Verne Gagne vs. Billy Robinson (IWE, 11/20/74)

Really good stuff here, especially during the first fall. Long, focused control segments with snappy counters. I mean, the counterwork throughout was just phenomenal and they really work the holds, even in the slower moments of the match. Gotta love ole Verne egging Robinson on with those little taps to the face before he starts laying into him with shoulders. They go back-and-forth with the side headlock takedown/leg scissors counter spot that’s become so prevalent in modern chain wrestling sequences before Verne picks up the first fall after Robinson passes out to the sleeper hold. Great selling from Robinson at the start of the second fall as he’s still a bit loopy from the sleeper hold. Gagne sends him outside with a really snug forearm shot but when he tries going back to the sleeper hold, Robinson uses that awesome backbreaker of his for the pin. The third fall saw Robinson spending a lot of time working Gagne’s back with bearhugs but then they really heat things up down the stretch with more backbreakers, a double arm suplex, Gagne’s white ass cheeks, and a double KO finish. Having never seen a Verne Gagne match, I’m definitely interested in seeing more.

Antonio Inoki vs. Bob Backlund (NJPW, 7/27/78)

Knowing well in advance that this was going the full 60:00, I had some trepidation about sitting down to watch it. Turned out, this was quite the match, with solid limbwork and selling throughout, and a ton of offense in the back half. Bob “Whoa! Whoa!” Backlund trades holds with Inoki in the early goings, with Inoki working him all over before settling on the arm. Backlund shows of his strength by deadlifting Inoki while Inoki’s got the arm but finds himself grounded quickly, slapping the bloodflow into his hand. Seriously, Backlund has deadman hands.  Terrific submission finish to the first fall with Inoki’s manjigatame, Backlund teasing the rope break and the crowd brewing in anticipation. For the second fall, Backlund initially focuses on the left leg, building up to a great bow-and-arrow hold, and then switching the focus to the back. Love his big releases on those back-to-back double arm suplexes. Backlund gets a few more two counts and out of frustration, scoop slams Inoki on the floor before picking up the fall after a running atomic drop. 

They fire up the offensive engines for the third fall, as Backlund continues targeting Inoki’s back, booting out of a leglock, applying a crab hold and even delivering a ridiculous over-the-shoulder backbreaker onto his knee! Shit! Inoki keeps coming after Backlund with the manjigatame attempts but Backlund manages to evade them and in turn, delivers suplexes and a piledriver. As the clock winds down, Inoki slips out of a suplex attempt and tries for a backdrop but when Backlund struggles, he turns it into the manjigatame! Backlund is able to force them both out of the ring, albeit a bit comically, before he hits a backdrop on the outside onto uh, himself as the time limit expires. A little messy there at the very end but a good match overall, probably my third favorite 70’s Inoki match behind Robinson and Brisco. 

Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino (JWA, 3/7/67)

I prefer their match the following year but this was still a solid contest, with a lot of dedicated work from both guys down the stretch. Great first fall with Baba rolling around the mat, trying to shake Bruno’s arm control before turning the game around on Bruno. Sammartino has some nifty escapes and at times, nifty Wolverine hair. At one point, he goes for an arm drag and Baba just deadweights him to counter, reasserting his control of Bruno’s arm. The crowd digs the sportsmanship as the two go back-and-forth targeting the arms, trying to weaken their opponent’s respective offense – Bruno with the bearhug and Baba with his giant chops.

After Baba tosses Bruno around for a bit, he picks up the first fall with a knee drop. They stay with the arm work for the second fall as things settle down. At times, the match feels sluggish and repetitive, and the execution isn’t quite as smooth. Bruno starts with the bear hug attempts and Baba is quick to chop his way out of harm’s way. After tying things up with a running body press, Bruno starts unloading on Baba during the third fall. Good strikes from Bruno, especially with the knees. By the end of it, they’re both past the point of exhaustion, with Bruno desperately lunging after Baba with the bearhug attempts and Baba trying to end it with chops, but due to all that prior hard work, neither is effective as the time runs out.

