Happy New Year! With every new year comes a flurry of activity from Superstar Sleeze in an effort to bring awareness to the greatest form of entertainment of all time, pro wrestling! :)
I just got wind today of a brand new project being spun off of prowrestlingonly.com to determine the Greatest Pro Wrestling Match of All Time. Now this is more my speed!
There is a special forum dedicated to the project. I am not in charge, but I am excited to participate. The forum link is below:
http://gweproject.freeforums.net/
What better way to start the process of determining the greatest match of all time than starting with the promotion that has presented more great matches than any other promotion in history, All Japan Pro Wrestling. (I love that statement could raise the dander of WWF/E, JCP/WCW, NJPW or CMLL fans).
DVDVR hosted a best of All Japan in 1980s project. I have leveraged that project and its rankings to watch key matches from All Japan in the 80s. I finished up my first half of the 80s run a year ago, but never got around to post my final thoughts. With the impetus of the Greatest Match Ever Project, I am getting it out now.
It actually makes good sense to look at All Japan between 1980-1984 because in 1985 the booking paradigm shifts once Choshu invades and the gaijin talent dries up. The booking from 1980-84 focused around two major things.
1. Foreign world champions coming overseas to defend their championships. This would be Ric Flair & Harley Race from the NWA and Nick Bockwinkel & Rick Martel from the AWA. They would usually defend against AJPW Ace Jumbo Tsuruta and occasionally Genichiro Tenryu.
2. Stan Hansen. The resident monster gaijin that jumped from New Japan to All Japan in a shocking angle in late 1981 was positioned against the top two babyfaces of All Japan those being Giant Baba and Terry Funk.
Who were the main characters of All Japan 1980-84:
1. Giant Baba - Founder, Owner and booker of All Japan. He was the historic top star of the promotion but by 1980 was getting up there in years. He was the PWF World Heavyweight Champion during this time, the top singles title in All Japan. He fought feature bouts against the top monster gaijin, Stan Hansen. He is a weird looking dude with really skinny arms, a very boxy torso, a Giant head and is really tall. Somehow he makes it all work.
2. Jumbo Tsuruta - Baba's understudy in the 70s blossomed into the Ace of All Japan in the early 80s. He started taking the World Championship Title Challenges from Baba as Baba was winding down. He started the decade as the United National Champion (tertiary title) but was promoted to International Heavyweight Champion as Dory Funk Jr was winding down. He has an amateur background. He is strong on the mat and an excellent bomb thrower down the stretch (suplexes, an excellent bodyslam, High Knee and Boston Crab). He can be dry at times, but when he raises his arm, the crowd in Budokan goes wild. Jumbo has a one of the greatest victories in All Japan history when he defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and successfully ends the tour as the Champion.
3. Genichiro Tenryu - Jumbo's understudy. You don't see too much of him during this time period. When Jumbo graduates to International Champion, Tenryu picks up the United National Belt. He does have an excellent match with Ted DiBiase around this timeframe for that title. Tenryu does not really make a splash until the Choshu feud in 1985. He has a sumo background. He is stoic badass that can become really violent. He is raw and hard hitting. No one has a better contemptuous stare than Tenryu.
4. Terry & Dory Funk - Terry Funk did the impossible he became a beloved babyface in Japan. Since the 1950s, Americans were brought in as evil foreigners for the native Japanese to vanquish. Terry Funk started that way but ended becoming a hero to the Japanese people. Crowds had huge banners for Terry Funk and he even had cheerleaders! Whereas Jumbo was positioned a top, technical challenger for the championship, Terry Funk was the heart & soul of All Japan. He was where the emotion was. This led to many violent, brutal masterpieces with the top monster heel of All Japan, Stan Hansen. Terry Funk was an extraordinary babyface seller in All Japan and a great brawler.
5. Stan Hansen - The man who made All Japan run. A violent tour de force. A bull in the China Shop. In one of my reviews below, I state in a choice between fighting Stan Hansen and the Bear in the Revenant, I may just pick the Bear. Stan Hansen is a terrorizing, overwhelming monster. He is underrated seller. When Stan Hansen sells for you, it means something.
6. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair - Flair wins his first championship in 1981 from Dusty Rhodes. Most fans are familiar with his title victory against Harley Race at the first Starrcade in November of 1983. Most of what we know of Flair's first title reign comes from his matches in Japan. He has a excellent trilogy with Jumbo Tsuruta. Flair is very over in Japan and is definitely treated as a major special attraction. Flair is more understated in Japan than he is America. There are still a smattering of Woos and a strut here and there, but he is much more focused on amateur style wrestling, which he is good at and then those classic hot finish stretches that Ric Flair is known for.
Below you will find the matches that I think are sixteenth to eleventh best matches that took place in All Japan between 1980-1984. If you think I missed a match, I will be doing #6-10 and then #1-5 soon and then after that feel free to reach out to me. I watched 31 matches from this era. So I may not have liked a certain as much as you and we can discuss or maybe I overlooked a match.
#16. PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba - AJPW 7/31/84
The last of their great series where they have odd chemistry with one of another. Somehow these two every different wrestlers figure out a way to make it work. A lot of that is Hansen changing and adapting to Baba. The way he sells every piece of Baba offense makes this match. Whether it is tying his arm up in the ropes, bouncing the entire length of the ring off the turnbuckle due to his bad shoulder, the way he sells Baba's backfists, he does everything to make Giant Baba look just that, a Giant. I thought Baba brought more to the table here than in March and was really launching some offense against Hansen. I loved the beginning with Hansen charging in the midst of streamers and Blears still in the ring. That's the beauty of Hansen, the chaos. It is the standard Hansen/Baba story. Baba targets the arm and Hansen tries to run roughshod by bullying Baba, but the problem is you cant bully Giant Baba. Hansen tries a new tact working the legs. They move in out of toeholds and cross armbreakers. Baba gets his Russian Legsweep. Hansen is up and really starts to throw his weight around. Nice dropkick by him. He goes for the Lariat, but Baba blocks with a big boot to a big pop! LARIAT! 1-2-NO! WOAH! Baba small package 1-2-3! Big Pop! Hansen is of course LIVID! He starts beating the shit out of everyone including the old ref and ancient Lord James Blears. Now that's a heel. The young boys corral Hansen to the back. Baba is able to soak in his World Championship victory with the fans.
I thought the wounded bear selling from Hansen was better in the March match (check that one out too), but this was a more even performance from both. Still have the 82 match as their best, but this felt like a Clash of Titans. The Irresistible Force vs Immovable Object! ****1/4
#15. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/9/81
Two Out Of Three Falls
What a difference a year makes! Jumbo looks and feels like The Man here. He needs to because he is going up against The Man. Flair's first tour of Japan as the World's Heavyweight Champion and he does not disappoint. I am naturally inclined to like two out of three Falls matches, but I find the second fall or even third fall is sometimes too short, but I thought they did a terrific job in this making every fall count.
The first fall does start a bit slow. Yes, there is red hot opening cross body from Jumbo to get a quick nearfall, but the Jumbo headlock and especially the Flair chinlock ground things to halt. We saw the usual Flair tropes of trying to create movement but only to get caught or lure Jumbo into the corner. Flair took a huge bump off a forearm and Jumbo was fired up and the crowd was pumped. The transition to Flair's heat is pretty weak just some punches and an atomic drop. Once, Flair misses a kneedrop and Jumbo pounces with a inverted Indian Deathlock, the match picks up and never looks back. Flair is so great selling this move and both men are sweating profusely. Harley gets out of his chair to sell the moment that Flair may surrender. Jumbo grabs a toehold is playing to the crowd and then moves to the Boston Crab. Jumbo nails a MASSIVE HIGH KNEE! Butterfly Suplex! MISSILE DROPKICK! WHAT A FINISH RUN! Loved it. Jumbo goes up 1-0.
Flair looks worried and tries to go on offense to start the second fall, but that backfires when he cant lift Jumbo into the bodyslam. Flair is concerned. Jumbo wants the German (that finished Slater), great struggle and Jumbo settles for the abdominal stretch. Flair finally finds his opening: Kneecrusher! Jumbo sells this huge by rolling to the outside treating this as a tide-turning event. Flair suplexes him back in and STRUTS! He is feeling it! Jumbo catches Flair with a cradle. Flair rattled by this event pounces with the Figure-4 to finish off Jumbo to knot it up. Great second fall. Jumbo looks good until Flair finally lands a turning point blow. Flair gets cocky, almost caught, but then finishes him off. Great psychology. Tied 1-1.
