#WWF Junior Heavyweight Title

[blowflyfag]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated : APRIL 1996

close-up: THE KID

Part 2

Transcript Below!!!

At 6’2” and 212 pounds, The Kid hardly looks like the typical professional wrestler … But he isn’t typical: the six year veteran is a high-flying, high-risk, aerial artist who has scored several shocking upsets simply because he’s willing to take chances … Spent most of his early years competing for Minneapolis-based Pro Wrestling America … As The Lightning Kid, he won the PWA light heavyweight title in both 1990 and 1991 … He also held the PWA tag team title (with Jerry Lynn) and the PWA TV title … Moved to texas and won the Global Wrestling Federation junior heavyweight title twice in the second half of ‘91 … Later accepted an offer to wrestle in Japan and battled such superstars as Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Ultimo Dragon, and The Great Muta … Lost most of those matches, but gained valuable experience … arrived in the WWF in April 1993 hardly made a splash … Lost his debut match to Louie Spicolli … Also lost to mid-carders such as Doink the Clown and Mr. Hughes, The Kid scored one of the biggest WWF upsets ever by pinning Razor Ramon on May 17 WWF Monday Night Raw … Kid seemed as shocked as everyone in the building … From that point on, fans called him the 1-2-3 Kid … Also pinned Terry Taylor and Ted DiBiase on several occasions … Just as impressive were two victories over former AWA World Champion Rick Martel … Jerry Lawler started poking fun at him on segments of “King’s Court” … Moved up as high as fourth in the WWF ratings in 1993 … Was pinned by Irwin R. Schyster at SummerSlam ‘93 … Lost by countout to Marty Jannetty in a thrilling match on August 31, 1993, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kid was injured when he misfired on a daring dive and hit a steel railing. Jannetty helped him back to the dressing room … Went in a slump after suffering a series of embarrassing losses to Doink … Also lost to Bastion Booger because of interference by Johnny Polo … Polo pushed Kid off the top rope, leading to the pin … Helped protect Ramon from an attack by Schyster, Diesel, Adam Bomb, and Martel after Ramon won his first Intercontinental title, on September 17, 1993 … At the 93’ Survivor Series, he teamed with Jannetty, Ramon, and Randy Savage to defeat IRS, Diesel, Martel, and Bomb … Wrestled well, but made one mistake too many and lost a crucial RAW against Shawn Michaels … Michaels twice power-bombed Kid before Ramon came to his rescue … Won his first major title on January 10, 1994, when he and Jannetty teamed to beat The Quebecers for the WWF World tag team title; Kid pinned Jacques following a flying bodypress from the top rope … Lost the belts back to The Quebecers one week later … Kid stunned Jeff Jarrett in the quater-finals of the 1994 King of the Ring tournament, but was piledrived by “Double-J” three times afterward … There was no doubt as to whether Kid would be ready for the semifinals later that evening, but after a bried delay, he came out and lost a tough match to Owen Hart … Owen went on to win King of the Ring … Had a thrilling match with WWF World champion Bret Hart on July 1, 1994. Kid kicked out of several pin attempts, shocked Bret with a spinning savate kick, but erred by trying a dropkick from the top rope. Bret moved out of the way and Kid landed on his back. Bret won by submission to the “sharpshooter” … In a battle of aerial artists on August 15, 1994, Kid won by disqualification over Owen Hart after Jim Neidhart interfered. Owen then locked Kid in a ���sharpshooter” for several minutes … Teamed with Ramon, Fatu, Davey Boy Smith, and Sionne to beat Jarrett, Diesel, Neidhart, Owen Hart, and Michaels at the 94’ Survivor Series. The Kid, however, was one of the first wrestlers eliminated … Teamed with newcomer “Man O’ War” Aldo Montoya in matches against The Heavenly Bodies and others … Teamed with Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly to beat Bam Bam Bigekow and Tatanka in a tournament final for the vacant WWF World tag team title at the 95’ Royal Rumble … But glory didn’t last long. One night later in Palmetto, Florida,The Smokin’ Gunns beat The Kid and Holly for the belts …

[hall-of-fame-guy]

WWE Hall Of Fame class of 1994

"Classy" Freddie Blassie started his wrestling career in 1935 and served the army during World War 2 before resuming his wrestling career after war where he was billed as "Sailor" Fred Blassie due to his military background. Blassie working for wrestling promoter, Jack Pfefer and later went to wrestle for Jess Mcmahon, the father of the later Vince Mcmahon Sr and grandfather to Vince Mcmahon Jr.

Blassie went to the Los Angeles territory in 1952 before going to the Georgia territory in 1953. After a 7 year run in Georgia Championship Wresting, Blassie returned to Los Angeles territory where he wrestle and became a big star in Worldwide Wrestling Associate ( WWA)

In 1961, Blassie defeats the late wrestling legend Edouard Carpentier for his first WWA World title. He lost the title to the late hall of famer, Rikidozan in 1962 and toured Japan and returned in 1965 and 1968

During that time, he became friends with the late Regis Philbin where he would attend Philbin show.

Blassie would later regain the WWA World title 3 more time in 1962 and 1963 before leaving for the WWWF in 1964.

In the WWWF, he feuded with late hall of famers, Bruno Sammartino over the WWWF Championship and Bobo Brazil.

Blassie would return to WWA in 1968 and by 1970, he turned babyface and returned to the WWF in 1971, once again challenging for the WWF championship with then champion, the late hall of famer, Pedro Morales.

Blassie retired from wrestling in 1974 due to state commission prohibited wrestler wrestling over the age of 55, coupled with his injuries sustained and started becoming a manager.

He managed legends and hall of famer like the late Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, Ray "The Crippler" Stevens, Jesse" The Body" Ventura and many more. Blassie alongside "Captain' Lou Albano and The Grand Wizard was known as the "Three Wise Man of the East"

Blassie famous moment as manager came in 1983 where he managed the late hall of famer Iron Sheik to defeat hall of famer Bob Backlund for the WWF title on Dec 26th, 1983. Blassie was on hand for Wrestlemania 1 where he managed both Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff to win the World Tag Team title from US Express.

Blassie retired from full time managing in 1986 and after his retirement, he still appears on TV from time to time, working on commentary in 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990. Due to Blassie close relationship with Vince Sr, he was in WWF payroll until he passed away.

Blassie was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994 by Regis Philbin and continue to made TV appearance after his induction in 1999, 2000 2001. Blassie made his final WWE TV appearance on May 12th, 2003 where he had the Dudley to get the table when they and Stone Cold came saving him from a beatdown attempt by 3 minute warning. His book was release a day later.

Freddie Blassie passed away on June 2nd, 2003 at the age of 85 with Jim Ross acknowledging his passing on that Raw.

Accolades:

4x WWA World Heavyweight Champion

4x Americas Heavyweight Champion

1x NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion

1x NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion

WWE Hall of Fame class of 1994

WWE Slammy Award for life time achievement in 1996

NWA Hall of Fame class of 2011

[wrestlingisfake]

Battle Autumn preview

Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito - Ospreay's IWGP United States title is at stake. This is a rematch from their G1 Climax semifinal match on August 17. Ospreay won that encounter, but Naito asked for a championship bout anyway. Zack Sabre Jr. (who had a more credible argument for a title shot) objected, but Naito defeated him on October 2 to formally become the #1 contender.

It stands to reason the winner of this match will not defend the US title again until Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome on January 4. The loser will probably get a partner to enter World Tag League (November 21-December 14) for a shot at the IWGP heavyweight tag champions at Wrestle Kingdom. Based on that, it feels like Ospreay makes more sense in the US title picture, and Naito fits in better in the tag scene (teaming with SANADA or Shingo Takagi). But New Japan booking always manages to surprise me when I think I've got all the angles covered.

This match should be good but I'm not expecting anything blowaway. This show feels sort of like a WWF In Your House where they're putting it out there but they're saving their best stuff for later. I don't think we're getting a title change or a big angle or anything like that. It'd be cool if we got some movement on whatever is planned for Ospreay and Kenny Omega, but I'm not counting on it.

Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan - FTR (Dax and Cash) won the IWGP heavyweight tag title from Cobb and Khan on June 26 in Chicago, so this is the rematch. Since their last encounter was a three-way, Cobb and Khan are making the old "we weren't pinned so we never really lost" argument. FTR also hold the ROH and AAA tag titles, but those are not at stake here. I'm guessing they won't bring the AAA belts to this show, seeing as New Japan and AAA don't have a working relationship.

The winners of this match will presumably be the champions heading into World Tag League, which will decide the next challengers. Cobb and Khan will almost certainly enter the tournament, but there's been no indication whether FTR will be there. I wouldn't blame FTR if they skipped the tournament, considering they're triple champions and awfully busy and seem to be working through a lot of injuries. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they declare for the tournament on this show. I think we'll know one way or the other by the time this match is over.

I think it's kind of cool how FTR has three sets of belts, and it'd be extra cool if they added the AEW tag title to their collection before they break up the set. But I get the feeling that this thing has run its course and New Japan wants their belts back. Unless FTR is sticking around for World Tag League and/or Wrestle Kingdom, they probably just need to lose here.

Jay White & KENTA vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tama Tonga - White defended the IWGP world title against Tonga last month, and Okada is his next challenger on January 4. I'm not sure what Kenta's role is in this, but they mean to set up a Tonga vs. Kenta feud. Or maybe Kenta's just here to get pinned by Okada.

Parejas increibles match - This is a straight two-on-two tag team match where we know the participants, but the teams won't be revealed until the match starts. The four participants are Taiji Ishimori, Hiromu Takahashi, El Desperado, and Master Wato, who are all scheduled to meet in a four-way match on January 4 for Ishimori's IWGP junior heavyweight title. So it could be Ishimori & Wato vs. Hiromu & Despy, or Ishimori & Despy vs. Hiromu & Wato, etc., etc. It's a cute idea but it feels like filler. Wake me when they fight for the title in a couple of months.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. EVIL - This is a semifinal match in a tournament to crown the first NJPW World television champion. The winner advances to the final at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. Personally I think New Japan already has more belts than they know what to do with, but at least the TV title looks neat. Evil is on the warpath here because he's still pissed that Sabre beat him in 55 seconds in the G1 Climax. I'd much rather see Sabre win, but New Japan loves trolling everybody with Evil victories, so I think it could go either way.

