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KB8

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  1. He's wanted to do that to those DC folk ever since they told him Black Adam couldn't hang with Batman.
  2. KB8

    Virus

    I watched the February '96 match with Mascarita Magica towards the end of last year and it really is excellent. I wouldn't put it quite on the level of Damiancito/Cicloncito the following year, but it wasn't a million miles off it either. I also don't think I've seen that particular Fuego match so that's cool as well. I'll still likely have him around my top 20.
  3. Orton's skin tone is somewhere close to that Liver King maniac on instagram. Although the latter is definitely natural and attained his physique from living the ancestral lifestyle, so I guess maybe Orton is just eating a bowl full of raw pig hearts and bull testicles. A true Primal has no need for Tren!
  4. Mariko Yoshida v Yumiko Hotta (AtoZ, 11/9/03) - GREAT I guess these joshi promotions of the 2000s really liked running one-night tournaments. We know Tony Khan was a DVDVR poster back in the day, can we be sure he wasn't also one of the three dozen people still following joshi during those dark years? You'd assume he watched a lot of IWA Mid-South but do we know for a fact he didn't develop his fetish for wrestling tournaments from places like AtoZ (which I did not realise before was just a rebranded ARSION) and Ice Ribbon? This was relatively short and compact and had a real nice sense of escalation running through it. The first few minutes weren't anything special, because Hotta isn't the most compelling mat worker, but it didn't feel like they were simply going through the motions either. It got really good when tempers flared, though. I've watched enough 2000s Yoshida recently to figure that eventually she'd punch Hotta in the face at some point, and I've watched enough Hotta from any time period to know how she would respond to that. Yoshida was absolutely clobbering her with shots and Hotta would just punt Yoshida in the face, almost casually which somehow made it even more callous. It wasn't personal for Hotta, no more than the torturer cutting a confession. She just is what she is and this was no more than business. I don't remember ever seeing Yoshida take a shot like the roundhouse kick to the face while she was on her knees. Maybe that made it personal for her and the moment she ripped her glove off and fucking nuked Hotta with a straight right was biblical. You could literally hear this thing. Mariko Yoshida v Sakura Hirota (GAEA, 11/3/04) - FUN This was a comedy match and a pretty whimsical six minutes all told. I would assume Hirota is a comedy wrestler by trade, like your Kikutaro who does impressions of other wrestlers. She was dressed in a spider suit getup and credit where it's due, her Yoshida impression was highly amusing. She had the swagger down, did the perfect double biceps pose, and the moment where even Yoshida broke into a chuckle felt legit. 2004 was also a very different time than 2023 so I guess Hirota doing a bunch of creepy weirdo pervert stuff was less frowned upon. She tried to plant the lips on Yoshida at several points and then she broke a submission hold by jabbing her in the butthole with a finger, which is the sort of thing many a 90s message board poster would've paid obscene amounts of money for. Yoshida didn't even punch her in the face once but in the end she did tie her up in enough of a knot that Hirota couldn't sex pest her way out of it.
  5. KB8

    Mariko Yoshida

    I haven't dug THAT deep into post-2003 Yoshida yet, but I'd agree with the notion that she was ultra consistent way past her actual peak. I guess there's a paucity of her later career out there relative to some other joshi candidates, but either way I don't remember watching her in the late 2000s or so and thinking she was anything other than good (and fairly often I thought she was still REALLY good). At this point I'm pretty okay in the knowledge that I'll generally value peak more than longevity anyway, and I probably was in 2016 if maybe not to the same extent, but I feel like I still undersold the length of her peak during the last vote. She's incredible in that '98-'01 period and four years of that quality will go a long way with me. Throw in the stuff before and after that period to bolster her case and she's probably landing in my top 20. She'd be top 10 if it were a pure favourites list.
  6. Mariko Yoshida v Mika Akino (ARSION, 1/17/99) - EPIC An absolutely ferocious Yoshida performance. If you're Akino, a whole six months into your career at this point, you almost need to wonder what you can even do. Go head first at Yoshida and she'll catch you and tie you in knots. Hang back and let her come to you then Yoshida WILL come to you and that might be even worse. Yoshida is just about the greatest swarm in wrestling history and she was all over Akino from the bell, twisting her every which way while Akino had to frantically scramble to keep her head above water. There was an absolutely spectacular exchange where Akino managed to finally buck Yoshida off and they went into kneeling switches for waist control, then when they got up to their feet I thought they were going to do a show of respect and instead Yoshida just kneed Akino in the face and monkey flipped her into a cross armbreaker. The greatness of Yoshida's grappling doesn't necessarily lie in how much cool and inventive shit she does as opposed to the intensity with which she does it all. That said she had at least three holds here that I can't remember ever seeing before and the reverse figure-four thing had my jaw on the floor. None of those holds looked contrived though; they all had logical setups and felt organic. You couldn't see the wheels turning, couldn't see her working through the components in her mind as she was doing them, no "this crosses over this and I do this to put this limb here" or whatever. She snapped into them as quickly as she'd snap into any basic hold and they actually felt like appropriate responses to what the situation gave her at the time. It wasn't a fancy armbar setup just to be fancy, she did it because Akino's proximity and body position made it the most feasible at the time. Just because 95% of wrestlers ever couldn't think of it doesn't mean it's not the smart thing to do. Most of Akino's offence came in bursts but she got to look spunky and explosive and that's about all you can ask for. She also got to look resourceful at points with how she'd attempt one thing and Yoshida would counter it, then if she went back to it a second time she'd switch it up and connect on it. The cool part was that if she went to it TOO often Yoshida would inevitably bring it back around and find yet another solution. That's what Yoshida does and I guess if you're Akino you live and learn. I thought for sure the kid was tapping on at least two choke attempts so she got to look tough as nails by hanging in there and eventually making the ropes. Yoshida was a monster in '99 and I'm looking forward to watching all of it, some for the first time and some for a second time. This was a great way to start off a banner year.
