not been billed as an "Unsanctioned" match, which, historically, means that the only reason the referee is even in the ring is to count a pinfall. This match has an ultra-low Cagematch rating, but mostly because of the finish, Jericho losing a ton of fan respect over the past 5 years, and the match not living up to what were probably unrealistic expectations (Cole nor Jericho are especially known for the level of bloody violence that most people would think of if they heard "Unsanctioned AEW match"). I'm not a Cole myself but I thought he actually had a good performance here by not overloading it with "movez" and superkicks. (2.5/5)

FTR took on Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal (with Mark Briscoe serving as guest referee) in the next match. This was a fairly standard tag match that was more than a bit overbooked due to the involvement of Jarrett's own stable of misfits - his wife Karen, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh. Briscoe disappeared in plain sight during this match, basically calling it down the middle the whole time until he was accidentally struck by a guitar. I was surprised to read that Meltzer gave this 4 stars because, while FTR always bring the goods in terms of match layouts, timing, and execution, I'm not sure this one needed a 20-minute runtime and it was felt very much like a good "TV match" rather than a PPV-worthy contest. (2.5/5)

Wardlow vs. Christian in a Ladder match for the TNT Championship was up next. I'll give credit to Wardlow as he took some crazy bumps, crotching himself on a ladder, going through a pair of tables from a huge height onto the floor, and, at one point, leaping from the top rope onto a ladder (that then basically buckled under his weight). It was a super gutsy performance from a heavyweight who so clearly wanted to be loved by the fans but was in a tough position as the "smart audience" tends to get cold on monster babyfaces (at one point, you could hear part of the audience break into a "Let's Go Christian" chant). Speaking of Christian, he was his usual self here, but it wasn't a career performance. Christian is certainly not the risk-taker he was even 10-15 years ago, but he's still a super smart worker who knows how to build a match and raise the stakes from beginning to end, and this match was well-paced. I wasn't a huge fan of Arn Anderson's involvement (I completely forgot he was even involved in this feud), but at least he didn't make Luchasaurus look like a jabrone. (3/5)

Toni Storm challenged Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women's World Championship in the next match. It is remarkable how much the "Timeless" character not only saved Storm's career but the entire division because this was absolute dreck. Before the match, Hayter got attacked by Storm's stablemates in The Outcasts - Saraya and Ruby Soho - and then Storm targeted her injured arm even more. Britt Baker and Shida eventually came to even the sides, but not until Hayter had been spray-painted in the face and Soho had exposed one of the turnbuckles. The little bit of action between Hayter and Storm was good but it also made Saraya and Soho look especially weak and ineffective by having Hayter survive a 3-on-1 beatdown at all. The finish was very poorly executed as Hayter ran into the exposed turnbuckle seemingly on-purpose and without being whipped into it (if she was, the camera didn't catch it). It tlater came out that Hayter was suffering from legitimate injuries - which is why the match was booked the way it was - and I can understand TK not wanting to do yet another "Interim Championship" storyline following all the confusion and drama around CM Punk, but this was a sloppy, overbooked mess. (0.5/5)

The House of Black - Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews - held an Open Challenge for the AEW World Trios Championship next and it was accepted by The Acclaimed and "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn. This was fine, but felt like a TV match more than a PPV-worthy match. Anthony Bowens did the bulk of the in-ring work, which was unsurprising. The best minutes of the match were Brody King's as he is excellent at being the powerhouse bruiser that comes in and just destroys people. I liked the finish too - a simple but effective sequence that saw Gunn hit his Fame-asser but then eat a nasty Malakai Black spin kick leading to the fall. Good enough. (2.5/5)

Jade Cargill defended the TBS Championship against Taya Valkyrie in the next match. This had to be one of Cargill's longest and most back-and-forth Championship defenses up until this point, but the finish was never really in question. Some of Valkyrie's offense looked outstanding here and I'm legitimately curious why she hasn't been utilized more in AEW since this initial run. The issue here was that Cargill was still fairly green and the transitions weren't as smooth as what one would hope for a PPV championship match. I also thought the finish was noticeably bad as Valkyrie hit her finish - the same as Cargill's - got a 2.9 but then Cargill came back with the identical move and got a 3 count with adequate build or really any explanation beyond Cargill just delivering the move "better"? (1.5/5)

As much as I disliked the previous match, I kinda dug the impromptu Kris Statlander vs. Jade Cargill "match" - more like an angle - and how it was caused by Cargill's manager, "Smart" Mark Sterling issuing an immediate open challenge and Statlander making her AEW return to take her out in under 2 minutes. Really well-executed, crowd-pleasing moment that was something of a head-scratcher at the time, but made more sense once it became clearer that Cargill would be leaving the company for the WWE.

