8/27/16 ROH: Kyle O'Reilly vs. Katsuyori Shibata 13:30
ML: It was so refreshing to see a no nonsense match in modern wrestling. This was a really high level MMA oriented technical wrestling match where both performers finally had an opponent they could really play off of and take their individual style to a higher level. This was a lot different than Shibata's typical strike exchange NJPW matches, opting more for grappling specifically, and for putting the UWF style together, in general. These two did a much smoother and more fluid job of moving from one type of credible offense to another because both are so well versed in this style rather than essentially having to work around their opponent. When they did strike, it was not only very stiff, but there was an intensity to it, and there were a lot of flurries rather than the 1 for 1 Power Slap crap. There was some waiting to be hit as usual, but other times they would combine two or three aspects of wrestling in rapid succession, a kick into a suplex into a submission. This always looked like a match they were trying to win rather than a goofy exhibition. Just really fluid work here with excellent transitions. Instead of the typical cheesy elbow exchange, Shibata kept beating O'Reilly to every elbow because he had the shorter, more direct blow with less wind up. O'Reilly thus had to drop into a double leg to take him down, avoid the standup striking, but he could still beat him up with palms from the mount. This MMA oriented match had a finish common to MMA that for some reason pro wrestling doesn't understand where the referee stopped to match because fighter was trapped but didn't submit for whatever reason. In true MMA, this obviously works better in a choke then in the omoplata Kyle won with, but the too tough to submit idea plays much better in pro wrestling where most fans don't understand there's any consequences, and haven't been educated to the logic of living to fight another day. This was less about having a MOTY than their NJPW match, and more about being brutally efficient. They worked hard without necessarily killing themselves, displaying a much higher level of believablity and overall competence than you see in 99.9% of pro wrestling. They were able to making matching each other really interesting, and it was refreshing that they weren't forced to simply do their thing in a vacuum because the opponent wasn't really versed in anything beyond bullshit. ****

AJW 1/4/92 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Sakie Hasegawa & Debbie Malenko vs. Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta 15:45
DC: Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta was an interestingly solid tag team combination that went right to work and were pretty much a no-nonsense force all the way through this bout. Malenko, who used the Malenko name because she was trained by the Malenkos in Florida, was easily one of the best American women’s pro wrestlers at that time (if not the very best). In those days, there was no chance for her to really succeed as a women’s wrestler in the States, as mainstream American wrestling had pretty much abandoned the idea of a competitive women’s wrestling divisions ever since the Jumping Bomb Angels left the WWF in March of 1988 (and the final nail in the coffin of the WWF women’s division was the fact that WWF started using Sensational Sherri as Randy Savage’s manager/valet in April 1989 and didn’t renew the contract of their women’s champion Rockin’ Robin in the summer of ‘89 after having faced Judy Martin over and over again, which left the title vacant until 1993). By the way, I didn’t necessarily plan on namebombing the JB Angels, but it was actually fitting to mention them here since Noriyo Tateno was actually doing guest commentary at ringside for this event. Malenko was clearly willing and dedicated to continue to get better by fully immersing herself in AJW’s environment. Malenko’s work looked credible enough for someone like Hotta to be selling it as if she was another Japanese worker. Malenko seemed to particularly enjoy applying submission holds, which probably is due to her training by the Malenkos. Her tag team partner Hasegawa brought more speed and more dynamic elements to her game, so it was always a bit of a change of pace whenever Malenko and Hasegawa would tag in and out. It felt like Minami and Hotta were the more cohesive tag team that was better at following up whatever their partner had been brewing. AJW was grooming Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa for the secondary tag team championship (the AJW Tag Team Title), but they would lose this bout. This was the first actual good match on this show, and it’s worth a recommendation, for sure. Minami was such an underrated worker that she almost reminds me of a female version of El Samurai in the sense that a lot of people seem to overlook how effective she was during her prime. Hotta already showed a lot of that viciousness around this time, and she would become even more vicious later on in her career. This was an intriguing bout that managed to captivate the viewer due to the way these four were all so sincere about their execution of everything. Very good match. ***½ 

AJW 1/4/92 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada 30:00 + 5:00 + 5:00
DC: The very beginning looked a bit rough, but it didn’t come off as bad because you could say they were just overwhelmed by each other’s spirited start. One thing that’s particularly awesome about this match is that it wasn’t obvious they were going twice the length of a normal match. They actually showed at least the same, and often far more speed, energy, intensity and urgency than all the wrestlers that preceded them on this show. In kayfabe, you could easily explain that they went this long due to the way they approached this match and were so evenly matched (and not because they were told to go super long and therefore didn’t do anything, which is always a cringeworthy situation when it comes to very long matches). There was a constant scramble for position shown by both combatants, which made it feel like they weren’t just going to have a very cooperative and playful match to impress the viewers. Because, yes, these two were more flashy and spectacular than many of the wrestlers at the time, but (perhaps contrary to common belief) they hadn’t forgotten their rigid roots of traditional joshi puroresu. Manami Toyota had been wrestling since 8/5/87, and to say that she was a ‘90s version of Kazue Nagahori and Itsuki Yamazaki with some Jaguar Yokota and Crush Gals flavor thrown in there would be a pretty good way to describe her. Toshiyo Yamada had made her debut only nine days prior to Toyota, so these two standouts of the class of ‘87 were pretty much equals in terms of experience. Yamada’s style could best be described as a ‘90s version of Chigusa Nagayo mixed with Jaguar Yokota influences as well. Both Toyota and Yamada took their craft very seriously. Regardless of what you may think of them at this stage of their career or their career in general, what they were doing was certainly in line with the progress joshi puroresu had been showing and more. It felt like Yamada and Toyota were very respectful of the ones that came before them, yet in a professional manner, they were not afraid to show they understood they were in a progressive era of (joshi) pro wrestling. They were not afraid to push the envelope, so to speak, and they weren’t afraid to challenge themselves to the point of exhaustion in order to give the best performance possible as a way to fulfill their sacred duty as heirs of the throne given to them by the likes of the aforementioned Yokota and Nagayo. And what Toyota and Yamada did so well was also, if we stay with this analogy of the throne, show they were both driven to show the world they were more worthy than the other to be the heir of the throne, in a professional and combative manner (I’m not talking about an egotistical backstabbing political kinda way, like we’ve seen so often in American pro wrestling). Now, I personally feel that heavy criticism of this match is a result of reverse analysis. Especially considering how in 1992, while the business was certainly progressing and changing in many ways, we hadn’t reached the wrestling = figure skating type mentality where we just no longer seem to care about whether or not it actually resembles an actual wrestling match or fight. In 1992, kayfabe wasn't completely dead yet. So with that in mind, what these two wrestlers did here was, to the best of their knowledge, both in kayfabe and in “reality” perform to the best of their ability. To me, that just seems obvious in the way they are constantly on top of each other and constantly responding to each other. Did they always give the “right” or “best” response? Maybe not, but do people always do that in real fights? No, right? What I’m trying to say is that if you follow what these two were doing in this match move for move, it makes sense from their respective perspectives. And even if you’d include the perspective of a critical viewer, then it still makes for a darn fascinating match. Yes, Toyota had her so-called “flaws”, but that was just part of her in-ring character. If every wrestler did the same thing, things would get pretty boring pretty quickly, right? Toyota had her preferences and specialities, and that could sometimes lead to “mistakes” and situations where the opponent could potentially turn things around in their favor. That’s wrestling, and not every wrestler has the same strategy. Even in MMA, there are very unusual and extraordinary approaches by fighters that simply reminds us that each opponent will have to be dealt with on a case by case basis; you can’t just have one strategy for every opponent ever and every situation ever, as humans are not robots (even if some appear to be robot-like). This wasn’t the smoothest or most beautifully worked match of the year, that’s for sure. However, it was an intriguing match because of the kind of unusual and raw approach they appeared to have had. Like, in the end, it was a satisfying match to have watched, because you could really feel that these two did the best they could within the context of the situations they put themselves in. Sure, they may not have wrestled the smartest fight, but within the context of what they did, it was enjoyable to watch. Roughly about halfway between this match and the start of their careers, they had a memorable singles match against each other on 12/9/89 (their first singles match against one another, in fact), and it was a very good one. I mention that here because I feel that this 1/4/92 match is a perfectly fine and clear progression when you look at their careers in general and their interactions with each other. Of course, better things would still come later in 1992, but we haven’t reached that point yet! I’m not claiming this is the 1992 MOTY. One of the reasons is that the middle portion of the match feels a bit messy at times, but not more messy than some of the stuff featuring other featured stars earlier on this show (just watch the Jungle Jack tag match, for example). An interesting detail was how they showed a bit of extra liveliness during the announcement of the 25-minute mark of the match. It’s a tiny detail, but it’s often during moments like that that wrestlers start showing more energy (in kayfabe, that’s because they are running out of time/in “reality,” that’s because they know it’s time for the finish). So that little detail really made you question as a viewer if they were now going to try to finish this and/or if this was going to go on even longer. They soon would start doing bigger moves and started to include near finishes, so there really was no telling this wasn’t going to end any time soon. What a beautifully wrestled match! And just when you thought it was over because they went to a time limit draw (just like in 1989 and 1991), it turns out they would go five more minutes! The crowd was super pleased with this decision, which is always a mark of a truly successful match. There have been matches in history that saw the crowd boo a decision like that, but this crowd knew they wanted to see more from these two, and I would have to completely agree. Toyota is at this point showing her frustration in such a beautiful and passionate way, as she just keeps trying to go all or nothing at this point (like a sports team that’s about to not make it to the next round of an important tournament and needs to absolutely score a win at all cost). Excellent match. ****¼ 

