SPOTLIGHT: Hogan vs Savage - 1987

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan(c) vs Randy Savage

WWF June 3, 1987 Rochester, NY

Dark matches, for those not in the know, are matches not meant for broadcast that are held before or after an advertised card takes place. They are never really the best matches, but serve as more of a historical curiosity. For example, is anyone out there clamoring to see if Samoa Joe and Essa Rios could tear the house down if matched up? Not really, but if you wanted to see Joe's WWF dark match from fourteen years ago against Rios, it's out there and fairly easy to find. This match today looks short, but it should be a treat to watch the preview of WrestleMania V's main event a year and a half before the Mega Powers explode. Hulk Hogan, a man who over the years has gone from a national icon to one of the most polarizing men around, is defending his WWF Championship against Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Savage is another who needs no introduction as his garish outfits, Miss Liz, Slim Jim, and generally being crazy as all fuck catapulted him into uber-legend status. If anyone is wondering why I would bother with Hogan in light of things he should've left unsaid, well, Michael Hayes still has fucking job right?

WWF even informs us that this is a dark match, which for the time, seems bizarre.

This was released by Coliseum Video at some point, because we have Heenan, Jimmy Valiant (noooo), and someone I can't place at all in a tiny box shilling old videos during introductions. The nameless guy botches his very first sentence as he states that Hogan won the belt January 24, 1984, when it was the 23rd. No big deal, I never expect a whole lot from these Coliseum broadcast teams anyway. Hogan is coming off the biggest win in wrestling history by way of pinning Andre, but if you asked him, he would swear he gorilla pressed him and hit the powerslam off the top rope. Macho is also hotter than pissed off lava, having the match of the year against Ricky Steamboat.

Hindsight says your lips are WAY too close to touching here.

Immediately, Hogan fails to redeem himself to me by stalling at levels that would make Tetsuya Naito proud. No bullshit, I finished half my cup of coffee between Rick Derringer's "Real American" cueing up and the bell ringing. Savage suddenly transformed into my spirit animal and unleashed some wicked shots as Hulk was handing Earl Hebner the belt. Whereas Hogan came out lollygagging and looking like he was going through the motions, Macho Man is hauling balls, throwing around some really intense offense. If you need a visual aid, think about WMV when Savage took over the match and click on the your video player's 3x button. I would be remiss in not mentioning that Savage beating on Hogan while still wearing the bandana and shades was badass. Hogan blocked a shot to the buckles and whipped Macho from pillar to post, even knocking off his glasses and putting them on. Oh shit, that means war.

Booker T! I'm comin' for YOU.....BROTHER!!!

Savage bailed and hid behind Liz for a bit, giving Hogan's Special Meter a chance to cool off. That strategy didn't pay off worth shit as Hulkster caught him coming in, hit the Axe Bomber, and sent him back out with an atomic drop. Sidenote: Never change the name of the atomic drop. It completely owns as is. Macho tried the Liz tactic again, but Hulk is wise and calmly moved Liz before taking the action back to the ring. AGAIN, the action went outside as Savage tricked Hogan and hit the top-rope double axe-handle to the floor that probably ate up his knees over the years. Inside once more as Macho nailed an impressive body slam before coming off the top with his trademark elbow. If you don't know how that went, you've never seen a Hulk Hogan match. If that's the case, he kicks out and uses the power of Hulkamania to shrug off punches, kicks, bullets, tanks, fire, and missiles until he wagged his magic finger, hit the body slam, and threw a oversized yellow boot into Savage's face. Randy wisely bailed after the boot and sent the oncoming champion into the guardrail. Right as Hogan is fixing to have his bald spot caved in by a chair, Liz yanked it away, sending the crowd into hysterics. Macho Man decided that the time was nigh to hit the elbow and take this home, but Hogan moved and caught Savage in a school boy for the pin at 6:43. Savage berated Liz, Hogan posed presumably until curfew, the crowd is molten and all is well in Rochester tonight.

For no reason at all, here is a Macho Stare.

WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan(c) d. Randy Savage by pinfall (6:43)

VERDICT:
Meh. Too much stalling and not enough action to call this even a CliffsNotes version of WrestleMania V. Macho teased a great match in the beginning, however, the power of Hulkamania cooled it off after the first awesome Savage flurry. The fans were into it, but these two were so over that they could've both come out with two toilets and taken a shit and the crowd would've found a reason to go wild. If you are a completionist and need to see every battle these two had, have at it, but they would follow this up with much more motivated work and far better matches.