SANADA vs. Ren Narita - This is the other semifinal in the television title tournament. Narita just returned to Japan from excursion, and had a huge win over Tomohiro Ishii to get here. So he could lose this match and still get what he needed out of this tournament. That being said, I'd have no problem with pushing him even harder with a trip to the finals. But it's pretty unusual for New Japan to push somebody that hard that fast. Sanada should be the clear favorite, it's just a question of whether he meets his old rival Sabre or his former friend Evil in the finals.

Hikuleo vs. Yujiro Takahashi - Hikuleo turned on Bullet Club last month to make the save for his brother Tama Tonga and Hiroshi Tanahashi, which set him up to challenge Karl Anderson on this show for the NEVER openweight title. Then Anderson jumped to WWE and got booked for the Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia. so now we're getting Yujiro instead. I assume Hikuleo will make short work of him.

Normally in a situation like this New Japan would cancel the Anderson match ASAP, but in this case they took their sweet time and Anderson cut a promo about it on Twitter. As of this writing, Anderson is still recognized as NEVER champion and he still says he'll defend the belt later, so maybe WWE and New Japan have a deal in place? Maybe we'll get a video from him after this match to reschedule the title defense in January? Maybe?

Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay & Toru Yano & Alex Zayne vs. Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher & Aaron Henare & Gideon Grey - Tana's team is facing what looks to be the United Empire's B-team. I assume Aussie Open (Davis and Fletcher) are in Japan for World Tag League, and I suppose Henare and Grey makes sense as another duo. If Tana needs a partner I'd prefer to see him with Finlay rather than Yano. Zayne is probably going to be in the Super Jr. Tag League. As for this match, I think Tanahashi's side has to win.

Francesco Akira & TJP vs. BUSHI & Titan - Its a little unusual for New Japan to put a title bout in the opener, but Akira and TJP are defending the IWGP junior heavyweight tag championship. The big story here is that CMLL's Titan recently joined Los Ingobernables de Japon, which is convenient since Bushi's usual partner (Hiromu Takahashi) is busy with the junior singles division. The winners of this match should be the champions heading into the Super Jr. Tag League tournament, which should determine the next challengers. My money is on Akira and TJP to retain, but it wouldn't be too much trouble to do a title change here.

[lostinyourears]

Lucha-resu Rewind Machine #2 : Tatsumi Fujinami © vs Chavo Guerrero for the WWF Jr. Heavyweight Title at 1980 NJPW’s 3rd MSG Series

Video if you have NJPW World, if you don’t have NJPW World as always I’ll have a highlight gif album at the bottom. 

I wanted to do some content to replace the normal Tuesday Arena Mexico report that I do. Originally I was going to do a lucha libre time machine covering Pierroth Jr. vs El Supremo, mask vs match. That of course would relate to the 1985 earthquake. In that El Supremo was scheduled to main event 85′s EMLL Anniversary which was canceled because of that earthquake.

7 years later Supremo would take on Pierroth in a mask vs mask match. I decided against doing a write up on that match... mostly because it’s not a great match. It was on CMLL TV in 1992 and is actually an interesting look into one of the darkest periods in CMLL history back when AAA had just formed and CMLL had to worry about AAA usurping them as the Mexican wrestling company. 

For those who want to watch Pierroth Jr. vs El Supremo : here is a link to the full match on Youtube.

Instead we are looking at :

Tatsumi Fujinami © vs Chavo Guerrero for the WWF Jr. Heavyweight Title(Card with Guide)

Who’s who?

Tatsumi Fujinami at the time was finding his footing in NJPW. In 1974 he took part in the Karl Gotch Cup a tournament for rookies, precursor to the later established Young Lions Cup. 

In 1976-77 he would work with NWA and UWA on his excursion. He would return to NJPW, but continue working with those companies in the early 1980′s when he also held the WWF Junior Heavyweight title which he held for 2 reigns and a combined 1,375 days. It was one of a few Junior belts floating around before NJPW made their own IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title which would become their main Jr. title when it was created in 1986. 

By the time the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title was created Tatsumi Fujinami had already been bumped up to the Heavyweight division and thus never held the IWGP Jr. belt. One of the reasons Fujinami was bumped up was to make room for Tiger Mask in the Jr. Division who would be a star in that division. Though he too never held the IWGP Jr title... instead holding the precursor belts : NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Fujinami would go on to become one of the biggest stars in NJPW’s history. Considered by some to be better than Antonio Inoki himself though however you spell it out he was a huge name for the company and continues to wrestle having had 7 matches in 2017 at the age of 63. 

Chavo Guerrero at the time was most known for being NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship, Guerrero held the title 15 times between 1975 and 1980 and even feuded with Roddy Piper over it. He was also of note being son of Gory Guerrero who was and still is considered one of the best workers to ever grace the Lucha Libre wrestling scene.

In the late 70′s early 80′s Chavo would set his sights on Japan. Following in the footsteps of famous luchador Mil Mascaras who had success in AJPW. Even getting Tokyo Sports match of the year in 1977 :  Jumbo Tsuruta  vs. Mil Mascaras

From 1978-1983 Chavo’s time was mainly spent working for NJPW/AJPW. 

His involvement in the scene alongside Mil Mascara, Dos Caras, and Canek planted the seeds for Lucha Libre in Japan. Which lead to things like Tiger Mask, Liger, Michinoku Pro, Super Delfin and Great Sasuke. 

How’s the match?

Great! Tatsumi works great as a Junior here and really meets Chavo blow for blow throughout. It amazes me this match is from 1980 as it feels so contemporary and very comparable to the match I covered in Lucha-Resu #1 featuring Chavo’s younger brother Eddie Guerrero under the Black Tiger mask, which was 16 years later!

Chavo’s run of AJPW/NJPW set a good example of how Lucha Libre can work and did work in Japan. Planting seeds that would later bear fruit opening the door for talents like Eddie, Dr. Wagner Jr. and in more recent years guys like Dragon Lee, Mistico, Rush and La Sombra to wow the crowds of Japan working with their local talent. Though like I said above Chavo wasn’t the only one or the first as Mil Mascaras went to Japan earlier in the 70′s.

At the moment New Japan World only has 2 Chavo Guerrero matches, but hopefully with time more will be uploaded. I’m really glad they have them up there. It might have less to do with it being Chavo and more to do with both being vs Tatsumi Fujinami who is one of the most important names of NJPW’s 45 year history. 

Sadly early in 2017 we lost Chavo Guerrero to liver cancer, he was remembered/memorialized on WWE Television and on Netflix Original series ‘GLOW’ which his son worked on. We lost a legend this year, in fact quite a few with the recent passing of Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan and earlier passing of George ‘The Animal’ Steele who passed the same week as Chavo back in February. Sometimes the heroes between the ropes can seem immortal, so it can hit hard when the reaper comes for them too.

Luckily for Chavo, Heenan, and Steele along with the many other legends we have lost this year, most of them live on in classic moments and matches like this bout Chavo Guerrero had with Tatsumi Fujinami 37 years ago.  

I keep Mexico City in my thoughts as they deal with the aftermath of the Earthquake that hit yesterday. Mashable has a nice article about what you can do to help including a link to donate. If you can help out in any way, please do as Mexico City could use it!

Puroresu-Rewind #1

Lucha Libre Time Machine #1

Lucha-resu Rewind Machine #1

Highlights : 

[kayfabeconspiracy]

July 20, 1984 - A battle of the Bulldogs for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title! Davey Boy Smith against his cousin The Dynamite Kid

[darkarfs]

my favorite WWE matches of 1997

Though I officially started watching wrestling in 1995 (my family famously first bought SummerSlam that year, which would be my first wrestling show ever, because it was $25.00. 1995 was a bad year for wrestling), I became a regular watcher of both WWE and WCW Raw and Nitro, and was able to buy my own PPVs, around summer of 1996, when Hogan turned. The first show I bought with my own money was In Your House: Buried Alive, though I kept up with weekly TV. And, for better or worse, I've been a fan ever since.

1997 was a REAL rollercoaster year for wrestling. The NWO was becoming a bloated mess in no time at all, Bret Hart was riding high, while he and Shawn Michaels publicly hated one another, a young Rocky Maivia was slowly transforming into the most charismatic wrestler of maybe all time, a young Steve Austin has broken his neck and can only work 5 minute matches but is somehow the most OVER wrestler in the company, and by the end of the year, the Screwjob happens, Bret's in WCW, Shawn's on handfuls of SOMAs (yet main-eventing). In a lot of ways, I'm grateful, because I side-stepped all of Hogan's WWF and WCW run. But it was a tornado of a year for a business always on precarious footing, as it ever has been.

And it gave us some CRACKING matches! - The 1997 Royal Rumble I love me a Rumble, and it's REALLY hard (but not impossible) to find a bad one (1993, 1995, 1999). And I personally love one with a storyline that runs throughout, and in this case, it's the ultimate heeling of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He visibly dominates the match until he hears Bret Hart's music, and then goes into panic mode. And it furthers the characterization of Bret's hand-spun narrative as being rightfully pissed that he's being taken advantage of by the roster, screwed by the company, and booed by the fans. Fun bonus: this is also the only Rumble appearance of lucha legend Mil Mascaras, who was so full of old-school carny spirit he famously refused to let anyone else eliminate him, so he eliminated himself, pissed Vince off, and was not spoken of again on WWE TV until the 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony, where he was inducted by his huge prick nephew, Alberto del Rio. - Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 13 This match is considered legendary, and for good reason. The greatest technical wrestler in the company vs. the best brawler, months of build, the world's most iconic (and off-the-cuff) blade-job (so much so that the visual of Austin bleeding in the Sharpshooter going "DAAAHHHH!" became the cover for his first VHS) and the wrestling world's most exquisite double-turn. It's fun, it's thrilling, it feels at once timeless and modern. Fun fact: there's a fun version of this match you can watch with just Austin doing commentary over it, and it's entertaining as hell. A true classic, and one of the greatest 'Mania matches of all time. - Ken Shamrock vs. Vader, No Holds Barred match, In Your House: a Cold Day In Hell Vader, famously, while a big teddy bear and a for-all-accounts lovely guy outside of the ring, had a reputation of being a bit "snug" with other wrestlers. Meaning he hit a little too hard, had little self-control, and took liberties with people, especially rookies and younger guys. It's supposedly why Shawn Michaels didn't want to work a world title program with him from summer to fall of 1996, because he was "too rough." But what never occurred to Vader is that trying that with a guy who's had 2 matches but has almost 5 years of MMA experience might not be the smartest or most prudent idea. Shamrock gives Vader as much as Vader gives him in this match, and there are moments where you can tell the guys are going into business for themselves. There's a moment where Shamrock is clubbing Vader with punches, and you can hear Vader, as he's turtling up and putting his arms up to block, yell "SLOW DOWN!" and then he rolls out of the ring to catch a breather. Vader, by the end of this match, is bleeding through his mask, a product of a broken nose, which is why I assume he gives Shamrock the stiffest short-arm clothesline I've ever seen. It's brutal, it's stupid, it weaves in and out of the script SO many times like a drunk man trying to stand up straight on a canoe, and I'm fascinated by each and every instance. - Owen Hart vs. the British Bulldog, European Championship Tournament Finals, Monday Night Raw, March 3rd Somehow, a workrate classic is stuck on a rinky-dink episode of Raw from Berlin, Germany. Smith and Hart blended some of their acquired WWE-style of work with classic junior heavyweight wrestling, complete with intricate reversals and fast-paced offense that was unlike either man's designed ethos of the time. Hart's shift toward his underhanded instincts as the match wore on provided enough story to balance the beautiful grappling from two men with impressive resumes. You can feel that these two knew one another, grew up together, and most importantly, wrestled together. An honest-to-God sleeper hit, but everyone who knows this match calls it a classic. - Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, King of the Ring It's a concept that would be beaten into the ground in short order: Tag Team Champions that hate each other's guts. John Cena, seriously, has only been tag champions with people he's feuding with. That's

