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Secret Santo in July


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Hi all,

The rules are simple. Random draw to match partners. Pick a match (30 minutes or less and that they can access) specifically tailored to your partner asap after the draw. Get a match from your partner. Watch said match. Do a write up. It doesn't need to be War and Peace. Draw is on Saturday, so you've got a week to watch and write. It's more important to give your partner a match than to watch yours in a timely fashion, but don't commit for the week if you don't think you can make it. Communication is key.

Right now we've got me, @Gordberg, @Curt McGirt, @Morganti, @Spontaneous, @SirSmellingtonofCascadia, and @moribund.

7 people gets us 4 weeks no problem, but a few more would be nice too.

If anyone else wants in, let me know by Saturday as that's when I'll do the first draw.

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Fuck it, I'm in.

If I get my match pick anytime on Saturday or Sunday, I can have this knocked out this weekend. I'm constantly online during the weekend (and for a few hours every night around 2:30am during the week). Can we message these people to get a feel for their tastes? Of the people you mentioned, I can only pinpoint the rasslin' tastes of the first two.

EDIT: Looked at the Holiday 2020 thread... I think I'll steal @Gordberg's template and modify it a little.

Quote

What I have seen little of and think I'd enjoy:

90s All Japan/All Japan Women, 80s New Japan, Memphis, NOAH's heyday, 80s/90s NWA/JCP/WCW/whatever. I grew up a WWF kid, stuck with that, watched a little bit of indies, but was mainly a WWF/E guy until AEW came around. So, uh... y'know, I'm (kind of) an open book here.

What I always enjoy:

Women's wrestling, especially joshi. I just don't watch it enough these days, since funds are limited and stuff like TJPW and Stardom are behind a paywall (unless...). I really like modern independent women's wrestling, but it's the same as current joshi. I like FMW and ECW a lot. Even though I think blading is kind of dumb, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy a good bloodbath brawl. I also like high flying stuff, crazy bumps.

What I would prefer you not give me:

Anything pre-1980s. It's a hang-up I have that extends to stuff like movies and music. I know, I know. It's weird, but whatever. No WWE/F stuff either, I've likely seen it or just flat out don't care about it.

What I have been watching recently:

lol, AEW and all of these Bull Nakano matches I have saved on my harddrive from YouTube. A few matches here and there from the likes of Allie Kat/Katch, Statlander, Billie Starkz, Killer Kelly, Heidi Howitzer, etc. The last match I watched online was a few nights ago: Vader vs Kobashi from 2/27/00.

YouTube, Dailymotion and/or Bilibili are my preferences.

 

Edited by Casey
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Nice! Looking forward to reading your write-ups, @Casey

My request is really very simple this round:

Please do not give me any long matches. Nothing over 20 minutes. 15 or less if you could be so kind. It's OK if the video file is over 20, but if the match is over 20 minutes bell to bell my review will be me cursing you out for being an inconsiderate dick. Life in plague times has done a real number on my attention span.  I'd prefer to be able to really focus during the match and do it justice in my write-up, so...

Also: Definitely pretty please do not give me anything that is even remotely self-consciously epic in the sense that the wrestlers are apparently trying to get five or more stars from Scott Keith or Dave Meltzer. 

Brawls, big-man bomb fests, little speedy guys flying around, technical wizards twisting each other into pretzels, Japanese ladies laying into each other, blood baths, comedy, matches that tell a story, harrowingly stiff slugfests, Argentinian WTF-fests, literal giants, Mexican minis, very old black and white footage, shooty styley, classic southern formula tag matches, Survival Tobita, El Felino, Lord James Blears, Super Porky, Phil Hickerson, Pimpinella Escarlata, Brian Kendrick, Ashura Hara, One Man Gang, Kantaro Hoshino, Toshiyo Yamada, Alexander Otsuka, Johnny Saint, Koko B. Ware, Shingo...

I'm up for pretty much anything and everything just please please please keep it under 20 minutes.

 

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I've wanted to try one of these so I'll give it a shot.

A random selection of Stuff I Like: Battlarts, Tenryu punching people in the jaw, Michinoku Pro, cool matwork, surly fat guys, high-end flippy shit, Tamon Honda, early-2000s indy nonsense, Tajiri, Daniel Bryan, Big Boss Man, really prickish guys who do bootscrapes, John Tenta, and Volk Han.

