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  1. I'm going through more of my DVD library. I'm trying to knock out some odds & ends DVDs I got during the early years of the Covid pandemic. This one was part of a small lot of DVDs from eBay. I always wanted to get into Evolve but never did. So this wasn't the main draw of the lot but it was a nice bonus. As always, I pick & choose what I watched. I will say it is fun to watch Evolve/DGUSA after watching a fair amount of Full Impact Pro. It brings me back to that time Let's take a look at Evolve #10 Jigsaw vs AR Fox - This was a good match that built up to a pretty great finish. You know they had more in the tank but this was pretty early in the card so they coasted comfortably until it was time to get to the finishing segment. Hey nothing wrong there...this is my opening match and I'm happy. Pinkie Sanchez vs Uhaa Nation - Quick fun stuff. Pinkie was scuzzy and Nation was super impressive. Super Smash Bros vs Rich Swann & Chuck Taylor - Well the fans were correct - that was awesome! Tons of high speed spots which is typical of PWG/Dragon Gate USA at this time. Taylor really impressed me here...he's goofy sometimes but brought his A-game. All 4 guys did their best...you'd think this was for a much more prestigious event based on the way they wrestled. Great match if you in the mood for something like this. Jon Davis vs Kyle Matthews - Nice little David vs Goliath match. Davis really should be wrestling in Japan where I think he could have a good spot. It looks like he's still active on the Indies. I liked this Sami Callihan vs Bobby Fish - Great intense match with a great bit of leg attack psychology. However, this was wasted upon this crowd which are probably predominantly CZW fans? So they were behind the heel Sami but Fish was too straight laced for them. You got a couple people even trying to start a "boring" chant. This was anything but boring. These guys did exactly what I expected an Evolve match to be...technical, hard hitting, and wrestling as combat sport. Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet- I had some expectations but man this was indie in the worst way. Everything was overly complicated and unnecessarily flashy. Their rudimentary stuff looked poor and treated as filler. Instead of making this look like a struggle, they are thinking about their next dance steps. Its like a sub part kung fu movie fight... everything is just so obviously cooperative. I think they lost some fans who were just burnt out on all of it and saw this like I did. Booing as the match overstayed its welcome (That is the Philly fan but they were right). There was no pacing, no story, no build, just a bunch of shit thrown at the wall. And I liked Super Smash Bros vs Rich Swann & Chuck Taylor but oof...Gargano did get injured at some point but the problems with the match aren't due to injury. That is the last Evolve match but not the main event! What's neat is this also features a tribute to the ECW arena. That's pretty cool for me to own as an ECW fan. Bob Artese (iconic ring announcer), Joey Styles Pitbull #1 Gary Wolfe, JT Smith, Tod Gordon. CZW then comes out and claims its their arena and not ECW's. Balls Mahoney makes the save but he's only 1 man. And the the music hits and New Jack is out there! He's hitting folks then that s.o.b Justin Credible attacks Jack! But Sabu enters the fray. Credible vs Sabu is the main event and its very clear many of the fans are here for this. The pop for all of ECW stuff is the proof. This is a pretty good match too. For both guys being past their prime, they really did go for a great ECW match. It's a great conclusion. At the very end, there's some stuff to bring it back to Evolve. Remember its an Evolve show? It doesn't get the reaction that the ECW stuff got. It's just not that interesting and felt cheap when it was done at Sabu's & the fans' expense. So yeah this was an fun show. Jigsaw vs AR Fox, Super Smash Bros vs Rich Swann & Chuck Taylor and Fish vs Sami are all worthwhile. Fish vs Sami was excellent in fact. Maybe one of Fish's best singles matches? As an old ECW dude, that end bit including Sabu vs Credible washed the bad taste of Gargano/Ricochet out of my mouth. Maybe this isn't a good example of early Evolve but it was enjoyable watch. I'm not going to track down anymore Evolve shows but I had fun. If you can snag this in a lot or under $10 total, go for it! Thanks for reading! Stay safe