  7. Mariko Yoshida v Aja Kong (ARSION, 10/17/00) - GREAT This was a semi-final bout of a one-night tournament (the final of which I talked about a few days ago). It was also an ARSION tournament in Korakuen Hall and not a seven-hour All Japan Women Tournament in the Tokyo Dome, so it wasn't likely to be a lengthy affair. For 10 minutes of brute force against dexterity it'll be hard to go wrong with these two, and this was a badass 10 minutes. At some point in the year 2000 Yoshida started incorporating more striking into her arsenal, and by striking I mean absolutely walloping people in the face with her fists. It meant this had an extra layer to their usual dynamic, where Yoshida didn't have to rely on JUST the grappling and could throw hand grenades when she had openings. She had several openings and threw a goodly amount of hand grenades. Obviously Aja tagged her back and there was one incredible sequence where Yoshida was throwing lefts and rights to the head, Aja standing there out on her feet, then from nowhere she unleashed a back fist that about ripped Yoshida's face in two. In the end though, if Yoshida was going to win she'd need to do it with what she did better than anyone. It was just a question of whether she could do it to someone with as much BEEF as Aja. Or if she could do it before Aja caved her head in. Mariko Yoshida & Yumiko Hotta v Sumie Sakai & Megumi Yabushita (AJW, 11/3/02) - GOOD I initially came across this when trying to find the Yoshida/Hotta singles match from November 2003 (in a promotion called AtoZ, which I honestly had never heard of in my life). Yoshida and Hotta teaming together seemed interesting if nothing else, and that team against a couple girls who'd only been wrestling for about five years was an interesting spot for them to be in. I figured Hotta would do what she usually did against lower-ranked opponents and I've watched enough peak Yoshida against wrestlers like that to know it's probably going to be good. And this was decent enough, mostly for those reasons, but also for the infighting between Yoshida and Hotta. While it's probably a stretch to assume they used this to build to a singles match a whole year down the line, it must've at least whet the appetite. Hotta was in a sprightlier mood than usual here and I don't think she full force punted anybody in the face even once. She was more condescending than anything else, hooking Sakai in an armbar while grinning up at Yabushita on the apron. The young girls threw a few stiff shots and not once could you say Hotta flew off the handle in response. Yoshida wasn't in as jovial a mood, nor was she particularly interested in playing with her food. The first thing she did when entering the ring was kicking Yabushita in the head and she was very businesslike the whole way. There was one exchange in the middle between her and Yabushita that was excellent, really snappy grappling with Yabushita holding her own admirably. I knew Yabushita was a kickboxer but I didn't know she could bring the MATWORK~ like this. As the match goes on the more cracks between Hotta and Yoshida start to form. Yoshida held one of the youngsters for Hotta to smack, but the youngster moved and Yoshida took the shot instead. It didn't sit well with her and when the shoe was on the other foot later you almost wonder if she wasn't outright aiming for Hotta. They didn't come all the way to blows, but they were close and when Hotta told Yoshida to move so she could put a ribbon on things at the end you know Yoshida wanted to fucking kill her. Luckily I do not have to wait a year before seeing a singles match, although knowing me it'll be a decade before I actually get around to it.
  8. Mariko Yoshida v Ayako Hamada (ARSION, 10/17/00) - EPIC This was the final of a one-night tournament and only went 11 minutes. A tournament final, even of one held on a single night, going 11 minutes and not 52 today feels damn near inconceivable. Shit even for 2000 it feels inconceivable, but then ARSION were all about doing things differently for a while there. A great little promotion. For a while there. These two were in a tournament final from '98 that I watched about a year ago now and at that point Ayako Hamada was in a very different place. That match didn't even last 11 minutes and Yoshida basically mopped the floor with the poor lass. I think she even beat her with a foot on the chest and then Hamada got carted out by three people like she was a carcass left in a ditch. Two years later and Hamada is now the grand old age of 19. I guess in pro wrestling terms you grow up quick because she handled herself much better here and at least felt plausibly on Yoshida's level. Yoshida was so fucking good. I don't just mean here, I mean in general. She can demolish you in a dozen different ways and she started this by jumping all over Hamada and trying to yank her into armbars and chokes and anything else she could think up. When Hamada tried to catch her in a bodyscissors, maybe just for a tiny bit of respite if nothing else, Yoshida applied the fucking STOMACH CLAW and then threw some of the greatest body shots she's ever thrown. For a glorious 90 seconds she then worked the midsection with gutbusters and body blows and this was looking like a legitimate 12-star affair. Pretty quickly Hamada made a comeback and they never returned to the body work, but it was amazing while it lasted. You also make peace with them moving past it as Yoshida very soon punches Hamada in the face so hard she starts selling her own hand like she broke it. Yoshida's arm is already taped up so I'm guessing this plays off a previous tournament match, but even on its own it ruled. This was also just about the greatest punch Yoshida's ever thrown. It was largely a sprint from there, but they absolutely blistered each other and I never felt like they went fully into spotty territory. It felt frantic, like two people who've just wrestled twice on the night know the adrenaline is going to wear off pretty soon. Some of the striking was exceptional and you had Hamada recklessly spin kicking Yoshida in the face and neck and Yoshida throwing haymakers. Hamada in particular worked with a real urgency, probably because she knew Yoshida needed to be put away with some haste. She tried one preposterous rolling submission thing that she definitely learned from her old man and Yoshida reversed it into a fucking kimura and I fell out the bed. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't vote Yoshida top 10 in the '26 GWE.