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (AJPW, 1/20/78)

The first two falls of this match are unfortunately clipped, roughly half an hour of footage, but when the first fall opens with Harley in a grounded side headlock, you get the sense that he’s already been through a battle as he’s grunting and sweat-drenched, swigging beer between falls. Jumbo really works that side headlock, releasing at one point to elbow the back of Harley’s head (that facial!) before reapplying it. Race backdrops his way out of the hold and delivers a big vertical suplex for the first fall. The second fall kicks in with Jumbo working Harley’s leg, and turning an atomic drop into a small package to even the score. During the third fall, they start throwing the bombs: suplexes, piledrivers, elbows, and headbutts. I love Jumbo’s beautiful deadlift belly-to-bellies and Harley’s awesome grinding knees.  In the end, Jumbo is chasing Harley around, trying to submit him with the spinning toehold before the time limit expires. Based on what’s available, the match seemed like a really good slog but without the complete narrative, it’s hard to really evaluate it.  

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ryuma Go (NJPW, 11/30/78)

Similar competitive touch-and-go matwork to open with neat takedowns and reversals, including Fujinami showing off his strength as he lifts Go while he’s still in the armbar to reach the ropes. After jockeying a bit for control, things heat up as they start throwing some heavy slaps. Go is persistent with his little side kicks to break up a leglock and a pissed off Fujinami busts him open with a hard smack to the face. The fans eat up that violence. Again, while Go isn’t quite as slick as Fujinami on the canvas, he more than holds his own and works an effectively aggressive style, never letting up on Fujinami, keeping him on the rocks. Loved his repeat elbow drops to the knee to set up the figure-four leglock, with some terrific selling from Fujinami during the struggle. Go also gets some nice elevation on those knee drops before he goes back to the leg, working in an Indian deathlock. It was if they were constructing a good narrative with their meticulous ground game, but then they had to finish it off mid-sentence with an exclamation point. They throw chops, slams, and suplexes, and after Go no sells a piledriver, Fujinami puts him away with the dragon suplex hold. Enjoyed this a shade more than their 7/27 match. 

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ryuma Go (NJPW, 7/27/78)

A slick hold-for-hold junior heavyweight exhibition, with Fujinami showboating on the mat and Go more or less keeping pace. This never really moved past the exposition but it had some cool moments. When Go tries to get out of a toehold via slapping, Fujinami responds by smacking the taste out of his mouth and wrenching the hold even harder. Fujinami continues working over the leg for a bit while Go tries to avoid getting trapped but it doesn’t go anywhere as they shift offensive gears. Fujinami’s offense is swanky, with his double wristlock suplex into the armbar, his sick piledriver, and the German suplex hold to finish off Go. An easy watch and something that wouldn’t look too out of place by today’s standards. 

Terry & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, 12/15/78)

Terry Funk was terrific here, exuding a ton of charisma and selling to the sympathy of the Japanese fans, whom, by the end of it, were in full support of the Funks winning. I thought Dory looked more fired up than usual and both guys outshined Jumbo and Baba for the most part. Loved Funk selling Baba’s chop early on, tagging out in frustration only to return to shake Baba’s hand. Some of the extended hold sequences dragged a bit with Jumbo and Baba on offense but there were a couple spots like Dory delivering a knee crusher to escape a side headlock but Jumbo keeping it cinched in while still selling the leg. Or Terry physically walking Jumbo toward the ropes while he’s in the camel clutch. Terry worked from underneath as the FIP through most of this as Jumbo/Baba targeted his injured ribs with abdominal stretches. Love Jumbo’s kneeling uppercuts and him going nuts on Terry with the chops. The final minutes of this match sizzled with panic and desperation as each side unloads on offense trying to pick up the fall before the time expires. A plodding first half builds to a hot finishing stretch, with the Funksters all riled up and the crowd fully in support. Turned out to be a lot of fun. 