My only real request would be no deathmatch stuff, or at least no ghoul shit (I liked Honma vs Yamakawa, I don't like gusset plates).  I haven't watched new stuff regularly in about 15 years so anything new will be a surprise to me.

E: I should also say that while I'd prefer something on youtube or dailymotion I am not totally opposed to subbing to a month of IWTV or Peacock for this.

Edited by Zimbra
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I would also prefer not getting 30+ minute matches, unless it's something really really good. Need something I can find on Youtube or Dailymotion, obviously. Blindspots are JCP/early WCW, current joshi, Mid-South/UWF (strangely), still haven't watched a lot of Portland even though I have the '80s set, World of Sport, Catchen (Germany).

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Friendly Reminder, I give people wacky matches, or things that I think are cool/funny/interesting.  I will do my best to not give people things they won't enjoy though.

You can give me any kind of match and shit will get watched and examined from the point of view of a dude just looking to be entertained ?

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My blind spots are everything that isn't WWE, WCW, or classic WoS. Everything else in America (AWA, Portland now, Stampede, JCP, Dallas, Memphis) I have experience with, but I am still learning a lot. I have watched relatively little from Japan, Mexico, Germany, or really, anywhere else.

Oh, I would LOVE territory-era stuff from Montreal, San Antonio, and Florida, but I will watch anything.

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I'm into crazy, stiff brawls. I haven't seen a lot of FMW, ECW, WWC or UWFi. I have IWTV again recently so anything from there you recommend is appreciated. I also would prefer a shorter match if possible.

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i've never done one of these before, but count me in.

 

i love all sorts of wrestling. serious stuff, funny stuff, high flying stuff, technical stuff, bloody brawling stuff, you name it, i will watch it.  I grew up a WWF kid in the 80s and the Monday Night Wars are my favorite period of wrestling, but i've seen all of that stuff to death.  That said, i have a ton of blind spots. Lucha, Puro, 2000s-current indy stuff, to name a few.  Fair warning, I'm not opposed to foreign language stuff, but i tend to not appreciate it as much as others.

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Thanks once again for organizing the shenanigans @Matt D.

I'm able to watch YouTube & Daily Motion, and would be happy to take in anything with the exception of death matches (just not my thing). Bloody brawls up to and including Muta/Hase are okay, but light tubes, staple guns, and other assorted plunder give me the heebie-jeebies. Go figure.

One thing I would be happy (well, that may be overstating it but I want to challenge myself a bit) to see is Jerry Lawler: I will confess to possible heresy by saying his work has never done anything for me. I'd be happy to watch any recommendation of his work and see if I can finally spot what I have been missing (or finally settle on "Maybe this guy just isn't for me").

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Alright, we've got ten people, nice and even.

Remember, get matches to one another as quickly as possible. Stick to people's rules and preferences. Ask if you're not sure. We'll reroll next Saturday. Try to watch and do a review (as long or large as you want). Be patient this week as it's a holiday weekend but everyone knew this is coming so only so patient.

Randomizer says:

@Zimbra
Matt D
 

@Morganti
@Spontaneous
 

@Curt McGirt
@Casey
 

@Gordberg
@twiztor

 

@moribund
@SirSmellingtonofCascadia

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@Zimbra

Here's a LOST Tenryu match that we pulled off of Japanese ebay a year or two ago and just got to watching. It's part of the Takagi mini feud from January 1990 which is where I think we first really, really see Tenryu start to bully the youth.  It's the main event of this card. It starts around 1:45:00 or so.

Give me some really good Battlarts maybe? Shootstyle is something of a blind spot (I've seen some Fujiwara, some Han, some UWF, but very little Battlarts).

Or just make it your call. I've seen relatively little post AJPW Tenryu too.

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@Morganti, this is a little over 21 minutes long so I can pick something shorter if you'd prefer. Yuji Okabayashi vs Takuya Nomura from BJW for the BJW Strong championship. Present vs Future. If you have seen it or it is too long, just let me know!

 

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@twiztor

Let's see if this match can help overcome the language barrier for you. Considering you like technical stuff and bloody brawling, I'd have to say it's at least fairly likely you might enjoy this one.

Two of the toughest guys in Japanese pro wrestling, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki, in a steel cage!

If you'd rather something else, though, just let me know.

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@Gordberg

this falls just inside your 20 minute time limit, but it's 2/3 Falls, so you've got built in breaks if you need them. But i found this riveting, and i have a short attention span as well, so i hope you do too. It's about as far away from AEW's Young Bucks style as possible. Great punches.

