Match pimping

[Guest DragonflyKid]

1.) Ohtani versus Ultimo Dragon - J Crown '96

 

The first Ohtani match I witnessed was from the super J '94, I recently got a comp of his and he quickly became one of my favorites in the same way Kobashi has become my favorite. They are both emotional and have been described as being "goofy" yet they are still great. I was a fan of Dragon's when he was in WCW, I have yet to see much of his Japan stuff but i look forward to seeing it eventually.

 

This match was great, the early part of the match consisted of a feeling out process, it was made that much better by Ohtani's antics such as avoiding 2 La Majistral cradles(U. Dragon beat Lyger earlier on the card with that move.), after avoiding the 2nd one he waved his finger at UD as if to say not this time. The middle of the match consisted of submissions including Ohtani working one of UD's arms effectively. The latter part of the match is some of the most thrilling pro wrestling I have seen, I was starting to think I was going to be disappointed by this match then they turn it on. Great nearfall after nearfall until UD finally wins it with a Running Lyger Bomb. ****1/2

 

I prefer the AJ HW style over the NJ Junior style as I have felt the '94 Super J Cup and it's two highly acclaimed matches have been overrated. I probably feel the same about this one, I thought it was great, just not epic or as great as many AJ matches I have seen.

 

 

2.) Misawa versus Kobashi - 10/31/98 - AJ October Giant Series(Also is available clipped on the tv version)

 

Having seen most of their singles matches I loved seeing how their series evolved. Some may dislike or hate the late 90's AJ "head-dropping style" but I enjoy it. I still believe there is enough of what made the early AJ 90's style unparalleled, they may have sacrificed some with the ever-growing # of head-drops but I don't think the matches revolve around head-drops. The Misawa/Kobashi series continued escalating with every match(With the exception of their 2000 match.), Their 1st match on 3/6/90 ended after a Tiger Driver, it took two Tiger Drivers on their 4/5/91 match, then TDs didn't work so it went to the Tiger Suplex, then that didn't work so the Tiger Suplex '85 had to be used, then the TD '91, eventually that stopped working and the Emerald Frosion had to be invented to take care of Kobashi. The amouint of punishment needed to put the opponent away kept increasing, the matches become longer and felt like true epics.

 

This match did have a slow first half, the match lasted over 40:00 so I can see why the build up was slow. There was ton of stiffness as it's Misawa's elbows versus Kobashi's chops. The later part of the match did feature lots of head-drops, some without proper selling but overall they increased the drama dramatically as the match felt like a war. The end saw many big moves including the TD '91 getting kicked out of, some would say they went overboard but after their previous matches they needed to do something to get nearfalls as the crowd knows the amount of punishment taken before a pinfall has to be massive. *****

 

I love the style of the match, I love Kobashi inspite of his goofiness and his outright no-selling or his poor lack of selling in certain instances.

 

 

3.) Ozaki/Kansai versus Toyota/Yamada - 11/26/92 - AJW DreamRush

 

Before seeing this match the only experience I had with Joshi Puroresu was Dreamslam I, I loved that card and alot of the matches on it. I went in to this knowing some called it the best women's match of all time, I have been disapponted by some hyped-up matches in the past but this was not one of them.

 

Great match, a best 2 of 3 falls classic. They pulled off so many moves and did it so well, they showed so much emotion that at the end of the match I was emotional. The pace of the match never came close to dragging even though they went around 40:00, they showed how tremendous women can wrestle and how much talent and heart they have. I do feel a bit uncomfortable watching women destoy each other but I can't deny how amazing the stuff is to watch. It's ultra-stiff(Thinking of Kansai.), has high risk moves(Thinking of Toyota.), a high level of tension, grace and whatever other word I can use to descibe how transcendant it was. ****3/4 after the 1st viewing, ***** after the 2nd. I'm confident it won't go down after the 3rd viewing or anytime thereafter.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

3/16/96 Rey Jr. v Juvi

 

Probably the BEST Lucha Libre match that I have ever seen (or seen up to this point). Great UWF/NJ Juniors mat work to start the match, building to a tremendous first fall. If Konan and Co. didn't have their run in and they came up with a better finish (Juve with a brainbuster off the top rope...Rey with an ocean cyclone suplex), I could definetly say this is the BEST juniors match I have ever seen. Even with the run in, this is my favorite Juniors match at the current time. I would place this head to head with Liger v Sammy 4/92 and Liger v Otani 3/96.

