JCW Slam TV Episode 3

Trent Acid vs NOSAWA

Acid does a great job riling up the crowd, taking his sweet time getting to the ring, blessing the crowd with holy water from the apron (a crowd who must have loved that ICP song where they sang about how their entire was for God), stalls some more, has a pray in the corner…then tells the crowd that God has told him not to wrestle. Amazing work by Acid, who walks to the back, leaving ICP to find a replacement…

NOSAWA vs CJ O’Doyle

I remember the name of O’Doyle from the early 00’s, but I never saw him wrestle. He’s got an amazingly generic look, with a shit orange mask on and some black shorts with the Irish flag on. The ICP clearly think he’s hilarious as they talk about his ludicrous mask and massive feet all match. He hits a lovely overhead belly-to-belly following a sneak attack, but the rest of his performance is him selling for NOSAWA, and his selling is endearingly goofy. NOSAWA blitzes him with kicks, nails a standing Shining Wizard followed by a Michinoku Driver for 3

Man Man Pondo vs Corporal Robinson

This is for Robinson’s JCW title, and has Pondo accompanied by Necro Butcher. Robinson has brought a barbed-wire baseball bat, which gets used throughout. Robinson nails a superkick, which is the last non-weapons move in the match. The rest of the bout is quite entertaining, in a hardcore nonsense way. Robinson hitting a running knee in the corner to drive the bat into Pondo’s face looked good, as did his bulldog of Necro onto the barbed-wire bat. Pondo’s offensive run isn’t quite so good, as Corp basically lands on him during a piledriver through the table, though I loved Pondo just hurling a bin right at Robinson. Corp hits a 2^nd rope powerbomb and Boot Camp, both onto Pondo’s trademark stopsign, for 3. Not going to blow away anyone who’s seen these guys before, but as a “greatest hits” for the two of them, it was fun.

WWF Main Event 18/2/2014

Reasonable edition of Main Event here. One very good match, one ok bout and one stinker is a worthwhile use of 50 minutes.

The Shield vs Sin Cara & Los Matadores

This is the logical follow-up to the Wyatts/Cara & Matadores bout from the last main event, with the Shield due to face the Wyatts at the next PPV. The Shield members aren’t as big as the Wyatt’s, so the face team doesn’t have to hit-and-run as much here, instead outsmarting Ambrose and Rollins in the early going. Loved the Total Elimination variant on Rollins by Los Matadores. The fans are well up for a bit of Roman Reigns here, and he’s the gamechanger in the match, making Fernando the face-in-peril by blasting through him. The heat section is brief, leading to a Sin Cara hot tag, but Cara soon becomes FIP, and they work a longer heat section on him. I’d forgotten how not-silly Dean Ambrose used to be on offence, as he grounds Cara with a chinlock, and hits a nasty sharp headbutt to prevent him from making a comeback. There’s a few nice teased tags before Cara tags Diego, and Ambrose is really portrayed as the weak link here (as per the upcoming PPV match), as Diego dominates and Ambrose needs saving on a few occasions. Reigns stops a double-dive by spearing Fernando and Cara, and I loved Ambrose holding Diego up for an elevated Superman punch. Curb stomp gets the win, and this was a fun trios bout, if not as good as the Wyatt’s bout the previous week.

Cameron vs Aksana

Oh fuck off! Aksana is still playing off her clumsy kneedrop to Naomi, and she drops an early knee to Cameron’s head, teasing an early countout victory. Sadly, we aren’t that lucky, as Cameron gets in and bumps around awkwardly for Aksana’s offence. Her offence is even worse, and you know things are bad if there’s a noticeable difference in quality between yourself and Aksana of all people. A roll-up gets 3 for Cameron, so at least it was quick.

Kofi Kingston vs Curtis Axel

I didn’t hate this, but that was almost entirely due to Axel. He bumps around nicely for some of Kofi’s suspect looking offence, including some big flip bumps as his leg gets taken out. Axel is accompanied by Ryback, so Mark Henry comes out midway through to even the sides, but this doesn’t become a tag match sadly. I realised here why I’m not a big Kingston fan – he’s clearly very athletic and gets a great height on all his moves, but his high-flying isn’t very impressive. He’ll get high in the air, but only to hit a sloppy legdrop or a weak looking chop. By contrast, Axel’s stuff looks really good, nice snug belly-to-back suplex. Ryback takes out Kingston on a dive attempt to draw the DQ, but Henry sends him outside for Kingston to hit a big flip dive anyway. Fine, but nothing worth going out of your way to see.