  9. Well damn, I forgot about this thread! I haven't gone two and a half years without watching any Yoshida. Mariko Yoshida v KAORU (AJW, 8/28/94) - GREAT This wasn't perfect. It was rough around the edges and at times they maybe struggled a wee bit to fill the half an hour, but at the very least they went out and worked something different to just about any AJW midcard match of the time (not that I've seen a ton of the 1994 AJW midcard, mind you). Yoshida is returning to action after nearly two years out with a broken neck and it turns into a minor story point throughout. If you'd only seen wrestling from America you'd be shocked that a broken neck isn't the main focus of the match, sort of like how Shawn Michaels came out of retirement after a slipped disc and everyone worked over his back for the next eight years. KAORU hits a couple piledrivers early and Yoshida's selling for the next little while was sublime, the way she'd snap KAORU into a leglock but immediately have to give it up, clutching her neck like the jolt from dropping to the mat had undone two years' worth of rehab. KAORU would go back to it sporadically throughout the match as well, sometimes just to give herself some distance by punching Yoshida in the neck. It worked every time so it would be hard to fault her. Yoshida never brought the same grappling that she would a few years later, it was very different here, much more scrappy and unrefined, but it was also really compelling. It was always gritty if nothing else. Sometimes she'd just grab KAORU's leg and twist it, whereas in ARSION she'd have turned it into something preposterous and beautiful and KAORU would've been scrambling for the ropes. I did love her putting KAORU in a half crab and tearing away her knee strapping, even biting her on the kneecap while the ref' wasn't looking, then she turned it into an STF where the leg was torqued at a putrid angle. Where the match mostly stood out from other AJW stuff was the pacing, which almost felt like a New Japan match at points. They'd go into stalemates and resets, regroup and come back at each other with different strategies. It meant we got a bit of everything, some matwork, some flying, some striking, a few bombs, but I never really thought they were just doing shit to be doing it. Some of the flying was great, especially KAORU's Asai moonsault, and one of Yoshida's topes where she landed all sideways. When it came to the striking they'd often shit-talk each other before throwing brutal slaps. And for the big high impact stuff, Yoshida practically hitting a Ganso Bomb was ludicrous. As the time limit approaches you kind of know what's coming, the bell ringing as Yoshida is pressing to secure a leglock. When they manage to get it restarted Yoshida comes out fast again, but then the neck comes back to haunt her as KAORU just spikes her with a tombstone. Very nifty. Mariko Yoshida v Yumi Fukawa (ARSION, 5/8/98) - GREAT It feels like I say this every other time I write anything about her, but my god is Mariko Yoshida a force of nature when she really goes after someone. She takes about 80% of this with Fukawa having to claw for every morsel. Fukawa tries a rolling armbar early on and pretty much whiffs it, so Yoshida looks at her in disgust and stomps on her head. My favourite bit of Yoshida matwork here was how she prevented Fukawa from rolling through on a legbar attempt. The first time she went for that legbar Fukawa did roll through and Yoshida couldn't lock it in. When she grabs it again later Fukawa tries to roll through once more, but this time Yoshida sticks a foot out to stop her, then somehow manages to corral Fukawa's other leg in the process. It probably sounds mundane when you're only reading about it, but it's the micro-details like those that separate the good mat workers from the great ones and Yoshida's attention to detail is magic. Some of the grappling exchanges were excellent, especially when Fukawa was able to keep those exchanges relatively even. Towards the end Fukawa manages to actually put Yoshida in trouble, but then Yoshida grabs her in the middle of the ring and is totally relentless in working through several submission attempts until Fukawa finally succumbs to the inevitable. Mariko Yoshida v Mikiko Futagami (ARSION, 8/9/98) - EPIC What a wonderful wee eight minutes. It's sort of jarring watching this back to back with Yoshida/KAORU from four years earlier. Obviously Yoshida's aesthetic presentation is much different in '98, but stylistically it's almost night and day difference. She was once again a demon on the mat, ripping Futagami into armbars and leglocks. There was nothing about her act that felt like it needed refining or like she was trying stuff to figure out what she wanted to be -- this was final form Yoshida and it's one of the best things ever. Futagami is hardly a slouch on the ground but, similar to their match from May that year, she needed to rely on the strikes if she was to have a chance. She rocked Yoshida initially with a palm thrust, then later connected with two absolutely brutal koppu kicks. The set up to the second one looked a bit ropey at first, like Futagami was on some All Japan fighting spirit juice after taking a German suplex, but I think she was supposed to flip out of it and just undershot the move in the first place. So we may all sleep easy. I've said this a bunch of times as well and it rings true again; Yoshida is probably the best I've ever seen at making you think she's going to submit to a hold. Part of this is the ARSION house style of course. You can buy someone submitting in six minutes in ARSION because of the shoot style elements and that matches are naturally shorter