  2. EWA is Dirtbike's own sleazy British indie promotion and one he'll frequent a few times to put himself over work matches until his early retirement from chaotic back injuries (according to Dirtbike himself, he actually broke his back before wrestling this match a few weeks earlier) One wonders how he didn't retire sooner given the shit he was putting himself though here lol. Of course he puts himself in the main event with Sabu, and this match is a glorious trainwreck; Dirtbike isn't a good wrestler, however he's a complete natural of trashbag indie garbage wrestling, and combined with Sabu? Guarantied craziness. I really like Sabu's "crazy man" antics, especially at the start when he's just shooting for Dirtbike's legs with takedowns wildly before just wrecking his shit with a big lariat early on, as well as a mean springboard senton and a Taue-lite Snake Eyes off the ropes; it's standard stuff from him but at the time no one was working like him so it felt fresh. Dirtbike bumps pretty hard for all of it and it looks good; his selling less so but hey, no surprises there. He tries for a moonsault but misses, allowing Sabu to take over again. It's a shame the crowd didn't bite harder for Sabu's arm work, because it's actually pretty decent as he pulls for cross armbreakers and hammerlocks, alongside just rubbing his elbow into the head of his opponent for bonus discomfort. Sabu goes for his usual chair spots, including a terrifying leap off one to knock Dirtbike off the top rope and to the outside in a wild bump. Basically most of this is just Sabu no selling Dirtbike's offence, or if he is then he's quickly getting back the advantage and doing more spots. Granted his ratio of botches is surprisingly low here, but still. We slightly miss a dive to the outside from Dirtbike that Sabu needs to move in closer for it to actually connect. He makes up for that with a actually good looking Lionsault for a near fall. There's also a bonkers bit where Sabu is on the shoulders of his opponent, he grabs the ropes and they do a Victory Roll to the outside, looked nasty but was awesome. Dirtbike dodges a Sabu leg drop before just botching the shit out of a moonsault by missing completely. Sabu quickly just does a top rope Frankensteiner before trying for another, is countered into a solid crossbody for another near fall. The big spot of the match is, of course, a table spot: Dirtbike is set up on one outside, Sabu is supposed to break it with a senton, easy stuff. The table doesn't even BUDGE, Sabu's ass is full force on the poor lad's face. Ok, try again with a leg drop this time....still nothing. Dirtbike is barely alive at this point, they end it quick with a Arabian Facebuster for the win while the table remains unbroken. I mean....is it good? Not in the technical way, but if you want attempted murder and Sabu just destroying someone for 15 minutes, this'll be up your avenue. Dirtbike is peak 90's indie badness but he has a endearing chaotic quality about him that makes that work, somehow. Guilty pleasure sure but I thought this was real fun for a grimy spot-filled main event with pretty much no logic, just cool stuff and/or botches.
  3. I remember loving this match years ago and it's really nice of MLW to upload this in excellent quality. Some fun early wrestling exchanges where they mesh better than you expect and Sabu hits everything cleanly. They even did a good build, for example by avoiding the obvious table bump early on or La Parka understanding the Camel Clutch is a finisher. But the crowd keeps calling for tables, so the match turns into the usual Sabu bombfest. Parka really outbumps Sabu here, take a big Necro bump where he nearly overshoots the table and just flying into the turnbuckle. Sabu grabbing the scissors (backstory?) and carving Parka up added some needed grit to this spotty type brawl. There was also a great exchange where Parka was working over Sabus body with stiff kicks while Sabu tried these lunging desperate punches. These two are really decent pro wrestler aside from the hardcore stuff, so you get Parka expertly covering up a Sabu botch or selling his blood loss and making the walk back into the ring seem important etc.