Pro Wrestling Chaos - Rhynos, Boars, Birds & Beards 2015

Feels way too long since I've reviewed a Pro Wrestling Chaos DVD on here, especially as I loved To Crown A King which I wrote about last year. This DVD came courtesy of Wrestlecrate UK, which I signed up to last month, and this was a real treat to find in the box.

Morgan Webster vs Mark Andrews

Andrews is a mystery opponent, as Webster has challenged any graduate of the Dragon Pro wrestling academy to face him. Webster is heel here, and he’s so much better cast as a snotty, whiny heel. What’s great about heel Webster is how he tones down the high-flying so as not to get pops, which also allows the opponents high-flying to shine. This is especially true against a guy like Andrews, who’s arguably Britain’s best high-flyer. After fighting off a sneak attack by Webster, Andrews hits a lovely standing moonsault. I loved the camerawork as Webster throws Andrews out, and the camera follows Webster so the audience discovers Andrews landed on the apron at the same time as he hits an enzuigiri to the head of Webster. Webster takes control as he throws his t-shirt at Andrews as he stands on the top rope, and I enjoyed his control work, including some nasty repeat headbutts to Andrews in the corner. He takes too long going to the top rope for the 450, and this allows to move for the comeback. A standing corkscrew moonsault by Andrews is off target, as he only hits the legs of Webster, but the rest of his offensive run looks great. Loved the victory roll swiftly transitioning to a standing stomp, and a swank reverse rana gets two. Webster, being a great cunt heel, uses the ref to block a charge, pokes Andrews in the eye and hits a cradle neckbreaker for two. Great nearfall. He goes to level Andrews with his helmet, but Panda Cub comes out to stop him. Webster goes to yell at him from the inside of the ring, but this puts him in place for an Andrews 619, and the shooting star press finishes for Andrews. Super opener.

Jeckel vs Tommaso Ciampa

Both guys have a similar look, with bald/cropped hair and beards. Some fun opening hijinks sees Ciampa end up with Jeckel’s manager’s jacket, dropping some Flair-esque elbows on it. However, this gives Jeckel an opening to attack. It doesn’t last long, as Ciampa nails a perfect knee to the face. I loved the outside brawling segment, and thought the spot where Ciampa got fans to hold Jeckel over the railings so he could hit a long-run-up running knee was great. Engages the fans and means Jeckel doesn’t look like an idiot lying in place for 20-30 seconds. The Jeckel control section was decent, enjoyed him just wearing down Ciampa without doing anything to pop the crowd. Both guys use strikes, but by Jeckel using less of them, it allowed Ciampa’s to look more impressive. Jeckel tries a rebound lariat, but totally telegraphs it with Ciampa staring at him for the full cycle, so I loved that Ciampa just clotheslined him right away. Jeckel’s manager sacrifices himself after Ciampa hits two running knees in the corner, as Ciampa murders him with a chop and three running knees to the face. However, this buys times for Jeckel to hit a low blow and a Michinoku Driver for the win.

Jinny vs Martina Kirby

The Martina gimmick is ridiculously over for Kirby wherever he goes, and though he plays it for laughs, it’s never played by his opponents as just being Martin Kirby in a dress, but as an actual woman wrestler. To begin, Jinny demands a walk-off, with a fan, wrestler Robbie Caine and Mr Bananas as judges. Unsurprisingly, Kirby wins, so Jinny attacks him from behind. Kirby hits a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and enzuigiri, but he bumps so well that it becomes a bit of a Jinny showcase. Big DDT sees Kirby planted on the top of his head, and I loved Jinny dropkicking Kirby’s legs as he stood on the second ropes to then hit an X-Factor from height. She makes the mistake of yelling at the ringside judges, and this lets Kirby hit the Sable Bomb for the win. Fun deal.