MEL PHILLIPS!!! HIDE YOUR FEET!!! (You're on your own here. Google it.)

WQ REVIEW - WWE NXT 8-12-15

William Regal kicks off off the show by stating that since Finn Balor agreed to take on any match any time, the championship match at NXT: Brooklyn against Kevin Owens is now indeed a ladder match. I'm looking for some creative spots out of the wazoo during that one.

Tye Dillinger d. Solomon Crowe by pinfall (4:36)

Crowe's original suited hacker gimmick he was rolling with upon debuting was intresting enough to give a shot, but now he seems to have more or less reverted back to Sami Callahan. Dillinger has worked dark match a-plenty already, so the former Shawn Spears has quite a bit fan support coming out. This was a good TV match that stayed moving and had both guys busting ass. Tye stopped every now and then to work the crowd into giving him his new trademark 10/10, which definitely has legs. Dillinger snuck in his inverted overdrive appropriately named The Perfect 10 for the three count.

Mojo Rawley interrupts Zack Ryder's tweeting to cut some insane promo that I half understood that ended with Mojo miscounting the number of chicks he had been with the night before. Okie dokie.

Baron Corbin d. Axel Tischer by pinfall (:33)

Longer than your usual Corbin match because the jobber was tossed into the turnbuckle and then hit his knees for awhile until Baron walked over and brought him back up. One forearm and Fall of Man later and this was over. He's never going to get better if they keep throwing him in these types of matches. Corbin grabs a mic and cuts a pretty confident heel promo about no one being in his league. This challenge is answered by STEVEN F'N CUTLER, but he also eats a Fall of Man before he can unleash his god-like skills upon an unsuspecting Orlando. No, really, who is Cutler? After standing tall and wanting more, the challenge is met by Samoa Joe. Oh, boy. Joe is his huckleberry, but Corbin says not yet and bails. On his way out of the ring, he bumps into Joe like that wa going to intimidate him, and the shit is on. Baron gets a few shots in, but Joe counters his finish with the Kokina Clutch, finally called such by Corey Graves. Our favorite Samoan with anger issues leaves the kid laying out cold in his own piss and spit. This match has possibilities and I'm intrigued how they handle it. Crowd gives a big "thank you Joe" for finally putting SAMCROberg in his place.

Quick video of Bull Dempsey as he see his gym work picking up steam and him working towards gains or beast mode or whatever gym people call it.

Tyler Breeze gives us his thoughts about his match in Brooklyn against Jushin Thunder Liger and isn't worried one bit. It's a spotlight and that's what he craves. I've always dug the Breeze character, because he reminds me of Narcis Prince from Super Punch-Out!!! If only he rolled with Prince's gimmick of freaking out whenever his face got punched. Liger is going to cash a WWE check, making hell freeze over by one more step. Better late than never, I always say!

Finn Balor d. Marcus Louie by pinfall (2:44)

Remember during the Brody review about wild men who you could tell were putting on too much of a show? Louis is definitely one of those type and it comes off slightly corny at times. Finn is as over as one can be inside this building and my private worries about killing his mystique with the fans by making him talk too much recently are thankfully put to rest. Total squash here and Louie only got in a few punches and a uranage before Balor ate him alive and finished with the Coup de grace. Kevin Owens blindsided Finn on his way out, but before he can nail his apron powerbomb, Finn countered out. Their brawl is cut short when, after a struggle following the pop up part of it, Owens finished the powerbomb and mocked the champion's pose while standing above him with the title.

The Vaudevillains revealed that they have a plan to counter Alexa Bliss's recent antics. Bliss shows up, slaps the taste out of both of their mouths, and walks off wishing them luck. If there is a wrestling god, let the plan be Bubba Ray Dudley.

Terry Creed is coming to win the title and they show shots of him training with that Axel fellow from before. I don't mean to sound cliche, but these names like Apollo Crews are getting hilarious. Then again, if a man named Dolph Ziggler can get over, anybody can. Still no word on who his first opponent will be. Rhyno maybe?

