Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama (05/23/1996, AJPW): This was a great match, borderline "must see," and maybe the best Jun Akiyama performance I've seen. There are so many great moments and spots in this and the 30 minutes go by quickly as there are no slow moments. Kawada's quicks are nasty. Misawa's suplexes are great. Akiyama does an excellent as the face-in-peril. I loved the spot where Taue is about to hit him with a would-be match-ender (a chokeslam off the apron to the floor) and the entire hot tag sequence is built around him resisting, Kawada running interference, and Misawa fighting through to prevent from happening and pull his partner to their corner. This isn't as epic as some of the other encounters involving these wrestlers but it is arguably more enjoyable because of it. (3.5/5)
Yumiko Hotta vs. Bull Nakano (07/20/1987, AJW): Nakano didn't have the huge hairdo yet, but she still looked crazy AF, the influence of her mentor Dump Matsumoto undeniable in her appearance. I haven't seen a ton of Yumiko Hotta matches but she has an incredible reputation among joshi aficionados. Nakano controls early, driving her shin into Hotta's neck repeatedly. Hotta bridges out of a pin attempt but Nakano strikes her in the throat. Hotta takes over a bit with a wristlock and then a body scissors, but Nakano turns it into a pin attempt and then goes for another choke. Nakano lifts Hotta up with a double choke and then drops her to the mat before raking her eyes over the top rope. Nakano uses some cloth to try to choke Hotta out and then delivers a snap mare, but again Hotta bridges out. Nakano misses a dropkick and gets back body dropped and dropkicked herself but grabs the rope to prevent the pin. Hotta lifts her up in a Torture Rack and then flips her face-down to the mat and applies a rear choke and then body scissors again. Nakano escapes by grabbing Hotta's throat and then hits her with a jump kick and then another and then a third and a fourth and a fifth! Scoop slam by Bull and then her patented leg drop! Suplex by Nakano for 1.5 but Hotta rolls over. Nakano bashes her into the posts repeatedly and then breaks out the nunchuks. This is typical for AJW (and Nakano's matches) but comes off as especially unnecessary here. What I like much more is Nakano using part of the turnbuckle/post rope to try to choke Hotta out again. Nakano misses a leg drop soon after and Hotta takes over with some boots and then a back body drop and two more stiff kicks to the chest. Hotta looks to hit a piledriver but Nakano powers her over in a back body drop and goes for one of her own. The camera angle isn't great as Nakano doesn't so much as hit the piledriver as she just sorta drops her onto her lower neck/upper shoulders. Dang. Nakano maintains control and tortures her in the ropes before grabbing the post coverpad and beating her down with it. I haven't seen that before. Nakano goes for a pin but, again, Hotta rolls over to prevent it. Nakano's frustration is evident as she continuously goes for covers, can't get them, and opts to just continue to beat Hotta down with various offensive maneuvers. Hotta rallies, though, landing a suplex and then a fireman's carry. She goes for a pin, but Nakano goes to her stomach - a recurring theme in this match as neither woman wants to leave themselves vulnerable for long. Hotta with a snap mare, a back body drop, and then another pin attempt - but, again, Bull rolls over! Hotta applies a body scissors but Nakano turns it into another pin attempt before escaping and bringing her to the outside. Hotta gets whipped into the barricade and then its Nakano's turn to hit the steel. More kicks from Hotta but they don't have much gusto. Nakano takes a long sip of water before Hotta meets her back in the ring. Stiff kicks from Nakano and another snap mare into a failed pin attempt. Nakano brings her up for a back body drop and then splashes her. Hotta manages to make a pin attempt with a double-leg takedown but Nakano kicks out. Hotta hits a series of running shoulder tackles and then some more stiff kicks, but Nakano turns her body when she attempts a pin. Hotta attempts a snap mare but Hotta escapes and goes to the bottom rope. Both women are completely spent at this point with Hotta's seconds coming in to help her off the mat. I'm guessing this was some sort of time limit draw because Nakano retains the title without pinning or submitting her opponent. In terms of realism, this match was very good, but the repetitiveness of the offense and exchanges hurt it a bit for me. Nakano was clearly still putting it all together, but it is interesting to see how much of her act was already "there" in 1987. I disliked the inorganic use of the nunchuks and found it especially unnecessary in this match. Too good in terms of physicality and psychology to be considered average, but not something I'd necessarily recommend. I could see some people absolutely loving this match, though, for how simple a story it tells and how committed it is to the idea of both women absolutely refusing to open themselves up for pin attempts. (3/5)
Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles (05/17/2014, ROH): This was a match for Style's IWGP Championship that earned 4 stars in The Observer. To me, a 4-star match is a "must see" and I didn't find this to be anywhere close to that. I'm not sure if it was a lack of chemistry, a poorly mic'd crowd (or maybe it just wasn't super interested or the finish was too obvious), or that I'm just not a huge fan of Elgin, but this match didn't click for me. Styles is usually dependable to give you things you've never seen before, but this felt kinda unremarkable, like they were working through a handful of pre-planned sequences that were fine but more like a pieced-together "greatest hits" than a match that had anything especially fresh in it. With the talents involved, it was a disappointment, though its hard to not at least consider it "average" because there were some undeniable cool moments (AJ's targeted focus on Elgin's leg to prep him for the Calf Crusher, Okada's trademark piledriver spot, for two examples). (2.5/5)
Roddy Piper vs. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (01/25/1991, WWE): I was "today years old" when I learned that Roddy Piper and Curt Hennig had a lengthy feud over the Intercontinental Championship from late 1990 through 1991 while Hennig was also having a much more heavily televised and emphasized feud with the Big Bossman (leading to their match at WrestleMania VII). Piper and Hennig were clearly having a ton of fun working together, though this is obviously not a great representation of Hennig's technique or even Piper's brawling. This is a "sports entertainment" match - a mix of hard-hitting action with a good amount of crowd-pleasing shtick in the form of Hennig getting stripped down to his underwear at one point. The finish - a count-out moral victory for Hot Rod - is a disappointment but, watching this 30+ years after the fact and knowing that Piper wouldn't become Intercontinental Champion until a year or so later, I wasn't able to "get lost" in this match the way the crowd - who is hot for this - were able to in the moment. This is the kind of match that you could show someone as proof that some of the best wrestling that's happened in this era of the WWE probably happened on the house show loops where they could wrestle a bit looser, go a bit longer, and play to the live crowd rather than the cameras. (3/5)
Roddy Piper vs. Buddy Rose (05/12/1979, PNW): This is from the Portland Wrestling territory and is a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Innovative match with Piper and Rose brawling with such immense disregard for the rules and decorum that they take apart the ring to try to hurt each other. I'm not sure of all the details of the storyline, but the commentator notes that 2-3 weeks earlier, it would've been unheard of for the crowd to be rooting for Piper, but he was very over here and the promo he delivered post-match was definitely a fired-up babyface one. For a particular type of wrestling fan who loves old school brawling with lots of character work and blood, I could see this being an all-timer. This match is all about the charisma of its performers rather than any single hold or maneuver or sequence and, because we're talking about Piper and Rose, their charisma and storytelling is enough to make this feel "real" the way a great Terry Funk match can feel real. That being said, I don't think this quite touches the level of Funk's greatest hits as I disliked the screwy, inconclusive finish. (3.5/5)
Yumiko Hotta and Akira Hokuto vs. Toshiyo Yamada and Etsuko Mita (01/04/1990, AJW): I was seriously super surprised to see that this match was the basis of a 21-post thread on ProWrestlingOnly because, while I thought it was good, I did not see the "greatness" here. This is a very mat-based/submission-based match and, at this point, Hokuto was clearly still developing (though I did love her no-selling bit as it made her seem like the biggest badass of the bunch). I really liked Hotta's headlock application towards the end as it looked incredibly painful and like she was swinging her with her arms wrapped around on her opponent's throat. Yamada and Mita didn't really stand out to me as particularly special comparatively. Very physical, competitive match, but this might be better enjoyed by people who are super familiar with all four women and the stars they would become rather than someone like myself who is only really familiar with Hokuto. (3/5)