anyway, whereas if it happened in AJW I doubt I'd be buying it six minutes into a match no matter how good an actress she is. But it is what it is and it's hard to be The Ace while selling plausible vulnerability so early in a match. She never goes half-baked on trying to make the ropes and there's always that seed of doubt in your mind that she'll make it. The finish being what it was here just reinforces that things can end quickly in ARSION, and even the spider queen isn't safe. I love this pairing. Mariko Yoshida v Michiko Ohmukai (ARSION, 8/31/98) - GOOD This was Ohmukai with a kicker's chance against Yoshida who will tie her up and rip her limbs off if given half a chance. Both of them worked this with a sense of urgency, but Ohmukai almost felt desperate at points given her busted up shoulder. You knew that if Yoshida got a hold of it then it would probably be curtains, and Ohmukai knew that as well, so she swung for the fences straight away. There wasn't a ton of variety to what she did, I guess other than which type of kick she was throwing. The kicks looked mean though, most of them landing with a thud, a handful catching Yoshida flush. One in particular caught her right under the chin as Yoshida came back off the ropes. It wasn't a long match, but the longer it did go the more Ohmukai needed to push things and that left open doors for Yoshida, who will happily walk through a door and submit you. Even something fairly standard can look spectacular when Yoshida does it and this time it was the way she dropped to a knee for a rear waistlock as a counter to a simple arm wringer. Other than that she was hooking things from all angles, sprawling and rolling through and generally being relentless. She wasn't even all that bothered about targeting the shoulder. When the opportunity presented itself she went for it, but she wasn't perturbed when Ohmukai managed to escape. When she caught one of Ohmukai's high kicks and yanked her into a sick ankle lock you kind of knew it was inevitable. The only question was what Ohmukai would tap to. Because in the end they all tap. Mariko Yoshida v Ayako Hamada (ARSION, 8/31/98) - FUN The final! Hamada came into it having bested - or perhaps upset - Futagami and Mary Apache and maybe figured she'd have an outside chance of dethroning the queen in waiting. She was clearly a fool as this was basically an extended squash. What an extended squash though, with Yoshida twisting her into knots and never giving her a second's peace. She was relentless and any time Hamada looked like putting a run together she would be stopped emphatically. Yoshida is spectacular as always, just ripping off armbars and leglocks while this kid wonders what she's gotten herself into. There was one brilliant nearfall off a backslide where Yoshida managed to get a toe on the rope, then she got up and Hamada never got close again. In the end the poor lass is carried out like a pit fighter that Yoshida made an end of. The queen of ARSION. Mariko Yoshida v Reggie Bennett (ARSION, 8/31/98) - GREAT This is a great match up and of course this was badass. I like just about all of the wrestlers on the ARSION roster from this period for one reason or another, so this shouldn't be read as a knock on them, but Yoshida is different gravy and looks flat out amazing nearly every time she shows up. The early matwork here was fantastic and nobody else really does it quite at that level. The struggle, the way it looks uncooperative but slick, it's really great. She was crawling all over Reggie trying to work around the size disadvantage, trying to hook a limb in a way that wouldn't allow Reggie to literally just fall on top of her and smother her. Reggie is a blast and more than holds her own on the mat. Where did she actually go after ARSION? She'd have been a great Serena Deeb opponent in the year 2022. Yoshida was for giving nothing easy and Reggie had to fight for every throw just as much as Yoshida had to fight for every armbar or ankle lock. Yoshida cracking the code with the slickest armbar you've seen is a pretty awesome finish as well. It wasn't like she focused on a specific limb through the match, she was just grabbing whatever was there, used one hold then would transition to another when it presented itself, just constantly recalibrating as necessary. One of the best to ever do it. Mariko Yoshida v Yuu Yamagata (ARSION, 12/8/01) - GOOD Here's a revelation for you - Yoshida was very different in 2001 than she was in 1990. This was peak Yoshida, oozing confidence and working at a ridiculously high level, really just one of the best wrestlers ever. Her silver Spider-Man 2099 getup was also A+. I'm sorry but I do not have a clue who Yuu Yamagata is. Apparently she's a rookie. I can believe that because Yoshida smashed her to bits. Yoshida stretching a rookie with submissions is something you expect and she really tortured the poor girl. What's unexpected is the way she was also throwing hand grenades, backing Yuu into the corner and unloading with a huge punch flurry, these big sweeping haymakers right on the button. You maybe don't think of Yoshida as a great striker, or at least that's not the first thing you think of with her, but she sure had some great strikes here. I liked how she sold for Yuu as well. There was dismissiveness when Yuu tried a feeble backslide, annoyance when she tried it again and got a two count, frustration when she refused to be hooked in some preposterous hold, then even a pinch of concern when Yuu managed to hook something of her own. In the end the kid had to submit, but she gave an okay account of herself all told. If it turns out to be my only Yuu Yamagata singles match I will cherish it dearly.
