Matt Watches 1989 AJPW/1986 NJPW on a Treadmill

[Matt D]

Mania weekend got in the way but i did catch some.

2/25/89 con't

Spoiler

Nakano/Taue vs Johnny Smith/Jerry Oates: Smith and Nakano matched up pretty well. Smith had that Stampede intensity and he's more interesting away from Dynamite maybe. There's a world where he and Nakano might have had a real dynamic over time but it's not this one. 89 Taue and his big dumb sweeping dropkicks. Booo. More grump, less flop. They leaned on him anyway, working over his leg. Some nice varied stuff but who wants to see that? He fired back ok but missed a big elbow drop just to hit one a second later I think Oates just didn't want to take the big one. Nakano got the hot tag but then got swept under by Smith immediately anyway. Oates looked pretty good in there by the way. Nice gutwrench, just knew what to do. Taue had one last burst with an airplane spin into a samoan drop but then ate a kind of cool belly to back/dropkick combination by Oates/Smith.

Great Kabuki vs Doug Somers: This was pretty good! Uncooperative. Grimy. Gritty. Somers with just a lot of super credible strikes keeping on Kabuki and grinding him down. He'd just toss Kabuki off the ropes and slam a forearm into his face. Clobbering. Chinlock. Clubbering. And so on. Kabuki would get a little hope now and again but Somers would take back over with a cheapshot. The fans kind of laughed as Somers hit a knee drop off the top because it wasn't graceful but it still looked like a pretty nasty thud. Finish was Somers stutter stopping to avoid the kick out of the corner, charging in as Kabuki moved, and then getting backslid. Kabuki got almost nothing and Somers looked great, but only great for a setting like this. He wasn't made for TV at this point. He could have been Bunkhouse Buck five years early though.

Footloose vs Johnny Ace/Terminator: This was an objectively pretty good match, specifically because Ace knew how to work heel in a way that not a lot of people on the card were doing. That meant a lot of cutting off the ring and double teams and what not. He had size and it was a little deceptive because he didn't always play it up but here, with a fairly big dude in the Terminator against smaller guys in footloose, he was able to. I'm not saying that Footloose were the most compelling FIP though. The HH distance didn't help here either. So this ended up being structurally fairly good, but technically a bit sloppy and all over the place. I did like the final flurry of offense by Footloose because you had no idea how they'd put these guys away after getting dominated. The answer was "a roll up."

We're missing the top matches on this card which is a shame.

And the start of 3/29

Spoiler

Ogawa vs Kikuchi: They were spirited but it was almost impossible to see anything due to people in front of the camera moving a lot. Maybe they were filing in or getting food but I thought the camera operator was going to kill them.

Teranishi/Kobashi vs Eigen/Okuma: I have to admit that a lot of these Eigen/Okuma matches sort of lose the primal feel if they're not facing Rusher. They had such a great formula there. That said, Eigen and Okuma had a real connection with the crowd and Eigen was a shitheel so it usually works to an extent. here, Teranishi spent a good chunk of the match just not taking their crap. They were able to generally beat on Kobashi though and even use the numbers game on Teranishi at times. We didn't get the spit spot. We did get a big hot tag in the end (after the run over and headbutt by Okuma) and then some hyper clubberin before Eigen freaked out and hit a bunch of low blows for the surprising DQ. We've seen HHs from late 89 and 90 and there are no DQs so they have to stop at some point. I was glad for it though as Inoue vs Tsurumi is next and that'll have to have a finish as they won't do two DQs in a row.

 

[Matt D]

3/29 con't. Good stretch here.

Spoiler

Inoue vs Tsurumi: This was really good actually. If this had five more minutes, an actual finish, and didn't have heads getting in the way a lot, it would be worth highlighting. Inoue had some cool stuff in the corner, including a running handstand rana into a headscissors and then a high headscissors takeover into one. Tsurumi's usual offense (the gutwrench pancake, and the exploder, this time out of a move attempt by Inoue) looked great. They worked down to holds and then back up to spots well. A lot of fire and animosity between the two. Finish was Inoue getting his advantage with the flying forearm/flip sentons but Tsurumi surviving, jamming him on a sunset flip, and pulling out an object to whack him in the face with leading to two dqs in a row on the same card. Pretty wild when you think about it.