not even a joke. Austin and Michaels won the belts out of mutual dislike for the Hart Foundation, and then were programmed together for a wild match at the King of the Ring, one without a winner. Early on, the two actually pieced together a tremendous wrestling match full of nifty counters (prior to Austin changing his style after August for obvious reasons), before it degenerated into chaos after both men assaulted referees in the heat of the moment. Granted, neither man could really lose this one, so the screwy finish did serve its purpose. Until that point, it's a different type of incredible Austin match. You're never so happy to see a double-DQ finish. - Owen Hart & the British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels & Stone Cold Steve Austin, Monday Night Raw, May 26th And now we have a match set! The previous 4 participants in a brilliant and brutal tag team match. The Tag Team championship switch marked Austin's first piece of recognized gold in WWE, in a match on free television no less. That's not to insult the match any, as it was a pay-per-view quality fracas that barely slowed down. It is a mere 14 minutes long WITH entrances, but it moves at a clip, and everyone has their working boots on. It was a harbinger of days to come for this new period in WWE's history, and the crowd ate it up.

- Taka Michinoku vs. the Great Sasuke, In Your House: Canadian Stampede What happened here? Just when you think WCW had the cruiserweights cornered, WWE pulls this shit...and then kind of ignores it for a few months. But not before importing two of Michinoku Pro's finest to have a TakeOver-length exhibition. At first, the crowd in Calgary wasn't sure what to make of the undersized performers, but it wouldn't take long to win them over. From Michinoku's hands-free springboard dive to Sasuke's beautiful Thunder Fire Powerbomb, the expansive crowd was positively hooked on the daredevils with each passing minute. Although Sasuke wouldn't be long for the company, and Michinoku's run as Light Heavyweight Champion faded as 1998 wore on, the display at Canadian Stampede was a wondrous experience. This wouldn't have looked out of place in a Chikara King of Trios tournament. - The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman, the British Bulldog) vs. Team Austin (Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock and Goldust), In Your House: Canadian Stampede I would have put this match on the list for the entrances and the finish alone. The crowd is at fever static for the entire match, seriously at the level of Punk/Cena at MITB 2011. And even though the Harts are the heels, they're in Calgary, and they get rock-star level ovations for merely existing. Everyone plays it mad and delighted, and you can tell they're all having a ball. Especially Pillman, who is just magically unhinged, a template for a young Dean Ambrose during their feud with the Wyatt Family. It is a magical, unreal main event, one of the best B-ppv main events maybe of all time. Well...other than MAYBE... - Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker, Hell in a Cell, In Your House: Badd Blood The very first Hell in a Cell match may very well double as the greatest of its kind. What stands out to me (other than how the match ends) is just how GREAT Michaels' selling is. When he's running away, he's constantly looking around for an exit, like a scared rat. When he finally gets caught and struck, he sells almost to the level he did for Hogan at SummerSlam 2005. But while he was doing that to make Hogan's offense look stupid, he's doing it here to make Taker's offense and anger look legit, and it somehow WORKS. But as fabulous as the match and the psychology is, it somehow takes a backseat to the debut of the Undertaker's monstrous little brother Kane, finally confronting his older brother in perhaps the greatest character debut in WWE history. - Mankind vs. Kane, Survivor Series I dunno what it is about this match that does it for me. Mankind's emotional lead-up to the match, where he's sad that Uncle Paul (Bearer) left him. Maybe the fact that Kane sells like Michael Myers, not so much that he's in pain, but as if he's never been hit in the face with a steel chair, a DDT or a piledriver. Maybe it's because Mick takes more horrific bumps than he needs to to make sure Kane looks like a legit monster. Maybe it's the broken Virtua Boy lighting. But it's genuinely unlike any other Mankind, Kane or ANY match I've seen before or since. It's a perfect somehow sympathetic serial killer vs. bigger, scarier serial killer that feels nothing story in a wrestling match. I didn't even know you could DO that.

[omniversalobservations]

Wrestle Kingdom 11 (April 2017)

Tiger Mask is the persona of several Japanese professional wrestlers. The persona was inspired by the title character in Ikki Kajiwara's and Naoki Tsuji's 1968 manga series, Tiger Mask about a professional wrestler who was a feared heel in the United States, but became a face after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up.

In the early 1980s, the bookers in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion licensed the character and created a real-life Tiger Mask, originally portrayed by Satoru Sayama, to help boost their junior heavyweight division. In the United States, Tiger Mask was the first wrestler to simultaneously hold the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship and NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Sayama played the role until 1983, when he left New Japan due to his hatred for the backstage politics of professional wrestling in general. As Tiger Mask, Sayama feuded with Kuniaki Kobayashi, Canada's Bret Hart, England's Chris Adams, Steve Wright and legendary Dynamite Kid, Mexico's Fishman and the original Black Tiger (see below).

In 1984, the rights to the Tiger Mask gimmick were bought by All Japan Pro Wrestling and given to Mitsuharu Misawa. Misawa also feuded with Dynamite Kid and Kuniaki Kobayashi, as well as Chavo Guerrero, Sr. and Atsushi Onita; he then moved up to the heavyweight division to feud, albeit unsuccessfully, with Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu. In May 1990, after Tenryu left All Japan, Misawa gave up the mask in the middle of a match to wrestle as himself.

New Japan's Koji Kanemoto became the third Tiger Mask in March 1992, but was unsuccessful due to the dominance of Jyushin Thunder Liger. Kanemoto was never able to win a title as Tiger Mask, and eventually lost the mask in a mask-vs-mask match against Liger in January 1994.

Since 1995, the name Tiger Mask has been held by Yoshihiro Yamazaki, who was trained directly (and is officially endorsed) by Sayama. Tiger Mask IV, originally based at Michinoku Pro Wrestling, entered New Japan in 2002.

A fifth generation Tiger Mask, MMA fighter Ikuhisa Minowa, debuted on July 18, 2010 alongside the original Tiger Mask, Sayama, in a tag match for Maki Dojo.

In conjunction with the launch of the Tiger Mask W anime series, NJPW debuted Tiger Mask W on October 10, 2016, at King of Pro-Wrestling. This character was portrayed by Kota Ibushi and teamed with Tiger Mask IV in a match against Kazuchika Okada and Gedo.

In October 2018, Satoru Sayama announced the debut of Shinsetsu Tiger Mask, a student of his with Shinsetsu meaning "true teachings" in Japanese.

Source: Wikipedia

Sure, let’s get the wink-wink nudge-nudge out of the way first. Tiger Mask W is Kota Ibushi and Tiger The Dark is ACH. There, we exposed the business. Now can we just focus on how much fun this was, please?

This was pretty much everything I wanted it to be, aside from Yellow Devil running in and laying down the challenge to Tiger Mask for Invasion Attack. I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with the Tiger Mask W anime, but New Japan went way further than they had to in the pursuit of making this feel like it was part of the show’s universe. For crying out loud, they got Haruna’s voice actress to introduce Tiger Mask in full Haruna cosplay. This is how Wrestle Kingdom STARTED, people.

Also, major props for making sure the Tiger The Dark’s moveset was authentic to the show. Both the Darkness Hold submission and the Darkness Driver tombstone were on display here, which is especially crazy when you consider that the Darkness Hold only debuted last episode and oh god I’ve become THAT fan. Still, if you know anything about ACH, this is probably his dream come true. “Please study this anime very carefully, because we need you to be the real life version of one of the characters.”

Source: Uproxx

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. It was later adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation.

In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. After returning to Japan, Tiger Mask joined the Japanese League headed by Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki (also Real Life wrestlers) who were then on the verge of kicking him out for his use of villainous techniques. Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was raised in an orphanage, and later joined Tiger's Cave (a criminal cartel whose main activity was to train young people to become Heel wrestlers) to become "Strong as a Tiger".

To save the orphanage where he was born and raised, he decided to go against the main rule of Tiger's Cave (all wrestlers must give 50% of their income to the organisation) and as such he was marked a "traitor" and other wrestlers from the Cave tried to kill him in the ring (while hired assassins tried to do the same outside of the ring).

When an orphan living in the same orphanage as Naoto started to take his heel persona as a life model, Tiger Mask decided to fight honestly in the ring, starting a series of confrontations that eventually brought him up against the Big Bad, the master of Tiger's Cave.

Most people outside Japan, though, only know Tiger Mask as a real professional wrestler from a fad in The '80s. While it only began as a homage and promotion to the fictional character, it grew into a popularity of its own, especially in the West, due to the memorable Dynamite Kid fights. Since then five wrestlers have adopted Tiger's identity: Satoru Sayama, Mitsuharu Misawa, Koji Kanemoto, Yoshihiro Yamazaki and Ikuhisa Minowa, in that order. (Before them, there was also Samson Kutsuwada in Korea, but that didn't spawn a continuous legacy.)

A sequel titled Tiger Mask W premiered in 2016.