AJW 1/4/92 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, IWA World Women's Title: Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto 24:53
DC: This was the main event of this AJW Korakuen Super Charge show. The main issue with this match was that it is mainly the Hokuto show. As much improvement as Kyoko had shown at the time, she was still mainly an entertaining and charismatic character, not quite the top worker she would become in several months. After a brief spurt of excitement, the match slowed down a bit too quickly. Kyoko started limping around, which was either an injury and/or just really good selling on her part. The match went to the mat and stayed on the mat for quite a while. The problem with this matwork was that it didn’t seem to have any purpose other than to stall. So, unlike the previous match featuring Toyota vs. Yamada, it really felt like they were trying to kill time because they were going long instead of going long because they were so evenly matched. They were neither evenly matched nor doing anything that would warrant the match going nearly 25 minutes. While it’s nice to see Kyoko get the chance to main event, it feels like it may have been a few months too early. The match never really picked up steam again, at least not to the point to warrant calling this a great match. Kyoko winning this match certainly didn’t help matters, as that felt very unrealistic and implausible. It’s one of those upset wins that didn’t work. Technically, it remained excellent at all times, though. I know it’s totally fashionable and hip and cool to dislike Toyota these days, but to say that this Hokuto vs. Kyoko match was better than Toyota vs. Yamada seems a bit absurd (and that’s coming from a Hokuto fanatic). Very good match. ***¾  

3/29/25 ROH Pure Title: Lee Moriarty vs. AR Fox 8:42
ML: Fox was one of my big favorites in the Lucha Underground days. He has really creative high flying offense. The problem is he had developed almost all of it by then, and wasn't really doing anything new or different from the point I started seeing him over a decade ago even though he was still a good worker. I always felt like he should have been a lot bigger name like his rivals Swerve Strickland and Ricochet, but Swerve has more charisma even if he's a less interesting performer and Ricochet had a wider variety of flying and gymnastic counters in the days when he did things beyond humiliate himself on social media. This match put Fox in a different, more technical oriented setting, and he felt much fresher even though he still did a junior style match. He did a really cool slingshot Russian leg sweep with Moriarty stuck in the middle rope, a footstomp with Moriarity on the apron where he rolled over the top rope, and a pendulum destroyer. Moriarty did the expected pure rules technical wrestling. He's always solid, but against an athlete of Fox's caliber, he just seemed too slow and predictable with his methodical offense. Moriarty did the Pure champion knows how to uses the Pure rules to his advantage bit. He kept knotting Fox up to force him to burn his rope breaks then won with a rear naked crossface in the ropes. This match was fun as a showcase for Fox's spectacle. It was great to see him actually be used here for once, mostly he's just a jobber who does one or two good things in AEW, but is never really allowed to get going. Moriarty was effective enough at times, but never really convincing today. ***

9/23/86 NJPW: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Keiichi Yamada 16:48
ML: Yamada did Fujiwara's UWF style match rather than trying to beat him with high flying. This was more legitimately UWF than anything during the 90s NJPW vs UWF-I program, Yamada does a dropkick, which Minoru Suzuki would later use in Newborn UWF, but that's about it for the shenanigans. Yamada adhering so strictly to Fujiwara's style put him at an even more decided disadvantage than he normally would have been as simply the inexperienced small opponent, but it earned him a lot of respect from the fans, and increasingly the opponent as well. Yamada was in full amateur wrestling mode, focusing on trying to take Fujiwara down through whatever means necessary. He could theoretically work for a leg lock, but he was generally thwarted by the old master, who seemed to be luring him in, working his arm relentlessly, and giving him a slap for good measure. This was a cool performance by Fujiwara because he was the reactive wrestler. He kind of gives Yamada a chance in the sense that he allowed him to make the first move, but he was ready for it, and more often than not used it against Yamada. The big difference here was in control, as even though Fujiwara wasn't the aggressor, he was using Yamada's movements and aggressions against him while maintaining a solid base so he was harder to counter, being in no hurry and under no stress, knowing inevitability was on his side. Fujiwara was still serious and mobile here. He sold a lot more than you would expect for Yamada, who debuted in 1984, to make this a match, at least in terms of letting Yamada try to gain the advantage before he took it back. Yamada definitely did things to Fujiwara, and no one was really coming close to a submission until the final few minutes, which benefited Yamada gaining credibility by "playing even". We could certainly say Fujiwara was ahead on points because he was successful with more counters, whereas Yamada was forced to take more (unlimited) rope escapes, but obviously there were no judges. Fujiwara eventually started getting near submissions with his wakigatame, but again Yamada had no problem getting to the ropes. What was more problematic was that Fujiwara was now using Yamada's initial surge against him, and turning his takedown attempt right back into the wakigatame. Twice in a row, Yamada had Fujiwara's body between him and the ropes, and the match just unceremoniously ended the second time. You couldn't really tell if it was a verbal submission, a tap we couldn't see on the handheld, or Fujiwara just releasing the hold and telling the ref to stop it. Overall, this was a really successful match because Fujiwara actually got to be Fujiwara in NJPW, and Yamada got to show he could excel despite doing something entirely different than usual. ***1/2

6/17/83 WCCW, NWA World Heavyweight Title: Harley Race vs  Kevin von Erich 14:48
ML: They focused more on the story than Race normally would, and less on the actual action. Race was putting Kevin over big from the outset, and Kevin was really fired up, as expected. Kevin was super over, and the Texas fans were only getting louder and louder the more he pushed the champion. This never felt like it was going to be one of those endless NWA Title matches. They not only did a good job of making you believe that Kevin could win, but also that it could end quickly. Race finally gained some traction when Kevin hurt his shoulder landing on the table when he was tossed to the floor. Kevin was fighting with one arm from here, with Race even targeting the arm with his punches. Von Erich could no longer do his Irish whip, which had been important earlier. Race wasn't getting many of his usual high spots in tonight because he was either selling or working the injury, but he did a shoulderbreaker that was deadly in this context. Kevin wanted the world title badly, but they were able to get over that he was now risking his career because his shoulder was so bad. Race escaped the claw again, and shot Kevin through the ropes to the floor. When Kevin reentered, Race started kneeing the bad shoulder. David Von Erich had come out to check on how bad his brother was injured. He couldnt convince Kevin to quit, but succeeded in ending the match by attacking Race when prompted by a kick, which got Kevin DQ'd. David then declared himself Race's next challenger, standing over Race after putting him down and taunting him "You couldn't beat him with one arm! You hear me! One arm! If I can't beat you then I'll quit wrestling!" This wasn't much of a finish, but the idea was that it set up Race vs. the stronger Von Erich without Kevin having to take the clean loss in the processt. This wasn't the most exciting Harley match, but he told a good story, and allowed Kevin to give one of his best performances. Kevin was always my favorite of the Von Erich's, but his matches also generally haven't aged well. Despite his athleticism and energy being a lot better than most guys of his era, he still doesn't really do any more with them, but this one held my interest from start to finish. ***