 

8/13/88 and 12/5/84 Takada v Yamazaki

 

Essentially the same matches, fought four years apart, with a little bit more advanced UWF style work in the '88 match. That said, both of these were state of the art for the time for their time and even today. Great striking, great ground games, and up crowds take these two matches to the top.

 

More later if I get some time.

 

Tim

[Guest permagrinning]

found this on highspots, how do these other matches compare?

 

1- Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Misterio Jr. - World Welterweight Title (1/21/95)

2- Rey Misterio Sr. & Jr./Transformer vs. Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera/Psicosis (4/2/95)

3- Rey Misterio Sr. & Jr. vs. Fuerza & Juventud Guerrera (4/9/95)

4- Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - WWA Lightweight Title(5/28/95)

5- Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - WWA Lightweight Title (7/31/95)

6- Rey Misterio Jr./Juventud Guerrera vs. El Picudo/Perro Aguayo Jr. - Parejas Increibles - Mask/Hair Match (12/23/95)

7- Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - Cage Match - Car vs. Car Match One (2/12/96)

8- Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - Car vs. Car (8/12/96)

[Guest Tim Cooke]

They are all worthy of seeing just to see how Juve grew from 1994- March 1996. But if you are looking for any of them to be stand out matches, I don't think you will find that. They are all ***1/4+ but nothing really in the ****1/2 MOTYC.

 

Tim

[Guest goodhelmet]

RC did a great job explaining Otani vs. Drago so I'll discuss another favorite match of mine... kawada/taue vs. kobashi/misawa.

 

i love the epic feel, kawada's first pin on misawa, the fact that kawada and taue were just destroying misawa while kobashi hopelessly tried to protect him while ignoring the bum leg.

 

this match proved without a shadow of a doubt that kawada and taue were the best tag team the 90's had to offer. knowing the backstory is great but even without that privilege, the match still stands on its own as a blowaway match. these guys just busted their ass and proved that the American tag formula is not the only successful formula. sometimes, it just takes great wrestling to make a match great. novel concept, huh?

[EL DANDY~! 0]

OK. I bring da MAJOR FUCKING PIMPING for the greatest singles match ever...take it to the MUTHAFUCKIN BANK.

 

In the midst of frenzy unforseen by me and probably anybody else watching the match, Kawada proves he's the most STOIC MUTHAFUCKA ALIVE by not even cracking a smile of moving anything on his facial expressions until the match begins. The surrealness of all the fans chanting Kawada or Misawa in unison at the same time is so great, that it shows that the crowd is more torn than a Tommy Lee/Pamela relationship. It's so great, that EVERY move done has a purpose, every little kick, every elbow, it's as if a story had been handed down from generations past and these two are making it look so unbelievably awesome that I'm awestruck. The slow motion I have on the commercial tape further emphasizes this greatness. The neck bumps are brutal, the stiffness is absolutely awesome, and the big moves are done to the best of both wrestler's ability. If Misawa busted a Tiger Suplex '85, this would have been MORE the ULTIMATE match it already is, but he saves that for later on down the road. You are NOT a fan of wrestling if you can't find this match as nothing less than an OUTSTANDING MATCH. I won't rate it, because I believe it will soil the actual rating it deserves.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Alright. Just because it would seem less people have seen this then I initially thought, I'll go with Ito/Watanabe vs. Mita/Shimoda in the Kanami Death Match Violence War, 9/21/97. It's the best garbage match I've ever seen, almost to the point that I have trouble calling it that.

 

Everything in the match clicks perfectly. Mita and Shimoda live up to their namesake by being total bitches and obliterating Nabe and Ito with chairs and ripping their foreheads open against the cage. Nabe's selling is just incredible, as she puts over the shoulder very well and makes the agony almost dificult to watch as they dismantle her in increasingly violent ways. Ito is great, too, as she tries to protect her friend, but ends up taking a huge beating herself. Submision holds fit in well with the story as both teams want to severe their opponents ability to climb, and everyone sells brilliantly. The German and Electric Chair Drop off the cage were both insane, and LCO's tricks using the fire extinguisher and bringing in the railing are great, proving them to be smart and ruthless. Great finish, with Ito getting the ultimate revenge against her enemies, ripping Shimoda's arm out of its socket and hitting the most brutal thing I can remember seeing in a while on Mita, the double foot stomp off cage. Also good in that it showed how LCO's lack of teamwork in escaping cost them the fight in the end. Great, great stuff here.