Source: TV Tropes

(images via YouTube)

[thesportssoundoff]

“Need a video of Derrick Lewis critiquing the Wizard Of Oz” The UFC in Kansas Preview

The UFC comes to Wichita, Kansas for a relatively intriguing fight card! Every once in a while the UFC will book a venue somewhere and instead of giving it an ass card which you would explain for what the WWF in the 80s or 90s would call a B Town, they bring out a pretty compelling fight night on paper that goes entirely under the radar. We saw it when they loaded up for Norfolk, Virginia with Poirier vs Pettis, Matt Brown vs Diego Sanchez, Andrei Arlovsky and a loaded undercard. We saw it with Boise's card last year that had JDS vs Ivanov, Sage Northcutt and plenty other really good name fights. Now we get it here as Wichita gets JDS vs Derrick Lewis, Ben Rothwell vs Blagoy Ivanov, Curtis Millender vs Elizeu Zaleski and a host of fighters on the undercard who you've heard of like Omari Akhmedov, Tim Boetsch, Drew Dober, Tim Means, Marion Reneau, Anthony Rocco Martin and Louis Smolka. There's some damn good compelling matchmaking on top of that as well! This is my kinda show with WW violence and a heaping helping of big doughy guys throwing fists at one another. Also let's not forget this card starts at 8 PM so it won't take you into mid Sunday morning either. All in all, the UFC is giving Wichita a solid fight card worthy of your time.

Fights: 13

Debuts: Jeff Hughes, Grant Dawson

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 (Daniel Spitz OUT,  Maurice Green IN vs Jeff Hughes)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 7 (Derrick Lewis, Junior Dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov, Ben Rothwell, Louis Smolka, Beneil Dariush and Tim Boetsch)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Alex White)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Matt Schnell, Junior Dos Santos, Curtis Millender, Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos, Anthony Rocco Martin, Sergio Moraes)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 24-13-1

Junior Dos Santos- 2-1 Derrick Lewis- 4-2 Curtis Millender- 2-0 Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos- 5-0 Niko Price- 3-2 Tim Means- 2-3 Blagoy Ivanov- 0-1 Ben Rothwell- 0-0 Beniel Dariush- 1-2 Drew Dober- 3-0 Omari Akhmedov- 1-0-1 Tim Boetsch- 1-2

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Welterweight- 4 (15) Heavyweight- 3 (7) Lightweight-  2 (14) Bantamweight- 1 (12) Featherweight- 1 (8) Middleweight- 1 (5) Women’s Bantamweight- 1 (2)

Light Heavyweight- (8) Women’s Strawweight- (6) Women’s Flyweight- (7) Flyweight- (4)

2019’s Records We Keepin Track Of:

Debuting Fighters (5-12): Jeff Hughes, Grant Dawson

Short Notice Fighters (5-5): Maurice Green

Second Fight (17-3):  Maurice Green, Dan Moret, Louis Smolka

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (4-7): Ben Rothwell, Omari Akhmedov

Undefeated Fighters (7-8):

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (1-3): Alex White, Matt Schnell, Tim Means, Omari Akhmedov

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (6-5): Matt Schnell

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- So what's next for JDS if he wins? I would've put a halt to JDS ever fighting for the title again after getting smelted by Stipe in May of 2017 but since that point he's beaten Blagoi Ivanov and Tai Tuivasa, both pretty emphatically. The Tuivasa one was particularly interesting since JDS got hurt, recovered and then finished him in the next round. It also helps that Miocic is pretty much missing in action right now and the new champion is a guy with one foot in the door and one foot out. Assuming the Brock situation doesn't pan out, JDS on a three fight winning streak might eek him over Ngannou. Now WOULD you do Ngannou vs JDS? They tried that previously and it fell apart with JDS getting caught up in one of those Brazilian tainted pill situations. Once cleared, it feels like a JDS vs Ngannou fight would make a lot of sense BUT if you needed a #1 contender on the fly for Cormier, who could you even rely on if Ngannou and JDS are tied up?

2- Derrick Lewis in the past has said that the guys who REALLY give him problems aren't the big tough wrestler types who take him down (Daniel Cormier being the exception) and it's the strikers who can throw down with him who give him problems because he doesn't fight well going backwards. Case in point guys like Matt Mitrione, Shawn Jordan, Mark Hunt etc etc. This is a rough ugly stylistic match up for him but I would not at all rule out Derrick Lewis.

3- Is Derrick Lewis beginning to be settle into a niche as a Cowboy Cerrone for HW? A popular dude who exists in the middle of the division who  is there to bolster up cards and occasionally pop a nice number as a headliner?

4- Elizeu Zaleski vs Curtis Millender should be five rounds. Don't give me any other measures.

5- Ben Rothwell hasn't fought since 2016 and I wonder if he's still a top 10 heavyweight. Rothwell's super limited athletically but he's got a surprising toolbox of things he can go to to pick up wins. He hits surprisingly hard, he doesn't panic in the face of pressure, his ground game is solid for a big guy and he's really durable. So can Rothwell still be a top 10 HW? For point of reference, Marcin Tybura and Aleskei Olynik are 9 and 10 in the top 10 currently.

6- Tim Means vs Niko Price is either a lock for 50K in some form or fashion or it'll be the blur nobody remembers the next day.

7- Maybe I watched waaay too much Victory FC but I really do like Grant Dawson as a potential prospect for the future. Dawson is just one of those guys from the Mid West who you can see having a big long term future with the right amount of matchmaking. Dawson's wrestling chops on their own combined with his quicks should give him a shot to make it pretty far in the UFC even if his striking needs a TON of work. We also don't necessarily know what he's gotten better at after a suspension in 2017 after signing his UFC deal. He has Julian Erosa which is a really interesting prospect vs regional level gatekeeper type fight.

8- I'm having a tough time getting a read on Rothwell vs Blagoy Ivanov currently. Rothwell's been gone obviously for quite a while and that, in turn, opens the door as to whether or not he's cooked. On the other hand, Ivanov looked pretty much out of his depth when he fought JDS in July. It's been said that he was hurt going into that fight BUT Ivanov was kind of developing into a clunky doughy guy down for the WSOF/PFL anyways. Ivanov also has some statistical crash padding here with a 17-3 record for fighters on their second fight so he's got "the odds" in his favor as well. Something tells me this one could be pretty ugly.

9- Keeping with second fight numbers, you've got Maurice Green back in action! It's a short notice call up and a rematch in a fight he lost BUT Greene is a big long HW who can cut it on the feet and has the sort of hips you don't see at HW to throw up triangles. He's coming off a win over Cuban HW Michel Batista.  Across from him will be Jeff Hughes, a Contenders Series guy who probably should've just been signed up to the UFC without any hurdles to jump.

10- Tim Boetsch vs Omari Akhmedov is going to be somethin'. I don't know WHAT but it'll be somethin'.

11- If Yana Kunitskaya beats Marion Reneau, how far away is she REALISTICALLY from a title shot. That'd be two in a row at 135 lbs after getting smelted by Cyborg in a division where Holly Holm is really the only fresh fight for Amanda Nunes. If Nunes is retiring at the end of 2019, does it make sense to just keep Yana away?

12- This is the first time since July that we've had back to back shows with fights at women's bantamweight. Do something with this division, man.

[siscosfavoritecomics]

誕生日おめでとう(Happy Birthday) to Japanese legend Tatsumi "The Dragon" Fujinami.

Fujinami is one of the most decorated Japanese wrestlers having held the prestigious IWGP Championship six times and the IWGP Tag Titles five times (four times with Kengo Kimura.) Fujinami also won the 1993 G1 Climax tournament defeating Hiroshi Hase in the finals.

Fujinami's career started in the early 1970s, so its no surprise that he held a number of the old WWF International Titles from the days of their working partnership with NJPW. He held the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship and was the final holder of the WWF International Heavyweight Title and the International Tag Team Titles (also with Kimura.)

Fujinami also held a number of NWA titles including the NWA World Heavyweight Title having defeated Ric Flair in 1991.

Fujinami was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.

#TatsumiFujinami #TheDragon #JapaneseWrestling #NJPW #IWGP #NewJapanProWrestling #InternationalGrandPrixofWrestling #WWF #WorldWrestlingFederation #NWA #NationalWrestlingAlliance #HallofFame #WrestlingBirthdays #ProWrestling #LuchaLibre #Poruresu #SiscosFavoriteComics https://www.instagram.com/p/CYCbaXbvEhA/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Supercard preview

This is the big New Japan/Ring of Honor show at Madison Square Garden.  MSG has a special place in wrestling lore, and it’s primarily been WWE/WWF/WWWF/Capitol Wrestling turf since 1957.  The venue’s official promoter briefly dropped Capitol in 1959 (in favor of the team of Kola Kwariani, Pedro Martinez, and Jack Pfefer), but management ultimately reconciled with Vince McMahon, Sr. by December 1960.  There hasn’t been a non-WWE wrestling show in the Garden ever since...until now. 

You can watch it on traditional PPV or stream it with Fite or Honor Club, although I personally recommend streaming with NJPW World.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada - This is White’s first defense of the IWGP heavyweight championship, which is essentially the New Japan world title.  Okada won the 2019 New Japan Cup tournament to earn this title shot.

Years ago Okada’s manager Gedo plucked him from obscurity and managed him on a rapid rise to the top, in which Okada quickly captured his first IWGP heavyweight championship.  Okada’s last run with the title lasted 720 days, but that ended nearly a year ago with a loss to Kenny Omega.  Gedo lost confidence in Okada and helped White betray him, starting a bitter rivalry that saw White score a massive upset over Okada in the Tokyo Dome on January 4.  That win affirmed Gedo’s decision to switch horses.  Okada had to claw his way back into title contention by winning the New Japan Cup to prove Gedo wrong.

The wrinkle in this story is that Okada was originally supposed to challenge Kenny Omega, who was supposed to still be champion at this point.  But Omega’s departure in January necessitated a couple of impromptu title changes to move White into his position.  So in a sense, White was never meant to be champion this soon, which has made his meteoric rise to the top even more sensational.  As a result, Okada has a chance to regain his title and get revenge on White and Gedo in one fell swoop.

Okada is easily one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and he knows he has to prove it to a lot of Westerners seeing him for the first time here.  White was really not anyone’s first choice to headline this show, and I think he knows he has to prove he belongs at this level.  I think they can deliver.  I’ve got a good feeling about this one.

The finish could be interesting, because if the original plan was to end a lengthy Kenny Omega title reign, that may not fit well with the goal of pushing White as a sudden success.  If Okada wins, I think that suggests they’re more committed to their original long-term plan than White’s push.  If White retains, that suggests they’ve recently altered the plan, which could lead to other surprises this year.  There’s no way to be sure which will happen, which is great since it eliminates the usual aura of inevitability that Okada brings with him.  I cannot pick a winner here.

