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1It's been one of those weeks.
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3First off, the new NWA booker is Ole Anderson. The decision was officially made last Tuesday and Anderson was introduced to the wrestlers as the man in charge at the television tapings on 5/14 in Indianapolis. Whatever new feuds and new ideas and new direction Anderson will take the company in should start to become evident at the PPV show on Saturday and on television starting the first weekend in June. The first major addition to the stable who started last night was Stan Hansen, who was given a huge push as a monster heel and seemingly is being groomed for matches against Sting and Lex Luger down the road. Hansen had been widely rumored to be WWF-bound after putting Hulk Hogan over at the Tokyo Dome last month.
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7New Japan: The group ran its "three days war" series of matches this past week in Tokyo's Korauken Hall. The series, of cards on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon, all sold out to the tune of 2,200 tickets per afternoon. The shows were without any foreign talent, but were combined shows using wrestlers from the independent Pioneer group. However, problems developed between the two groups and no word whether the Pioneer boys will work future New Japan dates. . . 5/4 saw Ryuma Go & Masahiko Takasugi from Pioneer work the main event against Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki. The Pioneer guys went over when Go pinned Sasaki in 15:26. Earlier in the card an angle was run with Apollo Sugawara of Pioneer having a break-up with Go to set up a match on 5/6. Takasugi gained his most pro wrestling success, and even them as a prelim wrestler, under the hood as Ultra Seven and feuded with Onita for All Japan back around 1983. Go was a frequent rival of Tatsumi Fujinami about 10 years back and has bounced around one group to another since then. Also on the card, in a non-title match, Shiro Koshinaka & Hiroshi Hase downed new IWGP tag team champions Masa Chono & Keiji Muto in 15:40 when Muta was counted out of the ring. Muto's knee isn't recovering well at all. A week earlier in the match where Muto & Chono won the belts, even though Muto got over like crazy, he was plagued with his bad knee. In this match his knee hurt so badly that he was forced to cancel scheduled matches the rest of the series. Former champs Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto defeated Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto, Jushin Riger pinned Kentaro Hoshino, Osamu Kido made Sugawara submit, Kuniaki Kobayashi pinned Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga pinned Black Cat and Kengo Kimura pinned Osamu Matsuda. . . 5/5 was the first afternoon live television show for this promotion in a long time. The main event was scheduled to be Choshu & Masa Saito wrestling Chono & Muto for the tag team title but with Muto out of action, the match became a non-title match with Hashimoto replacing. The match went off television but finished with Saito pinning Chono. Also Koshinaka pinned Riger in 16:52 with a Dragon suplex in what was said to be an excellent match, Sasaki beat Takasugi with the sleeper in 8:04, Sugawara & Hase beat Machine & Hire Saito via DQ, Kimura pinned Hoshino, Kido pinned Goto, Kobayashi pinned Honaga and Black Cat beat Matsuda. . . Seiji Aoyagi, a karate star who worked independently for both Pioneer (mixed match with Ryuma Go) and FMW (a bloody series of matches against Onita) is going to work on a New Japan big show on 6/12 in Fukuoka against Riger in a mixed match. Stan Hansen will also work on that card. . . Tatsumi Fujinami has opened up a gym in Osaka. . . 5/6 saw a two out of three fall 10 man tag team match headline, with the main item being that Animal Hamaguchi came out of retirement for this card. Hamaguchi formed a legendary tag team with Riki Choshu in the early 1980s, and retired back in 1987 and later became a past-40 competition bodybuilder winning many titles in Japan. The match was advertised as an eight-man tag with Hamaguchi's team of Honaga & Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine against Choshu & Kobayashi & Koshinaka & Sasaki. Hamaguchi has been managing of late and feuding with Choshu. Choshu challenged Hamaguchi to get in the ring for the match and Hamaguchi agreed, and to make the sides even, Choshu brought out Hase to join his team. After the teams split falls, Hamaguchi used his famous blockbuster suplex on Sasaki in 21 minutes to win the match for the heels. Also Chono pinned Masa Saito, Hashimoto pinned Kido, Riger pinned Matsuda, Go pinned Sugawara, Kimura pinned Hase and Hoshino pinned Cat. . . The next series for New Japan will be 5/24 through 5/30. 5/24 in Tokyo at NE Hall has Choshu vs. Muto, Koji Kitao & Masa Saito & Hashimoto vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Steve Williams & Big Van Vader, Chono vs. Sasaki and Hase & Kido & Kimura vs. Machine & Muto & Hiro Saito. . . 5/26 in Tsu has Choshu vs. Chono, Saito & Kitao vs. Vader & Bigelow, Muto vs. Williams and Riger & Hashimoto vs. Koshinaka & Sasaki. . . 5/28 in Osaka has Choshu vs. Hashimoto, Vader vs. Kitao, Bigelow vs. Williams and Muto & Chono defend against Saito & Sasaki. . . 5/29 in Okayama has Bigelow-Williams-Vader vs. Saito-Kitao-Kimura and Chono-Muto defending against Choshu-Hashimoto while the series ends on 5/30 in Hamamatsu with Choshu-Hashimoto-Kitao vs. Vader-Williams-Bigelow and a two of three fall eight man tag with Choshu-Hase-Sasaki-Kobayashi vs. Machine-Goto-Hiro Saito-Honaga.
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10New Japan has on 6/12 in Fukuoka headlined by Riki Choshu vs. Animal Hamaguchi, Vader vs. Hansen for the IWGP title, Jushin Riger vs. karate star Seiji Aoyagi in a mixed match, Koji Kitao vs. Soul Taker and a four man tournament for the Kyushu Cup with Shinya Hashimoto, Kensuke Sasaki, Masa Chono and Keiji Muto. . . Apparently Tenryu is..now targeting October for the opening of his group and for his match with either Hogan or Flair. . . The UWF show on 5/4 drew a legit sellout and in fact, all tickets sold out in less than one week for the Maeda-Funaki match. The match itself wasn't good, all matwork and would be boring unless you are into submissions and when they finally got up, went right to the finish. The semifinal with Nobuhiko Takada vs. Minoru Suzuki had a mixed response. The casual fans thought the match was boring and there were chants of it but the hardcore UWF fans would chant back, "It's real wrestling." But it was boring. . . . Lee Gak Soo of FMW is now billed as AWA World lightheavyweight champion after beating Jimmy Backlund. . . Japanese Wrestling Journal listed the 3/19 Jushin Riger vs. Pegasus Kid match; the 4/19 Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey vs. Gordy & Williams match and the 4/27 Muto & Chono vs. Hashimoto & Masa Saito matches all as match of the year candidates. . . Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit ) works Japan from 6/12 to 6/18.
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13May 28, 1990 Monroe
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16ETC
17Recently saw some old matches with the likes of David Von Erich, Magnum T.A. in the Mid-South and some matches with Hulk Hogan in the AWA. What do you think would be the state of wrestling today if David were still alive, Hogan was still in the AWA and if Magnum were still in the NWA. Would World Class have stayed the major force it was? I've been fortunate to see some of the great matches from Mexico. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to do so. These guys put out 100 percent constantly and if the NWA and WWF would have half the workrate they would be much better off. I'd love to see these guys get an opportunity to show their stuff in the United States, not only because they deserve it, but to everyone would have a chance to see them. They are much like Jushin Riger and Naoki Sano in Japan, if not better. Some whereabout questions: Missouri Mauler, Oki Shikina, El Mongol, Gorilla Watts, Bill Watts, Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson, Tor Kamata and Killer Kahn. Was Bill Eadie one of the original Mongols from the IWA? Also, could you tell me the whereabouts of Rachel DuBois from Canada? She used to wrestle in Georgia for All South and was very popular, pretty and talented.
18Lenis Sargent
19Gainesville, Georgia
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215/26 in Tsu drew 5,160 as Choshu beat Chono via count out, Kitao & Saito beat Vader & Bigelow when Kitao pinned Bigelow, Muto beat Williams via DQ and Jushin Riger & Hashimoto beat Shiro Koshinaka & Sasaki. . . 5/28 in Osaka before a sellout 6,820 fans saw Hashimoto pin Choshu in the main event, Chono & Muto kept the IWGP tag team titles beating Hiroshi Base & Koshinaka (who beat them in a non-title match on 5/4 in Tokyo), Vader pinned Kitao to keep the IWGP title, Bigelow beat Williams via DQ and Rigor pinned Hiro Saito. . . All Japan on 5/28 drew 1,650 as Misawa & Kawada & Akira Taue upset Tsuruta & Kabuki & Fuyuki on top, Davey Boy & Johnny Smith beat Mark Scarpa & Gordy, Singh beat Kobashi and Baba & Fuchi heat Abduliah the Butcher & Ranger Ross. . . TV taping updates for All Japan. 6/5 in Chiba has Tsuruta vs. Gordy for the triple crown and Hansen vs. Williams as a double headliner plus the vacant Asian tag title will be decided with Davey Boy & Johnny Smith vs. Taue & Nakano plus Bigelow vs. Kobashi and Misawa & Kawada vs. Kabuki & Fuyuki. . . New line-up for 6/8 Budokan Hall has a double headliner with Tsuruta vs. Misawa and 
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231987 japan issue
24New Japan in Hamamatsu before 3,840 (last night of tour): Black Cat b Matsuda, Hase b Sugawara, Kimura b Koshinaka, Masa Saito b Kido, Riger b Iizuka, Hamaguchi & Hiro Saito & Honaga b Hoshino & Kobayashi & Sasaki when Hamaguchi pinned Hoshino with blockbuster suplex in 13:40, Chono & Muta b Goto & Machine when Muto pinned Goto with moonsault in 12:25 and Williams & Bigelow & Nader b Kitao & Choshu & Hashimoto in 10:52 when Bigelow and Vader did a double splash on Choshu. After the match Williams and Bigelow split up to set up their tag team match (Williams & Gordy vs. Bigelow & Davey Boy Smith) two nights later with All Japan and also a singles match for New Japan on June 26 at Tokyo Sumo Hall.
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27May 29 results from Japan:
28New Japan in Okayama drew 3,130: 1. Takayuki Iizuka b Black Cat; 2. Kensuke Sasaki b Osamu Matsuda; 3. Osamu Kido b Nuboyashi Sugawara; 4. Hiro Saito b Kantaro Hoshino; 5. Jushin Riger & Shiro Koshinaka b Norio Honaga & Tatsutoshi Goto; 6. Super Strong Machine & Animal Hamaguchi b Hiroshi Hase & Kuniaki Kobayashi; 7. IWGP tag champs Masa Chono & Keiji Muto b Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto via DQ; 8. Steve Williams & Bam Bam Bigelow & Big Van Vader b Koji Kitao & Masa Saito & Kengo Kimura when Williams stampeded Kimura
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31That night, the All Japan TV show aired with matches taped on 5/26 at Korakuen Hall. Three bouts aired, with Kawada & Nakano beating Fuyuki & Kikuchi when Nakano used the Northern Lights suplex on Kikuchi in 13:36. Since the show airs from 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. I was half asleep but this match was great all the way. Then Terry Gordy beat Davey Boy Smith in 21:15 (last eight minutes aired on TV) and it was a good match with all well-paced action with Gordy winning with a power bomb. The main event saw Misawa & Kobashi & Taue beat Tsuruta & Fuchi & Kabuki in 23:10 when Misawa used a Tiger suplex (reverse grip fullnelson into a german suplex) on Fuchi. Even though I was dead by this time, this match made me wide awake. With the exception of the Riger-Sano match in January, it's the best match I've seen all year. Even Taue looked great. The highlight was Misawa, who is being pushed as the next superstar and he didn't disappoint. They did a "shoot" angle with Tsuruta and Misawa to build up Budokan as well. At one point Misawa elbowed Tsuruta in the face and he was "knocked out" and then when he got up he went crazy on Misawa. ****1/4. Best wrestling television show I've seen since the TBS show on 2/17. And the matches here were better, just no American style angles in between the good matches.
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35. Fans are customers. Contempt for customers is bad for business. Are you businessmen or con men? Instead of making the most loyal fans into scapegoats, why not work with them. The writer from WCW states that many times we don't know the whole story. Why doesn't Jim Herd sit down with Dave Meltzer in an interview and clear the air? His readers travel all over the country to attend big shows. Why not show appreciation for them at the shows. Maybe a banquet could be set up with wrestlers and fans who travel long distances to the big shows where the wrestlers could tell stories and answer questions. Everyone would get to know and understand where each other is coming from better. Fans could understand with a backstage tour all the work that goes into putting a major production together. Create a forum where fans can give their opinions on things to help the promotion. Some people may have some good and usable ideas. Look at Jushin Riger, it was an idea from an Observer reader. If WCW tried this approach, word of mouth and press coverage would be approving tremendously. People would stop showing frustration. Know-it-all attitudes would stop. Smart fans are the most loyal fans and they can help WCW and vica versa.
36Bruce Mitchell
37Greensboro, North Carolina
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40In the 5/29 issue, you alluded to the possible problems calling a match with El Gigante due to language and physical disproportion differences. When an English speaking wrestler works with a Japanese or Lucha Libre wrestler, how do they call the match? On a different level, during the 1960s I recall a wrestler, Silento Rodriguez, who was billed as a deaf mute. How did they call a match with him? Also, you mentioned Ole Anderson's desire for a black babyface. During the past year, the NWA has given both Larry Cameron and Ben Peacock (Botswana Beast) try-outs. My first choice would have been Ron Simmons. He has all the tools. But if they wanted to keep Simmons as a heel, why not Derrick Dukes? Speaking of Simmons, how would you rate his progress and the progress in the last year of Brian Pillman and Scott Steiner. Have you seen improvement in their workrate, ring psychology and interview ability? As of June, what's the NWA policy concerning wrestlers working in Japan. Stan Hansen, Bam Bam Bigelow and Doug Furnas are all fixtures in Japan. Has the NWA modified previous policy? Is there any chance of a return of Terry Gordy or Steve Williams? I'd love to see my favorite wrestler, Thunder Riger, get a chance to work in the NWA. The most exciting prospect of all is the debut of Tenryu's new group. Is there any chance that the top two wrestlers in the world, Ric Flair and Tenryu would wrestle one another? I have not a shred of doubt it would be the match of the year.
41Klon
42Melbourne, Florida
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45NATIONAL WRESTLING ALLIANCE (July 7, Baltimore)
4640+: 3 9.4% (Flair, Orndorff, Race)
4730-39: 19 59.3%
4820-29: 10 31.3% (Mean Mark, Smothers, Gigante, R.Steiner, S. Furnas, Fatu, Pillman, Armstrong, Steiner, Landel)
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50NEW JAPAN (May 14, NK Hall)
5140+: 3 11.5% (Hoshino, Kido, M. Saito)
5230-39: 12 46.2%
5320-29: 11 42.3% (Iizuka, Matsuda, Hase, H. Saito, Riger, Chono, Sasaki, Bigelow, Hashimoto, Kitao, Muto)
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56On the New Japan side, like the NWA, there are few wrestlers past 40. Of those, Masa Saito, who turns 48 in August, is hardly washed-up even though he has declined from his form of 1987 when he was one of the world's top ten. Hoshino rarely works, more as an odd-man-in on big shows. Kido goes full-time and while not washed-up, totally lacks charisma or anything special either. But with the likes of Riger, Chono, Hashimoto, Muto and Kitao, it is loaded with younger talent that is being pushed to the top.
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58Japan) from 6/12 to 6/18. Don't know the complete results but on the final night the main event was a tag team match with Riki Choshu & Stan Hansen vs. Big Van Vader & Animal Hamaguchi. It ended up when Hansen turning on Choshu to set up some matches down the road. . . 6/14 in Niage saw Choshu & Hansen team up for the first time losing via DO to Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto when Hansen hit Saito with his bullrope, Vader & Hamaguchi beat Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido, Masa Chono & Keiji Muto beat Gary Albright & Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) when Chono pinned Albright, Soul Taker beat Black Cat, Kensuka Sasaki & Jushin Riger & Kentaro Hoshino & Kuniaki & Kobayashi beat The Blondes (Goto & Honaga & Hiro Saito) & Super Strong Machine, in a captains' match Kobayashi beat Hiro Saito via DQ, Shiro Koshinaka pinned Takayuki. Iizuka and Apollo Sugawara pinned Osamu Matsuda. . . 6/16 in Kagoshima saw Vader & Hamaguchi & Soul Taker beat Kimura & Saito & Choshu, Chono & Muto beat Pegasus Kid & Hansen when Muto pinned Pegasus, Hashimoto beat Albright, Iizuka won a 10 man Battle Royal, Riger pinned Honaga, Machine pinned Kido, Saito & Goto beat Iizuka & Sasaki and prelims. . . Pioneer Senshi ran a show on 6/16 drawing a full house of 2,000 to Tokyo's Korkuen Hall as Ryuma Go & karate guy Seiji Aoyagi teamed to beat the New Japan combination of Sugawara & Kobayashi was Sugawara was KO'd in 13:24. Masahiko Takasugi (wrestler) beat Mitsuo Matsunaga (judo) in a mixed match plus New Japan's Hoshino worked underneath. . . JWP drew 1,980 on 6/16 in Shimozuma as Plum Marika won the jr. title in the finals of the tournament beating Cutie Suzuki plus Itsuki Yamazaki & Harley Saito & Miss A beat Scorpion & Shinobu Kandori & Rumi Kazama. . . All Japan Women drew 1,910 at Korakuen Hall on 6/17 as Manami Toyoda won a one-night tournament beating Yumiko Hotta in the finals and Suzuka Minami beat Aja Kong via DQ to win the All-Pacific title (titles in Japan change via DO) however Minami refused to accept the title so it is now vacant pending a rematch between the two. . . The 6/12 Fukuoka show for New Japan was a heavy juice-fest as the top matches were all very bloody. . . Next FMW tour is 7/16 to 8/4 with Ultraman II and Magnificent Mimi among others. . . The 7/5 Weekly Gong has frame-by-frame photos of the top moves of the Lucha Libre tour, almost like watching the moves in slow-mo. . . New Japan drew a 7.0 rating on 6/16 with the Fukuoka stuff (Choshu vs Hamaguchi, Vader vs Hansen, Riger vs Aoyagi) while All Japan on 6/17 drew a 3.9 in the early a.m. slot (which I think is their best rating since the time slow move) for Tsuruta vs Gordy and Hansen vs Williams. The Tsuruta vs Misawa match aired on 6/24.
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61g1 transformer puligamlie
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63There is a lot of heat in the office about Koji Kitao. The office wants Kitao to put certain guys over, particularly some of the Japanese guys, but Kitao thinks that since he's a celebrity, which he is, that he shouldn't be doing jobs. Riki Choshu, who is the booker, thinks that for business Kitao should have to lose since fans know his wrestling ability isn't at the level of the other Japanese guys. Kitao doesn't want to work against anyone but Americans because it would be okay for him to have a bad match against an American since Japanese often don't have great matches against Americans but generally when the Japanese work against each other in a big match, it's a great match and Kitao really isn't good enough to have a "great" match unless completely carried. . . Jushin Riger is out of action with appendicitis . . . The Universal Wrestling Federation drew a sellout 7,000 on 6/21 in Osaka as Akira Maeda made Nobuhiko Takada submit to a kneelock in 18:02; Masaharu Funaki beat Kazuo Yamazaki via knockout with a karate blow in 11:19; Yoshiaki Fujiwara made Shigeo Miyato submit in 10:11 with a chicken sing; Yoji Anjyo made Minoru Suzuki submit with an armlock in 17:54 and Tatsuo Nakano made MacDeouff Roesch submit to an ankle submission move in 14:40. Funaki's win over Yamazaki stole the show because it's the first time that one of the young guys has beaten one of the "big four" (Maeda-Takada-Fujiwara-Yamazaki). Next UWF is 7/20 in Sapporo which is two days before New Japan comes in with its big show in the same city. . The Lucha Libre group has added an early August tour, with three shows in Tokyo, but is bringing in the likes of Los Brazos and Sergio El Hermoso and El Bello Greco who 
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65TEN BEST MATCHES OF 1990
66By Steve Sims
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68What makes for a great match? What sets these ten apart from the rest? In compiling this list and organizing this article, I first considered picking a favorite and then ranking the matches in order of quality. Many of them are so close and so many memorable things happened so often that chronological order seems more appropriate. Let's review these matches individually then see what made them so special.
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701) Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano - January 31 Sano had recently won the IWGP junior heavyweight title from Riger and this was Riger's return. Sano's style in every encounter with Riger had become more and more brutal. This match culminated that trend. Sano ripped Riger's mask into shreds, literally, so that the mask was still tied around Riger's neck but not covering his face. What was covering his face was a crimson mask. Even the announcers acknowledged that Riger was Keiichi Yamada here. After several heart-quickening near-falls, Yamada piledrove Sano and finished him off with. the shooting star press to regain his junior heavyweight title.
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72TEN BEST MATCHES OF 1990
73By Steve Sims
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75What makes for a great match? What sets these ten apart from the rest? In compiling this list and organizing this article, I first considered picking a favorite and then ranking the matches in order of quality. Many of them are so close and so many memorable things happened so often that chronological order seems more appropriate. Let's review these matches individually then see what made them so special.
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771) Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano - January 31 Sano had recently won the IWGP junior heavyweight title from Riger and this was Riger's return. Sano's style in every encounter with Riger had become more and more brutal. This match culminated that trend. Sano ripped Riger's mask into shreds, literally, so that the mask was still tied around Riger's neck but not covering his face. What was covering his face was a crimson mask. Even the announcers acknowledged that Riger was Keiichi Yamada here. After several heart-quickening near-falls, Yamada piledrove Sano and finished him off with. the shooting star press to regain his junior heavyweight title.
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792) Jushin Riger & Akira Nogami vs. Naoki Sano & Pegasus Kid - February 10 This was the best match by most accounts at the Tokyo Dome card that drew the biggest gate in wrestling history. This match had the fastest pace and the most and flashiest moves of any match I've seen this year. It also had the single funniest moment of the year. Notice the date of this match. It was right after the Super Bowl. Nogami came to the ring dressed up as Joe Montana with a No. 16 49er jersey and all. I'll bet Joe never finds out, either. Wonder what he would say? Sano and Pegasus won when Sano pinned Nogami clean.
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82TEN BEST MATCHES OF 1990
83By Steve Sims
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85What makes for a great match? What sets these ten apart from the rest? In compiling this list and organizing this article, I first considered picking a favorite and then ranking the matches in order of quality. Many of them are so close and so many memorable things happened so often that chronological order seems more appropriate. Let's review these matches individually then see what made them so special.
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871) Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano - January 31 Sano had recently won the IWGP junior heavyweight title from Riger and this was Riger's return. Sano's style in every encounter with Riger had become more and more brutal. This match culminated that trend. Sano ripped Riger's mask into shreds, literally, so that the mask was still tied around Riger's neck but not covering his face. What was covering his face was a crimson mask. Even the announcers acknowledged that Riger was Keiichi Yamada here. After several heart-quickening near-falls, Yamada piledrove Sano and finished him off with. the shooting star press to regain his junior heavyweight title.
