WWF Raw 18/04/1994

Bret Hart vs Kwang

Non-title opener to kick things off. Really good little match, especially considering the respective card position of the two. Loved Bret avoiding a corner charge at the last split second, timed to perfection. Bret takes a big spill to the floor to give Kwang control, really heavy landing. Kwang is decent on offence, working in his killer running corner kick and though he slows things with a nerve hold, he at least has the decency to work the shoulders over with some big blows first. Kwang cuts off Bret’s comeback’s nicely with some throat chops that look vicious. Bret sidesteps a back bodydrop attempt, hits a side Russian legsweep and locks in the Sharpshooter for the win.

Jeff Jarrett vs PJ Walker

Love watching these Jarrett squashes. He’s totally in control of his character and knows how to play it into these matches. He’s so cocky, swaggering about after cheapshotting walking, posing after hitting basic moves. Love him doing a little pose before missing an elbow, then getting up angrily to stomp Walker due to his embarrassment. Slingshot suplex is followed by a spike DDT for the win.

The Steiner Brothers vs Mike Khoury & Barry Hardy

Aggressive side of the Steiners shows here, not just because they decimate their opponents, but the manner in which they do it. Big crossfaces thrown by Rick, Scott beating up guys as they try to climb into the ring, just a nastier side shown. Obviously, on top of that, there’s some big bombs thrown. Big Dragon suplex and a top rope Samoan drop by Scott, massive clothesline and a top rope belly-to-belly by Rick. Scott finishes it with a Steiner Screwdriver. Lovely stuff.

Earthquake vs Mike Bell

Bit of comedy to start, as Bell is too short for a test-of-strength, so climbs to the second rope…only for Quake to just throw him off. From there, Quake blasts him with two dropkicks, a slick belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the big splash for the easy win.

IRS vs Major Yates

IRS isn’t a fun squash wrestler. Bit of token leg work to kick things off, followed by some plodding offence. IRS locks in a chinlock, before going back to the injured leg and locking in an STF for the win. Might have been better if he’d focussed his offensive run to concentrate on Yates’ leg, this was pretty dull. 

WAR 2nd Anniversary Show 07/07/1994

Ashura Hara, Jinsei Shinzaki & John Tenta vs Jado, Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki

This was pretty fun. The Jado/Gedo/Fuyuki team attack at the bell and isolate Hara, with a nice triple team seeing Jado and Gedo elevating him for a top rope seated senton by Fuyuki. This is followed by a triple team powerbomb before we clip. We return to Tenta doing some awesome wobbling selling as the opposition try to down him, before he catches Gedo on a crossbody and hits the splash for 3.

Koji Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa vs Akio Kobayashi, Koji Kitao & Masaaki Mochizuki

This is pretty much all clipped out. Kitao looks slow and lumbering on offence, which contrasts with Mochizuki, who blitzes Ishinriki with a flurry of kicks before Kitahara rolls him up for the win.

Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masashi Aoyagi vs Animal Hamaguchi, Nobukazu Hirai & Shoichi Funaki

Bit of a mess this one. I did enjoy Nagasaki tying Funaki up in knots on the mat, and I liked how fired up Hamaguchi was when he finally tagged in, but this dragged even with clipping. Hirai gets a nearfall by German suplexing Aoyagi, but eats a kick to the head to be eliminated.

Atushi Onita, Bam Bam Bigelow & Genichiro Tenryu vs The Warlord, Chris Jericho & Vampiro

Really enjoyed this. There were some nice little touches, like Jericho controlling Tenryu, only to get felled by one vicious chop. Also loved the Warlord posing, only for Bigelow to interrupt it with an enzuigiri to the head. Vampiro is isolated and beaten before we clip, returning with Warlord catching an apron dive by Tenryu, slamming him onto a table. Jericho goes too short on a Lionsault, hitting Onita in the face with his knee. Tenryu and Onita hit a botched double team powerbomb on him, and as it all breaks down , Onita nails another powerbomb on Jericho for the win

Jinsei Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara vs Koji Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa

Matches are all full from this point on. Loved the Hara/Ishikawa section at the start, just two stocky bulls going at each other. The Ishinriki/Kitahara/Ishikawa squad looked more impressive here than in the first round, with Kitahara planting Shinzaki with a massive German suplex. He also punishes Shinzaki with kicks, which seem to bust him open from the mouth. The end sees Hara and Ishikawa resume hostilities, with Ishikawa levelling Hara with a big clothesline, only for Hara to hit one of his own for the win.

Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masahi Aoyagi

This one breaks down early, with Onita leading a big fight on the outside in the crowd. He ends up on the losing side of his fight with Nagasaki, who belts him with the ring bell and absolutely buries him with chairs. It’s a really fun scene. Back inside, Tenryu gets punished and isolated, loved him selling Aoyagi’s kicks to the chest with big bursts of spit. His team mates lure all the opposing team into the ring for a fight, which buys Tenryu some time to recover. By the time the ref has settled things down, Tenryu is sufficiently healthy to hit an enzuigiri on Arashi and tag Bam Bam. Bigelow blitzes Arashi and moonsaults him for the win. Really good bout.

Ultimo Dragon vs The Great Sasuke

This is for Dragon’s UWA middleweight title. This is a whole heap of fun, really felt like two guys going all out. They work a decent acrobatic series to start, but things heat up some more when Sasuke sends Dragon outside and nails a big Asai moonsault, landing in the crowd. Love the spot back inside where Dragon can’t superplex Sasuke, so instead dropkick’s him to the outside and nails his own massive Asai moonsault. Beautiful Tiger suplex by Dragon gets two. High spot of the night sees Sasuke send Dragon to the outside, and nail this nutty dive from the top turnbuckle to the floor, landing precisely between two guard rails. There’s an odd transition back to Dragon offence, as he gets fired into the ropes, and just runs at Sasuke and clubs his back. Bit out of nowhere. Ultimo nails a dropkick as Sasuke attempts a quebrada, and hits a corkscrew moonsault for the victory. Great match.

Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs Jinsei Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara

Loved the start of this, where Bigelow and Earthquake squared off. Fun big man stuff, with Bigelow failing to slam Quake, but somehow succeeding with a suplex, weakening him enough for a second slam to work. Really liked Tenryu and Hara facing off, just two stodgy guys exchanging blows. There’s fun little bits scattered throughout, like Onita failing with a DDT on Quake, who is too big to send down. Also loved the massive belly-to-belly suplex Tenta hits. Hara gets back in, and just gets worn down by Tenryu, who hacks away with some chops. A nasty pair to the throat see Hara in real trouble, and he gets isolated and worn down for the rest of the bout. He eats finishers from Bigelow and Onita, and only survives because of team-mates making the save. He kicks out of an Onita powerbomb, but foolishly doesn’t tag out when he has the chance. Bigelow interferes, drawing the partners into the ring, but this means Hara now has no-one to save him. A Tenryu powerbomb only gets 2, but an enzuigiri and another powerbomb win the match for Tenryu’s team. Probably the best match of the tournament.

WWF Raw 03/04/1994

Earthquake vs Adam Bomb

This is a WrestleMania X rematch, though this one goes a little longer. Quake controls with ease to start, no-selling shoulderblocks and ducking a Bomb clothesline in order to hit his own. Bomb takes over with a nice flying clothesline. There’s an underlying story of Bomb being over-presumptuous during the bout, missing an elbow because Quake isn’t hurt enough then not getting the pin off a top rope clothesline by conferring with Harvey Wippleman before pinning. This builds to the ending, where he rushes into a boot from a corner charge, before eating a massive belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the seated splash for the Quake win.

Razor Ramon vs Austin Steele

Basic squash, with Razor casually going through his moveset. Ramon acts quite heeling, slapping Steele about and contemptuously kicking him in the head. Steele lands viciously on the Razor’s Edge and that gets the win.

IRS, Rick Martel, Jeff Jarrett & the Headshrinkers vs 1-2-3 Kid, Sparky Plugg, Tatanka & the Smoking Gunns

This is the delayed match from Wrestlemania, but it’s still curious to see the Headshrinkers on the heel team directly after showing a video of their face turn. They lay the match out to give everyone a brief chance to shine, and it’s interesting to see how people use it. The opening segment between Billy Gunn and Samu is really good, ending with Gunn taking a big 360 bump off a clothesline. The terrible flying headscissors Billy hits on Jarrett is less impressive. Plugg uses his chance to shine to hold an armbar on Martel, which isn’t very interesting, but 1-2-3 Kid decides to hit as many moves as possible in his 2 minutes, looking crisp throughout. It all breaks down and, in the hubbub, Kid misses a corner charge and gets rolled up by IRS for the clean win. This was pretty fun.