From 1969, here's "Wild" Bull Curry vs. Johnny Valentine

 

Funaki vs Suzuki in a cage? Yes please!

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Well, @moribund, let's try Lawler/Bock from 1982. I've seen this match probably three or four times by now, and maybe I've even written about it before? I'm not sure. But it's pretty great! I'm a big fan of a match properly escalating the action, and I think this match does that. I'll say no more than that. 

 

Edited by SirSmellingtonofCascadia
Tried tagging this post before having my morning coffee; failed miserably
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@Curt McGirt

Current joshi? Check. It’s also a deathmatch of sorts, and features someone I really liked in their heyday (Aja Kong), and Hiroyo Matsumoto is a current day favorite of mine. Explosions! Skip to about 4 minutes in for the actual match, so it’s also a little bit under your 30+ minute time limit.

 

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@SirSmellingtonofCascadia Oops! I think you meant to tag me for that Bock/Lawler match. Thanks!

Throwing some 1990 All Japan your way. Tiger Mask II starts the match but finishes it as someone else, kicking off/accelerating the generational conflict in the promotion (my understanding of the story of AJPW is broad but not deep, so apologies if I am misinterpreting things). Pretty dope match, regardless.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Spontaneous said:

@Morganti, this is a little over 21 minutes long so I can pick something shorter if you'd prefer. Yuji Okabayashi vs Takuya Nomura from BJW for the BJW Strong championship. Present vs Future. If you have seen it or it is too long, just let me know!

this should be interesting!  Hopefully you enjoy this match!

 

 

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OK, @Matt D, here's some good Battlarts:

 

A sentimental favorite because this was the first BatBat tape I bought.  I won't say too much about it until after you watch it but what makes the match for me is that it takes the worst part of Battlarts, the perfunctory feeling-out matwork section, and makes it both interesting and build to the bigger story of the match.

This is the main event of a good card that includes Orihara being very unprofessional with Mohammed Yone, Fujiwara vs Ikuto Hidaka, and a Minoru Tanaka vs Tajiri match that's more lucharesu than shootstyle but still has a bunch of cool kicks and submissions in it.

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7 hours ago, Matt D said:

@Zimbra

Here's a LOST Tenryu match that we pulled off of Japanese ebay a year or two ago and just got to watching. It's part of the Takagi mini feud from January 1990 which is where I think we first really, really see Tenryu start to bully the youth.  It's the main event of this card. It starts around 1:45:00 or so.

Give me some really good Battlarts maybe? Shootstyle is something of a blind spot (I've seen some Fujiwara, some Han, some UWF, but very little Battlarts).

Or just make it your call. I've seen relatively little post AJPW Tenryu too.

AJPW multi-man tags are not always my cup of tea, but these are five guys who can go plus the future Arashi so I am game.  My first impression is that there is a lot of sartorial excellence in this match.  Besides the seconds in their swank matching tracksuits we also get four satin jackets, an AJPW windbreaker, and a shiny tiger print cape.

They set up the focus of the match early: Takagi is Jumbo's boy so Tenryu wants to whip the ass of the teacher's pet to teach them both a lesson.  Works for me.  This would be like a week after Misawa returned after tearing his ACL and he's still clearly limited so outside of an early section with Kawada he doesn't get much extended time in the ring.  He definitely looks rusty but still pulls off a nice somersault dive off the apron and another off the top rope.  Takagi is super over with the crowd and they establish early that he's spunky but isn't quite ready to hang with the big boys.  He'll take over after Jumbo has put someone down, or make a comeback but he can't sustain his offense for any amount of time without getting countered.  Tenryu especially just blitzes him with chops and kicks every time they're in the ring together.  They mostly keep Jumbo and Tenryu from being in the ring together, but the bits we get they are bombing on each other.  There's a neat spot where Misawa has Fuyuki in a fairly desultory surfboard and Jumbo tags in to show him how you really do it, just trying to pull and twist Fuyuki's shoulders out of their sockets.  