8/29/92 WWF Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog 25:11
ML: The British Bulldog winning the title in the most famous wrestling stadium in his home country was certainly the highlight of his less than fantastic 1992. Davey Boy wasn't really featured most of the year despite winning when he wasn't wrestling Undertaker. He didn't even appear at WrestleMania VIII. If Summerslam were anywhere outside of England, he would have been nowhere near the main event, and even though he won for the feel-good story, he wound up getting fired for HGH before the end of the year, which Vince only pretended to care about because of the steroid investigation against him. Bulldog had a rough 6 weeks leading up to the big show, and although a lot of it was self imposed, he wasn't exactly in condition to give his best performance. I don't buy that he had necrotising fasciitis because that's got a 20-30% mortality rate and would have been treated with surgery, possibly amputation. There was definitely some sort of infection in his knee that he was briefly hospitalized for, and that was one of the reasons he hadn't wrestled since 7/20. He presumably wasn't wasted during the big match, but in addition to whatever prescription meds he was taking for his knee, he had been smoking crack all summer with and without Jim Neidhart (Anvil went to Japan for the G1 Climax in August), so he was out of shape, and he was seemingly ducking Bret Hart's calls, probably because he knew he was screwing up, and didn't want to hear about it. Bulldog was in the UK a few weeks before the PPV doing media to promote the show, but the pressure on him was seemingly mounting, and by the time the big match arrived, he hadn't slept in 2 days, and infamously told Bret "I'm fooked" because he'd somehow forgotten everything Bret decided they were doing. Bret had crafted what he probably believed was going to be the greatest match of all-time, but with Bulldog avoiding him until the last minute this was a lot less collaborative than it might have been, and Bret was very obviously calling it in the ring to remind Davey of literally everything to the point of it looking like amateur hour at the local armory. Bret dealt with Bulldog's condition the best way he could, but I don't think Bret really did anything he didn't plan on beyond the excessive talking. I think all the rest holds were there regardless because Bret didn't have confidence in Bulldog's energy and stamina, and that was just what Bret did in general, his matches were never high workrate or lots of moves, but this was one of the worst examples of a match that had enough good stuff that was just way too long and never gained the momentum it should have because it always reverted back to stalling. The second half of their 12/17/95 match did actually take off the way this one never managed to, but that was because they put all the stalling in the first half rather than spreading it out like they did here. Both matches were 10 minutes too long. There were short bursts of action here that were good, but it just never strayed too long from a chinlock. There was no cheating or even brawling here in this battle of babyfaces, but Bret was the one taking most of the bumps and exerting more energy, in some cases to put over Bulldog as overpowering, but mostly to lighten his load and try to avoid Bulldog blowing up too badly. What they did looked good, but it's really padded and dragged out by a whole lot of rest holds where everyone can very obviously see Bret trying to whisper the next spot. The match worked when they were indeed doing something, and Bulldog was able to lean into his natural talents well enough to get by. Davey was unprofessional in the lead up, but he's still a talented wrestler, and gave as professional a performance as he could in the moment. He did his part here, so while it was a great carry job by Hart, really leading Davey through this, it was by no means a one man show, and Bulldog probably overachieved given the state he was in. It helped considerably that the crowd is really into it throughout despite all the down time. This had great aura, as it wasn't merely a big show main event, but one that the majority of the audience seemed very invested in due to their nationalism. This was one of the stiffer Bret matches. Even though there's a lot of sitting in holes, the match had good intensity and felt like they were actually trying to win. This was at least the better form of stalling then playing to the crowd because they were always doing something to the opponent, even if it was lame. There was one dangerous spot where Bret tried his pescado, but Bulldog never reacted to actually stand up straight and catch him, so Bret wound up grabbing him around the neck to save himself, which ultimately looked dangerous for Bulldog. Bret started working the back after this. Bret kicked out of the running powerslam and a top rope superplex. There was a double knock down from simultaneous lariats, and Bret set up the sharpshooter from his back while Davey was still groggy. Bulldog made it to the ropes, and when Bret tried to follow with the sunset flip, Bulldog very clumsily sat down and pinned him for the win. I didn't care much for this flukey finish, especially since it wasn't performed fluidly, but overall this match worked well enough to recommend. ***

4/15/26 AEW: Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Myron Reed & Zachary Wentz 13:37
ML: This was a good matchup because they are capable of doing the same things, and that enhanced the flow and the tandem offense in this athletic spotfest. It basically felt like the Bucks were wrestling the Bucks. It was quick hitting action with a very high pace. Reed is the best of the Rascalz, but also the singles wrestler of the bunch, so whether or not you want him being one of the primary tag wrestlers in the trio depends upon if you have any use for him in singles or not. The highlight was Reed's burnout, a cutter with the opponent on the apron where he dives over the top and pulls them down to the floor. Wentz has some cool corkscrews, but he got caught in mid-air, and soon pinned with the Meltzer driver. ***

5/24/25 Marigold Superfly Title: Victoria Yuzuki vs. Mayu Iwatani 9:58
ML: Yuzuki is the Marigold girl that's made an impression on me. She has a lot of speed, energy, and fire, and is well suited to the old STARDOM high speed style. Yuzuki was Mayu's protege in STARS before becoming an original member of Marigold. She's only been wrestling a year and a half, but she was fired up and determined to show her mentor how far she's come since they were last in the ring together. Although this wasn't even a 10 minute match, what's important is Yuzuki was able to get Mayu to do what felt like a big match with her. Marigold did a better job of making you think Yuzuki had a chance of winning this match then I think STARDOM would have. This started really fast, and really only slowed down for Yuzuki's submissions. It was nothing deep, mostly exchanging their favorite athletic moves as you'd expect, but it was fun and entertaining. Yuzuki got a near fall with her moonsault then tried the moonsault off each rope, but ate knees on the one from the top rope. Mayu got a near fall with her Dragon suplex, but Yuzuki countered a second one into her rolling arrow for a near fall. Mayu won completing the moonsault off each rope that Yuzuki failed at earlier. ***

9/14/25 Marigold DREAM STAR Grand Prix 2025 DREAM League: Mayu Iwatani [9] vs. Victoria Yuzuki [10] 15:00
ML: This didn't have a title on the line like their 5/24/25 match did, but had stakes for setting up the league final later that night. Mayu needed a win and an Utami draw to make the finals, while Yuzuki just needed a win. Those are obviously better odds for Yuzuki, except for the fact that Mayu was already 2-0 against her. The English announcers were pretty overbearing trying to put over young student Yuzuki being ready to overcome her veteran master (this time), but the ring work was good. This is naturally a good stylistic matchup, and they have good chemistry together. They started with an excellent high-speed sequence where Yuzuki had Mayu scouted. Mayu was soon punking Yuzuki though. She was outmaneuvering Iwatani when Mayu tried to use her athleticism. Though Mayu has the experience and smarts, Yuzuki is just quicker and can win the reflex and reaction battles. As we saw with their previous Marigold match, Mayu didn't have to work down to Yuzuki, and Yuzuki could do enough on her own to keep Mayu engaged. With this match, we increasingly saw Yuzuki coming up with good answers for what Mayu was throwing at her. They were able to get another 5 minutes out of the pairing without stalling or padding. Mayu avoided some of Yuzuki's big athletic moves including victory shooting and the moonsault and hit her own moonsault with 1 minute left, but Yuzuki small packaged her when she went for the cover. They tried to put over the idea that Yuzuki was the one that was ready to win if time didn't run out, but she had trouble timing her victory shooting, stalling then having the bell ring before she landed it. I think the draw was a good result because it got Yuzuki to the final, and showed her improvement against Mayu without giving away the first win that it's probably still too soon for. ***1/4

PURE-J 3/20/22: Arisa Nakajima & Hanako Nakamori vs. Miyuki Takase & Rina Yamashita 20:01
PA: Started off with some fast-paced exchanges that did a good job of setting the tone. Nakamori was particularly fiery, really busting her ass. Takase didn't seem like she was used to working at this speed, but she kept up pretty well. They got some heat on Nakamori, who did a great job of fighting from underneath. Once Nakajima got the hot tag, her and Yamashita had some really good exchanges. Takase tried to do some cheesy forearms on Arisa, but she doesn't play that, and just started wailing on her. Takase looked pretty gassed out toward the final stretch, but she pushed through it. They did get sloppy at the end, but you could expect that after 15 minutes at a frantic pace. At one point, Nakamori kept kicking her own partner in the face, seemingly forgetting who she was meant to be fighting. There was a lot of physicality on display, with plenty of stiff shots and everyone working hard. Nothing interesting psychology wise, and it got confusing at the end, but it was a really good hard-hitting match. ***1/2