Yokozuna vs Scott Powers

Really quick squash here. Yoko’s back suplex is really nice looking, gets really snap on it. Legdrop and Banzai Drop get the swift win.

WWF Raw 28/2/1994

Randy Savage vs Yokozuna

Even though you knew Savage wasn’t going to win this match so close to Mania, they still did a good job of building this up, including Savage talking about doing the right thing and defending the title vs Luger and Bret. This was a really good effort from both men, with Savage setting a high tempo early by attacking Yoko before the bell. Savage is on fire, getting a close 2 on a clotheslines, and though Yoko tries to subdue him on the mat, Savage is too resilient and evades a Yoko splash. I liked Savage knocking Yoko to the outside, but really struggling to get the big man back in the ring. It made Savage look good, as if Yoko was only just holding on, and it allowed Jim Cornette to distract Savage and give Yokozuna the opening he needed to take control. They’re putting Savage over strongly here, so he soon regain control, and I loved Yoko’s wobble-selling as Savage hits a series of punches and a double-ax handle to try and knock him down. The end sees Fuji handing a wooden salt bucket to Yoko, only for Savage to grab it and use it himself. Flying elbow looks to have won it, but Crush comes in for the DQ. Really good bout.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Mike Khoury

Bland squash. Bigelow mainly hits punches and drops some elbows, though I liked him catching Khoury on a crossbody and hitting a World’s Strongest Slam. Standing enzuigiri gives Bigelow the win.

Earthquake vs Black Phantom

Phantom was a pre-fame, in-good-shape Gangrel. This was pretty enjoyable, including a fun spot where Quake dropped an elbow when Phantom did a dropdown from a Irish whip. Nice fat man dropkick from Earthquake, and a slam and sitdown splash finish.

Kwang vs John Chrystal

The Kwang gimmick sucked, but this is the second fun Kwang squash we’ve seen. Nice series of kicks, big meaty slams and a nice superkick to the jaw to win. No complaints here.

Men On A Mission vs the Brooklyn Brawler & Steve Smith

It’s for the best to pretend the Mo sections didn’t happen. His offense never looks good, and he’s pretty pointless. Mabel is really fun as the dominating force, hitting a massive legdrop on the Brawler, though his elbow drop only seems to graze Smith. Assisted splash on Smith gets the job done.

WWF Raw 31/01/1994

Dull episode of Raw here. A lot of time is taken up with the Bret Hart/Lex Luger Wrestlemania X cointoss, and not much in the way of in-ring action

Marty Jannetty vs Johnny Polo

Here’s tonight’s big match, and it’s the opener featuring a manager as a competitor. This really isn’t very good, and you suspect Polo has been told not to look too competent, as this is way worse than his Scotty Flamingo stuff. I liked the opening comedy, where Polo tried to attack Jannetty, who was holding a mic, only to end up getting tied up by Marty in the cable. Jannetty is one step ahead, even landing on his feet when thrown to the floor and rushing back to hit a crossbody for two. Polo takes control going into the break, and keeps holding Marty down with chinlocks, as well as hitting a spectacularly blown back bodydrop, where Marty kind of skids over his back. Control transitions back to Marty via my least favourite reversal – the heel tries a double axehandle to lying-down opponent but gets a boot to the face instead – and he finishes with a Rocker Dropper for 3. Polo really was no fun in control, and he controlled too much of it.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Miguel Rosado

Half-hearted squash of the pot-bellied Rosado here, who tries a really shitty dropkick early on. I liked Bam Bam just hurling him across the ring, but this is very by the numbers. A diving headbutt, not even from the top, gives Bigelow the win.