The Doomsday Killers (Ian Williams, KillBane & Big Grizzly) vs Gideon, Mikey Whiplash & Rhyno

Really great 6-man tag. The underlying thread sees Williams playing chickenshit heel, desperate to avoid facing Gideon. The fans are really hot for the Rhyno/Big Griz face-off, especially after Whiplash had failed in the ring against Griz to really put over his dominance. Rhyno downs Grizzly, but takes 3 shoulderblocks to do so. Really loved Whiplash’s armwork on KillBane, really vicious looking snap to it. The heels work over Whiplash following a KillBane tilt-a-whirl, and do it really well. All quick tags, hitting their offence, then tagging out to a fresh guy right away. Loved Williams’ chickenshit work, as he misses a corner charge to let Gideon tag in, and immediately sprints from the ring to avoid facing him. The heels soon work over Gideon, with Griz looking great at using his strength and size to dominate. You really buy him as an unmovable object. Everything breaks down after Williams misses an elbow on Gideon, and we end with Williams in the ring with a downed Rhyno. Williams does this great cocky celebration…too cocky as Rhyno gets up. Rhyno misses the Gore, runs into a big punch from Griz and gets rolled up by Williams, with his feet on the ropes for the really cheap heel victory. Love it, the total chickenshit of the match beats the big star in the cheapest way possible. Aside from the great ending, loved how this kept moving, and was geared up to make everyone look good.

No 1 Contendership Rumble

Really appreciated the way they rounded off some storylines in this bout. Jeckel getting eliminated in 5 seconds by El Ligero and Mark Andrews was a fun start, and obviously watching Jim Diehard come in and squash both Ligero and Mandrews was fun to watch. Both Henchmen end up in the ring at the same time and have a fun run of dominance. Loved the way they paid off the last match as Rhyno is in the ring when Ian Williams is announced. Williams doesn’t want to get in and is in the aisle so long, the next contender comes out…that being Gideon. Gideon throws him in the ring, Rhyno Gore’s him and presses Williams over the top to the floor. Gideon eliminates himself to hit an ax handle from the top to the floor. Loved that all going full circle.

There were a few other fun spots throughout: loved Sam Wilder using the railings to stop his feet hitting the floor, really enjoyed Scotty Essex hitting a DVD on Big Grizzly, then hitting a DVD on Bunny The Buff ONTO Grizzly. A mysterious masked man enters and eliminates Mikey Whiplash, but gets pulled out from the ring by Whiplash to fight to the back. Morgan Webster runs from the back to eliminate Panda Cub, paying off the earlier match, and that leaves Alex Steele in with Big Grizzly. Steele manages to get Griz out to seemingly win, but the mysterious masked man comes back to throw him out and win. Good Rumble.

Wild Boar vs Mike Bird

This is a 30 minute Iron Man match for Bird’s King of Chaos title. Bird stalls a bit to start, before Boar tires of it, and tries a dive, which Bird meets with a punch to the face. Boar is portrayed here as having more heart and will to win, whilst Bird is cunning and trying to win in a devious manner. Bird hits a low blow and crowns Boar with a chairshot to give Boar a 1-0 lead via DQ. Bird swiftly pins Boar to level things at 1-1, then hits a cradle piledriver for a 2-1 lead. Nice psychology. Bird throws Boar out of the ring to try and get a countout win, whilst buying himself time, but Boar gets in on 9. Bird throws him out again, but this just buys Boar more recovery time so, when Bird tries another piledriver, Boar jackknife pins him to tie things up at 2-2. At this point, Bird starts to lose his focus, getting more and more angry at Boar’s refusal to stay down. Boar is slowly, but surely shaking off the cobwebs, and there’s this awesome moment when he’s finally fully-charged, and just EXPLODES with offence. Great suicide dive, and his corner cannonballs always look great. Loved the moment when Bird tries to headbutt him, and Boar just blitzes him with a flurry of headbutts. Bird takes control again, but can’t put Boar away, and this drives him crazy in the final minutes. Loved the Bird crossface, where he grabs Boar’s free arm as he goes for the ropes and turns it into a sort-of Regal stretch. Bird hits a piledriver, but Boar kicks outa two. Bird tries a second, but Boar reverses it to the Trapper Keeper for the 3-2 lead with a second remaining to win the title. Absolutely loved this, and they did a great job of filling 30 minutes without it dragging. Loved the underlying story of Bird being too cocky, then not being able to take control when he needed to. Loved how both guys sold their desperation at the end, and this was a great feel-good moment. Afterwards, the mysterious masked man attacked Boar and unmasked as Jeckel to set up the next show.

