Father's Day Fracas: Randy Savage, Ric Flair (WCW, 1995)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

As is typical with all my wrestling projects, I could not sustain interest through the end. I hope to wrap 2014 up by the end of March, but first I needed a break and just watch some old school wrestling to recharge my batteries. I decided to watch one of my favorite matches of all time again: Randy Savage vs Ric Flair - Great American Bash 1995.

She can be on MY FAVORITE TEAM any day!

This unheralded classic features Randy Savage delivering the best babyface performance of his WWF & WCW career. We all know the Savage babyface formula of taking heat, hitting a bodyslam and then the big elbow. He is such a great classic seller and his matches feature nonstop action that matches where still entertaining. As a heel, Savage is the personification of intensity and generates chaos in every situation. Besides the Jake The Snake feud, rarely did Savage demonstrate the same manic tendencies. Unfortunately, the Jake feud while filled with classic angles and promos never was given a chance to develop a classic match.   

When WWE DVDs started producing career retrospectives in 2003 and the advent of youtube of 2006, I was THE kid in the candystore finally getting to sample all the great matches that I could before only read about. Growing up a WCW fan, I was a big Macho Man and Nature Boy fan. There was no bigger dream match in my estimation than watching those two wrestle. I had read the Scott Keith review of Wrestlemania VIII. I knew the angle, hell I knew what was going to happen in the match, but damnit I could not wait to see it. It was the ultimate redemption story for the Macho Man after losing his career to the Ultimate Warrior the previous year, but gaining back what really mattered: Elizabeth. This set off a chain events that afforded him the chance to return and challenge for the WWF Championship, one year after the biggest loss of his professional life. The Randy Savage story arc told just in Wrestlemanias from Wrestlemania II to VIII is without a doubt the great creative achievement of Vince McMahon with Wrestlemania VII being Vince's crowning moment as a creative genius. Wrestlemania VIII was the bow on the perfect story. Now you add in Flair, the cocksure former NWA champion, the invader from the South that basically just defeated the entire roster at Royal Rumble 1992. He was the Real World Heavyweight Champion and he had Liz before Randy. Hot damn!

I have watched the Wrestlemania VIII match and it is a great match. It is probably a top 20 WWF match of the 90s and a really great exhibition of how Savage is probably the best seller in American wrestling history. There was something missing. Flair and Savage are both all about energy. It is why I have always gravitated towards them: the colors, the promos, the personalities and the movement. It lacked that chaotic energy. I thought maybe I had overhyped it in my head. Months and years passed and watched more and more kickass historic matches.  I had always known Flair vs Savage had a series in WCW, but it was not very highly rated  (***-****) and it was WCW's worst period in terms of buzz and booking in 1995. One day, threw on their Great American Bash 1995 match and like before I knew the angle from reading the angle that Flair had injured Savage's father, Angelo Poffo with the figure-4 at the previous PPV. From the outset, I was transfixed. It was the perfect confluence of my two favorite wrestlers in the bout that I can imagine only them having. Savage was just a bull that sees red. He was relentless in every sense of word. It was completely engrossing. Flair was the perfect complement to Savage. He deferred to Savage's violent tendencies. It is not often Flair plays second banana in a match, but Savage was giving an all-time career performance in this match. Flair will get nasty when pushed. He got just as nasty in this match that just dripped with hatred. For Flair it was a fight for survival for Savage this was the ultimate revenge match.

A Bleeding Savage says one elbow is not enough punishment for the Nature Boy. 

Watching this last night, it never fails to ensnare my entire attention. I just knew I needed to devote a blog to this masterpiece of violent hatred. I can never just write about one match so I threw in the other highly touted three matches of 1995 WCW. Without debut of Nitro, WCW in 1995 would be a pretty barren landscape of highlights as it was  a year of poor booking, lame characters and the transformation of WCW into a weird rock n wrestling parody of 80s WWF. Usually, Flair vs Anderson & Pillman vs Badd, both, from Fall Brawl '95 are held up as the shining lights for a bleak year. They are great matches, but they pale in comparison to the energy and excitement of Flair vs Savage. Another match that sometimes gets overlooked is the Hogan vs Vader SuperBrawl V match, which I would say is a top 5 Hogan match of all time. It gets shit on because of Hogan no-selling the Vader Bomb and killing it off even though in this match Vader is treated like the true monster he ought to be. It goes to show you always watch the primary source material and only let second-hand accounts guide you so much. Thankfully, I did with the excellent Savage vs Flair match from Great American Bash 1995, which have become my favorite match of all time.

Match Listing:

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs WCW US Heavyweight Vader ****

Superbrawl V  

Great Hogan vs Monster match where Hogan actually adapts to the situation. Vader is a beast.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs “Nature Boy” Ric Flair - Great American Bash 1995 ****1/2

Think shoot, but work and I am not even sure they were working. Hate-filled fight. WATCH IT!

Brian Pillman vs Johnny B. Badd - Fall Brawl '95 ****

Japanese-influenced bombfest that was a harbinger of wrestling to come. Highly influential

Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson - WCW Fall Brawl 1995

AA proves he is Flair's equal. Flair cheats only for AA to out-Flair Flair with a little help from a friend. 

The Irresistible Force vs The Immovable Object, Jess!

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs WCW US Heavyweight Vader

Superbrawl V  

Not much of a story to this one, except it was one of the big dream matches since Hogan had arrived in WCW and really logical. Hogan had made his star by wrestling these big monsters and vanquishing them (Studd, Bundy, Andre, Earthquake). However, there is no more versatile big man than Vader, who combined the size of those men with an explosive quickness. Also, Hogan’s star was on the wane as his 10 year old character had grown stale and passé especially in the South, which expected a higher level of wrestling than the cartoon stuff that Hogan liked to shovel. This led to this weird dynamic of Hogan getting pretty brutally booed the entire match against monster heel, Vader. 

Tony lets us know that Ric Flair is indeed here in the front row. Hogan had “retired” Flair in October of 1994. They begin by both men are of equal strength. Hogan unleashes some pretty wicked slaps and his whip/elbow combo. Vader just screams “NO PAIN! NO PAIN!  NO PAIN!” I was totally marking out during this segment. I just wanted Vader to maul Hogan. In a cool twist, Hogan realizes the power game is ineffective and actually attempts to wrestle Vader. WHAT!!??! He even busts out a flying cross arm-breaker (juji-gatame for MMA fans). Vader breaks that up by stepping on Hogan’s face like a boss. Hogan is betwixt and between. Vader mauling in the corner is combined with a wicked short-arm clothesline. 

Hogan powders and Vader eats his railing bump and nearly wipes out Flair. Well, I think Hogan may have found something that worked. Hogan works some chops in the corner, the 10 punch count and then a rebound lariat to a small pop. Hogan uses some of his heel tactics: boot on throat and eye-rake, but he goes for the bodyslam attempt too early as Vader drops on top of him. Vader runs through some strikes and then connects with the powerslam/Vaderbomb combo for two. The Vadersault misses and Hogan in desperation whips Vader back into the rail and blasts him with the best Hogan chair shot I have ever witnessed. VADER FEELS NO PAIN! Vader chokeslams the fuck outta Hogan. I don’t think Hogan intended to take that wicked of a bump. The Hulk-Up comes off a vertical suplex. Vader KICKS OUT of the LEGDROP at ONE!!!! HOLY SHIT!

A Vader body attack wipes out the ref and Vader hits the powerbomb and he counts a visual three along with Flair, but there is no ref. Hogan makes his comeback and clears him outta the ring only for Flair to attack. Finally the ref calls for the DQ. Savage and Sting make the save against Flair & Vader.

There is a lot to love about this match up until the finish. I loved the beginning story with Hogan trying to wrestle Vader and then using his own dirty tactics out of desperation because Vader was such a monster. Vader comes across as this unconquerable monster with the no-selling at the beginning, the killer offense and of course kicking out of the vaunted leg drop at one. A lot is made about how, Hogan no sold a Vaderbomb previous to this match and how it killed Vader’s drawing power. I can only say he definitely tried to make up for it in this match because Vader looked awesome here. All of the traditional Hogan transition are ineffective against Vader and they only way for Hogan to sustain offense is through Vader mistakes and illegal tactics like chairshots really makes Vader seem like an unstoppable force. The finish is pretty unsatisfying. A Vader victory and subsequent matches against Sting and Savage would have drawn well while Hogan questions if he still has it would have been an interesting wrinkle to the Hogan character. I like the Boss match better because of the efficiency of spots and the better finish, but this one was remarkably good and one of the Top 5 Best Hogan matches I have ever seen. ****

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Vader & Arn Anderson vs Stars & Stripes - WCW Saturday Night 4/15/95

The Patriot sure as hell had one interesting career: Kenta Kobashi's gaijin tag partner, WCW midcarder, more All Japan with Bobby Fulton's brother as his partner and then brief stint as WWF main eventer and I am sure I am missing some other stuff. I actually thought he looked pretty damn good here and was able to rile the crowd up pretty easily. I would have actually liked to see him a get a stronger push in WCW or All Japan to see what he really could have done.