They drag Jumbo to his corner and they try to treat his knee. Jumbo is ripshit and hobbling, a bad combination. Flair is so damn cocky, you want to punch right in the fucking face. Flair dives for the legs. Love it! Flair backs him into the corner and is relentless on his legs. Big elbow to the face, WOOOOOOO, elbow to the face! Jumbo has been lacerated as Flair rapidly punches him in the forehead. JUMBO NAILS A HUGE HIGH KNEE OUTTA NOWHERE! Flair Flip! Tree of Woe! Boston Crab! WHATTA COMEBACK! Jumbo gets the ab stretch and Flair dumps him into referee, Lord James Blears. Awesome deadlift German suplex, but no ref. Piledriver! Flair is toast. Flair manages to get a foot on the ropes. Jumbo crashes into the corner knee first and Flair gets the pin to save his title.
Once the finish run kicked in the first fall, this was an excellent thrill ride. Jumbo was the bomb-throwing hometown boy that goes up early, suffers an injury and then makes a great comeback only to come up short. Flair was great vacillating between worried and cocky. Excellent outing by both men. ****1/4
#14. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair - AJPW 5/24/84
2 Out of 3 Falls
All good things must come to an end and this is the last Kerry/Flair match that I have never seen. This may be my all time favorite series; these two just match up so well. Classic Flair/Kerry beginning with Flair being thwarted at every pass whether it is on the mat, quickness or power. They do the spot in the corner where they both fire off chops and punches and this gets so much heat in America. It just gets nothing here. I think once they heard that, the decided to take it easy and go through the motions more. Still Flair and Kerry falling out of bed and having a match is better than just about anybody. All the usual spots Flair kneedrop, Kerry sleeper, Flair delayed vertical. Kerrys cut from the Jumbo match two days prior gets re-opened which gives Flair something to work on. Kerry's discus punch gets no reaction. This crowd does not give a fuck. It is so weird because the match is great with plenty of action and in America people would be going mad. Flair misses a kneedrop. CLAW~! Great struggle over that. I love the Flair Flip->Top Rope->CLAW~! Kerry gets the fall! I love that because it is 2 Out of 3 Falls that we actually get a fall! KVE 1-0.
Kerry starts off red hot and GETS THE CLAW! FLAIR SMOKES KERRY WITH A CHOP! GOES FLYING OVER THE TOP! Great fighting in the corner. Nice short knee by Flair to disrupt the momentum. Kerry sunset flip. Nice reverse elbow by Flair. Flair kneecrusher. Flair WINS by the figure-4! WOW! I love two out of three falls! Dramatic finishes with clean victories. Tied 1-1.
Great selling by Kerry Von Erich during the break. He was in such a zone from 82-85. One of the best babyfaces in the world. I love him trying to get feeling back in the leg and how he tries to protect the leg from the Nature Boy. Flair goes right after the leg in the corner. Flair BLOCKS THE CLAW! Back to the leg, yanks him out of the corner. Standing toehold, cant lean too far over or he will get CLAWED! That's exactly what happens! Flair is in pain. Kerry in total control with the Iron Claw on the head of the Nature Boy. Gets a two count before Flair gets his foot on ropes. Kerry pulls a Kevin and eats knees on the splash (I guess that is also a Steamboat spot). Really great selling by KVE. Blocks snapmare with backslide nice spot. They knock heads! Feels like a reset from all the great work in first two falls. Press slam from top, really nice kneedrop from Kerry which you don't see too often. Too injured from knee to cover right away. Flair keeps trying to create motion, but Kerry gets ab stretch and CLAW to the midsection. Kerry hits a suplex on Flair for two. Nice dropkick by Kerry. Kerry is pouring it on but cant keep Flair down. Kerry misses dropkick when Flair holds onto ropes, don't do same move twice! BIG TIME CHOP BY FLAIR! Crossbody by Kerry for two! Discus punch sends Flair crashing to outside. Kerry tries a crossbody when Flair is on apron but flies outside. Nice tease of countout since they are so common in AJPW, but crowd does not give a fuck. Kerry gets an O'Connor Roll, reversed and the Flair sits on top for victory.