4/30/00 WWF Backlash, WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match: Dean Malenko vs. Scotty Too Hotty 11:47
PA: This was the high point of Malenko’s WWF run, and the only notable singles match I can remember him having there. The WWF had no clue what to do with him, because having a wrestler wrestle good matches was too hard for anyone to figure out. Good, hard worked match with Malenko as the no nonsense wrestling machine working over Scotty. He mainly picked apart the leg and would cut off Scotty’s comebacks. They were well timed and the match had pretty good heat for a Light Heavyweight Title match. Scotty didn’t contribute much, but he followed along well enough and let Malenko carry him to memorable match. The low point was Scotty doing the worm (and hopping on his "injured" leg), which was what the people were waiting for. It’s somehow a dumber move than the People’s Elbow (and, of course, it got the biggest pop of the match). The last few minutes after that really picked up the intensity leading to incredible finish where Malenko did a DDT from the top rope. ***1/4

1/15/90 WWF on MSG Network: Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels vs. The Barbarian & The Warlord 9:59
ML: This was a really fast paced, action packed match for WWF. It was David vs. Goliath stuff where the Rockers were using speed and teamwork to outsmart their more imposing foes. Barbarian can do faster and more athletic stuff, but grabbing hold of a Rocker and smashing them was his best course of action here. This was mostly Rockers running and jumping at Powers, but Powers execute well and succeed at being intimidating. Rockers are energetic, and showed some fun creative teamwork. The big spot was Barbarian lifting Jannetty and running him into post. Jannetty tried to come back by going punch for punch with the giant Warlord, which was a recipe for disaster. Jannetty did a diving body attack off the middle rope, but Barbarian turned it into a fast powerslam. Powers of Pain got more offense here than in the rematch. Rockers did well double teaming, but couldn't sustain an advantage 1 on 1. The finish was bad, with Fuji tripping Michaels and Barbarian just elbow dropping him for the win. Shawn gots his revenge dropkicking Fuji, but then Barbarian blindsided him to knock him to the floor, and Powers of Pain double teamed Jannetty, including using their finisher on him. Jannetty wound up getting stretchered out. ***

1/22/90 WWF: The Barbarian & The Warlord vs. Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels 8:07
ML: This was the lesser rematch from MSG, the dark main event of a Superstars taping where only the worthless jobber matches were broadcast. Once again, it's a classic power vs. speed match with Rockers making POP look silly by outmaneuvering them with a combination of athleticism and the pro wrestling version of silent comedy with Jannetty sliding through Warlord's legs. Powers would get hold of Rockers sooner or later, and that would be bad news for the Rockers. This was a very similar match to last week, just not as energetic because no one outside of the building was supposed to see it, and anything competitive would look good after a night of squashes. Jannetty was featured here, and he's quite exciting using his quickness. Barbarian slowed him down by repeating last week's big spot of running him into the ring post. Jannetty took some big bumps here, including Barbarian turning his diving body attack into an impressive powerslam. Michaels basically stood on the apron overreacting to everyone else's moves in hopes the crowd that should just be paying attention to the action in the ring would clap like seals. Michaels finally made the hot tag, but his run was interrupted very quickly by Mr. Fuji tripping him for the DQ. This ending was just awful, even that much worse than last week. It came too soon and out of nowhere, as Fuji hadn't previously been involved at all. This was a real letdown for a match that seemed to just be beginning the finishing sequence. ***

8/10/91 NJPW G1 Climax 1991 Block A: Keiji Muto [4] vs. Big Van Vader [2] 13:54
ML: The first ever G1 Climax was all about ushering in the new generation of native heavyweight stars. It was a well booked tournament that the fans really got into, especially this match and the tournament final had great aura and felt like the big important matches they were that were changing the face of the company. Tatsumi Fujinami & Scott Norton went to a double count out earlier in the night, so the winner of this match won A block. Muto was still good in 1991. It was his last full year in his 20s, and he still had functional knees, so him doing Muto things was his exciting handspring elbow and moonsault rather than his tedious knee work routine. He gave efforts at least for the TV tapings, as all the wrestlers in Japan were still expected to do in those days. A heavyweight wrestling a junior heavyweight style was still a novelty in 1991, although that was breaking down with NJPW having moved former junior champions Hiroshi Hase, Shiro Koshinaka, Kuniaki Kobayashi, & George Takano into the heavyweight division. 36-year-old Vader had dominated the promotion since winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament at NJPW's 1st Tokyo Dome show on 4/24/89, beating and then losing the title to Shinya Hashimoto, Riki Choshu, & Tatsumi Fujinami. He actually started wrestling the year after Muto, several years after injury ended his brief NFL career, and had improved considerably since his NJPW run started, but was just starting to come into his own. Vader had won their lone house show meeting, and he was the wrestler who was "supposed to win" here. This was basically a precursor to the mostly better Vader vs. Sting matches, with the larger Vader dominating, but the more athletic babyface standing up to him and having exciting but often brief runs of offense. Pre Crow Sting did a better job of getting you into his matches with his enthusiasm and charisma than Muto, but this Muto was still energetic, and had a much better move set. They kept the matches in this league on the shorter side because the whole thing was done in 3 nights (2 blocks of 4 wrestlers, 4 league matches per show, all TV tapings but this third show) with the final on the 4th night. This was actually one of the "longest" matches because only the 30 minute draw between Hashimoto & Masahiro Chono exceeded 15 minutes. The first 6 minutes were pretty average, establishing Vader as the bully and Muto as the athletic guy who could get a run of flashy moves. It picked up on the outside with Muto hitting a pescado and his handspring elbow against the guard rail, and the last 8 minutes were mostly very good and exciting. Vader got stiffer as this progressed, but he wasn't nearly as brutal or as explosive with his punishing offense as in his best matches of the next few years. One of the big problems here was that while Vader was in control a lot more often, he never seemed to have Muto in that much trouble. Muto took a beating, sure, but he was also the guy getting the majority of the near falls. This wasn't so much a great Muto comeback from the brink as him simply surviving long enough to find a way to win. That to me was a key fault with the layout because ultimately Muto won before I ever thought Vader actually even came close. Muto landed on his feet for a suplex, and landed two stiff running elbows. I would have liked to have seen more of this, trying to step up his stiffness and intensity to match Vader, preferably in this style where it wasn't toe to toe, but rather capitalizing on his athleticism to be the equalizer. They just randomly transitioned to the finishing sequence though with Muto going for deep covers after a missile kick and his moonsault. Muto got squashed going for a sunset flip, the first of his flash pin attempts, but survived a powerbomb and more stiff punches. The fans were loudly pulling for Muto now, counting on his backslide and small package. These flash pin attempts set up the really unbelievable finish where Muto no sold an avalanche and tried to come back with a diving body attack because Vader inexplicably sold landing his own move instead. Vader then caught Muto out of the air, but Muto really awkwardly rolled through Vader's sort of not really powerslam and pinned him despite not having any real weight on Vader and not getting a decent hook and grip until after 2. The fans went nuts for the upset itself, but this was just an awful unbelievable series of events to get there. The post match scene was amazing with Vader getting up, but Muto staying down and getting buried in the seat cushions the fans were throwing into the ring in appreciation. Both guys did their thing, and were good in isolation. Muto stood there while Vader hit him. Vader stood there while Muto jumped at him. Their chemistry wasn't that good though. When they tried to work together, it was often kind of awkward, with the transitions being ordinary at best, clumsy at worst. The big spot where Vader caught the handspring elbow because he'd already seen it was kind of clunky, though Vader modifying the German suplex to give it more of a hardway look saved things. There was confusion when Muto ducked a lariat, and Vader probably then hit one in response so they weren't standing there looking silly. They went right to another running spot where Muto again ducked the lariat, but this time really slowly got into a backslide, which I assume was what was supposed to happen the first time. It just felt like there was hesitation or confusion on a lot of the counters, and things weren't really firing on all cylinders even though both were trying hard. Both were interesting wrestlers at this point, but definitely the crowd was the thing that was great here, and they made up for a lot. Ultimately, this was miles better than Muto's mostly dull final against Chono that also had great atmosphere, but it's nowhere near an all-time great NJPW heavyweight match. It's just an entertaining big match that feels important, and certainly actually was. Muto got the big win here so he could then lose to another young heavyweight, Chono, in the final, after Chono had beaten the third member of that generations 3 Musketeers, Hashimoto, in the B Block playoff earlier in the night. ***1/4