  10. KB8

    Koko B Ware

    Koko Ware, Dream Machine, Nightmare, Speed & Jimmy Hart v Dutch Mantell, Bill Dundee, Steve Keirn, Rick Gibson & Robert Gibson (Memphis, 9/19/81) Koko has thrown his lot in with Hart and the First Family, thus beginning the amazing heel Koko Ware run (and soon-to-be even more amazing heel team with Bobby Eaton). There actually wasn't a ton of Koko in this, but it was a super fun 10 minutes and really how could it not be with those participants? Dutch tried to jump Koko at one point and I'm not sure Koko expected it because he fucking HURLED himself out the ring to safety. Jimmy was so good in this. Obviously he had no intention of getting in there unless the deck was stacked completely in his favour. That happens once where he puts the boots to Dundee, then Bill comes back at him and Hart is out of there like a shot. There were three or four instances where the babyfaces just ran around to that side of the ring and Jimmy leaped over the fucking announce desk while Lance got peeved at it all. Sweet Brown Sugar & Dream Machine v Rick & Robert Gibson (Memphis, 9/26/81) Koko has now started going by Sweet Brown Sugar. Koko's the first Sweet Brown Sugar I was ever aware of in the world of professional wrestling and naturally I fell in love immediately, so there have been many disappointing realisations over the years when perusing tape lists that Skip Young was also going by Sweet Brown Sugar down in Florida (and to be fair to Skip, he was the first Sweet Brown Sugar). I cannot articulate my joy at finding a tag match with Tenryu and Ashura Hara against the Destroyer and Sweet Brown Sugar. Neither can I articulate my despondency upon realising it was Skip Brown Sugar and not Koko. No offence intended to our man Skip. Anyhow, this was another really fun 10 minutes. Jimmy Hart is running around with a big stick, wearing a yellow jumpsuit like Uma Thurman. He got under Rick Gibson's skin so deep that Gibson would outright chase him away from ringside repeatedly, often to the point where he'd lose sight of Koko and Dream Machine entirely. Sometimes that even left Robert alone to be beaten on. Jimmy was hilarious trying over and over to come back out from the curtain like your little brother when yer ma keeps sending him back to tell you it's HIS turn on the PlayStation. Sweet Brown Sugar & Stan Lane v Bill Dundee & Roy Rogers (Memphis, 10/3/81) You know, we always talk about Koko/Eaton being the lost Midnight Express, but Koko/Lane might just be the lost Heavenly Bodies. There are only so many ways to say "this was a fun 10 minutes" but what can I tell you, this was a fun 10 minutes. Koko was pinballing around off amazing Dundee punches, including one coming off the ropes where it looked like Dundee was trying to jam his fist through the back of Koko's head. Koko also gets mad height on those fist drops and I love that he'll make a beeline straight for the tag whenever things are getting a little out of hand. Jimmy Hart running around gibbering like an idiot prompting Lance to mutter "aw go and siddown, Hart" was also perfect. Sweet Brown Sugar v Jerry Lawler (Memphis, 10/5/81) Aw man I wish we had this in full. We only get five minutes of it and honestly, what was actually shown made it look like one of the greatest 5-minute matches ever - and it was spliced together well enough that I could believe it only went seven - but I'm pretty sure they announced at one point that 15 minutes had gone and really it's a travesty that we don't have them. Still, I will reiterate that what we saw of it ruled like a bastard. Koko is spectacular here, really playing to the arena crowd by being the sort of shithead you could see alllll the way in that back row. When Lawler tries to backdrop him Koko flips out like fucking Tiger Mask, getting more height than even Sayama would, then does the most amazing little celebratory jig you've ever seen. Lawler tries several times to punch him and Koko ducks, dodges and dances each time, Lawler getting more and more irritated with every miss. I've lost count of how many times I've mentioned the Koko Ware dropkick, and I mentioned it all those times with good reason, but I think because that thing was SO good I almost forgot that Koko was also an unbelievable puncher. He would avoid those Lawler punches and tag him back repeatedly and it was just brilliant heat-building. When Koko lands on his feet and starts dancing off the fourth backdrop attempt Lawler rips down the strap then and there and fucking obliterates Koko with a right hand mid-2-step! It wasn't the big comeback, Koko hadn't done enough where one was warranted yet, it was just a moment of rage boiling over, like Thor calling on the hammer to clobber a shoplifter. Probably unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, but play stupid games you win stupid prizes. Koko running through a bunch of Lawler signature spots after that was amazing. The level of difficulty on making Jerry Lawler signature punches look good must be through the roof, yet here was Koko hitting a top rope fist drop and the kneeling punch flurry and I'll be damned if they never looked great. Truly a testament to our man Koko. And then obviously Lawler paid him back and even if all those 'Purple Rain' covers are cool and everything there's nobody who can do it quite like the one and only. Sweet Brown Sugar & Stan Lane v Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert (Memphis, 10/10/81) This was perfect Memphis studio wrestling. What I think Memphis did better than any territory during the 80s was blend angles and interviews and matches into a seamless singular package, all on TV. Before the bell here Jimmy Hart was going IRATE about something to do with Jerry Calhoun, long-time Memphis referee. I honestly don't remember anything about the Hart/Calhoun feud from around this time but pretty soon Calhoun comes out shirtless, Lawler by his side, and seconds later Hart and Calhoun are rolling around shirtless taking wild windmill swings at each other. That lit a fire under the audience so they were hot for the eventual match. And the match itself was a wonderful eight