Mr. Gannosuke vs. GENTARO (GUTS World, 6/17/16)

Yet another random match that somehow alluded me last year, this time from the magical GUTS World. Mr. Gannosuke, the 48-year old champion, defends against jack-of-all-trades, GENTARO. This isn't a match for everyone -- it's like a game of chess between two old friends. Slow, methodical, deliberate. The matwork is old-school in execution, not quite the prettiest but effective, and GENTARO works as the "by any means necessary" skeazy heel, whose overconfidence spells disaster. They go hold-for-hold to open the match, each targeting a different limb and then trading at points. GENTARO works over the arm on the ground, with a hard-edged chair, and a running armbreaker. When he tries for the bow-and-arrow hold, Gannosuke grabs an ankle and somehow reverses it into an Indian deathlock. The counterwork is really great throughout, with Gentaro poking the eyes or tugging on Gannosuke's shitty little beard to escape a hold. There was some unnecessary outside stuff that felt like a speedbump in the momentum before Gannosuke's back to working the leg inside the ring. After GENTARO tosses Gannosuke from the top rope, he hits a running bulldog, calling for a second but taking a backdrop from Gannosuke. Tons of counters in the home stretch, cradles and pin attempts, with Gannosuke hanging onto his title after a backslide. Not the most exciting match by today's #standards but I enjoyed it! 

Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs. Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (NJPW, 1/4/00)

This ain't pretty, folks. It's chaotic, reckless, and chock full of the best kind of hate...not that this is an official endorsement for hate. Murakami gives zero fucks for Iizuka or the refree or the New Japan fans. He beats the snot out of Iizuka and leaves him lifeless on the canvas while Hashimoto comes in to his defense and fights off the evil Murakami and Ogawa but the match falls apart quickly. The fans are pissed off, throwing trash in the ring, and Inoki has to step in to restore some order and re-start the match. Iizuka's a mess and Hashimoto's trying to figure out if they can keep going but Iizuka wants to finish this fight. Murakami gets the jump on him again but Iizuka is able to snag an arm, force the armbreaker, and the fans shit their seats. Iizuka's punches look like kisses but he's able to do his part on the mat and try to keep Murakami grounded. Murakami is such an insufferable prick throughout this. He does such a fantastic job of keeping the heat on. Even when Hashimoto gets the tag, he doesn't stop fighting with Iizuka until Hashimoto kicks him in the head.

The energy from the Tokyo Dome for Hashimoto vs. Ogawa is ridiculous, and the fans want nothing more than Hashimoto to kill him. Love Hash's shoot headbutt in the ropes before he starts clobbering Ogawa to the ground. When Ogawa tries for the side headlock takeover, Hashimoto backdrops him. Great selling from Ogawa throughout these exchanges, plenty of stiff shots with Hashimoto egging him on. After Ogawa starts STO'ing everyone, Iizuka comes back for the big dropkick assist, Hashimoto tries to break Ogawa's arm on the outside, and Iizuka gets his redemption with a satisfying submission win on Murakami. Murakami's faceplant on the rear naked choke was a great visual. The atmosphere was amazing, the interactions hate-filled, Murakami was the despicable man here, and the Ogawa/Hashimoto delivered on most levels, even if it was cut a bit short. 

Top 10 Matches of 2016

Here's my top 10 Japanese matches of 2016.