Kabuki/Tenta vs Dustin/Pete Roberts: What a great education for Dustin here. He was game, but having to credibly lean on Kabuki and work right up against Tenta for 10+ was probably great for his development. Hard to see why anyone would care about Taue dropkicks when Tenta was throwing them with massive impact. Funny moment at one point as Tenta lifted Roberts over the top rope to the apron off a headlock and then held the ropes open for him to come back in. Dustin did work the brunt of this and it wasn't a bad showing. Sometimes he'd do things at weird times or in weird ways but he looked like he belonged for a good chunk of it. Kabuki gave him the opportunity to have a lot but he had to work at it. Finish had Tenta crush Roberts with a belly to belly and the elbow and Dustin had to be reminded that he was supposed to be brawling with Kabuki so he sort of ran past them and decided to leap at Kabuki for no reason instead of helping Roberts. Still, a good learning effort for young Dustin.

Taue/Takagi/Nakano vs Furnas/Kroffat/Zenk: Crowd came alive for this. Furnas was super over to start with all of his big spots against Nakano (dropsault, backflip clothesline, gorilla press). Super over. The foreigners really got to show off here. Lots of Zenk dropkicks and Kroffat kicks. This is the most united I'd seen Kekkigun with matching jackets and some unity but they did not have it obviously. They spent a lot of this feeding for Furnas and co, and sort of interchangeably at that, which is weird given the different body types involved. This kept moving though and was very entertaining. After a big triple dropkick that the fans loved, finish was a bearhug/missile dropkick combo by Furnas and Zenk where Zenk somehow barely hit it. 

Next match is Momota vs Fuchi for the jr title which I think we have pro shot and full. The second the last match ended the fans were chanting huge for Momota. They loved that guy. 

 

[Matt D]

3/29 con't. I will get through this stuff.

Spoiler

Rusher/Baba vs Abby/Deaton: I really like Deaton as an Abby partner. He adds a lot of wild motion. Deaton worked most of this. I liked when Rusher came in and he bumped around for him and when Baba came in and chopped him and slapped him right in the face. Baba's the best. They controlled for a lot of it though. It ended a little anticlimactically with the boot/rush combo. Post match there was wild brawling we didn't get to see. Fun stuff.

Takano vs Gordy: Maybe a few minutes too long but the stretch was great and when they were going at it, it was great too. Just two big dudes slamming into each other. Takano could work fairly big (though he was best when he was kicking a monster like Hansen in the corner). They did go down to a lot of holds though and it's not like the holds were bad but I wanted Gordy bumping around. We got that down the stretch with a huge missile dropkick and just a massive missed knee by Takano and even some excitement as he kicked out of the first power bomb and got a clunky but believable roll up attempt before getting put down for good with a second power bomb. A lot to like here.

 

[Matt D]

3/29 fin

Spoiler

I covered Footloose vs Jumbo/Yatsu way back when and it's an awesome mauling with some real hope but we only had ~10 mins of it and we come in with Kawada a bloody mess. In my head I had pictured 5-10 minutes of lead up with some feeling out/outquicking leading to Kawada getting opened up. Now I'd finally find out. Unfortunately, it's not that, though it's still pretty solid. Footloose rush to meet them on the ramp and get plastered with chairs. There's some beatdown on the outside and that's basically where we come in. Ah well.

4/4 start

Spoiler

Kikuchi vs Ogawa (again): Once again, fairly obscured for these early matches. A lot on the mat. Bad combo for me to tell what's going on. Some nice contrast towards the end with Ogawa tossing Kikuchi out repeatedly and Kikuchi coming back with quick stuff. Not much to say about this though.

Eigen/Okuma vs Teranishi/Inoue: Some funny moments in the back half like dive teases that obviously weren't going to go anywhere and the spit spot and missed big moves (the running headbutt dive by Okuma and the second flip senton by Inoue) but Inoue and Teranishi were just too formidble for this role. You need a Momota or a Kobashi or some sort of weak link that Okuma and Eigen can really control over. It's fun to watch him get his, even early, but you want to see him be a real jerk and that's not allowed against these guys.

 

[Matt D]

4/4 con't

Spoiler

Tenta vs Tsurumi: Ol' Goro thought he was bigger than he was he kept trying to crash into Tenta. He was able to stagger him and even down him in the corner with strikes. Waistlock was a no go though. They teased a slam early. Tenta came back including with a big dropkick but Tsurumi eventually got a nearly impossible slam as the crowd went nuts. He couldn't put Tenta way though and Tenta eventually crushed him with a belly to belly.

