Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (04/18/1989, AJPW): This match was for "all the marbles" that would become known as the AJPW Triple Crown - Tsuruta's NWA International Championship vs. Hansen's United National Championship and PWF World Championship in a winner-takes-all contest. Hansen controls most of the first 5 minutes, driving elbows into Jumbo's chest and wrenching on his neck. Jumbo strikes back with a pair of two-hand chops that sound brilliant and hits his patented knee off the ropes for 2. Hansen uses a mule kick to regain control but misses a clothesline in the corner and ends up toppling over and onto the floor. Great bump for a super heavyweight. Jumbo follows him outside, stomping him, clubbing him, elbowing him, and slamming him for 1.5 once he's back in the ring. After Tsuruta tries wearing him down with an abdominal stretch, Hansen rolls out of the ring and basically takes off, a cowardly move that draws a ton of jeers from the crowd but doesn't make a lick of sense in a title unification match. Jumbo brings him back towards the ring, sends him into the post, and then rolls him back into the ring. Tsuruta misses a running knee in the corner and Hansen hits a back suplex for 2 a few minutes later. Hansen hits him with a pair of knees to the back of the neck for another 2 count and then a third right to the forehead that sends Tsuruta out of the ring and to the floor. This gives Jumbo the opportunity to slice himself as Hansen goes to the outside and goes after him, hitting him with a chair. Hansen brings him back in with a suplex and goes for a cover, Tsuruta a bloody mess by this point. He goes for a piledriver but falls back more than he spikes him before hitting him with another knee to the head for 2. Hansen boots him in the face and hits him with a back elbow off the ropes. After a fist drop, Hansen gets another 2 count. Hansen hits Jumbo with his own finish and then an elbow drop for a third nearfall and Hansen is pissed! Hansen calls for the lariat, Jumbo dodges it, and Hansen runs into the ropes and falls back. Tsuruta covers him and we have a winner. Hansen keeps his heat by continuing to attack Jumbo after the match and walloping one of his seconds with a lariat before going into the crowd, still fired up. I get that this match has considerable historical significance, but this did not do much for me as a viewer and the finish was pretty weak. There's enough stiff brawling and Hansen goodness to keep it interesting and the crowd and atmosphere help this, but I wouldn't put this on a list of recommended matches. (2.5/5)
Mercedes Mone/Julia Hart/Skye Blue/Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir/Thekla vs. Toni Storm/Mina Shirakawa/Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter/Harley Cameron (11/12/25, AEW): This was the first ever Women's Blood-and-Guts match, aired live as the kick-off match on a special expanded edition of Dynamite. The match had its ups-and-downs with some of the spots and sequences looking downright bad and awkward and overly convoluted. While it is undeniable that AEW's Women's Division has improved significantly since the company's inception in 2019, there are still depth issues at play and not everyone has the greatest chemistry. There were noticeabl moments of telegraphing and cooperation that are particularly striking and out-of-place in the context of a "War Games." Once again, Shirakawa was given something of a "spotlight" moment, coming in to even the sides after Mercedes Mone and the heels had the advantage, and you could practically hear people chewing popcorn in indifference. On the positive side, for every not-very-good-looking spot there were ones that worked. Skye Blue bleeding a gusher to start the match - it was gnarly - set the tone for the whole evening. I loved Marina Shafir coming in and being the most ruthless woman in the match, shoving Statlander onto a bed of nails (which probably should've been saved for closer to the actual end of the match in order to be sold properly) and stomping on Shirakawa with a glass-covered foot. I really liked the work of the Triangle of Madness, especially the clever way they escaped the cage, and really hope they continue to be spotlighted. The finish was terrific in that it spotlighted the AEW Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament, adding another layer to what I assume will be the eventual finals between Timeless Toni and Shirakawa vs. the Sisters of Sin (while still adding a personal issue for Toni and Mina's match against Shafir and Bayne). Speaking of Bayne, her presentation and power moves were great and though I haven't seen too much of her work since her showcase PPV match against Storm earlier this year, I'm a fan based on what I have seen. This was too messy to be considered "great," but it was mostly entertaining and lived up to the Blood-and-Guts name with the amount of violence and bloodshed they delivered. (3/5)
Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castignoli/PAC/Daniel Garcia vs. Darby Allin/Mark Briscoe/Roderick Strong/Kyle O'Reilly/Orange Cassidy (11/12/25, AEW): The second Bloods-and-Guts match of the evening featured great performances out of Mox, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, and Kyle O'Reilly, but suffered a bit from sections where nothing really happened aside from the usual brawling. If the Women's match shot for the moon and failed at times, this one settled into a peaks-and-valleys rhythm that worked nicely with the commercial breaks but also made some of the fighting a bit tedious at times. Giving the babyfaces the advantage was a bit awkward, though seeing Wheeler Yuta take so much deserved punishment made it work. They wisely had Mark Briscoe attacked before he could make his entrance, negating the advantage, but it still didn't make much sense why he'd have been alone in the locker room mere minutes before he was set to enter the match, seemingly isolated from his partners. Whatever. Highlights included some rather nasty fork-work by Mox on O'Reilly, Cassidy getting his hands stapled into his pockets, Yuta and Briscoe swinging chairs on top of the cage and eventually going through a table together, Darby Allin's trusty thumbtack-backed skateboard, and a big fire finish that saw the re-emergence of Gabe Kidd as the Death Rider's mercenary. On the negative side, after a year of seeing Moxley and the Death Riders survive all sorts of matches and cheat their way to victories, I wasn't super happy with the finish, which saw O'Reilly force Mox to tap when he applied an ankle lock in the middle of the glass shard-covered mat. I fully get that Mox being a quitter as soon as he's left to fend for himself is "the gimmick," but they've swung the pendulum so far the other way from his days of being the ultra tough bad-ass that its now become almost equally predictable. (3.5/5)
Bull Nakano/Aja Kong/Bison Kimura vs. Manami Toyota/Madusa/Suzuka Minami (07/??/1990, AJW): I couldn't find much about this match as it is not listed on Cagematch. It's a 2-out-of-3 falls match with the team of "Jungle Jack" (Kimura and Kong) partnering with Bull Nakano to take on a babyface trio featuring Madusa Micelli. Nakano gets the first pinfall rather quickly with her leg drop from the top. Kong wasn't quite the monster she would become in the coming years, but she was still plenty physical here and there is some fun in seeing her and Toyota go at it a few years before their classic bout in November 94' (which I gave a full 5 stars in my review). Nothing super special about this match, but not a bad outing at all. (2.5/5)
GUNTHER (WALTER) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Travis Banks (05/28/2018, Defiant Wrestling): This was a few years before WALTER (aka GUNTHER) would begin working for the WWE and lean down considerably, but he already had plenty of aura at this point. I've become a big Zack Sabre Jr. fan over the years, but I was a bit underwhelmed by this match as I expected much more joint manipulation out of him rather than him and Banks really giving most of the match to WALTER and his nasty chops. It is kind of a simple match in set-up and execution, but there were some memorable moments beyond WALTER felling his opponents repeatedly with his strikes such as a brilliant moment when WALTER is about to hit a powerbomb on Banks but Sabre ends up on top of him and the monster has to toss him aside too. Smartly worked but lacking in that extra bit of cleverness that I was expecting from Sabre Jr., who you can usually count on to give you something you weren't expecting. This hit the notes that it was supposed to hit, but nothing higher. (3.5/5)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (09/12/1987, AJPW): The final match between these two legends and it felt like it. It is a competitive match with Bockwinkel in control early on and trying to take out Tsuruta's knees but Jumbo is just too tough to stay down for long. I liked their 82' match considerably better, but Bockwinkel was 5 years younger at the time. Jumbo winning with a crossbody off the ropes felt a little lackluster to me. After the match, Bockwinkel waves goodbye to the fans and shakes Jumbo's hand which is a nice send-off, but this was an inessential and forgettable match aside from its historic significance. (2/5)