minutes, really just the best sort of TV wrestling. It's a bit more traditionally structured than your hectic studio bout so we get defined segments. The first third was mostly about Morton and Gilbert controlling and they did it with a vice grip on Stan Lane's arm. There was one extended hammerlock segment where Lane would keep trying to shake them only to get dragged back into it, hitting a slam while Gilbert still has his arm hammerlocked, Gilbert refusing to release and rolling through to maintain it. Morton and Gilbert make quick tags while passing the hold between one another and it was all nifty stuff. Eventually we go into Morton in peril, and in case anyone's wondering Ricky Morton was already fucking great by 1981. The transition ruled with Morton knocking Koko off the apron as the latter tried to interfere, turning around into Lane's diving headbutt to the gut. Lane hits a nice gutwrench suplex and has this cool takedown clothesline, like an STO without the leg sweep. Koko holds Morton in an abdominal stretch so Lane can karate kick him in the ribs and Stan Lane also ruled in case anyone was wondering. There was one amazing Morton hope spot where Koko backed him into the corner and Morton hit this upkick/dropkick thing that nearly decapitated Koko. Koko pulling a chain out and clocking him with an A+ punch was of course awesome. I'm repeating myself, but Koko and Lane were so good together. Sweet Brown Sugar v Rick Gibson (Memphis, 10/17/81) Okay what in the fuck? As far as eight-minute studio matches go this was six and a quarter stars. With a couple more minutes and a proper finish it might've achieved studio match royalty. Koko had folk on strings before the thing even started by trying to flip into the ring and landing on his arse Whether it was deliberate or he really did fluff the landing I'm not sure, but does it really matter when you have their attention from the jump? When it started properly he was incredible taunting and dancing like an idiot, in much the same way as against Lawler. This was possibly even better in fact, because the camera was right there and you could see more clearly the annoyance on Gibson's face, and more importantly the joy on Koko's. Koko was shuffling and shadow boxing and when Gibson took a swing at him Koko went to the ref' like "hey watch that fist there, partner." Koko's exaggerated head bob while leaning against the ropes was genuinely funny stuff. They do a double dropkick spot that allows Gibson to briefly take over, but then a minute later Koko is back to avoiding getting hit and chicken dancing like a prick. It was amazing and Gibson hit him with one punch that really did not look pulled. I think Koko might've worked the worker! After a few nice exchanges Koko takes over when Gibson goes shoulder-first into the post and from there Koko goes to THE CHAIN~. I guess everyone who worked Memphis for any reasonable amount of time just got great at hiding the foreign object shtick? In the end the match gets thrown out when Jimmy whacks Gibson with a stick, but we don't have time to rest as a post-match brawl kicks off with the First Family and Lawler and Jerry Calhoun arriving. And I'll be fucked if I'm not ready to lay down some hard-earned cash for a Jimmy Hart v Jerry Calhoun match.
  11. KB8

    Koko B Ware

    I've started watching every Koko Ware match that I can find, from his debut in Memphis up through the middle of 1982 (so far). I would like to vote Koko somewhere around the top 4 (yes four) in 2026 so this is me making an attempt at showing my work. Koko Ware & Pat Hutchinson v Bill Irwin & Larry Latham (Memphis, 11/1/80) Pretty great studio tag. It's one-sided, but you don't mind when the one-sidedness results in such a total destruction of Pat Hutchinson (or anyone, really. Nothing against Pat Hutchinson). Irwin and Latham just mollywhop him for about nine of the 10 minutes, barring one minute where Koko comes in and absolutely rules it hitting big dropkicks and punches. Irwin foolishly decides to headbutt Koko and rears back dazed like he's about to topple, so Koko stares at him bemused for a second before sending him on his way with a dropkick. But really, yer man Pat gets stomped out completely. Irwin was actually a super fun bully and had a great time beating on him, hitting one pump kick to the sternum where he took off from about six feet back. Latham was just murdering the poor guy with kneedrops to the back of the head, pure Super Tiger to Fujiwara style while Hutchinson was quivering on the canvas. Irwin picks him up and spears him into the corner where Pat lands hard on the middle turnbuckle and a bit later Latham hits an Oklahoma Stampede! A Koko hot tag would've pushed this into classic studio tag territory, but as it is it's one heck of an extended squash. Koko Ware & Bill Dundee v Roger Kirby & Guy Mitchell (Memphis, 11/29/80) I had no recollection of Roger Kirby being a Nature Boy. Which begs the question - how does one even become a Nature Boy? How is the moniker earned? Is it simply a blond hair thing? Is it bestowed upon you by the original Nature Boy? Was Buddy Rogers running around siring Nature Children like some pro wrestling Robert Baratheon? This was shorter and a bit more hectic and nobody got their tail beat like Pat Hutchinson did, but Kirby and Mitchell were fun enough bruisers and we got a nice extended heat segment on Dundee. Mitchell is someone I haven't seen a lot of but he was determined to keep the ring cut off and you can't help but appreciate that. He also had no qualms about waltzing over and stomping someone in the neck to halt any momentum. Koko got to come in off the hot tag and wouldn't you believe it but he hit both Kirby and Mitchell with gorgeous dropkicks. The heels hitting a fucking Demolition-style backbreaker/elbow drop off the middle rope was wild and Koko about got snapped in two with the thing. Koko Ware, Bill Dundee, Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert v The Bounty Hunters, The Angel & Ali Hassan (Memphis, 2/28/81) This got a ton of time, like 25+ minutes, which is a rarity for the studio. You could maybe tell the wrestlers knew they had