The AEW World Championship was on the line next in a four-way between AEW's "Four Pillars" - World Champion MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Jack Perry. Before the match, Guevara came out with Tay Conti and revealed - via his trademark poster boards - that he and Tay Conti were expecting their first child, which was nice. Anyway...this was exactly what I think most fans expecting it to be, a non-stop, action-packed, false-finish heavy battle that was arguably too "cutesy" at times, including when MJF essentially stopped the match altogether to try to have Guevara lay down for him for "the money he needs" as an expecting father. At close to 30 minutes, this match went long but never really felt like it was anybody's win aside from MJF's. Looking back, Guevara and Perry still feel as out-of-place challenging the AEW World Championship in 2025 as they did back then while Darby Allin sorta "nerfs" himself with a lame pre-match video built around Elvis Presley, not exactly an introduction that makes one think he's going to become the new World Champion. That being said, the sheer amount of crazy multi-man spots and sequences push this well into good-to-great territory (even if the 8.83 rating on Cagematch seems high to me). (3/5)

The second half of the night's double-header main event was next - an Anarchy In The Arena match between The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castignoli) and The Elite (The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and "Hangman" Adam Page). This isn't the type of match where guys like Danielson or Omega or even "Hangman" truly excel (at least in my opinion). You're not going to get much in terms of technical wrestling or extended selling or even intricate sequences; this was a wild brawl from beginning to end built around a handful of "moments" and lots of "filler" that didn't really leave much of an impression. Unlike the Stadium Stampede matches, which could be straight-up surreal at times due to the company's ability to film, edit, and stage segments in non-traditional settings, the Anarchy in the Arena concept has to exist within stricter parameters. While there was ample brawling and fighting outside of the main arena area/ring (including a cool spot where Claudio swung one of the Bucks in an airplane spin on the concrete floor of the concession area), this match was much less comedic/madcap/zany than some of the other editions over the years (Jericho not being involved is probably at least part of that). I liked the various callbacks to the multiple storylines and rivalries between everyone involved - from Moxley and Omega's use of barbwire picking up where their classic Unsanctioned Match left off to the Young Bucks busting out their trademark sequence-of-suplexes spot that they'd done across a football field years earlier. The MVP of the match may have been Claudio, though, as he was everywhere at once at times, making saves, airplane-spinning folks, playing the "base" for the Bucks' high-flying - it was the kind of performance that highlights how good Claudio is but also how much him being "the glue" of a match also sometimes leads to him being lost. The best moment - or at least most surprising - spot of the match was Mox getting superkicked by an exploding sneaker, which also felt like a not-so-subtle allusion to Mox's (somewhat notorious) history with explosives. All in all, a fun match and a crowd-pleaser, but not my favorite of the genre. (3.5/5)

With a comparatively low Kwang Score of just 2.44-out-of-5 (tying it with All Out 2020 as the lowest scoring PPV produced by AEW that I've reviewed), Double or Nothing 2023 was an uncharacteristic miss from Tony Khan. The fourway for the AEW World Championship was designed to spotlight AEW's future stars but the outcome was never in question. The other half of the main event was a somewhat forgettable installment in the Anarchy in the Arena series, a gimmick that allowed AEW to get creative and surreal during the Pandemic Era but yielded less consistently interesting results in the years that followed, with this edition being specifically a bit zestless. Cargill/Valkyrie and Storm/Hayter were outright poor and at least two of the other matches felt like they would've fit more on an episode of Dynamite (the Trios Championship bout and the FTR/Lethal and Jarrett contest). It is rare when an AEW show doesn't offer at least one match that could make a Top 10 Match of the Year list, but this show featured nothing that would even deserve an Honorable Mention.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

TNA No Surrender 2011

TNA No Surrender 2011

Orlando, FL - September 2011

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion was Kurt Angle, Brian Kendrick was the X-Division Champion, Mexican America were the TNA World Tag Team Champions, Mickie James was the Knockouts Champion, Eric Young held the Television Championship (but did not appear on the show), and the team of Tara and Miss Tessmacher were the Knockouts Tag Team Champions. 

The show begins with a moment of silence to recognize the 10-year anniversary of the September 11th attack. Its a heavy scene with Zelina Vega, whose father was killed in the attack, holding up the US flag. We then get a video package hyping the main event and the finals of the BFG series (and the video is silent for some reason).

Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen was the opening contest, a bout to determine the number one contender for Brian Kendrick's X-Division Championship. Sorensen was another Dudley Boys trainee who came into TNA without much experience. Kash's is terrific in this; his kicks are stiff, he hits a nasty release suplex at one point (and then another towards the end), and he sells big for Sorensen's often-awkward offense. Sorensen isn't the worst worker ever, but he wasn't PPV ready. Kash hits a moonsault but either he was out of position or Sorensen was. Sorensen hits his finish (and nearly breaks Kash's neck in the process) because he was the rising star, but he wasn't at all ready to be put into that position after a showing like this where he or his opponent could have been injured. (2/5)

Backstage, Angle complains to Hogan about only how quickly tonight's main event was put together. 

James Storm vs. Bully Ray was up next, with the added stipulation that Storm could only win the match by submission. Bully gets a ton of heat playing the chickenshit early, practically running away from Storm and yelling at the ref. The crowd chants "Pussy Ray" until Ray finally lands a cheap shot and the match truly begins. Storm catches him with a hip toss and applies an armbreaker, showing off his new submission skills (Tenay notes he's been training in that area recently to expand his arsenal). Storm continues to work on Bully's arm and reapplies the hold but Bully again kicks out of it and rolls to the outside. Storm follows him out this time and hits him with some haymakers and then slams his injured arm into the steps. Bully, selling limb damage the whole time, takes a swig of beer, grabs a chair, and when the ref takes the chair from him, spits the beer in Storm's eyes to blind him. Bully lays into him with some overhand, open-hand chops to the chest and calls for the Bubba Bomb, but Storm catches him a third time with the cross armbreaker. Bully gets his foot under the bottom rope to break it up so Storm applies a Sharpshooter but Bully crawls his way to the ropes. Storm hits him with some more kicks to the arm and then applies a Fujiwara armbar. Bully counters it into a pin attempt and Storm releases it. At this point, this has to be the best non-stipulation singles match of Bully's career. The finish protects Storm as he loses by DQ after inadvertently spitting beer in the ref's face but he does make Bully submit to the cross armbreaker. After the match, Bully calls Christy Hemme a bitch and proclaims himself the next TNA World Champion to an audible negative response. Good stuff all around. (3/5)

Before the next match, we get a video package reviewing the feud between Winter and TNA Knockouts Champion, Mickie James. Winter was aligned with Angelina Love and it is suggested that she has her under some sort of "spell." The previous Winter/Love match I watched was pretty bad so I had low expectations for this. Right from the jump we get an ugly dropkick from James when Winter tries to get the upperhand before the bell. To the outside they go, where James whips Winter into the steps and then slams her into the rail. Back in the ring, Winter takes over for a bit before James delivers her signature head scissors out of the corner. Love trips her up from the outside and Winter connects with a snap suplex for 2. Winter's heat segment features an old school backbreaker and then a swinging backbreaker ala Sheamus, but she can't keep James down, who comes back with a jacknife pin counter and then a neckbreaker. A forearm exchange leads to James rallying with clotheslines and a big back heel kick for 2. James applies a single leg crab but Winter reaches the ropes with relative ease.Love slips her the title belt, there's a tug of war with Hebner and James looks like she'll get the win with a roll-up but Winter kicks out. Winter runs her into the corner, James fights back and goes for the tornado DDT but Love pulls her out of the ring. James comes off the apron onto Winter and then chases Love up the ramp as Hebner begins to count her out. After Winter distracts Hebner, Winter inadvertently spits blood into the eyes of Love, who is holding James by the ropes. Again, Hebner gets distracted, allowing Winter to spit blood into James' eyes behind his back and get the sneaky pinfall. Uh...didn't the last match feature multiple spit spots leading to the finish? This wasn't too bad, but the weak finish didn't help it any. (2/5)

Brother Devon and "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero took on Mexican America's Hernandez and Anarquia, who were the reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions. This didn't start off too hot, but picked up considerably as it went on. Hernandez was especially good here. I could've done without the played-out misogyny spots (Dinero forcing a kiss on Rosita, holding her up by her hair off the apron, spanking her towards the end), but I can't deny that the crowd ate it up and that her and Sarita got big reactions for their involvement. This was paint-by-numbers but it was effective. The finish was pulled straight from the classic Warrior/Rude match at WrestleMania V, one of my all-time favorites. (2.5/5)

Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan was the next match. With Samoa Joe being built up as a backstage bully over the previous few weeks, I figured he would get a somewhat dominant win over Matt Morgan to get the character over but...no. Instead, we get a back-and-forth match that was at least 3-4 minutes too long with Joe looking sluggish and gassed at times and Morgan trying to bring the energy but not showing all that much growth from years of work. I've seen better Matt Morgan matches than this and I've sure as hell seen at least a dozen better Samoa Joe matches than this. A disappointment. (1/5)

Gunner vs. Bobby Roode in the other semi-finals of the Bound for Glory series was next. Before the match, James Storm gave Roode a spirited pep talk and Jeremy Borash reminded him that in order to advance to the finals, he would need to win by submission. Gunner and Roode got a fair bit of time (12 minutes that felt more like 18) and the crowd was fully behind Roode, but there's only so much one could do against a guy like Gunner who was serviceable at best here and didn't get all that much better in the years that followed based on what I saw out of him. Roode is also someone that, at multiple times in TNA and then in NXT, seemed like he could break out and be a bigger deal, but as technically sound as he was, he was never a super worker who could elevate his opponent to a great match. After the match, Bischoff comes out and announces that Roode will face Bully Ray later on in the show. (2/5)

After a promo backstage, Austin Aries challenged Brian Kendrick for the TNA X-Division Championship. This was solid, but they definitely lost the crowd a bit in the middle when they slowed things down and did more mat-based stuff. Aries was on the rise in TNA and Kendrick, dubbed "The Wizard of Odd" by Bischoff, was basically back to being a comedy wrestler by this point as his more serious, "spiritual" gimmick had fizzled out. The best match on the show up to this point in terms of in-ring action but that's not exactly saying much. (3/5)

The finals of the Bound for Glory tournament was next with Bully Ray taking on Bobby Roode in the second match of both guys' evenings. This started off with lots of shtick from Bully Ray, which got him a ton of heat and really got the crowd behind Roode. Unfortunately, the brief runtime - well under 15 minutes - really undercut the "moment" and prevented this from feeling like a true tournament final. The fact that Ray and Roode had probably worked with each other many times over the years in tag matches was apparent in their timing and the fluidity of the match, but the finish seemed a bit sudden to me and I would've liked to have seen Ray get a bit more of a "comeuppance" en route to the feel-good ending. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Sting and Mr. Anderson challenging Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Sting was in his "Joker" form at this point, Angle was aligned with Hogan and Bischoff's Immortal stable, and Anderson was a former champion and former member of Immortal. With all this going on and all three of these guys being pretty hit-or-miss during their TNA runs, I was not expecting to enjoy this match as much as I was. They wisely leaned far away from any of the storyline building to this match and opted instead to just put on a match that made sense and was built around all three guys' more well-known personas, motivations, and styles. Angle does nothing particularly heelish. Sting does Sting stuff. Anderson is the wildcard but he's also game for being on the receiving end of all of Angle's suplexes and eager to sell the hell out of the Scorpion Deathlock and the Death Drop. This match could never be mistaken for the kind of multi-mans we get from AEW and WWE today, often built around intricate sequences and rapid-fire high spots. But this is never slow and doesn't suffer from any convolution. Unfortunately, the screwy finish ruins an otherwise a perfectly good main event and, due to the star power and the strong performances of all three men, arguably the Match of the Night. One of the better Sting matches I've seen from his TNA run and maybe even one of the better Angle and Anderson bouts from their time there too. (3/5)

With a Kwang Rating of 2.33-out-of-5, No Surrender 2011 is another not-so-hot TNA PPV with very little to recommend but at least three solid bouts in the main event, a surprisingly good Storm/Bully Ray match, and a decent X-Division Championship match. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver 

Random Matches

Aja Kong vs. Chaparita Asari (12/11/1995, WWE): This was, according to the WWE Vault, Aja Kong's only singles match in the WWE. I've never heard of Asari, but she's super impressive here with backsprings and impressive flying. Kong shuts her down quickly, though, punishing her with snap mares and stiff kicks to the back (and front). Kong hits her with a big vertical suplex but pulls her up before she can get the 3 and then delivers a spinning package piledriver! She covers her but pulls her up once more to deliver more punishment. Kong nails her with another stiff kick to the chest, a splash, and then decides not to take the win a third time. The crowd absolutely hates this. Kong lets Asari strike off but waves off her dropkick and then does a little mocking dance. Asari slaps her a bunch but Kong feels none of it and nails her with a bodyslam. She goes for a splash but misses it. Asari misses a ridiculous corkscrew splash! Kong brings her to her feet and hits the Uraken to get the win. The match went less than 5 minutes but it was a fun squash. (3/5)