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902) Jushin Riger & Akira Nogami vs. Naoki Sano & Pegasus Kid - February 10 This was the best match by most accounts at the Tokyo Dome card that drew the biggest gate in wrestling history. This match had the fastest pace and the most and flashiest moves of any match I've seen this year. It also had the single funniest moment of the year. Notice the date of this match. It was right after the Super Bowl. Nogami came to the ring dressed up as Joe Montana with a No. 16 49er jersey and all. I'll bet Joe never finds out, either. Wonder what he would say? Sano and Pegasus won when Sano pinned Nogami clean.
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93July 16, 1990
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95-TEN BEST MATCHES OF 1990
96By Steve Sims
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98What makes for a great match? What sets these ten apart from the rest? In compiling this list and organizing this article, I first considered picking a favorite and then ranking the matches in order of quality. Many of them are so close and so many memorable things happened so often that chronological order seems more appropriate. Let's review these matches individually then see what made them so special.
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1001) Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano - January 31 Sano had recently won the IWGP junior heavyweight title from Riger and this was Riger's return. Sano's style in every encounter with Riger had become more and more brutal. This match culminated that trend. Sano ripped Riger's mask into shreds, literally, so that the mask was still tied around Riger's neck but not covering his face. What was covering his face was a crimson mask. Even the announcers acknowledged that Riger was Keiichi Yamada here. After several heart-quickening near-falls, Yamada piledrove Sano and finished him off with. the shooting star press to regain his junior heavyweight title.
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104 Tall Tree & Spicoli have starting dates for USWA. Tall Tree is the best worker of the California independents but only 190 pounds. . . Benjamin Mora, who promotes wrestling in Tijuana, is supposed to start running shows in Los Angeles in the fall, possibly at the Olympic Auditorium. . . . PWF on 7/12 in Tampa saw Lou Perez beat Mark Starr to keep the PWF It. heavyweight belt, Steve Keirn pinned Jimmy Backlund to keep the Florida title, Sgt. Rock beat Joe Pedero, Hurricane Walker drew Al Green and Dennis Knight beat Pat Powers. . . . 7/9 at George's Bar in Fridley drew 300 as Ricky Rice beat Randy Grato (an amateur just getting started who showed some potential) to keep the PWA title, Larry Cameron DDQ Tim Hunt (Hunt super green Cameron had to carry) and in an excellent match, Jerry Lynn beat Lightning Kid. Lynn is the best worker of the PWA crew and Kid (Sean Waltman, 170 pounds) has potential to be a big star if he gains weight. Kid did a Riger dive off the top rope and even dove off the top rope and when Lynn moved, crashed onto a table outside the ring and juiced as well. Also Charlie Norris, Sheik Kaissey, Jeff Warner and Tommy Ferrera worked. . . Bam Bam Bigelow and Larry Sharpe are scheduled to go to trial in August over Sharpe's charges that Bigelow owes him money from their original contract in which Sharpe was to train Bigelow for free in 
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107New Japan: TV tapings on 6/30 in Ueda drew 3,450 as Animal Hamaguchi & Tatsutoshi Goto & Masanobu Kurusu beat Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto & Kensuke Sasaki in the main event when Goto pinned Sasaki, Bam Bam Bigelow & Owen Hart beat Steve Williams & Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) when Hart pinned Pegasus in 14 minutes, Keiji Muto pinned Brad Rheingans, Soul Taker upset Masa Chono, Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido upset Shiro Koshinaka & Masa Saito when Kido pinned Koshinaka in a mind-boggling result, Super Strong Machine pinned Takayuki Iizuka, Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga beat Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino plus prelim matches. . . . Former New Japan wrestler Naoki Sano, who left the promotion in April to eventually join SWS, will be teaming with another former New Japan wrestler, Shinji Sasazaki, in Tennessee shortly. . . 7/7 in Miyako drew a full house of 1,780 as Rheingans & Williams & Bigelow beat Choshu & Saito & Kimura, Muto & Chono beat Goto & Machine via DQ, Soul Taker & Pegasus Kid beat Koshinaka & Hashimoto, Hart pinned Iizuka, Kobayashi & Sasaki beat Honaga & Hiro Saito and prelims. . . The series ended before 2,200 on 7/9 on Noheji as Choshu & Masa Saito beat Bigelow & Soul Taker when Saito pinned Soul Taker, Chono & Hashimoto & Muto beat Hart & Rheingans & Williams, Sasaki beat Pegasus, Machine beat Nobuyoshi Sugawara, Honaga & Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine beat Kobayashi & Sugawara & Koshinaka & Hoshino, Kido beat Iizuka and Kimura beat Osamu Matsuda. . . . They did a TV taping on 7/5 and the top matches saw Choshu & Hashimoto beat Bigelow & Soul Taker in 7:26 when Hashimoto pinned Taker, Muto pinned Hart in 11:42 (Hart injured his ribs on the tour and Rheingans & Pegasus beat Chono & Sasaki (air date 7/14). . . The 7/7 show (taped 6/30) drew a 5.2 rating, which is well below par. . . Recent TV results: 6/9 (taped 5/28): 1. Big Van Vader pinned Koji Kitao with a shoulderblock. By the way, Kitao missed the current tour with a bad back but there's heat on that because it was the type of injury that most wrestlers work through. Vader worked stiff, mainly with punches, but Kitao still isn't ready to work a top-notch singles match *; 2. Muto & Chono kept the tag title beat Hiroshi Hase & Koshinaka. Worked over Muto's legs early. They did a nice spot where Muto was about to dive over the top rope onto Koshinaka but Hase clotheslined him from behind out of the ring and Hase dove through the ropes onto Muto. Hase did some unique suplexes but the match wasn't great. Muto pinned Hase clean with the moonsault. ***; 3. Hashimoto pinned Choshu in the "upset." Hashimoto used several DDT's in a row but Choshu came back with a lariat. Choshu's chest was covered with footprints from the stiff kicks. Choshu clotheslined Hashimoto out of the ring and gave him a Northern Lights suplex on the floor. Back in the ring, Hashimoto pinned him cleanly with a powerslam and leg lariat. The two hugged when it was over. Hashitmoto really isn't an exciting enough wrestler to be the top guy but the fans believe in him because his kicks are so stiff and he comes off as legitimately tough. **1/2. . 6/16 (taped 6/12): 1. Jushin Riger beat Seiji Aoyagi in a mixed match. Riger took off his mask during the second round. Mainly Riger controlled Aoyagi on the mat with tackles to take him down and worked for submissions on the mat. Aoyagi started bleeding in the third round. Finally the ref stopped the match because Aoyagi was bleeding too badly to continue. Since a mixed match has to look legit which means no spectacular maneuvers, it is limited in some ways and Riger couldn't do his flying moves. Considering those limitations, it was solid **; 2. Vader and Hansen went to a DDQ. Only the last four minutes of a 22 minute match aired. Vader's mask was off at that time and he was heavily juiced. Hansen juiced as well. Both seemed tired at the end but what aired was good brawling; 3. Hashimoto pinned Muto 
108
109
110 No, I don't believe it either. Up to this point, my award favorites are: Wrestler of the year-Jushin Riger; Best babyface-Hulk Hogan; Best heel-Ric Flair' Tag Team of the year-Steiners; Feud of the year-Hogan vs. Warrior; Rookie of the year-Richard Slinger and Billy Black (tie); Match of the year-Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys 7/7 in Baltimore, 2nd Jushin Riger vs. Naoki Sano on 1/31 and third Randy Rose vs. Joel Deaton on 5/28 in Altoona Landing; Biggest shock-Ole Anderson getting the NWA book and his subsequent unanticipated success. The biggest news story may be the lack of clear cut favorites in the awards this year. 1989 spoiled us rotten with all the fantastic matches and great shows.
111Scott Hudson
112Atlanta, Georgia
113
114DM: The WWF will have an address either this weekend or next to send cards to Ed Leslie. As for the Pedicino rumors, it is really way too early to even make comment other than the rumor is making the rounds and people have been talked with. There is something to the story, but it's a longshot.
115
116Knowing ahead of time that Vince McMahon was going to voice-over and acknowledge Ed Leslie's accident, I was hopeful that he would share a rare dignified side. Instead, the dignity came from Gordon Solie the night before with the NWA's acknowledgement and well wishes. What we got from Vince was a sarcastic tone. I may not like the Brutus Beefcake character or his workrate, but he is a human being deserving of sympathy for an accident that could happen to any of us. "Some kind of pars-sailing, whatever that is" and "this may put Brutus' quest for the IC title on hold for a while" were ridiculous statements. Vince knew full well of the seriousness of the head injury and his tone insulted me enough to suggest this, and not the Hogan retirement angle as the most disgusting promotional tactic of 1990.
117Mike Lano
118Alameda, California
119
120MALENKO INTERVIEW
121Jeff Bowdren's interview with Larry Malenko was absorbing. For once a favorable view of the UWF in the Wrestling Observer. As Malenko pointed out, once educated to the UWF's holds and rules, one is rewarded with the purest and most demanding pro wrestling. For those of us disgusted by the circus atmosphere of much of American wrestling, the UWF's shooting style demands the toughest men in all wrestling. While we should all be justifiably proud of Ric Flair's audience with President Bush, this summit was at a fund raiser for Senator Jesse Helms, the rabid conservative who sponsors censorship of art, photography and song lyrics. Politics is an even dirtier business than wrestling. Mid year picks for match of the year: First Riger vs. Sano for 1/31, Muto & Chono vs. Saito & Hashimoto tag title change on 4/27 and Riger vs. Owen Hart 1/30 followed by Maeda vs. Takada 1/16 and Riger vs. Pegasus Kid. Gordon Solie is my all-time favorite announcer. I'd like to inquire why he's often ridicules in the sheets. True, he seems rather old-fashioned, but he also possesses an analytical style which treats pro wrestling like legitimate sport. Jim Ross, who admittedly is the best announcer today, also lends this same credibility, yet the Jelly roll man too often descends into hyperbole like a carnival huckster. Why is Solie derided? I feel he should be cherished, like Lance Russell, for his quaint credulity and charm.
122Clint Freeman
123New York, New York
124
1258/19 at Sumo Hall has Big Van Vader vs. Riki Choshu for the IWGP title, Masa Chono & Keiji Muto vs. Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos for IWGP tag team title and the return of Jushin Riger after an appendectomy defending the IWGP jr. title against Pegasus Kid. . . Atsushi Onita beat kick boxer Katsuji Ueda on 7/16 at Korakuen Hall by a fifth round KO in a mixed match before 2,350 fans. . . 7/22 saw All Japan do a 3.6 rating for the Gordy-Hansen triple crown title match. . . FMW had a unique show on 7/22 with the wrestling ring in the middle of a lake. The guys were brought to the ring by a boat.
126
127 After the 8/19 Sumo Hall card (Vader vs. Riki Choshu, Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs. Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos and Jushin Riger vs. Pegasus Kid in three IWGP title matches), the next big show is 9/30. The card is at the 17,000 seat Yokohama Arena, just a few weeks before SWS has the same building booked for two shows. Inoki wanted to come out of retirement on the card and wrestle Stan Hansen but there was no way they could work an adequate finish to that match without upsetting the fans (since Hansen and Vader have already worked two non-finishes in New Japan rings) so it probably won't take place. One wonders how much longer this cooperation between All Japan and New Japan will last. Inoki is the long-time enemy of Baba's, going back to the 60s and Choshu has always wanted New Japan to be No. 1 
128
129
130WWF
131No Holds Barred is now available for $19.95 on video. The high price tag of $89.95 didn't move it. Said flick just finished what my friend termed a "short and unsuccessful run in Australia." If it did play in Japan, it couldn't have been very successful. Another friend just ordered some WWF merchandise and it came with a note that all Warrior merchandise is being discounted 20 to 25 percent. Now, either the stuff isn't moving or they're planning a new line with his new look which I characterize as an oversteroided Shawn Michaels with his finger put in a light socket. Horrible new look. I liked him better with the face paint. The earring has to go. As for SNME, this was high middle. I've enjoyed some previous editions better. Jesse Ventura looked as light as I've ever seen him. Hogan looked to be about 260. Didn't look like he outweighed McMahon by much. Best match was Santana-Hennig (***1/4), Demolition Rockers was three stars and Warrior-Rude 215. Kerry was very unimpressive but how can a guy with one foot work well? I have my doubts he's going to cut in under the heavy pressure of a full-time WWF schedule. Buddy Rose wasn't as good as he usually is. When Slaughter and Kerry are the best the WWF can pick up, things don't look good down the line in wrestling. As for the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom parody with Lord Al Hayes and Gene Okerlund, well, Hayes was better than Okerlund but I missed the point of the jungle in Omaha. Maybe that was the point. Pretty bad skit overall. Glad to see that Dusty will be relegated to the C team, but poor Ted DiBiase. Paul Roma deserves a bit of a push as he always works hard. I just saw Riger-Sano from January. I think I've seen my match of the year. There is some talk going around that Flair faked the knee injury to give Herd a hard time. My own problem with considering Curt Hennig as the best wrestler is that Hennig is really the best bump taker rather than a great wrestler like Ric Flair. I've seen Hennig at plenty of smaller shows and his work is quite sloppy. Sometimes he goes overboard with the selling and looks as though he's simply jumping off the mat and doing gymnastics rather than selling moves. I like Rude's work as much. He can carry bad opponents just as well, although Rude is more a brawler than a technical wrestler. However Hennig is in better condition than Rude. DiBiase and Savage have their moments but Rude and Hennig are more consistent. I should have mentioned Jesse may have trouble going to the NWA because it's owned by TBS. He'd probably be able to work only PPV shows and the syndicated shows. I don't think he'd go anyway but that doesn't mean the NWA shouldn't make an effort at securing the guy, especially when the Tag Team shooting is over. While I think it's a stupid move for Vince to lose Jesse and I think it will hurt him a lot more than he thinks, it's not the best decision for Jesse either. You have to think about the future. It's all well and good to concentrate on the things before you and if Tag Team is a bit hit as Disney and ABC think, things will be fine. But Tag Team Stands a good chance of not making it past 13 weeks. All new series' do. Where will that leave Jesse in Hollywood?
132Teresa DeMarie
133Tuckahoe, New York
134
135FMW
136I got a chance to see some FMW stuff. The brawling is second to none but the wrestling leaves much to be desired. After seeing the Universal Hamada cards from March, I must say I'm impressed with Yoshihiro Asai. His mid-rope moonsault bodypress has my vote for move of the year. Barring any injuries, Asai should be one of the best wrestlers of the 90s. We can only hope that New Japan brings him in for a series with Jushin Riger. John Muse Taylor, Michigan AWARDS Mid-year pick for Wrestler of the year is Jushin Rigor. Even more than last year, one cannot ignore his numerous 4 3/4 star matches with Pegasus Kid, Naoki Sano and Owen Hart. There is no more exciting performer in the sport today. Second would be Keiji Muto. He's been at least as good this year as last year and become one of Japan's top echelon superstars. Muto is a fine worker, lightning fast on the mat and in the air and a hugely popular face. Third would be a toss-up between Ric Flair, Nobuhiko Takada and Yoshiaki Fujiwara for their excellence in working matches, ring psychology and willingless to make others look good and put them over. Why no ratings? Overdue thanks for a very professional and memorable yearbook. I really enjoyed Jeff Bowdren's top 10 Gordon Solie cliches, but he neglected my favorite, the profound, "When you control the head, you control the body." Gordon is also fond of the hackneyed, "It's not the size of the man in the fight but the size of the fight in the man." And lastly, there's Gordon's specious claim that, "The average professional football game contains only 11 minutes of actual physical contact. There men have been going at it nip and tuck for three quarters of an hour, confirmation of their superb cardiovascular conditioning and tendon strength."
137Clint Freeman
138New York, New York
139
140DM: It's hard to do ratings because there are top wrestlers (Steamboat, for example) that are working in this country that I haven't even seen in one match. Also, with the best Mexican wrestlers, they can look incredible at times but at other times get lost in a match and look green. Some guys are awesome within their style but can't adapt to another style. Others (Jushin Riger, for example) seem to be able to work any style. Based on what I've seen, the best wrestler as far as having great matches night-after-night is Riger.
141
142
143Japan: The wrestling business must be healthy in the Tokyo area as last night (8/19), there were shows in Tokyo from All Japan, New Japan and the All Japan women's promotion and I believe all three drew sellout crowds and competed with one another for the major press. Actually the women's show was an afternoon card which packed Korakuen Hall as Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto in a battle of heels main event when Kimura pinned Iwamoto in a match which went more than 20 minutes and had triple juice. . . New Japan ran the Sumo Hall and drew an estimated 11,000 (will have actual crowd next week) as Riki Choshu won the IWGP title from Big Van Vader pinning him after several lariats in what was said to be a typical Choshu-Vader match, and Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) won the IWGP jr. title beating Jushin Riger (Keiichi Yamada) in the best match on the show. Keiji Muto & Masa Chono kept the IWGP tag team titles beating Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos in the third title match. Both Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami came to ringside and got big pops from the crowd. Koji Kitao is still nowhere to be found. Actually, the wrestling fans don't care and don't miss him but Inoki feels he still has drawing power and curiosity from the general public and sees money in a singles match against Choshu. It's hard to really say how much, if any of the Choshu-Kitao controversy is a shoot and how much is simply a wrestling angle aimed at hardcore fans but it's probably a little of the former and a lot of the latter. Fujinami was in the ring on 8/7 and did some working out in front of the fans doing some bumps and practicing some moves and the fans are anxious for his return. Nobody expects that he'll ever be the same as he's now been out of action for nearly 14 months due to his back going out. . . . All Japan drew a packed house that evening at Korakuen for a main event of Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masa Fuchi and they ran a fake-shoot angle out of the match. At one point Misawa threw a fake shoot-blow "by accident" on Tsuruta. Tsuruta got up and went berserk. Misawa was on the top rope and Tsuruta threw him off the rope and Misawa fell backward from the top rope onto the floor (similar to the bump Dynamite Kid took in the final sequence at Wrestlemania II 
144
145ndre is coming back for a unique double promotion on 9/30 with All Japan and New Japan kind of working together. New Japan has a card booked at the Yokohama Arena (about an hour and a half from Tokyo) celebrating Antonio Inoki's 30 years in wrestling (Inoki's first match was legitimately on September 30, 1960). The card will be at 2 p.m. and they are going to bring in 10 legends to make speeches and give flowers to Inoki. While the list isn't finalized, I believe the list thus far includes Andre, Stan Hansen, Lou Thesz, Johnny Valentine and Nick Bockwinkel. Baba offered to lend Inoki Abdullah the Butcher (who had a big feud with Inoki) but I guess there is still heat because Inoki didn't want Abby on the card. Inoki's people wanted Karl Gotch but he didn't want to be involved. They are also looking for Johnny Powers (who was Inoki's big rival in the early 1970s) and Roland Bock but haven't been able to find them. Inoki may work against one of the older legends and perhaps Fujinami will return on the show. In addition, the "debut" of the Great Muta, as Keiji Muto will be painting his face and changing 100 percent to his American gimmick and supposedly work U.S. style from now on (Muto & Chono want to change New Japan style to U.S. style and have matches tell a story and slow down rather than the fast paced high-spot, high-spot, high-spot of New Japan, mainly because after everyone has seen Riger work, there is nothing anyone can do as far as fast and spectacular moves that Riger doesn't already do or that wouldn't kill a normal human being). The plan, and I don't know that this is confirmed or not, is for Muta to wrestle Ricky Steamboat, who he hand-picked as his debut foe and there are political reasons for that as well since it had been rumored that Steamboat would be Tenryu's first foe when SWS starts up and New Japan wanted to block Tenryu's initial show in Yokohama in October in that way. . . That evening All Japan will run at Korakuen with a special match billed as a 10 minute exhibition (so nobody has to be asked to do the job and Baba won't disappoint fans who expect clean pinfalls in every match) with Baba & Abdullah teaming for the first time against Hansen & Andre. It will be the first time Baba and Andre have ever opposed one another except once in a Battle Royal in Honolulu. The match will probably be worse than awful but Baba is over big in this scenario. That card is to signify Baba's 30th anniversary of his debut as well, so a trivia item is that the two men who have dominated and controlled Japanese wrestling for more than 20 years both had their first match on the same night on the same card. . . UWF drew a sellout on 8/13 at Yokohama of 17,000 to see the "big upset" as Masaharu Funaki defeated Nobuhiko Takada in the main event in 12:18 when the match was stopped because Takada was bleeding too much from the eye in what was described as a "pretty intense" battle. Other results saw Akira Maeda beat Yoji Anjyo in 13:52 with an achilles tendon submission, Bart Vail beat Tatsuo Nakano in 9:27 with the sleeper, Yoshiaki Fujiwara beat Dick Leon-Fry (kick boxer from the Netherlands) in 7:58 with the Fujiwara armbar and Bert Kops Jr. (a champion sambo wrestler from Holland) beat Minoru Suzuki with an armbar in 10:13. The next UWF show will be in Nagoya in an 11,000 seat building with Fujiwara vs. Funaki on top. This will be an interesting test as the UWF has sold out every card it has promoted since it opened in the summer of 1988 except one--a show last year in Nagoya even with Maeda vs. Takada on top which drew 8,000 in Nagoya. . . It appears New Japan will run a singles tournament at the end of the year rather than the traditional tag team tournament. . . SWS, which runs its first show on 9/29 (a small "test" show as the Grand Opening is scheduled for 10/19 and 10/20 at Yokohama) will probably promote two or three cards per month with each month having a three-day tournament and a monthly champion decided like in sumo wrestling. It looks like the promotion doesn't want 
146
147The NWA sucks. They are completely lost. He can you have one of your biggest stars miss five months with an injured knee, yet the knee has never been an issue ever since he returned. Then their best all-time draw, Ric Flair and you bring in a lookalike in Buddy Landel stealing his gimmick and then doing jobs for everyone. If we are headed for a feud, boy that'll sell tickets now.
148Name withheld by request
149
150I attended the Baltimore Bash and had a great time. The spectacle of a PPV show kept my wife entertained. I personally enjoyed Big Van Vader's gimmick despite his mediocre squash match. The Midnight Express and Southern Boys had a very exciting match. Sting's title win wasn't the in-ring spectacle that it could have been, but the crowd reactions and fireworks at the finish and the interview enhanced it greatly. Vader and Stan Hansen on NWA cards makes a very attractive offering. Any chance of Jushin Riger, Riki Choshu or Keiji Muto coming in for some matches? I echo the disappointment of other WWF fans over their talent search that uncovered Sgt. Slaughter, Kerry Von Erich, Brian Adams and John Nord. There are more talented individuals out there ready to hit the big time. Did Titan go after Scotty the Body? Or some new blood like Larry Cameron, Soul Taker or Angel of Death? As the WWF seeks to sell itself as entertainment, the USWA seeks to sell its angles to the stereotypical fan. Watching Eric Embry vomit in the ring is a little strong, but his weekly bloodfests were exciting. The Jeannie-Toni thing can become classless, but I've got to admit that it's exciting. Could Hansen, Vader, Rigor, Muta or Choshu over do a job in the United States to an NWA wrestler or would a Japanese promotion be able to control booking decisions. Flair, Sting and Luger are well guarded by the NWA. Could Vicious, Eaton & Lane, Mean Mark or Brian Pillman be lured away from the NWA.