Kwang vs Rich Myers

Myers has offence so weak he makes Dolph Ziggler look like Super Dragon. Kwang actually looked ok here, dug his big over-the-top-rope corner spin kick, and he had a few nice kick combos. Kwang hits a few throat thrusts whilst holding Myers by the hair, stopping him falling down, and a superkick gets three. Perfectly fine

 Earthquake vs Corey Student

Decent squash for the returning Quake. Nice belly-to-belly, big running clothesline and a running corner splash all looked great, before he hit the seated splash for the win. Enjoyed this.

WWF Mega Matches

Back in the early 2000's, before YouTube and discovering the indies, it was always a massive treat to discover wrestling on sale for cheap, no matter what it was, and those rare days where some wrestling would turn up in Cash Generator were an absolute joy. I still fondly remember finding 3 ECW PPV's on tape at £3 each, and snapping them up even though I wasn't a huge ECW fan. This tape I bought and watched it in full once, before it went into the small hamper I have of wrestling tapes and sat there until this week. Let's give it another watch

Tito Santana vs Earthquake
Tito goes into this match with the dirt-worst game plan possible, which is to totally underestimate the power of Quake. He tries go-behinds that see him rammed into the corner, tries shoulderblocks that he clearly is never going to win and gets caught by the big man when he tries a crossbody. He does try to work a body part but, despite having used a figure-four as a past finisher and knowing that working a leg would make it hard for Quake to support his weight, he instead decides to work the arm. This, of course, leave the other arm free, so Quake clubs him down and starts to go to work on Tito. Quake seems to be in "methodical house show" mode here, so his attack is pretty unexciting. I did like Tito managing to escape a bearhug by climbing the turnbuckle, whilst still in Quake's arms, to get better elevation. Flying forearm only gets two, so you know Quake is getting pushed here. A missed Tito dropkick sets up the usual finishing sequence for Earthquake, but Tugboat comes in before the seated splash to attack and give Quake the win by DQ. Dino Bravo and Rhythm & Blues enter the ring (to save the heel from an unprompted 2-on-1 assault mind you; Quake hadn't broken a single rule all match) before Hacksaw Duggan makes the save for Tito and Tugger with the 2x4. Lord Alfred Hayes describes this as a moral win for Tito. What the fucking fuck? Match was pretty dull.

Bobby Heenan vs Big Boss Man
You know this isn't going to be much of a match, but you also know this should be fun. Heenan is gold on the mic to start, begging Boss Man's forgiveness for all his mother jokes, saying he'd sent roses to Boss Man's mother and saying she was on the phone in the back to ask Boss Man not to fight the Brain. This is clearly gearing up to an ambush in the back (not picked up on by the announcers), and Boss Man thinks about leaving the ring, before quickly decimating the Brain in 30 seconds, pinning him with a foot. Mr Perfect tries to save his manager (so you know there was a backstage assault plan), but fails and Bobby gets a ball-and-chain dropped on his chest. Fun deal.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Sgt. Slaughter
Not much to this one. Slaughter takes a few nice bumps off Duggan's big goofy punches, before a flag to the back from General Adnam gives him the advantage. Slaughter looks to be maintaining focus on the back by hitting a backbreaker, but Duggan soon recovers and makes an abrupt comeback. Three point stance is interrupted by Adnam grabbing his leg, and Hacksaw chases him away to lose by DQ. Pointless.

Bret Hart vs the Barbarian
I like both guys, so this should be decent. Bret oddly goes against his usual logical instincts and decides to try and hiptoss the Barbarian, which fails, and this allows Barbarian to dominate with some power moves. Bret uses his speed advantage to avoid a 2nd rope elbow, and the Hart Attack clothesline is counted as a three in a botch by the slow, doddery old ref. He's terrible all match. Barbarian hits a lovely powerslam for the comeback, but when he drops down to counter a sunset flip, Bret in turn reverses that into a winning pinfall. Another match that's way too short on this tape.

Rhythm & Blues vs the Bushwhackers
By way of contrast, I'd prefer this match to be kept short. I've no idea why poor old Rhythm & Blues were forever paired with Luke and Butch. Valentine nails a lovely clothesline on Luke to take over, and the match is bearable when Valentine and Honky are in control. Butch comes in to break up a fair pinfall, then gets annoyed when Honky comes in to send him out to the floor. This seemingly makes it fair for Butch to level HTM with a guitar for the DQ. I fucking hate the Bushwhackers.