I thought they started off really damn well. At first, they seemed a bit disappointed that crowd was not into it, but they still pulled off great first and second falls. I wished they stuck with the Claw vs Figure-4 in the third fall because it was going really well, but then they kinda did a reset with knocked heads. Kerry pours it on late, but cant get the job done. Flair gets a last minute reverse for win. They were building to something really special, but still ended up with a safely great match. Meaning I have never seen a bad Flair/Kerry match. ****1/4
#13. Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk - AJPW 9/11/82
If I had to choose between fighting the bear in the Revenant and Stan Hansen, I may just choose the bear. Hansen is a force of nature and is relentless beating down Funk. There is a point where Hansen grabs a double leg and just wont let go and Funk has to claw and wrench his nose to break free. Funk gives as good as he gets, but everytime Hansen has an answer. Normally, I would be disappointed in a babyface that powders and backs away from a heel, but when you are facing Hansen it is justified. It adds weight to the challenge that you really have to weigh you options when you are facing that crazy sadist. There is a point where Funk throws a chair into the ring and for a second Hansen is going to hurl it back, but he actually takes a step back and makes sure to nails Funk with it. OW! Funk is able to bash his head off the table and then side step the lariat and send him into the ref wiping him out. Hansen blasts the second ref with a LARIAT to a pop. A wrestler I don't recognize holds Funk who takes a brutal Lariat that looks like it could have broke his neck.
Insane brawl. Funk looked great just trying to survive. He sold the match so well in how he was going up against monster, but was not going to back down. Hansen is every bit that bully heel. Huge punches from both guys. Just nasty. Really entertaining brawl. ****1/4
#12. PWF World Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 2/4/82
Huge fight feel to this one! Hansen had just debuted for the company about two months ago in one of the all-time great angles and instantly was the biggest gaijin star in the company. This is just the natural progression. I still have to mention Baba's body. It is so weird. The giant head and boxy torso with those weirdly skinny arms. He looks so fragile and I was scared with him going up against Hansen. This was a more reserved Hansen. But Hansen at 75% is still going to hit you fucking hard he is just not flying all over the place. He was also more willing to bump for Baba. The story of the match was simple: Baba wanted to take out the Lariat arm of Hansen and Hansen wanted to ground the Giant and set up for The Lariat. Opening Shine was great with Baba nailing some big boots and then a Russian Legsweep. Hansen did a great job making Baba feel like a Giant and so he kept him on the ground. He was working the leg in hopes of taking out his base. Baba was fucking awesome working the arm. He got Hansen into his really nasty predicaments. Baba also loved using the big overhand chop as the equalizer. Loved the finish run with them running all over the place with Hansen finally nailing the Lariat. Baba just gets steamrolled. The crowd lets out an audible gasp. The crowd was super into this. Baba was so over. They were popping for him. The brawl outside the ring post-Lariat was great as Hansen first overwhelms Baba and they go to double countout. He is nailing young boys with Lariats and then Baba sends him packing.
Just a huge Clash of the Titans feel that does not overstay its welcome. Really sensible story with two huge, larger than life characters. I loved the tension of the Lariat. It was this cloud of impending doom that loomed over the match. When would it happen? BAM! He nails it. Really great big time match. ****1/4
#11. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 6/8/82
All Japan Match of the Year, 1982
I love All Japan in the early 80s. It feels like an all-star promotion with the all the stars of Japan, NWA and AWA come together and compete. Jumbo vs Flair has the biggest fight feel of them all. It really feels like the best of America against the best of Japan. Flair is decked out in his coolest robe and the way Jumbo rips off his jacket, you know he is jacked for this one. GAME TIME!