151Ross Burbage
152 Westminster, Maryland
153
154DM: I really can't see what Choshu would have to offer in the NWA. Since New Japan is running less dates, Mute could come in on a schedule like Vader as a gimmick on a few big shows and probably would add lustre to a PPV date. The name gets bandied around so wouldn't call it impossible, but doesn't seem in the cards right now. Riger could be a huge attraction if handled correctly in this country, but that isn't going to happen because those in power have no experience or knowledge of how Hisashi Shinma turned Satoru Sayama into a big drawing card because that would be the basic structure of ideas, which would have to be Americanized but could be, that would go into getting Riger over here'. Titan was interested in Scotty the Body, but lost interest when informed about his size. Kind of funny since the heel who drew more money against Hogan than anyone else in history was Randy Savage. And Hogan's best house show run ever was with Paul Orndorff. And the most over heel Titan ever had was Roddy Piper. While it is certainly easier to sell big guys, to ignore good talkers with charisma because of size seems to be a case of forgetting what put your original bread on the table. I don't think Angel of Death has the charisma for Titan and Soul Taker just isn't ready yet. Hansen or Vader maybe could do a job under the right circumstances but it would be difficult. I don't think it would be smart to even ask Vader for several months nor do I expect that they will. As far as I know, Mean Mark isn't under contract which means he could be lured away. The others all have contracts that expire next spring or summer. My guess, by what is being done right now, is that Vicious will be offered a new deal with a pretty big guarantee and would probably stay, but he'll be in a good bargaining position. If NWA is going to eliminate guaranteed deals to mid-card guys, my thought is that is where Midnight and Pillman will fit in. What happens then depends on a lot of things which really can't be predicted at the present time.
155
156Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Jushin Riger & Kensuke Sasaki & Kuniaki Kobayashi, Kantaro Hoshino & Hiroshi Hase beat Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga and prelims. . . The first SWS card will be 9/29 in Fukui, with no foreigners on the card. All Japan and New Japan are countering with spectaculars on 9/30 commemorating Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki's 30th year anniversary as pro wrestlers. . . The first SWS big shows in October in Yokohama with have ten foreign wrestlers brought in but no names have been officially released but those will probably be guys from Calgary booked by Mr. Hito that haven't worked for All or New Japan (which leaves out the best talent) and guys from Texas booked 
157
1588/17 in Matsumoto drew 3,000 (sellout) as Soul Taker & Bigelow & Vader beat Muto & Chono & Masa Saito (subbing for injured Hashimoto), Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine beat Choshu & Kobyashi & Hoshino, Enos & Bloom beat Osamu Kido & Sasaki, Riger & Takayuki Iizuka beat Pegasus Kid & Honaga, Kimura pinned Hase and prelims. . . Bruno Sammartino definitely will make a guest appearance on All Japan's cards 8/31 in Osaka and 9/1 in Tokyo. . . All Japan opened its tour on 8/18 in Korakuen Hall before a sellout 2,100 as Tsuruta & Taue & Fuchi beat Misawa & Kawada & Kikuchi in 23 minutes, Kenta Kobashi pinned Dan Kroffat, Doug Furnas beat Isamu Teranishi, The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) beat Eric Embry & Richard Charland, Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura beat Scotty the Body & Rip Morgan, Mighty Inoue beat The Trooper, Joe Malenko beat Mitsuo Momota and Motoshi Okuma beat Richard Slinger. . . FMW opened up in Amogawa before 1,690 during a heavy rainstorm and had an outdoor show with the ring flooded as Mr. Pogo & Gran Mendoza beat Kim & Atsushi Onita in 9:07 in the main event on 8/17. . New Japan's Summer Night Fever card on 8/19 in Tokyo sold out Sumo Hall with 11,150 fans as Choshu beat Vader for the IWGP title, Pegasus Kid beat Riger for the IWGP jr. title in 15:52, Muto & Chono beat Enos & Bloom to keep the tag titles when Muto pinned Bloom with the moonsault in 14:27, Hashimoto & Masa Saito beat Bigelow & Soul Taker when Hashimoto pinned Soul Taker in 13:04, Sasaki & Hasa beat Kido & Kimura when Hase pinned Kimura and The Blond Outlaws & Hamaguchi & Machine won a best of three fall ten man tag match in 20 minutes over a fivesome of Ryuma Go & Seiji Aoyagi (a karate star) & Kurusu and two others. . . Aja Kong and Bull Nakano had a midnight concert on 8/14. . . UWF will air on television on Ch. 3 in Tokyo starting in April of 1991 once per month. Very interesting that UWF, which has been incredibly successful in Japan and has turned down major television deals has agreed to this show. . . The much rumored Akira Maeda vs. Genichiro Tenryu match for the Tokyo Dome next February is actually a better than even bet to happen due to several things going on politically behind the scene. In some ways Maeda is in the position Ric Flair was in for the NWA at the end of last year and Masaharu Funaki is in the position of Sting. Only difference is Funaki headlined last week before 17,000 fans. . . Highlights of the UWF card in Yokohama last week aired on CNN on 8/17 in the United States.
159
160*Jushin Riger - Certainly he's been all-around the most consistent and most spectacular wrestler this year. His quality of matches probably top anyone. But, he is not a major figure. That is what the Most Outstanding category was created for, the most outstanding wrestler. The wrestler of the year should have great matches each night, but also should be a major player in the wrestling world. While Riger either held or challenged for New Japan's junior heavyweight title most of the year and he is over in a big way, I somehow see something missing to pick him for wrestler of the year. Still, in my book, he has to be considered.
161*Hulk Hogan - The name rarely comes up in this discussion but this year more than ever, he deserves consideration. He is pro wrestling. If there was any doubt, look at the business this summer. However, to me, the wrestler of the year should also be a good wrestler, not only just be the guy who is the most important wrestler in the business. After all, Hogan has never won this award before specifically because he's a mediocre wrestler,
162*Jumbo Tsuruta - Probably comes the closest as anyone to both having a major impact as a performer and also having great matches. For value to the company, Jumbo proved his worth this year. When Tenryu jumped, it should have been a crippling blow to All Japan. It would have been, but Jumbo not only picked up the slack in the ring and did some of the most consistently exciting wrestling of his career, but also put people over cleanly and in the right way (not that he wanted to do so, but when the time came, he did it and did it right) to keep the promotion strong at the gate despite a major time slot demotion which should have been crippling and the loss of half its native talent.
163*Curt Hennig - Definitely an outstanding performer, one of the three or four best in the world and he was WWF Intercontinental champ for four months and a headliner for most of the year. His importance to the WWF in no way even comes close to Tsuruta's in All Japan or Flair's in the NWA, but he did work hard just about every night and made matches with bums at least passable and often good. I may be in the minority on this one, but I don't rank him as the best in this country yet simply because when I've seen him live his matches were only average (as opposed to Flair's matches, which are almost never average) but he has had some great matches as well.
164
165MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: This one is easier because there are less intangibles. To me, Riger is clearly the guy here. It's what the category is all about. The guy who is the best in the ring night after night. Flair, Hennig, Bobby Eaton, Asai, Negro Casas and others are all candidates, for second best.
166
167
168INSULTING COMMENT  
169A few issues back when listing a change in the 9/5 Clash line-up you mentioned that is must be hard for someone like Terry Taylor to climb into the ring with three guys that can't work a lick. I feel, as a worker, that this was an insulting comment toward George Hines (Jackie Fulton) and The Nasty Boys. I know George personally and he has ever wanted to do was be a wrestler and make it to the big-time. I realize that he is green since he's really only been working on a consistent basis for a year-and-a-half. Those of us who are in the business and patronize your publication really take your criticisms to heart. Please be more sensitive toward people's feelings with your comments. George isn't too short anyone with his lack of workmanship, he's just still in the learning process.
170Mike Kelly
171Garden City, Michigan
172*********************************************************************************************************************
173
174AWARDS FAVORITES  
175Its that time of the year again where we begin to review the different categories for the annual Observer readers poll. As many of you are well aware, the Observer awards have become in some ways a victim of their own popularity. Last year with something like 700 ballots sent in in more than 40 different categories, the tabulation time for the awards and putting that section of the yearbook together took forever. It literally drove me to the brink of insanity and made me not want to look at another ballot. But it's a year later, and the awards have become a tradition. But we'll be modifying them somewhat, with a few of the traditional categories being deleted. Over the next few months we'll review a few categories each week and in late November we'll open up the balloting for the yearbook, which will go on through the month of December and be tabulated the first week of January. But let's start with some of the major categories:
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177WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: This year will be most interesting because usually it's easy to figure out who will win, or at least finish high. Ric Flair has won the thing seven of the last nine years and finished second twice. I get the feeling there is considerable feeling that Flair isn't even a contender this year, although my gut feeling is he'll still be a favorite. But there is no clear-cut favorite unlike in some years when there are a few that are solid choices. When the year began, with Flair's phase-out apparent from the start, I thought Tenryu would be the winner when the year was out. But then he went and quit All Japan and hasn't wrestled most of the year and the race is wide open. My feelings on a few candidates:
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179*Jushin Riger - Certainly he's been all-around the most consistent and most spectacular wrestler this year. His quality of matches probably top anyone. But, he is not a major figure. That is what the Most Outstanding category was created for, the most outstanding wrestler. The wrestler of the year should have great matches each night, but also should be a major player in the wrestling world. While Riger either held or challenged for New Japan's junior heavyweight title most of the year and he is over in a big way, I somehow see something missing to pick him for wrestler of the year. Still, in my book, he has to be considered.
180*Hulk Hogan - The name rarely comes up in this discussion but this year more than ever, he deserves consideration. He is pro wrestling. If there was any doubt, look at the business this summer. However, to me, the wrestler of the year should also be a good wrestler, not only just be the guy who is the most important wrestler in the business. After all, Hogan has never won this award before specifically because he's a mediocre wrestler,
181*Jumbo Tsuruta - Probably comes the closest as anyone to both having a major impact as a performer and also having great matches. For value to the company, Jumbo proved his worth this year. When Tenryu jumped, it should have been a crippling blow to All Japan. It would have been, but Jumbo not only picked up the slack in the ring and did some of the most consistently exciting wrestling of his career, but also put people over cleanly and in the right way (not that he wanted to do so, but when the time came, he did it and did it right) to keep the promotion strong at the gate despite a major time slot demotion which should have been crippling and the loss of half its native talent.
182*Curt Hennig - Definitely an outstanding performer, one of the three or four best in the world and he was WWF Intercontinental champ for four months and a headliner for most of the year. His importance to the WWF in no way even comes close to Tsuruta's in All Japan or Flair's in the NWA, but he did work hard just about every night and made matches with bums at least passable and often good. I may be in the minority on this one, but I don't rank him as the best in this country yet simply because when I've seen him live his matches were only average (as opposed to Flair's matches, which are almost never average) but he has had some great 
183
184
185The first pro wrestling card ever in Red China took place on Saturday night (9/1) in Halpin (city may be misspelled) before 4,000 fans as Antonio Inoki came out of retirement to headline a one-week tour of Red China. There is a one-week tournament for the Japan/ China Cup which will probably come down to Kensuke Sasaki and Masa Chono during the tour. Two of the promotion's biggest stars, Keiji Muto (who debuts on 9/7 in Osaka as The Great Muta) and Shinya Hashimoto both stayed home because they were resting bad knees, so the opening night results saw Sasaki beat Obara, Kantaro Hoshino beat Black Cat, Chono beat Takayuki Iizuka, Jushin Riger beat Osamu Matsuda, Riki Choshu beat Hiro Saito and Inoki made Tatsutoshi Goto submit to the octopus hold.
186
187Notes: A low week for overall viewing. WWF All American Wrestling was pre-empted because Monday night was Summer Slam night. All three NWA shows saw the ratings well below what they had been all summer long. All Japan show was headlined by Jumbo Tsuruta & Masa Fuchi & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi. . . All Japan TV show over this past weekend was to have Terry Gordy & Steve Williams vs. Stan Hansen & Johnny Ace and Misawa vs. Scotty the Body. . . New Japan was pre-empted last weekend, but this past weekend was taped from Summer Night Fever at Sumo Hall with Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader, Jushin Riger vs. Pegasus Kid and Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs. Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom
188
189
190When they wrestle in the United States, do they work for a lot less than U.S. wrestlers? How much do they make for Japanese tours? Do the Mexicans who wrestle for Hamada get paid different rates or does he negotiate a blanket payment for so many guys for a specific period of time? When Japanese wrestlers like Sayama, Misawa, Sano or Riger tour Mexico, do they get paid by the Mexican promotion or does their parent group in Japan keep them on the payroll? Your point about current ratings being meaningless is very valid. Four of last year's top ten, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk, Genichiro Tenryu and Naoki Sano have been either inactive or not in major circuits most of the year. It would be like trying to rate the best players in the NBA but not having seen Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing during the year. How valid would those ratings be?
191Chris Zavisa
192Plymouth, Michigan
193
194DM: Bringing in a junior heavyweight division in no way would solve the NWA's problems. The problems have to do mainly with marketing the product to the general public and deciding upon a product niche and then educating the audience to that niche. A junior heavyweight division, with the proper education and time spent to get it over to the fans (which wouldn't come immediately because wrestling fans have been educated to size and muscles for years) could be part of that niche if it was done correctly but it is not an answer to the problem, just a potential small part of the eventual answer. Bringing in a truckload of Japanese or Mexican wrestlers wouldn't get over at first, although with the right propaganda, almost anything can work to a degree (look at Sapphire and Dino Bravo if you don't believe me). But no, I don't think it will happen. But I can't believe that with the proper promotion, that one or two matches on a show with a guy like Jushin Riger (and remember, lighter Americans should be able to perform as well as the Mexicans and Japanese once the style is exposed to them to copy and refine on their own) wouldn't be a better addition to the show than anything put on the mid-cards right now. I'm really not familiar enough with the pay scale in Mexico although I don't think the wrestlers make anywhere close to what the top wrestlers in this country or Japan earn. The ones who did work Japan consistently in the past like Mil Mascaras and El Canek made big money in Japan, and I'd assume guys like Pero Aguayo made comparable money to a mid-card American that toured during the period he worked for New Japan. I'd bet the Universal crew made good money by their standards, since they got the best out of Mexico for the tour, but I'm also sure it's nowhere close to what the top Americans for All Japan and New Japan earn on tour
195
196Clash of the Champions XII turned out to be the most widely-viewed wrestling show in NWA history. It also turned out to be the least well regarded NWA show in recent years. Whether overall that constitutes a positive or a negative depends on your own point of view.
197
198JEFF'S DREAM (part two)
199By Jeff Bowdren
200
201(Editor's Note: Back in mid-August, I had this idea since everyone always complains about booking, to ask someone to come up with their own ideas and see if he could do it better. Since Jeff Bowdren is always coming up with angles and ideas, and he was the first once to come up with the idea of using Keiichi Yamada in a major role as a comic-book gimmick type wrestler aimed for kids nearly 18 months before anyone had heard of Jushin Riger, I asked him to try it on for size. Let me make clear that coming up with ideas is probably the easiest part of booking. Getting the ideas implemented correctly is the real job. Anyway, Jeff has "booked" the NWA through sometime in 1991, with ideas for all the big shows, PPVs and Clashes, and we'll regularly be seeing what Jeff had lined up for the big shows as a contrast to what actually happened at these shows. This was-written a while back, so things he suggests have already happened in some cases
202
203
204
205Contrast that to an American wrestling crowd. The Soviet anthem was the best part of the match. Just awful. DUD; 8/18 (taped 8/16): 1. Machine & Goto & Pegasus Kid beat Riger & Sasaki & Kobayashi. Riger was still feeling the affects of his recent appendectomy so wasn't in much. Sasaki in most of the way. Excellent finish with Kid surviving DDT and fisherman suplex. Kobayashi tried a tombstone piledriver but Goto shoved him and the move was reversed with Kid doing the tombstone and pinned Kobayashi after a head-butt off the top rope. ***1/2; 2. Hamaguchi pinned Kurisu after five fast elbow drops. Started out fast paced and a much better match than it sounds because it was all brawling. They battled with chairs outside the ring. Hamaguchi posted Kurisu, who juiced, and was run into the table. ***h; 
206
207New Japan: After opening up the Red Chinese to pro wrestling last week, Antonio Inoki's latest escapade was flying to Iraq and trying to negotiate to free the hostages. Seriously. . . . The Red China tour consisted of two cards in Halbin, both which drew packed houses of about 4,200 fans. The tour wasn't designed to make any money since tickets were priced very cheaply, but instead simply so Inoki could promote in Red China. The gates both nights were only the equivaelnt of around $2,500 and the matches were held in a Chinese boxing ring so the wrestlers couldn't use the ropes or take many bumps. 9/2 saw Kensuke Sasaki beat Kentaro Hoshino and Masa Chono beat Kengo Kimura in the semifinals of the Japan & China friendship tournament; Thunder Riger beat Black Cat, Chono beat Sasaki to win the tournament, and Inoki & Riki Choshu beat Hire Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto. . . Complete results from 9/7 in Osaka before a full house of 6,850 fans saw Great Muta (Keiji Muto) beat Samurai Shiro (Shiro Koshinaka) in 15 minutes with the moonsault. The deal here was that Koshinaka was to work Lucha Libre style while Muto worked his U.S. Ninja gimmick for this night only and the fans came out to see the guys wrestle in a different manner than their normal Japanese style. Muto will work as Muto again 9/14 with Koshinaka as Samurai Shiro and finally on 9/30 in Yokohama and then go back to being Muto again. Also Big Van Vader beat Chono, Choshu beat Masanobu Kurisu, Shinya Hashimoto & Masa Saito beat Great Kokina & Samu, Hiro Saito & Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) beat Riger & Takayuki Iizuka, Brad Rheingans pinned Osamu Kido, The Dynamic Duo (Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase who are getting a push now as a new tag team) beat Super Strong Machine & Animal Hamaguchi, Kengo Kimura beat Goto plus prelims. . . 9/30 for the Inoki Anniversary show in Yokohama has Inoki against an unannounced foe, Vader against an unannounced foe, Muto vs. Ricky Steamboat, Choshu & Masa Saito vs. Dynamic Duo, Hashimoto vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Chono vs. TNT from Puerto Rico (Juan Rivera), Riger vs. Villano V, Kido & Kimura vs. Owen Hart & Miguelito Perez and prelims. Nick Bockwinkel, Lou Thesz, Billy Robinson, Johnny Valentine, Johnny Powers, Wilhelm Ruska, Andre the Giant, Stan Hansen, Shozo Kobayashi and Hiro Matsuda will all make guest appearences to shake Inoki's hand. . . There is talk Koji Kitao won't be returning and will instead try his hand at karate. . . Recent TV's: 8/11 (taped 7/22): 1. Goto pinned Kurisu with his dangerous back suplex. Fair match except for a few amazing chair shots by Kurisu. *1/2; 2. Kitao pinned Vladimir Berkovich with two powerslams and a back suplex. This was Kitao's last match (the next day he and Choshu had their argument and he hasn't been back). After seeing the match, you'd know why Choshu was so mad. Kitao's body looked like Dusty Rhodes. Every move he did looked bad. To make it worse, working with a Soviet, there was no communication and they didn't work together one bit. Simply a total mess -***; 3. Choshu & Masa Saito beat Kokina & Samu when Choshu made Samu submit to the scorpion. Choshu nearly killed himself suplexing 450 pound Kokina early on. Decent match **; 4. Hashimoto beat Alexis Tyurin (Soviet sambo wrestler) in a mixed match. Tyurin is 6-7, 380 pounds but looks old. Was a champion in sambo and judo 79-82 so probably retired in reality. One thing was amazing and that is the difference between the fans. When the match started they played the Soviet national anthem. The entire crowd stood up and was quiet, then clapped when the song was over. Contrast that to an American wrestling crowd. The Soviet anthem was the best part of the match. Just awful. DUD; 8/18 (taped 8/16): 1. Machine & Goto & Pegasus Kid beat Riger & Sasaki & Kobayashi. Riger was still feeling the affects of his recent appendectomy so wasn't in much. Sasaki in most of the way. Excellent finish with Kid surviving DDT and fisherman suplex. Kobayashi tried a tombstone piledriver but Goto shoved him and the move was reversed with Kid doing the tombstone and pinned Kobayashi after a head-butt off the top rope. ***1/2; 2. Hamaguchi pinned Kurisu after five fast elbow drops. Started out fast paced and a much better match than it sounds because it was all brawling. They battled with chairs outside the ring. Hamaguchi posted Kurisu, who juiced, and was run into the table. ***h; 3. Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom beat Choshu & Kimura when Enos pinned Kimura after Bloom bulldogged him. Bloom looked very good selling for the Japanese. Enos looked so-so. Both Americans worked hard but did nothing "special" and Enos did blow some spots. But a good workrate **1/2; 4. Vader & Bigelow & Soul Taker beat The Three Musketeers (Muto & Chono & Hashimoto). Good match from start-to-finish although Soul Taker is totally out of his league in this company. Muto was in most of the way and looked great both selling and and on offense. Bigelow pinned Chono after a diving head-butt off the top rope. ***1/2.
208
209All Japan: A correction from last week. They did end the Asian tag team tournament on the last night of the tour which was 9/7 in Fukui before a full house of 3,100. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace won the tournament beating The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) in the finals in 15:24. Also, Steve Williams & Terry Gordy beat Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue in 19:27, Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada beat Scotty the Body & The Trooper (Del Wilkes), Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura beat Rip Morgan & Eric Embry, Haruka Eigen pinned Richard Charland, Mighty Inoue beat Richard Slinger, Joe Malenko beat Isamu Teranishi and Motoshi Okuma pinned Mitsuo Momota. . . 9/6 in Gosen before 2,350 saw Gordy & Williams beat Tsuruta & Masa Fuchi, Misawa & Kawada beat Morgan & Trooper, Ace & Kobashi beat Embry & Charland, Tauc beat Scotty, Fantastics beat Malenko & Slinger. . . Giant Baba is doing a national TV ad for a smokeless tobacco. . . Dory & Terry Funk will make their first Japan appearence in  three years next month. Dory appears 10/19 to 10/27 and Terry from 10/13 to 10/27. That makes 18 foreigners on the next tour when you add the Funks to a list that consists of Andre the Giant, Stan Hansen, Abdullah the Butcher, Kimala (12 (Botswana Beast), Dynamite Kid, Johnny Smith, Terry Gordy, Steve Williams, Danny Spivey, Johnny Ace, Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat, Joe & Dean Malenko, Rex King and Steve Doll. . . Speaking of Dory Funk, he was recently inducted into the West Texas State University Athletic Hall of Champions.
210
211AWARDS FAVORITES
212
213MOST CHARISMATIC: Who else but Hogan, right? Warrior as well. Shinya Hashimoto has to be on this list because he really isn't any better than an average wrestler but because of his shooter rep, is the top singles guy in New Japan. Of course Akira Maeda. The box office doesn't lie. Another one who is getting there is Aja Kong. If anyone in the NWA should qualify, the promotion hasn't helped them enough to make the top three.