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll - Lethal is defending the ROH world championship.  This is a ladder match, so the title belt will be hung above the ring and ladders will be set up at ringside to climb up and get it; the only way to win is to be the first competitor to retrieve the belt.

Lethal has been champion for 280 days.  Taven has been feuding with him for months, claiming to be the “real” world champion based on his belief that he should have won the June 30 four-way match where Lethal captured the title.  Meanwhile, Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest tournament on November 4 to earn the right to challenge for the title; on March 13 he declared his intention to exercise that right at this show, against the winner of Lethal vs. Taven on March 15.  However that match ended in a 60-minute draw, so Lethal is still the champion but now Taven gets to be in the match as well.

Like most big three-way matches, there’s a sense that one participant is crammed in.  Lethal is there because he’s the established champion, Scurll is there because he’s arguably ROH’s hottest star (the only member of the Elite not to leave for AEW), and Taven is there because ROH wants to push him.  They may want Taven to win this match, but they don’t want it enough to take the risk of doing the match without Lethal and Scurll, which tells you they aren’t that serious about him, which undermines his credibility.  (See also: Flair, Charlotte.)  This is not to say Taven doesn’t deserve to be there (he finally impressed me in the time-limit draw), but if ROH really believed in him they wouldn’t be hedging their bets on him.

I expect a title change, but I’m not sure which challenger will end up with the belt.  This is probably going to be very pro-Scurll crowd, and the intrigue of putting the title on a guy everyone expects to go to AEW someday would enhance would should already be a big reaction.  On the other hand, a Taven victory sets up a Taven-Scurll program for a few months, and builds toward the long-term future after Scurll inevitably leaves.  (It’s also possible the crowd will turn out to be more into Taven than anyone might have expected a month ago.)  My gut says ROH should go with Scurll while they still have him, to get him as hot as possible before he puts someone over on his way out.  But I’m not super confident about that.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi - Ibushi pinned Naito on March 10 during the New Japan Cup tournament, so he’s getting a shot at Naito’s IWGP intercontinental championship.  These guys can really take it up to another gear, and this could easily be the match of the night, if not the whole Wrestlemania weekend.

Naito’s angle these days is that he has a love-hate relationship with the intercontinental title--it keeps coming back to him, even though he thinks it’s worthlesss--but he would like to become the first man to hold it simultaneously with the main heavyweght title, so he has to fight to keep it.  Ibushi, meanwhile, has finally signed a contract (dramatically choosing to stick with New Japan instead of departing for AEW), so his fans are hoping this will eliminate the “free agent” stigma that has kept him out of the booking at the top.  So while neither man necessarily needs this win, a loss would be a significant detour heading into the summer.

I would personally put Ibushi over, because a title run would mean a lot for him, and give Naito something to do (chasing Kota) besides feud with Suzuki-gun.  But I’m not so sure New Japan will go that way.  So it’s another pick-’em at the top of this card, which is pretty nice.

Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Sabre is defending the Revolution Pro Wrestling British heavyweight championship.  Rev Pro is a UK promotion that has a working relationship with New Japan, but this appears to be their only involvement with this show.  Tanahashi pinned Sabre to eliminate him in the New Japan Cup, and that would be enough to guarantee a New Japan title match all by itself, but in this case I think the main issue is Sabre’s wounded pride.

If I was Rev Pro, I’d want the prestige of a title change in the US, in the Garden, onto a living legend like Tanahashi.  Even better, It immediately sets up a rematch that would be a perfect main event for New Japan’s London show on August 31.  I’m just not seeing much upside to keeping the belt on Sabre right now, even though it’s at least doable.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. PCO & Brody King vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. EVIL & SANADA - The Guerillas of Destiny, Tama and Loa, are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship, and PCO and King are defending the ROH tag team championship.  This is a four-way match, so the first team to score a fall on any opposing team will win the match and both championships.

This match came about after GOD teamed with the Briscoes on February 22, and came to blows after losing the match.  The following night, GOD won the IWGP tag title from Evil/Sanada, and challenged the Briscoes (who then held the ROH tag title) to a title-for-title match.  The Briscoes accepted, but had already committed to defend their title in a match on March 15, against PCO and King, which they lost.  So then the match was billed as GOD vs. PCO/King, and then on March 25 it was officially changed to a four-way for no apparent reason.

This could get crazy.  The Briscoes and PCO/King had a wild and crazy fight last month, and they’ll be looking to top it here.  I think GOD will do their best to keep up with that level of violence.  I don’t know what to expect from Evil and  Sanada if this match breaks down, but they’re certainly not delicate flowers.  In theory you’d expect the New Japan side of things to rein in the chaos, but in practice I think it has to be a Pier 6 brawl to contrast with the more technical contests in the second half of the show.

I have absolutely no idea which of these teams can or should win, or how they’ll deal with either ROH or NJPW losing its tag belts for a few months, or when the double champions will drop one of the titles.  However, since I’m expecting Ospreay to win his double title match for New Japan, it stands to reason an ROH team would win this win this one to even it out a bit.  In that case, the Briscoes feel like the right team to bring home all the gold.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido - Ishimori is defending the IWGP junior heavyweight championship; the first participant to score a fall on either opponent will be the champion.  There is a decent chance that the champion coming out of this match will hold the title through this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and defend the championship against the tournament winner at Dominion.

This match came about because Ishimori issued an open challenge to the ROH roster, but CMLL’s Dragon Lee was the first to respond.  Since that technically meant there was still a spot for an ROH guy, Bandido was added to the match.  So it’s basically Ishimori against two luchadors, and we’ll just have to see if it they do a good lucha thing or if Ishimori can force them into his type of match.  I’m expecting Ishimori to retain, although I suppose there’s no pressing reason they can’t do a title change.

Juice Robinson vs. Bully Ray - Bully (better known as Bubba Ray Dudley in ECW and WWE)  issued an open challenge  on March 15 for someone to face him here in a “New York City street fight,” and Juice accepted on March 31.  Juice is the IWGP United States champion, but it’s not yet clear if the title will be on the line--New Japan typically doesn’t book title matches on the fly, but it’s in character for Bully to potentially goad Juice into making it a title match at the last minute.

There was speculation when this open challenge was announced that Bully’s opponent would be Flip Gordon (the man he’s been feuding with for the past year), as a way to bring Flip back after suffering a knee injury on January 13.  Flip was expected to be cleared in time for this show, and he was, but he reinjured the knee on March 24.  Juice appears to be a last-minute replacement, which would be weird since he should have been booked all along.  (What’s the point of having a US champion who doesn’t wrestle at your biggest US show?)

In his preview of this show for the Observer, Dave Meltzer suggested this match could turn into a multi-man tag team match.  If so, I’d expect Bully to seek backup from Shane Taylor and Silas Young, while Robinson would counter with his Lifeblood stablemates Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams.  Those four men will probably get involved no matter what, seeing as there’s no rule to prevent interference.

It would be a pretty big surprise if Bully were to pin Juice and therefore be in line for the US title.  For that reason I think Juice is the clear favorite to win.  That being said, Bully needs something to do until Flip Gordon is back, and Juice is working in both promotions, so I could see this becoming a prolonged feud.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein - Iwatani won ROH’s Women of Honor championship from Klein on February 10, and successfully defended it in a rematch on March 15, but Klein is challenging her a second time for some reason.  I think they’re trying to make it like Klein is a big deal and Iwatani’s wins have been huge upsets, but I barely know these women so none of that is very clear.  I’m assuming Iwatani retains again, hopefully to put an end to the feud.

Rush vs. Dalton Castle - Castle has been doing a “needs to get back on track” storyline, so he was at ringside to watch the Rush-Bandido match on March 15 with the intent of challenging the winner to wrestle him here.  I’m pretty sure the purpose of this is to feed a guy to Rush while also working Castle’s flamboyant entrance onto the show, so look for Rush to go over in little more than a squash.

Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb - Ospreay is the NEVER openweight champion, and Cobb is the ROH television champion; the winner will hold both titles.  This match came about after Ospreay pinned Cobb in a tag team match on February 22.  Both guys are great and I haven’t seen much of them against one another, so I’m looking forward to it.  The one big twist in this thing is that New Japan recently booked Taichi to pin Ospreay in a tag match, obviously to set up a future title match between them, which won’t make as much sense if Ospreay loses his belt before that happens.  So I think that telegraphs an Ospreay win here.  Which is fine with me, since I figured he should win to begin with.

30-man Honor Rumble - This is a pre-show match for everyone who didn’t make it onto the main card.  It’s a gauntlet battle royal, so instead of everybody starting the match at the same time, two men start and everyone else enters one-by-one in timed intervals.  The match cannot end until the last participant enters, but eliminations can occur at any time.  A participant is eliminated upon putting both feet on the floor outside the ring, if and only if they last exited the ring over the top rope.

I’ve never seen one of these in ROH, but I’ve seen New Japan’s version and it’s mainly a comedy match with spots built around guys who rarely interact being unfamiliar with one another’s shticks.  If you’re watching this to see, for example, Minoru Suzuki kicking ass in MSG (and I don’t even know if he’ll be there), you’re probably just going to get his entrance and then he scares Cheeseburger or Colt Cabana and then he’ll get eliminated inside of five minutes.  I don’t think anything is at stake for the winner to receive, and even if there was I’m not sure it would matter who wins.  I’ll just pick Jushin Thunder Liger to win, since I know he’s in it and he’s a cool old dude.

Kagetsu & Hazuki & Jenny Rose vs. Sumie Sakai & Hana Kimura & Stella Grey - This is a late addition to the card, which won’t air live but will be taped to air later.  Kagetsu and Hazuki are from a stable called Oedo Tai in STARDOM, and apparently they recently attacked Sakai and Kimura to set up this match.  The Oedo Tai team picked Rose to team with them here even though she regularly teams (teamed?) with Sakai in ROH.  Grey is apparently Sakai’s new protege so she rounds out the babyface side.  I barely follow any of this, so I think ROH could do a much better job at promoting their own women and their relationship with Stardom.  But I guess this match shows they’re at least trying.  I guess Sakai’s team wins, maybe?

[lostinyourears]

Masked Matches of May IV : Tatsumi Fujinami vs. El Solitario, WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match, September 23rd 1981, NJPW

Video link to the match on YouTube : https://youtu.be/jRC9NuFQVPE

Cagematch page for this match(Some matches won’t have this because they aren’t listed on Cagematch)

Who’s Who?