  4. This ruled! The four way setting fits this type of match much better as you can have wrestlers continue to fight while others set up spots. Sabu's presence helped this a lot, he was the best worker in here, here was a spot where Jeff used him to jump onto Abyss and then offered Sabu to use him to jump onto Abyss as well and Sabu just stomped him and it was the best, the amount of disgusting bumps and insane dives delivered as you'd expect but I also liked how they used weapons to transition and as cut-offs. Jeff Hardy continues to jump off high things and it gets REALLY preposterous here. Finish ruled as well, Rhino hits a Piledriver off the top rope and gets the win but Sabu throws himself at him to break it up only to do so a split second too late. ***1/2
  5. In late 1991 and early '92, I would say Onita's matches are NOT the "go to" stuff they were in 89- mid 91. He still is the main attraction and the company is just a vehicle for his accumulation of wealth and adoration but, other talent is developing or getting signed. Ezaki and Gannosuke are the big two that are coming up the ranks although not quite featured players at this point. The American talent is who I am considering at this time. We got Big Titan, Mike "The Gladiator" Awesome, Sabu, and Horace Boulder all really making a name for themselves at this time. Big Titan even beats Onita for the title. That's a big deal! Titan is pretty good in FMW since he and Awesome both bring a athletic big man dynamic to FMW. This is something that hasn't really been featured or displayed in the company perhaps due to Onita's limited ability to work due to his past and probably current injuries. Sabu and Boulder bring this as well. Sabu is also willing to go into the barb wire as much as or more than Onita. Tarzan Goto is coming into his own as a worker as well. He's a bleeder and a brawler but, is much more mobile than Onita. So, Onita-san is being overshadowed in my opinion. The fan base at the time doesn't care but, I'm sure they see it. The FMW fan is more about the Onita theatre than, overall match quality. I say this for the fact that Quinones and Mr. Pogo have left to help form W*ING so, FMW has brought in The Sheik (who is in his late 60's) and um Leon Spinks (ask Inoki how that went). The Onita 1992 program is kinda lackluster in comparison to '90 & '91 but, there are some highlights. I'm thinking of the FMW in North America matches. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Big Titan & Gladiator (11/20/91): Wild fighting amongst the fans from the get go. This is a handheld btw. Eventually, things get in the ring and this is more like traditional puro than Onita's Frontier wrestling. So, Onita is the weakest of the three. Titan and Gladiator are like a budget Steiners/Hellraisers/Scott Norton early 90's power team like NJ was doing. It is a nice change of pace to see "moves" amongst the brawling. Goto's kicking ass but, Onita's days of tope suicida-ing are gone me thinks. Recommended match for sure. Tarzan Goto & Ricky Fuji vs Titan & Gladiator (01/10/92): Ricky Fuji is on the rise skill wise. So, this makes for another recommended workrate handheld match. The highlight was Goto chest passing a fucking table into Gladiator's head. Awesome indeed! ;P Now we kinda enter clip city for what's available online. BAHU has these in full as handhelds and some may be worth acquiring. Onita, Sambo Asako & Amigo Ultra (Damien 666) vs Titan, Horace Boulder & Genghis Khan (03/20 or 03/25? 1992): This a clipped match but, here is an example of Onita still having "it." This is wild stuff! 5 minutes of 15 shown. 10 minutes of awesomeness missing or 10 of crap? Onita & Asako vs Sabu & Horace Boulder (04/23/92): Sambo is a roley-poley (rollie-pollie??) or let's say dumpy fat guy. He's not the type of guy you want to go out to the bar with if you're intent on chatting up some birds. He's not much of a wrestler either but, damn he gets the job done No rope barb wire match here and we start seeing some the the death match staples but, remember this is 1992. Hot shotting Sabu on the wire, choking him with it & eventually tossing his ass into it- he gets tangled in it much like his Funker match from '97. If you're an ECW fan, this is the era when 'Bu got all the scars. Not to be outdone Onita gets wrapped in the cut wire which is another innovation...of sorts. Mad Onita theatre at the end of this. It's 3:50 out of 14 minutes but, it compelling stuff. Combat Toyoda vs Megumi Kudo (05/02/92): Toyoda and Kudo are pretty much the ladies division in terms of talent. Alpha & Omega...the other women just aren't that good. So, these two are starting to get some notice esp. Kudo. According to BAHU, she's the #2 draw behind Onita. Just mentioning that to keep things in perspective regarding FMW's growth as a promotion despite Onita using it as a means to an end. Clips again but, man this looked really good. Kudome shows up in a pink princess gown and the Combative One ain't having that sheet. 