6/14/25 GLORY: Mory Kromah vs. Bahram Rajabzadeh R1 2:14
ML: This was some awesome chaos. Bahram is a wild ball of energy. He goes 100 mph, and has a hard time stopping. That works well during the actual fighting situations, but not so well when the ref is trying to break, or the opponent is down and thus not a legal target. This was an absolutely wild brawl that had some epic level complete disregard for the rules that might even make Willie Peeters & Dirty Bob Schrijber ashamed. It was great action while it lasted though, and because of Bahram's shenanigans, there was increasing heat and intensity. Mory was initially pissed that Bahram threw three strikes after the ref called for a break on the ropes less than 15 seconds into the match. Rajabzadeh threw a big combo when they restarted, including wobbling Kromah with a high kick. Rajabzadeh hurt Mory with a left hook, but was unable to follow with a clinch knee, didn't break his clinch, and eventually when Kromah drove forward and fell to his knees, Bahram kneed the downed opponent. This was only an official warning, which was crazy for such a blatant no ifs, ands, or buts about it damaging foul. Mory slipped throwing a front kick, and again Bahram kneed him when both of his knees were clearly on the ground. This time Mory popped up swearing at Bahram, and was ready to street fight, but some of their seconds entered the ring and restrained them both in separate corners until they calmed down. Todd Grisham was suggesting a potential DQ, which certainly would have been reasonable. The ref finally deducted a point at least, and warned Rajabzadeh a DQ was next. They hugged before the restart, but Mory was clearly still steaming, and for the rest of the fight was throwing caution to the wind and just swinging wildly to try to kill Bahram. Mory landed a scissor knee, and Bahram only stayed up because he bounced off the ropes, but then Mory dropped him with a right anyway. Kromah charged in on the restart with a jumping front kick, which he missed, but then the back of his knee landed on the back of Bahram's neck on the way down. Bahram was still firing back full speed, and they continued to brawl wildly until Mory took him out with a jumping switch knee when Bahram was trying to throw an overhand right. This was a great finish with both crashing to the canvas at once, as Kromah went flying partially through the ropes and landed on his back. Good match.

3/15/26 AEW World Tag Title: Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson 19:41
ML: These are the two best longtime teams in AEW, but they have very different styles that don't necessarily blend that well. Most of their matches together wind up being Bucks spotfests because FTR can obviously work, and it's easier for them to just do a bunch of moves than to tell a story with the Bucks, who aren't exactly the most disciplined. This was probably their most balanced match together in terms of what they attempted. The problem was that the FTR half still really didn't come off. They wanted it to be a big emotional story match in addition to the usual Bucks spotfest, but in the end, the story was largely disconnected from the match they actually had. There was certainly no lack of action, but what you think of this match largely hinges on how much credit you give them for just trying a lot harder to incorporate some injury stories, even though they weren't really convincing or seen through well enough to create the drama they seemed to envision. This match was more well rounded on the surface, and was different enough from their others to justify its existence and hold interest. The story points included Nick bleeding like crazy, which would have worked better if it wasn't from getting tossed into the announcer's desk in a manner that in no way suggested a wound. FTR gave Matt a spike piledriver on the apron, which damaged Matt from the neck down into the right arm. Matt focused more on the arm when he got involved again, and I had to rewind to make sure I didn't miss how he actually hurt it before realizing the issue traveled down the neck into the arm. These injuries were the backbone of a match that was basically still just good for the spectacle. There were a lot of highlights as you'd expect, and FTR winning with the avalanche shatter machine was cool. ***

2/26/97 WWF European Title: Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog 16:58
ML: This was a friendly matchup because in addition to being brother in laws, they were co-holders of the WWF World Tag Team Championship. It was way better than their 94 & 95 matches, which were fine but not worth recommending. This however wasn't the match I was expecting, and was probably the best RAW effort of the decade. This was clearly the match they wanted to do, and one they were having fun with, whereas their previous ones were just work. Bulldog was taking this seriously, and working a lot harder than you would expect even on a PPV. It was surely his best performance since the days when he was touring All Japan teaming with The Dynamite Kid. Owen is obviously the much better wrestler of the two, but the higher pace and more athletic action gave him a much better opportunity to show out for once, which he basically hasn't done since he turned on Bret in 1994. The gymnastics oriented opening saw Bulldog trying to turn the clock back to his junior heavyweight days. Their 5/14/95 King Of The Ring 1995 Qualifying Match was very much a slow Bulldog hold the armbar kind of match that picked up final minutes before ending in a 15 minute time limit draw. This one was 2 minutes longer, but much faster, with more effort in the first 2 minutes then in the first 13 minutes of the 95 match. They certainly did a lot more spots here. After Bulldog hurt his knee taking it back body drop to the floor, Owen pretended to hurt his knee landing on a leapfrog, but kicked Bulldog's knee when he approached unsuspecting. Relations were more intense and less friendly after this. They broke things up with submission holds to give Davey Boy rest, but I was very impressed with his stamina here, he was running the ropes hard and doing the headsprings that were a much more common part of his 80s style before he became so ridiculously overroided. Bulldog even did a nice jumping lariat here. Because they were taking this seriously and showing urgency, they got a lot more mileage out of the regular near falls than people normally do in the WWF, where most of the time they didn't use many, and you either won with your finisher or it was some kind of screw job. This being a TV match that was more or less a sprint by WWF standards also made you believe the match could realistically end a lot sooner than it actually did. The finish came when Owen kicked out of the running powerslam and hit a victory roll while Davey was complaining to the ref, but Bulldog shifted backwards at 2 and got the flash pin. ***1/2

4/19/25 TJPW/DDT/GCW: Konosuke Takeshita & Masha Slamovich vs. Miyu Yamashita & Shinya Aoki 11:09
ML: You can certainly put Slamovich and Yamashita in a mixed match without having to worry about whether they'll stand up to the guys. This was more kick and submission oriented since that's what everyone but Takeshita favors. It was a sprint because everybody was wrestling several matches over WrestleMania weekend. They didn't stick to the natural gender pairings ar all, you got a little of everything. The work was good, but ultimately this felt thin, rushed, and underdeveloped. It's certainly not the best any of them are capable of, but I'm glad we got to see it. Slamovich pinned Miyu with her white knight driver after Takeshita gave her a blue thunder bomb. ***

FFCP 6/20/65 France: Jean Rabut vs. Michel Saulnier.
DC: This black-and-white TV match from France may look a bit boring from a contemporary perspective, but when you figure in the time and place of the match, it’s hard not to appreciate the quality of the wrestling displayed here. In fact, this is a great example of truly excellent old school French catch. They did a great job of making this a tough-looking competitive wrestling match. The execution and timing of the moves were generally really well done. The storytelling was very good as well, and this once again proves that wrestling psychology helps make old matches timeless. Some of the parts during the second half of the match were a bit on the slow side, but I guess nobody really had anything to do back in 1965 anyway, so there wasn’t any need to rush things. The spectators in the crowd were visibly mesmerized by these wrestlers. Excellent match. ****¼  

JWA 3/12/66 Tokyo Nippon Budokan, NWA International Heavyweight Title: Giant Baba vs. Fritz Von Erich 14:17.
DC: This was a wild brawl, and it really was like a war. It’s one of the most fascinating Japanese pro wrestling matches from the 1960s. Fritz Von Erich did a great job portraying the evil gaijin. Giant Baba did a great job of putting over the story of him trying to fight for survival. The actual wrestling moves weren’t anything special, but the psychology made it a captivating and truly memorable bout (especially considering that this was from before puroresu became great). Excellent match. ****

FFCP 5/27/66 France: Petit Prince vs. Michel Falempin 17:27.
DC: The main story of the match was once again the fact that Petit Prince was very agile and fast. He was particularly spectacular for those days, as there really wasn’t anyone quite like him back then. He certainly made the most of his gymnastics background. Michel Falempin tried his best to kinda play his part in adding substance in between the flashiness. There wasn’t really a template yet for wrestling a gymnastic-style wrestler, so it feels they are just freshly coming up with ways to make this work. Falempin did a better job at being a solid opponent for Prince than Bobby Genele did five days prior. Genele’s 5/22/66 match with Prince was good, but Genele tried too much to do his own thing and didn’t understand what to do against such a futuristic opponent (which we can’t really blame him for, of course), while Falempin seemed genuinely willing and able to try to make this a fascinating spectacle. This openness displayed by Falempin enabled Prince to really be super spectacular and engage in a competitive match in a very innovative way. They both understood how to maximize the dynamic between the two, which made the storytelling aspects of the match more cohesive as well. Prince won via pinfall. Great match. ****½

