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Secret Santo in August 2022


Matt D

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BONUS GIFTING!

KUISHINBO KAMEN vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA- DDT- 1/12/2015:  Takeshita is 20ish and looks like the bass player in a Japanese mod Jam cover band.  Kamen was thinner then but weren't we all.  Kamen is all about the laughs and Takeshita follows his lead in this match.  Takeshita hits the All Around the World kick to the face and wins in six seconds!  Kamen leaves the ring but Takeshita summons him back come take a REAL ass beating.  Kamen agrees and we restart the match.  Takeshita wants to use his size advantage and youthful exuberance to do a New Japan Shoulder block contest.  Kamen OPTS to punch Takeshita in the face.  He does these odd clipping punches to Takeshita's skull and Takeshita acts like it is exploding his brain!  They do stuff and Kamen does a plancha off the top the wrong way and lands on the floor.  Konosuke Takeshita showboats his freakish strength by hitting Vertical Suplex that Kamen almost counters out of  but Takeshita turns it into an EVEREST Vertical Suplex and you knew from that point on he was destined to main event two AEW TV shows seven years later.   Kamen sells Takeshita's elbow STRIKES like Takeshita is using a loaded gun.  Takeshita GOES UP TOP!  And also planchas the wrong way!  DDT can be so weird.  Add in Kamen and you get THIS.  They are very dramatic, just making it into the ring at 19.  Kamen EXPLODES Takeshita's mind with another odd punch to the skull!  Kamen hits a toprope RANA!  They do some other stuff.  Kamen gets a nearfall on the ref.  Kamen tries to shoot the ref into Takeshita in the corner, but the ref reverses it, Takeshita gets out the the way and the ref ends up German Suplexing Kamen to allow Takeshita to hit a BEAUTIFUL Everest German Suplex with a Bridge to get the win!  You could tell right there that Konosuke Takeshita would fall in love with American Breakfast food.  Kamen worked stiffer than I remember.  There you go.

 

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14 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

@GordlowYou mentioned Finlay and you preferred short matches. Let's go with this match, which I just saw during my Nitro watch-through. Everyone talks (generally quite positively) about Finlay/Regal at Uncensored 1996, which is a match that I found to meander and be sort of dull and disappointing.

This, on the other hand, is the rematch on the Nitro after Uncensored. It is quite short and has one really stupid spot in it that I hope you might enjoy, even considering the over-proliferation of hardcore wrestling since this match originally happened. 

 

Well. This is awesome. I get the best of pro wrestling hate from Smelly, and the best of pro wrestling love from Porky. So great.

First, the hatred: If I remember correctly, the Parking Lot Brawl was the end of the oh-so-great Regal vs Finlay feud. I was in Europe at the time and didn't get to watch it until years later when I got the unofficial DVD set - which was one of the greatest things ever! 

This match is amazing. More awesomeness in seven minutes than in many a three-hour wrestling show. 

Think of how influential it is! Doing something like this live (as opposed to Piper vs Golddust which, while also pretty awesome, was "cinematic" in terms of being pre-taped and edited together). This match obviously influenced Besties vs Santana and Ortiz, and the whole Zona 23 aesthetic... But also maybe the bumper coming off that pickup truck influenced Shad Khan's entire business model, leading to his son being able to create AEW!

The window-smashing and pile-driving are awesome, obviously. The whole way they use this unique environment is just great. And it builds to a satisfying finish, rather than just being a violent clusterfuck, which is pretty amazing. But really, in 1996 how many American and Canadian wrestling fans had ever seen a feud as hate-filled and violent as Regal vs Finlay? Even years later that DVD set held up beautifully. This match might be the biggest highlight. Which is really saying something.

 

14 hours ago, porksweats said:

Also a match for you @Gordlow

You said you wanted some Eddie Guerrero and I don't know if you ever caught his quick pop over to England in his 02 Indie run.

 

And here the other side of the coin. Eddie Guerrero showing his love for pro wrestling by working in smaller promotions and putting people over. Another of the Greatest Things that pro wrestling history is so rich with. 

I had read about the tournament, but this is the first match I have seen from it. 

It starts out with pure "scientific, technical" pro wrestling. Then it gets a bit heated as they go on. 

You can kind of tell they don't have experience working together. Frankly, there are a couple of rough moments. But that kind of makes it better. They are chaining complex holds and reversals together at a very high level of difficulty. The rough spots make it easy to believe they are "doing the dance" in there.