half an hour to fill because it wasn't worked with the same sort of franticness that was the norm. There were still lots of quick tags and guys rolling to their own corner before getting swarmed, but the opening stretch was much more like an extended babyface shine you'd see in the arena. Eddie Gilbert was the most featured of the babyfaces in the first fall and it was him who eventually took the beatdown for his team. 20-year-old white meat babyface Gilbert is a different kettle of fish from weasel heel Gilbert but he was perfectly capable in his role, which you probably expect. Dundee was really great here, bringing all sorts of neat touches and doing something worthwhile basically every other second. He went for a running elbow drop at one point and the intended recipient moved, maybe a little earlier than planned because it looked like the elbow was set up to be missed, so rather than do it anyway like most might've Dundee course-corrected and jumped on whoever it was with a facelock. There was lots of fun spots around Dundee causing miscommunications, like covering a guy and then moving at the last second when someone tried to break it up, effectively goading that someone into stomping his own partner. One of the Bounty Hunters holds Dundee in the ropes to get punched, but Dundee ducks and the Bounty Hunter gets popped in the mouth by a teammate. When Koko then holds one of the heels for Dundee to hit him, Dundee fakes the punch, the heel ducks and glances around to see if Koko got cracked, then turns back around into that Dundee roundhouse. If we're ranking the all time best studio match workers then the Superstar is right there in the discussion for #1. Koko Ware & Ron Sexton v Masa Fuchi & Atsushi Onita (Memphis, 5/16/81) This was another fairly one-sided thing, but Fuchi and Onita certainly took it to the babyfaces and brought a nice level of viciousness while they were at it. They'd evidently been watching Guy Mitchell and Nature Boy Roger Kirby because they really made an effort to cut the ring off and keep an opponent in their corner. Usually that opponent was Ron Sexton, who took a proper whooping here. Fuchi and Onita would cut Ron and Koko off by just clawing at their eyes and hitting overhand chops to the sternum. This was real nasty face-clawing and eye-gouging as well, digging fingers in there like they were trying to peel an orange. They'd back Sexton into the corner and whoever was on the apron would grab him by the hair so the other guy could chop him or put the boots to him with impunity. By the third fall they're even biting Sexton's forehead, then Fuchi hits a mean neckbreaker where he keeps hold of Sexton's head after they hit the ground. Sexton goes rigid like he's in the throes of death so Onita comes in and ends his suffering by chopping him dead in the face. Koko doesn't get much offence or anything but he was clearly rated highly in the territory. He doesn't eat either of the pinfalls and wipes out both heels with some dropkicks, which Fuchi and Onita obviously bump big off of. Lance and Dave mention between falls as well how Sexton has really struggled against a well-oiled team but Koko has looked really good despite the losing effort. They obviously knew they had something with him and I like how they subtly tried to protect him even in defeat. Koko Ware v Chic Donovan (Memphis, 5/30/81) I've said this on here before and I'm sure most/all of the other places I regularly talk to people about wrestling, but 80s Memphis might be my ultimate pro wrestling comfort food. The DVDVR Memphis set was the first deep dive I ever did into a territory and I blazed through every disc in like six weeks, something I would never be able to do today, 15 bastard years later. The whole aesthetic with the purplish background, Lance and Dave narrating everything from the desk, guys like Lawler and Dundee and Mantell and then Jimmy Hart running around like an idiot, there's probably no wrestling easier for me to sit and immerse myself in. And the pre-match here wasn't quite full over the top MEMPHIS, but it was still very Memphis, with Tojo Yamamoto in his broken English introducing his new charge, Lance groaning like Marge Simpson at "Mr Lance Russell, I have something for you today." Tojo has found someone who's going to be the next Southern Heavyweight Champion, the greatest singles wrestler in the world. I could not tell you the last time I watched a Chic Donovan match but I'm shocked he wasn't calling himself Nature Boy. I'm guessing was TRYING to cut himself from the same cloth as Flair, a bit more shredded than Ric but lacking somewhat in presence. As an actual contest this was seven minutes of what could've been an awesome 14-minute match. The roles were maybe a wee bit backwards as you had Donovan working an armbar from the start, Koko coming up for air before being taken back down into it, but I guess the goal was to establish Chic as a solid hand (or the greatest singles wrestler in the world, as it were) so why not. He's sort of clunky at times, probably not surprising for someone who's only been wrestling for about three years, but he threw at least a couple mean forearms that might rattle your brains. The arm work is fine enough as well and Koko is all energy when he has his hope spots. Loved the bit where he took Donovan over with a leaping headscissors and Donovan planted himself on top of his head like it was a fucking piledriver, then got up and turned around into THE Koko Ware dropkick. This is the earliest picture perfect Koko dropkick I've seen - before he had the crazy spring but the landing didn't look as graceful, where he'd come down almost on his back. This time it was gorgeous and it most importantly hit Donovan right on the button. He even hit a second one and Lance and Dave popped huge. "THERE'S that Koko Ware dropkick!" Donovan kind of no-selling it was rubbish though, and then he goes straight to some approximation of the figure-four and I'm wondering if he wasn't going by Nature Boy after all. The shift to that from having worked the arm early was maybe a little jarring, but it is what it is. I enjoyed the whole lot of this.