WWE Superstars 21/2/2014

Continuing our run through WWE C-shows, it's time to hit up Superstars. Based on this episode, I suspect I'll enjoy it less than Main Event, with too much time spent on Raw/Smackdown recaps. Stuff that noise, use that time to give me a Fandango vs Heath Slater match!

Natalya vs Tamina
This match starts really oddly, as Natalya walks towards Tamina with her arms raised up high and takes a punch to the stomach straight away to give Tamina the advantage. Made Nattie look like an idiot. Tamina basically controls the bulk of the match from hereon, maintaining her advantage with a vicious looking clothesline. Tamina hits a slightly clumsy looking powerslam before Natalya starts her comeback. Nice to see Natalya showing some real fire too, but her spinning clothesline gets blocked with a big boot to the face. Tamina tries a Samoan drop, which Nattie escapes and puts on the Sharpshooter straight away for the tapout. Really poor structure, as Tamina basically dominates in an uninteresting way, then Nattie gets the win with one of her first real offensive moves.

Big E vs Drew McIntyre
Man, Big E really was the C-show king at this time. I actually thought this was a step up from the Main Event match the same week. Loved Big E showing off his power by catching a McIntyre crossbody and hitting 3 backbreakers. Drew gets control following the smallest Jinder Mahal distraction, as his leaping on the apron gives Drew an extra second or two to avoid a corner charge. Like the Main Event match, Drew works over Big E's arm, but it's more effective this time. Firstly because it makes sense with Big E jarring his shoulder on the corner charge, but also due to how Drew uses it. Here, he's more actively trying for pinfalls and, when he only gets two, goes to the arm as a weak point to control Big E to buy some time to think. In the end, it's Drew's overconfidence that costs him: he starts pounding Big E in the corner, but pauses to lambast the crowd for counting along. This gap allows Big E to throw him down and run though his finishing sequence to hit the Big Ending for the win. Really fun match here, though at this point I'd like to see Big E mixing up that finishing run a bit. Still, enjoyed this.

WWF Raw 21/2/1994

The Quebecers vs Razor Ramon & the 1-2-3 Kid
You may remember from the last episode of Raw that this was supposed to be Marty Jannetty teaming with Razor, but in classic Marty fashion he'd been fired at this point. There's some fun stuff in this match, and the Razor/Kid tandem are portrayed as the more dominant throughout. Loved some of the early double-teams, including Razor using the fallaway slam to hurl Kid onto Pierre. They also neutralize the Johnny Polo threat early, as his receipt for interfering at the start is taking a Razor's Edge on the floor. I loved some of Razor's work here, including very deliberately sliding to a stop with his fist out to lowblow Pierre off a leapfrog. Hilarious spot. Diesel comes out to distract Ramon and the Quebecers finally work some heat on Kid after a gnarly looking double-team flapjack. The Kid makes the Quebecers offence look terrific, especially when Pierre hits a big corner avalanche. Razor hits the Razor's Edge on Pierre following the hot tag, but Shawn Michaels comes in to cause the DQ and cost Ramon/Kid the titles. Necessary screwjob ending to a fun match. It actually works to have the Quebecers look weak going into Mania, as you buy a silly team like Men On A Mission as having a chance against them.

Bret Hart vs Tom Pritchard
Nice to finally see Bret on an old Raw, and this is a fine TV match. Loved the opening matwork, where Pritchard was allowed to look good, but Bret was clearly portrayed as being better, reversing Pritchard's armbars and working the arm with some nice shots. Pritchard is able to come back, grounding Bret with a headlock and wearing him down with a knee to the spine. There's some external stuff where Randy Savage prevents Jim Cornette interfering, which allows Bret to come back. Loved Bret mixing up the "5 Moves" by locking Pritchard up for a suplex, and swiftly going for a small package instead. The ending features some outside inteference, but in a way that I loved. Some Cornette inteference on the floor creates an opening for Owen Hart to come down. Owen picks up Bret from the floor and throws him back into the ring, hilariously saying to the camera "He always needs my help getting up". However, as Owen heads back down the aisle, Bret has managed to lock Pritchard in the Sharpshooter for the submission. Owen gives this great disbelieving as Bret beckons him to the ring, really builds up the Mania match. Really enjoyed this.