Kabuki/Fuchi vs Roberts/Zenk: Frustrating match. You got the sense that any of these four could have had a singles match as they all matched up quite well. Kabuki worked Zenk like he might work a younger Von Erich brother, armdrags and leaning in on him. Fuchi was obviously a natural pairing. Problem was that Zenk could only work face and Roberts was going to work heel and this was ultimately a mishmash. Each pairing was perfectly fine but the thing never came together as a whole. If Roberts had an advantage on Kabuki, Zenk would tag in and immediately lose it. Eventually things broke down and Roberts ran into a Kabuki kick followed by a Thesz press.

Baba/Rusher/Momota vs Takagi/Taue/Nakano: This was ok but not wildly memorable. Momota got some shine but also worked a lot of this and got dragged under a few times. Baba would come in, take someone over, and sort of get out. Fun double headbutt spots and other things you'd expect. At one point he kind of does a rocket launcher with Momota but it's more of a helpful nudge. Best part of this was towards the end when he had to cut through all three of Kekkigun one at a time. We actually had this one already I think but I had never gotten my hands on it. We also had a Takano vs Kobashi match that I'd already covered.

 

[Matt D]

Doing a quick doublepost as I moved all the Bock vs Jumbo matches into here so I have them in one place.

Spoiler

Match 1: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta 12/13/78 AJPW: This was for Bock's AWA belt. It's basically in three acts. Bockwinkel controls the arm for one third, Jumbo controls the arm for one third, and then there's a finishing stretch as they work towards the draw. I can't even begin to express how hard they were working the holds. There are shots mid-match and you can just see the sweat pouring off of Jumbo just off of armbars and hammerlocks and in and out exchanges. In the middle of December. He created a ton of motion with Bockwinkel when he was working from underneath. Of course, the greatest strength of Bock is his reactions, the way he's always constantly in the moment and his pure elation of hurting someone. When Jumbo took over, it was all about Bockwinkel trying to escape and getting reversed back into it. With Bock on top, it was about Jumbo's different attempts at escaping. With Jumbo on top, it was about Jumbo using varied techniques to stretch Bockwinklel, switching things up after each escape attempt. There was a clear moment where he shifted to hammering Bockwinkel and going for the win. He knew time was against him and Bockwinkel had the champion's advantage. Some people might find this transition stilted or awkward or ignoring what came before, but it was really all about Jumbo trying to pick the exact moment where he'd worn down Bock just enough that he'd be able to hit his stuff and try to beat him. If he went too soon, Bockwinkel would reverse it. If he went too late, he wouldn't have enough time to put him away. And maybe there wasn't a perfect moment because the champ was just that good. Judging by the fact this went to a draw after they threw everything they had at one another, that was probably the case. We'll see how these matches develop from here, but the wrestling that took up at least two thirds of it was just so good.

Match 2: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta 2/14/79 Hawaii: This one was 2/3 falls and man was it ever good. The first fall was full of so much of what I love about Bockwinkel and then the second fall was such an amazing showing for Jumbo. In that first fall, they went a different way with it, with Bockwinkel trying to take liberties to get an advantage early but getting jammed by Jumbo. This time, Bock didn't get his arm control first and it went straight to Jumbo's and they worked it and worked it with Bockwinkel cheating to get out or making it seem like he just might, but getting jammed right back down. He's always struggling, always fighting, always reacting and Jumbo's so smooth working from top. Eventually, Bock has enough and drops the pretense and just starts kicking and stomping him down, but Jumbo fires back, including a huge chop off the ropes that causes Bock to do his full body sell. They're about twenty in now, as there were a couple of minutes clipped here and his total exhaustion sell is the best ever. And it's still early really! Anyway, after blocking Jumbo's butterfly, Bock tries the King of the Mountain which is what he does when there's a babyface too fiery for him but Jumbo immediately fights out, rushes in and just unloads on Bock, super intense. He misses a knee in the corner and Bock, in short order, gets the figure four. Just great fighting out of it by Jumbo turning it a couple of times, but he succumbs. So that's the first fall and I love how one beat so smoothly led to the next and you could just tell what kayfabe Bock was thinking and trying to do at every point.

Second fall has Jumbo fighting with the bad leg and he does it so valiantly that the crowd really starts to get behind him. I've seen American crowds get behind Japanese guys before (especially in California) but maybe never quite like this and it's both Bock AND Jumbo here. He keeps falling a bit behind due to his leg but powering back, including hitting an atomic drop but being unable to hang on to the cobra twist. This ultimately leads to Bock containing him with a King of the Mountain (This time) but pressing it too far and allowing for Jumbo to fire back in, opening Bock up with chops and ultimately hitting the butterfly and the cobra twist causing him to pass out.