214
215
216BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: I guess for working a match, nobody is technically any better than Ric Flair and Bobby Eaton can do more different moves than anyone else. Curt Hennig doesn't miss his moves but he's more a bumptaker with a few unique offensive moves as compared to Eaton with a wide variety and Flair as the ring psychologist. Still, the best at doing lots of wrestling moves are traditionally the Japanese. Jushin Riger doesn't miss moves and his moves are more spectacular than anyone else. Another wrestler, Negro Casas, is so graceful in execution that he's in my top three for sure, at number two, even though few would describe Lucha Libre as technical wrestling. I'll add Eaton to my list as well in the top three, although another name that comes to mind is Jumbo Tsuruta. Owen Hart is still in the ring technically as good as anyone but hasn't been in the spotlight much this year.
217
218WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
219October 1, 1990
220
221It would be a cliche to say you could write a book about the careers of Antonio Inoki and Shohei "Giant" Baba. But books have already been written on those subjects. Indeed, the entire history of professional wrestling in Japan from the mid-1960s on has been largely based around what are still today Japan's two most famous wrestlers.
222
223The two started out together, in a weird twist of fate. They were the two star pupils of Rikidozan, the Babe Ruth of Japanese wrestling. Each had their debut match on September 30, 1960. In their rookie year, the two wrestled against each other on a few occasions. At the time it was no big deal. In fact, almost nobody remembers who won, and magazine editors in Japan have been pulling their hair out for decades since it seems nobody has any photos of those early confrontations.
224
225\New Japan: The last one-week tour ended on 9/14 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza before 4,860 fans to see the second of three matches of Keiji Muto in Japan as The Great Muta. Muta, wrestling as a U.S. Ninja heel was disqualified in 18:37 in the main event against Hiroshi Hase in a bloodbath that ended when Muta blew mist in Hase's eyes. After the match Muta destroyed Hase, who was then put on a stretcher, and Muta gave him a moonsault press while Hase layed on the stretcher. The remainder of the card saw Shinya Hashimoto beat Big Van Vader via count out in 9:42, Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki beat Shiro Koshinaka & Takayuki Iizuka, Masa Saito & Masa Chono beat Samu the Wild Samoan & Kokina when Chono made Samu submit, in a battle of former amateur stars, Steve Williams & Brad Rheingans of the U.S. defeated Soviet world champs Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev in 10:32 when Rheingans pinned Zangiev, Animal Hamaguchi pinned Masanobu Kurisu, a 10-man tag match saw Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino & Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura & Jushin Riger over The Blond Outlaws (Norio Honaga & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto) & Super Strong Machine & Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) plus Kimura pinned Goto in a handicap match. . . The speculation is that Inoki & Jeet Singh will face either Vader & Hamaguchi or Vader & Masa Saito in Yokohama. . . 9/13 in Yamaguchi drew 2,070 as Choshu & Masa Saito & Hashimoto beat Samoans & Vader, Williams & Rheingans beat Zangiev & Hashimikov, Pegasus & Machine & Goto beat Riger & Dynamic Dud (Base & Sasaki), Koshinaka beat Iizuka, Kobayashi beat Black Cat and Hiro Saito beat Hoshino. . . Inoki spent this past week in Jordan having meets with the government there. Inoki is trying to put on a card in the Middle East at some point. . . New Japan has a big show on 10/14 at NK Hall in Tokyo Bay, but no bouts are announced as of yet. Only card announced after Yokohama is 10/9 in a 1,000 seat concert hall as a combination concert with a few rock bands plus a question and answer session with Tatsumi Fujinami and Choshu and a double main event of The Three Musketeers (Muto & Chono & Hashimoto) vs. Koshinaka & Dynamic Duo and Iizuka vs. Ricky Steamboat.
226
227AWARDS FAVORITES  
228In the continuing saga of reviewing the categories for the 1990 Wrestling Observer awards (which will be voted on in December for the yearbook), let's look at a few more categories.
229
230BEST FLYING WRESTLER: Jushin Riger comes immediately to mind. Even though there are some wrestlers in Mexico (Atlantis, for example), that do wilder high spots, Riger's stuff is done within the confines of a great wrestling match rather than seem like part of a dance routine. Still, the stuff Atlantis does deserves recognition. Of the fliers I've seen in Mexico, his spots are the most elaborate and unique, I'd give Yoshihiro Asai a third place, because how can you leave out someone who does a moonsault outside the ring on a regular basis?
231
232PICK RIC A GIMMICK
233Following the lead of Phil Hickerson, Flair adopts an Oriental look and bills himself as Ric E. Do Zen. His entrance music is switched from the 2001 theme to "Turning Japanese." Ric Does a Danger Zone, announcing he has a new idol. No longer will he call himself Nature Boy, instead he opts to emulate Don Knotts. He gets nervous over every opponent he must face. His new nickname becomes The Ultimate Worrier. Inspired by the attention paid to Big Van Vader's exotic headgear, Ric has a special helmet designed to shoot fireballs. After dying the ends of his hair red, he insists of being referred to as Ric Flare. Flair claims the Horseman are the greatest rock and roll band in the world. As a sign of unity, all four switch to using the atomic drop as their finishing move so they can call themselves the Nuclear Kids On the Block. Ric announces that upon passing the legal profession's bar examination, he married a member of the royal family. From then on he prefers the name Ricky "The King" Lawyer. A series of video clips show Ric baking pizza in Rome, painting a Merceders in Berlin, bottling cologne in Paris and swimming the English Channel. Affecting an outrageous accent, Flair re-introduces himself as the European Dream. To balance the sports, Ric gives up wrestling in order to play center for the Atlanta Hawks. The back of his jersey reads "El Letsparte." A road agent disguised as a psychiatrist declares Flair a schizophrenic. Ric has a different gimmick each match. His new name: Ricko Victory. Determined to go down in wrestling history as the all-time greatest in every aspect of the game, Ric concentrates on three things he's yet to prove he's the best at--excessive blading, flying and wrestling wearing a mask. After a series of matches where he has bloodbaths through his mask while executing suicidal aerial maneuvers, Flair is transformed into his new character, "Juicin' Riger." Upon signing a deal with R.J. Reynolds tobacco company to promote their new line of menthol cigarettes, Ric wears green-and-white striped long tights and throws packs of Salems to the kids. The back of his trunks are lettered "Cancer Man." More to come.
234Ernie Santilli
235Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
236
237MATCH OF THE YEAR: Everyone's favorite category. I firmly believe that the match that wins this year probably couldn't have cracked the top seven or eight last year, but 1989 was, in retrospect, a very good year for the quality of wrestling and 1990 is the year where things seem to have hit rock bottom. The best U.S. match that I've seen is Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys from the PPV show in Baltimore, but for the world, I can't consider that in the top four or five. Best match, and this I can say without reservation is the 1/31 Osaka match with Jushin Rigor vs. Naoki Sano. This is the only match that I would put on a par with the best matches of last year. Second, and this may be unfair because I saw the match live, but to me it's Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa from 6/8 in Tokyo. It was an excellent match on tape, but probably not a match of the year winner. However, live, it was the single most exciting match I've ever seen. Live it was better than either the Chicago or Nashville Flair-Steamboat match (both of which I saw live) because of the crowd. I can't explain the intensity of the crowd except to say that when it was over, a lot of people, and I don't mean a few, but a lot, were crying. It wasn't like when Hogan lost to Warrior and some kids were crying because Hogan lost, this was a lot of people crying because Misawa won, and there's a big difference. I kind of expect Hogan-Warrior to either win or place high. It was a monumental match and it was one of the most exciting of the year as well. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've seen at least 50 matches this year that were better. My third place match is 4/1 from Tokyo with Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs. Dragon Master & Masonobu Kurisu. Not a wrestling match at all. A full scale street fight brawl and considered the best brawling style match in Japan in years. One of the best I've seen since the Ted DiBiase-Jim Duggan cage match in Houston back in 1985. Others very close are Midnight vs. Southern Boys from the Bash in Baltimore, Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger from Greensboro, Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton from Columbus, GA (I was reviewing about 10 matches I'd made notes of to re-watch and this one surprised me for one that nobody talks about), Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman television match, Yoshihiro Asai & Super Astro & Kendo vs. Jose Luis Feliciano & Shu El Guerrero & Negro Casas on 3/1 in Tokyo, Jushin Riger vs. Pegasus Kid from 9/1 in Tokyo, several All Japan six-man tags both before Tenryu left and of late with Tsuruta and Misawa on opposite teams, Terry Gordy & Steve Williams vs. Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey back in April. The next level down include a few Asai vs. Casas singles matches from Japan, Curt Hennig vs. Tito Santana SNME match, Flair vs. Sting in the Starrcade finals (remember balloting period starts Dec. 1 and ends Nov. 30) and even their Meadowlands match, Flair vs. Bobby Eaton on TV (the January match, not the December match), Midnight vs. Rock & Roll from Greensboro, , Pegasus Kid & Sano vs. Riger & Nogami from the February Tokyo Dome, Choshu & Takano vs. Tenryu & Tiger Mask from the February Tokyo DQM (actually this may be in the top five); and Flair & Anderson vs. Rock & Roll Express om Beaumont, TX that aired TV 2/18 on the ME show that broke the viewing records.
238
239New Japan: Antonio Inoki's 30th year anniversary show on 9/30 in Yokohama drew a sellout of 18,000 with tickets ranging from $146 down to $22 for kids in the upper deck. UWF last year in the same building for Maeda vs. Fujiwara drew a $1.4 million house and this show may have done business near that level as well. The special guests that came to the ring in Inoki's anniversary ceremony were Lou Thesz, Nick Bockwinkel, Tiger Jeet Singh, Billy Robinson, Johnny Powers, Wilhelm Ruska, Hire Matsuda, Stan Hansen, Andre the Giant and Johnny Valentine. Results from the show saw Inoki & Singh beat Big Van Vader & Animal Hamaguchi in 17:45 when Inoki pinned Hamaguchi after the enzuigiri (karate kick to the back of the head move that he popularized in Japan), Riki Choshu & Masa Saito beat The Dynamic Duo (Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki) in 12:25 when Choshu pinned Sasaki, Shinya Hashimto beat Bam Bam Bigelow via count out, Great Muta (Keiji Muto) pinned Ricky Steamboat in 18:58 when Steamboat was on the top rope coming off for the flying body press and Muta sprayed the mist in his eyes, then Muta gave him a backbreaker and pinned him using the moonsault, Tatsumi Fujinami returned to the ring with a short time limit draw with Shiro Koshinaka Masa Chono pinned TNT from Puerto Rico (Juan Rivera), Jushin Thunder Riger pinned Villano V, Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura beat Owen Hart & Miguelito Perez when Kido pinned Perez and Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Takayuki Iizuka & Osamu Matsuda. - october 15, 1990
240
241october 22, 1990
242booking by bowdren
243
244New Japan 9/1: 1. Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) pinned Jushin Riger (Keiichi Yamada) to-win IWGP jr. title in 15:02. Even though Rigor was still feeling the effect of his appendectomy it was-a super match. One great near fall after another with super heat. Finish was a shock as Kid used a tombstone piledriver and a legdrop (ala Eaton) off the top rope for a clean three in the middle. What other babyface champion can you think of that loses that cleanly, lets alone drops a strap like that. Give Riger credit for really trying to give Benoit the super push when he surely didn't have to. ****1/2; 2. Keiji Muto & Masa Chono kept the IWGP tag belts beating Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos. Enos worked hard but still tentative and green in a lot of his moves. They mainly got heat on Chono most of the way. Crew did some good moves and some not-so-good but overall a good match, ending when Muto pinned Bloom with the moonsault in 14:27. ***; 3. Riki Choshu pinned Big Van Vader to win the IWGP world title in 11:51. Choshu juiced after being posted. Good match with super heat for Choshu. Only a few special moves (Choshu superplexing Vader, for instance) and basic Choshu match. Choshu won using five lariats in a row before pin in 11:51. ***
245
246Japan: A few quick notes. Badnews Allen starts for New Japan on 10/29. New Japan has Budokan Hall booked on 11/1 with Choshu defending against Vader, Pegasus Kid against Riger and Chono & Muto against Hose & Sasaki. . . . Tony Halme debuts on 10/25 against Soul Taker and he'll probably destroy him. . . SWS main events on 10/18 in Yokohama is a tag tournament with the Takano brothers, Tenryu & Kabuki, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isao Takagi and Bob Orton & Jeff Jarrett. Orndorff not making the tour but Jerry Morrow and the SST are. 10/19 has Jarrett vs. Naoki Sano and Tenryu vs. George Takano among others. . . Muto & Chono beat Ricky Steamboat & Owen Hart on a house show last week while Hart & Riger teamed losing to Pegasus Kid & Villano V when Kid pinned Hart.
247
248New Japan: The most recent tour ended-on 10/14 at Tokyo's NK Hall with Keiji Muto & Masa Chono keeping the IWGP world tag titles beating Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto when Muto pinned Choshu which is the first time ever that Choshu has put Muto over. The crowd popped pretty good for the "surprise" finish. Also Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow beat Masa Saito & Kensuke Sasaki, Masashi Aoyagi won a martial arts match from Shiro Koshinaka with a fourth round knockout and Ricky Steamboat went to a double count out with Hiroshi Hase. It was Steamboat's best match on the tour but overall he didn't get over very well, particularly in Tokyo, because fans in Japan don't like the overdramatic selling. Next tour is 10/25 to 11/1 with Vader, Tony Halme, Soul Taker, Badnews Allen (Badnews Brown), Pegasus Kid and Larry Cameron. 10/25 at the Sapporo Green Dome has Malmo vs. Soul Taker in a martial arts match (Halme will work "as a boxer"), Vader vs. Tiger Jeet Singh, Muto & Chono vs. Hashimoto & Sasaki in a non-title match, Jushin Riger & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Ryuma Go & Aoyagi from the Pioneer promotion and the main event is the official return of Tatsumi Fujinami teaming with Shiro Koshinaka vs. Riki Choshu & Hase. Fujinami has formed a "group" within New Japan called the Dragon Bombers which consist of himself, Koshinaka, Riger and two debuting sumo wrestlers from Samoa, one-of whom is about 440 pounds. The official line-up for New Japan's first card in many years at Budokan Hall is a rematch with Aoyagi vs. Koshinaka, Masa Saito vs. Singh, Vader vs. Fujinami, Pegasus Kid vs. Riger, Muto & Chono vs. Hase (who is getting pushed once again) & Sasaki and Choshu defending against Hashimoto.
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25010/18 in Shizuoka drew a sellout 3,300 as Kobashi & Misawa & Kawada beat Tsurtta & Taue & Fuchi in 23 minutes, Williams & Gordy beat Terry Funk & Rex King,. Spivey pinned Doll, Baba & Kimura beat Eigen & Okuma, Malenkos beat Ace & Slinger, Furnas beat Teranishi and Momota beat Ogawa. . . SWS has three more cards left this year, with the next show on 11/22 in Hamamatsu with Kitao debuting for the group. . . . New Japan drew a sellout at Korakuen Hall on 10/11 as the Dynamic Duo (Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase) beat Keiji Muto & Shiro Koshinaka when Muto was pinned by Hase with the Northern Lights suplex, Riki Choshu & Ricky Steamboat & Shinya Hashimoto beat Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow & Animal Hamaguchi when Choshu pinned Hamaguchi and after the match, Choshu and Hamaguchi shook hands and re-united their famous tag team and Vader attacked Hamaguchi both in the ring and in the dressing room to start up a feud there, Owen Hart & Jushin Riger beat Pegasus Kid & Villano V, TNT pinned Kengo Kimura, Masa Saito pinned Miguelito Perez, Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino & Osamu Kido beat Super Strong Machine & Norio Honaga & Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito beat Masanobu Kurisu via DQ and Osamu Matsuda & Takayuki Iizuka beat Nuboyashi Sugawara & Black Cat. Universal will have its next tour after the November tour from 3/7 to 3/14 which will be an-eight-team tournament for the newly-created UWA world tag team titles. . . FMW big show is 11/5 in Tokyo with Atsushi Onita vs. Mr. Pogo in.a cage match, plus they will have one of the Soviet judo medalists from Seoul, Korea debut, a women's street fight, a match to determine the WWA women's title (Combat Toyota vs. Beastie from GLOW) and Katsuji Ueda defends the AWA lt. heavyweight title against Jimmy Back
251
252NWA: Lex Luger will be appearing in an episode of the TV series "Superboy" that tapes 10/23 and airs the first week of November. . . Paul E. Dangerously appeared on the Sally Jesse Raphael talk show that was taped this past week and airs on 10/30. . . Updated PPV line-up has Tommy Rich replacing the injured Robert Gibson in the opening tag match against the Midnight Express. Rich's spot against J.W. Storm will be taken by Brad Armstrong. While this isn't for certain, I believe someone other than Wendell Cooley will face Terry Taylor as it appears Cooley is no longer with the promotion. Most likely replace-ment will be either Iron Sheik or Dutch Mantell. . . Grizzly Smith has been talked with about becoming NWA promoter in Louisiana. . . . Even though Robert Gibson isn't under contract, the company is paying his medical expenses. . . Cable TV ratings from last weekend saw WCW on 10/13 do a 2.8, which is just about what it is now doing each and every week, Main Event did a 2.4 which is still weak and Power Hour did a 1.9. Still don't have all of Titan's TV ratings, but All-American did a 2.5 on 10/7 and Prime Time did a 2.6 on 10/8, while All-American on 10/14 did a 2.8 and still don't have a rating of the 10/13 SNME. . . El Gigante will be going home in December so he'll miss Starrcade. . . This week's PPV will probably be the last one on a Saturday night to avoid the conflict of having WCW and the PPV go head-to-head which is plain stupid, especially since they are actually running an angle on the second hour of WCW while the PPV is going on. However, Saturday has seemed to bb the company's best night for drawing PPV orders. They chop WCW so often during baseball season anyway that I don't understand why they just don't put special programming in the four times per year when there is a PPV. . . Big Van Vader starts back 11/7. . . No word on any of the departed Titan wrestlers heading in. Since most are staying through Thanksgiving, probably the calls will start coming in November. . . Jobber Rick Fargo (real name Arthur Lefler, 26) was involved in an auto accident Saturday night. Fargo allegedly ran a red light and in swerving to miss traffic, drove over a 60-year-old minister who was killed. Fargo, who was coming home from his job as a bouncer at the Gold Rush (an Atlanta strip bar), was charged with a DUI, running a stop sign, possession of marijuana and a possible vehicular homicide. . . 10/20 in Asbury Park, NJ drew a $16,000 house as Norman pinned Dutch Manton, Junkfood Dog pinned Buddy Landel, Master Blasters beat Tom Zenk & Brad Armstrong, Terry Taylor pinned The Stomper, Mike Rotunda beat J.W. Storm via DQ, Steiners beat Midnight Express and Sting pinned Black Scorpion (Bill Irwin). . . 10/21 in Baltimore drew 2,700 and $34,000 as Brian Pillman pinned Iron Sheik, Master Blasters beat Southern Boys, Storm pinned Rich, Vicious pinned JFD, Luger beat Stan Hansen via DQ, Steiners beat Nasty Boys (these two teams are having hot matches), Doom DDQ Ric Flair & Arn Anderson and Sting pinned Scorpion Irwin. . . 10/22 in Gainesville, GA for TV taping drew 839. This was a taping for the weekend after the PPV so there isn't a lot that can be done without giving away the results. WCW had a Ricky Morton vs. Michael Hayes match which ended in the DQ when Jim Garvin interfered and Tommy Rich made the save. They also had a four-way brawl later in the show and when Little Richard Marley tried to help the Birds, El Gigante ran in and he picked up Marley. Later on the card (not sure which show) Rich & Morton beat Freebirds. Sting had a squash match on WWW and he got no reaction at all which is a surprise. NWA Pro had Anderson keep the TV title going to a 10 minute draw with Taylor in a good match. Rip Rogers was in, but in a jobber role. Dark match main event saw Sting pin Anderson in a good match. . . Annual Thanksgiving show at the Omni has Sting vs. Sid Vicious, Luger vs. Curtis Hughes (billed as Big Cat Hughes), Steiners vs. Nasty Boys in a cage match and Rich & Morton vs. Midnight Express. . . Harley Race will work some dates with Luger as well in November, when Stan Hansen is gone to Japan for the tag team tournament. Hughes will work in Kansas City as a face but is in Atlanta as a heel and The Moondogs are listed in some tag team matches so perhaps they are bringing in either Larry Booker (Spot) or Bill Smithson (Spike).
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254Last word: For more info on the Fans convention in Windsor Locks, CT listed on page nine, call 516-226-3366 or 413-786-1889. . . Ed Leslie (Brutus Beefcake) is telling friends that he'll return to wrestling, hopefully by early next year. To return, he'll need to wear a protective mask to protect his facial features so he may come back as a masked wrestler, probably not using the Beefcake name. He's now grown his hair and a mustache to look almost exactly like Hulk Hogan as he's doing some double work and stunt work for Hogan is the "Suburban Commando" movie being filmed. . . Mark Calaway is going to get a super push and work with Hogan.