Tatsumi Fujinami

Tatsumi Fujinami is considered by many to be one of the best Puro talents to every lace up boots. At this time he was still a Junior Heavyweight and positioned that way. By this point Fujinami had won the NWA World International Junior Heavyweight Champion and WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion twice and was still holding the WWF Junior title. Soon he would grow past the Junior Heavyweight Division in 1983 capturing his first Heavyweight Title the WWF International Heavyweight Champion and later the UWA Heavyweight and even later than that becoming one of the main names associated with the IWGP Heavyweight title once that was made and became the main belt of NJPW in 1987. The only man to hold the belt more times than Tatsumi Fujinami is the more contemporary name Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Tatsumi Fujinami has a career full of classics, but probably became most widely known to The United States fanbase in 1991 when at an event called 1991 Starrcade in the Tokyo Dome Fujinami beat Ric Flair in a match where Flair put up his NWA Heavyweight Championship vs Fujinami’s own IWGP Championship. Fujinami would then go to The States to drop it back in a rematch where both put up belts again, this time Flair had the WCW to Fujinami’s NWA at an event titled WCW SuperBrawl - “Return Of The Rising Sun”.

NJPW worked with lots of companies over Fujinami’s tenure which meant he worked in places most might not think. UWA, Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Stampede, Championship Wrestling From Florida, WCWA, WWF and ECW. He was in NJPW until in 2007 he decided to found his own promotion Dradition Pro Wrestling which is a fairly small indie company in Japan which he still owns to this day. He has worked at least 1 match each year in that promotion since founding it, though he has yer to work there in 2018.

El Solitario

As of the time this match happened El Solitario was the most seasoned of the four and the most famous. Being a star in EMLL and debuting in 1960 while the rest of the field all made their debuts in the 1970′s. So Solitario is the relative veteran here. Being a Mexican superstar while the rest of these guys were just starting to make an impact. Much like Solar a bit of Solitario’s history is lost to the record books. Though magazines and other publications from the 60’s and 70s featured him and his many peers. By the time Solitario was in this match he had already had 4 three hundred plus day reigns with 4 different UWA or NWA branded belts.

Sadly, unlike the rest of the guys in this match El Solitario is no longer with us. In 1986 at the age of 39 he suffered an injury in the ring. Which ended up resulting in internal bleeding, he died on the operating table. At the time one of the biggest names in Lucha Libre. Although he may be gone, his son El Hijo del Solitario continues to carry his legacy. Mostly in the indies, though he was in major companies all of the 90′s and into the early 2000′s. His son currently being 46 and age that the original Solitario sadly never saw.

How is the match?

Very very good, I’d say the best match covered so far this month. Fujinami has some excellent headscissors takedown and nice suplexes, with Solitario trying to slow down the contest and keep Fujinami from working the pace he likes by keeping him grounded. By modern standards this probably won’t blow anyone away, but it is one of the oldest matches we will cover this week. This is a continuation of these two having a long rivalry. This was the 3rd and final time the two met for the a belt. First was the UWA World Light Heavyweight Title which Solitario retained, then WWF Junior Heavyweight which ended in a tie which allowed Fujinami to retain and then this match where Fujiwara finally slays the luchador who he couldn’t put away last time. This match is a little shorter than I’d like with 12 minutes of action, but there two icons do a fine job within that given time. I don’t know if I’d call it great, but more than worth a watch to see two of the biggest guys from Mexico/Japan clashing.   

Highlights :

Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs El Solitario WWF Junior Heavyweight Title, September 23th 1981 in NJPW

[williamhowe]

Japanese wrestlers #50 Taka Michinoku

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL1Fj-ErPSs&t=47s Sorry for the delay Bike Problems and all that. Hopefully it gets solved soon but anyways here #50 on the list and probably the most underrated of them all Taka Michinoku. 

Titles: All Japan Pro WrestlingDDT Pro-WrestlingEl Dorado WrestlingFrontier Martial Arts WrestlingIndependent Wrestling WorldKaientai DojoMichinoku Pro WrestlingNew Japan Pro WrestlingPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling NoahTokyo SportsWrestling Observer Newsletter5 Star Match (1996) with Shoichi Funaki, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh and Shiryu vs Tiger Mask IV, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Super Delfin and Masato Yakushiji[57]World Entertainment WrestlingWorld Wrestling FederationWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2][4]KO-D Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Francesco TogoUWA World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Antonio Honda and Francesco TogoFMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[2][4]IWW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)Chiba 6 Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Isami Kodaka and Kengo Mashimo[15]FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with TOMO Michinoku[2][4]Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2][18]Strongest-K Championship (2 times)[2][4]Strongest-K Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Handsome Joe (2), Kengo Mashimo (1), Kaji Tomato (2), and Men's Teioh (1)[2]UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ryota Chikuzen[2][4]UWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)[2][17]Strongest-K Tournament (2007)[2]Tag Team Match of the Year (2013) with Kaji Tomato vs. Kazma Sakamoto and Kengo Mashimo on November 10[55]Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2][4]IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Dick Togo (1) and Taichi (1)[2][4]PWI ranked him #191 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Desperado[46]Technique Award (2005)[56]WEW Six Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Gosaku Goshogawara and Tetsuhiro Kuroda[2][4]WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2][7]WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1997)

I never get bored watching htis guy in action except during a certain BOTSJS match this year against fellow Suzuki-gun stable mate Taichi, who is not going anywhere near this list! So for being an exciting underrated wrestler and first ever junior heavyweight champion in WWF history. Taka Michinoku..... 

Next Time: It takes hard work to make one great tag team but two, that is legendary.

[ezonrasslin]

7 Chris Jericho Catchphrases Ranked Better to Best

Here's one for all you Jerichoholics!

2016 was one wild year, and nowhere showed it more than the world of pro wrestling. Despite all the turbulent change in the WWE the return of Chris Jericho at Night of Champions in 2015 pointed towards a back-pedal. Ignoring all the negativity swelling around him Jericho insisted once more that he would “save the company” going into 2016 - and that he did.

Reinventing and restoring his character to new heights, despite his power ranking having drifted he always managed to outshine his “juniors” at the discretion of the crowd. Y2J’s mic skills and general presence are so masterful he managed to turn a clipboard list into one of the most over devices on WWE television at the conclusion of 2016. Ridiculous.

In a year engulfed by meme culture, Chris Jericho paraded caricature and cliché in a way that only the GOAT ever could. He’s solidified his legacy as a staple of every era of WWE he’s performed in, his addictive words forever ingrained in wrestling lingo. Now, the new United States Champion has the WWE Universe at his feet.

To these 7 Catchphrases...

7. The Man Of 1,004 Holds

The "Man of 1,004 holds" had more than 1,004 words readily available at his disposal, so why not congregate them into a list?

This only scratches the surface of Jericho's WCW run, but it was an indicator of unique charisma and innovation unlike anything else around him. Feuding with profound technical wrestler Dean Malenko, the Cruiserweight Champion took to 1998 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro post-match to proclaim his superiority. To out-do Malenko, hailed as the "Man of 1000 holds", he'd have to up the ante.

From the mundane and repetitive "Armbar" to the outlandish and yet-to-be-seen "Saskatchewan spinning nerve hold", the original List of Jericho promo is one of the most memorable and critically acclaimed of all time. The Lionheart exuded charm, even in early days.

6. The Gift Of Jericho

The modern manifestation of the 5 Second Pose, Jericho firmly grasps the WWE Universe in his hands when he unveils the Gift of Jericho.

Succeeding to shake off the now-stale shell of his former self, Jericho took on a whole new life post-WrestleMania 32. Originally a gift to Dean Ambrose, with this new life came a whole new catalogue of fresh catch phrases. The same premise remained - Jericho sees himself as the salvation of the WWE, a literal gift to all those he graces with his presence.

Sporting the $15,000 light up jacket or not, he's a sight to behold. Whether it's a warning to his opponent or a pander to the crowd, someone's going to get "IT". Chris Jericho, is simply a gift. Drink it in, maaaaaaaaan!

5. I Am The Best In The World At What I Do

Do you understand what I'm saying to you right now? He told us he was the best, and we trusted him. Maybe he really is the Ayatollah (of Rock 'n' Rolla).

Jericho has never been shy to declare how great he is, first proclaiming himself as the "best in the world" at what he does after winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 2008. This was an unprecedented high point in his career, as his award-winning feud with Shawn Michaels continues to be hailed as a modern classic.

Proving that he was the best encouraged his return in 2012, as he derided the WWE Champion CM Punk of being unworthy of calling himself “Best in the World.” For all his physical talent and accomplishments, his presence alone could always raise the bar.

4. Stupid Idiot

It started as a fleeting insult and would soon spread like wildfire. Yes, we are idiots.

No one was safe from the wrath of Chris Jericho throughout 2016 shortly prior to WrestleMania and forever afterwards. Whether he was slapping his opponent around in the ring and echoing "you're a stupid man", insulting Tom Phillips backstage, or calling everything in plain sight (fans included) "Stupid Idiots", it would eventually become the most over crowd chant of the year, and a welcome addition to Jericho's dialogue.

However, this one's more than two elementary insults. It's everything from the shirtless scarf-adorned arrogance, the flick of the wrist whenever someone makes the list, the best-friend banter - Chris Jericho is positively infectious.

3. Would You PLEASE, Shut, The Hell, Up!

Absolute text book Jericho, and applicable in all face/heel situations.

The Invasion angle was in full swing when Jericho went head-to-head with the Rock, and the calibre of their promos make them absolute must-sees for any wrestling fan. While the Rock is often remembered as the best smack-talker the WWE has ever seen, lest we forget the time Jericho completely obliterated the Brahma Bull with one line. It would crop up again at the most unexpected and sometimes inappropriate of times, because the crowd took it on as their own.

Jericho never stood for being put in his place. Realistically he never should have been the first WWF Undisputed Champion with the Rock and Stone Cold in contention, but he continues to prove to this day that anyone who says he didn't deserve to be, is out of their mind.

2. Raw is Jericho

It's still true today. Whenever Jericho makes a comeback, he owns the show. From the instant he first stepped foot in the WWF when the 'Countdown to Millennium' came to a close, a new era began. Jericho immediately stole the spotlight on his debut in 1999, interrupting the company's biggest star at the time, the Rock. Despite his size, he was always destined to be a larger-than-life star.