Hulk Hogan vs Dino Bravo
Earthquake is in Bravo's corner, so the Big Bossman is announced for Hogan's corner. This leads to a hilarious over-reaction by one girl in the crowd, who repeatedly shrieks with excitement. Scary. The match isn't much to speak about, though Hogan does his best to make it interesting. I did love him levelling Bravo with a single chop. Some Earthquake interference gives Bravo the advantage, and he keeps interfering throughout the match, with Bossman's only attempts to stop him being to slowly wander over, by which point the damage is done. Even Sean Mooney points out how useless the Bossman is here. Bravo's offence is really dull, all chokes and punches, and the only thing stopping a bearhug being tedious is how well Hogan sells it. Hogan has the smarts to nearly break it, before letting Bravo sinch it in again, to keep the crowd into the match. Bravo hits his finishing side suplex, but Hogan kicks out on two, Hulks up and swiftly hits the big boot and legdrop to win. Poor match.

Haku vs the British Bulldog
This must be early in the Bulldog's comeback, as he's only billed as "Davey Boy Smith" here. We come in joined in progress with Bulldog holding a sleeper. We've got two big lads who can move here, highlighted by a nice crossbody and a crucifix by Smith. He also takes a huge bump from a back bodydrop. Haku is pretty methodical here, and holds Smith in two consecutive restholds for a little bit too long. Bulldog gets little comebacks, but Haku is pretty good at cutting them off. Bulldog at one point breaks a sleeper, but ends up being hurled upside down to the corner. There is a midring collision, where Davey Boy somehow recovers quicker, despite being beaten up for the past 5-7 minutes. Davey locks in a sharpshooter, but Bobby Heenan pushes to rope to Haku to force a break. Bulldog sends Haku flying with a back bodydrop of his own, and the running powerslam gets three. Nice to get a decent length match here.

Randy Savage vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
There are a lot of smoke and mirrors in this match, but I don't really think they needed the help. Both guys put in a really good effort in the match. I loved Duggan's big punches early on, which Savage sells big time. Sensational Sherri attacks Duggan to give Savage an opening, and I love Duggan's selling here. Not only is he not afraid to sell for a lady, he also does a great job of making Savage look good. There is a great bit where Duggan slowly gets to his feet, getting fired up, only to turn into a top rope ax handle by Savage, and this leads up to Savage trying again a few minutes later, only for Duggan to be ready with a clothesline to the gut. Savage takes two big bumps, one from the ring to the floor then one from the floor over the guardrail. Hacksaw levels him with a chair, which doesn't draw a DQ somehow. The big knee only gets two after Sherri distracts the ref, but Duggan is smart enough not to take his eye off Savage as he yells at her, and avoids a sneak attack. Savage misses the top rope elbow, but the three point stance from Duggan sends the Macho King to the outside. The ref gets bumped, giving Duggan a visual fall, before Savage levels him with a weapon. A slow count from the ref means this only gets two as the drama gets cranked up, before Savage pins him with his feet on the rope to win. Really good match, with great effort from both men.

Randy Savage vs the Ultimate Warrior
This is a cage match, though they battle outside the cage at first, following a misguided attempt at a sneak attack by Savage. Warrior wipes the floor with him. I would be remiss in not mentioning how fucking unbearable Brother Love is on commentary. The opening stages are so slow, as Savage hurls Warrior into the cage with a handful of trunks, then both guys get VERY slowly to their feet. A double clothesline spot puts both down, and they act like they've worked an iron man match when we're only 5 mins in. Savage wears Warrior down with chokes and eye rakes, before the top rope elbow only gets two. Warrior fires back with the usual, but the splash hits knees. Suddenly, the match is nearly over as Savage climbs almost all the way out, only for Warrior to grab him by the hair. Sherri comes in to interfere and bang, Savage falls to the floor a victor. Terrible match, with no real drama or pacing. After, Warrior beats up Savage and looks to be about to beat Sherri before a sudden cut.

EDILTZ Special!! The Best Of Tom Zenk

You can only imagine my joy when, weeks after starting this blog, I spotted a DVD for sale from IVP videos called The Best Of Tom Zenk!! For the bargain price of $3, it consists of 2 hours of Zenk from his Japan tours between 1986 and 1994. This should be excellent.