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Akira Taue (04/16/1990, AJPW): This is a "fan cam" match and a relatively brief one considering the participants. Taue attacks before the bell and hits a dropkick. They go to the floor and Taue whips Tenryu into the rail before rolling him back into the ring. Taue hits a vertical suplex for 1. Taue with a release bodyslam and then an elbow drop, but Tenryu rolls out of the way. Tenryu tries for a heel kick but Taue catches him in a single leg crab. Tenryu gets to the rope but Taue never really releases the hold, turning it into a "legbar." Taue gets back to his feet and stomps on Tenryu, targeting his knee. Tenryu manages to get back to his feet to hit an enziguiri and then hits Taue with some boots to the face and a stiff kick to the back. Tenryu with a stomp to the head and then a big chop. He whips Taue into the ropes and hits him with a lariat for 2. A strike exchange ensues with Tenryu getting the better of it and dropping an elbow for 2. Tenryu with a body slam and then a falling elbow from the top for another nearfall. The fight goes to the floor and Taue gets whipped into the rail. Tenryu rolls back into the ring and allows Taue to re-enter. Tenryu applies an abdominal stretch, slowing the match down considerably after a pretty hot opening stretch. Tenryu with a back body drop and another kick to the back. He drops an elbow for another nearfall and Taue looks totally spent. Tenryu goes for a suplex but Taue lands on him for 2. Taue hits a not-so-hot chokeslam off the ropes for 2 and then a bodyslam and an elbow from the top for another 2. Taue goes back up to the top rope but Tenryu press slams off of it. Tenryu with some chops against the ropes, wailing on him. He runs into a big boot, though, and Taue lands a nasty lariat! Taue gets him up for a fireman's carry drop for another 2 count. Tenryu reverses an irish whip and hits a forearm off the ropes. He goes for a powerbomb but settles for an enziguiri! Powerbomb by Tenryu to end it! This is what one would call a "sprint" because it is pretty much non-stop action, something I wasn't necessarily expecting out of these two. Good stuff. (3/5)

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ricochet (11/16/2017, WSW): Some good mat wrestling to start this match, as expected, with Sabre and Rico trading submissions and jockeying for position. Ricochet being able to go hold-for-hold with Sabre was a bit surprising considering he's known for more his high-flying. Sabre caught him with a pair of uppercuts to raise the temperature of the match but Rico came back with one of his own before Sabre took him back to the mat with a headlock. Ricochet kipped up from a headbutt to the stomach and a snap mare and delivered an impressive head scissors and dropkick, showcasing his incredible agility and forcing Sabre to take a powder. Ricochet caught him coming back into the ring with some boots and an elbow to the back of the head. After some uppercuts in the corner, Ricochet caught him in a nifty submission and then a spinning drop onto his shoulder. Ricochet continued to target the back of the shoulder but couldn't get more than a 2. They exchanged some strikes and Sabre was able to regain the advantage when he grabbed hold of Ricochet's leg off of an attempted leapfrog. Sabre applied a submission and got a 2 count before going for some joint manipulation. Stomp on the hyperextended elbow! Love that spot. Sabre went after Ricochet's hand in the corner but let him up to his feet. Ricochet caught him with an uppercut but Sabre grabbed hold of his leg and then cranked on his arm once again with his legs. Sabre applied a wristlock but Ricochet fought out with slaps to the face and eventually a series of uppercuts. Ricochet went for a handspring off the ropes but Sabre caught him with a dropkick to the head. That was cool. Ricochet rallied, though, hitting a springboard back elbow, a rolling front dropkick, and then a running standing moonsault. Junior cut him off with a tarantula, though, and got 2 from a roll-up. After a pin sequence, Sabre applied a series of nasty stretches but Ricochet made it to the ropes. Sabre mocked Ricochet with a few light brushes of his boot but then got absolutely destroyed by a Ricochet chop and then another. Sabre went for an ankleock and a release German Suplex but Ricochet flipped out of it. Nasty kick by Sabre but Ricochet sprung up once again and landed a huge clothesline! Both guys sold the exhaustion on the mat and ended up in opposite corners. Another brilliant sequence ensued with neither guy able to lock in anything for long or land a death blow. Sabre was in trouble, on his knees, and got hit by some kicks but managed to get a sneaky pin attempt in. Ricochet hit a weird-looking release fireman's carry-into-a-heel kick thing-a-maroo for 2. Ricochet went to the top for a shooting star press but landed in a Triangle Choke! Ricochet got to his feet and powerbombed his way out of it. He grazed him with a reverse heel stomp and then hit a reverse Rock Bottom-type move and the shooting star press for 3! A very good match, but not necessarily "must see." As much as I like Ricochet and am amazed by his high-flying and smooth in-ring ability, his matches suffer a little bit from being "spot heavy" to the point that the psychology tends to fall apart by the end. Sabre Jr. has become one of my favorites to watch, though, and he's great in this. (3.5/5)