The match shifts when Takagi emulates his mentor and punches Tenryu off the apron.  Jumbo loves it, but once again keeping it real goes wrong and Tenryu commences to absolutely whipping Takagi's ass, throwing really mean looking elbows and kicks right at his forehead.  He eats a nasty lariat from Fuyuki for two and gets tossed outside where Tenryu  WHIPS A TABLE AT HIS GODDAMNED HEAD.  We also get the nice visual of the seconds in their matching tracksuits coming over to pull the table off of Takagi.  Kawada gets in some nasty kneelifts and a brutal second-rope kneedrop.  Jumbo finally gets the hot tag to clean house, and he seems appropriately pissed about his protege getting thrashed and leans into all of his stuff.  The match gets a little more back and forth, including a really nice german suplex from Kawada to Misawa.  The finish comes when Takagi finally gets the upper hand on Tenryu with a big wheel kick and three-point stance shoulderblock, but again can't keep it up against the craftier Tenryu and two powerbombs put him away.

Overall I really liked the match.  It told a simple story well, and despite being a shade over 30 minutes never overstayed its welcome.  Tenryu, Takagi and Jumbo were clearly the focus and they all played their parts well.  Tenryu was dickish and disrespectful, Takagi was spunky, and Jumbo was the surly dad protecting his kid.  Footloose were both adequately spunky and both got their stuff in and took their lumps from Jumbo.  As mentioned Misawa was limited and a lot of his stuff didn't look great, but he had his moments.  This is also kind of interesting historically as within six months Tenryu, Fuyuki and Takagi would be gone to SWS, Misawa would be unmasked, and he and Kawada would be feuding with Tsuruta.

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Guest Jimbo_Tsuruta

I'd like to get in on this if possible. Newish lucha would be my preference since I watch far less than I want.

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15 hours ago, twiztor said:

@Gordberg

this falls just inside your 20 minute time limit, but it's 2/3 Falls, so you've got built in breaks if you need them. But i found this riveting, and i have a short attention span as well, so i hope you do too. It's about as far away from AEW's Young Bucks style as possible. Great punches.

From 1969, here's "Wild" Bull Curry vs. Johnny Valentine

 

Funaki vs Suzuki in a cage? Yes please!

Yeah. This was absolutely great. 

I'll tell you something, when you give a guy Funaki vs MiSu in a steel cage, you don't expect that the match you get in return will be significantly more hard-hitting. That just doesn't seem possible, but...

In terms of how they lumber around the ring, both Valentine and Curry are definitely less quick than a hiccup, I can tell you that right now. However, both guys have ridiculous hand speed, and they just lay in the blows here. Just full-force, unprotected, barely pulled punches to the face and body, and the only reason there isn't significant structural damage to Valentine's face is that Curry is making contact with the meat of the hand rather than the knuckles (most of the time. Bull also does a classic hard-way on Valentine, opening him up over the eyebrow).

The psychology of this is excellent, and it is clearly explained by the commentator and easy to understand. Valentine has injured Curry's son. Curry spends the match going after Valentine in the way you'd imagine going after someone who did that. Valentine wants to work holds and grind Curry down. Curry wants to get enough separation to punch Valentine right in the face, again and again. That's more than enough story to make for a great match.

It ends inconclusively in terms of the record books, but Bull Curry clearly gets a measure of revenge. The police drag Valentine away from the post-match brawl (presumably for his own safety).

Curry is phenomenally hideous. He looks like if Joe Flaherty and the SCTV makeup department were trying to do a parody of an ugly bad guy pro wrestler and went just a little too far. Yet the crowd are 100 percent behind him all the way here, even when he loses control and goes berserk at the end. Thanks to @Phil Schneider's excellent new book, I know that this match is from near the end of Bull Curry's career, and presumably what is happening here is something like how George Steele became a beloved babyface near the end. Or, as Schneider puts it, they are choosing the Devil they know. And, like when Bad News attacked Archie Gouldie's son, it's easy to get behind even the baddest of bad guys when family is involved. So: White hot crowd.

Valentine is 100 percent believable as the toughest of the tough guys. Bull Curry is 100 percent believable as the guy mad enough to go toe to toe with Valentine and come out on top. 

I just loved everything about this. Thank you, @twiztor!

Edited by Gordberg
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23 hours ago, Casey said:

@Curt McGirt

Current joshi? Check. It’s also a deathmatch of sorts, and features someone I really liked in their heyday (Aja Kong), and Hiroyo Matsumoto is a current day favorite of mine. Explosions! Skip to about 4 minutes in for the actual match, so it’s also a little bit under your 30+ minute time limit.

 

I'm pretty sure I've seen that, but happy to watch it again! 

Since you put '80s NJPW on your list and because I've been re-reading Phil's book again, here's this. Short and nasty. 

 

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