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257
258THE READERS PAGES  Clark Kent (this is a real name folks, honest) of 6022 N. Avondale, Chicago, IL 60631 is looking to get videotapes from Japan. . . Bill Brown of 168 Boston Rd., Middletown, CT 06457 would like to find someone who can supply him with an original tape of the Survivor Series in exchange for anything in his collection. . . Jason Peters of 189 Manley Ct., San Jose, CA 95139 is trying to sell or trade all of his wrestling magazines. . . Bob Ferretti of 208 Short St., Jessup, PA 18434 would like to get weekly tapes of All Japan, New Japan, Oregon, USWA and PPV shows plus is looking for older tapes of Satoru Sayama, Dynamite Kid, Jushin Riger, Owen Hart and Tatsumi Fujinami. . . Richard Kubat of 858 Van Antwerp Pl., Oradell, NJ 07849 is looking for Dallas tapes from March through the present, a regular supplier of ICW and Portland tapes plus someone who can supply him with audio cassettes of wrestling radio shows. . . . Steve Gambino of 85 Quincy Ave., Kearney, NJ 07032 has hundreds of wrestling magazines from 1980-to present for sale or trade and is looking for a Sgt. Slaughter doll. . . Tim Moore of 607 Hazelwood Terr., Rochester, NY 14609 is looking for tapes of Adrian Adonis and for pre-1984 WWF tapes. . . Terry Parker of P.O. Box 492, Shawnee, OK 74801 would like to trade his old videos of Mid South, Southwest and World Class wrestling for tapes from Memphis and Portland. His tapes are from 1981-85. . . Lance LeVine had moved, so the new address of "Chokehold';" which sells for $1 per copy which is mainly Lance's comments about all sorts of things, wrestling or otherwise, is 507 W. 43rd P1., Chicago, IL 60609. . . Roland Messier of 2766 Wendell St., Camarillo, CA 93010 is looking to get a tape of the 
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260
261New Japan: Antonio Inoki is still in Iraq working out the final details of a New Japan tour of Iraq as a political move which would take place in November. The promotion has no shows in Japan booked from the 11/1 data at Budokan Hall (headlined by Riki Choshu defending the IWGP title against Shinya Hashimoto in a card that has been sold out for a while ahead of time) until the end of the month when they'll start a two-week long tournament of some sort, but apparently not a tag team tournament. Scott Norton will debut that tour. That should be something to see. New Japan never had its own Tom Magee. . . The 10/25 show at the Maebashi Green Dome drew 5,000 (in a 20,000 seat building) to see the official return of Tatsumi Fujinami. Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka wrestled Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi (a famous tag team from the mid-80s being re-united for the first time in three years). Since it's well known that Choshu and Fujinami are now friends, Choshu did an interview saying that friendship ends when the bell sounds and that they are going to test Fujinami's back. Most of the match saw Fujinami's back get worked over and Choshu pinned him with the Saito suplex. Also Keiji Muto pinned Hiroshi Hase with the dragon suplex in an excellent match, Masa Chono made Kensuke Sasaki submit to the figure four leglock, Tiger Jeet Singh beat Big Van Vader via DQ when Vader hit two refs, Tony Halme (The Viking in the U.S. for Herb Abrams) debuted "as a boxer" in a mixed match against Soul Taker and knocked him out in the third round (Soul Taker will he quitting the wrestling business as he's enlisted in the service), Shinya Hashimoto pinned Larry Cameron (Cameron looked much better than on his previous tour) and Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) & Badnews Brown beat Masa Saito & Osamu Kido when Brown pinned Kido plus several prelim matches. . . 10/7 in Osaka drew a sellout 3,560 as Vader pinned Muto with a big splash in 7:44, TNT a Ham Bam Bigelow beat Choshu & Chono when TNT pinned Chono, Masa Saito a Hashimoto beat Ricky Steamboat & Miguelito Perez, Hase & Sasaki beat Osamu Matsuda & Takayuki Iizuka, Owen Hart & Jushin Riger beat Villano V & Pegasus Kid, Norio Honaga beat Masanobu Kurisu via DQ, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi. Goto & Super Strong Machine beat Black Cat & Koshinaka & Kanter() Hoshino and Kido & Kengo Kimura beat Apollo Sugawara & Kuniaki Kobayashi. . . 10/8 in Okazaki drew a sellout 4,420 as Choshu & Saito & Hashimoto beat Vader & Bigelow & TNT, Muto & Chono beat Hart & Perez, Steamboat a Pegasus beat Iizuka & Koshinaka, Riger & Hase & Hoshino beat Hiro Saito & Goto & Honaga, Machine pinned Kurisu and Kido & Kimura beat Sasaki & Kobayashi. . . 10/9 in Kawasaki drew 1,000 at a small night club as part of a rock and roll music and wrestling show. The rock & roll artists besides doing their songs played Inoki, Choshu and Hulk Hogan's entrance music songs. Muto & Hashimoto beat Hass & Koshinaka, Steamboat pinned Iizuka, Riger & Sasaki beat Honaga & Hiro Saito, Kido pinned Goto and Kimura pinned Matsuda. . . 10/5 in Gifu sew Vader & TNT & Bigelow beat Choshu & Saito & Hashimoto, Chono & Muto beat Steamboat & Hart when Muto pinned Hart with the moonsault,Pegasus & Perez beat. Riger & Koshinaka, Machine & Hiro Saito & Honaga beat Sasaki & Hase & Hoshino, Kurisu pinned Goto plus prelims.
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263NWA: Aside from the PPV show, live show business remains horrible, even based on recent standards. . . Cable TV ratings from the weekend of 10/20 to 10/22 saw the WWF's Prime Time Wrestling do a 2.8, All American a 2.7, World Championship Wrestling a 2.5 and NWA Main Event a 2.3. Considering Power Hour didn't air, which based on previous patterns, usually ups .the ratings for the other shows (because less is more in many ways when it comes to television wrestling), the NWA ratings for that weekend are pretty bad. NWA ME has now consistently been weak for a while. WCW has stayed steady but last weekend was down. A more telling note about TV ratings comes when you look at syndication closely. While on paper, the weekend of 10/6-7 saw WWF with a 7.6 rating of 243 stations and NWA with a 6.1 on 159. But that is misleading as if you take away cable, since it's the syndicated programming which sell the house shows, the NWA has just a 1.6 rating when you combine Worldwide and the various versions of NWA Pro on 158 (besides TBS) stations. Conversely, the WWF has a 4.8 rating combined on 242 stations for its different syndicated shows. So in the exposure that sells house shows, WWF has triple the amount of NWA which should explain why its gates should be triple that of NWA if everything else were equal. In the exposure that sells PPV, the NWA is more competitive. . . Supposedly the Soviet wrestlers coming in for Starrcade won't be the ones who worked for Inoki in Japan. Think about this for a second. They are bringing in Soviet amateur wrestling greats who not only have never wrestled professionally (which is obviously a totally different world) but have probably never even seen pro wrestling. You know how bad that is going to be? They'll make Sid Vicious look like Jushin Riger, and that's not an exaggeration. At least the ones from Japan, while they would be terrible at U.S. style (since that's very different from New Japan style), at least they would have seen and done something somewhat reminiscent of U.S. style pro wrestling. . . Even though the show is now on in so few markets, the best syndicated show is the NWA Pro show because of the interplay between Lance Russell, Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin. . . Barry Windham isn't booked for any November dates. What a make-up job, huh? Supposedly the finish of the PPV main event was Windham's idea. . Ric Flair was a guest celebrity announced at the Chicago Black Hawks game Sunday 
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266
267WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
268November 12, 1990 
269
270Hold onto your hats because we've got a lot of big news to cover.
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272
273New Japan: The 11/1 card at Tokyo's Budokan Hall drew a sellout of 14,014 paid (sold out way in advance, gate of $630,000) as Riki Choshu kept his IWGP world title pinning Shinya Hashimoto in 16:40. The match wasn't that good because it followed two matches that simply couldn't be followed. Semifinal saw Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (The Dynamic Duo) win the IWGP world tag team titles beating Keiji Muto & Masa Chono in 16:56 when Hase pinned Muto with a Northern Lights suplex in what I was told was a five-star match with the crowd giving all four a standing ovation when it was over. They had to have a great match since they followed Jushin Riger regaining the IWGP jr. title pinning Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit). The remainder of the card saw Tiger Jeet Singh (subbing for an injured Big Van Vader whose back went out on him the night before) beating Tatsumi Fujinami via DQ, Shiro Koshinaka won a mixed match from karate star Seiji Aoyagi with a fourth round boston crab submission, Animal Hamaguchi pinned Masanobu Kurisu in a double juice bloodbath, Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura beat Larry Cameron & Badnews Brown and Osamu Matsuda & Takayuki Iizuka & Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino beat Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Norio Honaga. . . 10/31 in Niigata (Shohei Baba's home town) drew a sellout 4,160 as Kido & Kimura & Masa Saito beat Vader & Badnews & Cameron, Choshu & Hashimoto beat Kurisu & Singh, Muto & Chono beat Machine & Goto, Pegasus Kid pinned Matsuda and in a surprise, Hase & Sasaki beat Rigor & Koshinaka when Base pinned Riger with the Northern Lights suplex so Hase is getting his much-deserved push. . . Actual attendance on 10/25 in Maebashi for Fujinami's return was 10,800, not the 5,000 we reported here last week. . . 10/27 in Yokkaichi drew 4,030 as Choshu & Saito & Hashimoto beat Vader & Badnews & Cameron, Hamaguchi pinned Fujinami, Muto & Chono beat Singh & Kurisu, Goto & Machine beat Base & Sasaki, Pegasus Kid & Hiro Saito beat Riger & Iizuka, Kobayashi & Kimura beat Kido & Hoshino, Koshinaka pinned Honaga and prelims. . . . Muto, dressed up as Great Muta & Masa Saito did interviews at the Budokan show for WCW for their appearence at Starrcade. . . . New Japan has cards on 11/6 and 11/7 plus 11/26 through 11/28 with only the Japanese boys with 11/28 a television taping. Mid-November is being kept free in case they have to tour Iraq as part of Antonio Inoki's political maneuverings to release the 126 Japanese hostages in Iraq. . . Next tour is 12/7 to 12/13 with Steve Williams, Bam Bam Bigelow, Brad Rheingans, Badnews Brown, Scott Norton, Andrei Sulsaev (Soviet Union), Chimur Zarasov (Soviet Union) and Ray Apollo. Inoki will wrestle on 12/11 in Nagoya and 12/13 at Tokyo Sumo Hall. . . The prime time special which they originally wanted to be from Las Vegas will take place 12/26 at the new 20,000 seat Hamamatsu Arena in Shizuoka from 7 to 9 p.m. live. They are working on several ideas, but Lou Thesz, Hiro Matsuda, Inoki and Nick Bockwinkel will be on the show. They may team up the four "legends" for an eight-man tag, or maybe have Inoki have an exhibition match against Bockwinkel with Thesz as referee. . . Pegasus Kid will also work the December tour.
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275UWF: Complete results of the 10/25 card at the Osaka Castle Hall before a sellout crowd of 15,000 (we incorrectly reported 7,000 last week because I thought the show was at Furitsu Gym, not Castle Hall and was told it was a sellout) as Maeda beat Funaki in 16:59 with the sleeper, Nobuhiko Takada beat Yoshiaki Fujiwara via the five knockdown rule in 23:36, Ken Shamrock beat Yoji Anjyo with the sleeper in 11:39 (Shamrock wrestles in the Carolinas as Vince Tirelli), Tatsuo Nakano beat Wellington Wilkins Jr. in 4:45 via knockout and Minoru Suzuki made Shigeo Miyato submit. . . The next two cards are scheduled for 12/1 in Matsumoto and 12/29 at the Tokyo Dome, but without Maeda, who knows?
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277Other Japan news: FMW on 10/24 in Nagahama drew 1,824 with Ricky Fuji & Tarzan Goto beating Atsushi Onita & Ichihara on top. 10/25 in Tajima drew 1,206 with Onita & Sambo Asako beating Fuji & Goto while 10/26 in Minowa drew 1,684 as Onita pinned The Mad Mongolian plus a mixed tag as the husband and wife duo of Goto & Despina Montaguas beat Fuji & Mcgumi Kudo. . . SWS has shows booked 12/6 in Hamamatsu and 12/7 in Osaka and if negotiations go okay, they'll use WWF wrestlers on these cards plus Koji Kitao. . . New Japan on 11/28 in Hakata has Fujinami vs. Ryuma Go, Goto & Machine vs. Choshu & Hamaguchi, Biro Saito vs. Kurisu, Muto & Chono vs. Hashimoto & Masa Saito and Hase & Sasaki defending against Riger & Koshinaka. . . All Japan women drew 2,300 on 10/27 in Matsue as Bull Nakano beat Kaoru Maeda and Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Akira Hokuta & Suzuka Minami. . . FMW has a card booked 12/6 at the 9,000 seat Sapporo Green Dome. . . Devil Masami put Miss A over for the first time on 11/2 in Osaka. . . New Japan drew a 6.3 rating on 10/20 for the Inoki 30th year anniversary show while All Japan rebounded from a terrible rating on 10/21 (Tsuruta-Taue-Inoue vs. Misawa-Kawada-Kobashi) to a great one (4.2) for basically the same match. SWS TV show on 10/21 drew an 8.5 rating. On SWS shows, whenever Isao Takagi wrestles, the crowd chants "boo, boo" not because they are booing but because there is a famous comedian in Japan named Takagi Boo. . . Gregory Berichev, who captured a bronze medal in judo in the Seoul Olympics, debuted for FMW on 11/5.
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281
282This is the first issue of the current four issue set. If you've got a (1) on your address label it means that your Observer subscription will expire in three more weeks. Subscription rates within the U.S. and Canada are $5 for each set of four issues, $10 for eight, $20 for 16,. $30 for 24 through $50 for 40 issues. Overseas subscriptions for weekly airmail delivery are $9 for each set of four issues through $90 for 40 issues. Renewals, letters to the editor, match reports, news items and any other correspon-dence can be sent to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228. Fax messages can be sent to the Observer at 408-378-6562 after Noon Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific time).
283
284Japan: All basically quiet this week until the tag team tournament starts 11/15. . . New Japan on 10/30 in Toyohashi before 2,860 saw Big Van Vader & Badnews Brown & Larry Cameron beat Masa Chono & Shinya Hashimoto & Keiji Muto in the main event when Vader pinned Chono, Riki Choshu & Masa Saito beat Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido, Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka beat Tiger Jeet Singh & Masanobu Kurisu via DQ, Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) & Hiro Saito beat Black Cat & Jushin Riger, Super Strong Machine Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Hiroshi Hase & Kuniaki Kobayashi and Kensuke Sasaki drew with Takayuki Iizuka. . . Riger used the shooting star press when he regained his title from Pegasus. . . All Japan 11/4 television (Gordy & Williams vs. Ace & Kobashi drew a 3.6 rating. . . Antonio Inoki got a lot of ink when he went to Iraq. A piece ran on the UPI national wire and there was also a story in Time Magazine.
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287
288JAPANESE TV RUNDOWN  
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290New Japan - October 20: 1. Tatsumi Fujinami went to a five minute exhibition draw with Shiro Koshinaka. The show was taped 9/30 at the Inoki anniversary card and it was Fujinami's first time back in the ring. He looked okay after being out for 15 months with a back injury, but it's 
291
292NWA: Lots going on both in and out of the ring. . . . The Starrcade tag team tournament will be called the Pat O'Connor Memorial International tag team tournament. They spent $1,000 on a 7-foot-8 inch trophy with a huge cup on top. They are negotiating with Sam Muchnick to present the trophy since the card is in St. Louis. On upcoming TV's they'll be talking about O'Connor. Not to downgrade O'Connor in the least, but from a p.r. standpoint they would have done themselves more good naming the tournament after Bruiser Brody who was a lot more over in St. Louis itself and had more of a national name recently (O'Connor was a big name nationally through about 1962 when he mainly settled down and worked only in the Central States). But a nice touch nonetheless. . . As for the teams, it was reported here last week that two muscular Larry Sharpe students would be brought in as the French team, however this past week WCW called Sharpe and changed its mind (after both guys had given notice at their work and had been doing double-shots in training sessions at the gym trying to improve enough to at least be decent) saying they wanted a legit French team. The Russians are supposedly two legit amateur champs, both named Igor but I haven't been able to find out who or what their background is other than they aren't guys who have worked for New Japan so if this is all legit, they will be Soviets who haven't even been trained to do pro wrestling which is a disaster to put out for their first match on a live PPV show. . . A lot has happened in the last week in regards to The Juicer (Art Barr). Apparently someone in New York, with the blame being put in some quarters on Titan Sports (no proof at all of that) sent the syndicated TV stations in all the major markets a letter with Art Barr's press clippings from Portland in regards to the rape charge with comments about how your station could allow someone like that to be portrayed as a babyface hero aimed at kids. Anyway, because of the pressure, first word was that Barr was going to be fired and in fact he was taken off all cards as of last Friday. The current status on Barr is up in the air but with the likelihood that he'll stay with the company. According to Jim Herd, the company is awaiting word from the prosecuting attorney in the case as to why the rape charge was dropped and Barr plea bargained to a misdemeanor sexual abuse with the penalty being community service work (which he has already completed) and probation. Herd got a letter already from Barr's probation officer who said he's been exemplary in his behavior. Herd admitted that if the company had been aware of Barr's offense beforehand, he probably wouldn't have been hired, but since he has been hired, he  doesn't feel it is his position to continue to make him keep paying for an offense that he's already done his time, so to speak, for. According to newspaper reports in the Oregonian (Portland newspaper), Barr did admit when questioned by police that he had sex with the woman in question against her consent but that he felt she would be willing to have sex with him, but somewhere else (the incident is supposed to have taken place in a stairwell in the back of a wrestling arena). The girl claimed she wouldn't have have consented at any time. However, Barr was not convicted of a rape, but plea bargained to a much lesser offense just before the trial was scheduled to begin. However just last week, as reported here, an Oregonian newspaper columnist ran a column on Barr and was very critical of TBS for hiring him and portraying him as this role model for youngsters. . . A few folks from Australia have asked about the WCW schedule since they are heading in the week of Starrcade. 12/10 in TV in Gainesville, GA, 12/11 TV at Center Stage in Atlanta, 12/12 in Columbus, GA and Myrtle Beach, SC; 12/13 in Raleigh, NC and Roanoka, VA, 12/14 in Richmond, VA and 12/15 off before 12/16 in St. Louis and the company is off from 12/17 through 12/24. . . Konan starts at TV on 12/10 and has house show matches against Bobby Eaton before Starrcade. . . One of our readers, Mark Madden, was interviewed before a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game on the radio pre-game show. They were talking about Mario Lemieux as one of the top athletes of the 1980s and Madden said he felt Lemieux ranks right up there with Gretzky, Joe Montana and Ric Flair. . . 11/7 in Beckley, WV drew 1,300 as Juicer pinned George South, J.W. Storm pinned Alan Iron Eagle, Master Blaster Blade (Al Green) pinned Tim Horner, Junkfood Dog pinned Moondog Rex, El Gigante pinned El Diablo (David Sierra), Big Van Vader pinned Iron Sheik and Lex Luger pinned Sid Vicious. . . 11/8 in Memphis drew 1,200 and $10,000 as Terry Taylor pinned Dutch Mantell, Storm pinned Iron Eagle, Gigante beat Dr. X (Moondog), Vader pinned Sheik, Taylor & Rick Steiner double dq with Nasty Boys, JFD pinned Moondog and Vicious & Stan Hansen beat Luger & Sting when Vicious pinned Luger. . . TV ratings for the weekend saw Power Hour in its first show at 9 a.m. Eastern do a 1.3 rating (below what was expected), WCW did a 2.7 and Main Event a 2.6 for the weekend after the PPV which is decent at best. . . 11/11 in Knoxville drew 1,200 ($12,000) as Taylor pinned Cuben Assassin, Sam Houston (who worked this weekend instead of Juicer and looked great) pinned Mantell, Gigante pinned Bill Irwin, Tom Zenk pinned Storm, Rick Steiner & Taylor double DQ with Nasty Boys, Vader pinned Sheik, JFD pinned Moondog and Sting & Luger beat Hansen & Vicious via DQ. . . Arn Anderson missed most of the week with the flu so the headline matches on the "B" shows saw Flair & Brian Lee face Doom with Flair walking out on Lee and leaving him to be pinned. . . As for the NWA name itself, which I shouldn't be using but it's habit and it's still what everyone calls this group, they are still waiting for either acceptance or denial by the organization. Apparently they need approval of the NWA board, which consists of Jim Crockett (who is a minority owner of World Championship Wrestling), Elliot Murnick and Steve Rickard (of New Zealand) and Rickard hasn't been contacted yet to approve whatever WCW offered to be accepted into the NWA. If they are accepted, and right now it appears that is what will eventually happen, both names will continue to be used as in the past. If not, and until that time, the group will simply be called World Championship Wrestling. . . Flair got mainstream sports coverage throughout Florida as he was on the sidelines during the Florida Gators win over Georgia. Ironically the game was covered by TBS and Flair's appearence wasn't even acknowledged, although it was in the lead of several newspaper stories throughout the state. . . Barry Windham will probably be taking Flair's place in the tag team title match at Starrcade. The announcers have been told to simply say Doom vs. The Horseman, however at TV tapings on 11/12 in Gainesville, GA, which all air after the Clash, it was Windham (who didn't wrestle) & Anderson who did the interviews together and Flair never appeared on camera. . . . The Clash of Champions scheduled for Feb. 6, 1991 in Augusta, GA has been moved   to January 30 at the 17,000 seat Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Wrestle-War, originally set for Kansas City has been moved to February 24, 1991 at the 16,000 seat Coliseum in Phoenix, AZ. Those are awfully large buildings to attempt to fill unless they plan on giving away the house. At this point my thought is they would be better off to do big shows in clean and modern looking 4,000 seat buildings they can pack if they paper them rather than a big Coliseum out of their range at present. . . Stan Hansen is going to be offered a contract which is the first contract offered someone new since Norman in February. . .  Grizzly Smith will 'be promoting Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas for the group. . . TBS accountants going over the promotion in order to make cutbacks suggested making all bookings at least 30 days in advance so plane tickets can be purchased for the cheapest prices (they were buying expensive tickets at the last minute in many cases), concentrate on running shows all week in one general area so maybe one flight per week rather than flying guys around all over the country and also want the group to get out of the small markets and promote more in major cities next year. When a major city is being run, there will be only one show per night starting in January rather than splitting crews. For example, in January, the entire crew will work 1/11 at the Meadowlands, 1/12 at the DC Armory, 1/22 at the Forum in Inglewood, CA and 1/23 at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium and same for the big markets as the '91 schedule is being made. . . TV tapings 11/12 in Gainesville, GA drew 1,100. Motor City Mad Man, who looked horrible, did two clean jobs for Zenk, who is getting a renewed push. . . It appears J.W. Storm will be history before the year is out. . . Big Van Vader turned total babyface. Storm & Horowitz had just lost TV match to Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton when Freebirds came out and started pounding on Morton and held his leg for Vader to jump on it and give him the same injury as Robert Gibson. Vader instead beat up the Birds and will form a tag team with Luger down the road. Scott Steiner also was back in action after missing two weeks with badly bruised ribs. . . A tentative suggested line-up for the Tokyo Dome from very little (like less than 10 minutes) of give-and-take between myself and a key Japanese source: Sting vs. Muto (Sakaguchi wants this match anyway), Choshu vs. Stan Hansen, Vader vs. Sid Vicious, Flair vs. Fujinami and Luger vs. Masa Saito all pretty much equally billed as top matches. Sting-Muto can go either way depending on what happens with WCW, Choshu and Stan can be thrown out, Vader and Sid can be off U.S. TV (it is expected, but not confirmed that this show will air in some form on TBS) and Vader can go over, Flair can pin Fujinami and Luger beat Saito with Saito having the ability to lead Luger to a good match and Flair-Fujinami is a classic dream match. Also Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki which allows Sasaki to do a job, Riger vs. Pillman where Pillman puts him over in a fantastic match, Doom vs. Chono & Hashimoto, Steve Williams vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Pegasus Kid vs. Bobby Eaton (a great time limit draw underneath), El Gigante vs. Hoshino & Kido (two good workers who are so small it emphasizes Gigante's size), Southern Boys vs. Goto & Machine. The line-up suggested from Japan was Sting-Muta, Choshu-Flair, Doom vs. Chono & Hashimoto, Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki, Vicious vs. Fujinami, Riger vs. Pillman and Luger vs. Masa Saito plus Gigante in handicap match. You could also add Windham vs. Hamaguchi or Anderson vs. Kimura but now already you are talking about too many matches for one show.. . Lots of talk of an Owen Hart/Brian Pillman tag team when/if Hart comes in January. I expect an awful lot of major things to occur between now and then, which makes it more likely for Hart to come in. . . Hansen was offered a $100,000 contract to worx 100 dates (between his Japan tours) in 1991. But Hansen is in mainly because of his friendship with Ole Anderson and with Anderson's position anything but stable, it's not a given that he'll accept. . . Dick the Bruiser will ref the Anderson & Windham vs. Doom street fight match at Starrcade most likely (possibly Sting vs. Scorpion).