Akira Hokuto vs. Suzuka Minami (04/29/1991, AJW): This is for the All-Pacific Title held by Minami. This is a rough, physical contest with everything worked snug. I dug Minami targeting Hokuto's ankle early on with an elbow drop and then a series of painful-looking submissions. Its terrific stuff for stretch where it lasts and Hokuto is actually selling the damage, but, unfortunately, after a powder on the outside, we don't get a real transition and Hokuto immediately applies a Sharpshooter with seemingly no struggle. She follows it up with a series of beautiful dropkicks and a bridging suplex, pausing only briefly to show any lingering damage to her ankle. Minami applies a surfboard and Hokuto goes back to selling, making the disjointed storytelling even more obvious to me. As much as I love the execution and the selling, the "my turn/your turn" shifts are hard to ignore. Minami hits two awesome knees off the top, the kind of move that somebody should really steal for their finish, but Hokuto hits a German suplex and a scoop slam. She goes for a splash off the top but misses and Minami delivers a powerbomb and then another. Damn. Those had to hurt. Minami gets a 2 count with a fisherman's suplex and then another with a straightjacket suplex that dumps Hokuto on her head. She goes for another powerbomb by Hokuto counters it into a pin attempt and then hits a double-underhook DDT. For 91', this is about as "movesy" as it gets. Hokuto goes to the corner but Minami meets her up there and brings her down with a double-underhook suplex for 2. Minami goes for a splash, misses, and gets German suplexed for 2. Hokuto goes for another scoop slam but gets pinned for 2. After a series of reversals and counters, Hokuto hits a front-flip splash to the outside! Hokuto rolls back into the ring as Minami needs help to get back to her feet. Hokuto goes back to the top and hits a ridiculous front dropkick right to Minami's face! Holy cow. She delivers another! She goes up for a third and connects! She goes back up and hits a front-flip splash and then a cradle driver for the definitive victory. This was an imperfect match and the longterm selling was really lacking, but the finishing sequence was really strong and the overall action was brilliant at times. (3.5/5)

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (06/08/1998, AJPW): This match picks up with the Bammer already in control and Kawada reeling. For a guy known for his incredible toughness, Kawada sells a hell of a beating. He fights his way out of a headlock and nails Bigelow with an enziguiri and then a dropkick and a baseball slide that sends him to the floor. Kawada goes for a crossbody but Bigelow catches him and pulverizes him into the floor with a falling slam. There's no way that didn't hurt a little. Kawada comes back in and the Bammer targets his lower back, delivering a vertical suplex for 2 and then a few more headbutts to the lower spine. Kawada rolls to the floor to recover but then gets knees to the back once he re-enters the ring. Kawada tries some strikes but gets cut off and Bigelow hits yet another falling headbutt to the back and then one to the front for another nearfall. The repetitiveness of Bigelow's attack gets a bit stale, but I get the psychology and it does make Kawada's hope spots and comeback feel well-earned. Kawada is able to use his speed to get some offense going but gets snap suplexed when he tries to lift the Bammer. Bam Bam misses a headbutt and Kawada catches him in an inside cradle for 2 and then delivers an enziguiri. He tries for a crossbody, gets slammed, and then gets smushed with a splash off the ropes to end things. I was surprised by the ending as I assumed Kawada would be protected a bit more in the loss. Acceptable match, but too brief to be considered great. (2.5/5)