The last fall teases the time limit (9 minutes left) just from the start, and they have some near falls (a butterfly that Bock blocks but Jumbo turns into a piledriver, brutal stomps on the leg turned into a Jumbo half crab). You get maybe a sense that Jumbo doesn't know how to put him away but he goes for broke with his hurt leg with another atomic drop and gets another cobra twist only for Bock to toss the ref and draw the DQ. Really masterful match here. And just a lovely 1980 crowd to get behind a foreigner so thoroughly. I couldn't imagine a nicer crowd, the sort that you'd want for big wrestling match like this, that bought into it fully and that put aside their own biases to give their all for the challenger.

Match 3: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta 6/22/80 AWA: This was in AWA territory and Baba was in to commentate for Japanese TV. That means, Heenan was there, Mean Gene did the Ring Announcing ("Tommy" Jumbo Tsuruta) and Verne said before the match he'd wrestle the winner. Heenan then shoved him for no good reason and Verne clocked him, which made Heenan sort of a non-factor for much of the match. Match itself was very good. They worked the entry point much differently than the last two, more of the format of Bockwinkel trying to abuse Jumbo and then Jumbo firing back tit-for-tat. If Bock would get an arm drag and slam him then Jumbo would get the spots as revenge and show him up. Bock took over with some real chippy stuff, just a double leg that looked like they were shooting and hard, hard shots onto the arm. He was trying to contain Jumbo but Jumbo hit the jumping knee and started to meanly work over the back. Bock may have unlocked grumpy Jumbo years early with how hard they were going at it. Less long holds here, but definite focus to try to set up the double underhook suplex and abdominal stretch. Bockwinkel would try to figure up from underneath but Jumbo stayed on him. When they finally got to the hold, Bock was able to push them out of the ring. He came back in with a bunch of headlock cheapshots to the throat. Two of the things I tend to give Bock credit for are his total engagement and full body selling as the match goes on. The cross-section of the two is how he just throws his entire body into everything he does. If he throws a punch, he'll sort of recoil back with it. There's a spot here where he goes for a pile driver, can't get it, and Jumbo gets one shortly thereafter, and as he's up, he's just flailing his feet perfectly. But he does that with almost everything. It's just this amazing performance presence in the moment that almost not other wrestler can live up to (Terry Funk and... maybe Negro Casas and Buddy Rose and I'm not even sure who else?). Jumbo kept coming back with the crowd definitely behind him, with Bock trying to slow him down, including with a King of the Mountain. Ultimately, they ended back up in the stretch, but Bock was able to hiptoss Jumbo right into the ref. Great ref bump but the follow up was muddled. Heenan took too long to blatantly interfere. They couldn't get the ref in the right place soon enough, etc. Shame as the match itself was great. So three matches, three different feels and structures, all good stuff.

Match 4: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta 2/4/82 AJPW: I need to keep going with these as I have 9 matches and they only have 7. This was in AJPW but for the AWA Title. Verne had gotten it back and retired at this point. Between 80 and 82, I'd say Jumbo had moved on to his second form more fully. That is to say that he and Bock came off like equals here, which gave the match a different sort of feel. Bock slammed him from the get go, but then Jumbo returned favor and he took almost the entirety of the opening matwork by hanging onto the arm through Bockwinkel's escape attempts. On paper, some of this (the arm submissions, into a surfboard sort of test of strength, into the initial cobra twist) that took up the first ten minutes might not sound compelling, but when they were zoomed into Bock (and Jumbo's!) facial expressions, it was very good. Just full commitment to the struggle. Bockwinkel might be the best actor and reactor in a wrestling ring ever. And Jumbo, with mouth stretched open and gritted teeth, rose to the occasion.

This went just under twenty and it probably needed another two or three minutes with Bock on top. He took over after the Cobra Twist with some hard shots to the gut in the ropes, a little King of the Mountain, and a slam from a suplex position bringing Jumbo in from the apron. Bock had some holds here but it just needed a bit more heat. Jumbo's big comeback was with the jumping knee off the ropes out of the sleeper.