Jumbo brings the offense to Flair. Working NWA-style holds, headlocks, wristlocks and surfboard. The early sleeper gets a pop. Flair is working his usual style. Trying to go on the mat, create movement, but nothing works. He starts to try go toe to toe with Jumbo. There were some really big meaty exchanges in this. I love the sound of flesh on flesh. Flair tries after the sleeper to bring it to Jumbo with hard shots, but Jumbo is game for a fight. Jumbo fires up and climaxes with a HIGH KNEE! First big nearfall of the match. Flair tries to use the short headbutt to stall Jumbo's momentum. He is able to hit a couple kneedrops and a chinlock to stall out Jumbo. But in the fire fight, Flair loses control, Jumbo in showing he can chop with the best of them. BUTTERFLY SUPLEX! Only two! Boston Crab! Abdominal Stretch! HIGH CROSSBODY! 1-2-NO! Huge pop! Flair heads to the hills. That felt like a basketball game where someone goes on a 12-4 run. Jumbo was just firing and Flair was overwhelmed. Flair uses the outside to break momentum. You see when Flair gets back in he goes for a test of strength. That's psychology! You are 15 minutes into a match and going back to a tie up. That shows poise. He knows he needs to slow it down. It is just laughable that people don't think Flair has psychology when he is a top 5 Ring General ever. Period.
Flair gets his own ab stretch, but Jumbo hiptosses out. MISSILE DROPKICK! 1-2-NO! Flair is desperate goes for a suplex, but get reversed by Jumbo into his own. Flair avoids the elbow and immediately goes for the Figure-4. People are always like why doesn't Flair work the leg. Well the Figure-4 is a home run shot. If he applies it, he will win. He sets it up when he is in control. In a match he is being totally overwhelmed and nothing is going his way, you bet his ass he is going for the figure-4. So that's ends up in an inside cradle, but once he gets the kneecrusher, now he is working the leg because now he has the time and is control. Flair had gotten offense but it was always short-lived because he never was able to really connect with a game-changer. Jumbo was ready for a fight. The kneecrusher represented the first time he made a significant in-road. Big Tsuruta chant for when he is in the figure-4. Big pop for him turning it over. Jumbo is really good in the figure-4. Sells it well and really adds to drama. Flair gets a back suplex, but kick out. Flair goes up top, this is not going to end well...WATCH OUT BELOW! 1-2-NO! TOP ROPE CROSSBODY! Jumbo applies the figure-4 to a MASSIVE POP! It does not matter if it is Greensboro, North Carolina or Tokyo, Japan that spot is OVER LIKE ROVER!
I thought that was a really good climax to the match. I thought either Jumbo needed to one up it with a Back Drop Driver or something big or they needed to go home. It took them a little while to go home. Flair got some really good punches in when they were both on the mat. Flair throws Jumbo out so I was thinking here comes the countout finish. Flair suplexes him back in, which did not feel like an earned highspot for Flair. It kinda feels like the match is going backwards into a Flair heat segment with the elbow and then sleeper. So big chops and strikes late that I dig. Feels like a war of attrition. Whip into buckles and Flair Flop...Crowd pops! Love it. PILEDRIVER! 1-2-Foot on the ropes! Jumbo high knees sends Flair crashing out to the floor. Jumbo is feeling the strain. WICKED ENZIGUIRI! Jumbo falls out too. Piledriver on the floor. Jumbo into the post. Tease Double countout! It being All Japan, I totally bite. Jumbo tries for a deadweight German, but Flair falls on top. Both shoudlers are down. DRAW! Jumbo tries to sell he won, but crowd is too smart. They know both men's shoudlers were down and there is no pop.
I thought first 3/4s was really good classic NWA style championship match. Flair trying a bunch of stuff but getting thwarted. Lots of good fire fights that Jumbo would win and led to big high spots like the Knee and then Butterfly suplex. That big Jumbo's offense run in the middle of the match was double hot. Flair was a master of bringing it up and down. Cooled it off a bit then went back to a Jumbo highspot of a missile dropkick and that's when Flair got so desperate that he finally got the figure-4. The dueling figure-4s was so over. You could feel Jumbo was getting his energy sapped from trying to win this match. Flair will tax you that way. Liked the chops late and the Piledriver. The high knee and that enziguiri was great. I think a double countout would have been better than the double pin. I thought they should have went to the finish quicker they lost some momentum because the crowd was molten for a good 15 minute stretch from the first high knee to the Jumbo figure-4. Flair really knows how to make a classic happen and let his opponent shine. ****1/2
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