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 8/6/16)
2. Yuji Okabayashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW, 7/24/16)
3. Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/13/16)
4. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Minoru Suzuki (NOAH, 12/2/16)
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Minoru Suzuki (NOAH, 2/24/16)
6. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJPW, 3/19/16)
7. Jun Akiyama vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, 7/23/16)
8. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles (NJPW, 1/4/16)
9. Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi (NJPW, 1/24/16)
10. Shuji Ishikawa vs. Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 8/28/16)

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW, 1/2/17)

Yay, the first Twin Towers/Strong BJ match of the New Year...and hopefully, the last for 2017. I love both of these teams and no doubt, they have great chemistry together and can produce awesome, hard-hitting tag matches but I don't want this to tread Strong BJ vs. Big Guns territory because these two teams clashing should feel like a special occasion. That being said, this was a perfectly enjoyable match, although I preferred their match from the Saikyou Tag League for its condensed and explosive violence. I loved the interactions between Ishikawa and Sekimoto throughout, and if I were a betting man, I'd wager that Ishikawa will challenge for the BJW World Strong Heavyweight title in the first half of 2017. Ishikawa busts out the headbutts against Sekimoto early on, which leads to Sekimoto playing the FIP to the elbow and knee bullying Twin Towers, trying to fight back with chops only to get pounded back down. We get plenty of double teams and a triple German suplex. On a side note, I'm always so amazed at how effortless Sato's Falcon Arrow looks on a big hoss like Okabayashi. I also enjoyed Okabayashi fighting off Twin Towers with alternating chops before he gets pummeled back into the corner with elbows and knees.

But let's be real, this match was forehead punishment for Sekimoto. When he's got Sato in a crab hold, Ishikawa comes in and headbutts him off. The Prison Lock with the arm-trap baby headbutts of doomed turned Sekimoto's forehead into ground beef but it wasn't until that final running shoot headbutt from Ishikawa that Sekimoto's forehead burst like a tick. Just a nasty, nasty spot. Sekimoto's draining blood as he finishes Ishikawa off with a lariat and the follow-up deadlift German suplex hold for the pin. Kind of your standard fun Strong BJ vs. Twin Towers match-up with some extra brutal headbutts from Ishikawa and great selling from Sekimoto. Best tag match of the year so far. Can't wait to see the inevitable match between Sekimoto and Ishikawa but for now, I think I'm satisfied with seeing these two teams try to kill each other. 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Funk (AJPW, 6/11/1976)

A hell of a match. Prime time Terry Funk, baby, with his Looney Tunes selling and Amarillo, Texas-style, forearm-grinding limbwork. Terrific first fall, as Terry controls early on, working the arm and building to Tsuruta’s inevitable escape, and when it happens, you can see just how hard Funk fought to keep Jumbo in check as he’s out of breath and sweaty. Now Jumbo’s got Terry on the Rocks and I love Funk working to shake Tsuruta off, firing off knight-edged chops and trying to toss him over the ropes only for Jumbo to hold onto the arm and bring him back into the ring.  Funk tries to find an opening with an atomic drop but Jumbo scouts the elbow drop and arm drags him back down to the mat, holding on. Just a great sense of struggle throughout. Funk finally delivers the double arm suplex but Jumbo’s too fast for him and pins him with the sunset flip.

Between falls, Terry is selling the arm on the outside and back inside the ring, he knows he has to put some distance between he and Jumbo, so Funk cheap shots him during the lock up. Terry focuses on the neck for the second fall, hitting a swinging neckbreaker and a piledriver before he goes to the sleeper hold. The finish here is awesome, as they fight over an abdominal stretch which leads to Funk scoring the second fall following his rolling cradle. By the third fall, the tactical approach is thrown out the window and two go back-and-forth trading suplexes. With all these big bombs being thrown, I thought the finish of the match was a little disappointing, as Terry catches Jumbo throat-first on the ropes and pins him, but it did the trick. Awesome match and build to that explosive third fall. 