This is a really strong TV tag team match that makes me long for more Vader & AA tag matches because damn did they gel perfectly here. Both really have a similar methodology when it comes to wrestling, they are going to get theres, but they do their utmost to shine up the babyface no matter where the babyface is on the card. Arn makes Stars & Stripes look like a million bucks early and even Patriot gets a lick on Vader. Before they hit heel in peril, Arn directs traffic to set up for a catapult into a Chokeslam. Shit! That was awesome. Vader takes it to Bagwell in the corner with the typical Vader blows, but Bagwell is able evade Vader long enough to tag in Patriot. Patriot looked awesome here for a minute stretch of offense. He was teeing off on Vader and hits a massive flying forearm and the crowd is jacked! Vader is always giving in matches and perfect way to make Patriot look like a star.  Arn stops the bleeding by goading Patriot to the outside ducking and VADER BODY ATTACK! Here is the reinstated Nature Boy to add his two cents to the match. The heat segment proper on Patriot is awesome! At one point, Anderson uses a drop toehold to keep Patriot down and Vader squashes with a sick elbow. Vaderbomb only gets two, which shocks the timekeeper who rang the bell expecting it to be the finish. Got to smarten up the timekeeper, WCW! People complain about Hogan killing the finish! LOL! Vader is just in his element here destroying the Patriot, but letting him sneak in little shots. Anderson does the head collide on rope running sequence, but not a very convincing one. Bagwell is in and there is something in the water because he looks great coming off the hot tag and tagging Arn getting a powerslam for two. Double dropkick to Vader! Bagwell hits a Fisherman Suplex on Anderson, but Vader hits a diving headbutt and Anderson rolls through for the win. Great TV match that was energetic throughout, they gave some love to Patriot and Bagwell, btu Vader was just a monster in this and really looked like one of the best wrestlers in the world! ***1/2

Savage takes a lickin, but keeps on tickin

“Macho Man” Randy Savage vs “Nature Boy” Ric Flair - Great American Bash 1995

This may be my favorite match of all time. My two favorite wrestlers competing one of the greatest hate-filled, relentless, fight to survive matches I have ever seen. I remember being so excited to finally see Savage vs Flair, my two favorites of all time, when I finally started searching youtube 2006 and immediately it was the Wrestlemania VII match that I wanted to see it. It is a great match and a great moment in the culmination of the overarching Randy Savage Wrestlemania story arc dating back to Wrestlemania III. Something was missing. It was missing that truly out of control feel and energy that Flair and Savage can bring. Watching this match in shitty quality on dailymotion in 2008, I was transfixed. Savage was a relentless ball of fury. Lunging at Flair at ever turn. There were just these little things that made it feel like a shoot. Savage attacking Flair from behind in such a way that was scary. Or Savage just suffocating Flair even on the begging off section. There just was not the customary time. The selling was selling of exhaustion of a fight. Savage's selling of the knee was spot on and why he was one of the greatest of all time. While Savage gives a truly special performance, it would be an amazing match without Flair. Flair sells the match as a fight to survive. He is blasting the fuck out of Savage and he dives onto Savage from behind, which is another wicked bump. The way he sells. He is in pain and fatigued, but if he even takes one moment to breathe, he may not last. So he just keeps fighting. I can not say how much I love this match.

My video includes opening remarks from Savage with the interview being conducted by “Mean” Gene Okerlund. He vows revenge against Flair and the momentum is on his side. Incidentally, today is Father’s Day and a happy accident for this storyline He finishes with one of my favorite lines from him: “Too hot to handle, too cold to hold”. Flair is adorned in a black and white sequined robe decorated with Monarch Butterflies in white diamonds. Savage is also donning the black and white and HE IS NOT ALONE. His father, Angelo Poffo, is with him after the attack from the Horsemen, but with the aide of a cane. This is NOT FAIR TO FLAIR. DOUBLE A! DOUBLE A! Where art thou?

Once Poffo is settled in, Savage hits the ring and Flair heads for the hills. Savage gives chase.  Savage wants to kill Flair and any offense Flair can muster is because Savage is overzealous. Savage is hitting hard tonight. This aint a wrestling match. THIS IS A FIGHT~! Flair stops Savage’s momentum by sending him into the steel ringpost and then the guardrail. Flair with an uncharacteristic axe-handle off the apron to the back of Savage. The bump Savage takes was just violent and gripping to watch. I love it, Flair knows that Savage wants to kill so he adapts by pulling out all the stops. Angelo Poffo gets out of the chair with a look of concern as Flair is taking Savage apart with his trademark moveset of chops and kneedrops.  Savage connects with a flurry of jabs and in a fit of  rage chokes Flair and grabs at his nose. Flair takes the Bret-bump into the corner more choking. Flair tries to powder out, but Savage nails him from behind wicked hard. These are the moments that make it feel like a shoot. Flair takes his usual bump off the top rope. How does he not have crippling back injuries? Flair flip now onto the outside and now he goes after daddy. The Brain and I share the same sentiment as us that was fuckin dumb. Flair is smarter than both of us because he suckered Savage into checking on his Daddy and then clipping the knee. What follows is a shinbreaker across the guardrail, which is another crazy bump. The Brain wonders if “Did Daddy bring two canes because his son is going to need one.” The Brain continues to the tell story well, “Flair was smart he knew he was going to be able to slug it out with Savage, a man possessed. So he went to take a body part out. Flair has a plan.”

Savage throws punches from his back in a show of valor and courage. Kicking and clawing at Flair with whatever he can muster and Flair like the prick he is just keeps going back to knee. This is masterful psychology. Savage is killing it right now with his selling. NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL!!! Flair of course gets to the ropes for that additional leverage. Savage is fighting only for his father and in a truly moving spot, Mr. Poffo attempts to get the ref’s attention that Flair is cheating. This is one of the most emotional matches I have ever had the pleasure of watching. SAVAGE REVERSE THE PRESSURE!!!

Savage hops on one leg only to dive on Flair and keep punching. Flair and Savage are just laying it all on the line. Flair flip for a second time, runs down the apron but Savage hits him in the gut as he comes done. SAVAGE HITS HIM WITH BIG ELBOW!!!! He pins Flair, but pulls him at 2. NOT ENOUGH SAYS MACHO MAN  as he grabs the ring bell (shades of Ricky the Dragon) and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy. The Brain says Savage is out to maim Flair. At some point, Savage has been busted open under his eye. Holy shit, what a brawl so far. The ref saves Flair from the bell and Savage crashes and burns hard on the guardrail. What a bump, the fans in the front row are freaked out because he hit so hard. Flair is pissed off because Savage has tried to maim him. Flair goes for Angelo, Poffo chokes him with cane, but Flair knocks out Angelo and gains control of the cane. Savage having checked on his dad does not realize this. Flair waffles him with cane. Flair picks up the tainted victory.

This match epitomizes why I love wrestling: Raw hatred for each other with stiff shots, high-energy no resting with brilliant story-telling and acting. WATCH THIS MATCH! Contender for best WCW match of the decade. The last Match of the Year contender, Flair or Savage would ever have. I would say the best babyface Savage performance of his career in WCW or WWF.   ****1/2.