WWE Main Event 11/02/2014

Well, these shows feel like they're going to be enjoyably quick to blast through. This show was a lot of fun, and the opener was legitimately very good.

The Wyatt Family vs Sin Cara & Los Matadores
Well, this was really great. This was shortly before the Wyatts took on the Shield at Elimination Chamber, and they still had all their aura. Here, they beast the high-flying face team, but allow them some well-timed moments of hope to keep this competitve, and the crowd do get behind the face team. The Wyatts dominate Fernando, tagging quickly and hitting some nasty looking offence. I loved Bray just unloading with nasty looking body shots in the corner. Sin Cara looks great as the hot tag, all kinetic energy as he uses every side of the ring to bounce back at Luke Harper with crossbodies and elbows, but gets caught springboarding in by a big boot to the face. Bray was so explosive here, it's really easy to remember why everyone was so hyped for the big Shield match. Loved Bray's big avalanche in the corner. Diego is the matador who gets the hot tag, and as the least-beaten down face, it makes sense for him to look solid, outsmarting Rowan (again, the right choice of Wyatt to outsmart). He gets a really close nearfall on Rowan after Cara kicks him in the face. After a fun series of dives and nasty bumps, we end up with Bray and Cara in the ring, with Sister Abigail picking up the win in short order. Really fun competitive squash.

Natalya vs Aksana
I had totally forgotten Aksana existed, so it took me a few seconds to place the porno sax theme tune. This is shortly after she shattered Naomi's eye socket with a clumsy knee, so she keeps patting her knee to taunt Nattie with it as a weapon. Early on, Aksana downs Natalya with a sudden clothesline that looked really good, and a match I had no hope for actually turned out pretty fun. Aksana used to be a powerlifter and Natalya has always been one of the more powerfully built divas, so there were moments here where both girls collided with greater gusto than you normally see. There's a spot where they both try a crossbody that looks suitably hurty. Aksana is actually pretty good at cutting off Natalya's comebacks, and I thought her getting a 2 count by snatching a small package off a Sharpshooter looked smooth. The end saw Aksana try to knee Nattie in the face, only for Natalya to catch the leg and swiftly lock in the Sharpshooter for the win. This surprised me.

Big E vs Drew McIntyre
We've lost the "Langston" surname this week, the second week in a row the IC champ has been on Main Event. They play up Big E facing former IC champs back-to-back weeks. Loved the start as Drew gets more and more frustrated at Big E avoiding his attacks, and thus getting more sloppy with each attempt. Drew takes control and hits a lovely clothesline from the top rope. A lot of Drew's control work is based on working Big E's arm on the mat, which doesn't really go anywhere, but things heat up towards the end with Big E's lovely running splash, Drew nailing a big boot to the face and an excellent finish with Big E grabbing a running McIntyre with a tilt-a-whirl straight into the Big Ending for the win.

Big E vs Jinder Mahal
After the match, Jinder demands a match right away. With the slider showing 2 minutes left, I knew this would be quick, and Big E shakes off some blows, hits a huge clothesline and the Big Ending to squash Mahal. Harmless fun.

WWE Main Event 04/02/2014

Given the amount of content on the WWE Network, it dawned on me that I don't go through anywhere near enough of it, including never watching the C-shows Main Event and Superstars that go up on there. Considering that these shows are just fun hour-long episodes with solid TV wrestling matches, that felt like something I should address, so I'm going to start running through the two C-shows from the earliest Network episodes, hopefully picking out some hidden gems.

Fandango vs the Miz
Santino Marella and Emma are guest commentators and fuck me, Emma is unbearable. Just irritating faux-bubbliness, a world away from how good she currently is on NXT. The commentary mostly ignore the match to concentrate on shit Emma-based puns. Shame, as the bout is actually pretty good, despite featuring face Miz. I thought Fandango was excellent here, loved him ending a chop battle with a big leaping kick to Miz's arm, and then ramming him into the ring post leading to a big bump by Miz. Fandango works over the arm nicely, dropping knees to the injury then grinding them in. Miz's comeback is weak, with a running knee looking shit. Miz goes for the figure-four several times, despite not having worked over Fandango's leg. Whereas Fandango's bodypart work continues with a great hammerlock Northern lights. He also transitions fluidly from trying a roll up straight into an armbar. Just great stuff, making it more sad when Miz locks on the figure four to get the tap from out of nowhere.