Bobby Eaton vs. Tracy Smothers (11/11/1990, WCW): I watched this 10-minute match just because I like both guys and I like early 90's WCW. Nothing special here, just solid 'rassling from an episode of Main Event. This was part of an on-going feud that Eaton (backed up by the Freebirds) had going on against El Gigante, Smothers, and the Rock n' Rich Express (Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich). Putting Gigante in the ring with some of the most reliable and over midcard talent in the company was their way of trying to get something out of the guy and there really were fewer smoother workers than Eaton. Still, this is nothing special and certainly not worth seeking out unless you're - like me - someone who enjoys just seeing a good back-and-forth match between two guys that could work a match like this in their sleep. (2/5)
Akira Hokuto and Suzuka Minami vs. Manami Toyota and Kyoko Inoue (11/14/1990, AJW): This is one of those matches that I'm just way higher on than most people (it has a little under a 7 rating on Cagematch somehow) because I thought this was great. Toyota and Inoue, from the very beginning, are not on the same page (I believe Inoue was a heel) but because they are both so talented and fired up, they are giving the champions a run for their money from the very beginning, almost overwhelming them with their energy. The pace of this match is incredible and is so frenetic and action-packed, it would still be arguably "too fast" in 2025 AEW. Wicked powerbombs. Lots of struggle. Nasty submissions. Roundhouse kicks and back elbows to the head. Suplexes. A lucha-inspired splash-to-the-outside sequence. It's a 2-out-of-3 falls match (and one of the pinfalls looks terrible because it is barely a pin) and its "classic joshi" so you're going to get some somewhat wonky psychology, out-of-nowhere transitions that don't really make sense, and refeering that runs contrary to everything I've grown up seeing in American wrestling, but that doesn't mean this isn't a ton of fun. (3.5/5)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams (07/27/1990, AJPW): How is this not featured on PWO? This match absolutely ruled based on what I saw of it (it starts "in progress" on the YouTube video but it seems like it only cuts off the first minute or two tops). The crowd is super hot and 10,000% behind Kawada and Williams is a great monster, whipping him into the guardrails and beating down on him in the ring. This is one of those matches where it's not necessarily what these guys do to each other, but how they let it in, the selling and the overall physicality and pace of this match that makes it so good. There is a particularly nasty backdrop spot where Kawada looks like he is truly pausing to think-through whether he is actually capable of standing upright. Its hard to go to high on a rating when it is even somewhat clipped, but this is so terrific that I still have no problem giving it the "should watch/must watch" score. (4/5)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (06/05/1989, AJPW): After an initial flurry by Tenryu, Tsuruta slowed this one down considerably (which I wasn't much of a fan of). This match has a fairly high reputation, but it took awhile before it really grabbed my attention (Tsuruta dropping knees from the top rope straight to Tenryu's skull was the turning point for me as a viewer). I like how they really built up to Tenryu's spinning heel kick and eventually the finishing pair powerbombs, which really put Tsuruta over as an incredible challenge for Tenryu that required every last bit of power and strength that the challenger could muster to dethrone him. I don't see this as a 5-star match - to me, you really have to be fully invested in the Tenryu and Tsuruta characters and their style of work (which can be a bit slow) - but the red-hot crowd gave this an incredible atmosphere that pushed it up a notch or two. (3.5/5)
Ricky Steamboat, Riki Choshu, and Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Animal Hamaguchi (10/11/1990, NJPW): This was a "fan cam" match I found on YouTube. As expected just by looking at who is involved, this is no less than very good for what came across as a "house show" style match and not one where the combatants were going out and trying to put on a classic. Steamboat is terrific with his selling and "playing to the crowd." The too-few moments with Hashimoto and Vader are cool. Riki Choshu is super tough and someone that I really should be watching more of as I get closer to the 2026 GWE deadline because I don't think I've seen him have anything less than a good outing. Way too slight, short, and insignificant to be "must see," but a fun watch for what it is. (3/5)
Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi (08/18/2012, DDT): I've not seen enough Kenny Omega matches from DDT or NJPW to know what is "the most Omega-ish Omega match ever," but this certainly feels like it could be in the running. There's Street Fighter "hadouken" moments. There's "playing to the back row" facial expressions. There's the fact that the match goes over 30 minutes despite featuring multiple moves that could be/should be treated as finishers, including a belly-to-belly release-into-a-wheelbarrow suplex off the top rope that seems beyond even what a video game designer might come up with. At one point, Ibushi hits a hurricanrana off the top rope to the floor and the match goes on from there (to their credit, it is actually sold as a huge deal and not a transition move). This is not a match for everyone, especially if you can't stand guys straight-up no-selling getting dropped on their neck via suplexes or, towards the end, Omega's One Winged Angel finisher, but, if that's the case, you're not the audience for this stuff anyway (and I'm not sure I am either). This is pro-wrestling for the "movez" fans, those that want to see every all-out, insane sequence possible, that not only can stomach blatant "choreography," but appreciate the intricacy of it. Now, that's not to say this match is at all "soft." Ibushi delivers some nasty kicks. Omega's suplexes are cringe-inducing at times. There's a spot in the final minutes when Ibushi performs a hard-to-describe cradle suplexy thing from the top rope and Omega looks like he lands on the top of his head. It is grisly. But then he also kicks out of it just for Ibushi to win with his equally ridiculous corkscrew 450. I can see why this match is so highly-regarded on the IWC, especially over at Cagematch, but I can also see why "purists" would think this to be the epitome of overcooked. Undeniably impressive and entertaining and, while not an all-time classic, I could see the argument that this is close-to-essential viewing for those curious about how Omega came to be seen as a "modern GOAT" even before his AEW run. (3.5/5)
Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (05/02/1999, AJPW): Its a bit weird hearing the "It's Time - It's Vader Time!" intro before a theme that isn't his WWE one. Vader comes into this as the Triple Crown Champion. Definite big fight feel to this. Vader controls early with clubbing blows in the corner and by using his size advantage. The first great spot happens with Misawa goes to the top rope and Vader nails him with a clothesline that sends him all the way to the floor. Vader drops Misawa neck-first onto the guardrail after that. Vader hit a powerbomb on the floor and then a not-so-well executed splash from the apron. In America, Vader was considered "washed," so its a bit crazy to see how well "letting Vader be Vader" still worked in Japan. Back in the ring, Vader continued to control things, even hitting a pair of brainbusters. Misawa is able to come back, though, when he ducks a clothesline and hits Vader with a series of forearms and then a beautiful flying forearm on the floor through the middle rope. Misawa hits a huge german suplex back in the ring for a nearfall and attempts the Tiger Driver but can't get Vader up and settles for a bodyslam. Vader takes a stiff enziguiri to the face but connects with a nasty german suplex of his own. Vader goes for another powerbomb but Misawa slips out so Vader hits him with another nasty german suplex and Misawa lands hard on his neck/head for the second time. Brutal stuff. Vader hits a Tiger Driver of his own for 2.5! Great spot. Vader misses a moonsault but Misawa can't capitalize and Vader goes for another splash. This time, Misawa meets him in the corner and brings him down with a superplex. Misawa hits a frog splash for 2 and sells the exhaustion. Misawa hits a DDT from the top rope for another nearfall and then levels Vader with a spinning forearm for 2.8. Misawa goes for a big lariat off the ropes, Vader dodges it and lands one of his own. A brilliant strike exchange ensues and Misawa connects with a huge forearm off the ropes to get the win. I would've liked to see this go another 2-3 minutes as this wasn't as "epic" as either guy's best matches...but what is there to complain about here? This was a great heavyweight battle. (4/5)
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