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One Cool Looking Muthafucka

Brian Pillman vs Johnny B. Badd - Fall Brawl '95

 Pillman's "Blonds Have More Fun" is an excellent slab of pop metal. Nice to see pop metal still had home somewhere in 1995. Before the match, the crowd is already firmly behind Johnny B. Badd. The winner of this match receives a mandatory US Title shot against then holder, Sting. In this snippet of Pillman's career, he was not often paired with someone he had to carry. unfortunately, I did not have access to his GAB '95 match as a comparison point. Both were ostensibly face vs. face matches against an carryable opponent where Pillman chose to play the heel in that match. You can tell how much Pillman hated being a face at this point in his career. The first 5 or minutes are filled with lackadaisical, slow-motion hold work. They do the obligatory dropkick each other at the same time. One of my pet peeves in wrestling is when a wrestler just drops a hold for no reason and that happens more than once in this portion. Business picks up with a Billy Robinson backbreaker into a Boston Crab by Pillman. He lets go to punch Badd with a closed fist and Pillman starts to jaw with the fans and the camera. I was pretty underwhelmed with the match until that point. Badd hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Shoving exchange is won by Badd, which gets a nice pop. Pillman backs him into a corner and hits a hard reverse elbow. Pillman goes full-on heel at this point taking the walk up the aisleway, the facetious handshake and biting Badd. They have a sick collision on a double Thesz Press attempt, where was this fire earlier. At this point, it just turns into a bombfest, which is so strange for 1995 WCW and I was totally caught off guard. I enjoyed it a lot. Badd had a lot more aerial moves in his arsenal than "Flyin'" Brian. I always felt that was a misnomer that got him pigeon holed in places he did not belong when he should be having violent brawls because watching the footage he was so well-suited for that. Badd hits a powerbomb and Pillman hits a tombstone piledriver. Are we in the Budokan? They trade finishers (Tutti Frutti & Air Pillman) as the time limit expires. Nick Patrick says there must be a winner so we go to sudden death! Heenan wonders when he is going to get a chance to shave, which I thought was hilarious. Pillman chops the fuck outta Badd on the outside. YES! That's the Pillman I want! Badd counters a Pillman missile dropkick with a dropkick a callback to Pillman's counter-dropkick spot. They trade sleepers. Misawa counters Kawada's powerbomb with a headscissors takeover. I am sorry, I meant Pillman counters Badd's powerbomb with a headscissors takeover. I find a out a Badd Day is a Top Rope Frankensteiner and Pillman takes a great bump for it. He follows up that bump with always sick-looking railing bump. I find out a Badd Mood is a crazy somersault plancha. Lets Go Badd! I might have to explore him further. Badd does a reverse slingshot splash and eats knees. Pillman looking to prove why he is "Flyin Brian" and keep up The Badd Man whiffs pretty bad on a suicide dive. In his defense, Badd should have closer and to add to the complexity the stairs where right up against the apron there so he had to clear that too. At 30 minutes into the match, they fuckin sprint against the ropes and collide mid-ring with Badd falling on top for the win. Pillman-san and Badd-san had quite the match that night that hitherto was rarely seen in America. Unfortunately, this style was copied and stripped down missing the transitions to hold together the big spots. Yes, the beginning of the match was lackluster, but once Pillman effectively turns heel it gets a lot better. I wish Pillman had a better transition to turning heel rather just kind of just snapping his fingers and saying I am going to heel it up. To that point, Pillman bumps like a heel, but does offense like a babyface, which I feel hurts how the middle of the match connects to the amazing finish. It is a very disjointed match, which I hate rating. The beginning was some of the lamest face vs. face wrestling you'll ever see. The middle was an interesting period where Pillman was heeling it up and Badd was playing the hero well in their mini-battles. Then finish they just go balls to the walls and Pillman stops cheating and heeling. There is no glue. Within the finish stretch, the transitions are great and they have plenty of callback psychology. I just can't fit the three portions of the match together. I hate rating matches like this. What I have found interesting about this match is a lot people just throw out **** and don't say why it falls shy of ***** (not this group, but those who review for other sites). The finish stretch, which is incredibly long for an American match, is friggin' good that I will agree with the consensus and give it ****. I am trying to do star ratings to keep everything straight for future lists and projects.

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Best Friends 4 Life?

Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson - WCW Fall Brawl 1995

"If God Were A Pro Wrestler His Name Would Be Ric Flair", Amen, brutha amen. And look a Flair 3:16 sign! I have always fallen on the positive side of things in this controversial match because it was a compelling story between two men who said true to themselves from start to finish. The Enforcer is a double tough sumbitch that has been content (or proud) to be the Champion's best friend and protector. Anderson's game plan has always been to neutralize an opponent by taking a limb away rendering him powerless to be picked apart. We have seen this countless times in WCW especially in the amazing Dustin Rhodes Saturday Night 1992 match. Anderson could brawl, but he was a brawler per se. He wrestled with intent to maim and win. He was violent, but in an out or control frenetic way. He had purpose and that is every bit as violent as a bar room brawl. The story never called for Anderson to come in and tee off on Flair to beat him up. He wanted to prove his mettle against the measuring stick of pro wrestling and he was going to do it his way. He was going to take away Flair's arm and beat him down to humble him. He was going to prove he was every bit the pro wrestler that Ric Flair was and it could have been just easily him in that top spot.

Flair says it all in the beginning "Are you sure you want this?" You could interpret that two ways. It is Flair cocky as ever saying I am going to beat you 1-2-3 and you are going to look a fool. Or is it the Nature Boy that does not want to fight his friend. From the outset, Flair was shown up by his Enforcer on the mat and standing up. He would ball up those fists and get tagged in the face. It woke Flair up to the reality that he was in a fight with his best friend and if he did not get his ass in gear then he would be the one humiliated. It was not two men who loathed each other, it was their pride at stake. When the chips are down, Flair will do whatever it takes to win a match. In a stroke of genius, for over a decade, Ric Flair would go up and over the turnbuckles run down the apron and either he get struck or thrown off the top rope. On this night, Anderson expecting to deck the prone Nature Boy, Flair finally pulls down the ropes sending him head over heels onto the floor. It was such a great spot and finally the Dirtiest Player in the Game is on top and he ain't too proud to use a ref's distraction to take a cheapshot at Anderson. In a way, at this point, Anderson has won, he has proven that Flair would be forced to go into his bag of tricks to beat. Anderson was the better pure wrestler, but Flair was the better cheapshot artist. It was time for The Enforecer to get his hands dirty and on the floor he starts the rapid fire punching to the head. At about this point, they do lose me a bit because it does become a bit of the Flair show as they just start throwing shit out as part of the grand finale. Flair gets a suplex on the floor and then a delayed vertical, but then the next thing you know he is hanging upside down. Anderson goes for the DDT and Flair hooks the top rope, but then Flair is getting thrown off the top. The Figure-4 stuff was incredible and super heated. I loved Anderson blocking, the struggle, Flair spit and then Anderson fires up. Anderson did a great job selling the knee and just when you think it is over. Pillman whacks Flair and Anderson hits the DDT. The Enforcer beat the Nature Boy at his own game by calling in the reinforcements and having that all-important Plan B. My minor quibble aside about the run up to the finish, I thought this was a great match that stuck to the story and was a match that only these could work. Arn Anderson was Arn Anderson he was not the Flair opponent du jour. My major qualm with the match was that Flair was ostensibly the face coming in, worked heel in the match and then got turned full-on babyface by the finish. I know Flair's preference to work heel and I think it was the right call to have him wrestle match as a heel because it served the story better. It felt they were going for a double turn in the match and then finish cements where they were going into it. I have lessened on this because Anderson/Sting does not have the same cache as Flair/Sting teaming and it was a good desperation tactic by Anderson to tear a page out of Flair's book. I would put this over Pillman/Badd, which on rewatch felt really, really long and overwrought. This match had the heat and the big match atmosphere, but there were too many lulls and it never felt like they ratcheted all the way up to a real boiling point, which you would have loved to see. ****

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Chris Benoit vs Eddy Guerrero - WCW Nitro 10/16/95

One of my favorite matches of all time, before youtube all I had was a handful of DVDs from WWE and one was the Benoit DVD. I watched the shit out of it and there was nothing I liked better for those moments when I had only 10 minutes than this fantastic sprint. I was totally awestruck how explosive these two were from both a speed and power standpoint. You see spotfests all the time, but it is a lost art to see them done with such acceleration and intensity. The spots are incredible, but the selling is equally as amazing for how believable it was, but still fit in the context of 10 minute showcase sprint. Early on, they show off their speed and play tit for tat. Their headscissors are amazing. Guerrero scores big with the splash from the top to the outside, but wraps his arm around the ringpost. Eddie sells the arm like a champion the rest of the way, but Benoit should get credit too.  Benoit is the best non-Mexican at selling the discombobulation that results from an armdrag. The armdrag keeps him off balance and it is what affords Eddie the chance to hit a Tornado DDT. Benoit sells his head, hits a wicked clothesline and still needs to shake the cobwebs loose. That how you demonstrate to people you are fighting through pain. Benoit works an incredible Anderson-style heat segment and taking it to the next level with an Northern Lights Hammerlock Slam, Jesus! Again, Eddie can use that headscissors to discombobulate Benoit long enough to show he can give as good he gets with the back drop driver and brainbuster. Almost every spot is a direct consequence of what happened previously and then leads into the next one, it is mind blowing how well this laid out while still having giant spots. Benoit gets knees up only to hit the MUTHA OF ALL POWERBOMBS! Eddie kicks out, but when he uses his bad arm to punch Benoit takes advantage with a Dragon Suplex. Tremendous match! It is incredible how they were able to basically pack in all their unique characteristics in one ten minute debut match. Huge offense. Check. Psychology. Check. Selling. Check. Logical Layout. Check. Impressing in a Debut. Check. One of my favorite sprints of all time! ****

2 Out of 3 Falls: Hulk Hogan, Vader, Big Bossman

Hey yo Gyspy Queens and Studmuffins Du Jour,

If voting is so American, why doesn’t it comes with a slice of pie? Poontang Please!

I'll settle for a Firecracker. Ouch. Dont Bite! :)

My sincerest congratulations go out to President Barack Obama. I may be the only American who feels this way, but I think both candidates would have been capable presidents and therefore I would be pleased either way even though I never thought Obama’s victory was in doubt. The most politically relevant news to me of course is that Linda McMahon, wife of Vince McMahon, lost again. This means we get an extended skit of VinnyMac “sticking it” to the Dems. WAHOO?