#1 Contenders Match: Bayley d. Becky Lynch by pinfall (11:43)

The Boss herself arrived to join the commentary team and calmly explain that these other girls aren't shit. You'd think this is a foregone conclusion with Bayley being the only upper level women's wrestler that didn't get taken in the recent purge. Is it bad when you are bummed out when someone gets a promotion now? Becky Lynch always worries me that her neck is going to fly off during her entrance mosh one day. If you think this is where the hot streak of the Four NXT Horsewomen is going to end, you'd be sadly mistaken. This was even better than the Bayley-Charlotte contest from a few weeks ago, because Becky was working that arm like she is directly related to Dean Malenko. Bayley more than held her own and gave as well as she took with some really nice junior heavyweight style stuff. Bayley was in alot of trouble after escaping the kneeling armbar of Lynch, but reversed a second standing armbar attempt into a pin to face Sasha in Brooklyn. Old school in-ring storytelling and I loved it. The Boss closes things out by standing on top of the announce table and informing Bayley that it's on in New York.

VERDICT
Always a great show when any of the four golden girls go at it. Opening match was above average and the Joe-Corbin scuffle has me intrested in more, so that on top of a hell of a main event makes this week a winner in my book.

NXT 8-12-15 RESULTS

Tye Dillinger d. Solomon Crowe by pinfall (4:36)

Baron Corbin d. Axel Tischer by pinfall (:33)

Finn Balor d. Marcus Louie by pinfall (2:44)

#1 Contenders Match: Bayley d. Becky Lynch by pinfall (11:43)

WQ REVIEW - NJPW Dominion 7.5 In Osaka jo-Hall 7-5-15

NJPW Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall

July 5, 2015 Osaka, Japan

In the spirit of the 2015 G1 Climax being just about over, I thought I'd take a gander at the show held prior to the start of the tournament, an event named Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall. I'd review the tournament, but my sanity needs to be retained as long as possible, so that's a no. At Dominion, every championship owned by New Japan is on the line as this would be NJPW's first trip to the Osaka Hall in over two decades and they wanted to show Osaka what epic looked like. Boasting a crowd of over 11,000 fans of whom the New Japan roster had to win over by the night's end, would they succeed? We discover as one!

What a gorgeous building no?

A quick one-time only note before we begin in earnest. Unlike my Spotlights, whereas I give more of a play-by-play, this will be more along the line of my "verdicts" at the end of the match reviews. This card in particular is over four hours in length and I'm fairly certain none of you wants to read a 500 page account of it. I'm long winded by nature, so to cut back on what would set new records for word count in a wrestling review, I'm viewing the match, then giving general thoughts upon its completion. Groovy? Groovy.

1. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada, & Sho Tanaka d. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, & Yohei Komatsu by pinfall when Dorada pinned Komatsu (8:17)

Opening up with a ten-man tag match where everyone can get their shit in quick isn't the worst idea ever. Immediately, I feel behind the times as the only guys I'm familiar with are Nagata, Tenzan, Kojima, and Liger. If that is Tiger Mask IV, then I've only caught him in the surreal "Legend of the Tiger Masks" match from Toryumon. Mascara is flossing the CMLL Welterweight belt, while Tenzan is wearing a relic that appears to be the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Go. Watch this. Now. I'll wait.

This went far quicker than I expected and the ending came out of nowhere. For all I've heard about Mascara, he really didn't bring anything to the table that I haven't seen other luchadors do and do better. It isn't fair to judge on a match like this, so I'm still pretty amped to see him one on one. Nakanishi was good as the monster and the Nagata-Kojima showdown had some fire under it, but the rest was instantly forgettable. Does Nakanishi remind anyone else of a Sontaran? Masacara pinned Komatsu after a high falcon arrow. It made the crowd ready for more action, so it did the job in that regard. Still, I can't help but feel like a few things were missing here. Another aside, why are they still called dark matches if they are all televised now?

2. IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match: The Young Bucks(c) d. reDRagon & Roppongi Vice by pinfall when Matt pinned Romero (14:31)

Roppongi Vice, named after a hard partying section of Japan, is comprised of former Havana Pitbull Rocky Romero and former WWE midcarder Trent Baretta. I've never personally seen reDRagon other than a few Bobby Fish matches early in his career in NOAH, so this should be fun. Last but not least, The Young Bucks still dress like The Hardyz circa 1997 and represent Bullet Club, heel stable supreme and current internet darlings. Cody Hall is out with them and even throughout the Climax in his tag matches, I haven't seen him do much of note yet. Personally, I find the Bullet Club schtick hard to get into because there is homage and tribute, and then there is Bullet Club, who do the exact same hand motions, catch phrases, and taunts that nWo/DX used. Word for word and line for line, I find it more like they are just trying to imitate old WWF/WCW guys other than establish their own thing.