Oh boy did I enjoy these two matches. Two total extremes, very different kinds of fights that both, succinctly, capture the greatness of pro wrestling! 

Thanks, lads! And thanks, Matt, for putting this together!

Edited by Gordlow
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On 8/25/2022 at 8:40 PM, Gordlow said:

Saito vs Inoki generated some pretty good discussion, a couple of Santos ago.

I can't find this bit of discussion for the life of me. It's driving me a little nuts. I remember it too.

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Okay, here you guys go. You are both very talented writers, fans... dare I say beneficiates of the elaborate and beautiful art of professional wrestling, and it is a great honor to ask you to review two of my favorite matches of all time. 

@Matt D

because of the Rey documentary that just aired on A&E. And for @DEAN

Wait WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK. I CAN'T FIND MY FAVORITE MATCH OF ALL TIME ANY MORE BECAUSE NEW JAPAN DECIDED TO BE FUCKERS. 

I am not playing here, I am pausing for breath out of anger. Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant should be online for free forever.

You know what? In tribute of WAR, here is your pick, something unwatched by me, a bizarre pick, and a devotion to the Death Valley Driver Video Review. 

Have at it, gentlemen. 

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DICK THE BRUISER VS. GIANT BABA 1968

This match was incredible. Both Baba and the Bruiser have been denigrated for being simple workers but this was in the line of something that would come out from the Blackpool Combat Club, in the Regal vein -- Bruiser using joint manipulation, choking, boot scrapes, and other vicious cheating while still just being a hard-ass wrestler. It feels like in the NWA style of Johnny Valentine and Harley Race, too, which makes me think of how the Royal Road style evolved from that. This was Dick's match and he owned it. Baba managed to come back with his signature chops and he even broke down and cheated, himself, by strangling Dick on the outside which you never saw him do. Dick did blade in full view of the camera for the Dusty "shot in the eye" but it aided the match instead of being cannon fodder. Lovely stuff. 

DICK THE BRUISER VS. GIANT BABA 1975

Baba looks downright handsome here to start, which you don't think a man who otherwise looks like a walking skeleton to be. There's another thing to his appearance that no one ever brings up and that's the facial expressions. He has this bright, knowing appearance of someone that knows your next move before it happens. We especially see it in the great pictures of him smiling to the camera smoking a cigar; it's almost arrogant but rather just subtle and intelligent. Dick, like in the previous match, was very heavy handed here, appearing to barely pull any of his punches -- and he had some good ones. Another great thing about him is his selling for the ridiculous Northern Chop and somehow making it look effective. Now he goes low enough to not only manipulate the wrist, bootscrape him but also fishhook Baba's mouth and Joe Higuchi has to reprimand him! He counts Bruiser out for the first fall after he chokes Baba outside and says "How many times I say to break it?" to him. That is wild to hear. Now I know why he was the guy that had to call and tell David Manning that David Von Erich had died. Dick is just vicious at this point and THEY STRANGLE EACH OTHER WITH A ROPE WHILE COVERED IN BLOOD. Jumbo went after him and Lord James Blears is outside looking distained. Fuckin hell. 

And then the match turns into an absolute bar fight. 

Well, damn. Thank you Matt, that was great and both matches should be a 100% necessity on anyone's radar. 

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6 hours ago, Gordlow said:

 

Thanks Gordi. The search function wasn't doing it for me as the comments were spoiled for size. I'm glad it wasn't a dream.

Curt! Glad you liked the matches. I came across them and thought they'd be perfect for you. There's also a Bruiser/Crusher vs Inoki/Baba tag but it's not quite as good. I get the sense that Dick the Bruiser was never, ever as cool as he is here because most of the footage we have of him is working as an old man babyface and not whatever wretched beast he is here. Totally agree that everyone should check them out.

It's been years since I've seen the Havoc match so I look forward to revisiting.

 

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4 hours ago, Matt D said:

I get the sense that Dick the Bruiser was never, ever as cool as he is here because most of the footage we have of him is working as an old man babyface and not whatever wretched beast he is here.

It really feels like it watching this stuff, and probably goes for other wrestlers we don't have specific points of footage from their careers. Fritz Von Erich, Dory Funk Sr., Kiniski, da Crusher, some of the greatest heels who we either only have the last footage of or none at all had to have been enormous draws based on matches like this. The heat is out of this world good. Hell, can you imagine how good Gory Guerrero must have been? 