  12. It's pretty cool when you can just rattle off the date of a wrestling match and everyone knows exactly which match you're talking about. In pro wrestling circles, June 3rd 1994 means Misawa v Kawada. I think my last watch of this was around 2006 and 2006 me was certainly into different things in wrestling than 2023 me. There was still plenty about it that I thought was good, some stuff that I thought was great, and nothing I can possibly say about it will offer a fresh perspective on the most talked about match in the history of the internet. Yet talk about it I will, for that is what the hallowed halls of Pro Wrestling Only are for. I thought the beginning ruled, the way they played up how familiar they are with each other without it being an obvious reversal routine with 2- and 3- and 4-step dance sequences. Those counters and dodges felt genuinely organic, which is a pretty difficult thing to do in a predetermined nonsense like pro wrestling. Kawada about took Misawa's head off with that spin kick and you're thinking Misawa might not have it all his own way this time. It felt significant in my own 90s All Japan re-watch chronology because the last two matches I watched with Kawada and Misawa opposite each other were the '93 Tag League final and the big rematch from May '94. And in the former Kawada was thoroughly outclassed and in the latter he only fared marginally better. And he lost both of them. After the first exchange Misawa responds quickly with a backdrop and you're maybe reconsidering how close this contest might be, BUT Kawada fires back again and shuts Misawa down, firstly off a whip into the rail, then on Misawa's attempted forearm off the apron. It was cool table-setting. As a whole this felt as even as their rivalry has to this point, largely because of Kawada's aggressiveness. He was a pitbull and you got the sense he knew it was imperative to stay on Misawa, to never give him an opening or a chance to recover. Misawa might've been untouchable as the king at this point but the way he started booting Kawada in the leg was an amazing moment. The fact he even needed to go there was maybe the first real chink in his armour, or at least the first chink Kawada has put in it. Compare that to the '93 Tag League final where Misawa was almost derisory in how he *didn't* touch it despite the fact Kawada was hobbled. I don't think I was aware of Misawa's bad neck the last time I watched this, so that's another cool layer. I don't find either guy particularly compelling at working holds, but those parts weren't extensive and Kawada spent more time using brute force to exploit the neck than working the facelock. The striking was absolutely world class, which probably isn't a surprise, and my favourite parts were when they were trying to knock the other's head into the bleachers, which probably isn't a surprise. It may not be as harrowing as Battlarts or FUTEN, but the selling really is top drawer and there's the struggle and the blocking and it all makes every strike exchange feel massive. As pretentious as it might sound, it does feel pretty layered and even NUANCED~ if you know their history. Or as nuanced as two people kicking and elbowing each in the face can be and at the end of the day that's where the bread is buttered. The point where Kawada punched Misawa in the jaw was spectacular, really just a perfect fuck off and die outburst, and then Misawa responding in kind a minute later is one of the best "do you actually know who I am?" moments he's ever had, and he's has a whole lot of those throughout his career. He also hit a rolling elbow to the back of Kawada's head at one point that was sort of disgusting. You don't usually see him lose his temper like that, but there were a couple moments where he clearly did; another being when he just outright stomped on Kawada's face. Kawada's enziguri to the nose, his head kicks in the corner after Misawa's ear had already split open, Misawa's forearm and European uppercut combos - basically there were about two dozen incredible strikes in this match. I thought Kawada was really great at showing desperation the longer it went as well, going back to those strike exchanges even though in the long run he'd never win that particular war. Then there were the momentum shifts and the transitions and how they all had the right amount of selling and WEIGHT around them so it never really felt like they were just trading bombs. Even after all this time, that's something 90s All Japan does better than just about anyone ever has. That reset spot leading to the final stretch with Misawa gathering himself on the floor while Kawada glares at him in unveiled contempt - just a perfect visual. You wonder if Kawada realised then, after hitting those powerbombs and not getting the job done, after knowing he couldn't let Misawa regroup at any point just to see it happen there and then, that maybe it had slipped away from him. And then you've got him feebly trying to fight out of the double underhooks, trying to force Misawa back to the corner, knowing what's coming, only to get put on his neck anyway. I guess this is still okay.
  13. KB8

    Rap N' Wrestling

    This is the one for me. As soon as I saw the thread title, this was the line that came to mind. I mean, the obscurity level of a Ken Patera reference in 1995 is sort of astonishing. You know he was watching MSG shows back in the 80s. Pusha's 'What Dreams are Made Of' has solid chunk of an actual Ric Flair promo at the intro of it. Pusha is always good for a Ric Flair reference. I remember the picture from Wrestlemania 11 with Bret Hart and Salt-N-Pepa. I do not remember if they were actually involved in anything during the show beyond that, however.
  14. KB8

    Pirata Morgan

    I've watched a lot of Pirata Morgan the last week or so. Maybe it's recency bias, maybe I'm just watching the right stuff, maybe I'm just overrating him because he's a favourite, but I feel like he has a five year peak encompassing 1988-1992 where he's amongst the best wrestlers in the world. You could cut that off at '91 and I wouldn't argue too strongly, but the '92 trios I've watched are a hoot (the Intocables stuff, mostly) and that Masakre match has always been a vampire's dream. He was amazing in 1991. That Volador mano a mano that OJ mentioned way back sits comfortably alongside his other blood-soaked masterpieces, if maybe slightly below the absolute best of them. It was basically worked as an apuestas and that meant we got all the gory Pirata Morgan brilliance that comes with apuestas matches. The Mascara Sagrada match that cad mentions above just about had my jaw on the floor. The first two falls might not be the most graceful and they're certainly slower than what you'd get from the lighter weight divisions, but Sagrada works the primera like a Ricky Steamboat and if nothing else Morgan is great at feeding himself into armdrags. He spends the segunda selling the leg, then the tercera just kept building and building to something brilliant. It started off decent, got really good, and then by the end I couldn't believe how good it was. Morgan was tremendous as a guy having to take progressively higher risks, crashing and burning on all of them, before desperation kicks in and he goes total dickhead with his final gambit. I don't know how much higher I can realistically have him than 44, but as someone who's big on a wrestler's peak, that feels too low right now and I could probably talk myself into going at least 10 spots higher.
  15. I figured my days of ever going to a Wrestlemania were long gone, but if they actually run one down in London, well, I probably still won't go but I'd seriously consider it. Probably.
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