6:30 out of 11:36 shown and certainly worth looking for in full especially at that run time. Just show the whole damn thing 1992 FMW!! Onita, Mil Mascaras & Hijo del Santo vs Tarzan Goto, Negro Casas & Giant Warrior (05/15/92): Giant Warrior is a giant waste of space here. This was done in conjunction with WWA whom Onita has a relationship with. FMW's belts are technically WWA belts (but were made up for Onita and have no history). The FMW in Mexico & US shows were done to help promote Onita internationally in the hopes that he could become an international star to some extent. I think perhaps like Tenryu & SWS/WWF. More on this in a moment. This was random fun and very lucha oriented as it was in Mexico. Certainly a dream tag team would be Goto & Casas. It was great to see them actually working together here. Frankly, Mil in FMW in '92 would have been cool. Onita & Mil vs Sabu & the Sheik in a street fight match would be a dream match regardless of ages or ability. Onita, Tarzan Goto & Hijo del Santo vs Tim Patterson, Negro Casas & Horace Boulder (05/16/92): This is the 'famous ' one as Dave M. saw it and gave it 5 stars. The pairings are much better and the FMW guys are shining through very strongly. I guess that's why this was given such a high rating. This style was relatively unseen in the States especially at this time. I mean think of '92 WWF and then watch this mayhem Santo Jr. & Casas are tearing it up in the ring & the FMW guys are wild on the outside of the ring. There is wrestling madness happening in every direction here...in the ring, off the top rope, in the bleachers, at ringside with chairs etc. 15 minutes of chaos. The pacing was set for a 2/3 falls match too so, it's at a break neck speed. I wouldn't rate this as a classic but, would say it is required viewing of some sort. The energy & intensity are so high for 1992 that's it's crazy to see. A great match. Now, the interesting part is that this match takes place in CA (I'm guessing LA). It's mainly a Latino crowd but, there are some Japanese fans there rooting for Onita. It's not clear to me if these are people that flew over for the fight or more likely Japanese Americans/exchange students/visitors who are wrestling fans. It's not important in the context of the match. It's more along the lines of where Onita's mind was headed in terms of business. Per BAHU's History of FMW podcast for the first part of '92, SWS wanted to co-op FMW, Onita, and it's fan base in this period. FMW was drawing very very well (much better than SWS). SWS was working with WWF and this in a sense would scratch Onita's back in terms of international exposure/fame and give SWS a boost in the revenue department. Ok I'm going to stop there for today I'm not going to watch/review the Sheik vs Onita stuff for obvious reasons OR Onita vs Spinks...beyond obvious. I will say- watch the Onita & Goto vs Sheik & Sabu Fire Match. It's only a few minutes and is infamous for being the first Japanese fire match AND nearly setting the ring on fire. All the guys had to bail and it was considered a draw within 3 minutes. For more details and awesome historical insight checkout Steven Ayy & BAHU's history of FMW, first part of 1992 which is my source as well as BAHU's FMW site. http://fmwwrestling.us/FMW.html Cheers!
  6. Really good match which may be the best I've seen between the two. They start slow with a lot of matwork and cool rope running exchanges which added a ton to the build of the match. These two have wrestled each other many times especially on this tour but they did a good job making everything come together organically and not making the match look like an exhibition. Sabu hits a really nice low dropkick into a spin kick transition and I'm wondering when the hell did Sabu turn into a graceful junior wrestler but then he goes for a dive and Scorpio just hurls a chair into him and the match goes awry. They move into the spots and reversals you expect from a Sabu/Scorpio match. All the spots still look cool and everything made sense, the only minor upfuck was Sabu's slightly delayed bump on a headscissor. Sabu using the chair to crotch Scorp when he tried his extra flippy legdrop was a really smart spot to allow himself extra breathing space. I dug them going back to some cool mat stuff for a bit in the middle. Match went the right length. Feels weird how out of style Sabu worship is with the indy wrestlers of the last few years, I enjoyed this a lot.
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