Alberto Del Rio vs Zack Ryder
The commentary team are hyping up a mini-feud between Del Rio and Batista, so you don't give Ryder too much hope here. Zack keeps up with Del Rio for the first minute or two, before getting draped over the top rope then hurled into a barricade. Loved Del Rio showing some aggression as he just punches Ryder in the back of his head on the mat. Ryder makes a brief comeback including a shitty neckbreaker, but both guys telegraph a Rough Ryder reversal so badly that they're both preparing the reversal before the move starts. The ending is odd, as Del Rio viciously drops a knee on the arm, seemingly in preparation for the cross-armbreaker, then immediately superkicks Zack in the head for the win. This was fine.

Big E vs Curtis Axel
Big E is still the IC champ at this point, and still has the "Langston" surname. This is a semi-competitive squash for Big E, who controls the bulk of this match. Axel sells his arse off here to make Big E look good, including a fun bump when getting clotheslined out of the ring, pinging his face off the apron. Axel isn't a small guy, so Big E catching him in the air is pretty impressive, as he reverses a crossbody into a backbreaker. Love the explosiveness of Big E's offence, flying into the corner on shoulderbarges. Axel cheapshots don't give him a sustained advantage, as Big E keeps cutting him off, until he lures Big E out and rams him into the apron and ring steps. The Axel offensive run isn't very exciting, so it's probably for the best that it doesn't last long. Axel does hit an unlikely PerfectPlex for 2, but the Big Ending soon polishes it off.

The Best of the Barbarian

The Barbarian & Rip Oliver vs Tatsutoshi Gotoh & Sakurada

JIP. Barbarian looks great on offence here. His strikes look effective and he gets real great height on a legdrop. Barb and Oliver look good in control and I did their use of logic: after Barb drops Gotoh over the railings, he works the ribs with some headbutts and a bearhug, and Oliver follows suit. Sakurada gets a backbreaker on Oliver for the sudden win.

The Barbarian vs Sakurada

What I dig with the Barbarian is the suddenness of his moves, the way his diving headbutts see him drop straight down with velocity instead of just falling. He hits Sakurada with a gorgeous powerslam and leaps halfway across the ring to try a diving headbutt from the top. Sakurada really struggles to retain control, as Barb forces the fight to the outside. Sakurada brings a chair in to try and subdue Barbarian, but this gets taken off him and used against him. Oddly, this doesn’t get Barbarian disqualified, but him relentlessly battering Sakurada in a tree-of-woe does.

The Barbarian vs Antonio Inoki

The dominance of Barb in the last two matches means he goes into this Inoki match looking like a monster. Very cat and mouse feel to start, and I love Inoki learning from a Barb slam and reversing a second attempt into a headscissors. Barb is very much in control and predictably dominates a test of strength. The momentum swings in a lovely manner – Barbarian goes for a strike, but Inoki quickly hits a big chop to the face, stunning Barbarian. He looks like my dog did, when she first saw a hissing cat: confused as to what is happening, but not particularly happy that it is. This gives Inoki hope, showing a weakness in Barb, and he peppers more chops in to send Barbarian to the mat. Barb fires back, but Inoki catches the boot and works over the Barbarian’s legs on the mat with a legbar, a deathlock and an STF, switching holds to stop Barb breaking free. Barbarian goes for the top rope headbutt, but misses and Inoki nails the enzuigiri for the win. Really good match.

The Barbarian & Marioman vs Antonio Inoki & George Takano

Odd bout here. Marioman is a fat black guy in a white singlet and generic white mask. He doesn’t seem particularly good, and this match is disappointingly off. For example, when Inoki manages to pull Marioman to his corner during a test of strength spot, Takano goes to the top rope, doesn’t seem sure what he’s going to do and climbs down again, entering through the ropes instead. Barbarian does perform a swank leglock reversal, which isn’t something I expected to see from him, but the rest of the bout is non-descript with everyone going through the motions. Marioman pins Takano following a splash and an elbow drop.