Pentagon Jr. vs. Eddie Kingston (02/03/2018, AAW): AAW is a Chicago-based promotion and the crowd was into this, but...I found it to be sloppy at times and un-fun. Kingston is a serious wrestler/brawler/striker and presents himself as such, but I kinda wish he had shown a little bit of a more silly/over-the-top side to balance the character that Penta brings to the table. While there were some good spots here and there, as a whole story it didn't maintain my attention and felt longer than its 15-minute run time (not a good thing in this case). The multiple Canadian Destroyers and Package Piledriver finish were definitely not excellently-executed. A disappointment. (2/5)
Nick Jackson vs. El Generico (Sami Zayn) vs. Jigsaw vs. Kota Ibushi (03/28/2009, CHIKARA): How great can a match be without any logic/psychology? This match seems like it was designed to answer that question with all four men hitting some insane moves to a crowd that went bonkers for every one of them but, from the amount of times they broke up pinfalls against their own best interest (this is an elimination match), not understanding the stipulation of the match they're wrestling. For most of this relatively short match - it goes under 15 minutes - the action is simply incredible and light years beyond the kind of stuff that was being presented in the US on TV from WWE and TNA. Even now, 16+ years later, this is an ultra-impressive spotfest (with some good technical wrestling from Ibushi and Jigsaw early), but the rapid finishing sequence and the lack of psychology - which is even noted on commentary - prevent this from being the classic that it is sometimes hyped up to be. How did Kota Ibushi not get immediately signed by WWE after this match started making the rounds among fans? (3.5/5)
Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (05/13/1990, AJW): The crowd was huge into Hokuto and Minami (aka The Marine Wolves), chanting their names at the start of the match. This was very physical with some real highlights in Hokuto's awesome bridging suplexes, Hokuto and Minami's cool splashes from the top rope to the floor during the 3rd fall, and Yumiko Hotta's super-snug choke and devastating kicks. Nishiwaki didn't leave much of an impression on me, but I'd say the same about this match in general; it's good, but not great. (2.5/5)
Ricochet vs. Pentagon Jr. (08/24/2017, WCPW/Defiant): The Wrestling World Cup was a tournament put on by WhatCulture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling featuring some of the best talents on the planet and this was the opening match of the 2nd Night. Ricochet comes out of the gate with some big offense, including a backflip splash over the top rope to the floor. He maintains control with a senton and then some forearms to the back of Penta's neck. Penta came back with a sling blade off the ropes, backed Rico into the corner, and gave him a heck of a big chop. Rico headed to the outside as Penta played to the crowd but then got whipped hard into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Penta got a nearfall but, then, again, spent most of his time doing shtick rather than actually hitting any offense aside from the occasional kick or chops. Ricochet cut him off with a back elbow, a double kick, and then a shotgun dropkick but couldn't capitalize. Ricochet hit a springboard back forearm and attempted a fireman's carry but Pentagon escaped and hit an awesome powerbomb onto his knee for 2. Cool move. Penta went for the package piledriver but Ricochet got out and hit him with a huge knee lift to the face. Ricochet hit a cutter and then a running shooting star press for 2. He went for a Rock Bottom but Penta blocked it and hit him with a backstabber out of the corner. Penta went for the piledriver again but Ricochet blocked it and then escaped another attempt, leading to a trading of superkicks. Penta went to the corner but Rico hit him with a huge leaping uppercut and then a palm strike. Avalanche hurricanrana and then a springboard 450...but Penta kicked out! Back to the top rope they go, with Ricochet attempting a Spanish Fly but getting shoved off the top and hit with a Canadian Destroyer for his trouble. Both men rolled to the apron and traded