Edited by Curt McGirt
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Curt gave me Rey vs Eddy from Havoc 97, up there in the top 5 WCW matches of all time and a top match of the 90s. I'd first seen this when I got back into wrestling in 98, as a junior in high school and rented a bunch of old VHS tapes over and over.

I haven't seen this in forever though. I could have told you the big spots and the finish and the general sense of what Eddy was trying to do mid-match but I couldn't have given you any specifics. There are a lot of specifics and they're good. This didn't have entrances so I did go back and listen to Eddy's theme which I hadn't heard in forever but was always one of my favorites as a teenager.

Eddy comes out jawing, saying that he'd take the mask and swinging. Rey ducks it and gets an early advantage but I think he was working off the idea that most of his usual offense wouldn't work against Eddy and that he had to really come at high speed and odd angles and trick things out. In this, maybe he psyched himself out as Eddy catches him early when he does a Misawa flip over the ropes but doesn't follow up with a leap quickly enough. First thing to really note is that Eddy bumps in interesting ways throughout: arms flailing, crashing into the ropes, throwing his body this way or that. There's nothing conventional about how he takes Rey's offense. His own offense is sharp but sometimes interspersed by things you won't normally see, like how he drags Rey by the head around the ringside area to crash him into the stairs. That really cements his control and from there, it's all about Rey hitting hope spots as Eddy grinds him down, first with big power moves (Quebradora for instance) and then holds. I love how he turns the abdominal stretch into a pumphandle backbreaker. No one does that. It's like he's walking through air and everyone else in the world is trudging through water. Generally he cuts Rey off early here on his comeback attempts because Rey tries to do something too complex and can't chain two moves in a row. The crazy flipping springboard DDT is actually a hope spot. And a relatively early one at that. I hadn't remembered that at all.

Eddy torques up the pressure by ripping the mask (after jamming Rey into the guardrail spine first in another nasty little off kilter bit). This unlocks just a bit more desperation in Rey, who is finally able to mount a comeback with first a counter (the own goal crotching), but then Eddy going back to the well on the quebradora. Rey can counter that too and that lets him start to chain some offense together and hit a big dive. You're so into the action and watching Eddy do his thing (and to a lesser extent, Rey take it and fight from underneath) that you barely remember there's a crowd at all. After Eddy blocks the split-legged moonsault with his knees and gets a near-fall, they assert themselves with a big Eddy Sucks chant and he seems to become aware of them for the first time too. Rey's biggest move up until this point wasn't the desperation DDT but a big rana pin that he got a two fall on. He got jammed on the springboard rana attempt, but after the fight in the corner, he gets it out of the splash mountain counter and the fans do go nuts for him. Post match, Eddy gets a great ambush with Rey's face smushed into the corner right in front of the camera.

This holds up not due to Rey's innovative offense (that he needs to hit to have any chance against Eddy, like the twisting moonsault headbutt press I didn't even mention) so much as because they were very measured with Rey's comebacks and how much offense he was allowed to get. Each bit was spectacular, which helps matters, but Eddy is in control for most of this, which made sense given the disparities and the stakes. If this was 50-50 or really all about the spots and the counters, it'd just be another match instead of an all time WCW classic.

Edited by Matt D
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On 8/24/2022 at 8:23 PM, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

@thee Reverend Axl FutureIt's so hard to pick stuff to give y'all old-timers who have seen everything, so just watch a match from a feud I just watched through: 

 

So here we all are in this Secret Santo booze party, and most of us have brought some hipper-than-thou cloudy natural wine or some elitist small batch microbrew summer IPA mishegoss or fancy-pants pre-mixed fresh negronis from the faux dive bar, and we are all standing around sipping and log-rolling and patting our fine selves on the back, getting a mild buzz on because dontcha know we are all responsible "smart" Capital A-dults all up in here, and the door slams open and in swaggers @SirSmellingtonofCascadia with a fuggin' handle of Jack Daniels and we thought we outgrew that but WRONG! our young selves were realer and knew the score, 'cause that is what this match is: straight US hooch the way it was meant to be, room temp and sweet and making the room and soul all hazy but clearer than everYEAH!