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 8/19/67 Hemel Hempstead: Clayton Thomson vs. Tony St. Clair.
DC: This appears to be the only World of Sport Wrestling match from the 1960s that we currently have available for viewing. English wrestler Tony St. Clair had made his debut the previous year, and he was facing the more experienced Scottish wrestler Clayton Thomson. This was a serious-looking grappling contest. Several fans were voicing their support for underdog St. Clair, as they would occasionally shout: “Come on Tony!” Since I haven’t seen any other WOS footage from the 1960s, it’s hard to say how good this was compared to other WOS bouts from that decade. However, this really appeared to be a solid bout that was perfectly watchable. That being said, it also felt like it didn’t exceed expectations, even when considering the era. Of course, St. Clair was still a relative newcomer, so we can’t really say it was disappointing either. Good match. ***

FFCP 9/30/67 France: Petit Prince vs. Michel Saulnier 20:00.
DC: What made this match so fascinating and memorable was that Michel Saulnier tried to harmonize with Petit Prince’s innovative skills. We have seen people not quite know what to do with this futuristic Prince, we have seen people step up their game against Prince, and now we see Saulnier reinventing himself in order to try to match the time-traveling-esque style of Prince. Saulnier wasn’t merely content with just being there to help showcase Prince, he wanted to be a competitive opponent in a match that was a modernized fight. The fast-paced technical wrestling sequences in this match were so far ahead of their time. Prince displayed some of the fastest and smoothest moves you could possibly expect from someone wrestling in the 1960s. His transitions were very sharply executed as well. Prince wasn’t merely someone trying to do a bunch of flips, he wanted to incorporate spectacle into a well-crafted bout that would still resemble a competitive wrestling match. And Saulnier was the right opponent to make all of that work perfectly. They were able to tell the main story of the match very well with Saulnier trying to ground Prince as much as possible while Prince tried to find ways to overwhelm his opponent with fast and athletic gymnastics-inspired moves. Great match. ***** 

FFCP 1/20/68 France: Petit Prince vs. Bobby Genele 6:21 shown.
DC: These two had a good match on 5/22/66, but this time around, Bobby Genele was a lot more prepared and capable of dealing with Petit Prince’s futuristic style. Prince was also more experienced and comfortable in his role, which enabled him to go all out here. This match feels like it’s at least 12 years ahead of its time. Genele played his role really well, and Prince’s high flying was off the charts. It was such a tremendous spectacle. It’s a shame the match was joined in progress. Excellent match. ****¼

FFCP 10/4/69 France: Petit Prince vs. Michel Saulnier.
DC: It feels like this match relied a lot more on just the spectacle than their previous match, but the spectacular elements performed by Petit Prince were still so different from what virtually everyone else was doing that it was a memorable match anyway. Excellent match. ****

3/28/26 UFC: Tofiq Musayev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes 3R
ML: This fight was good, but so frustrating it's hard to focus on the entertainment value because Musayev just seemed to do whatever illegal things he could think of without even getting warned like it was pro wrestling and the ref was Shiro Abe or Tirantes. There were several little bits of shady and dubious tactics, but primarily we saw one of the most blatant fight altering fouls in UFC history go unpunished, and Bahamondes both lost the fight and got battered and bloodied badly from elbows due to this. I don't know for sure is Bahamondes would have won if not for the fence grab, but the fight certainly turned there, and quickly snowballed. I'm not sure what rock this referee Bobby Wombacher crawled out from under, but this inept loser was like having a random parent who doesn't know the rules ref their kids game because there's nobody else. I didn't even hear a single warning despite all of Musayev's shenanigans. Bahamondes effectively used his 6.5-in reach advantage to score on the outside in the first. Musayev had to take down at the end of the round, but otherwise had a hard time getting close enough to really do much. Michael Bell still scored the round for Musayev even though he was picked apart. Bahamondes dropped Musayev with a left straight counter to an overhand right at the start of the 2nd. Bahamondes started to flurry, but Musayev got up and would have got taken right back down if not for ridiculously blatant double fence grab. This should absolutely have been a point deduction. Wombacher basically cost Bahamondes the fight here by allowing Musayev to avoid getting lifted. Musayev got a takedown with Bahamondes trying for a guillotine then armbar, but he was cut badly down the middle of the forehead from the ground and pound, and was painting the canvas Jackson Pollock style. Musayev proceeded to get away with a headbutt, and really put a beating on Bahamondes with the ground and pound. This wasn't a 10-8 round because of the early knockdown, but it's hard to praise Musayev's effective ground work where Bahamondes head was getting bounced off the mat when Bahamondes probably just wins if not for his cheating. Bahamondes needed to try to get off his back because he was taking too much damage trying for submissions. Musayev got the quick takedown in round 3, and was pounding away again. Bahamondes swept with 80 seconds left, and looked for the choke. Musayev bared his teeth and seemed poised to bite if necessary, but beyond being too high, there was so much blood everywhere that it was really hard to keep any kind of a grip. Musayev won a unanimous decision 29–28, 29–27, 30–27. Musayev has to win since the ref didn't do his job, but this should have been a draw at the least, as there was no excuse for not deducting a point from Musayev minimum, the worse of the intentional headbutts could have been a point too. Good match.

3/28/26 UFC: Joe Pyfer vs. Israel Adesanya R2 4:18.
ML: Later Izzy is tough to gauge because he's still great for periods, but he's just not consistent throughout a fight. His speed and reflexes aren't what they were, and since he can't rely as much on his athleticism to be able to pounce on the openings, he is more willing to exchange. His tactics and fight IQ greatly exceed his power, and his chin has, of course, also declined with age, so brawling is rarely the thing he should be doing. This is a fight he would have won easily 5 years ago. Pyfer has a right hand and a takdown, but generally isn't that great. Adesanya showed he could outsmart him by sticking to thoughtful kickboxing, but sometimes he was just standing in front of Pyfer to no end, doing nothing. In 2026, this is a back and forth matchup, and Izzy's the less durable one. Pyfer spent the first half of round one trying to slow Adesanya down, and while he couldn't get the takedown, wrestling and that style of clinching tire Adesanya a lot faster than kickboxing, and may have been why he was too content to just exchange in the second. Once Adesanya found his range, he began picking Pyfer apart. Pyfer was throwing full power, but Adesanya had much better distance management, setup, feints, and diversity. Pyfer could get in on the body lock, and was able to take Adesanya down in the final 20 seconds by going low with the knee tap rather then sticking to the high body lock. This was an Adesanya round though. A couple low kicks and Pyfer was already compromised early in the 2nd. Pyfer was more committed to pushing forward in round two, which was important because he was losing anytime he wasn't pressuring Adesanya. The short range exchanges weren't really worth it for Adesanya because Pyfer is the more powerful puncher, but he lacks the ability to set it up when Adesanya is fighting patiently & tactically. He should have just kept his distance and finished off the lead leg. In his prime, Adesanya could avoid more of these shots and really step it up once he gauged his opponents timing and rhythm, but these days it's just too risky. It was low IQ and lazy to leave a gameplan that was winning for just standing around trading, and it didn't take long before it cost Adesanya. Pyfer hurt Adesanya with the big right hand, and then Adesanya was stuck against the cage getting hit. Adesanya might have been baiting Pyfer to an extent, but when he tried to make his comeback, Pyfer ducked a big right and took him down. Pyfer mounted with little resistance as Adesanya has never had a ground game. Adesanya was able to turn for a while, but once Pyfer flattened him on his stomach, he had no defense and Herb Dean stopped it. Adesanya has now lost four in a row since winning the Middleweight Championship from Alex Pereira in the rematch on 4/8/23. Pyfer was seconds from taking his own life last month, so it's pretty impressive to come back from that mental state to score the biggest win of his career over the former champion to finally earn a top five ranking. Good match.