Of course on these most American days, I could not help, but think that the most fitting wrestler to chronicle would of course be Iron Sheik!!! IRAN NUMBAH ONE! USSR NUMBAH ONE! AMERICA HOCK-PTOOEY!!! Ruh Roh, Sheiky Baby thinks I look like B. Brain Blair. Sheiky Baby take that hostility to the bedroom and far away from me! Instead of getting humbled in the ass, I think will brave some Hulk Hogan matches they cant be worst than his lack of bumping in his own sex tape. He was not selling a gosh darn thing for her and let he expected me to pop for the Hulk Up? Hulk please, you need to work me up first!

THE ULTIMATE HULK-GASM

On a more serious note, the Hulkster does get a sort of bum rap in the ring from “smart” fans. Hogan is an excellent showman that knows how to whip a crowd into frenzy and elicit that pop. When you go back and watch the matches you really see just how over Hogan was with the masses. That is what I have always been most curious about Hogan is how person I think is not especially good in the ring is able to make up for his lack of technical acumen with such effusive charisma. It is probably something you cannot evaluate or ascertain in any concrete way, but it is an interesting sociological study. This being said Hogan has had his share of great matches and is not always the stiff, boring wrestlers he is accused of being by “smart” fans. The big issue with my enjoyment of Hogan matches is his lack of bumping and the cartoony nature of them. I love cartoony, ridiculous matches (see Midnight Express), but usually these matches will add real drama to their matches and often with Hogan it just continues with his schtick. From the a mechanical perspective, Hogan’s offense, selling and the vaunted Hulk-Up are all perfectly acceptable in wrestler, none of those facets will set your world on fire (ok, the Hulk Up can be pretty damn awesome at times). It is the bumping that stops Hogan matches from becoming really fun. The best Hogan matches are the ones against Hennig, Savage, and Flair because they will bump like maniacs for Hogan and are especially bumping for two men. In the other Hogan matches, I wish Hogan would take one big bump just really get into “Oh shit” mode. Of course, the first match I pick features the biggest bump in Hogan’s career, which may seem to render my argument moot, but it is just an isolated incident.

The Man of Law & Order from Cobb County, Georgia

Big Bossman is a wrestler that I do not ever think reached his full potential. His breed of wrestler has all but died off in the wrestling, much to my chagrin. He was a bumping, 300+ lb big man that was agile and looked like a tough muthafucka.  I am surprised he has not had more great matches as the two I am reviewing today are pretty much the two that I think are great. I have not seen his All Japan run in 1993 and that may have some hidden gems as Dr. Death’s tag partner. Overall, I was bit disappointed going back through Bossman’s career.

WHOS DA MAN!

VADER FEELS NO PAIN!!!! Vader is my favorite wrestler behind Flair and Savage and is the greatest big man wrestler ever. Period. Full-Stop. Don’t pass Go, Don’t Collect $200, Sit your ass down and just watch the brutality unfold. I am kinda pissed Vader is sort of playing second fiddle to Hogan in this blog, but Vader will have plenty of chances to shine in subsequent blogs. Vader matches are the ones I love to show marks that think wrestling is not painful because he has the stiffest fuckin strikes in America. When he just starts mauling you in the corner with those bear paws it can get almost uncomfortable. In one match against equally stiff Stan Hansen, Hansen bashes Vader so hard in the face that his eye pops out, but because Vader is ALL MAN~! He pops it back in and wrestles for another 10-15 minutes. Vader is not a man to eat you alive. Vader loves to take crazy bumps for his opponents and really put them over as world beaters with his amazing agility. This is a 400+ lb man that can hit a moonsault for Christ’s Sake. I love Vader’s character. He is a rough and tumble, big, ugly bully. There is nothing fancy about him, no redeeming qualities, just readily hateable and that is what I love about a good heel.

Matches

Hulk Hogan vs Big Bossman – Steel Cage Match

March 18, 1989 Madison Square Garden

Interesting note about this match is they actually had two steel cage matches in the same night, one at MSG and one at the Boston Gardens (two, 15 minute steel cage matches and 4 hour travel in between that is pretty ridiculous). That is just an incredible example of the schedule McMahon expected out of his wrestlers as he was looking to solidify his position as the national promotion of America. Bossman was managed by everyone’s favorit Jive Soul Brutha, Slick and tag partners with Akeem The African Dream. Bossman and Akeem had been the tag team feuding with the MegaPowers (Hogan & Savage) when the MEGA-POWERS EXPLODED~! Wrestlemania V was not for a couple more weeks so in order to keep Hogan busy until his GARGUTAN showdown with Savage they ran a Bossman/Hogan cage match series around the horn.

This match is a one trick pony, but what a trick it is. The Superplex from the top of the cage. 

Tony Schiavone is on commentary here during his cup of coffee with the WWF in 1989 and is an upgrade over the usual hosts of schmucks at this point. The crowd is pumped to see Hogan and Hogan seems to be feeling it tonight. Hogan rips his shirt off and then promptly chokes Bossman out with it and biels him around with it. Hulk Hogan, True American Hero to the Masses, Everybody!!! My favorite Hogan face shine spot is when he irish whips a heel into the corner and follows right up with a reverse elbow. It is one Hogan’s best looking spots. The transition to Bossman heel offense is weak as he just stops Hogan from escaping and does an eye-rake (Hogan had eye-raked him by that point anyways). The reason for Hogan’s heel offense as a babyface can be explained is that how AWA babyfaces acted and Hogan’s first face run was in the AWA.

The matches looks to heat up as Hogan and Bossman tussle from a top of the turnbuckles in surprisingly heated fashion and then Hogan actually takes a back bump off the top turnbuckle. Bossman, of course takes too long to capitalize on this and Hogan is able to recover and stop him from exiting, This leads to the iconic spot of the match and why the match is famous: Hogan superplexes Bossman off the top of the cage. It is one helluva spot and very smartly milk it for all it is worth with Tony losing his shit on commentary.

The finish sequence is pretty exciting. Bossman hits his Bossman slam on Hogan and gets a chain from Slick choking him out with it. They do the double ram into the cage and then Hogan gets the chain and goes to town with it. Hogan is so great at making you want to see him hit Bossman with the chain. Bossman does a good bladejob. After the signature legdrop, the Slickster stops Hogan from leaving so Hogan dispatches of him and handcuffs the Bossman with his OWN handcuffs. OH THE HUMANITY~!

Then it becomes a race between if Hogan can make it over the cage vs. Bossman gets uncuffed and going out the door. Hogan wins and goes over to the unconscious ref (Slick took him out I believe) and raises his own hand, which gets a chuckles out of me. Hogan forces Slick to eat steel. Heels powder, Hogan poses, crowd goes wild.

The Superplex spot is great and the finish stretch is the usual big Hogan fun. Great match! ****

There is nothing more American than giving. Missy is a giver.

Vader vs The Boss
Spring Stampede April 17, 1994 Chicago, Illinois

We transport over to WCW for the rest of column. Spring Stampede is one of the best pay per views of all time with just a BITCHIN card from top to bottom. This match is a great bomb-throwing fests from these two big muthafuckas and one of my favorite matches of all time. The backstory is that Superbrawl IV, The Boss was the special enforcer in Vader’s challenge to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair. Somehow, Vader got fucked over by The Boss and we end up with this match. I aint complaining.

The Boss does not wait for Vader to hit the ring and takes the fight to him on the elevated ramp. Harley Race, seven-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Vader’s manager, hold Boss only for Boss to wrangle himself free and Race eats a Vader flying body attack. Race is already a better bumper than Hulkster. Sorry could not resist. Boss has a brief shine segment that establishes his striking game, but you don’t want to get into a slugfest with fuckin Vader. Vader eats him a live with some of his signature strikes. In an impressive visual, Vader runs down the ramps and jumps over the top rope only to eat The Boss’ knees. Boss takes it to the outside and Vader eats his usual gut-first railing bump only with much more gusto than usual as he tumbles over onto the assuredly frightened fans. It would be rubber pants time if I saw an out of control Vader hurdling towards me. Boss picks up Vader and drops him across the railing. Vader is making the Boss look like a million bucks! Boss again tries to trade strikes with Vader, only to almost get killed on a back body drop over the top rope. Seriously, the Boss saved his own life by catching the rope before crashing onto the floor out of control in a scary spot. Vader is bleeding from his bad eye in what I believe has to be the hardway because there was no spot that warranted a bladejob just a function of how hard they hitting each other.

What time is it? ITS TIME! ITS TIME! ITS VADER TIME~! Vader suplexes the Boss back in and a Vader splash gets two. Then Vader does his usual mauling in the corner with his bearpaw strikes. Boss grabs a belly-to-back suplex in a nice hope spot to keep the fans from thinking it was over. Vader takes his usual slam off the second rope, which was the finish to his Starrcade 1992 match against Sting, but that and a super DDT was not enough here for the Boss to win. Boss’s comeback is ended by Vader slamming Boss off the second rope. Vaderbomb only gets two so Vader decides to squash the muthafucka with a VADERSAULT~! For the win!

One of the best 10 minute super heavyweight sprints you will ever see. Everything was so hard-hitting, impressive and literally no down time. The story was simple but effective. Two big dudes that were just going to beat the piss out of each other until only one was standing and they executed that with great spots. The key to this match was just how unselfish each competitor was bumping for each other and selling each other’s strikes so well. I just love two big uglies going to town on each other.