How good are these four men? How good are these two teams? RAF even did some research: from 1983 through 1992 (inclusive), at least one of these workers placed in the #1 spot of a positive WON Year End Award. We could go '80 thru '95 if we went for a "in the top 5" award placement.  Although we are in the twilight of these teams' careers, perhaps, nevertheless this match-up is dynamite, baby. It's is your Clash o'Champions NWA Tag Team Tourney, and this clip opens with that sorta racist bible thumper Uncle Bill Watts, booking sage, yakking with Tony SchivanTOE because there too much background factz for just the commentary team to handle, and that is the way I like my pro wrestling. Williams & Gordy's theme, drowned by the crowd noise, sounds like "Lust For Life" and I am going to pretend it is for that is cool. I also manlove Jesse The Body, he is really good as always. The amateur feeling out opening chapter works so well because of who is in there, and we know that the violence can and will erupt but not until the match gives us a reason for it to do so. The eventual break from wrestling to rasslin' to brawling is the psychology of the match, and the back story is the puissance of these men and the story told in the ring is "who can/will go the farthest to get the win in this match?', and everything supplements each other and gives us the emotional frisson and payout. The fact that we know in our heart (if not brain) how this will play out (but not necessarily end) is immaterial to our enjoyment. Bring the audience up and bring them down again, that's thee rollercoaster. I really would have liked this match to have had another 15 minutes for some more of those ups and downs, they could have done more, I remember this whole card being very rushed abd crowded. The match was good. Steve Williams' monstrous torso is both eerily fascinating and beautifully repellent to me. Afterwards, we get the wrap-up, new standings and why we need to watch the GAB '92 as told by the control room experts Tony T., Magnum TA and his magnificent hairstyle in front of the leaderboard, a real one -not a graphic- with the magnetic team names on little plaques, I also miss that.

Thank, you my noble gentry brother from Cascadia for this choice, I had a good time and learned a lot.

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Lou Thesz vs. Cyclone Anaya

I decided to squeeze this in before I cut on an English Premier League game and get some prep done for my actual job. 

This is definitely early enough; I am always into watching footage from the '50s - '70s United States in particular. I was very excited to watch this and wanted to fit it in ASAP. 

Lou Thesz has cool offense, man, is my first thought. I love that he spikes Anaya's head into the mat using the leverage the headscissors that he's got on him, for example. In general, you get why Thesz was over. He gives me Bret Hart vibes with the clean (but not too clean) execution and clever offense. I'm a sucker for that exact thing. I also like that he's always selling everything perfectly - small injuries, his own strategy, his seeming frustration with not being able to carry out that strategy. 

I also appreciate the struggle in the matwork. They spend lots of time on the mat, and none of it feels wasted. It all feels like a) part of the strategy that either wrestler is attempting to complete and b) an actual scrap as these guys don't just lay around. Thesz in particular tries a counter, it doesn't work, and he immediately tries another counter. He's always thinking, and that's clear through the way he works. 

I haven't talked as much about Anaya, which is not to imply that he's not very good. I just find Thesz enthralling. 

Now, I do think there is at least one flaw. The first fall comes out of nowhere with a Thesz Press and it felt jarring, and not in a good way. It very much felt like they just needed to end the first fall then and there. 

But that doesn't get in the way of this match ultimately being very good. And on a macro level, they do a couple of things right. The picking up of the pace during the second fall makes a ton of sense, and the snapmare battle was a highlight for me there. Thesz goes out of his way to sell damage to his back on top of it. The second fall in which Anaya wins with a submission, pays off that back damage, and then Thesz's desperation to avoid it in the third fall leads to a very cool visual where they tumble through the ropes to the outside as Thesz tries to block it. 

Likewise, the third fall itself is nicely completed in that Anaya eats leg damage late, and Thesz is all over it, trying to work a hold to finish off the sudden leg injury while Anaya frantically tries to fend him off. There's an awesome sequence leading up to the end in which Thesz is trying to grab the leg for a half-crab and Anaya kicks him off, then again, then again, until Thesz is like AW, FUCK THIS and dropkicks Anaya, which stuns the latter enough to finally be rolled over for a half-crab and the finish. 