strikes with Penta eventually landing a superkick and then an insane package piledriver onto the ring apron! Wow. That should've been the death move but because Penta couldn't get the pin quickly enough, Ricochet kicked out. Pentagon with another crazy driver - maybe best described as a stalling pumphandle-into-a-Michinoku Driver - but Ricochet kicked out again. Surfboard time but Ricochet won't quit. Penta turns it into a back slide pin and the ref counts to three...but its Penta's shoulders that were down when Ricochet bridged on his neck. There was some noticeable cooperation going on at various points of the match and, as much as I enjoy Pentagon's ability to play to the crowd and natural charisma, I also find his lack of urgency to be a bit frustrating as the match goes on and it seems like he should be more "serious" about trying to get a pin. A good, solid match, but nothing super memorable. (3/5)
Tully Blanchard vs. The Ultimate Warrior (11/12/1989, WWE): This match was actually taped on November 1st but aired a week or so before the 1989 Survivor Series. The Ultimate Warrior was over huge and was the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Tully gives him a shove but then gets shoved down himself repeatedly when he tries to lock up with the Warrior. Blanchard begs off a bit and attempts a handshake but Warrior squeezes it with all his might! Blanchard escapes with an eye poke and then goes to work in the corner with right hands, but Warrior no sells em' and backs Tully into the corner. He whips Tully to the opposite post and Blanchard takes a Flair-esque bump over the top. Back in the ring and back out Tully goes! Tully wants to walk but Warrior brings him back ringside by the neck and then lifts him up in a guerilla press and sends him back into the ring through the middle rope. Warrior misses a big splash in the corner, though, finally giving Tully a chance to hit a little real offense. Tully delivers some kicks to the ribs and applies a choke with his boot but Warrior rallies again with a clothesline. Warrior goes for a splash but Tully blocks it with his knees. Tully attempts a suplex but Warrior counters it with one of his own. Warrior misses an elbow drop and then runs into another Tully knee. Blanchard goes to the top rope and attempts a splash but Warrior catches him in a powerslam. Heenan calls for help as Warrior hoists Tully up in another guerilla press slam. In comes Double A and its 2-on-1, but Warrior hits a flying double clothesline. In comes Haku to help out his Heenan Family stablemates but then Neidhart and the Rockers show up to even the sides! Out marches Andre the Giant for a staredown from outside the ring. Hot angle to build to their Survivors match. This was a fun watch due to how much spirit and energy Tully brought into it, bumping and selling and feeding Warrior for the 6-or-so minutes that this match runs, and how hot the crowd was. (2.5/5)
Aja Kong vs. Madusa (07/21/1990, AJW): About as physical and violent as one would expect with some of the coolest entrances I've seen recently. I loved Aja Kong coming out to KISS's "I Love It Loud" almost as much as I enjoy Kong's later personalized theme song. Madusa coming out with a bit of Terry Funk's look and swagger was killer too. This was a "Mixed Martial Arts" match, which meant both Kong and Madusa were sporting MMA gloves. Some of the strikes in this match seem like they were a legit shoot while, at other times, it was clear they were working. I think this would've worked better with a bit more of a "plan" as I think these two just went to the ring with the intention of hitting each other as hard as they could, throwing in a few suplexes, slams, and submissions, and then ending things by trading even more big blows. Filling up 20+ minutes without a real story meant that this one ebbed-and-flowed in terms of suspense and action and probably would've been better if they had shaved 3-5 minutes off of it. I can see some people really loving this match because of how good Madusa's performance is in particular, but this had me and lost me a couple times before it got to its finish. I dug the post-match moment too with these absolute warriors showing mutual respect to each other after a very violent match. (2.5/5)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (04/08/2008, AJPW): A great match with great performances out of both guys. I came into this as mostly a Kawada fan having seen very few Tanahashi matches, but I really liked the juxtaposition of one of the most legendary badasses in wrestling history going up against New Japan's "Ace," a much