I'd say the last five minutes of this were excellent. Jumbo was absolutely feeling it, yelling and charging across the ring for these big jumping stomps to Bock's back. He'd use the crab and most of a camel clutch to really wear it down and set things up for the second Cobra Twist. Pretty dramatic stuff and the fans were buying into it. Bockwinkel was able to pry the leg out slowly and dramatically to get him over and escape. He had a last burst of offense, but was always reaching back to sell the back in a way that felt organic and never took away from what he was doing. Just the stuff that he was better than literally anyone in wrestling at doing and that puts him over his contemporaries because he's able to balance this and registering what happened in the match while still keeping it dynamic and exciting and emotional and electric. It all builds to him being unable to slam Jumbo and Jumbo trying to put him away with an airplane spin. Both wrestlers go tumbling out and Jumbo starts spinning him again again, spiraling around the ringside area erratically as photographers have to dive out of the way. Incredible visual. He's unable to beat the count back in though so it's a draw. This was a different dynamic and interesting to see but I think Bockwinkel ultimately gave up just a little too much without getting a little more back to really put it over the top. If Bock had leaned on him a bit more the place would have exploded all the more so when Jumbo hit the jumping knee. Still, great performances.

Match 5: Bock vs Jumbo 7/13/78 AJPW: The armwork in the first ten minutes of this one is just all time great. Previous matches between them were more clinical and academic and "title match" but here he's doing top wristlocks and double wristlocks it's just so, so mean. It takes the full ten minutes for Jumbo to start to get an advantage and power over the top and Bock just grabs the hair or lays in a knee to the gut (he hadn't had to previously) after all that work and struggle. Finally something clicks in Jumbo's pre-grumpy brain and he steps around on an arm pulling wristlock and rakes Bock's face with his boot to take over. You can see him level up mid match.

Bock's still able to keep the advantage due to the hurt arm though (Jumbo selling after he hits elbows) and Bock presses it in the corner, but it's just not enough of a lever and Jumbo comes back. Bock's able to block the belly to back though and hits one of his own. Exciting stuff. He followed it with a pile driver but went back to the well and Jumbo comes back. By this point, it's sort of clear that Bock has to do something extra to really keep Jumbo down and he tries, going up for a second rope knee drop, something he's learned from Stevens over the years, but never does himself. He misses (of course) and Jumbo starts on the leg, going for a figure four. Bock survives, but is selling big. He's good enough at almost every point to find a way back whether it's an eyepoke or punching from underneath and he manages to start the King of the Mountain and even post Jumbo on the outside. He's still desperate though and gets backdropped when he tries a pile driver on the floor.

The match really opens up after that, with Jumbo hitting a knee lift so high that the announcers call it a leg lariat. He starts on the back after this, but Bock wins a punch exchange. I love the balance between a competent champion and a desperate cheater with Bockwinkel. He was always credible. Always dangerous. But backed against a wall, he'd do anything to survive. It makes it mean all the more a little later on when Jumbo is able to fire up and win a punch exchange and hit a stalling turning pile driver of his own. As the match rolls into the last five minutes, Jumbo leans more and more on Bock's back (With Bock doing some amazing full body selling draped into the ropes), getting the crab and ultimately going for the cobra twist. Bock tries to turn it and crashes into the ref. This leads to a phantom fall after the belly to back and another ref bump as Bock nails him when Jumbo moves. There's a figure four afterwards (and maybe they should have not moved onto the back and stayed with the leg if that was going to be the phantom win #2?) but the ref calls for the dq and Jumbo is despondent. This was some really good stuff. If last one they were equals, this one you got the sense that Jumbo had Bock's number and furthermore, that he was going to get him next time.

Match 6: Jumbo Tsuruta vs Nick Bockwinkel 2/23/84 AJPW: I hate to say it but I wasn't feeling this one quite as much. It's a shame beacuse it's the end of a big journey for Jumbo and Terry Funk is the special ref. It even starts brilliantly with Bock rushing in for a cross body right at the bell. I love his entry point gameplans. He got a major early advantage from that and the next fifteen (!) minutes or so was him controlling the arm, and honestly, I wish it was better. Bock did his job, really working it, at times working it almost too much to keep the crowd in it, just huge flailing motions while keeping technique and switching it up again and again, one hold after the next. Jumbo seemed weirdly listless though. I could hardly tell this was the same guy who was doing such gritty working from underneath in the previous years. I just don't really get it given the setting; my only guess, other than him just feeling sluggish for some reason like sickness, was that he knew he was winning the title and he wanted to look at strong as possible. He did sell towards the end of it, but mostly when he was out of a hold and trying to take over.