293
294*******************************************************************************
295
296BOWDREN THE BOOKER
297By Jeff Bowdren
298
299(Editor's note: This fictitious series is Jeff Bowdren's ideas, starting from the point the NWA was at in late August, and booking television and big shows. Keep in mind it is much easier to come up with ideas than to actually get the wrestlers to do those ideas)
300
301
302The second match is a surprise match. Debuting will be Thunder Riger who wrestles Black Tiger. This was a deal made with Masa Saito. I wanted to work on a talent trade and all he did was curse, mentioning names of some fired NWA officials. I threw Saito my Trump card, if you agree, maybe I can introduce you to Jane Fonda. Anyway, Riger comes out to the new AC/DC song "Thunderstruck." They go 10-12 minutes with all the wild stuff. You don't introduce Riger as being Japanese. Riger is billed from parts unknown but having won the NWA world lightheavyweight title in Japan and he's been in Europe, Mexico, Japan and Canada defending it. If he can't get over in 10 minutes, I'll resign as booker.
303
304After Riger's match, Tony & Dutch rehash all the angles that have been taking place the past few months (Taylor-Pillman, Midnight-New Kids, Flair with Windham & Landel and Doom with Arn Anderson and mysterious masked man and Gordy & Doc vs. Rick Steiner & Mike Rotunda). Take an intermission live to calm the crowd down after those hot two openers. Air commercials for Starrcade and announce that by virtue of what happened tonight, one of the matches will be Midnight vs. Owen & Chris for the titles. They go to Lance in the dressing room with Windham & Landel. Windham is still lying on the floor. Lance asks Buddy how Windham is. "How is he? Are you stupid and blind, Russell? This man has suffered a concussion and you want to know how he is? He's seeing double. I may have to take him to an ophthalmologist to see about his vision problem." Suddenly Windham grabs the mic, "Dusty, I'll get you for this!" Buddy tries to calm him down. "Barry, it was Ric Flair. Look at this Russell, the man is having hallucinations." Buddy turns to Windham and promises him that Flair will have to pay while Lance sends it back to Tony and Dutch.
305
306
307When it comes to year end awards, I think All Japan deserves best promotion and Shohei Baba deserves both promoter of the year and booker of the year honors. With the loss of Genichiro Tenryu, Baba was able to get the young guys over beyond most people's expectations. The WWF should get second in all the above categories. Just when you thought the NWA couldn't get any worse, their so-called world champion gives you a six minute title match in Philadelphia. At least Warrior gives you 12, even if he blows up along the way.
308Tom Reese
309Lansdale, Pennsylvania
310
311For match of the year, Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger at the Meadowlands was far better than Flair vs- Sting at the same arena. While Flair was excellent in both matches, Sting's reportoire was even more limited then usual. Jushin Riger vs. Owen Hart and the first Jushin Rigor vs. Pegasus Kid matches both had superb scientific and flying moves. Nobuhiko Takada's submission win over Akira Maeda on 1/16 was unbearably dramatic and heated. As far as tag team matches go, the Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Masa Saito title change was even better than Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys at the Bash or Jushin Riger & Akira Nogami vs. Naoki Sano & Pegasus Kid at the Egg Dome.
312Clint Freeman
313New York, New York
314
315Japan: All Japan started the tag team tournament on 11/15 but nothing major occurred in the first few days. . . Demolition Ax debuts for New Japan on 12/7 against Shinya Hashimoto. . . . Expect some of Otto Wanz' wrestlers from Austria to appear early next year for New Japan. . . . New Japan is going to be an even more limited schedule next year, but emphasize each individual show. For example, in March, the only card will be the 3/21 Tokyo Dome. Right now it looks like the top three matches will be Sting vs. Keiji Muto, Ric Flair vs. Riki Choshu (which is a mistake because their styles don't mesh, Flair should work with Fujinami because they could have a better match and Flair could go over whereas with Choshu, who is the world champion in Japan, Choshu has to go over and the match won't be as good because Choshu works so much better with Japanese) and Steiners vs. Hiroshi Base & Kensuke Sasaki. Expect Luger vs. Masa Saito and Jushin Riger vs. Brian Pillman as well. . . 12/11 at the 25,000 seat Rainbow Hall in Nagoya has Hase & Sasaki defending the IWGP tag team titles against Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto, Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Riki Choshu & Osamu Kido & Kuniaki Kobayashi, Masa Chono vs. Steve Williams, Muto vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Hashimoto vs. Scott Norton and Riger defending the jr. title against Kantaro Hoshino plus Inoki will appear but not wrestle. Sounds like a weak line-up for such a big building. . . FMW is going to promote an all-womens card on 12/22. . . FMW's anniversary show at Tokyo's Olympic Gym (10,000 seats) was a big success drawing 7,352 as Atsushi Onita beat Mr. Pogo in a bloodbath in the main event, Jimmy Backlund won the AWA lighthcavyweight title from Katsuji Ueda (a 45-year-old ex-kick boxer), Tarzan Goto beat Soul King (a karate fighter from Florida who 
316
317 Ken Resnick pretty unhappy about his split from the LPWA. The last taping drew 400 fans in Hamburg, PA, but virtually all were freebies. . . Herb Abrams will apparently move his operations to New York after the first of the year. . . Tom Prichard headed to Austria to challenge CWA jr. heavyweight champion Steve Wright. . . 11/15 in Funabashi, Japan saw Pioneer run a show with Ryuma Go & Seiji Aoyagi beating New Japan's Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka on top when Koshinaka did the job, which sets up a Fujinami vs. Go singles match for New Japan. Fujinami is also going to promote a few cards on his own without New Japan, but using New Japan guys like Koshinaka, Iizuka and Jushin Riger. Riger beat Super Seven (Masahiko Takasugi) on the card in a real bad match as Takasugi just couldn't keep up the pace. . . Observer correspondent Scott Hudson will have his own televised segment on Atlanta's Superstars of Wrestling block to give his views on the current wrestling scene.
318
319WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
320December 3, 1990
321
322CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS: THANKSGIVING THUNDER
323Thumbs up: 46 (12.7 percent)
324Thumbs down: 291 (80.6 percent)
325In between: 24 (6.7 percent)
326
327BEST MATCH
328Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed 187
329Buddy Landel vs. Brian Pillman 16
330Freebirds vs. Southern Boys 1
331
332WORST MATCH
333Sid Vicious vs. Night Stalker 152
334DeKlerk-Kruger vs. Kahlua-Beast 10
335Tom Zenk vs. Brian Lee 1
336
337SURVIVOR SERIES  
338Thumbs up: 86 (45.3 percent)
339Thumbs down: 85 (44.7 percent)
340In Between: 19 (10.0 percent)
341
342BEST MATCH
343Million Dollar Team vs. Dream Team 22
344Vipers vs. Visionaries 11
345
346WORST MATCH
347Alliance vs. Mercenaries 23
348
349Based on phone calls, letters and fax messages to the Observer as of Monday, November 26th. Margin of error, 100 percent.
350
351~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
352
353It's been a week of changes, rumors and big shows. Most of the speculation continues concerning these items: 1) Dusty Rhodes as possible new NWA booker; 2) Joe Pedicino's proposed new wrestling promotion; and 3) The identity of the Black Scorpion at Starrcade.
354
355There is nothing confirmed on point one, only that the rumor if flying like crazy. Nobody is outright denying it and most of the wrestlers in the promotion seem to believe it as fact. It could simply be the rumor feeding on itself, and Terry Funk's name as booker continues to be 
356
357 The New Japan card at Budokan aired on television this past Saturday. (the one where Riger beat Pegasus Kid for jr. title and Hase & Sasaki beat Muto & Chono for the tag title). Texas: The final World Class show on 11/23 at the Dallas Sportatorium before 225 paid saw Iceman King Parsons pin Tom Jones, Dog of War beat Mike Davis via DQ, Chris Von Erich pinned Kevin Dillinger or actually beat Dillinger by pinning Percy Pringle whose interference backfired, Steve Simpson beat John Tatum in a lumberjack match when Dillinger threw Tatum a chain but Simpson caught the pass, California Stud & Gary Young beat Skip Young & Steve Dane and in the final match, Kevin Von Erich won the Texas title from Angel of Death... .  The entire card was done strictly for comedy, no bumps or anything since it was announced before the show that this was it. . . The TWF on Thanksgiving night held a television taping at the Metroplex Arena before 750 fans as Stud & Steve Austin kept the tag team title beating the Simpson brothers (there was a five minute delay for a commercial which killed this entire match as it was being done in "live time" so they had to stall for commercial breaks), Terrence Garvin beat Angel of Death by pinning manager Abdul Farouk (Tom Renesto), John Tatum pinned Action Jackson, American Ninja (promoter Lee Campbell) beat Cowboy Tony in three minutes and the main event saw Al Perez keep his U.S. title going to a time limit draw with Matt Borne in a best of three fall totally scientific match. The wrestling itself was fine but no crowd enthusiasm for the match. Bill Mercer did the announcing and the commercials with the slogan "Texas wrestling is back with class." This card airs on television 11/27 and if the ratings are decent, they'll do another taping on 12/8 for another two hour special sometime around Christmas week. . . Perez was billed as world heavyweight champion starting this coming week as on the 12/1 
358
359WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
360December 10, 1990
361
362CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS: THANKSGIVING THUNDER
363Thumbs up: 62 (12.6 percent)
364Thumbs down: 402 (81.9 percent)
365In between: 27 (5.5 percent)
366
367BEST MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed 220, Brian Pillman vs. Buddy Landel 25, Southern Boys vs. Freebirds 3
368WORST MATCH: Sid Vicious vs. Night Stalker 166, African tag match 11, Zenk vs. Lee 1, Lex Luger vs. Motor City Mad Man 1
369
370SURVIVOR SERIES  
371Thumbs up: 129 (42.7 percent)
372Thumbs down: 151 (50.0 percent)
373In between: 22 (7.3 percent)
374
375BEST MATCH: Million Dollar Team vs. Dream Team 38, Vipers vs. Visionaries 14 WORST MATCH: Alliance vs. Mercenaries 37, Final Survivor match 2
376
377 New Japan: 11/28 in Fukuoka drew a sellout 3,450 as Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Ryuma Go (of the Pioneer promotion) is an interpromotional main event. Also Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi beat Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto via DQ, IWGP world tag champs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Jushin Riger & Shiro Koshinaka, Keiji Muto & Masa Chono beat Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto when Muto pinned Saito, Masanobu Kurisu beat Hiro Saito in a no dq match, Kongo Kimura pinned Osamu Kido, Kuniaki Kobayashi pinned Kantaro Hoshino, Takayuki Iizuka beat Osamu Matsuda and prelims. The card was a special television taping with no foreign talent. . . New Japan sent ten wrestlers, including foreigners Badnews Allen (Badnews Brown) and Cuban Assassin (David Sierra, who was fired by the NWA because he didn't pick El Gigante up for his plane flight on 11/20, therefore Gigante missed his flight and didn't work on the Clash show) to Iraq for a 12/2 card in Baghdad. . 12/26 big show at Hamamatsu Arena (a live TV-Asahi prime time special which will include matches with Lou Thesz, Hiro Matsuda, Nick Bockwinkel, etc.) will be headlined by Riki Choshu defending the IWGP world title against Tatsumi Fujinami. If Fujinami wins the title, expect a title vs. title match to take place 3/21 at the Tokyo Dome.
378
379SWS: This group, in addition to its talent trading deal with the WWF, has also reached a talent exchange deal with the EMLL in Mexico. Kendo Nagasaki went to Mexico City to see the Pirata Morgan vs. Faraon hair match a few weeks back and reached a deal to bring El Dandy in January, Atlantis in February and Jerry Estrada and Emilio Charles Jr. in during the spring as well. . . While not completely confirmed, expect The Rockers, Tito Santana and Haku to be sent to Japan for the SWS January shows. Could be a political problem with Haku, who is Giant Baba's guy. . . SWS is trying to get Hulk Hogan to come in February, to do a tune-up match before the possible Tokyo Dome. The problem with the Tokyo Dome show with SWS and WW
380
381BOOKING BY BOWDREN
382By Jeff Bowdren
383
384The 12/8 TBS show features heavy hype for Starrcade. Early in the show, a video of the altercation between Brad Armstrong and Steve Armstrong is aired. Jim Ross and Bill Watts both talk about how they've known Brad for years and how shocked they are at his behavior in the situation and are also surprised at Tim Horner. Bill says that he knows that Ricky Morton & Tommy Rogers would love to give Brad & Tim an attitude adjustment at Starrcade.
385
386After TV squash matches which include a Flair & Steamboat tag match, Terry Taylor and, an Arn Anderson & Austin Idol match, it's time for the main event, Lex Luger vs. Sid Vicious.
387
388Okay, it's not like this is going to be Riger vs. Sane but it will serve its purpose and we're going to keep in short. Before the non-title match, Sid tells Luger that he's after the world title and Luger's U.S. title means nothing to him. He says Luger is nothing more than a tune-up for Sting. Lex tells Sid to "Go for it." As the match begins, Ross and Watts bring up this is Luger's first big match since his injury at the hands of Stan Hansen. They question whether his neck is 100 percent.
389
390
391~~~~~
392
393Weider's magazines themselves are the only ones yet to acknowledge Titan's entrance into the field, and interestingly enough, Weider's people have contacted Ted Turner about trying to get some kind of television package for its bodybuilders, figuring if McMahon can get weekly TV, then just for sheer exposure, he will dominate the business. Right now it appears that Lee Haney and Shawn Ray (who placed first and third respectively in the Olympia) will stay with Weider. Lee Labrada, who was pushed in McMahon's magazine as the uncrowned Olympia, is said to have made no firm decision. Labrada, who is 5-foot-4, making him kind of the Keiichi Yamada of bodybuilding, appears to be one who would be foolish to join McMahon because of his size-fetish on who to push, using pro wrestling as an example. Mike Christian, who placed fourth, was the highest placing Olympia contestant who looks to be in Titan's camp. Talk is Titan's first contest will be in April. One thing in McMahon's favor, even if Weider can keep Haney and Ray, is that since Weider will surely continue steroid testing (which can be beaten, but it does require some discretion in usage, particularly in the key last few weeks) and McMahon won't, that even though Weider's top guys may have the genetic advantage (and bodybuilding is mainly genetics and steroids, since everyone at that level trains hard and consistently), McMahon's guys may look more impressive without the testing and that's really all the matters to the hardcore bobybuilding public. But if all McMahon does is draw the hardcore bodybuilding fan, then he'll fail because there aren't enough of them out there to make his federation successful enough to carry big guaranteed salaries. So his real key is making bodybuilding mainstream, which of course will alienate the hardcores and will require massive changes in presentation and hardcores hate change, particularly if it affects product 
394
395The 1/7 card in Osaka will probably he headlined by Hansen defending the triple crown against Tsuruta.
396
397New Japan: Next tour is 1/4 through 1/17 with Big Van Vader, TNT, Pegasus Kid, Rambo (from Europe), Marc Laurinidas (Terminator in Florida, younger brother of Road Warrior Animal and Johnny Ace), Miguelito Perez & Tony St. Clair. 
398
399his group ran a free show on 12/3 in Baghdad, Iraq as part of Antonio Inoki's political grandstanding, which was taped by TV-Asahi and made lots of mainstream news in Japan (some U.S. papers carried a story on it as well) with Riki Choshu & Masa Saito beating Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in a non-title match in the main event, Badnews Allen (Badnews Brown) pinned Masanobu Kurisu Jushin Riger beat Kantaro Hoshino via count out when he did his somersault dive out of the ring and Hoshino couldn't beat the count back in and Cuban Assassin (David Sierra) pinned Black Cat. 
400
401Scott Norton is in getting a super push. The company believes that since Vader has been around for three years and Bigelow even longer, that they need to create an unstoppable foreign giant so they are going to give Norton and Tony Halme, both of whom are poor workers, the chance. 
402
403At the TV taping on 12/7 in Ikawacho before a sellout 2,180, Norton & Badnews & Brad Rheingans won the main event from Choshu & Hase & Sasaki when Norton pinned Base with the lariat. During the match, Norton sold almost nothing, even Hase & Sasaki's hot double-team moves. Also Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka beat Masa Saito & Kuniaki Kobayashi when Koshinaka pinned Kobayashi, Keiji Muto & Masa Chono beat Chimur Zarasov & Andre Sulsaev of the Soviet Union, Kengo Kimura pinned Ray Apollo, Tatsutoshi Goto & Norio Honaga & Hiro Saito beat Jushin Riger & Hoshino & Takayuki Iizuka, Super Strong pinned Kurisu and prelims.
404
40512/8 in Numazu drew a sellout 2,720 as Rheingans & Allen & Norton beat Choshu & Masa Saito & Kimura, Muto & Chono beat Apollo & Steve Williams, Fujinami & Koshinaka & Riger beat Honaga & Hiro Saito & Goto, Machine pinned Animal Hamaguchi, Base & Sasaki beat Hoshino & Kobayashi, Kido pinned Kurisu and Zarasov & Sulsaev beat Iizuka & Osamu Matsuda.
406
407Other Japan news: Jim Herd will have a press conference in Tokyo with Seiji Sakaguchi on 12/20 to formally announce the Tokyo Dome show in March. 
408
409******************************** ******* **********
410JAPANESE TELEVISION RUNDOWN  
411
412All Japan 10/28: 1. Funks beat Malenko brothers. Only the finish aired; 2. Williams & Gordy beat Spivey & Furnas when Williams pinned Furnas after a clothesline. Lots of hot moves one after the other. **3/4; 3. Tsuruta & Taue & Fuchi beat Misawa & Kawada & Kobashi in 26 non-stop minutes of nothing but hot moves and near falls. Kobashi bled from the nose and mouth. Technically (with the exception of Riger vs. Sano which was in another league) this was better than anything I've seen all year. Great near falls and moves, finally ending with Tsuruta pinning Kobashi with the back suplex. *****
413Not much new on the Pedicino GWF front. 
414
415Ray Stevens has been hired to work in the office. It appears the three people in charge of booking will be Bill Eadie, Eddie Gilbert and Jeff Jarrett. There is talk of Scott Hall coming in for the first TV taping, but confirmed through a deal with Joe Daigo that Akira Nogami (who had been wrestling in Austria for Otto Wanz) will come in. Nogami is on the small side (maybe 5-9, 195) but a good flier and some say that he and Jushin Riger had one of the three best matches at the 4/13 Tokyo Dome (better than Hogan vs. Hansen in many people's eyes). 
416
417
418New Japan 11/24: 1. Jushin Riger pinned Pegasus Kid in 12 minutes with a shooting star press. What can you say about these two? One incredible move after another. Just for wrestling, as far as singles matches go, this should be feud of the year. ****1/2; 2. Hase & Sasaki won the tag titles from Muto & Chono.• How do you top the previous match? I don't know, but these guys really did. Incredible heat and one great move after another. I can't even describe all the great moves and the heat in this match, but suffice to say it will probably win tag team match of the year in Japan in all the magazines. ****3/4; 3. Choshu pinned Hashimoto in 16 minutes to keep IWGP title. Started slow because crowd was completely all popped out from the previous two matches. But they got it going as well. Just getting good heat at this point was a great accomplishment but they got great heat. Choshu even did a superplex while standing on the top rope. Choshu kicked out after three straight DDT's. Hashimoto kicked out after three straight lariats. He made his comeback, but after missing his flying leg lariat finish, Choshu hit him with another lariat for the pin ***1/2. No question about it, for heat, intensity and wrestling this was the best wrestling television show of the year.
419
420WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
421December 17, 1990
422
423Plenty of speculation continues over who the new NWA booker will be. While the timing of Dusty Rhodes giving notice and just how deep his burial with the WWF has become (over this weekend he did jobs every night to Virgil in less than 90 seconds clean in the middle--as someone joked, they've got Dusty doing jobs for valets this week, next week he'll be putting over the travel agents) makes him certainly the top rumored candidate. At the same time, the top brass in the NWA is insistent that they haven't even spoken with him about the job. The NWA is floating around names like Terry Funk, Eddie Gilbert, Ken Mantell and even Jerry Jarrett. Supposedly Bill Watts is not interested in the job. As for the other candidates, Jarrett's name is interesting if only because he's still running the USWA and this may be part of an attempt to keep Joe Pedicino's group from getting off the ground. As for Funk, he is the champion for Pedicino's group and would be a key personality on his television, and of course, Gilbert was the one scheduled to put together Pedicino's television. Those close to Gilbert say he's with Pedicino strongly and isn't interested in returning to the NWA. Mantell isn't involved in wrestling right now so would seem the "easiest" candidate to get. Mantell was the booker for the old World Class promotion during its glory years, with the famous Freebirds-Von Erichs and valet feuds, and then went to Mid South (Watts) for its change into the UWF and was booker until the last few months or so of the promotion's existence. He then started his own Wild West federation in Texas, which wasn't going anywhere, then, when Fritz Von Erich became disenchanted with the wrestling business, was able to buy into the World Class office, but the deal was structured in the Von Erich's favor and after he ran the promotion for several months, was booted out. The promotion is expected to name a booker sometime in January.
424
425~~~~~
426
427WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
428December 24, 1990
429
430Since this is the final issue of 1990, I'd like to take this time to thank everyone for all their help during the past year and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah. There are so many people I'd like to thank for all their help during 1990, the vast majority of whom would kill me if I listed their names, so you know who you are and thanks. I'd also like to make a special mention of thanks to Steve Sims, who has more than gone out of his way to keep us up-to-date on wrestling throughout the world, and Jeff Bowdren, whose columns in many cases have been the most entertaining part of the U.S. wrestling scene. Anyway, 1991 is shaping up to be an interesting year for wrestling. While in looking back, a lot of people will say that this was the worst year in recent memory for pro wrestling, that's more of an American than a world wide phenomenon. We'll be taking next week off from the Observer in order to put our energies into the yearbook. Because several of you have asked, we are going to extend our deadline for awards to Jan. 6, which gives those of you in foreign countries kind of a last minute warning and gives those in the U.S. basically until the end of the year to send in ballots.
431
432THE GRINCH THAT STOLE WRESTLING
433A poem by
434James E. Cornette
435
436Twas the night before Christmas,
437two years after the buy,
438And the state of the business
439would bring a tear to your eye.
440
441"We're changing the scripts"
442the New York Times quote had read,
443All the secrets were out,
444and pro wrestling was dead.
445
446All the grandiose visions
447of lights, glory and fame,
448Of million-dollar pro wrestling
449achieving national acclaim,
450Had been supplanted instead
451by what the "corporate world" had borne,
452A farce of pro wrestling,
453 deserving only of scorn!
454
455Oh, at first they had tried,
456 they had tried very hard,
457But they hired a VP
458who had little regard
459For the business to which
460so many others were committed,
461He knew not the first thing,
462but he would never admit it!
463
464When suddenly from the office,
465there was such a big fight,
466They sent James E. Barnett
467to help out if he might.
468He returned with a pale face,
469and a trembling hand,
470"Yet ANOTHER of our booker has been promptly canned!"
471
472"We'll depend on the champ!"
473the few faithful did think,
474"Ric Flair has saved many promotions
475from a sea of red ink!"