more colorful and charismatic performer than the ones Kawada used to tangle with in his prime. I really liked Kawada's reactions to Tanahashi throughout the match. Highlights included Tanahashi's incredible elbow strikes to the hamstring (never seen those before and they're very cool), Kawada hitting a powerbomb on the floor, and a thrilling final few minutes with some excellent nearfalls. But, really, its the character work throughout the match that leaves the strongest impression. The finish is an absolute disappointment, though, as it is declared a draw due to the time limit expiring (5 minutes early by my count and the YouTube video only being 24 or so minutes). I can understand why they went with a non-finish here, but considering Kawada was on his way out of the business and Tanahashi was on the rise, a definitive ending would've probably made this a modern classic. Instead, its a very good match that, due to its lack of a real ending, leaves you thinking you kinda wasted your time watching it. (2.5/5)
Riki Choshu and Koki Kitihara vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Tatsumi Fujinami (06/30/1996): This was the main event of the Rikidozan Memorial show, which featured a whole bunch of talent from multiple promotions. This was hard-hitting, but unremarkable, though, like many of the Tenryu matches I've now seen, I think that viewers with more knowledge of the history between the competitors would enjoy this much more. Choshu and Tenryu's interactions were really heated, playing off their lengthy rivalry. Kitihari didn't leave much of an impression on me. The finish felt a bit "out of nowhere" but because they were leveling eachother with powerbombs and stiff strikes, it wasn't hard to buy that any move could be the deathblow. This was alright but nothing I'd recommend or have particular interest in seeing again. (2.5/5)
Monster Ripper vs. Aja Kong (04/21/1991, AJW): The "match" only goes 9 minutes officially, but this is a 20+ minute angle built around Kong and Ripper trying to maim each other with trash cans and chairs and refusing to be separated. A week or so later, Kong would team with Bison Kimura and wrestle Manami Toyota and Esther Moreno in a match that I watched just a few months ago and absolutely loved. There's not enough of an actual "match" here for me to rate it nearly as high, but as an angle, this has the intensity and realism that makes you really feel like you're watching two absolute monsters on a collision course that could lead to the whole building getting demolished. (2/5)
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoki Sano (09/11/1996, UWFi): I love Hashimoto's offense in this and Sano's strategy, but this wasn't as memorable or remarkable as some of Hash's more notable matches. Some of Hashimoto's overhand chops are devastating which lends credibility to the rather sudden finish. A very straight-forward match that balanced Hashimoto's dominance with Sano's courage in the face of an opponent who overpowered him and had a huge size advantage. I was hoping for better. (2/5)
Akira Hokuto vs. Yumiko Hotta (09/07/1991, AJW): It is a testament to the awesomeness of Akira Hokuto - and maybe Yumiko Hotta? I haven't seen a ton of her work yet - that a match this good doesn't have a thread on PWO and has barely been reviewed on Cagematch either. This isn't an epic, but there are some ridiculous bumps towards the end, including one off the top rope by Hokuto that looks insane. I loved the layout of this match too with Hokuto controlling the first half but Hotta showing tremendous fighting spirit and getting in some nasty kicks to make this competitive. Cool emotional post-match scene too from Hokuto. (3/5)
Eddie Kingston vs. Necro Butcher (12/30/2005, IWA-Mid South): There's not much variety in this match, but who needs variety when you have Kingston being a full-on psycho and basically agreeing to be punched full-force in the body and head to sell Necro Butcher as the most violent wrestler on the indies? This is the kind of match that Bret Hart would probably say is an absolute insult to the profession and he wouldn't necessarily be wrong as this is two guys hitting each other seemingly full-force just to pop a gym full of fans. That being said, it's an intriguing thing to watch for what it is and does tell its simple story effectively without needlessly adding weapons and "high spots." I'm not surprised this doesn't have a thread on PWO because Butcher is hardly everyone's cup of tea, but this is a really gutsy and crazy "performance" out of Kingston that his supporters would probably enjoy checking out. (2.5/5)