Ultimately (after a tease with the jumping knee), Jumbo fought into a front face lock and after he couldn't get the double underhook suplex, he hit two pile drivers and they were on. It was fairly back and forth from there, with a big feel to it, inside and outside of the ring. Jumbo pressed an advantage with a beautiful double underhook (when he actually hit it) and gutwrench suplex. Bock got a knee up on a corner charge and landed a pile driver of his own. Jumbo dodged a corner charge and dug in on a crab. Funk was really a non factor for most of the match, a shame considering how he could have helped those first 15-20 minutes sing, but I liked him a lot during the crab, explaining the stakes to Bock but that he could quit. Bock's full body selling was at play here, the best ever. The way his arm flailed about as Jumbo was positioning him for the gutwrench was just so, so good. No one better. Bock took back over and knocked Jumbo into Funk, both of them sailing out of the ring. There was a second ref though. Bock continued to press, slamming Jumbo from the outside in repeatedly. Jumbo finally floated over (beautifully, might I add) and hit a belly to back with a bridge as Funk slid back in for the ironclad win. It was a great moment, but it wasn't as great of a match as the ones that preceeded it. I'm not sure if they were under a certain directive to do things a certain way. I know that Funk didn't want to take attention off of them but Funk, being Funk, always makes things better. While Jumbo was fiery at certain moments, and while the crowd went absolutely nuts for the win, he was neither what he had been against Bock previously or what he would be (a vicious gladiator) in the years to come. This is not the best match in the series.

Match 7: Nick Bockwinkel vs Jumbo Tsuruta (c) 2/26/84 AJPW: This was a couple of nights later and was Jumbo defending. I have to look at where this is on the tour actually. Let me see. There were a couple of nights left but this was the last really big match for Jumbo on it. I imagine the Japanese fans having seen what happened with Baba a few years earlier and certain other things, half expected Bockwinkel to win it back, that Jumbo would just get a win but not get to hold it through the end of the tour. That, combined with the fact that Bockwinkel took so much of this, gave things a real sense of drama. This was certainly better than the title change and it might be my most favorite match of the series so far, even though I don't necessarily think it was the best.

Bockwinkel controlled for the first eight minutes or so with headlocks and front face locks. He had more history as a title match wrestler and they were great headlocks. Watching this, you wanted Jumbo to try to toss him off just to see Bockwinkel grind down and sink to his knees. Really top notch stuff. He hit a pile driver between the headlock and the front facelock exchanges, but ultimately lost things by trying to go for a butterfly suplex. He needed Jumbo into the corner but lost the offense. He'd take back over quickly enough but then hit a clumsy but cool cross body off the top and Jumbo would take over after that. Bock was going out of his comfort zone with both moves, externally calm but internally roiling over having lost the title and he was paying for it.

Jumbo would hit an errant pile driver here and go for a sleeper only to get driven into the corner (more there later). This led to the bit we were missing from the last match as Bockwinkel locked on a cobra twist only for Funk to somehow go sailing out of the ring, followed by him getting strung up in some rope running. Good. If you're going to have Funk, use him. It was right in the middle of the match, between chapters, like a palette cleaner. Jumbo would go for the butterfly, but get jammed, allowing Bock to get a crab attempt. Jumbo would toss him out with sheer strength and, after some back and forth, go for a sleeper again, only for Bock to chuck him out, starting the real King of the Mountain stuff. Two points here; one, when Bock was getting in a cheapshot from underneath, he'd follow it up (while being admonished by Funk) by selling his whole body as only he could really putting over what Jumbo had just done to him and the weight of the match and how desperate he'd been to get out of that spot; second, he used King of the Mountain in almost all of his matches and it was often used to cut off a hot babyface and keep control, but he used it at different points and in different ways. It always fit the match.

Anyway, the King of the Mountain was really good here, with Bock continuing to go for it, suplexing Jumbo in once right on his head, and having Jumbo fire back into the ring another time. Before the last one, they both hit heads and then did a double punch which shifted gears towards more of a finishing stretch. The last KOTM had Jumbo get his leg stuck in the ropes and Bockwinkel just unload on it. This led to a figure four and both guys hitting the floor. Bockwinkel had clear control as the count was on, but at the very last second, as Bock was about to roll back in and win, Jumbo grabbed him so he couldn't make it in. It was a very dramatic, New Japan style finish that kept Jumbo the belt as they were both counted out. Very much a Bock match with Jumbo just needing to show fire and having the crowd behind him. Good stuff.