That all being said, I'd rather shit glass than attempt a play-by-play of this match. There was so damned much going on from the time the bell rang that it became just unreal towards the end. O'Reilly looked like a star out there and pretty much everything he touched was gold. Not to say Fish was bad, as he is definitely talented, but Kyle was amazing in this match. The Bucks did their job superbly, which was to be the chickenshit, asshole heels who could still turn the tide with their talent. I was a little worried about Baretta keeping up with all this wizardry, but he looked better than I've ever seen him. Granted, all I really remember about him was a short run in NXT before his release. The crowd was into it and I joined them and exploded when The Bucks somehow made a member of reDragon tombstone the other. Once those Young Bucks turn it on, it can be a sight to behold. "I'm on fire baby and I'm a psychopath!" You go on with your bad self, Matt Jackson. Fireman's carry to the corner for a double dose of moonsaults on Romero and The Young Bucks retain in a killer Jr. tag team contest. Any other federation, this is a show stealer and we're going home, but this is New Japan. Party on!

3. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma d. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) when Honma pinned Takahashi (8:50) 

Ah, now we're in familiar territory. Takahashi is a younger guy who makes up for his being average with eye-candy and Fale is one of those big men who can either have a hell of a match or a total stinkeroo depending on who he is in there with. Naito is fresh into his heel turn here and the crowd hates everything he does. His work in the G1 is taking cocky prick to new levels and he will only get better. Honma is a fan favorite who I've never seen win a match in two G1s, but the crowd always rabidly gets behind him.

Speaking of, this is the only way I've kept my head together trying to keep up with this year's G1.

This was an entertaining dynamic as Naito spent the first half of the match not even bothered to try to tag in. Finally, he takes pity on the ass beating Honma is eating and comes in, nails a few nice moves, and lays down like the smug bastard he is. They manage to work together long enough to neutralize Fale and Honma hits the top rope Kokeshi (a headbutt without even trying to protect oneself) for the win. Wait, what? Honma wins? HONMA WINS! I'm sure he has had victories in the tag ranks before, but this is the first time I've seen him at the pay window myself. Rather short, but Honma's energy and Naito's ridiculous behavior made for an entertaining little match.

4. Katsuyori Shibata d. Kazushi Sakuraba by pinfall (11:49) 

A classic student vs. teacher shoot style match a few years in the making. Sakuraba and Shibata returned to pro wrestling and formed a tag team back in 2014. Eventually they went their own ways and didn't cross paths until a tag match in 2015, where Sakuraba tapped his one time protege out.

Shibata and Sakuraba in their fighting days.

That all brings us to this moment and it is damned sure brought. Between Shibata's ferocious kicks and Sakuraba's creative as all hell offense, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands the whole time. I kid you not, at one point, I said to myself, "Well, there isn't going to be any planchas in this one" and at that moment in time, Sakuraba hits a goddamned plancha. Those are the types of moments that will stick in my head long after I've lost my childhood memories. At one point in the match, Sakuraba had a sleeper locked on where he would wrap up any body part that Shibata put near the ropes, forcing him to bite the ropes for the break. Another clever moment was an armbar by the master that also came loaded with a footchoke. Shibata's eye roll selling of almost being out cold was too awesome. I would've put money on that being the finish, but Shibata escapes and they trade sleepers. That ends up being the mistake Shibata was looking for and after Sakuraba is half out, he hits the running stiff kick to the chest for the pin. That was one of the better shoot style matches I've seen as they knew what to do and when to do it to keep the crowd rocking. Seek this match out for sure.

5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match: KUSHIDA d. Kenny Omega(c) by submission (20:45)

I found KUSHIDA to be impressive the one time I saw him team with Alex Shelley and Omega was one of the first guys YouTube turned me into a huge fan of, so expectations run high here. The NJPW production team put together a neat package on KUSHIDA that I didn't need to know Japanese to understand. He has dreamt of being a wrestler since he could remember (complete with footage of him at 7 already performing moonsaults!) and he plans to win. He has also just came off of winning the annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament, earning him this championship match. Omega has stated that he will not defend this title again until the big January show if he is victorious, thus pissing on tradition.

Other than one glaring section that took me out of the match for awhile, this was gold. The execution of everything was spot on and everything, but KUSHIDA's selling of Omega's working of his leg was wonky. One way of not selling an extended killing of one's leg is to pop up and start doing springboards and using said leg as an offensive weapon. Other than that, this was a fantastic showing by both men and Omega is a rock star out there. He had zero problems with selling the work on his arm and even hit a one armed powerbomb that damned near made me run around in gleeful hysterics. The main I dig Kenny is that he is one of those guys who doesn't seem to be going out of his way to be strange as shit, he simply is. The five minutes or so leading up to the finish was mind-exploding stuff and Omega's lightning fast dragon suplex stands out. Omega goes for the One Winged Angel(fuck yes!), but KUSHIDA counters that mid-move into his Hoverboard Lock and that's enough to get the tap out and begin his second reign.