BONUS MATCH: WCW US Champion Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Vader
Starrcade December 27, 1994

Writing an American-themed wrestling blog without some Hacksaw love is like not dancing like a stripper to Pour  Some Sugar On Me. NOT POSSIBLE! For those who do not know Jim Duggan, picture your uncle, add about 50-100 lbs of body weight, have him grow out his hair and beard. Then have your uncle grab a 2x4, give a thumbs up and yell “HOOOOOOOOOOO U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” that is Hacksaw Duggan in a nutshell. Or you can just look at this picture:

HHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Now wrestling fans most likely knew this about Duggan, but did you know that Jim Duggan was actually once a really good wrestler in Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory feuding with the likes of Ted DiBiase. You did? Well sit down, shut up and stop showing me up on my blog. Hogan had left the WWF for Ted Turner’s WCW and brought along his friends. Thus Duggan won the US Heavyweight Title off some no-name vanilla midget named Steve Austin. I wonder what happened to that guy. I am probably the 1000^th person to make that joke. I hope get a slice of pie as my prize! Anyways, Vader as the resident monster of WCW was being built up for the monster-slayer Hogan and so while Hogan gave his crony Brutus Beefcake a run in the main event. Vader got to play with Duggan in what turned out to be the best Post-Mid-South Duggan match by quite a bit.

As with the Boss match, the match begins on the aisleway as Duggan takes it right to the Mastodon. Duggan throws Vader into railing and Vader if flying all over the place as he makes Duggan look like a million bucks. The crowd chants “ U-S-A!” since Vader is from the very evil, very foreign place of Colorado. As an east coaster, a flyover state probably deserves that rep.  Well there goes my audience in middle America. Good thing I have a burgeoning readership in Russia and Japan. That’s right Im Big In Japan. Maybe the White Castle of Fear is not in America? During this shine, Vader takes his gut first bump into the railing and plenty of wicked lariats (some real stiff shots by Duggan). After about eight minutes of Duggan love, Vader hits a wicked, MONSTAH eye-poke? I LOVE Vader. He has all this raw power and strength, but instead chooses to use an eye-poke as his transition, such a great heel. Duggan tries to stave off the Vader rally, but misses a Tenryu style elbow (second rope back facing elbow drop) to finally put Vader in command. You know Duggan is feeling it when he decides to come off the second rope. Tony is losing his shit over this.

Vader hits the axe-bomber, which sends Duggan careerning into the guardrail from the apron (very nice bump from Duggan). Bobby the Brain unloads one of his funniest lines with: “For Duggan to take a shower is a high-risk maneuver.” I lol’d. Vader smartly attacks the ribs with vicious body punches and tries to polish him off with his powerslam/Vaderbomb combo but Hacksaw is able to get his foot on the ropes. One of my favorite spots is the “Vader Body Attack” where he basically just chest bumps his opponent into oblivion it works so well to cut off comebacks like it was used here.   

Vadersault misses and the fans erupt in “U-S-A” to exhort their fallen leader, Hacksaw Duggan. Duggan gets down into the three-point stance and hits his lariat finisher, but it is not enough. Vader takes his usual slam off the top, but there is NO REF!!! The ref is being detained by Harley Race on the apron, which distracts Hacksaw. The finish is Vader Irish whips Hacksaw into Harley holding the 2x4 into this weird variation of the Glam Slam. It is looked impressive as Vader basically muscled Duggan up, but then couldn’t hold him so he just dropped him on his face. I don’t know what it was supposed to be, but it looked vicious. Vader is the NEW US HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

I liked the Boss match a little bit more because it felt more like a struggle between two big dudes throwing bombs. This match was structured in the classical sense with a shine -> heat -> comeback -> finish, which I love and it is the formula for a reason it just was not as fun as Vader/Boss, but this match still was really good and a lot of fun. In 1992-94, Vader comes off as a contender for the greatest wrestler in the world including the All Japan guys as he was taking these average workers and putting on great matches. It is almost completely predicated on how willing he is to make these look good even as he is going to beat them, which make the matches so much more interesting unlike a Hogan who at times could steamroll his opponents and really only put himself over. After all this, I am pretty pumped for the big showdown: Vader vs Hulk Hogan!

I wonder if Vader invited Hogan to the White Castle of Fear before the match?

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs WCW US Heavyweight Vader
Superbrawl V  February 19, 1995 Baltimore, MD

Not much of a story to this one, except it was one of the big dream matches since Hogan had arrived in WCW and really logical. Hogan had made his star by wrestling these big monsters and vanquishing them (Studd, Bundy, Andre, Earthquake). However, there is no more versatile big man than Vader, who combined the size of those men with an explosive quickness. Also, Hogan’s star was on the wane as his 10 year old character had grown stale and passé especially in the South, which expected a higher level of wrestling than the cartoon stuff that Hogan liked to shovel. This led to this weird dynamic of Hogan getting pretty brutally booed the entire match against monster heel, Vader.

Tony lets us know that Ric Flair is indeed here in the front row. Hogan had “retired” Flair in October of 1994. They begin by both men are of equal strength. Hogan unleashes some pretty wicked slaps and his whip/elbow combo. Vader just screams “NO PAIN! NO PAIN!  NO PAIN!” I was totally marking out during this segment. I just wanted Vader to maul Hogan. In a cool twist, Hogan realizes the power game is ineffective and actually attempts to wrestle Vader. WHAT!!??! He even busts out a flying cross arm-breaker (juji-gatame for MMA fans). Vader breaks that up by stepping on Hogan’s face like a boss. Hogan is betwixt and between. Vader mauling in the corner is combined with a wicked short-arm clothesline.

Hogan powders and Vader eats his railing bump and nearly wipes out Flair. Well, I think Hogan may have found something that worked. Hogan works some chops in the corner, the 10 punch count and then a rebound lariat to a small pop. Hogan uses some of his heel tactics: boot on throat and eye-rake, but he goes for the bodyslam attempt too early as Vader drops on top of him. Vader runs through some strikes and then connects with the powerslam/Vaderbomb combo for two. The Vadersault misses and Hogan in desperation whips Vader back into the rail and blasts him with the best Hogan chair shot I have ever witnessed. VADER FEELS NO PAIN! Vader chokeslams the fuck outta Hogan. I don’t think Hogan intended to take that wicked of a bump. The Hulk-Up comes off a vertical suplex. Vader KICKS OUT of the LEGDROP at ONE!!!! HOLY SHIT!

A Vader body attack wipes out the ref and Vader hits the powerbomb and he counts a visual three along with Flair, but there is no ref. Hogan makes his comeback and clears him outta the ring only for Flair to attack. Finally the ref calls for the DQ. Savage and Sting make the save against Flair & Vader.

There is a lot to love about this match up until the finish. I loved the beginning story with Hogan trying to wrestle Vader and then using his own dirty tactics out of desperation because Vader was such a monster. Vader comes across as this unconquerable monster with the no-selling at the beginning, the killer offense and of course kicking out of the vaunted leg drop at one. A lot is made about how, Hogan no sold a Vaderbomb previous to this match and how it killed Vader’s drawing power. I can only say he definitely tried to make up for it in this match because Vader looked awesome here. All of the traditional Hogan transition are ineffective against Vader and they only way for Hogan to sustain offense is through Vader mistakes and illegal tactics like chairshots really makes Vader seem like an unstoppable force. The finish is pretty unsatisfying. A Vader victory and subsequent matches against Sting and Savage would have drawn well while Hogan questions if he still has it would have been an interesting wrinkle to the Hogan character. I like the Boss match better because of the efficiency of spots and the better finish, but this one was remarkably good and one of the Top 5 Best Hogan matches I have ever seen.

Evaluation

Hogan is displayed in two lights here: the standard Hogan popcorn formula against Bossman, which popped the masses in the 80s, but doesn’t feel timeless and Hogan working as a more classical underdog against a Goliath. This would not continue as the subsequent Hogan/Vader rematches were panned, but for one night Hogan structured an interesting match. Bossman is a story of untapped potential as he had all the tools to be a great big man, but was only realized on one night against Vader. Vader comes off great in all these matches as a dominant heel that is ok with the babyfaces getting their offense in to keep the crowd invested. Vader is a wrestler I can never get enough of and even his mediocre stuff seems like so much fun to me. His style is most readily adaptable of any wrestler because of how naturally the "David vs Goliath" or two big uglies barfight fits into any context.

 I am going to try to do a quick turnaround and get an All Japan blog out this weekend and hopefully will have a pattern of doing a non-All Japan one in the beginning of the week and an All Japan one during the weekend. 

Four Corners of Heaven: Mitsuharu Misawa, Akira Taue, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi

Hey yo,

Halloweekend was a rousing success and a strong affirmation of the major impact I have had on local communities. I won Best Costume as voted by the patrons of the Phoenix Landing in what can only be described as a no contest. When you are competing against a Flock of Psy and a Gaggle of Waldo, there was no way the Power of Heavy Metal could be DENIED!!! I view this award as not just a Triumph for Heavy Metal on a single night, but rather as a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Field of Costume Design & Modeling for every single person that has ever dared to mushroom stamp the norms of society that fetter us.  Through LeBron Love Triumphed; In Ke$ha The Truth Lives; From Me Freedom Will Reign In Perpetuity!