Tully Blanchard vs. Brad Armstrong (05/09/1987, NWA): The NWA Television Championship, held by Blanchard, was on the line in this match. Armstrong is in tremendous shape and shows great fire during the "shine" segment, running Tully to the floor with a dropkick. Back in the ring, Armstrong maintains control, whipping Tully over the top rope in the corner. They lock back up, Armstrong applies a headlock, hits some big right hands (I love Tully's staggered selling) and a snap mare, gets a 2 count, and then grabs an armbar. Tully gets a boot on the rope to break things off. Armstrong applies a leglock and goes after Tully's knee with an elbow drop. Tully applies a chinlock and rakes Armstrong's eyes, but the challenger will not let go of the hold. Tully manages to turn it into a crucifix pin/body scissors but Armstrong fights out of it and reapplies the leglock. Tully fights out with right hands and Armstrong drives his knee into the back of Tully's thigh and then does it again, refusing to allow Tully to escape to the outside. Another elbow to the inside of the leg by Armstrong before he reapplies the leglock. Tully pulls on Armstrong's hair and right arm but Armstrong won't release the hold. Tully manages to escape and nearly gets a cheap roll-up pin with the tights in his hands but Armstrong kicks out and retakes control. Armstrong drops an elbow and hits a dropkick but Blanchard gets his foot on the rope. Tully comes back with some strikes but misses a knee in the corner. Armstrong goes for the cover but Tully gets the foot on the rope again. Armstrong goes back to the leg and Tully is in agony. I'm not a fan of the repetitive nature here, though they work the hold very well. Blanchard makes it out of the ring but Armstrong follows him out and hits him with an atomic drop. Blanchard rolls back in and Armstrong catches him with a crossbody for 2! Armstrong whips him into the ropes and Blanchard clocks him in the chest with a kick. Tully hits some rights and lefts in the corner. Armstrong retaliates with his own. Blanchard whips him out of the ring by his tights, sending him to the floor. Armstrong goes for the sunset flip pin, but Blanchard sits down on his shoulders and (with help from JJ Dillon) gets the 3 count! This was a weird match that eschewed the classic "shine/heat/double-down/comeback" story as it was pretty much all babyface shine for Armstrong with Tully eventually finding a way to cheat to retain his championship. I didn't necessarily love the layout because, well, as much fire as Armstrong showed in the early going, things got "samey" as he continuously went back to the knee work. (2/5)

Will Ospreay vs. Pete Dunne (09/28/2017, TNT Extreme Wrestling): Fun match between two rising stars in the UK/International wrestling scene with Ospreay a few years away from being heralded as one of the best wrestlers on the planet and while Dunne held the WWE United Kingdom Championship, was a top prospect for the company, and had not yet been relegated to being a fixture on the barely-watched Main Event show as a tag worker and working as an agent/producer. This starts off with a good amount of comedy - arguably too much - built around Will Ospreay's cat ears headband. I'm not sure if that was a regular part of his character/gear or if he just wore it here to add something silly to the match, but the crowd was very into it and it gave Dunne lots to play off of. Once the match gets more serious, we get both guys' greatest hits as Dunne lives up to his Bruiserweight persona with joint manipulation and stiff strikes and Ospreay delivers the good in terms of high-flying. It's a very good match, but not a great one, partially due to a ring that seems to be considerably smaller than what either guy is used to and partially because of how much it feels like an exhibition at times, a showcase match featuring some incredibly intricate sequences rather than an actual fight. (3/5)

 

Aja Kong and Bison Kimura vs. Manami Toyota and Esther Moreno (04/29/1991, AJW): This was excellent. "Jungle Jack" (Kong and Kimura) are a great, dominant heel team while Toyota and Moreno were awesome underdog, high-flying babyfaces. This match took a fairly traditional structure - the entire first fall could be considered the "babyface shine" even if it's not like the heels are outclassed the entire time - and made it feel fresh and exciting because of the pacing and ramping-up of suspense. It's a 2-out-of-3 falls match for Kong and Kimura's Tag Team Championships and has a great "big fight feel." There's so much to love here and so little to criticize. I've never seen Esther Moreno work before (at least as far as I recall), but her offense, bumping, and eventual "color" all made me an instant fan. Loved her and Toyota's tandem offense and dives. Loved Aja Kong having to take to the top rope towards the end of the match because, by that point, they'd thrown everything they could against each other. The suplexes and head drops were nasty, which is par for the course. Loved Bison Kimura locking up Toyota in a submission, Toyota managing to use her core strength to get upright only for Kong to flatten her back onto Kimura's knees (a spot that I've seen plenty of times since but really seems ahead-of-its-time for 91'). This is a match where you don't have to be super knowledgeable about any of the competitors or back story to thoroughly understand and enjoy. I can't think of anything I would change. This is a rare perfect match. (5/5)