6. NEVER Openweight Title Match: Togi Makabe(c) d. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall (17:50)

This going to be stiffer than a teenager who snuck some of his dad's Viagra. Makabe has taken both bouts between the two, so maybe this is Ishii's night. To sum up these fellas, Ishii is a man who had his neck removed and replaced with extra fighting spirit and Makabe is a wild eyed brawler who would scare the hell out of anyone in a dark alley. The NEVER Championship would take awhile to explain, so think of it like the TNA X Division belt, except normally held by older heavyweights. That makes even less sense now that I typed it out, but hell, I tried.

If you saw these matches, you remember these matches.

I may catch hell for this, but this match reminded me of the old Hansen/Kawada wars where both guys had already established that they could wrestle like gods, but instead felt like kicking the piss out of each other for twenty minutes. That's pretty much how it goes down as these two men just lay into each other with shots you can't help but feel. I was worried early on due to Makabe catching Ishii on a flip from the top to the floor with half his pinky, but the challenger seems okay. Anytime it almost resembled a wrestling match, they would ditch all of that noise and go right back to trading vicious chops, slaps, headbutts, and whatever else goes smack at each other. This is the type of fight that would give Jim Ross a ten foot smile. Ishii either hurt his shoulder or can sell with the best of them as the trainer even sneaks a look at him between moves. He showed up soon after to the G1, so I'm thinking the latter, but his great job of selling it has me unsure. The dinged up shoulder is too much to overcome and Takabe hit the turnbuckle suplex followed up by his jumping knee drop for the pin. Good old fashioned barbarian battle here, even if Takabe seems to have poor Ishii's number at three in a row.

7. IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) d. The Kingdom(c) when Anderon pinned Traven (10:09)

Before I forget, whoever the announcer is that sing/screams the wrestler's names like Rob Halford before every match is one of my new favorite humans. This will be my first experience watching The Kingdom, who are seconded by Maria, who many would recognize from WWE. The cameraman has way too much creeper going on as they may as well put a graphic on her ass and announce it as a match participant. Anderson is currently tearing it up in the G1 and Gallows, not so much so. Amber Gallows is out with the challengers and we look to have a U.S. style match on our hands.

This was decent, but sadly felt a little shorter than it needed to be. The crowd ate up the female distraction segments quite a bit, but whereas they aren't used to these, we get them two for one here in the States. The Kingdom had impressive timing and their double teams were on point, even if I didn't see anything really new. Karl Anderson strikes me as a man that Vince would throw wads of cash at because he was a few levels up in terms of talent from the rest of the guys and has the size McMahon goes cuckoo for. Not knocking the other guys at all, they performed well, but Anderson stands out like the man is glowing. After leaving the husband and wife team of Mikey and Maria laid out at ringside, they hit the Magic Killer on Traven after a brief fight to take back their titles. This title reign of The Kingdom must have just been a quick deal from the NJPW/ROH partnership, because Bullet Club went over strong and clean as if this book is now closed shut.

7. Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Toru Yano by pinfall (12:33)

The story here is that Yano scored an upset victory over Tanahashi in the opening round of the New Japan Cup earlier this year and has been trolling the hell out of him ever since. Yano is an entertaining heel who isn't always an instant victory and will kick you in the nuts and steal a pin before you can blink. Tanahashi is the ace (think John Cena with much crazier hair) and is here with his serious face on to shut this little shit down once and for all.

What, me worry?

Once this got going, I got the feeling it maybe should've been lower on the card, but they shoved that line of thinking right up my ass and how. Yano was hilarious here with his "cheat every second of the match" style and it is refreshing to see this type of heel again. He looks kind of rough, isn't strong, isn't quick, but will out think his opponents into making mistakes all day, every day. Yano throws everything at Tanahashi including a chair, the ref, another chair, the corner pads, and more chairs and since he has pinned the ace before, the near falls had just the right amount of drama to make a killer match. I had the feeling Tanahashi just had to go over here, but was never 100% on it, which made me much more invested in it than I'd normally be in a main eventer vs. mid-carder affair. Tanahashi got a brilliant idea and began to counter Yano's heel tactics with his own and at one point after being racked by Yano, delivered a reciept, leaving both men hopping around in a duet of bruised testicle agony. Yano never recovered and after a Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow, Tanahashi tasted his sweet, sweet revenge. For pro wrestling as pure entertainment and nothing more, this was all that and a bag of chips with expensive dip. No one was expecting Flair-Steamboat, so why pick it apart you know? Not for everyone, but I appreciated the heck out of it.

9. IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: Hirooki Goto(c) d. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall (22:10)

A rematch from New Japan's last major card where Goto won the belt, this could finally be the match where I follow the rest of the world's plan to worship Nakamura. I've seen quite a few really good matches with him, but nothing that made me raving mad, though I'll admit he wakes up in the morning shooting charisma from his eyeballs. Keep in mind, other than last year's G1 and the one happening currently, my New Japan fandom is still in its infancy. This year, Nakamura has been running at half to three-quarter speed most of the tournament due to shoulder injury, but Goto has been an absolute animal, having the best match of the fifteen shows held so far against Ishii.

What can you really say?

Always one to make an entrance as well, Nakamura arrived in a sparkly red ninja outfit. If Ric Flair can get away with pink robes loaded down with feathers, this gets a pass too. Being the longest match on the card so far, this one started out alot slower than the rest. It seemed like it was going to remain that way until I understood the pacing of the match. Instead of going all out, chilling for a bit, and then turning it up towards the finish, this was more of a slow burn. Both men started off in first gear, but every few minutes would turn it up a bit more so that by the end of the match, they were redlining. Sick kicks and knees from Nakamura met Goto's array of power moves well enough to make the crowd hang from the proverbial rafter by the end. After having both kicked out of all they could throw at each other, Goto caught Nakamura with a no touch headbutt and the Shouten Kai (suplex into a nasty side slam) to take the rematch and retain the Intercontinental Championship. Solid work and could've held its own easily as the main event.

10. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada d. AJ Styles(c) by pinfall (26:27)

These two have been at war with each other since the moment AJ stepped foot into New Japan. Debuting by taking the title from Okada as well as winning the rematch, the leader of Bullet Club has been a major player and nothing but. Okada made an ill-fated trip to the U.S. to work for TNA, but came back to NJPW pissed off and motivated to be better than ever and ran with it. Both men with their respective stables, Bullet Club and Chaos, have faced each other a few times in the months leading up to this event, with neither winning anything decisively. Styles normally plays the trash talking gaijin, but seems oto have changed his tune to that of a more humble and babyface persona, also made intresting by the fact that Okada has been less of a heel in his ways of late. Okaka has GEDO as his second and the champion brings all three hundred members of Bullet Club to the shindig.

New Japan! Where wins and losses matter!

The nice guy in the champ sure didn't last long as the first half of the bout is mainly comprised of Bullet Club pouncing the hell out of Okada, then sending him back to AJ for more pouncing. The referee gets wise to this plan and ejects the lot of them with a "suck it" on the way out. Again, I know nWo was a riff off of a NJPW angle but the use of "too sweet" and "suck it" go over my head here. Once it is down to mano e mano, things got buckwild in a hurry in what can only be described as top shelf graceful violence. For such a tall dude, Okada flies around like he has wings and AJ hasn't lost a step since I first saw him back in 2001. I'm almost convinced that he discovered and had a swim in the Lazarus Pits during his many travels. Both men fought like hell towards hitting their finishers, leading them to hit just about everything else in their huge arsenals to get there. Without exaggeration, the finish was one of the greatest wrestling sequences you'll ever see and they had the crowd on the verge of a mass nervous breakdown. After what felt like ten counters each inside of thirty seconds, Okada hits two Rainmaker clotheslines and regains the IWGP Heavyweight Championship once again. The big match feel was well deserved as this was many flavors in the same pot and all of it done at a very high level from the brawling to the ground work to the high flying. The beginning beatdown segments for the first half drug things down a bit, but once Bullet Club got the heave-ho, it turned into an instant classic that alone is worth the NJPW World subscription. Hell, seeing the finish of this one match alone would justify it.

The Rainmaker begin his third reign as champion.

VERDICT:
From top to bottom, one of the greatest wrestling shows of the last decade, if not ever. Many styles of the art were on display and the variety carried things just as well as the talent. If you are a long time fan of wrestling and have never seen a New Japan show, this is the first one I would recommend. The finish of the main event will be remembered years to come, the semi-main event had Osaka roaring, and even Tanahashi-Yano was far better than I thought it'd be. Must see and worth going as far out of your way as you need to in order to catch it.