Rick Martel & Tom Zenk vs the Funk Brothers (22/11/86)
The Funks start off playing face, showing mutual respect to Zenk and Martel, but early signs of frustration show when the younger team manage to keep up with them on the early exchanges. The first sign of the Funks' heeling comes when Dory repeatedly throws Zenk outside the ring (with some big bumps taken by Zenk) to be thrown back in by Terry, only for Terry to give Zenk an atomic drop (almost hitting a cameraman) before throwing him back in, to the rage of Martel. Martel begins to brawl with Terry outside, while Dory works over Zenk on the inside, hitting a nice piledriver for two. Martel comes in on a hot tag, following a reversal of Dory's spinning toe hold, and Terry does everything in his power to draw the ire of the crowd and make Martel look good: he runs away from Martel all around the ring, cowers in the ropes and offers a handshake in an attempt to placate Martel. Martel, as a good face, accepts the handshake, but the audience knows that Terry can't be trusted. So when Terry tries to double-cross on a clean break, and Martel avoids contact, the crowd erupts and a two count off a crossbody gets a huge pop. Zenk is brought back in with his own crossbody for two, but Terry rolls him up for three. Good tag affair with plenty of heat, the fired-up babyfaces meshing well with the sneaky heels.

Tom Zenk & Rick Martel vs Giant Baba & Hiroshi Wajima (12/12/86)
The crowd are psyched for Wajima right from the start. Zenk manages to hit one of the highest standing dropkicks I've seen on Wajima as Martel holds him in a bearhug. Baba comes in and the match quality quickly goes downhill, including him putting Zenk in a headscissors for what feels like ages. Wajima at least has some energy and shares some fierce exchanges with the two gaijin. This is my first time seeing Baba, and he's really not my cup of tea. His bumps and offence both are really low impact and go beyond being safe into being business-exposing.The difference between him and Wajima are night and day, so it comes as a relief when Wajima comes in like a house on fire and levels Zenk with a backdrop driver and a lariat for the win. Not a good match

Tom Zenk & The Terminator vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (21/11/87)
The Terminator is the brother of Johhny Ace and Road Warrior Animal. At this point, Zenk is more established in Japan and is actually getting some decent offence in, getting to look good against both Tenryu and Hara. Zenk and Tenryu share some nice exchanges during the opening section, including a swank sequence where Zenk goes from a hammerlock into a headscissors on Tenryu. Zenk also nails a nice standing inziguiri on Hara. Terminator doesn't fare so well, making the mistake of exchanging chops with Tenryu. Zenk rescues his partner from a Tenryu top rope elbow, but is unable to stop him falling prey to an enzuigiri and powerbomb for the Tenryu win. Pretty enjoyable, if a bit short.

Tom Zenk & The Terminator vs John Tenta & The Great Kabuki (11/12/87)
Early bad break for Zenk as he botches an attempt to springboard out of the corner, only for things to get worse then Tenta press slams him. After his mistake of chopping with Tenryu last match, this time Terminator goes for a test strength with Tenta. Again he doesn't win, but does get to knock the big man down with a clothesline. Tenta looks great here, moving with a fair bit of speed and he sends Zenk flying out of the ring with a big shoulder tackle. He also levels Terminator with a dropkick out of the corner. In fact, aside from a small flurry of offence from Zenk, it's pretty much the Tenta show, as he soon squashes Terminator with a powerslam and an elbow drop for the win.

Tom Zenk & The Terminator vs Abdullah The Butcher & TNT (12/12/87)
This TNT sadly isn't Savio Vega. Zenk & Terminator get the chance to look pretty dominant in the early stages, working over TNT with some double-teams and sending him outside for more punishment. Against Abby, it isn't quite the same, with Terminator making an offensive mistake for the 3rd match in a row by trying to headbutt the Butcher. Abby works Terminator over outside, including feeding him to a TNT chairshot and pins him with an elbow drop inside. Match lasted about 5 minutes. This is the last Zenk/Terminator match on the disk, all of which have seen Zenk getting in some solid offence, only to be let down by his partner. At this point you'd assume Zenk would be looking elsewhere...