[Guest DragonflyKid]

Kobashi/KIkuchi versus Tsuruta/Taue - 1/26/92

 

One of the first matches that got me to love puroresu. The formula was great as it featured the young Kobashi protecting his little buddy Kikuchi from the onslaught of the grumpy veteran Tsuruta and his young grumpy protege Taue. Kikuchi gets pounded yet keeps coming back showing his fighting spirit, Tsuruta and Taue show no mercy on him. Kobashi makes them pay by returning the violence in this great match. The Kobashi/Kikuchi tag team was great, their match on 5/25/92 featured Kikuchi getting beaten by the evil foreigners only to be saved by his big buddy Kobashi. Great formulas used in both matches.

****1/2 for 1/26/92 ****1/2+ for 5/25/92

[EL DANDY~! 0]

Oh, man. Another match I must pimp the manliness out of. FUCHI/KAWADA vs. NAGATA/IIZUKA from 12/2000.

 

This match is about the SURLY OLD BASTARDNESS of Kawada and Fuchi. Fuchi is approaching the T-Rex in the jurrasic timeline of aging, and he doesn't give a fuck about the greatness of Nagata or the toughness of Iizuka, as he and Kawada kick the CRAP out of poor little Iizuka (who makes Ricky Morton look tame in this one), and then when it's Nagata vs. Kawada, they whoop each other's ass as I watch in glee. The high kick trade-off was SO choice, and it was SO awesome, that I was just waiting for somebody's head to land in the 3rd row. Fuchi is JUMBO SURLY in this match, as he stands on Iizuka's head and just smiles so EEEVILY that I weep tears of joy. Tears of joy for professional japanese wrestling. The fact that this match ends in a draw probably suits the match. And the fact that there isn't a Kawada/Nagata match after this match REALLY deprives me of another opportunity to watch great wrestling. I want the rematch. I want it now. When Fuchi dies, bring him back as a pile of bones and let him stand on Iizuka's face again. In the words of the DVDVR Playboyz, GET ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF THIS!!!

[Guest wolverine]

Mariko Yoshida vs. Mika Akino, Arsion Stardom '99 (1/17/99)

 

Just get it. It's a beautiful blend of technique and highspots - making for the most advanced pro wrestling match I've seen in many years. The sick thing is that Mika Akino had only been wrestling for six months at this point, yet she churned out a MOTYC with the newly crowned Best Worker in the World, Mariko Yoshida.

[Guest DragonflyKid]

Riki Choshu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta -11/4/85 AJPW

 

Great match if you can get into a slower paced style, lots of mat-work and submissions in this one with very little big moves. Riki used his Scorpion Deathlock to counter Jumbo's use of the Figure Four leg lock when they targeted each others legs. Jumbo of course used his great Jumping Knee Bat(Fuck HHH.) to great affect but could never put Choshu away even after hitting it consecutively. The match ended in a 60:00 minute draw but the match was never dull because they always put everything into the holds. The submissions were just that, even though they went an hour they worked all the submissions and holds in a credible way so that they never felt like rest holds which is a big problem with modern headlocks, sleeper holds and chinlocks, guys just lazily slap them on without working them. The submissions in this match felt like they could legitimately end the match, they were even applied for long periods but the lack of action didn't hurt the match.

****+

 

I'm digging all the Tsuruta/Choshu/Yatsu/Tenryu/Kimura stuff on the tape I'm watching, the Jumbo/Choshu match was in full thankfully but most of the matches are clipped which makes me want to get more 80's AJPW with full matches.

 

Can anyone explain the Choshu invasion I have heard is a neccesary lead-in to 6/3/94 Misawa/Kawada? I see that Tsuruta and Choshu must have had a fued and I know Tsuruta and Tenryu had a fued but don't know the backstory of it.

[Guest Jubuki]

Japan vs. Japan wasn't a familiar motif until after that feud. Up till then, it was almost exclusively Japan vs. Foreigner as the biggest matches on a card; Choshu's invasion changed all that. There aren't direct nods to it like there might be with Jumbo/Tenryu, but it did change the direction (and the style) of men's wrestling as a whole.