NJPW DOMINION 7.5 IN OKASA JO-HALL RESULTS

1. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada, & Sho Tanaka d. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, & Yohei Komatsu by pinfall when Dorada pinned Komatsu (8:17)

2. IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match: The Young Bucks(c) d. reDRagon & Roppongi Vice by pinfall when Matt pinned Romero (14:31)

3. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma d. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) when Honma pinned Takahashi (8:50)

4. Katsuyori Shibata d. Kazushi Sakuraba by pinfall (11:49)

5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match: KUSHIDA d. Kenny Omega(c) by submission (20:45)

6. NEVER Openweight Title Match: Togi Makabe(c) d. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall (17:50)

7. IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) d. The Kingdom(c) when Anderon pinned Traven (10:09)

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Toru Yano by pinfall (12:33)

9. IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: Hirooki Goto(c) d. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall (22:10)

10. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada d. AJ Styles(c) by pinfall (26:27)

SPOTLIGHT: Ric Flair Part V - Flair & Austin vs. Sting & Steamboat

Ric Flair & Steve Austin vs. Sting & Ricky Steamboat

WCW July 30, 1994 Omni Atlanta, GA

There is no way the wrestling gods will allow this match to suck. The future Stone Cold is the WCW United States Champion here, a title that spun into the WWE version that is held by Mr. Beatsthefuckouttame and he is embroiled in a feud with Steamboat that will unfortunately be the end of Dragon's career about a month from here. Ric Flair and Sting are sworn into a bloodfeud for all eternity, so I'm unfamiliar with their exact issue here right off the bat. Nature Boy is fairly fresh into another heel turn as Hogan was signed. Sherri is out there with the limo riding, jet flying gazillion time champion, which is always good backup if you're a heel as the Scary One didn't mess around. This being a dream match in today's light is a teensie bit of an understatement on top of it possibly being the final time Flair and Steamboat locked up. The announcers even play it up in 1994 as such, so this should be tremendous.

...Tom Servo! Croooooow!

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 style set they used for WCW Saturday Night needs to make a comeback yesterday. The heroes don't have time for any of that breathing fire or showtime shit and clear the ring to show they mean business. Order is reached and we begin with Flair taunting Sting just to tag in Austin and immediately piss the fans off. Sting counters Flair's antics by tagging Dragon and Steve wants none of that, tagging in Flair before he bails. The referee is sneakily put into a position to distract Ricky, giving Flair the first attack bonus points. Nature Boy styles and profiles in the corner, but runs into a hiptoss. The overhead body slam that was a staple of their matches gets the crowd going and Flair begs off. This leads to a funny spot as Sting stands over Flair in the corner and delivers nine punches and the tenth to a charging Austin. The action heads outside and Flair uses Sherri as the shield until he reveals it was part of his master plan to rake some eyes. Nature Boy takes a moment to scream at a few kids at ringside and after a chop, sends Sting back into the ring and tags Stunning Steve. It's hard as root against Stinger here as he endears himself to me with a Houston Astros orange and blue motif. Austin is an offensive house of fire for a moment until he takes a backdrop so high that I seriously ponder why his neck went first. Steamboat is tagged and comes in wild, which is a mistake as Austin focuses and shoots him to the outside. Some stiff shots outside and once the match is brought back in, Steamboat unleashes with a neckbreaker and a leaping chop. Before Dragon can attempt a pin, Flair breaks it up and it's time to brawl! That ends with Steamboat hitting an inverted atomic drop that sends Austin outside. As Ricky is literally trying to drag Steve in by his ass, we go to a commercial.

Seriously. By his ass.

1-900-909-9900! We signed Hulk Fuckin' Hogan! We're fixing to hit the reset button on every single storyline we have! We're going to fire this Austin guy you see here over FedEx soon! Get your parent's permission, kids!

And don't forget to visit Mean Gene's Burgers!