Billy Robinson vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, 12/11/75)

I'm working on a "secret project" (shhhh, secret) and this is one of the matches that fell just outside of the timeline. But it's an awesome match and well worth your time, in spite of the intimating length. Billy Robinson is slick as catshit out there, especially that seamless side suplex floatover, and Inoki holds his own against Billy as they work the canvas with great back-and-forth mat wrestling and counterwork. There’s a lot of little things to love throughout the first fall, like Inoki cutting out Robinson’s arm and leverage when he’s got him in the rear leglock, the teased strikes and double arm suplexes, and Robinson’s mounting frustration early on, which turns to panic later as Inoki keeps him grounded with the headscissors. I like the way Robinson works the cravat, with those little wrenches to the neck. After Inoki more or less no sells the piledriver, Robinson takes a great bump in the corner after an irish whip and Inoki puts on the crab hold, which the masterful Robinson is able to twist his way out of him and turn into a backslide for the pinfall. 

Robinson tries to strike gold twice with another backslide but Inoki’s fuming now and damn near tosses Robinson on his skull. The crowd starts heating up as they fight over another backslide and Inoki puts the pressure on Robinson, who’s looking exhausted by this point and trying to find some room to breathe in the corners. After an unsuccessful pin attempt after the much-anticipated double arm suplex, Robinson strikes Inoki in the ropes and boy, does Inoki look pissed and continues to stew as Robinson eggs him on, backpedaling around the ring and avoiding the lock up. When Inoki tries to get a hold of him, Robinson fights out and German suplexes Inoki; a theme echoed throughout the match. Robinson uses his weight to try and pin Inoki down but the strength of Inoki is impressive this late in the game as he bridges, pushing Robinson up. Inoki chasing after Robinson to get that second fall was so much fun to watch and after they trade double arm suplexes, Inoki finally captures the elusive Billy in the octopus hold, and the crowd is boiling over for Robinson’s surrender. 

Inoki, now busted open after one of those sluggish Robinson elbows, is hot on Billy’s heels with dropkick after dropkick, trying to get that third fall before the time limit expires. By the expression on Robinson’s face, he’s ready for this thing to be over and things escalate to the point where they’re just shilling out stiff elbows until the time runs out. Awesome performances from both men, Robinson in particular, in a match peppered with explosive moments, killer submissions, and well-built bombs. 

Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls, 10/16/16)

Admittedly, I don't watch a lot of joshi wrestling. I can count the number of matches on one hand. But I wanted to watch something from last year. I don't know either of these women. I don't know the history. Hashimoto's a cute hoss and Satomura is a black widow. I liked the crisp, competitive nature of the opening matwork. Hashimoto isn't the smoothest and some of her transitions/offense looked clunky but she does some cool little things, like flipping onto her stomach after the backdrop or rolling out of the ring to avoid the pin. Her lariats suck but she throws a mean German suplex. Satomura is great. I loved her going for the lock up and quickly chopping out Hashimoto leg and working the wristlock. She had Hashimoto scouted on the back sentons pot and turned it into an armbar. Her kicks are snug and sound, her slaps vicious. When Hashimoto is dropping bombs on her, the referee tries to keep her from continuing the attack and I was hoping she'd tap into a little mean streak there toward the end. The finish was great with the back-to-back German suplexes and Hashimoto seems to have a lot of potential from the one match I've seen. I definitely want to get into some more Satomura matches. Good stuff.

NJPW "WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 IN TOKYO DOME" (1/4/17)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: KUSHIDA (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi 

This was wacky and haphazard, with some miscalculated spots that added a sense of urgency and unpredictability to the match. It fits Hiromu's 'time bomb' crust punk character and I think it initially forced KUSHIDA to work at that breakneck pace, nearly killing himself with the top rope somersault senton on the outside. They blew the 'rana over the ropes but Takahashi made up for it by hitting his own somersault senton from the top. KUSHIDA then snaps out of it and catches Takahashi's apron senton with a cross armbreaker on the outside. I loved KUSHIDA pissed off armwork with the hair-grabbing and kicks. The Hoverboard Lock struggle, along with Hiromu's selling, fleshed out the frantic nature of the match. The finishing stretch saw the champ's desperation in full effect as he tries in vain to hold onto his title, only to fall to Hiromu's Time Bomb finish. Structurally, this thing was a mess but maybe that's a big part of it's charm. Hiromu is like bizarro-KUSHIDA and I love it. 