God Bless Halloween & Twitter! Remember Rhyming Turns Me On, Ladies! (Credit: Nayer's Twitter)

In more depressing news, the Tigers suck! It is 2006 all over again UGH!

You know what doesn’t suck? 90’s All Japan!

Reputed by most wrestling critics as the pinnacle of pro wrestling, 90s All Japan was centered around four men dubbed as “The Four Corners Of Heaven”. The Four Corners along with the two top gaijin (Japanese for foreigner) talent: Stan Hansen and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams wrestled each other in the greatest matches of all time crafting masterful stories and delivering some of the most outrageously stiff shots and brutal bumps in the history of wrestling.

I have undertaken the project of watching the matches chronologically from Misawa’s first Triple Crown victory in 1992 forward (before I watched them in a random order). I am of the belief that no other promotion has ever done a better job in doing inter-match storytelling. Most wrestling matches focus on intra-match storytelling with only selective matches building on one another. The most recent American example of inter-match storytelling was the Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker series at Wrestlemanias XXV and XXVI. In All-Japan as a result of an incredibly dynamic, but small number of main event performers, the promotion relied on not on the novelty of matches, but building a cohesive story through the matches rather than an American promotion which drives the story through angles.

The 1995 Champions Carnival (annual round-robin singles tournament held in the spring) is an awesome exhibition of the talent and work of the Four Corners of Heaven. Even though Stan Hansen was the Triple Crown Champion at this juncture, he was being phased out as he was getting up their in age and would soon drop the titles to All Japan Ace, Mistuharu Misawa. Dr. Death seemed poised to inherit top gaijin spot from Hansen, having won the Triple Crown himself in 1994, but was busted for drugs and would never fully regain his prominence in All Japan. Thus for the first time in the history of All Japan Pro Wrestling, they would have to rely on a main event that consisted of only native Japanese talent. This Champions Carnival was the culmination of the push of native talent post-1988 after less gaijin talent was making the trek overseas. All Japan was in the fine, reassuring hands of The Four Corners of Heaven.

Green Destiny

Mitsuharu Misawa – The Undisputed Ace of the Four Corners was leader of his generation against Jumbo Tsuruta’s generation (you can read about two of Jumbo’s greatest All Japan matches in the 80s against Ric Flair and Kerry Von Erich here) and was positioned to be the face of All Japan in the 90s. He defeated Jumbo Tsuruta in single competition in 1990 and worked progressively to ascend the top of the mountain. Finally he captured the All Japan Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in the May of 1992 against Stan Hansen. Misawa embarked on a two year incredible run of stellar championship defenses against friend turned arch-enemy Toshiaki Kawada, perpetual rival Akira Taue, legendary Stan Hansen, and the explosive Dr. Death. In midst of all this, Misawa took on the energetic, lively Kenta Kobashi as his tag team partner and understudy. Misawa is famed for his extended comeback and usage of a long finish run. These long finishes developed incredible tensions in his matches through the use of nearfalls, high-impact moves and timely selling. These finishes and all his offense were set up by his elbow strikes. These elbow strikes were stiff and brutal creating space for him to set up his high impact blows. Misawa was known for his stoic disposition in his matches, giving the fans reassurance that he was always one elbow away from rendering his opponent incapacitated. Misawa has the distinction of being involved in the most matches Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has rated at Five Stars. Misawa’s most notable trait is his fighting spirit and resilience as he is Four Corner member that wrestled from underneath most often.

DANGEROUS K

Toshiaki Kawada – All Japan’s second banana is one mean muthafucka. You don’t mess with Dangerous K. Kawada began his career in Genichiro Tenryu’s army in his feud against Jumbo Tsuruta’s army in the late 80s. In the early 90’s, he joined Misawa’s army against Jumbo and became Misawa’s number two and steady tag team partner. In October of 1992, at All Japan’s Anniversary show, he wrestled Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight titles falling short in what would be a theme throughout his career. During the 1993 Champions Carnival, frustrated with his loss to Misawa and a desire to step out of his shadow, he formed the Holy Demon Army with Jumbo’s number two: Akira Taue. Kawada and Taue would have many legendary battles against the tag team of Mistuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi for the Double Cup (All Japan’s Tag Team titles) that are considered some of the greatest matches ever. If Misawa is known for his elbows, then Kawada is known for his kicks, which he can hit from any angle with brutality. Kawada ins my mind is a better seller than Misawa, where as Misawa edges him a bit on bumping (Kawada took some nasty bumps, but Misawa really seemed to throw himself into them). Kawada ranks up there with Savage in body part selling and Flair in fatigue selling. Kawada builds matches very well around body part psychology to set up bomb throwing finishes, which include his powerbomb and the DANGEROUS~! Backdrop Driver. I know that I enjoy Kawada more as a performer than Misawa, but yet I enjoy Misawa matches more than Kawada matches (like I think Misawa matches with Dr. Death, Taue and Kobashi are better than their Kawada counterparts). This something I really want to explore because I have not come to solid understanding of it. The point I tried to make in this analysis was why Kawada lost matches. I thought going into that Kawada sometimes let his sadism get in the way of victory. I want to see if that is the real reason for him coming up short. If Misawa’s trait is resilience, I would say Kawada’s is his sadism.

Who Am I To Doubt Akira Taue?

Akira Taue – In terms of the kayfabe, Taue was clearly ranked over Kobashi because Kobashi had yet to earn any singles victories over Taue coming into the 1995 Champions Carnival. Even though in many fan’s minds, Taue is a distant fourth in the Four Corners of Heaven. However, Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi are generally considered to be in the Top 20 greatest wrestlers of all time. So there is no shame being fourth in that category. Taue is often overlooked because of his awkward, gangly body and his lack of stiff/powerful offense. Taue relied on general ruthlessness and a sense of precision that his cohorts lacked. Kawada in all his desire to dish out punishment usually wanted to do it in a way that was fair. He was just mean, but he was not a cheat. Taue did not fucking care, he was out for the win. In a Japan, a closed fist was treated as a big deal and only to busted out in key situations. Taue did not give a fuck because it knew it would give him an upper hand fuck everybody else for not using it. Taue relied more on the straight punch than his cohorts. If Kobashi’s leg was fucked up, he was going to relentlessly attack it. If Misawa had a broken orbital bone, then sure as the sun will come up if Taue was in trouble he was going to claw at his eye. Taue may not have the moves, the graces or the emotion of his compatriots, but what he brought was a great understanding of wrestling psychology and how to be a ruthless heel. Taue was such a great tag partner for Kawada because of the reasons I listed. So what I want to evaluate is how good Taue is and if he really was such a weak link in the Four Corners.

When I watched this in 2006, it hooked me forever on puroresu

Kenta Kobashi – O Kenta and your flair for the dramatic. Kobashi’s youthful virility was the yin to Misawa’s stoic yang. I do not know if Kobashi  always intended this to happen, but his matches more often than not became sort of exhibitions of one-up manship. They usually involve displays of machismo such as chop battles (the chop is Kobashi’s strike of choice) and tests of strength. He has the most extensive offensive arsenal of the Four Corners and he loves to make sure everybody knows it in every match he wrestles. When Kobashi could reigned in by his opponent it could lead some of the greatest matches of all time. For instance Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi in 1993 is my current choice for greatest match of all time. However, some opponents did let Kobashi indulge himself too much and this led to matches going off the tracks think Dr. Death vs Kobashi 9/3/94. I like Kobashi well enough and his matches are never boring that is for sure. His comebacks are just so full of hyper masculine histrionics you just cant help but get into them. They are always setup by his dramatic selling that elicits so much sympathy from the crowd. Kobashi is I believe the general consensus favorite among the American wrestling fans that follow puroresu because of his ability to cross language and cultural barriers better than the other Four Corners. I want to see which opponents are best at managing Kobashi and how well he is at self-editing in this Champions Carnival.

Four Corners of Heaven

BACKGROUND

Heading into the 1995 offering of the Carnival, Stan Hansen was the Triple Crown Champion, but was being phased out due to age. Toshiaki Kawada had dropped the titles to Hansen in March and was looking to pick up some momentum given he had only one successful defense (a 60 minute draw against Kobashi in January). Mitsuharu Misawa was coming off a stellar, but injury-plagued 1994. He lost the titles to Dr. Death in July of 1994. This would be his first major singles since his loss in July and he will be out to prove that he is still the undisputed Ace of All Japan. Akira Taue had a lackluster 1994 and generally took a backseat to his cohorts. Taue will be looking to prove he still belongs in the Four Corners of Heaven. Kobashi has the most positive momentum coming into the tournament. He had very successful 1993 and 1994 campaigns and the fans have really rallied around him. He was able to take Kawada to a 60 minute draw in January in his shot for the Triple Crown. However, Kobashi still has ZERO victories over the other members of the Four Corners of Heaven and he will be looking to remedy that.