Bobby Eaton vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (12/16/1996, WCW): I was hoping for a hidden gem here as I'm a big fan of both guys, but it's clear that they lacked chemistry and that Eaton didn't really know Mysterio's style and signature spots super well. There's a clunky bit on their way back into the ring after some good work on the outside and it never really clicks from that point on. Even the way Eaton takes the hurricanrana is "off" because he flips to the side rather than straight onto his back. (1.5/5)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (04/06/1991, AJPW): I'm not sure why Kawada isn't as heralded as Misawa or Kobashi because, in matches like this, he brings so much energy and toughness and his selling is so good that I find myself convinced he is the more enjoyable worker to watch (at least to me). When Kawada is on offense or firing up, this match is great. When Jumbo is in control, it's a little lesser, though the psychology makes sense because he's the heel and his job is to cut off and cut down the challenger at every turn. The match gets better and better as it goes, with the second half and finishing sequence being especially awesome thanks to Tsuruta, realizing he is being tested by the younger, hungrier Kawada, deciding to go all-out with the most vicious lariats and powerbombs he can muster. The absolutely insane commentary and red-hot crowd adds another half-point to this. Borderline "must see." (3.5/5)

Akira Hokuto and Sakie Hasegawa vs. Bull Nakano and Bat Yoshinaga (05/26/1991, AJW): Another awesome match, but who would be surprised considering it involves Hokuto and Nakano? I loved the way this started with Nakano getting the quick pin on Hasegawa after a devastating powerbomb and then Hokuto evening the score by pinning Yoshinaga a few minutes later. This basically turned the match - which was 2-out-of-3 falls - into a single pinfall match, basically negating the stipulation entirely and just letting these two teams do battle. I also liked how having Hokuto and Nakano get quick, rather decisive pins really made it clear who the bosses of the respective teams were. Lots of cool highlights - Nakano's powerbombs and suplexes are nasty, Hokuto's front-flip splash off the top was awesome, Hasegawa's crossbody to the floor was cool...yeah, this is just great stuff. I could see the argument that the amount of head drops and the reckless-looking splashes would be considered unsafe and even poorly executed by today's standards, but I was plenty entertained from beginning to end. I'm not sure what the post-match "4th fall" was all about because I don't speak Japanese, but whatever it was, it came across to me - an admittedly ignorant viewer who doesn't know the full context of this match - that Hasegawa was almost a danger to herself with how much punishment she was willing to take to prove herself (which makes the post-match moment between her Nakano and Bat even cooler because they do end up showing her respect). As others have written, I'm not sure this falls into "must see"/"classic" territory, but its a match that is very easy to enjoy even if you don't know much about the competitors. (3.5/5)

Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (01/30/2016, Limitless Wrestling): Reading about some of the other Hero/Sabre Jr. matches from over the years, I wasn't necessarily surprised to read that this is considered one of their "lesser" bouts. It's not that any of this is bad or even slow or non-impactful - there are great strikes to be found, I love Sabre's submission-based offense and selling, I think they do a nice job of highlighting Hero's size advantage and the differences in style - but it took awhile for things to get to that "next level" and when you wanted the match to go even beyond that "second gear," it didn't get there. I'm not sure if it was the rundown setting (it looks to be an Elks Lodge that seats under 200) or Hero not being in the best shape, but there was something "off" or flat about this match. I think a hotter crowd and better commentary would've helped the presentation of this somewhat underwhelming match. (2.5/5)

Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (08/10/1991, NJPW): This isn't a great match in a traditional sense - it's a great match in terms of telling a story without making it too cute or trying to expand it beyond what it should be. Choshu comes out swinging, attacking Hashimoto right at the sound of the bell and overwhelming him at first. And then things turn and Hashimoto just levels him with kick after kick and his patented DDT. The referee is constantly checking on Choshu, who barely musters any sort of defense in this very brief encounter. Eventually, someone in Choshu's corner throws in the towel but Choshu defiantly throws it back - only to get rocked once more and beaten cleanly. This feels more like an "angle" than a match, but its a great angle. (3/5)

Tully Blanchard vs. Barry Windham (08/22/1987, NWA): This was "clipped" due to commercial breaks, but I'm not sure having the full 25-minute match would've made me enjoy it any more. It's not a bad match, but feels a bit like a "filler" match that was aired just because it was a title match between two stars who were so familiar with each other that this almost felt like they were going through the motions. That's not to say the work is bad, it's just not particularly memorable. (2/5)

Devil Masami vs. Mayumi Ozaki (06/16/1991, AJW): Masami is probably going to end up somewhere on my Greatest Wrestler Ever list despite maybe not having the same "hype" as Aja Kong or Bull Nakano or Manami Toyota or whoever. Anyway, they have a match in 1992 that has some high acclaim and I look forward to seeing it. This is a "fan cam" recording I found on YouTube. Its a short match with a runtime under 15 minutes but it's a fun one and Masami's powerbomb is a deadly thing of beauty. I'm not surprised this one isn't on Cagematch and hasn't been reviewed on ProWrestlingOnly  (2.5/5)