One of my philosophical beliefs about pro wrestling is that Chekhov's Gun is important. Call it Chekhov's Armbar, maybe, in this context. If you work the arm in the first fall, it had better factor into the third fall. I know people disagree with this idea, sometimes vehemently, under the argument that in real sports, you might try to work a strategy, it fails, and you move on to the next strategy. But this isn't real sports; it's a sporting narrative, and even real sports are more compelling with some sort of narrative throughline. I appreciate that Thesz did some subtle (but unmistakable) selling of the back in the first fall and that led into the second fall and the scramble to avoid a submission in the third fall. He overcame that back injury to take advantage of his opponent's sudden leg injury because he's a warrior. Anaya is a talented guy, but he doesn't have (yet?) that element of being a champion that allows you to overcome an injury like the world champ does. 

I also appreciate that when the match picked up the pace, it made perfect sense. I am hyper-critical of pace for the sake of pace, which is one of the things that I hate about modern wrestling. I like things to breathe sometimes. This match is a textbook example of how to pick up the pace of your match for maximum impact. I feel like every house style has something to take from this match.

Fantastic stuff, @Gordlow; thank you for sharing this with me. I very much enjoyed it. Also, Lou Thesz is the shit. What a pro wrestler. Obvious, I know, but it must be said. 

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On 8/28/2022 at 11:10 AM, DEAN said:

I offer young @Octopus either of the following:

Since you wanted something epic, from this week, my favorite match so far this year, El Lindaman vs Douki.

OR since you wanted something epic AND some Akira Hokuto, the greatest match in the history of GAEA, Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura, April 29, 2001.

Or do both!  Quit your job.

My goal in life is to retire and become a @DEAN. I will catch up.

here’s your match:

STAN VS BABA

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STAN HANSEN vs GIANT BABA- ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING- February 4, 1982:  I try to watch everything with Stan Hansen.  I have avoided Giant Baba ever since I had access to tapes- prolly late 1995.  I think it was because all I was exposed to with Baba  was the comedy matches at the end of his career.  Then every WrestleNERD creamed their virtual jeans over his matwork and psychology and then I REALLY avoided him.  He became like the Destroyer, my own personal wrestling broccoli.  But here we are 27 years later and I'm watching Giant Baba wrestle Stan the Lariat Hansen!  This is right after Hansen/Andre, so I'm guessing Baba is still unbeatable but Hansen was made a giant killer because Andre sold so much for him that the finish is in question here.  Either way, I await a very large ass beating to be doled out both ways.  Hansen kicks him in his gigantic skull!  Then procures a headlock.  Baba makes with the chops and starts working on the Laraiting arm.  Oh yeah!  Baba's chops sucked.  THAT's why I avoided Baba matches.  Stan Hansen selling those chops after selling Terry Funk punching him in the face is a BRIDGE TOO FAR!  But we'll move on. He was a legend and all that.  I assume a thousand ten year old boys in Japan saw Baba live and said, "Oh, it IS fake." like when I was ten and saw Bobo Brazil live throw the shittiest punches in the history of wrestling.  Baba is good in the mat and sinks in a nasty shoulder bar thing.  Hansen responds by driving his skull into Baba's skull.  And dropping the best elbow drop EVER.  EVER.  Nobody had a nastier one.  NOBODY.  And he drives his shin into Baba's throat for TWO!  And LARIATS THE HELL out of Baba to drive him out of the ring!  Baba drives Hansen into the ring post and the crowd is swarming around because it's Baba and Hansen.  The ref calls it and everybody in the locker room comes out to get their ass beat by Hansen.  Baba gives him the big boot and  Hansen yells, "YOUTH!"  and heads to the back.  That was the best Baba match I've ever seen.  But I've only seen like ten.  And six of them had Eigen doing standup in them.  Stan Hansen ruled the entire fucking world.

 

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@porksweats my non-kosher glistening boychick, here is for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Ee1CRWzMc&ab_channel=RobD

(sorry, DVDVR is really wonky for me lately, links won't post and the page foward/back often don't work, anyone else plagued with this?)

At any rate, I was thinking about Killer Tim Brooks today, as I tend to do as he is a favorite in thee RAF fiefdom. He is in thee Top Three Most Intimidating Pro Wrestlers That I Have Ever Met, even though when I encountered him at a Cauliflower Alley Club meeting he looked like a grizzled rabbi. When the handsomest man in the ring is Al Madril you know you are in Rasslintown. When old coots complain that today's clean'n'pretty indie lightweights don't look like the "real men" workers that they grew up fearing, Mr. KTB is front & center. i like variety myself. This match is a hoot. Thanks again to @Matt D (see, no fancy link alert thang) for TCB, nice work.