The match continues with Tony Schiavone mentioning the upcoming (now a classic) AAA Worlds Collide PPV while Heenan calls it "Lucha Libra" and Ricky has Austin in a chinlock. A jawbreaker from Lord of What connects and they fight over a backslide. Steamboat smartly takes the battle to the corner, flips out of it, and lands a second rope suplex for two. Only the pretty ones like that earn the Gordon Solie "Soo-Play" name. Sting somes in and takes Austin too lightly, hitting nothing but knees on a jumping splash. The Nature Boy is tagged and is in all his glory, stalking his prey while strutting and mouthing off. As usual, he takes too long popping off at Steamboat and Sting is able to mount a comeback. A series of clotheslines sends Flair into the ropes and as Sting is going to hit the big one that sends Flair over, he totally whiffs and it's time for The WCW Improv Show! Sting grabs Flair and Austin saves the awkwardness of it by walking over and making shit happen. Of course, men of this caliber won't stay lost for long and they are back on track before we know it. Sting goes into Robocop mode (his version of "Hulking Up" that he learned in 1990) and the crowd senses with every consecutive nip up that Flair should run like hell. Being the dastardly villain that he is, Flair does just that and even stops to berate a few more kids in the process. The heels have a strategic conference that apparently had them both being clotheslined by Sting. Flair has enough in him to hit the top and go for WCW's first shooting star press, but fate cries again as he is slammed off. Good God, Sting really launched him on that one. Austin is tagged and they trade holds, which is more Austin's game and he gets a few quick roll up attempts for two. Sting isn't having this technical crap, so turns around with a sneer and destroys our favorite rattlesnake with Power Moves 101. Steve's JUST WIN BABY trunks are like something out of the early 80s and, for reasons unknown to me, I find them awesome. Sensing defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory, Team Heel distracts the ref and sends Sting outside and into the loving arms of Sherri, who clocks him with her shoe. Tape machines are rolling and we will be right back!

After his career was said and done, I'd damned sure say he won.

1-900-909-9900. Did we really hire The Honky Tonk Man and what the hell for? Glacier is coming! A certain hardcore wrestler will never "put asses in seats" and shall receive his pink slip soon. Find out who! Get your parent's permission, kids! *sign falls* Fuck it!

That's MEAN GENE'S, located at...

We pick up at the exact moment we left off as Sherri rolls a battered Sting into the ring. The heel team now cuts the ring in half, utilizing quick tags and ring awareness. Austin hits a beauty of a flying knee, but is countered on the second attempt. Both men make the crawling tag and Steamboat flies in and goes apeshit on anything that moves with chops and back body drops. The crowd is on their feet for their heroes, but again, Austin counters and takes over. Tag to Flair and this time, no strutting, only ass kicking. Nice bit as Dragon backslides Flair, but is too close to the corner and takes a sneaky boot by Austin. Both men collide and they are down and out. Austin gets the tag and he and Sherri combine to make Ricky's life miserable. Back in comes Flair and he makes sure to fuck with Sting before every move he does, getting the crowd even more fired up. There is one particular row of women at ringside who are just giving Sherri the business. Steamboat starts to return the vicious chops of Nature Boy and dives for Sting's hand, only to miss by about an inch. You're playing with my emotions and I love it. Austin wants some of this action and works over Steamboat for awhile longer, complete with trademark selling from the master himself. Another barely missed tag and now Steamboat is over it. The immediate radius is chopped half to death and Sting's angry hand is finally met. Rushing the ring like a man who remembered every bit of venom that Flair spewed, Stinger goes bonkers and hits Nature Boy with the Stinger Splash. Scorpion Deathlock is applied but that pesky Sherri hits the top to break it up. This was a horrible idea, because Sting catches her and sends her over the top rope with an overhand slam. Holy shit, Flair barely caught her on that one! Amid all the chaos, Austin catches Steamboat in a roll up assisted by a pull of the tights for the win at 24:28. Wow. 

A testament to how great this was. Austin has a freaking abdominal stretch on and the crowd on standing with no signs on sitting down. That's badass.

Ric Flair & Steve Austin d. Sting & Ricky Steamboat when Austin pinned Steamboat (24:28)

VERDICT:

Further research tells me that this gem was included on the Stone Cold - And That's The Bottom Line DVD set, turning that into this weekend's hunt and must buy. This was a class in old school tag wrestling and we had four professors to demonstrate what an amazing match was. Sure, there were hiccups like Sting striking out on a dive and Sherri almost dying during the finish at the end, but who gives a damn? This was fun, energetic, and told a great story. Some could make a case that it wasn't the mot well structured match, but they did things differently then and called most of it on the fly. Also, the crowd hopping and screaming like lunatics seemed to strongly disagree. Flair's antics and Steamboat's selling are always top notch together, but with the additional dynamics of a motivated Sting and a sneaky as hell Austin making trouble, this could've gone an hour and I wouldn't have complained. One of the greatest televised tag team matches in the history and if you haven't seen this, make the time, because you won't be disappointed.