Regardless of how busy he is - touring with Fozzy, running a successful podcast, or main eventing Monday Night Raw - Jericho has without a doubt been a workhorse of the company throughout his entire career. His passion for the WWE is evident every time he steps in the ring.

His iconic arms-outstretched pose, the high ponytail or the smug goatee, whatever he may look like, his image will always come hand-in-hand with WWE's 'flagship show’.

1. - Will Never EVER Be The Same Again

In his second ever WWE appearance, Jericho interrupted The Undertaker and the Big Show to proclaim Raw would "never, EEEVER be the same again" upon his arrival.

If anyone knows how to make a lasting impact, it's Y2J. He goes beyond the dramatic returns - the cryptic vignettes featuring codes that would be revealed as "Save us Y2J" in 2007, or his momentous return at the Rumble in 2013. He brought something new every time, be in a new finisher, a fresh hair cut, a newfound nostalgia act, or even a new catchphrase.

Fast forward to today, and the theme still applies - Jericho was put on this earth to save us wrestling diehards, and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down for him, having just captured the US title for the first time. An innovator, a creator, a God amongst men, Y2J continues to change the face of pro wrestling. Again and again, and contrary to what might have been said as little as a year go, the image of Jericho has personified the turn of a new leaf, and moreover, a lasting legacy.

[placetobenation]

Welcome back to the GWWE match results. Only 99 more entries until we unveil the top 100 WWE matches of all time, as voted on by PTBN. We have discovered a few duplicate entries, so if you notice a match that appeared further down the list, that’s because we discovered the duplicate entry and added all the votes together, moving that match up the list. If you missed any previous results, you can find those results here.

199. Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era – NXT Tag Team Title Match 

Date: 8/18/18

Event: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 56

High: 43

Low: 62

High Voter: Tim Capel

198. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

Date: 6/14/15

Event: Money in the Bank 2015

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 56

High: 39

Low: 74

High Voter: James Proffitt 

197. Psycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels – WWE Title Match 

Date: 11/17/96

Event: Survivor Series 1996 

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 71

High: 45

Low: 97

High Voter: Trust Issues

196. Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio – WWE Tag Team Title Best of Three Falls Match 

Date: 11/7/02

Event: SmackDown

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 64.4

High: 27

Low: 89

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

195. Rockers vs. Brain Busters 

Date: 1/23/89

Event: MSG Network Madison Square Garden House Show 

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 64.4

High: 24

Low: 91

High Voter: David Schletty

194. Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty – WWF Intercontinental Title Match 

Date: 7/19/93

Event: Monday Night Raw 

# of Ballots: 3

Avg. Rating: 40.33333

High: 6

Low: 92

High Voter: ROBERT SILVA

193. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio – World Heavyweight Title Match 

Date: 6/16/13

Event: Payback 2013

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 63.8

High: 16

Low: 90

High Voter: Trust Issues

192. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Kane vs. Booker T. vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho – World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber Match 

Date: 11/17/02

Event: Survivor Series 2002

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 69.66667

High: 33

Low: 89

High Voter: Jay Hinchey

191. Undertaker vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle – WWE Title Match 

Date: 7/21/02

Event: Vengeance 2002

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 53.5

High: 44

Low: 72

High Voter: Dennis Nunez

190. Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar – Hell in a Cell Match 

Date: 10/25/15

Event: Hell in a Cell 2015

# of Ballots: 8

Avg. Rating: 77

High: 46

Low: 91

High Voter: Ryan Everett

189. Buddy Rogers vs. Pat O’Connor – NWA World Heavyweight Title 

Date: 6/30/61

Event: Capitol Wrestling TV

# of Ballots: 2

Avg. Rating: 6.5

High: 6

Low: 7

High Voter: Andu

188. Powers of Pain, Rockers, Hart Foundation, Young Stallions & British Bulldogs vs. Demolition, Bolsheviks, Brain Busters, Conquistadors & Rougeau Brothers 

Date: 11/24/88

Event: Survivor Series 1988

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 52.25

High: 9

Low: 88

High Voter: David Schletty

187. Usos vs New Day – WWE SmackDown Tag Team Title Hell in a Cell Match 

Date: 10/8/17

Event: Hell in a Cell 2017

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 68.5

High: 30

Low: 100

High Voter: Trent Williams

186. Undisputed Era vs. Sanity vs. AOP & Rodrick Strong – War Games Match 

Date: 11/23/19

Event: NXT Takeover: War Games

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 61.6

High: 49

Low: 94

High Voter: Aaron George

185. Rhea Ripley, Candice LaRae, Tegan Nox & Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai & Kay Lee Ray – War Games Match 

Date: 11/23/19

Event: NXT Takeover: WarGames III

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 67.83333

High: 44

Low: 100

High Voter: Jacob Williams, Tim Capel

184. Billy Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes – WWWF World Title Texas Death Match 

Date: 10/24/77

Event: MSG Network Madison Square Garden House Show 

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 60.8

High: 45

Low: 76

High Voter: Greg Diener

183. Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff – WWF Title Steel Cage Match 

Date: 1/3/87

Event: Saturday Night’s Main Event 

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 60.8

High: 27

Low: 98

High Voter: Greg Diener

182. War Raiders vs. Ricochet & Alister Black – NXT Tag Team Title Match 

Date: 4/5/19

Event: NXT Takeover: New York

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 60.4

High: 24

Low: 88

High Voter: James Proffitt 

181. Sheamus vs. Big Show – World Heavyweight Title Match 

Date: 10/28/12

Event: Hell in a Cell 2012

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 60.2

High: 10

Low: 96

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

180. CM Punk vs. John Cena – WWE Title Match 

Date: 8/14/11

Event: SummerSlam 2011

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 58.8

High: 34

Low: 88

High Voter: Jeff Quinn

179. Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen 

Date:  4/13/90

Event: WWF/AJPW Wrestling Summit

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 65.5

High: 47

Low: 91

High Voter: Michael DeDamos

178. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt 

Date: 1/26/14

Event: Royal Rumble 2014

# of Ballots: 9

Avg. Rating: 77.22222

High: 30

Low: 100

High Voter: Michael Schoen 

177. Glamour Girls vs. Jumping Bomb Angels – WWF Women’s Tag Team Title Match – 

Date: 11/24/87

Event: Prime Time Wrestling 

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 47.25

High: 34

Low: 61

High Voter: Andu

176. Walter vs. Pete Dunne – WWE UK Title Match 

Date: 4/5/19

Event: NXT Takeover: New York

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 58

High: 28

Low: 81

High Voter: James Proffitt 

175. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte – Raw Women’s Title Hell in a Cell Match 

Date: 10/30/16

Event: Hell in a Cell 2016

# of Ballots: 3

Avg. Rating: 27

High: 15

Low: 46

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

174. Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin vs. British Bulldog & Owen Hart – WWF Tag Team Title Match 

Date: 5/26/97

Event: Raw is War 

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 69.28571

High: 37

Low: 99

High Voter: Brian Scala

173. Chris Benoit vs. Steve Austin – WWF Title Match 

Date: 5/31/01

Event: Smackdown 

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 45.25

High: 23

Low: 69

High Voter: Martin Boulevard

172. Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano – NXT Title 

Date: 6/1/19

Event: NXT Takeover XXV

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 45

High: 18

Low: 94

High Voter: Tim Capel

171. John Cena vs. The Rock

Date: 4/1/12

Event: WrestleMania XXVIII

# of Ballots: 14

Avg. Rating: 84.78571

High: 67

Low: 100

High Voter: James Proffitt 

170. Triple H vs. Undertaker – No Holds Barred Match 

Date: 4/3/11

Event:  WrestleMania XXVII

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 56.6

High: 5

Low: 81

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

169. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey – Raw Women’s Title Match 

Date: 11/18/18

Event: Survivor Series 2018

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 55

High: 42

Low: 68

High Voter: Jeff

168. Ric Flair vs. Triple H – Intercontinental Title Steel Cage Match 

Date: 11/1/05

Event: Taboo Tuesday 2005

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 43.25

High: 20

Low: 92

High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

167. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels – Unsanctioned Match 

Date: 9/7/08

Event: Unforgiven 2008

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 62.5

High: 37 

Low: 95

High Voter: James Derbyshire

166. Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter – WWF Title Desert Storm Match 

Date: 6/3/91

Event: MSG Network Madison Square Garden House Show 

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 62.33333

High: 12

Low: 97

High Voter: ROBERT SILVA

165. Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid – WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match

Date: 8/30/82

Event:  MSG Network Madison Square Garden House Show 

# of Ballots: 4

Avg. Rating: 42

High: 10

Low: 84

High Voter: Greg Diener

164. Rockers vs. Orient Express 

Date: 1/19/91

Event: Royal Rumble 1991

# of Ballots: 9

Avg. Rating: 74.22222

High: 48

Low: 96

High Voter: David Schletty

163. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Date:  06/23/05

Event:  Smackdown

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 52.4

High: 25

Low: 82

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

162. Eddie Gerrero vs. Kurt Angle

Date: 3/14/04

Event: WrestleMania XX

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 66.28571

High: 32

Low: 96

High Voter: Andu

161. Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter Steel Cage Match

Date: 3/21/81

Event: WWF Philadelphia House Show 

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 52.2

High: 37

Low: 83

High Voter: Justin Webb, Martin Boulevard

160. Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

Date: 11/18/18

Event: Survivor Series 2018

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 60

High: 49

Low: 72

High Voter: Brian Scala

159. American Alpha vs. Revival – NXT Tag Team Title Match 

Date: 4/1/16

Event: Takeover Dallas

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 64.71429

High: 21

Low: 99

High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

158. The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Undisputed Title Match 

Date: 8/25/02

Event: SummerSlam 2002

# of Ballots: 8

Avg. Rating: 68.875

High: 48

Low: 93

High Voter: Jeff V

157. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch – NXT Women’s Title Match

Date: 5/20/15

Event: NXT Takeover: Unstoppable

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 49.2

High: 32

Low: 80

High Voter: Trust Issues

156. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT Title Last Man Standing Match

Date: 8/18/18

Event: NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 48.4

High: 8

Low: 83

High Voter: Calum McDougall

155. Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man – Steel Cage Match 

Date: 5/27/89

Event: Saturday Night’s Main Event 

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 63.14286

High: 39

Low: 90

High Voter: Greg Diener

154. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels – WWF Title Match

Date: 11/25/92

Event: Survivor Series 1992

# of Ballots: 6

Avg. Rating: 56.5

High: 13

Low: 92

High Voter: ROBERT SILVA

153. Walter vs Tyler Bate – NXT Title Match – WWE UK Title 

Date: 8/21/19

Event: NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 47.2

High: 34

Low: 66

High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

152. Mankind vs. The Rock – WWF Title I Quit Match

Date: 1/24/99

Event: Royal Rumble 1999

# of Ballots: 5

Avg. Rating: 47.2

High: 15

Low: 60

High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

151. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H – World Heavyweight Title Match 

Date: 12/29/03

Event: Monday Night Raw 

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 62.14286

High: 20

Low: 97

High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

150. Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior – WWF Title Match

Date: 8/29/92

Event: SummerSlam 1992

# of Ballots: 7

Avg. Rating: 61.28571

High: 27

Low: 84

High Voter: Trust Issues

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back soon with more match results.