 

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Stan Hansen/ Rob Van Dam vs Toshiaki Kawada/ Kenta Kobashi- ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING- February 19th, 1993:  RVD was in All Japan in 1993?  I remember he and Sabu tagged in the late 1990s.  RVD was not famous in the US at all at this point.  Kawada and Kobashi were ASCENDING at this point, but were like four years from hitting their pinnacle.  Stan Hansen is the true superstar in this at this point.    This starts out awesome by Stan pushing RVD out of the way so he can start beating the fudge out of these two guys who are here to take his SPOT.    Man, Hansen was not going quietly into that dark night.  Kawada sells RVD's hilarious- compared to fucking Stan Hansen- offense like a true professional.  Kobashi assumes the roll of Vader/The Nasty Boys when in with enhancement talent RVD.  Kawada says, "Oh, where beating the fuck out of this guy?  Okay."  Kobashi applies a Boston Crab and one can see that RVD is 12 years old- which is disconcerting when Kawada OPTS to Brainbuster the little tyke.  Stan Hansen is great as the Great Santini, yelling at RVD to MAN UP and don't be such a puss!"  RVD tags in Hansen is like, "Allright, son, THIS is how you handle these daffodils!"  And Hansen then beats the hell out of Kobashi.  Kobashi goes to the floor and is relieved that RVD hits him with hilarious karate chops- as opposed to Hansen beating the fuck out of him.  RVD tags in and Vertically Suplexes Kobashi and does this embellishment that had to make Stan Hansen say to himself, "Where did Baba get this guy?"  Hansen tags in and Kobashi is all FIERY AND FILLED WITH FIGHTING SPIRIT!  Hansen does not give a fuck.  And just beats the fuck out of Kobashi.  Hilariously, RVD is tagged in and he hits a dainty toprope dropkick.  Kobashi tags in motherfucking Kawada and Kawada Lariats the fuck out of RVD, who does a nice DBS sell of it.  Kawada STRETCH PLUMs RVD and Stan Hansen decides that a chair is the only way to go.  Kawada gets the chair away from him and Hansen sprawls out on the floor.  Kawada goes back Stretch Plumming RVD until Kawada grows weary of Stretching the child-man until he is Plum.  Kawada and Hansen start beating the shit out of each other and Kawada REALIZES he is Toshiaki Kawada and kicks Stan Hansen out of the ring.  He then offhandedly Stuff Powerbombs RVD for the pin and that's that.  Kobashi and Kawada were nicer to RVD in this match than Hansen was to him.  I love that RVD was in with fucking Toshiaki Kawada and DIDN'T lay it in.  That was hilarious and fun.

 

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On 8/28/2022 at 10:51 AM, porksweats said:

for our final week good @thee Reverend Axl Future, i present to you

 

 

Thank you, PS, for this delicious throwback indy match. These two guys know how to do the modern pro wrestling of that time for sure. Road Dogg could have cruised here, he sorta does, but his most basic gear is super-solid and so sound so it doesn't matter. Punk has been around for a bit by this point, but he and his work are still green (as goose shit). Nevertheless, he has IT, that is apparent here. Even in the lockerrooms of that time, he could be surrounded by better indy workers but his potential (that he filled out) was world's above anybody else and he commanded attention because of it. 

(My interjection here: CM Punk: Close Personal Friend of thee Reverend Axl Future, Sexy Ace Steele: CPFotRAF, Dave Prazak: CPFotRAF, Ian Rotten: CPFotRAF, shoutout to Capt. Lou, & Capt. Lou: CPFotRAF. Oy, do I have stories.)

I really really dig the transfer quality here - perfectly watchable, everything has a golden overexposure that adds charm. Prazak doing too much and the 15yo ref both contribute to ultra-indyness of this. The fans only look a bit mutated, making me think this is IN instead of KY. Punk here hasn't worked anywhere but local promotions (in a wide mostly Midwestern swath, to be sure), but is starting to wrestle the vets and various WWF/WCW cast-offs that were circulating. Stomping the mat whilst punching is so much better/cooler/zen than slapping one's thigh while kicking. I approve. 

--Super basic match.

--It got over.

--Historical value.

What's not to like? Thanks again to the noble Glistening Porcine One, and to thee Mighty Matt D. "This was fun and I learned a lot."

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