476
477Away to Charlotte
478they went with anticipation,
479Knowing Flair could light fires
480under the whole wrestling nation.
481But the brains in Atlanta
482had closed the mine of gold,
483"Who wants to see Flair?
484He's ten years too old!"
485
486Then what strange sight,
487did our shocked eyes meet,
488 But Jim Herd himself,
489his face red as a beet.
490With contracts in hand,
491given out to unknowns,
492We knew in a moment
493all our hopes had just flown.
494
495And he ranted, and raged,
496and he called out these names:
497"On Funk, on Steamboat,
498On Warriors and Flair!
499On Midnight, on Cornette,
500Get the Hell out of there!"
501
502"You must step aside,for these faces that are new.
503We'll draw 20 million,
504with this musclehead stew.
505
506The last Clash ratings proved,
507 believe you me,
508We can sell this green talent
509if the show is for free!"
510
511As ran clouds dry up
512in the hot desert sky,
513The attendance dwindled,
514TV ratings began to die.
515TBS didn't sit still,
516no, they planned their attack--
517"No blood, no violence,
518 that'll get these crowds back!"
519
520And even though Watts
521was just a phone call away,
522they couldn't have that--
523why, he'd just get in the way! B
524ecause, after all,
525as part of his deal,
526He'd try to make the fans think
527wrestling matches are real!
528
529So into their clouded minds
530another sorry notion did fly,
531"We'll make even sillier shows,
532that way all the kids will buy!"
533
534So action the fans
535continued to crave,
536Up North it seemed
537Vince had dug a similar grave,
538When that cranky old Herd
539found a foolproof new plan--
540He hired Moldy Ole,
541wrestling's grumy old man!
542
543Morale dropped lower,
544old cronies were brought in,
545Even with an old hand
546it seemed no one could win.
547Whatever knack,
548had been had way back when,
549by Ole for booking
550had left him by then.
551
552The best that could be done
553by that sarcastic old rat,
554was a lead heel who pulled rabbits
555out of his Scorpion hat.
556
557"Anybody want a draw?"
558Chip Burnham's trademark line,
559Was reduced to "Here's 20"
560and a pitiful whine.
561
562The ship sank slowly,
563with all hands on board
564while Nero Herd fiddled
565and Petrik looked bored
566The great potential of this venture
567slipped away like grains of sand,
568Butchered by alleged "businessmen"
569who couldn't find their ass with both hands.
570
571And then the murder
572was finished at last,
573Of this business which boomed
574in the not-too-distant past.
575Every fan knew the words
576"Kay-fabe," "Mark," and more,
577A few blamed the sheets
578but promoters told millions more.
579
580But what of Jim Herd,
581you ask with a shout?
582Couldn't Petrik or Turner force
583the old Grinch on out?
584Sad to say,
585the world of corporate affairs,
586Seems to guarantee
587that he'll always be there.
588So raising his fist,
589cursing under his breath,
590And condemning Dave Meltzer
591to a horrible death,
592He was heard to exclaim
593as he flew to St. Louie,
594"I shoulda stuck with pizza! Wrestling?
595AW, PHOOEY!!!"
596
597
598
599I've been spending most of the past two weeks working on the yearbook. From a standpoint of the quality of the writing and the stories, this will be the best yearbook thus far. From a comedy standpoint, well, there really isn't much comedy at all, I guess because there wasn't a lot to laugh about this year. We should have the entire book ready for the printer in a few weeks, and at that time, I'll give you a rundown, pricing and ordering information. The main features are a story by Frank Deford on Mildred Burke, who was the women's wrestling world champion in the U.S. before Moolah, which is just about the best story I've ever read on pro wrestling. I've got a lengthy feature on Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Riger) and Jeff Bowdren has a very insightful and interesting interview with Luna Vachon. Plus we've got a rundown on all the major news of the last year and the awards as voted by the Observer readers in 44 different categories with readers comments.
600
601As for Honkey, the story is that he left over a money dispute and already has independent bookings in the New York area. There was talk that he may appear on Herb Abrams television tapings on 1/9 at the Penta Hotel in New York, but not as a wrestler but maybe simply make an appearence although that hasn't been advertised. But I do know of at least one New York date for promoter Tommy Dee in January where he'll wrestle.
602
603New Japan Pro Wrestling had a two-hour TV-Asahi prime time network special on 12/26 from the Hamamatsu Arena which included two world title changes. Tatsumi Fujinami won the IWGP title from Riki Choshu in the main event in 11:18. This match ended after the TV two hours were up. In fact when the show went off the air, they gave the fans the idea that Choshu was just about ready to win. The finish probably will air on this weekend's regular television show. After the match was over they had the emotional finale of Choshu shaking Fujinami's hand and raising it, and then Antonio Inoki (who was supposed to wrestle on the show but had to cancel because he hadn't fully recovered from knee surgery) came in and the three biggest names in the history of the promotion were in the ring in a kind of a symbolic passing the torch setting that got over big live. The other title change saw Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito win the tag team titles from Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki. The show drew a 10 rating in prime time and was the fourth highest rated program that night, so as far as prime time ratings went, it did only fair. Masa Saito subbed for Inoki and pinned 56-year-old Nick Bockwinkel in 11:15 with the Saito suplex. The other two wrestlers who came out of retirement for the show also did jobs. Lou Thesz, at 74, became the first guy to wrestle in seven different decades and put over Masa Chono in 5:10 when Chono used the step over toehold crossface submission (STF), a hold that Thesz taught him last year when Chono came to Virginia to train with Thesz. Hiro Matsuda, 53, was pinned by Osamu Midi in 6:05 with a small package. Matsuda's match didn't air on television, but I was told Bockwinkel looked like a good active wrestler while Thesz was surprisingly good and got over well in Japan. On the other hand, Tiger Jeet Singh's match with Great Muta was said to be terrible. Muta won via DQ when Singh used a foreign object in 8:07. What figured before-hand to be the best match on the card saw Jushin Riger keep the jr. heavyweight title pinning Negro Casas in 16:37 when Riger used a backward superplex while both men were standing on the top rope for the pin. Lots of talk beforehand about this match because many consider them the two best smaller wrestlers in the world today. It's obvious Tony Halme is getting the mega-push in 1991 as he won a boxer vs. wrestler match with Shinya Hashimoto via a third round knockout while the opener had Animal Hamaguchi & Kuniaki Kobayashi beat Shiro Koshinaka & Takayuki Iizuka in 10:15.
604
605For those in California, Nevada and probably other Southwestern states, this is probably the most affordable PPV show to travel to. Southwest Air Lines has a special to Phoenix if tickets are purchased by Jan. 21. From the Bay Area, a round-trip is $40 and I believe the same price holds for Los Angeles and it's even less from Las Vegas. I believe the Japanese women's match won't be from the All Japan Women's group but from JWP, the rival group in Japan as Hiro Matsuda is putting it together and since he has close ties with New Japan, they have somewhat of a working relationship with JWP. JWP isn't quite as good, but it's top girls are all good workers.
606
607I believe the WWF has confirmed the 3/31 date for the Tokyo Dome working with SWS. That seems to be the word from Japan. The 3/21 Tokyo Dome card is being called "Starrcade in Tokyo Dome" and Jim Herd was in Japan two weeks ago officially announce the show at a press conference. No matches were announced although Herd said that Ric Flair, Sting, Steiners, Lex Luger, Doom, Bobby Eaton and Sid Vicious would be going. Fujinami vs. Flair looks like the main event although legitimately no matches have been decided for sure and Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki looks like a strong possibility as well. Tickets officially go on sale on 1/20 in Tokyo but I'm told advance orders from corporate sponsors are about 20,000. No ticket prices have been released.
608
609~~~
610
611
612RATINGS  
613Jushin Riger is easily the No. 1 wrestler in the world, but doing ratings gets harder from there. Jumbo Tsuruta has probably been involved in more very good to great matches this year, and considering his importance to All Japan, I gave him No. 2. Terry Funk worked a limited schedule, but the matches that he did wrestle were great. It's hard to rate the UWF guys. They are all technically top notch wrestlers, but their style bores me. I do respect what they are doing but they are too snobby about it. Masaharu Funaki makes the UWF style exciting, that's how good he is. Genichiro Tenryu missed half the year, but I had him No. 2 for the first four months of the year so he deserves to be highly rated. Same goes for Tony Anthony who always works hard and is really underrated. He usually has the best match on USWA cards. Stan Hansen has been mediocre at times, but his big matches are still real good. I totally enjoy watching Tsuyoshi Kikuchi get his brains beat out. He is tremendous. But Riger is amazing. In my book, nobody even comes close to him.
614SMM
615East Coast
616
617After that, Ross and Watts discuss the 1/30 Clash of Champions and Ross says that already signed is a world lightheavyweight title match with "Bad" Brad Armstrong challenging Thunder Riger and also a U.S. tag team title rematch with Owen & Chris against the Midnight Express.
618
619BOWDREN THE BOOKER
620The 12/29 TBS show opens with Jim Ross and Bill Watts talking about the TV main event between Lex Luger and Sid Vicious, saying Luger has something to prove today. They also bring up an interview to be held later in the show with good ol' Norm, who Ross says appears to be a Benedict Arnold. Watts compares Norm to Charles Thompson, the ex-Oklahoma quarterback who squealed on "my good friend Barry Switzer. During the squash matches, after Scotty the Body wins his, he challenges "Little Orphan Annie" Pillman to put up his TV title next week.
621
622The main event comes with Ted DiBiase accompanying Vicious. DiBiase is giving himself the name The Smartest Man in Wrestling." Luger comes to the ring by himself, and when he sees DiBiase, he grabs the house mic and tells everyone he's got just the thing to keep an eye on DiBiase and he calls for Sting to come out. Naturally at this point the crowd should pop big. Lex leads the crowd in a chant of "Sting, Sting." After about 30 seconds, Ricky Steamboat comes down to the ring and says that something is going on backstage between Sting and Norman and Sting can't come out right now but he offers to keep an eye on DiBiase for Luger. Luger looks to the crowd and they convince him to accept Steamboat's offer. The Riger-Sano-esque match is underway. Everytime DiBiase looks to interfere, Steamboat backs him down. After' eight minutes, Luger, who has been on the offensive most of the way, puts Sid in a figure four (I know it would be better to have him put Sid in the torture rack but let's be reasonable), DiBiase hits the ring with Steamboat hot on his trail. All four are going at it with the finish a double disqualification. After a commercial, Pillman comes out and accepts Scotty's challenge and calls him "Snotty the Body" (the first time that name has been used on TBS thus far).
623
624Japanese women: All Japan women opened with shows on 1/4 at 1/5 at Korakuen Hall, both afternoon shows. Both shows drew nearly full houses in the 1,900 range and were said to be incredible shows. 1/4 saw Mayumi Yamamoto & Yoshida beat Tomoko Watanabe & Sakie Hasegawa.***, Yumiko Hotta pinned Bat Yoshinaga ***1/2, Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Toshiyo Yamada (first match back since suffering a major spinal chord injury last spring) beat Takako Inoue & Miori Kamiya & Mika Takahashi ****, Kyoko Inoue pinned Noriyo Tateno **1/2, Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Manami Toyota & Suzuka Minami ***1/2 and Bull Nakano kept her world title pinned Akira Hokuto in 19 minutes of an incredible match ****3/4. . . The next night saw Yamada & Shimoda & Yoshida beat Tateno & Takako Inoue & Kamiya ****, Nakano & Yoshinaga beat Hotta & Minami.****, Kyoko Inoue and Mika Takahashi went to a 30 minute draw ****1/2 and Kong & Kimura kept their world tag team titles beating Mita & Toyota in 27 minutes of a match that just about everyone on tour to see it said was the best match they had ever seen. *****. . . JWP opened with an afternoon show on 1/6 as Oscar & Cutie Suzuki beat two girls ***, Plum Mariko beat Mawi Kitamura Harley Saito & Shinobu Kandori beat Mayumi Ozaki & Rumi Kazama ***1/2, Miss A won the vacant UWA International womens title pinning Itsuki Yamazaki in 17 minutes ***1/2 and Devil Masami & Scorpion beat Eagle Sawai & Kagame ***1/2.
625
626~~~
627
628 New Japan: New year opened on 1/4 at Korakuen Hall before a packed house of 2,200 as Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) & Miguelito Perez beat Takayuki Iizuka & Black Cat ***, Masanobu Kurisu & Seiji Aoyagi beat Kantaro Hoshino & Kuniaki Kobayashi in a violent brawl ****, Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido beat Tatsutoshi Goto & Norio Honaga in a tag team tournament match **1/2, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito won their tournament match over Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka ***1/2, Kido & Kimura beat Hase & Animal Hamaguchi (subbing for injured Kensuke Sasaki) *** and Keiji Muto & Masa Chono beat Machine & Saito in a tournament non-title match when Chono made Saito submit to the STF in 16 minutes ***1/2, Tatsumi Fujinami no contest with Rambo from Europe when Big Van Vader came out and attacked both men since he has matches upcoming with both ** and Riki Choshu & Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto beat Vader & Marc Laurinidas & TNT (Laurinidas looked really bad but the rest were all pretty good) ***. . . 1/5 before 2,200 in the same building saw Hiro Saito pin Iizuka with a backward superplex ***, Machine & Goto & Honaga beat Liger & Osamu Matsuda & Black Cat ****, Hase & Koshinaka beat Kurisu & Aoyagi ***1/2 (lots of brutal chair shots back-and-forth), Rambo & Pegasus Kid & Perez beat Masa Saito & Kobayashi & Hamaguchi "1/2, Choshu pinned Laurinidas in three minutes with lots of missed moves DUD, Fujinami & Hashimoto beat Vader & TNT *** and in the finals of the tournament held the night before, in a big upset, Kimura & Kido beat Muto & Chono when Kimura pinned Chono in 17 minutes to prove once again that in this promotion, on any given night, anyone can win. ****. . . 1/7 in Ksarazu drew 1,560 as Laurinidas pinned Iizuka *, Kobayashi & Koshinaka beat Honaga & Hiro Saito *** (they broke a table with a slam onto it during out of the ring brawling), Matsuda & Kido beat Cat & Liger ***1/2, Hashimoto pinned Kurisu in a match with lots of brutal chair shots ***1/2, Muto & Chono beat TNT & Goto ***1/2, 
629
630BOWDREN THE BOOKER
631The 1/12 show opens with Bill Watts and Jim Ross announcing the remainder of the Clash line-up. Last week the Thunder Riger vs. Brad Armstrong and Midnight Express vs. Owen Hart & Chris Benoit matches were announced and the show ended up with a challenge match between Brian Pillman and Scotty the Body. They open announcing these new matches, Buddy Landel & Barry Windham vs. Southern Boys and in his first match back since his "injury" at Starrcade, the Great Muta vs. Tim Horner.
632
633
634
635THE READERS PAGES  
636Michael Bauman of 11520 Southwest 203 Terr., Miami, FL 33189 is selling his collection of wrestling magazines from the 50s to 80s, photos, a 1987 WWF bubble gum card set, etc. Send a SASE for a catalogue. He wants 1950s through 70s magazines, programs, posters, and photos. . . Burak Oezhan of Morgenweg 11, 8404 Winterthur, SWITZERLAND is searching for NTSC videotapes of current and old MSG shows and old Spectrum and Boston shows and old copies of TNT. . . Tony Valotta of 115 Arden Dr., Glenshaw, PA 15116 is looking for a tape of the Wrestlemarinpiad II card. . . Paul Adamovic of 76 E. Sunnyside Lane, Irvington, NY 10533 is looking for arena tapes of NWA and WWF as well as Japanese tapes. . . Todd Carrington of 214 Washington Ave., Charleroi, PA 15022 has videos from the past 20 years that he would like to trade for news and photos of actress Drew Barrymore. . . Dan Lennard of 33 Wodonga Ave., Loxton, SA 5333 AUSTRALIA is looking to get videos of the 10/28 All Japan show, the 11/18 All Japan Womens Wrestlemarinpiad II show and the 11/24 New Japan television show as well as a Ricky Rice vs. Jerry Lynn match in VHS format and any wrestling dolls. . . Tom Wersderfer of 628 McDade El., Collingdale, PA 19023 has a large list of old Roller Derby and Roller Games tapes for sale or trade. . . Pete Lederberg of 4305 SW 72nd Terr., Davie, FL 33314 would like everyone who he has lost contact with to know that this is his new address. . . Ron Lemieux of 916 Sloewood Ct., Lake Mary, FL 32746 has a 20+ page Arena Report annual available for $3. Lots of stuff including my own rundown of the ten best wrestlers in the world for 1990. . . Texas Roundup, the only newsletter written by a wrestler, is available for $5 for four issues at P.O. Box 75054-0262, Grand Prairie, TX 75054. . . Ed Del Carlo of 48 San Juan, San Francisco, CA 94112 will trade any WWF PPV show from 1988-90 in exchange for a tape of Starrcade 90. . . Evan Schlesinger of 39 Brampton Lane, Great Neck, NY 11023 is looking for a tape of Wrestlemarinpiad II. . . . Diego Davila of 5615 S. Maplewood, Chicago, IL 60629 is looking for a tape of the Jushin Riger vs. Negro Casas match and any Jushin Riger vs. Pegasus Kid matches. . . Doug Hendricks of 21692 TR 175, Mt. Blanchard, OH 45867 has wrestling magazines from the 1980s for sale. Send a SASE. . . Sam Nord of 931 Walnut Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94598 is looking for a regular supplier of Japanese tapes. . . John David Bowers of 1228 13th St., NW, Canton, OH 44703 has NWA photos for sale. Send a SASE for his list. . . Steve Gerweck of 530 Concetta Dr., Monroe, MI 48161 has WWF and NWA videotapes and back issues of Pro Wrestling Illustrated for sale or trade. He'll also trade any of his wrestling tapes for Three Stooges tapes. . . Joe Carbons of 11 Alden Ln., Levittown, NY 11756 has more than 300 wrestling magazines for sale.
637
638
639XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
640
641By Mark Madden and Dave Meltzer
642
643Jeff Bowdren walked, no strutted into the huge office on the top floor of CNN Towers, sat on the plush leather couch, kicked his shoes up on the coffee table and turned to face the assembled forces of TBS: Jim Herd, Jack Petrik and megaboss Ted Turner.
644
645JB: So, guys, what's up? Things are going great, huh?
646
647JH: Well, er, uh, Jeff, well, we've been talking and well, for the moment  
648
649JP: Why don't you shut up and deliver a pizza, Herd? Bowdren, your stuff sucks. You're out. We're gonna give Rhodes a try. If he bombs, you'll be back. But he won't. He is, after all, the smartest man in the business. In the history of the business. In the history of this or any other business.
650JB: Dusty Rhodes? What? What?
651
652JP: Bowdren, did I stutter? Get out!
653
654JB: Dusty Rhodes? My God, I just saw him on the outskirts of town checking into a motel with Jane Fonda! Ted, I can't believe you'd hire him!
655
656~~~~~
657
658WRESTLER-CELEBRITY 30-YARD DASH FINALS
659
660ROYAL RUMBLE PARTICIPANTS (in order of best times)
661
6621. LOD Hawk: 4.67
6632. LOD Animal: 5.02
6643. Rick Martel: 5.06
6654. Kerry Von Erich: 5.20
6665. Jim Neidhart: 5.59
6676. The Warlord: 6.06 (he's 325 and still beat Shane)
6687. Shane Douglas: 6.07
6698. Hercules: 6.24 (He's been practicing since the first Olympics)
6709. Paul Roma: 6.30
67110. Demolition Smash: 7.08
67211. Saba Simba: 7.09
67312. Greg Valentine: 7.27  
67413. Jake Roberts: 7.35
67514. Tito Santana: 7.37
67615. Demolition Crush: 7.39
67716. Hulk Hogan: 7.57
67817. Tugboat: 7.62
67918. Brian Nobbs: 7.86
68019. Haku: 8.86
68120. Jim Duggan: 10.52
68221. Bushwhacker Butch: 16.43
68322. Jimmy Snuka: 16.89
68423. Earthquake: 20.59
68524. Undertaker: 21.10
68625. Bushwhacker Luke: 23.39  
68726. Mr. Perfect: 30.47
688(Add Davey Boy Smith at 5.88)
689
690Everyone from Haku on up actually ran to the ring. Snuka started running, then stopped, then started again but still couldn't beat out the marching time of Butch Miller. Tito was jogging in and still beat out a few guys sprint times. Kerry deserves special credit for being the fourth fastest guy in the race, even with a bad foot.
691
692CELEBRITY DIVISION
6931. Ben Johnson 3.23 (but disqualified because he was the only participant testing positive for steroid use)
694
6952. Richard Nixon 3.48 (amazing time, however some dispute because there was an 18 second gap in the tape when watching back on video)
696
6973. Richard Pryor 4.37 (time not recognized as allowable by TAC because it was fire aided)
698
6994. Rosie Ruiz 2.10 (later disqualified because she came from under the ring)
700
7015. Karl Gotch 3.22 (but nobody from the Western Hemisphere saw him)
702
7036. Jushin Liger 3.56 (dove into the ring with a flip, disqualified wind aided)
704
7057. The Genius Lanny Poffo 5.21 (right behind Von Erich)
706
7078. Art Barr 6.95 (but plea bargained down to 4.96)
708
7099. Buddy Rose 7.05 (but claimed his time was really 2.17)
710
71110. Karl Malden 7.56 (beat Hogan out by a nose)
712
71311. Mother Theresa 12.15 (still beat both Bushwhackers)
714
71512. Larry Hennig 30.46 (durable superstar still outruns son Curt)
716
71713. Sting 37.09 (found out he wasn't going to win so sulked the whole way in the race)
718
71914. Dusty Rhodes 63.35 (would have won, but stopped on the way down the aisle to sign an autograph for Wade Keller)
720
721DID NOT FINISH: Edmund Farhat (fainted halfway to the ring due to loss of blood); Kevin Von Erich (collapsed going to ring, later claimed it was due to an Oriental tool punch)
722
723DID NOT APPEAR: Dan Quayle (parental pressure put on President Jack Tunney), Junkyard Dog (found out he was going to have to do a job on TV), Ric Flair (Jim Herd wouldn't let him out of his contract to participate) and Sid Vicious (found out there was a softball tournament in West Memphis, AR, but still got the biggest pop of anyone from the crowd)
724
725(Add Michael Dukakis at 19.81--he shouldn't have run in the first place)
726
727
728
729~~~~~
730
731Japan: Big Van Vader regained the IWGP world heavyweight title 1/17 in Yokohama pinning Tatsumi Fujinami. This was a last-minute type thing that was pretty well unexpected. This was said to be a super match in that both had their best match in many months (Fujinami's best since his return). The previous night in Osaka, Vader kept his CWA (European) version of the world title pinning Rambo while Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito kept the IWGP tag team titles beating Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura. . . Gene Kiniski is in 1/26 and 1/27 do give speeches at All Japan shows at Korakuen Hall. . Newcomer Billy Black, brought in by Joel Deaton to this All Japan tour, is getting rave reviews. . . Akira Maeda's new group, which did get the rights to be called UWF, will open its office in about two weeks with three front office employees plus a lawyer and a CPA. Maeda is basically handling most of the office work and never goes to the gym anymore because there just isn't time. They should hold a press conference when they open to announce opening day (sometime in March in Korakuen Hall). The Japanese Federal Express mail company seems to be the company behind the new group, and supposedly has several million earmarked for them. . . Tickets for the 3/21 Starrcade card at the Tokyo Dome went on sale Sunday and before the day was over, all the 30,000 yen ($220) ringside tickets had been sold so they are expecting a huge house. . . Antonio Inoki is gaining so much fame as a politician for bringing hostages back from Iraq (some say this was more a grandstand play) that in the past six weeks, four books on Inoki have come out. . . In a major surprise, Chris Dolman signed a contract to work for Maeda, not New Japan, as had been printed here previously. Sakaguchi was pretty upset and painted it in the press that Dolman had agreed to work for New Japan and wasn't a man of his word. . . Noriyo Tateno of the Jumping Bomb Angels will retire on 3/17 at Korakuen Hall. Tateno may just leave All Japan, which is phasing her out, and join either FMW, JWP or even LPWA. She hopes for the latter because she wants to return to the United States. . In a non-title match on 1/11 in Kawasaki with both members of the losing team getting their heads shaved, Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue beat Aja Kong & Bison Kimura. Kong now looks exactly like TNT from Puerto Rico and Kimura resembles Shinade O'Connor. Aja & Bison held the tag titles but after the loss, vacated the belts which will be determined in an elimination match on 3/17. . . Nakano defends her world title on 1/23 against Yumiko Hotta in a cage match. . . Fujinami is coming to the United States this week and staying until the end of the month. They are doing a prime-time situation comedy show called "Catch Me" on TV-Asahi in Japan taped in the Tampa area. Its an adventure team that goes all over the world to meet with people in different countries for kids. Fujinami is going with the Japanese and among the people the team will meet in Florida on the show are Karl Gotch, Dean & Joe Malenko, Jumbo Barretta, Wellington Wilkins and Debbie Drake. . . New Japan has shows 2/5 and 2/6 both in Sapporo. The first night has Masa Chono vs. Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie), Keiji Muto vs Tiger Jeet Singh, Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tony Halme in a boxer vs. wrestler match, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito defend the IWGP tag team titles against Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki, Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Seiji Aoyagi & Masanobu Kurisu and Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. Scott Norton & Bam Bam Bigelow. Next night has Choshu vs. Singh, Fujinami vs. Osamu Kido, Masa Saito vs. Norton, Chono vs. Bigelow, Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay and Muto vs. Axe.