MATCHES

Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi
March 21, 1995

The first match is a contest between the two junior partners in their respective teams. It really feels like both these men are out there with something to prove. This gives this match a real sense of struggle as both men are making each other work for their moves. Everytime, Kobashi looks like he is putting something together, Taue will throw him down. There is a theme among most Kobashi matches of his macho posturing costing him matches as he gets too involved in one up manship that he loses sight of winning the match. Taue, for his part, avoids getting sucked into this like Kawada sometimes will by avoiding the test of strength and going for shortcuts like eye-rakes and throwdowns. Taue is going his best to disrupt Kobashi’s offensive flow. For his part, Taue looked his best on offense that I has seen up to that point. His Jumbo high knee and enziguri combo looked fantastic. He delivered some stiff blows a particularly vicious lariat comes to mind.

Kobashi continues this theme of struggle by doing his best to cut off Taue during his offense. Kobashi comes off like a warrior with dogged determination to press on even in bleak circumstance. My favorite spot of the match is when Taue does a throwdown to stop a Kobashi flurry into the corner only for Kobashi to rebound off and lariat him to a great pop. Eventually string together two pinning combinations off of a bridging german suplex and a powerbomb, but then misses his put-away: the moonsault. This gives the feeling that Kobashi was one move away from his getting his big victory.

As part two of my favorite spot of the match, Taue Irish whipped Kobashi into the guardrail and Kobashi went to do a rebound lariat only for Taue to catch him this time and throw him back into the guardrail. That was sweet! Taue follows this up with a HUGE Nodowa (Chokeslam, his finisher) off the apron onto the floor! Kobashi sells it like death. Taue has to bring him back in to get the pinfall, but Kobashi kicks out. Kobashi is working under the “lights are on, but no one is home” guise just trying to extend Taue to a 30 minute draw by rolling to outside. Taue obliges him by powerbombing him on the floor. Taue is such a prick and the fans love it oddly enough as they cheer his name. Taue polishes him off with the DYNAMIC BOMB~! (Sitout Powerbomb). This is Taue’s new and improved finisher to add a bomb to his arsenal.

I liked this match a whole lot as Taue really blew me away with his performance. He reigned Kobashi in and made sure that Kobashi never ate him alive with all his offense. Taue worked hard to impress and deliver some great offense. The match did a great job to put over two moves: the Nodowa off the apron and the Dynamic Bomb. In addition, it really Taue over as a scrappy, ruthless competitor that would never let a match get too far out of control. Kobashi was able to work his moves in a logical fashion and his facial expressions added to put over how much of a struggle this match was. His most important role was selling like he dead after the Nodowa to the floor and really putting Taue over as a threat. It felt like he was one moonsault away from winning, but at the day he went for one too many rebound lariats and got caught. That was turning point because it allowed Taue to set up the Nodowa to the floor. A fantastic start to the tournament and I think one that places the bar very high for all the matches to follow.

BURNING~!

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi

March 26, 1995

Kobashi will look to get himself back on track against his tag team partner while Misawa will be looking to prove he is the Undisputed Ace of All Japan. I was surprised at how vicious Kobashi was towards Misawa. Even after Kawada left Misawa for Taue, Misawa always seemed to wrestle Kawada diplomatically. Going into this match, I expected Kobashi and Misawa grapple until it got to a boiling point and then they went balls to walls. Instead, Kobashi came out to prove a point and he made it loud and clear with his thunderous chops on Misawa’s chest.

Misawa and Kobashi work well together because Kobashi wants to do a ton of shit and Misawa wants to take a lot of shit until he gets to make his extended comeback. Kobashi’s opening shine segment is fun with lots of good moves and plays to both men strengths. Cool spot at the beginning with Misawa doing a monkey flip out of the corner as a hope spot because I had not seen that before. Misawa, of course, goes to his trusty elbows when in doubt.

There is this fuckin wild sequence out of a surfboard that just has to be seen to be fully appreciated. A great instance of Misawa selling is when Kobashi roundhouse kicks in him the gut and he begins to cough. This is a great exhibition for how stiff and violent the strikes in All Japan can be as Misawa delivers some great Fuck You Elbows and Kobashi with Burning Lariats. Kobashi begins to pour it on with Backdrop Driver and German Suplex, powerbomb and moonsault triggering “Mi-Saw-wah” chants and a loud pop on the kickout from the moonsault. I was shocked to as I expected a foot on the ropes rather than a straight kickout. Things are looking bleak for Misawa as he rolls out and trying to extend the match. ROARING ELBOW~! From Misawa regains control for Misawa. Tiger suplex, frog splash get near falls and trigger “Ko-Bashi” chants. I do not know if it was a split crowd or if they just respected the hell out of both men. Kobashi does his dramatic crawl away but a Tiger Driver followed by a Sleeper Suplex finishes off Kobashi.              

This is a great match to get a feel for the All Japan style if you are a first timer. There is pretty of fantastic sequences full of heated strikes and big bombs. Kobashi comes off once again as a wrestler on the cusp of making it big, but doesn’t have enough to put away one of the big guns. Misawa does a good job giving Kobashi a lot before making a typical great comeback (though a bit shorther than his usual). I preferred Kobashi/Taue for the interesting story and heated struggle. Misawa/Kobashi had better strike exchanges and more fluid sequences, but Kobashi/Taue had more emotion.

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada

April 5, 1995

I would hate this to be the first Misawa/Kawada match anyone watches. It is such a classic rivalry and this match disappoints. It disappoints because about 30 seconds into the match Kawada breaks Misawa’s orbital bone legitimately. This obviously causes Misawa immense pain and it is a real tribute to his actual toughness that he continued on for the next 29:30 of the match. It did cause him to botch a couple moves of his routine and for the match to start a bit slower, but he did find his groove eventually.

The spot of the match is Kawada actually busting out a dive onto the outside of his own, which made me go nuts. Misawa blocks a piledriver on the floor delivers a Tiger Driver for the first big move of the match approximately 12 minutes into the match. Kawada still goes after the eye, which makes me cringe. As I mentioned earlier, Kawada had never pinned Misawa before. The injury forced their hand to structure a match where Kawada would be offense for a majority making it feel like Kawada would eventually get that victory. Kawada is really good at nuances like the struggle over a powerbomb. Kawada keeps going back to the stretch plum because of the pressure it puts on the eye.

Misawa lands a spin kick and goes through his offensive arsenal and the Tiger Suplex gets a good pop as a false finish. My second favorite spot of the match is when Kawada is clutching the ropes for dear life fending off a sleeper suplex attempt and then fires off this nasty chop to Misawa’s throat. It was a perfect confluence of desperation, fatigue and dickishness. Kawada lands a brainbuster and a powerbomb but time expires with him in control.

The general theme of Misawa/Kawada matches is Kawada getting closer and closer to pinning Misawa. In 1993, Kawada worked over Misawa’s arm to eliminate Misawa’s vaunted elbows. In 1994, Kawada worked over Misawa’s neck and was even more aggressive in his stance. In this match, he was in control of the match before time limit expiring looking that with just a minute more he would have secured his first victory over Misawa. This was a great effort from both men given the circumstances of Misawa’s unfortunate injury so early in the match. It is match that was very good, but does not hold up against the greatness of the previous two matches.

Focus Group Studies Show: This Chick Brings Eyeballs

Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue

April 8, 1995

THE HOLY DEMON ARMY EXPLODES~! Had to. Taue has a victory on Kobashi and Kawada has drawn Misawa thus for Kawada to advance to the Champions Carnival he needs a victory here and a victory over Kobashi and hope Taue does not beat Misawa. This match is wrestled with this idea in mind. Kawada needs the win more than Taue and thus goes out there and wrestles more aggressively than his partner. Taue, much like in the Kobashi, does his usual throwdown defense, but Kawada catches him early with a wicked, short spinning heel kick.

Kawada is on offense for the majority of the match and employs some wicked submissions, which is something that All Japan matches lacked. This works twofold to put Kawada over a sadistic sum bitch who needs the win and Taue as a sympathetic underdog. Taue times his hope spots well using a Tenryu-style enziguri and his snake eyes moves well, but Kawada remains in command. Kawada relies heavily on his explosive kicks to stymie any Taue flurries. The tension in the match is derived from Kawada’s urgency to win, but Taue is not letting it become a Kawada exhibition. Taue does deliver a DDT onto exposed concrete and a couple Nodowas. In the ultimate display of desperation in puroresu, Kawada uses a closed fist to quash this turn of events.

I never thought I would say so-so is the greatest wrestler at using apron (the edge of the wrestling ring), but Godamnit Taue is the greatest apron wrestler ever. The best sequence of the match is when Kawada Yakuza Kick (high kick to face) on Taue on the apron. Taue returns the closed fist from earlier to set up Taue’s big bomb: the Nodowa to the floor!!!!

Kawada, similarly to Kobashi, sells it like death and the end is inevitable for Kawada as he falls to Super Nodowa (rolls away) and ultimately the DYNAMIC BOMB~!