Match 8: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Nick Bockwinkel 3/24/84 AJPW: This was another really good one, driven by the fact that Bockwinkel, as the challenger, controlled a lot of it. That meant headlocks to begin, but the best headlocks imaginable. When it seemed like Jumbo might get out, a hairpull, when Jumbo overcame that, he hit a drop toehold and really locked in a deep scissored toehold. When the fans would chant for Jumbo, Bock would grind it more and Jumbo would sell huge. When Jumbo turned over his own headlock out of it, Bock was able to turn it around for a shinbreaker and a leglock. When Jumbo made it to the ropes, Bock switched to attacking the leg and starting a king of the mountain. I just love that from a narrative perspective. Bock put him in trouble and Jumbo worked so hard to get out only to get immediately stymied by something else and the work began anew.

Anyway, Jumbo fought his way back in and even got the jumping knee, but Bock was basically fresh and got out at one. From there, Jumbo was just trying to contain Bock, and he couldn't do it. Bock floated over and started going for the figure four. This was real Clash of Titans stuff, with Jumbo pressing his arms up to try to prevent the leg from dropping down. Bock eventually got it though. Just amazing overhead visuals on this struggle and then the hold. Jumbo made it to the ropes and Bock started slamming his leg against the apron brutally. Back in the ring, Jumbo comes back with a leg caught enzuigiri to a huge pop and he's back in the fight. Butterfly suplex, two count. Pile driver, two count.

The leg selling is gone by the way which is a shame. Jumbo could have used it to let Bock take back over, for instance. Instead, Bock just fights from underneath, hitting a pile driver of his own. What I love is that before he picks him up for it, he just turns his head ever so slightly to take in the crowd; he's always so in the moment. It's a tiny thing but it's everpresent in his work. They crash into each other and then do a double punch (Bock hits a belly to back out of a headlock in the middle). Bock tries for another King of the Mountain but Jumbo storms in with chops. This is pissed off angry proto-Gladiator Jumbo, a very different entity than a few years earlier even if he wasn't who he'd be a few years later. Bock knows he's in trouble, so he tosses him into the ref and hits a belt shot on the outside. Jumbo recovers though, charging in, tossing Bock out, and going for belt shots of his own. When the ref gets in the way, Jumbo nails him too, the seed of violence already taking root. Post match, they brawl repeatedly with people trying to separate them, Bock gets big cheers from the crowd, and Jumbo cuts a promo about defending in the US. He had defended against Lanza, Robinson, and Brunzell the first round and in the second, he'd even face Baron Von Raschke (We don't have that one unfortunately), before falling to Martel. I really liked these two Bock-As-Challenger matches, though I probably liked the last one a bit more. This one had the first inklings of really violent Jumbo though.

Match 9: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Nick Bockwinkel 9/12/87 AJPW: This was for Jumbo's International Title and it only went around ten minutes. It was worked very differently from all the previous matches. I'd call it an AJPW heavyweight sprint. There were holds but they weren't worked for long. They were worked hard, of course, but without overt consequence and escapes or reversals were relatively quick. There was no moment of posturing, no empty space within the match. They were right back up throwing knees or forearms or going for the next hold or spot. That doesn't doesn't mean there wasn't implied consequence. I've never seen a Bockwinkel match end with him sucking air like this. Yes, he was at the absolute tail end of his career, but it was a testament to how hard they were going. I'd prefer a match where things built and resonated more but there was nothing unbelievable in this. It was both men jockeying for opportunity at any moment and going as hard against each other as they absolutely could. Jumbo won off of a flying body press, which is nice as it's an unusual way for him to win and the fans would remember next time he'd hit one, but I'd rather him have used the Thesz Press as that was one of his more regular moves, if they were going to go with a finish like this. Both men, the worse for wear, shook hands after the match. If nothing else, this shows another hat Bockwinkel could wear and that he could hang even in the wilds of hard-hitting 1987 AJPW. Overall, it's not my favorite of the series, but it's an interesting and different look at things and shows how the company and Jumbo were progressing. I'm not going to rank the nine but I'd say the best matches overall would be the middle defenses for Bockwinkel and the two defenses for Jumbo with the lesser matches being the title switch and this last one. It's all good in its own way though.

 

[Matt D]

4/4 fin

Spoiler

Footloose vs Can-Ams: It's still funny to hear Kawada come down to Footloose. It will always be. What a goof. Achem. This was good, one of the best matches between these two as they can be sometimes formless. Can-Ams looked like killers for a lot of it. Pretty even to start but they have the early Furnas offense (dropsault, back handspring shoulderblock) and lots of Kroffat spinning kicks. Eventually they worked over Fuyuki's leg and that helped give this some structure. Hot tag to Kawada (his own spin wheel kicks) but Fuyuki came back in after long and got comedically pushed through on a flying body press. I didn't think it was that funny but the crowd did. It built to a pretty exciting finish once both members of Footloose were sufficiently recovered. Finish was Furnas putting Fuyuki up in a fireman's carry for something big but Kawada kicking him in the face allowing Fuyuki to get a sunset flip out of it for the win.