5/23/73 Joint Promotions: Mark Rocco vs. Terry Jowett R5 1:50
ML: This is seemingly the earliest Rocco footage currently available. He's just wearing generic single color tights with no top, and isn't really working as a heel here, although he does jump on Jowett when he's down once. He's already a mad ball of energy, working hard at everything and giving quite an impressive performance. Even without cheating, he's still super aggressive, and going all out even to put over Jowett's comedy spots. Rocco shows a ton of speed and explosive gymnastics here. Rocco doesn't stick with any hold for long, but he increasingly destroys Jowett's left arm. His movements are all fast, explosive, and aggressive. Jowett didn't make a big impression on me. He was a babyface who normally relied on his speed, but at 35 against a 22-year-old who would go on to become one of the all-time greats, he was physically overmatched. It was weird seeing Rocco on offense so much, but Jowett did finally make a big comeback with some tosses and dropkicks so Rocco could take some big athletic bumps. This was short lived though, as Rocco was able to quickly kip up after Jowett flattened him with a running uppercut, and finish Jowett with what I'll call a gutwrench powerslam. This match would likely rate higher if it was more competitive, but Rocco really seemed several levels above Jowett, so it made sense this way. In the end, the match is mostly important for showing how good Rocco already was. ***1/2

1/9/80 Joint Promotions: Ken Joyce vs. Tony Costas R6 1:20 (R2 skipped)
ML: This was the Ken Joyce show. He's countering, evading, and avoiding everything, often in humorous ways. Costas is very workmanlike performer from Cyprus who gave a solid technical performance where he was largely just Joyce's stooge. Since Joyce didn't have a great athlete to work with, and was getting old to be doing too many gymnastic escapes himself, he had to lean more into his comedy here. This was interesting because the master craftsman had to keep finding ways to essentially make the match on his own rather than setting up the great escapes of Steve Grey and relying on them to provide the payoffs. This was well executed, but I wanted less comedy and was hoping for more resistance from Costas, who was just kind of a bland dude that kept getting clowned. Joyce just wasn't where Costas needed him to be. He escaped from Costas' locks. He avoided his jumping attacks. Costas stopped taking chances because none of them worked, and just tried to hold onto Joyce, but Joyce always found his way out or to the ropes. When something did get locked in, it was often very unorthodox, similar to the Lucha Libre where Twister is the game of choice. Though this isn't my favorite type of Joyce match, it's still interesting, and doesn't really look like much else that exists. ***1/4

4/13/90 AJPW/NJPW/WWF Wrestling Summit: Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen 12:30
PA: Hogan wasn’t a stranger to Japan, as NJPW was his secondary promotion from 1980-85. He knew the expectations were different than in the US, so he adapted his style. He had more of an edge to him. He did a lot more wrestling moves and worked stiffer than normal. This was a strong Hogan performance, especially for the time period, but it's not like Hogan was working stiff. He was working Japanese style instead of WWF cartoon style, and did a good job of it, but its not like he turned into Vader exchanging potato shots or became a wresting machine because he did a technical wrestling hold at the outset. Hansen refusing to go down cleanly for his drop toe hold was good, setting the tone exactly as they should have. Hansen still looked far more legit, and the match picked up more when he was on offense, but Hogan bridged the gap enough that it looked like a credible fight. The match was well structured and looked like a struggle. Hogan worked heel. He got some good heat, and Hansen sold a lot for him. They both juiced. It was mostly just brawling, and I think it’s more interesting than good, but it’s a notable match, and easily one of Hogan's best. ***

ML: This was a real Hogan wrestling match. Anytime Hogan doesn't make me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan with his cartoon routine he's doing well. Hansen did a good job of trying to make this come off as a big important interpromotional grudge match. He established the struggle and lack of cooperation right away, and that turned the pedestrian technical wrestling of Hogan into something sort of interesting because they weren't just taking turns playing with one another. Hogan bloodied Hansen on the outside, ramming his head into a table. Hogan had been a heel in NJPW, but was the ultimate wannabe superhero in WWF, so this act of aggression helped establish ornery Hansen, who was also a heel in Japan, but was at the same time beloved as a legendary All Japan mainstay, as the wrestler the live audience could root for. Hogan was competent and effective enough, but he was kind of laid back for my tastes. It felt like Hansen really needed to do something to light the fire in Hogan too. Hansen finally came back stopping Hogan's corner charge with a front kick, taking him down with a big shoulder block, and then doing a deep cover like he really meant it. Hansen got a measure of revenge creating chaos with his own brawling on the outside. Hogan countered the lariat with an elbow and tried to win with a desperation leg drop, but Hansen avoided. Both were looking for the finish now, but Hogan countered a potential lariat attempt with a high cross body and another with a big boot then won with his axe bomber even though it looked like Hansen kind of kicked out. Hogan always won with the axe bomber in Japan rather than the leg drop, so the finish made sense from that perspective, but Hansen getting dominated and then losing to an incredibly inferior version of his own finisher was a tough pill to swallow. This was a good performance for both guys, but while Hogan was much better than his normal jokey low level, Hansen isn't exactly Psicosis or Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, so him selling for 4/5 of a match is never going to be his best stuff. Hansen was mostly good here for getting the tone right because he really doesn't get to do much. This definitely didn't disappoint me for match quality, but my expectations were quite low. I definitely don't regret watching it. I could see calling it good for what it was. **1/4

11/19/95 WWF Survivor Series: Rad Radford & Skip & The 1-2-3 Kid & Tom Prichard vs. Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly & Hakushi & Marty Jannetty 18:45
ML: These were a bunch of the best workers in the company who rarely got featured otherwise, particularly Horowitz, who toiled for years as a jobber despite being one of the best workers in the country. This was basically what a big elimination is supposed to be. It's fast and energetic, capitalizing on the numbers. It's not so much about guys going above and beyond as just getting in, doing what they do well, and getting out before they overstay their welcome. The offense was definitely extremely advanced for a WWF match of the era, but for the most part it's not that they are doing anything earthshattering here, but rather that it's consistently well worked and entertaining. Even Holly was actually pretty good here, if a bit sloppy. The downside was that a lot of the eliminations were pretty unconvincing, though Jannetty pinning Skip with the avalanche powerbomb was certainly impressive, and way above and beyond the type of offense you'd see outside of Japan or ECW. Jannetty had returned to WWF at the end of September after a year and a half absence where he kicked around the indies, mostly ECW after Jannetty & WWF lost their court case to the inexperienced opponent he paralyzed with his Rocker dropper, Chuck Austin. Thanks to all the drugs, Jannetty was already past his prime in this run, but he still knews how to pop the crowd, and was the most over guy in the match. It came down to him vs. Kid & Skip. This was generally the best part of the match, with Kid saving most of his hot offense for the stretch run, and both doing a good job of bumping for Jannetty. Again, the finish where Jannetty was pinned out of nowhere from Sid clotheslining him on the top rope was incredibly lame. Overall though, this was a really good WWF effort. If you could just pair that with some dramatic near falls and actual good finishes, you would really have something here. ***1/4

1/18/98 WWF: Max Mini & Mosaic & Nova vs Battalion & El Torito & Tarantula 7:49
PA: This event was the first major wrestling show I watched as a kid. A 10-year-old in 1998 just wants to see Vader beat up that weirdo Goldust, Shamrock and the LOD to win titles, Steve Austin to win the Royal Rumble, and the Undertaker to beat up that pretty boy smart ass Shawn Michaels. Just fast forward through the minis because it’s a midget match, and why are they even on the show? Now I’m watching this show decades later, and the minis match is the only watchable match on the show. The crowds at this point only wanted to see the stars, so these guys rolled out spot after spot to no reaction. It probably leaned too heavily on the headscissors and armdrags. There wasn’t much outside of the acrobatic exhibition, but as a novelty filler match it was highly entertaining and fun. They finished up with a series of dives at the end with Max doing a double corkscrew springboard. They all did a good job. Mosaic was the most solid of the babyfaces, but Nova stood out the most. Sunny was the ref, presumably so people would watch the ring. She was blown up by the end just from getting out of the way of the action. Actually, the only screw-up in the match was her comedy spot where she was supposed to leapfrog Max, but they salvaged it with Max crawling through her legs on the second try. JR did a pretty good job of calling the match, while Lawler just made short jokes the whole time. In the end, this is a case of being very good for what it is, but what it is is an 8 minute novelty match. **3/4