Best match of the Carnival so far, it does not blow away the competition, but I liked this match the most because of Taue coming from behind and besting Kawada in the upset. As these two are partners, I think Kawada busting out new tricks was his way of keeping his partner off balance. However, Kawada was not able to wrangle Taue into his powerbomb or DANGEROUS~! Backdrop driver, which are his bread and butter. Taue kept his offense very true to form and used his size advantage over his partner to connect with his moves. It almost felt like some an act of hubris with Kawada willing to engage his junior partner on the apron knowing full well what happened to Kobashi. Taue with two victories is guaranteed a trip to the finals with this victory.   

I’m skipping the Carnival match between Misawa and Taue because they will be meeting in the finals. I will be covering the Finals between those two.

Kobashi Defies Death

Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi

April 13, 1995

In January, Kobashi extended Kawada to the limit in his only successful defense of the Triple Crown in a one hour draw. This is their first meeting since that match with both men eliminated from a spot in the finals these men will be battling for personal honor and the fact they plain just don’t like one another.

Kawada immediately indulges Kobashi by engaging in a test of strength, which Kobashi wins. Kobashi delivers a Tiger Suplex out of it and some of his patented leg drops across stuff (guard rails and the middle rope). Kobashi has a lot to prove remember because he is yet to garner a victory over any of the other members of the Four Corners of Heaven. At the same time, Kawada is looking for some positive momentum, but the early going indicates that Kobashi is the aggressor.

Kawada fires off some kicks and then backs Kobashi into a corner before unleashing a barrage of vicious knees to the face. I’m sorry, Mr. Kawada for thinking you were not the aggressor. Kobashi is able to connect with a favorite All Japan spot the rebound lariat off the guardrail. Then we arrive at the hook of the match, Kobashi in his overzealousness high knees the guardrail. Kawada works the knee really strongly. Kawada delivers a shinbreaker onto the neighboring timekeeper’s table another favorite All Japan spot. I approve, Kawada.

Kawada works over the leg some more with a half-crab and Scorpion Deathlock. Of course when Kobashi makes him comeback, Kawada immediately cuts that off with a dropkick to the knee. God Bless Dangerous K! Kobashi dropkicks Kawada’s trick knee (hurt it back in 1993) and then delivers his own shinbreaker onto the announce table. I love the symmetry as now Kobashi utilizes a half crab and Texas Cloverleaf. I am just excited about all this because it means Kawada gets to sell the knee. Kawada on jello legs and his fall across the ring after a Kobashi Irish whip is some of the best wrestling theatre ever.

Lets take this bad boy home!  Kawada manages a desperation DANGEROUS~! Backdrop Driver, but Kobashi blocks the stretch plum attempt. Kawada gets a 2 off one powerbomb, but his leg buckles on the second and Kobashi gets a 2 count just from landing on top of him. Kobashi sets up for the moonsault, but Kawada rolls away. Finally Kobashi connects with a moonsault and it only gets two. The expression of shock on Kobashi’s face says it all.

Kobashi runs through the rest of his bag of tricks: the Burning Lariat, the Rolling Cradle and another moonsault, but he misses that time to give Kawada a near-fall. Kawada delivers another powerbomb and DANGEROUS~! Backdrop Driver for nearfalls, but Kobashi keeps crawling away as the time limit expires.

All Japan was doing its damndest to prove these two men were exact equals with multiple draws in 1995 and 1996. Once again, Kawada was in control when the time limit expired, but did not have enough to put his opponent away. This match is a lot of fun because the symmetrical leg psychology, Kawada’s selling and the great finish run. I would place this behind Kobashi/Taue and Kawada/Taue (remember how I said Taue was the fourth best that argument seems weird now doesn’t it?) because while it was heated, it did not have the emotion of the two Taue matches.

DYNAMIC BOMB~!

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue

April 15, 1995

Champions Carnival Final

I am just going to get this out of the way. This is one of the greatest matches of all time and in top 10 of the greatest All Japan matches of all time. Full Stop. Don’t pass Go and collect $200, sit your ass down and watch this match. I was skeptical of the rep this match has because I did not think Taue as a singles competitor could deliver that time of performance. Who am I to doubt Akira Taue?

The match begins with a series of counters to put over their familiarity with each other. Taue side-steps a Misawa flying lariat and drives him into the ground sending Misawa to the outside. All of sudden, we get Air Taue as he dives onto Misawa on the outside and Misawa chants begin in earnest. I loved this because it established that with both men so familiar with each other that they would have to wrestle outside their moveset to keep their opponent off-balance.

The hook of the match is Taue aggressively attacking the injured eye of Misawa (remember Misawa legitimately broke his orbital bone in match with Kawada earlier). Taue utilized this tactic to cut off Misawa offensive flurries and to setup his own offense. A good example of this is when Misawa slides over the back of Taue on a suplex attempt only to receive a stiff elbow to his eye. Misawa for his part puts on a offense clinic of his own.

Against Kawada and Kobashi, Misawa is more than willing to let them have their spotlight, but against Taue Misawa has more free reign to take larger chunks of the match to himself. Misawa actually taking so much offense is indicator to the viewer that his normal rope-a-dope strategy would not work here because the injury is that much of liability. Thus Misawa is looking to end this match much earlier rather rely on his normal strategy of extending his opponent and then taking advantage. This gives a different feel from normal Misawa matches as he is much more aggressive and urgent with his offense. After a flurry of spin kicks, elbows, two elbows dives and a ROARING ELBOW~!, they actually tease Taue losing by countout. I have to mention the normally stoic Misawa seems a bit pissed that Taue was so willing to take advantage of his injury.

At around the 12:00 minute mark, all hell breaks loose as Taue claws Misawa’s eye repeatedly to stop his elbow flurries. This culminates with Taue stepping on Misawa injured eye. The Japanese crowd and announcers collectively lose their shit at the ruthlessness and audacity of Taue. I have watched a lot of Japanese wrestling and never remember a crowd actually booing a wrestler that is how heated this got. Seventeen years after the fact that spot is still fuckin sweet.

Taue tries to negotiate his kill shot: the Nodowa off the apron to the floor, but Misawa elbows his way out of it. Misawa in desperation runs through more of his arsenal: spinkick, senton, frogsplash, german suplex, Tiger Driver, but can not garner the victory. Then we arrive at the spot of the match and maybe my favorite sequence in all of pro wrestling.

Misawa floats over Taue back on a vertical suplex attempt and lands on the apron. UH OH! Taue immediately takes the edge of his hand and drives it into Misawa’s injured eye. Taue goozles him, but Misawa is clinging to the ropes for dear life, but Taue chops his hand. NODOWA TO THE FLOOR!!!! Now the entire ending is in doubt. Before, Misawa was the favorite even with eye injury because he was the ace and none of the Four Corners had beaten him. However, this is the move that killed Kobashi and Kawada dead. Either ending is totally satisfying to customer as Misawa will either overcome this adversity as before or Taue will prove be the Misawa-Slayer. As a smart wrestling fan, I can predict 95% of the outcomes of all matches because I have just watched that much wrestling. Sometimes the journey is more fun than the ending. However, then there are matches like these when the irresistible force (Nodowa on the floor) and the immovable object (Misawa) meet and I don’t know who will win, but fuck it is going to be one helluva ride.

Taue runs through his offense and punctuates this run with a DYNAMIC BOMB~! MISAWA KICKS OUT!!!! O SHIT!!!! The ending is a great illustration of why Misawa one of the best ever. John Cena would have hulked up and ran through his offense to get the win, but Misawa presents his twist on the babyface comeback. Misawa strikes with his elbows, but with each elbow he is falling down or powdering. He is using these desperation elbows to create breathing room for himself to recover. You get the feeling as a fan that he just did not stop being injured or fatigued, but that he is fighting through it. Taue is both dazed by these vicious elbows and fatigued from running through most of his offense. Taue is still able to kick out of a german suplex and a Tiger Driver. Taue, sensing that the end is near, tries one last ditch effort by clawing at the eye and the crowd is molten with heat at this. Misawa elbows through the claw and TWO Tiger Suplexes finish it for Misawa.

One of the greatest matches I have ever seen. It is one of those matches where you feel like you reached a Pro Wrestling Nirvana as a pro wrestling fan. This is one of the best individual Misawa performances I have ever seen as he puts over Taue as a force to reckoned with and himself as a resilient wrestler that overcomes adversity with his heart and elbows. Taue stepped up his game huge throughout the Carnival and there was no brighter moment than this match where he ate Misawa’s offense well and was totally ruthless against the eye. This match represents what pro wrestling should be: the simulation of human struggle. Taue is struggling to step out from Misawa’s shadow and is willing to do anything to finally end his “Reign of Terror”. Misawa is struggling with overcoming his broken orbital bone and an opponent willing and able to exploit it. When pro wrestling is done right, I do not think there is a greater medium of entertainment. On April 15, 1995, Mitsuharu Misawa and Akira Taue did pro wrestling right.