Random Matches

[Garlic Junior 136]

Just a place to post random matches you think are quite good.

 

First up, a short, British style match featuring Toni Storm.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83zEu52ExS8

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

El Generico v Jigsaw v "Slick" Nick Jackson v Kota Ibushi

 

https://youtu.be/8XesuznnHaA

[Vic Boss 612]

The '00s American indie scene looks outrageous with how much talent WWE had no interest in compared to now

 

I've mostly been watching old '80s NJPW after the UWF split, and UWF, and now NJPW after the UWF came back.

[Vic Boss 612]

I just got to the time Akira Maeda shot on Andre the Giant (it's a lot less wild and exciting than it sounds, around the 19 minute mark is when Maeda loses his cool)

 

Maeda or Atsushi Onita are the most interesting guys in Japanese wrestling history, I think. Both lunatics in their own ways and both changed pro wrestling in significant ways (probably Onita more because hardcore wrestling found its way overseas while shoot wrestling mostly stayed there)

[Garlic Junior 136]

What's the story there? Was he just unhappy at Andre looking like a fatass?

[Vic Boss 612]

From the Observer, Dave's write-up on Maeda after Fighting Network Rings went out of business

 

Maeda was a hothead with a shooter rep, and 'steadfastly refused to put anyone over except Fujiwara, who his audience considered "real" and his equal, leading to booking problems since the the money Inoki vs. Maeda match couldn't be booked. In fact, it never took place (they did end up resolving some of their differences and worked in tag matches, but neither would ever put the other over). He once punched out Keiji Muto, another of the company's rising stars, in a bar. He had the infamous 1986 shoot with Andre the Giant, which was someone in the company's attempt rile up the Giant to humiliate Maeda and kill his shooter rep by not cooperating with him. The result backfired. Once Maeda figured out what was going on and it turned into a shoot, Maeda's quickness and leg kicking ability largely humiliated the aging and possibly drunk Giant, who most in wrestling thought to be unbeatable in a street fight. Maeda took him down at will and Andre could never touch him, and by the end, couldn't even stand up because his legs had taken so much punishment and he was blown up.

 

To add to it, this was only a few months after Maeda and co returned to New Japan, after they'd left NJPW two years earlier.

 

Early to mid '80s New Japan is super interesting because they basically had a boom period cut right off because almost all their currently relevant and future-star Japanese guys left within a few months of each other.