Tom Zenk & Stan Hansen vs Abdullah The Butcher & Jimmy Snuka (30/08/88)
One year later and Zenk has a hell of an upgrade for his tag partner. Hansen jumps Abby as he gets in the ring, and it is on. Abby and Hansen brawl outside, while Zenk and Snuka tangle in the ring (which most fans aren't watching). Eventually, we get back in the ring, where Abby and Snuka double team Zenk repeatedly, including a series of chokes on the rope and Abby jamming a fork into Zenk's neck. all Hell soon breaks loose again with both teams brawling outside, while Snuka chokes Zenk with a chain. Chaos keeps reigning with Hansen snapping at one point, hurling a table in the ring. Eventually the ref has had enough and it's a double DQ. Despite it's sloppiness and Snuka looking far from his best, this is a fun little brawl.

Tom Zenk & Dan Kroffat vs Toshiaki Kawada & Samson Fuyuki (18/04/88)
This is for Kawada & Fuyuki's All-Asian titles. Fuyuki is a future founding member of Team No Respect. This match is notably faster than the last few matches and provides a refreshing change of pace, with Zenk looking noticably energized in his early exchanges with Kawada. Kroffat also looks good and both teams seem to have nice chemistry. Kawada sends Zenk to the floor, but misses a pescado, allowing Zenk and Kroffat to double-team Fuyuki, leading to a Zenk springboard splash for two. Kroffat busts out Cattle Mutilation on Fuyuki at one point, before hitting him with a Razor's Edge and I'm really starting to love this match. Kawada gets double-teamed with a swank suplex/missile dropkick combo from the gaijin, and you get the feeling that Zenk and Kroffat should have teamed more often, with Kroffat just bringing out more and more swank offence, including a powerslam that has a real nice snap to it. Against the run of the match, Kawada hits a crucifix on Kroffat for the win, but this was just a great match by all four men.

Tom Zenk & Jim Brunzell vs the Fantastics (11/07/89)
Some more nice tag-team wrestling. Zenk almost sneaks an early pin by catching Fulton in a small package as he ducks a Brunzell leapfrog. Zenk also does some nice work by catching Rogers with a springboard crossbody from the corner, then faking him out on a second attempt to hit a beautiful dropkick. The Fantastics, predictably, work fantastically (sorry) as a team, but Zenk and Brunzell look good together too. Zenk hits a choice powerslam when he catches Fulton coming off the top rope. The Fantastics have some beautifully executed double-teams here, including a fun double monkeyflip on Brunzell. Zenk seems to be positioned as the powerhouse of the match, and he does good work in the role, catching Rogers and Fulton with a double clothesline before hitting a good running powerslam on Rogers. The end comes when the less-established team misses a double-team move, allowing the Fantastics to double-team Brunzell with an assisted top-rope backsplash for the win. I could happily have watched another 10 minutes of this.

Tom Zenk, Stan Hansen & Doug Furnas vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (23/07/94)
Zenk is sporting some rather fetching pink trunks. A fun spot near the start sees Kikuchi running from Zenk and Furnas, thinking he's outsmarted them, only to get hammered by Hansen from behind, who throws him to Zenk and Furnas to attack outside the ring. The American team looks good early on, with Hansen and Furnas combining for a nice double-team shoulderblock on Misawa. The home team focus on keeping Hansen down, with Kobashi and Misawa both getting to look good against him, Kobashi even fighting to get the big man over for a suplex. It doesn't last too long, and soon Hansen and Zenk combine to hit a second-rope clothesline into a back suplex on Kobashi. Hansen also takes Kobashi to the floor for a DDT. The hot-tag to Misawa gets a massive reaction, which he repays by taking Hansen down with a flying elbow.Both teams exchange fast tags and offence, with a Furnas release German suplex on Kikuchi looking particularly impressive. Things break down quickly, until we're left with Furnas in the ring with Kobashi, who hits a moonsault for the win. Fast, frentic and crucially, a lot of fun.

Overall, this has done nothing to dilute my appreciation of Tom Zenk. What I saw on this disk was a great tag-team worker with great babyface fire and high athleticism. Four of the matches here are legitimately great, and I think it's fair to say Zenk pulled his weight in there. EDILTZ will continue, but it'll be hard for me to find better examples of how good he was than this