The Barbarian vs Tatsumi Fujinami

Big upgrade in match quality here. They work a quick tempo to start here, with Fujinami frustrating Barb. Barbarian grabs a chair, playing to his strengths, only for Fujinami to grab the chair and waffle him with it. Fujinami wisely goes to the mat, grounding Barbarian with headscissors and headlocks to negate the power advantage. I loved how they showed Barb’s raw aggression working against him, as he hurts his shoulder on a corner charge, then gets rammed into the ringpost shoulder first when he tries taking the fight to the floor. Back inside, Fujinami is able to escape a suplex and nail a German suplex for the win. Fun stuff here.

The Barbarian vs Steve Williams

Very much a change of pace here, with two big lads having a power match. Loved Williams wisely grabbing a chair at the outset to combat Barbarian’s chain. We clip to them brawling on the floor, and Williams belts Barb with a chair so hard that the seating panel flies into the crowd. These two match up really well, with both feeling comfortable to lay in some snug moves. Loved Barb finally getting wise to Williams reverting back to the chair by big booting it into his face. Impressive press slam by Barb gets a big pop, but he misses the diving headbutt. Williams misses a three-point stance, falling to the floor, and Barb wraps his arm with the chain for a DQ-causing clothesline. Stupid ending considering Williams was battering him with a chair throughout the match, but the meat of the bout was fun.

The Barbarian & Black Bart vs Antonio Inoki & Keiji Mutoh

Bart looks positively bumbling in there with Mutoh, who paces around him. Barb is quicker and less clumsy, so he fares better in there. Bart’s offence looks a bit off, like an odd second rope legdrop he hits on Mutoh. Barb using a standing overhead one-armed choke looks far more impressive. Barbarian is definitely positioned as the superior member of the team, so when Bart lets Mutoh tag out, Barb stops Inoki cold with a boot to the head. Even Bart’s selling is worse – after Barbarian saves him following an Inoki enzuigiri and a Mutoh moonsault, he just gets to his feet despite having been hit by two big finishers. Things break down and Barb chokes out both Inoki and Mutoh with his chain for the DQ.

The Barbarian vs Tatsumi Fujinami

Love seeing Barbarian scare the shit out of the crowd on the way to the ring. Barbarian is seemingly allowed to use his chain freely to attack Fujinami at the start. Fujinami is able to get an advantage using his superior speed, but gets planted with a lovely Barbarian spinebuster. Fujinami is still quicker though, and is able to avoid a chairshot and dropkick the chair into Barb’s face. Fujinami then wears down Barbarian with repeated chinlocks, with Barb selling his grogginess in between each chinlock really well. He noticeably slows down by the time he escapes the final chinlock, and levels Fujinami with his chain, causing a DQ.

The Barbarian vs Antonio Inoki

This is more angle than match, but is still a pretty fun bit of business. Barb is even more aggressive to start here, putting Inoki in a tree of woe, and tying him in place with the chain. One of Inoki’s entourage, a big fat guy seems particularly enraged by Barb’s actions. When Inoki escapes, I dug him wearing down Barbarian with kicks to the leg, like chopping down a big redwood. Eventually, the match ends with chaos, as the fat guy gets fed up with Barb’s cheap tactics and interferes to draw the DQ win for Barbarian.

The Barbarian & Tony St Clair vs Antonio Inoki & Kengo Kimura

Another fun bout, with Barbarian destroying Kimura to start. Inoki fares better against the big man, but his team loses control when Kimura grabs Barbarian by the beard and almost gets his head knocked off with a big strike. Barbarian and St Clair work surprisingly well as a team, and I dug St Clair’s apron work in trying to quiet the crowd down. Barb is played up at the strongest link of the team, and as things break down, it’s St Clair who gets pinned following an enzuigiri

The Barbarian vs Antonio Inoki

These two know each other pretty well by now, so it’s cool to see Barbarian add a few new tweaks to the match. I loved him grabbing Inoki by the bicep out of the ref’s view to prevent a clean corner break and allowing him to attack a prone Inoki. Dug Inoki chopping down the tree again with kicks to the leg, which gave him the leverage to lock in a big armbar. Barbarian does a good job of selling his frustration of being stuck in the armbar, with a nice close escape attempt. Barb does a little bit of bodypart focus himself, hitting a piledriver then a headscissors to work over the neck of Inoki. Barbarian is in control, but his second Buzz Sawyer tries to clotheline Inoki with the chain, but only hits Barbarian. One enzuigiri later, and Inoki wins. Nice bout to end the comp on.