Vampiro vs. Pentagon Jr. (04/19/2015, Lucha Underground): I must admit to never getting into Lucha Underground despite it being beloved by so many wrestling fans. Looking back, it also featured a bunch of my current favorites so maybe I should give it another shot (I watched a few episodes when they were on Netflix but don't know if they're still up on there anymore). Lucha Underground was a highly-produced version of pro-wrestling unlike any other major promotion that I've ever seen so it can be a bit jarring to watch this match out-of-context, but it's still a very fun 20-minute watch even knowing that some of it is clearly edited and patched together. They go all out with the hardcore spots - fluorescent light tubes, a flaming table, thumbtacks - but this is no mere stunt show as they tell a story of Vampiro refusing to "die" and then cap it off with a brilliant reveal that this match wasn't a true grudge match after all, but rather a final test that Vampiro was putting Pentagon. Worth checking out for sure. (4/5)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (09/22/1995, AAA): This was a 2-out-of-3 falls match for Psicosis's WWA Championship. This was given 5 stars by Meltzer in The Observer and has a staggering Cagematch score of 8.69 (as of this writing), but I thought the first two falls were a bit dull and even sloppy at times with Mysterio having a rare noticeable botch. The third fall is very good, enough to move this squarely into average/above-average territory but, even for its time, I don't think this was Mysterio and Psicosis' best outing against eachother and was a bigger fan of their ECW match from around this time. (2.5/5)
Will Ospreay vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (09/20/2014, IPW:UK): This was the finals of a one-night tournament (I think?) based on looking at the show's card. Ospreay was 21 years old and had only been in the business for a couple of years while Sabre was close to a 10-year veteran (which is crazy to think of as he wasn't even 30 yet). Ospreay was not yet the phenom he would become in the years after but he clearly already had a very big vision and an eagerness to "steal the show" with over-the-top performances heavy on theatrics, high spots, and feats of agility. Sabre Jr. wasn't fully-formed either but was already a master of joint manipulation and technical wrestling, punishing Ospreay's arm and hand to maintain control. There was some "positioning" issues with Sabre clearly bracing himself for some of Ospreay's splashes, but this was still a very, very good and ambitious 10-minute match that is worth checking out if you're a fan of either of these guys and want to see how good they already were way back in 2014. (3/5)
Bull Nakano and Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota and Aja Kong (03/03/1994, AJW): I thought this was excellent and about as good a tag match as I've seen in years. Everything looked so good. I know some people tire of Manami's anguished screams, but I thought they were warranted here as Kyoko and Nakano put her through the ringer. There were too many highlights for me to count - the Uraken to Bull, Toyota's running springboard splash to the outside, the airplane spin, Nakano missing the would-be game-ending legdrop, the dropkick-into-a-backstabber spot that I love, Toyota's rolling pin on Inoue, some excellent false finishes towards the end...it's all just great. This is the kind of match you can show any non-wrestling fan curious about joshi and they'll likely "get it" pretty quickly and also see how much different this type of storytelling is compared what we see in the US (with its unclear face/heel dynamics and dizzying level of action). I really loved this match and was surprised it didn't get praised more on ProWrestlingOnly and only had a single review on Cagematch. That would probably qualify this for "hidden gem" stature. (4.5/5)
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (11/15/1996, CMLL): This match was hurt most by being fought under somewhat standard lucha rules with it being a 2-out-of-3 falls match. To be fair, the fact that it is 3 falls did allow them to "protect" Liger a little bit as he got the first pin rather definitively. Neither guy busted out anything super flashy, but both are so smooth with their high-flying and counters and agility that the match had no dull moments. I think fans more familiar with Wagner Jr. than I am (lucha libre continues to be something of a "blind spot" for me) would probably dig this even more as I primarily watched this as part of my "GWE research" for Liger. (3/5)