NEVER Openweight Title: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

Out of every match on the show, this one had me hooked from start to finish. I understand that stylistically, these NEVER Openweight Title matches are polarizing but for me, it's a style I enjoy when the violence doesn't feel overly indulgent. This had the right balance, the crowd was fully invested, and it was awesome to watch Goto's mounting frustrations reach a tipping point as Shibata gives zero fucks and makes him work his kind of match. The strikes were stiff, as expected, and Shibata in is full 'Goonies never say die' mode, kicking, elbowing, headbutting Goto without regard. I don't even think Shibata cared if he kept the title or not, he just wanted Goto to show some fire and when Goto finally exploded, it was amazing. The build to that final headbutt exchange made it feel special and Goto's headbutts looked like a million bucks. I loved that shot of Shibata's zombie-fied face after Goto hits that final headbutt and plants him with the inverted GTR before finishing him off with the regular GTR. This is exactly the kind of win Goto needed and he looked like a total badass with that finish. I enjoyed this more than both of Shibata's matches with Ishii last year, as it felt fresh, not like a retread of old territory, and the performance from a reinvigorated and pissed off Goto was one of his best. I think this is my MOTN on first viewing. The end result was the absolute right decision and I can't wait to see what Goto does with the title while Shibata begins his road to winning the G1 Climax. 

IWGP Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

This was good and would likely have been even better if Tanahashi put more into his selling. That being said, veteran ace Tanahashi does a masterful job of setting the pace of this match and I thought the storytelling was really good, with the dueling legwork, the callbacks to previous encounters, and Naito's mostly shenanigans-free approach to wrestling. The crowd was still hot from the previous match and bought what these two were selling. I'm a big fan of Naito's limbwork and his use of the injured leg to escape predicaments and squash momentum. When Tanahashi started going after Naito's leg, Naito's selling eclipsed Tanahashi's. When it comes to sustained selling, I'm a nitpicker and in a match like this, where Naito's legwork is a primary focus, Tanahashi didn't put enough into his performance to make me care. Things like him using the cloverleaf hold, which puts a lot of stress on the knees, and then running around to hit High Fly Flows without much of a limp in his step. The slingblade on the apron was a cool spot though. By the end of it, it felt a little puffy and should've ended on that first Destino but they kill a few more minutes, allowing Naito to hit a couple more to retain. A good slow-burner with a great underlying story and performance from Naito. The result makes sense considering the result of the main event and now LIJ is dominant as fuck. 

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchida Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega

Woof, this match. I mean, I think the reason Naito/Omega worked so well is that they kept it under 30 minutes and the downtime only added to the narrative, with Omega working around his bum knee. Here, the first 20 minutes felt like complete, sleep-inducing filler and then they suddenly ramp it up from a 2 to an 11, to the point where it felt artificial and mechanical. There's no doubt these two busted their asses for the second half of the match and some of the spots were nutzo but maybe they were trying a little too hard to re-create the 'epic', jaw-dropping nature of the Naito/Omega match. Even if they had shaved off 15 dull minutes, I still don't think this would've reached the much-hyped "MOTY" label everyone was hoping for...at least from my perspective. Lots of indulgent, finish-worthy spots, like the top rope dragon suplex, that were inconsequential thirty seconds later. That being said, I did like the finishing stretch, with Omega landing some vicious knees, including the Rainmaker knee, and Okada managing to counter out of every attempt at the One-Winged Angel, preserving the danger of it and laying the groundwork for the rematch. The spinning tombstone > Rainmaker combo was the cherry on the sprinkle-coated frosting of this cake and the exclamation point on Okada's dominant ace role while still making Omega look strong as a title challenger. This match skipped the appetizers and went straight to the dessert bar at the Golden Corral.