Dustin/Gordy vs Abby/Deaton: Very cool for Dustin to come out to Freebird. We had the last 3-4 mins of this plus a post match brawl pro shot. This gives us another ten minutes maybe. It's one of Dustin's best matches pre-WCW up there with the Florida Funk match. He comes out to Freebird with Gordy which is great but doesn't run around the ring with him which is kind of sad. The early clash of the Titans Abby vs Gordy stuff is great with them charging into each other and Abby getting a shot out of nowhere and Gordy slamming him. They control on Deaton with some shine (including the elbow smash) until Deaton drags Dustin over to Abby and Abby starts mauling the forehead, probably with a fork? When we came in on the pro shot Dustin's a bloody mess. Here we get to see why. Abby really demolishes him and the FIP is pretty good with Dustin getting some big sweeping stuff in. Maybe it's a little too sweeping but it shows a lot of potential. Gordy comes in to help him a couple of times but Dustin really needs to work on getting a hot tag. When he does, they demolish Deaton a bunch again including Gordy awkwardly dropping him on his head (neither angle gives us this good enough though). They try to double team Dustin but Gordy's there and they hit a clothesline/dropkick combo on Abby/Deaton. Dustin goes right after Abby, walks right into the throat chop and eats the elbow to end it. But it's a very good match that I'm glad we now have in full.

 

Edited Wednesday at 11:15 AM by Matt D

[Matt D]

Deep breath and back to NJPW.

7/7/87: Dangerous Violent Warlord vs Lukewarm George Takano: Warlord was so, so green. At times, he'd have good instincts when it came to when to give and when not to. There was a funny bit early where he just ate Takano's stuff and Takano had a surprised look on his face before Warlord crushed him. At other times, he went over too easy. Or he'd do a straight knee instead of a pressing one to the gut "kitchen sink" (hate that phrase but you'll know what I mean) style. Or he'd let Takano bodyslam too early into the match when it didn't mean anything. Lots of stuff like that. Finish was him pushing Takano away to dodge an axe handle off the top, press slamming him throat first onto the top rope, and hitting a huge jumping clothesline. Then instead of pinning him he hits a weak dumb elbow smash and then pins him. Super imposing looking though.

7/7/87: Bigelow/Buzz Sawyer vs Muto/Fujinami: I thought Muto goes to NOW as the token young guy at some point? Their Taue? Guess not yet. This was pretty awesome, let me tell you. Sawyer's a nut and he brings out the nuttiness in Bigelow. And Muto feels like the perfect opponent for him in some ways. At one point, he cartwheeled over Muto's prone body and dropkicked him. Then Muto went for the handspring into the corner and Bigelow just tossed him and chucked him over his head. Glorious stuff. Heels worked well together too, drawing the ref so illegal stuff could happen on the outside. Eventually Fujinami came in hot. But they eventually got the advantage again. Finish was Bigelow press slamming Muto to the floor and then helping Sawyer pile drive Fujinami. At that point they shoved the ref and got dqed and then started tearing up chairs and what not. Good stuff.

Spoiler

 

7/12/87: Takada/Fujiwara vs Choshu/Kobayashi: It's Kobayashi not Koyabashi. I just have to say that 100 times. I need a device to remember that. Kobayashi has a b before y; b is for better, as in better than Cobra/George Takano. This was a HH and kind of hard to see. I guess that the NEW/NOW thing hadn't gotten to house shows yet? What we could see was pretty awesome though! Choshu and Fujiwara continued warring. Kobayashi (better than Cobra) was just a really bright flash of excitement. He could do all of the Tiger Mask era stuff but make it work with the UWF guys because he made it look credible. It's hard to talk about specifics because it was hard to see but they were able to get some heat on Fujiwara until he pressed up and did his flip over escape to get a tag. They got some on Takada and then on Fujiwara again until he headbutted his way out of it. Choshu and Kobayashi did some of the Ishin Gundan double teams you'd expect like the Slaughter Cannon. Finish was very good as Takada spinkicked Kobayashi into his own corner and Choshu came in hot. Fujiwara broke up the Scorpion but Kobayashi got him out of the way so Choshu could hit the lariat. Good stuff but I wish we had this one proshot or even a better quality HH. Glad we have it at all though.