ML: This had a lot of things working against it. It was brief, 1 fall, had the hyena Jerry Lawler making a mockery of it, Sunny distracting him and most of the fans from the action, and so on. These are basically the best minis of the 90s though recast in these stupid gimmicks, and they were working hard. It was a bit too arm drag heavy to be certain, but all the lame brawling was removed, so that helped in their ability to over condense things. Nova (Mascarita Sagrada) vs. Torito (Espectrito) was a lot more spectacular and evolved than some of the other pairings, but this didn't feel like they were lazy or instructed to hold back so as not to overshadow Undertaker and the main event stiffs like a lot of WWF undercard stuff. Mosaic (Octagoncito) did a good job as usual. He's not as spectacular as Sagrada, but usually has the most precision of the minis, especially having one of the best arm drags in the sport, as he has forceful whip on it so it's not so obvious that the opponent is just jumping with it. They did five consecutive dives down the stretch. Max (Tzuki) did a nice diving headscissors before pinning Tarantula (Espectrito II) in a crucifix. This was kind of short and thin to exactly be good, it's more like the 3rd fall than their complete match, but it was actually genuinely fun. Rating this match is difficult in the sense that it's mindblowing compared to the comedy 80s mini matches I grew up with such as Haiti Kid &  Hillbilly Jim & Little Beaver vs. King Kong Bundy & Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook from WrestleMania 3, but looks like a standard AEW style match today, except they actually give an earnest effort without stalling half the time. You can't hold the future against the past though, so I'd say this moved the needle in quite a positive manner, actually being a serious junior style workrate match in WWF despite what most of the audience at the time was probably expecting. **3/4

12/11/96 FMW: Megumi Kudo vs. Shinobu Kandori 14:14 of 14:30
PA: The work was good. It was very well laid out and everything made sense, but it was just missing something and came off a bit flat for some reason. The first part was Kandori going after Kudo’s arm. Kudo came back and scored some knockdowns, but Kandori overpowered her. Kandori pummelled her on the ground for a near KO and went for Kudo’s arm again when she got up. Kudo went for Kandori’s arm in response. Kandori bailed, and Kudo hit a tope. They went at each other with chairs on the outside. Kudo was against the ringpost, and Kandori went for a lariat, but Kudo avoided it. Kudo hit a few big moves in the ring and went for a dive, but Kandori caught her in a wakigatame. Kandori put her in a choke on the turnbuckle, but Kudo got out of it and hit a sloppy rana. Kudo got a choke sleeper, Kandori made the ropes and Kudo looked to put her away. Kandori countered and got the advantage back. Kandori hit a powerbomb for two, Kudo slipped out of a second one, but got caught in choke sleeper and Kandori won. It was a good match, but the rematch was better. ***

1/5/97 LLPW Street Fight: Shinobu Kandori vs. Megumi Kudo 20:12 of 20:58.
PA: This was better than the 12/11/96 FMW match, and likely the best of the trilogy. They wrestled early and it was a lot more heated and intense, the hot crowd that was there for women's wrestling helped. They went for submissions and spots. Kudo hit a tope and it turned into a brawl on the outside. Kandori bled and Kudo worked the cut and went after her with a chain. Kandori came back with the chain and got her revenge beating, made Kudo bleed and powerbombed her on a table. Kandori choked Kudo out with a chain and looked to finish with a powerbomb, but couldn’t put her away. Kudo made some small comebacks while Kandori kept looking to finish. Kandori threw a bunch of chairs and piled them up to give Kudo a powerbomb, but Kudo slipped out of that. Kudo was selling like death, and it was great. Kandori dragged her up to the balcony and they teased throwing each other off. Kandori ultimately tangled Kudo up in a chain and hung her from the balcony to get the win, I think it was stopped because Kudo couldn’t continue. The finish was terrible, but the match was really good. Kudo still wanted to beat Kandori, so the next logical step was a barbed wire death match. ***1/2

3/14/97 FMW, No Rope Barbed Wire Death Match: Megumi Kudo vs. Shinobi Kandori 16:25
PA: The third meeting between these two. Same sort of quality of their last matches, except this was death match. It was mainly a wresting match in this environment, and they made it compelling, using the barbed wire gimmicks well. It was a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, Kandori beat Kudo twice, but Kudo won her ‘speciality’ death match. Kudo dominated a good portion of this, and Kandori’s selling was great. The best spot of the match was Kudo doing a tope over the barbed wire after Kandori had bailed out. Kandori made her big comeback towards the end, but Kudo cut that off by hip attacking her into the barbed wire, and she was soon able to finish after a Kudo Driver and a running elbow. ***1/2

4/8/97 JWP The Dress Up Wild Fight Tag Match: Mayumi Ozaki & Rieko Amano vs. Megumi Kudo & RIE 27:26
PA: There was an excellent brawl somewhere in here, but it had two problems overall. One was Rie. She didn’t drag down the match too badly, but her offense was awful, and she added nothing. The other was the length. They weren’t just killing time like in the Ozaki vs. Takako match in ‘96, it was paced better than that, but this sort of match doesn’t need to go 27 minutes. They mainly brawled to set up the big gimmick spots, and while the quality was there, it felt really dragged out at times. The spots were a mixed bag, some were good, some weren’t. Ozaki and Kudo were the standouts as you'd expect, and Amano was good in her role. ***3/4

4/18/97 FMW, No Rope Barbed Wire Barricade Double Hell Death Match: Megumi Kudo vs. Mayumi Ozaki (11:17 / 17:18)
PA: The full version of this doesn’t exist for no good reason. It’s better than almost any other FMW match I’ve seen. Even though Ozaki was queen of the street fight at this point, this was her first death match, and she again proved there’s nothing she can’t do. The wrestling built nicely to the gimmick spots. It was smartly worked and the quality of the wrestling and the big bumps into the barbed wire were great. They had excellent near falls at the end, and a hot crowd. Ozaki sold the most, and took the most the big bumps, so Kudo was mainly the aggressor, but Ozaki kept fighting back to get a huge near fall with her Tequila Sunrise. She tried to follow up with a chain, but Kudo avoided and hit the Kudo Driver to win. A third of the match was clipped, but what they showed was tremendous, and second only to Kudo vs. Combat as far as women’s death matches go. ****

3/28/21, High Speed Title: Natsupoi vs. Starlight Kid 12:40
PA: These two had a good trilogy of matches in 2021, all of which are worth a look, but this is their best effort. This was a really good action packed match with strong performances from both. Well executed sequences and spots, and they made sure to show the effects. It was nice to see them get to headline a show, as it was their chance to do more of a regular title match instead of the usual High Speed Title sprint throw a bunch of spots and it’s all over in 5 minutes. ***1/2

6/12/21, World of Stardom Title Match: Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri 43:19
PA: Here we go. The most overrated match since, well that falls apart since AEW exists, and we something more overrated there on a weekly basis. Some people believe this was the best joshi wrestling match in the last 25 years, but it was maybe the best in about 10 weeks since Natsupoi vs. Starlight Kid. A solid match overall, but following the Okada/Bushi Road formula where the first 30+ minutes are boring and stretched out. The last 10 minutes were excellent, containing a lot more action than the entire first 30. They basically had to stretch 20 minutes of work out to a 43 minute long "epic" main event. Utami doesn't have enough variety to go that long. She also doesn't really have the matwork or striking skills to match Syuri, but Syuri did a very good job carrying this match, and it was about as good a match as she could’ve possibly had with Utami at this length. **1/4

9/25/21, 5 STAR Grand Prix Final: Momo Watanabe vs. Syuri 18:36
PA: The best STARDOM match of 2021. This was an exciting, hard hitting, strong style match that felt like a big main event, and it was nice to see a motivated Momo. She was throwing the best kicks I've seen her throw here, and they needed to be because there wasn't much else to this. They pretty much just kicked the crap out of each other for 18 minutes and threw in some spots along the way. It was intense, and it was about the right length for these two. The were some negatives in terms of selling, and the fighting spirit was egregious, but was overall a worthy conclusion to their big tournament of the year. ***1/2

12/29/21, World of Stardom/SWA Double Title Match: Syuri vs. Utami Hayashishita 36:33
PA: The best of their trilogy of matches in 2021. The layout was much better this time and the match flowed better. Syuri’s performance was once again great, and she guided Utami through another big match. Utami was less frustrating here. She has shown some improvement as a big match worker through the year, but she is still nowhere near ready even at this point for the push she has received. ***1/4