[ripemsystem]

The Disgruntled's Real World Heavyweight Champion

Here's hoping that my new employer only looks at the web history when the dung hits the fan. Perhaps it is too early in my tenure with my new employer to be bringing back my Saturday/Sunday blog, but if they do not seem to mind other(s) doing their junior college stuff on it, why should I worry? Why should I care?

And why aren't the "The Oliver and Company" characters featured in "Kingdom Hearts"? Can a game have too many Cheech Marin-voiced characters? Am I the only one who appreciates the 80's animated films between the ones that they gave sequels to? Where is "The Great Mouse Detective 2: Basil Boogaloo"?

Speaking of appreciation, that is something I do not have much of for in regards to  WWE. This is something that I really do not need to delve into right now, except for the championships. Do we really want to call Roman Reigns THE champion?

Even if we can all be satisfied with The Phenomenal One at the top of the game, there have definitely been times where the WWE offers us no one worthy to hold the top belts in their company (Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar after Wrestlemania 33). During the Monday Night Wars we could have the argument of who was the best in the business based on waist wear. The fun of going to the magazine aisle of a pharmacy was to see how Bill Apter ranked grapplers based on hardware.

Working night audit on week nights at a hotel that was overstaffed and to scrutinizing about bettering oneself (the owner at the I Hotel "allegedly" fired a kid for doing Big Ten schoolwork on the clock), jotting down notes in regards to the concept of which championship was the championship helped keep me sane for a few weeks. In other words, I tried to also determine which title was the one to claim in the tag team and women's divisions.

This brings me to my biggest issue with working for a biker for Trump (no allegedly on that) or some asset a conglomerate is trying to sell while leaving everyone with unrelenting repetitive tasks with no encouragement or benefits. You can be creative with those moments that allow you to breathe, but how are you going to find the strength to regurgitate those moments on to the keyboard?

On top of all those questions, I have to determine how to address the title history I developed in the most reader friendly way. Do I start back at Starrcade 1983 or work backward from me cancelling the incredibly sexist Network (it was not NJPW World)? The easy thing to do would be to start at Royal Rumble 1992 when the recently fired NWA champion won the WWF title, but that throws away all my effort to tell the story of the real world champion.

If I am going to do that, I might as well find somebody to podcast about it with. Hey Jake Lloyd (@liquidjake), you may need another podcast on Dragon Wagon Radio if listeners get sick of the WWE-centric podcast you have right now. You can find me @maineventzombie on Twitter and Instagram.

Ground rules probably need to be laid out, and they will not make much sense if I do not start at the beginning. This is the time when the 10 Pounds of Gold was the only gold that mattered.

There Was Only the 10 Pounds of Gold:

Verne Gagne is the first booker to try and put himself on TOP. This was pretty blatant, so the American Wrestling Association's heavyweight championship cannot be called the world's belt. The National Wrestling Alliance still maintained authority over everything outside the Midwest, so his claim could obviously be disputed.

Vince McMahon Sr. may have disagreed with Lou Thesz's single-fall title victory over Buddy Rogers, hence Rogers becoming the World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion seemed reasonable. Except, Rogers was only given the belt to drop it to Bruno Sammartino, someone who only represented the world because of the attitude that New York City was the WORLD. After Trump's win, I do not like to give the flyover states much credit, but the NWA represented the greater masses and it is common knowledge that Bruno could not do a 60-minute broadway. This means the WWWF title would never be the world title.

Once Hulkamania was born, the national and international credibility to the World Wrestling Federation was undeniable, but Hulk Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik. Ric Flair was the NWA champ at the time of Hogan's victory, so the WWF title still was not the title. Once Flair started swapping the title with Harley Race and the Kerry Von Erich, the unbeatable Hulk could claim the title.

1st Real World Heavyweight Champion - NWA's Ric Flair (3) - 11/24/1983 - 3/20/84

2nd World Champion - WWF's Hulk Hogan - 3/20/84 - 2/5/88

3rd World Champion - WWF's Andre the Giant - 2/5/88

4th World Champion - NWA's Ric Flair (4) - 2/5/88 - 2/20/89

Andre the Giant treated the WWF championship like it a bed in a Japanese hotel room. We cannot have a vacancy in this championship lineage. The NWA never had a vacated world championship to this point, so it is only fitting to return it to them. Sorry Randy Savage.

5th World Champion - NWA's Ricky Steamboat - 2/20/89 - 5/7/89

6th World Champion - NWA's Ric Flair (5) - 5/7/89 - 7/7/90

7th World Champion - NWA's Sting - 7/7/90 - 1/11/91

I know this has totally ignored the Ultimate Warrior's sole reign on top. But, he lost it to a propaganda angle in Sgt. Slaughter. Sting lost it back to Flair after a lengthy reign. To paraphrase The Nature Boy, "To be the man, you got to beat the man...not the gimmick."

8th World Champion - NWA's Ric Flair (6) - 1/11/91 - 3/21/91

9th World Champion - NWA's Tatsumi Fujinami - 3/21/91 - 5/19/91

10th World Champ - NWA's and WWF's Ric Flair (7) - 5/19/91 - 4/5/1992

This title reign was when Flair left NWA as champion, claimed he was the REAL World Champion, and he didn't want to say he "told us so," but he "told us so."

The Seeds of War:

With Flair's departure from the World Championship Wrestling, they wasted no time in determining their own champion. If the NWA would have surrendered the concept of integrity, they may have kept the territories alive a little longer. They soon set the precedent for how to bury a concept in wrestling.

11th World Champ - WWF's Randy Savage - 4/5/1992 - 9/1/92

12th World Champ - WWF's Ric Flair (8) - 9/1/92 - 10/12/92

13th World Champ - WWF's Bret Hart - 10/12/92 - 4/4/93

14th World Champ - WCW's Big Van Vader - 4/4/93 - 12/27/93

Yokozuna was wasted on Vince McMahon wanting to tell a tale of patriotism. He could move very well for a big man, but not nearly as well as Vader. To make matters worse for WWF, they were thinking Lex Luger was the way to go. Ric Flair told WCW that was a mistake, and he may have a better idea on who is best suited for the title.

15th World Champ - WCW's Ric Flair (9) - 12/27/93 - 7/17/94

16th World Champ - WWF's Bret Hart (2) - 7/17/94 - 11/23/94

Bret Hart was constantly being denied the championship by Hogan, and that was well known. If anyone is going to take a title from Flair, it will be Hart before Hogan. Also, the Owen/Bret feud needs greater documentation than the Hulkster on Baywatch.

17th World Champ - WCW's Hulk Hogan (2) - 11/23/94 - 10/29/95

But, Hogan's reign bringing eyes on WCW is more important than Bob Backlund's last run as Champion and his loss of the belt in 17 seconds at Madison Square Garden. Did Vince McMahon think Diesel was the second coming of Bruno?

18th World Champ - WWF's Diesel - 10/25/95 - 11/19/95

Diesel's WWF reign was the longest since Hogan's first, so it deserves more recognition than Paul Wight's in ring debut. This is also when Eric Bischoff determined the title did not matter, which Vince Russo would seem to further embrace under Bischoff's watch.

19th World Champ - WWF's Bret Hart (3) - 11/19/95 - 3/31/96

20th World Champ - WWF's Shawn Michaels - 3/31/96 - 11/17/96

21st World Champ - WCW/nWo's Hollywood Hogan (3) - 11/17/96 - 8/4/97

Sid in WWF was usually a disaster, so putting him over the greatest faction in American wrestling is not going to happen. If you want to argue nWo versus DX, when did DX share the title of a video game with WWF/WWE?

22nd World Champ - WWF's Bret Hart (4) - 8/4/97 - 11/9/97

Lex Luger is just not cut out to be a world champ.

23rd World Champ - WCW/nWo's Hollywood Hogan (4) - 11/9/97 - 12/28/97

The screw job obviously disqualifies Shawn Michaels from a second reign.

24th World Champ - ECW's Shane Douglas - 12/28/97 to 1/10/99

Michaels (unless it was a work) was an illegitimate champion. Sting would have to vacate the title because Bischoff tried to pay homage to Hart's title loss. Shane Douglas had to beat two legends (Sabu and Terry Funk [a former Real World Champ]) in one night to earn the title. It seems fitting that a man who the NWA thought would turn their business around was prepared to be a real world champion.

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Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981), better known under the ring name Daniel Bryan, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE as the on-screen general manager of SmackDown. In WWE, Bryan held the WWE Championship three times and WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship once, in addition to being a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, and a one time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of Team Hell No (with Kane). He was also the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank winner and the 2013 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner. He is the 26th Triple Crown Champion and the 6th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history and headlined several major pay-per-view events, including SummerSlam in 2013 and WrestleMania XXX. Danielson was previously signed to the WWE, then known as the WWF, for an 18-month period from 2000–2001. Prior to joining WWE for his second stint in 2009, Danielson wrestled for various companies internationally using both his real name and the ring name (and later nickname) “American Dragon”. He wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2009, being recognized as a “Founding Father” of the promotion, where he was a one-time ROH World Champion, as well the final Pure Wrestling Champion (unifying the Pure title with the World title). He was the first winner of ROH’s annual Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2004. Danielson also wrestled extensively in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (with Curry Man) in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Between WWE, ROH, and Japanese promotions, he held eleven total championships. Danielson also won numerous titles on the independent circuit, including two PWG World Championships, the FIP Heavyweight Championship, and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship. In 2016, at age 34, Danielson retired from professional wrestling due to medical issues (including seizures) arising from multiple concussions and a brain lesion. Later that year in July, he was named the General Manager of SmackDown following the return of the WWE brand extension.

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