732
733 Chris Benoit. (Pegasus Kid) is so dedicated to improving that instead of going home between these two Japan tours, he's staying in Japan for three weeks to train with Jushin Liger. Joe Pedicino is said to have completed a deal to get Max Andrews to syndicate his TV shows when he starts his GWF in place of the USWA, although that isn't, confirmed. Pedicino did get 18 television stations at NATPE. and had wrestlers Lord Littlebrook, The Trooper, a Canadian Giant (said to be about 7-0, 380 but billed at 7-7, 440), Demolition Ax, Nick Busick, Chris Walker, Scotty the Body and manager Jim Cornette at NATPE. His starting date for Global has been moved back a few months or I should say no TV is scheduled- to be taped for at least two more months. NATPE said to have been a 
734
735CELEBRITY DIVISION
7361. Ben Johnson 3.23 (but disqualified because he was the only participant testing positive for steroid use)
737
7382. Richard Nixon 3.48 (amazing time, however some dispute because there was an 18 second gap in the tape when watching back on video)
739
7403. Richard Pryor 4.37 (time not recognized as allowable by TAC because it was fire aided)
741
7424. Rosie Ruiz 2.10 (later disqualified because she came from under the ring)
743
7445. Karl Gotch 3.22 (but nobody from the Western Hemisphere saw him)
745
7466. Jushin Liger 3.56 (dove into the ring with a flip, disqualified wind aided)
747
7487. The Genius Lanny Poffo 5.21 (right behind Von Erich)
749
7508. Art Barr 6.95 (but plea bargained down to 4.96)
751
7529. Buddy Rose 7.05 (but claimed his time was really 2.17)
753
754~~~~~~
755
756New Japan: The most recent tour ended on 1/17 in Yokohama before 5,160 fans as Big Van Vader won the IWGP world jr. title from Tatsumi Fujinami, Masa Saito & Masa Chono beat Riki Choshu & Hiroshi Hase, Keiji Muto pinned Rambo, Shinya Hashimoto pinned TNT, Thunder Liger pinned Pegasus Kid, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito kept the IWGP tag titles beating Masanobu Kurisu & Seiji Aoyagi, Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido beat Marc Laurinitas & Miguelito Perez, Kuniaki Kobayashi & Osamu Matsuda beat Takayuki Iizuka & Shiro Koshinaka and Norio Honaga & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Animal Hamaguchi & Kantaro Hoshino. . . 1/16 in Osaka drew a sellout 6,850 fans as Choshu & Hashimoto beat Masa Saito & Fujinami when Choshu pinned Saito, Vader kept the CWA world title (European version) beating Rambo, Hiro Saito & Machine kept the IWGP tag titles beating Kido & Kimura, Koshinaka beat Aoyagi, Muto & Chono beat Hamaguchi & Hase when Muto pinned Hamaguchi, Pegasus Kid & TNT beat Liger & Kobayashi and prelims.
757
758~~~
759
760Fujiwara's group will probably run independent shows with Japanese and Malenko students but will gravitate more toward a pro wrestling style. Fujiwara wanted to incorporate more showmanship in the old UWF, however Maeda was only steadfast in believing that the appeal was the reality and everything must be done to protect that illusion. Funaki himself, who was a long-time training partner of Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Liger), has always wanted to work pro style. If these guys start working regularly on SWS shows, it could be just what SWS needs to keep the company from being completely rejected.
761
762New Japan: Roughly 25,000 tickets have been sold to the 3/21 New Japan/WCW Tokyo Dome card billed as "Starrcade in Tokyo Dome." The $225 and $75 tickets are already sold out. . . Big shows were held on successive nights at Sapporo's Nakajima Sports Center. 2/5 drew 4,650 as Tony Halme knocked out Shinya Hashimoto in the third round on a boxer vs. wrestler match (Hashimoto legit has a bad knee which everyone knows about and is his "excuse" for losing and now being out of action but Halme is being given the super push); Riki Choshu & Masa Saito beat Scott Norton & Bam Bam Bigelow when Norton went to lariat Saito, who moved, and he hit Bigelow and Saito pinned Bigelow and after the match Bigelow and Norton began brawling; Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine kept the IWGP world tag titles beating former champs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 19 minutes when Machine pinned Sasaki with a head-butt off the top rope, Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka beat Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido, Keiji Muto beat Tiger Jeet Singh via DQ, Masa Chono pinned Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie), Seiji Aoyagi beat Masanobu Kurisu via DQ, Osamu Matsuda & Animal Hamaguchi & Kuniaki Kobayashi beat Takayuki Iizuka & Black Cat & Jushin Liger and David Finlay & Pegasus Kid beat Norio Honaga & Tatsutoshi Goto. . . The next night drew 4,750 as Choshu pinned Singh, Fujinami pinned Kido, Norton beat Bigelow via DQ when Bigelow hit the ref, Muto pinned Ax with the moonsault, Liger pinned Finlay to keep the jr. title, Chono pinned Kurisu, Kobayashi & Koshinaka & Hamaguchi & Kimura beat Machine & Saito & Goto & Honaga and Hase & Sasaki beat Franz Schumann & Pegasus Kid. . . 2/8 in Kyoto drew a sellout 8,180 as Choshu & Fujinami beat Singh & Kurisu when Fujinami made Kurisu submit, Muto & Chono beat Kido & Kimura when Muto pinned Kimura with the moonsault, Norton pinned Bigelow, Liger pinned Schumann, Machine & Hiro Saito beat Aoyagi & Koshinaka, Masa Saito & Hase & Sasaki beat Finlay & Pegasus Kid & Ax, Kobayashi & Hamaguchi beat Honaga & Saito. . . Fujinami is going to Phoenix for the 2/24 PPV show. He won't work on the show but will be introduced to the crowd as Ric Flair's next opponent. . . 2/9 in Kyogo drew 4,030 as Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine beat Choshu & Hase & Sasaki, Pegasus Kid & Singh & Kurisu beat Black Cat & Liger & Fujinami, Norton pinned Kido, Bigelow & Ax beat Kimura & Muto, Koshinaka & Chono beat Kobayashi & Hamaguchi and Finlay & Schumann beat Matsuda & Iizuka. . . Next tour is 3/1 to 3/14 with Big Van Vader, Mike Rotunda, Mike Enos, Wayne Bloom, Brad Rheingans and Tony St. Clair. . Rotunda signed an eight-week deal for $3,000 per week. . . Legion of Doom was negotiating to leave Titan and work full-time with New Japan. LOD asked for $16,000 per week for 16 weeks (originally they had asked for $20,000 per week for 16 weeks from All Japan) but the counter offer was $16,000 per week for six weeks which LOD didn't accept. New Japan believes that with anymore than six weeks per year in Japan, the LOD gimmick will get stale and, won't be worth it at the gate. LOD is still very popular in Japan, but not like before among hardcore fans because it is well known that in the "big match" on tour there will always be a cheap finish and if they were to work 16 weeks, that would become too obvious to casual fans as well. . . 2/14 has Choshu & Saito vs. Ax & Bigelow, Hashimoto vs. Hase, Norton vs. Sasaki, Muto & Chono vs. Machine & Goto and Fujinami & Koshinaka & Aoyagi vs. Pegasus Kid & Kurisu & Singh. . . 2/2 TV show (Vader vs. Fujinami on top) drew a 7,0 rating.
763
764. Gong Magazine came out with its popularity contest winners. In the native category, the top 10, in order, were: Muto, Mitsuharu Misawa, Jumbo Tsuruta, Choshu, Tenryu, Atsushi Onita, Liger, Inoki, Hashimoto and Base. Maeda fell all the way to 15th, although it should be pointed out that Maeda's followers aren't the type who would read Gong Magazine. On the foreign side, Stan Hansen had nearly four times as many votes as second place Hulk Hogan. After that came Big Van Vader, Johnny Ace, Steve Williams, Dynamite Kid, Ultimate Warrior, Scott Norton, Terry Gordy and Terry Funk. . . The magazines are pushing The Black Hearts (Tom Nash & David 
765
766Gong Magazine came out with its popularity contest winners. In the native category, the top 10, in order, were: Muto, Mitsuharu Misawa, Jumbo Tsuruta, Choshu, Tenryu, Atsushi Onita, Liger, Inoki, Hashimoto and Hase. Maeda fell all the way to 15th, although it should be pointed out that Maeda's followers aren't the type who would read Gong Magazine. On the foreign side, Stan Hansen had nearly four times as many votes as second place Hulk Hogan. After that came Big Van Vader, Johnny Ace, Steve Williams, Dynamite Kid, Ultimate Warrior, Scott Norton, Terry Gordy and Terry Funk. . . The magazines are pushing The Black Hearts (Tom Nash & David Heath) hard and All Japan is going to give them a shot to become top stars. . . Some talk of Nippon TV giving SWS a weekly television show. . . 2/10 in Kamagame drew 1,500 as Choshu & Fujinami & Masa Saito beat Ax & Bigelow & Findlay, Singh & Kurisu attacked the rest of the guys after the match and it ended like a Battle Royal. Singh wants to wrestle against Inoki at the 
767
768~~~~~
769
770THE READERS PAGES  
771Ray Gore of 57 Bartlett Ave., Wilbraham, MA 01095 is looking for anything pertaining to Lou Albano. . . Jeff Mullins of P.O. Box 36189, San Jose, CA 95158, who puts out Pro Wrestling Sushi newsletter, will send a copy of his latest issue to anyone who has never read it before for a SASE. The normal single issue price is $1.50. The current issue has a satire on Vince McMahon, Wrestlemania, The National Sports Daily and myself. . . Tim Barrett of P.O. Box 3113, Pinedale, CA 93650 is looking for any videotapes of Missy Hyatt as a valet or wrestler. . . Joe Manna of 1937 N. Jerusalem Rd., East Meadow NY 11554 is selling customized Japanese videotapes featuring the best matches of Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu and Jushin Liger. . . Joe Grana of 258 Old Marlboro Rd., Old Bridge, NJ 08857 is selling his collection of wrestling tapes and will trade any of them for tapes of "Bud Bowl I" and "Bud Bowl II" that aired during Super Bowls 23 and 24. . . Dan Curtis of 17403 Utica Oaks Ln., Roseville, MI 48066 is looking to get a tape of the segment on Madusa that appeared on the TV show "Personalities." . . . Paul Adamovic of 76 E. Sunnyside Ln., Irvington, NY 10533 has a tape of the Tom Robinson benefit show for trade. . . Tony Valotta of 115 Arden Dr., Glenshaw, PA 15116 is looking for tapes of Hulk Hogan matches from Japan. . . Chris Niamat of 5-151 Gateshead Crescent, Stoney Creek, ONT L80 3W1 Canada is looking for old and current tapes from Japan. . . Greg Vanden Heuvel of 114 Arbour Glen Cr #106, London, ONT N5Y 2A3 Canada is looking for tapes of the show "Coprock" and he'll trade any wrestling tapes of Canadian programming in exchange. . . Rich Mancuso is doing a 900 number with the cost being $2 the first minute and 95C each additional for hardcore fans at 900-230-1500.
772
773THE ANGLE  
774Your commentary on the antics of the World Wrestling Federation have been right on the mark. In about 30 years of watching professional wrestling, I've never seen a more disgusting gimmick than Vince McMahon's Sgt. Slaughter angle. It's a lot more than just McMahon profiting from the hysteria surrounding the Persian Gulf War. It's that he's creating even more hysteria, particularly among children. Wars happen because people are unable or unwilling to make rational decisions on the issues. McMahon pitches his business as "family entertainment." He is therefore, "educating" the nation's children that people from Iraq are bellowing morons who spit, cheat and are only to be dealt with by "patriots" such as Hulk Hogan. You are correct to recognize that Vince McMahon's criticisms of you are merely camouflage to hide the real issue. The simple facts are these. Vince McMahon is responsible for the actions of his business. The Sgt. Slaughter angle is a disgusting attempt to cash in on a horrifying international problem. The WWF is running the risk of fan rioting in its venues, not to mention at Wrestlemania. McMahon shouldn't be explaining his actions to The National. He should be explaining them to a judge. We will always have wars as long as there are carpetbaggers like Vince McMahon around to fan the flames of hatred for their own personal profit, and scalawags like Terry Bollea who refuse to take a moral stand. I'm sure that you've recognized, as I have, that the WWF is only pretending to soften the angle. The reality is that they've made it worse. For Hulk Hogan to suggest that Slaughter would hurl Scud missiles at the fans, or use oil against them, made no sense and was done only to provoke more hatred. I have already written three stories on this subject for our newspaper. Let's all keep up the effort to educate our readers as to what this is all about. We can't stop McMahon's profiteering but we can inform as many consumers as possible where the money is going. John O'Rourke Sports Editor,
775Albuquerque Tribune
776
777I am sitting here at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, which is an Army mobilization post. My unit, an Iowa National Guard Military Police unit, is waiting to go to Saudi Arabia any day now. Tonight in Milwaukee, the WWF has a live card. I could care less. I have read articles on the current angle. While I agree that this is a McMahon-feuled angle, you have to admit the man is consistent. Some of the reasons Slaughter originally left were his realization he would never be pushed as much as Hulk Hogan and because McMahon wanted a piece of the Hasbro toy deal. Bob Remus could only come back under Vince's rules. In return, he did get the strap, but he does risk the chance of never being safe in public again. I understand McMahon's motives, but I can't agree with his decision to continue this tasteless skit once the war started. When the first American lost his life, this angle should have been terminated. Also, from the very start, to link Saddam Hussein with Sgt. Slaughter was totally wrong. I will be in Saudi Arabia when Wrestlemania takes place. I feel a boycott of this PPV would send the right message to Vince McMahon, but I also know this won't happen. If Terry Bollea had either guts or scruples, he would make Hulk Hogan stop promoting this angle. I grew a lot angrier watching the NBC Prime Time special. Why doesn't Titan just come out and be honest and say they're after blood money. Terry Bollea can stop this angle. His fake show of patriotism is nauseating. If Bollea were to refuse to continue with this facade, some respect could be put back into our favorite sport. I'm proud to be an American and am willing to leave my family to support our military effort. So many others have already gien up so much. It just hurts to see some people try to gain from it without making any sacrifices. I won't forget this soon and Vince McMahon has to live with it for the rest of his life.
778Doyle Norris
779Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
780
781
782JAPAN
783The trip to Japan was a dream come true. But with all great things, there were some disappointments. We saw Thunder Liger three times in tag team matches. He wasn't in the ring much during those matches. I really didn't care for the FMW show except for the main event. I guess they have weak undercards but have tremendous main events. JWP didn't thrill me at all. All Japan was pretty good. But the real disappointment was SWS. We only saw one show, but you could sure tell it was a Titan show. The Rockers vs. Jeff Jarrett & Naoki Sano was a huge disappointment. But when you say All Japan Women, you've said it all.
784Bobby Yates Asheboro,
785North Carolina
786
787
788All Japan Women, 1/27: 1. Yumiko Hotta pinned Bat Yoshinaga with a backward superplex in 7:19. *1/2; 2. Mima Shimoda & Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita beat Mika Takahashi & Takako Inoue & Miori Kamiya in 11:57 when Yamada pinned Takahashi after reversing a pin attempt. Super fast paced match with one great move after another. Kamiya did some nice Lucha Libre spots. ***3/4; 3. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Manami Toyota & Suzuka Minami in 12:14 when Kong pinned Toyoda with a powerslam. Another good fast-paced match with lots of good moves. ***1/2; 4. Bull Nakano pinned Akira Hokuto in 19:46 to retain her world title. I can't even begin to describe this match, but it had everything you could ask for. There were so many great  moves that it would take a half-page to describe them all. Among them: Bull, at her size, did the Pillman move but instead of jumping into the ring, jumped out of the ring. Hokuto kicked out of sure pins time-after-time which produced great heat. Hokuto did four consecutive dropkicks off the top rope (one from each post). Nakano did an enzuigiri from off the top rope. Hokuto jumped 
789
790~~~~~
791
792The first TV match is Windham & Landel vs. Southern Boys. Match goes 12 minutes. Barry pins Smothers with a superplex for the win. The second match is Horner against Muta. Sting accompanies Muta to the ring. Sting cheers Muta on to establish him as the babyface. Muta wins with the moonsault. Before the next match, Russell interviews Scott Steiner, who challenges the winner of the Ted DiBiase-Ricky Steamboat match for the U.S. title.
793
794The next match has Liger vs. Bad Brad, who comes out to the song "Bad to the Bone." Match goes 17 minutes with lots of great moves. I wonder how fans will react to Liger somersaulting over the top rope? Finish has Liger hit a belly-to-back suplex with a bridge but both men have their shoulders down. At the count of two, Liger lifts a shoulder for the pin. Armstrong had a fit. Ross says, to quote Don Merideth, "It looks like the party is over." After the match Ross informs fans that a match has been signed for TBS on Saturday with Steiner facing either Steamboat or DiBiase for the title. Then Arn Anderson comes out for an interview. Arn has both world tag title belts. Originally he was booked to defend his belts against the U.S. belts of the New Kids. However, being the patriotic American that he is, Austin Idol, because of all the problems in the Persian Gulf has enlisted in the Florida National Guard. He and Reserve Sgt. Ronald Read will be flying air force reconnaissance missions over Tampa Bay. Ross interrupts and says the situation is nothing to be made fun of and has nothing to do with pro wrestling. Ross continues, "Arn, why don't you just tell the truth. You are a great wrestler and have a lot of guts, but there's no need for you to lie. Your partner found out about this match and he quit on you. A tag team is 
795
796 2/11 in Kawagoe drew 2,680 as Saito & Muto & Fujinami beat David Finlay & Norton & Ax and Pegasus Kid & Bigelow & Machine beat Jushin Liger & Koshinaka & Chono. . . SWS on its mid-March tour will have Haku, The Barbarian, Tito Santana, Chris Adams and Giant Goliath (still have no idea who he is). . . John Tenta (Earthquake) will wrestle Koji Kitao on 4/1 in Kobe on an SWS show. This has intrigue in Japan because both were sumo wrestling stars before joining pro wrestling. . Universal on 3/11 in Osaka has Perro Aguayo & Gran Hamada & Silver King & El Hijo Del Santo vs. Los Brazos & Super Brazo in the main event as Yoshihiro Asai & Solar & Kendo vs. Jose Luis Feliciano & Shu el Guerrero & Black Terry. . . . JWP ran a show 2/11 in Korakuen Hall drawing a sellout 2,300 as Harley Saito won the UWA international womens title beating Miss A, plus Itsuki Yamazaki & Devil Masami beat Mayumi Ozaki & Rumi Kazama. . . All Japan women drew 1,450 on 2/14 in Yokkaichi with Bull Nakano & Animal Inoue & Bat Yoshinaga beating Aja Kong & Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi in the main event. 
797*************************** ******************
798JAPAN TELEVISION RUNDOWN  
799
800All Japan, 1/13: 1. Misawa & Kawada beat Inoue & Fuchi. Crowd started doing chants early as if it was a comedy match which is sad because Kawada is the best worker in the promotion. Then the older guys worked on Kawada's knee which mainly didn't get much heat. But they turned it up at the end and it turned into a good match with lots of near falls. The match was dull in spots but the finish was very exciting ending when Kawada reversed a monkey flip and cradled Inoue **3/4; 2. Abdullah the Butcher pinned Kobashi. Abby worked really hard to keep up with Kobashi but looked so old and tired after a few minutes. Abby is the wrong foe for Kobashi because Kobashi needs to work super pacing and lots of hot moves and obviously Abby can't do that. However, it wasn't bad in some ways. Abby juiced heavy and Abby went up for bodyslams and three or four different kinds of suplexes. Finish saw Kobashi miss the moonsault and Abby win using the elbow drop. Great performance by Kobashi all things considered. **; 3. Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey beat Tsuruta & Taue when Hansen pinned Taue with the lariat. It was all action, but very sluggish much of the way. It was like they were all trying and there was nothing wrong, but it never really was exciting, either. **1/4
801
802All Japan, 1/20: 1. Hansen & Spivey beat Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton. The size difference really hurt the match even though all four can work good matches within their individual styles. It was all action and they tried but. Rogers just can't work with a guy like Spivey, as talented as he may be. It was all action and Fantastics did some hot moves but mainly the big guys dominated. Finish saw Stan throw Rogers off the top rope like a rocket launcher to Spivey who caught him and powerslammed him. Hansen lariated Fulton and pinned Rogers, all in less than 5:00. **; 2. Kawada pinned Taue in a super match. Taue bled like crazy and it was a very realistic and excellent brawl with great heat. Kawada got the pin after a lariat to the back of the head. ****1/4; 3. Misawa & Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Tsuruta & Fuchi & Inoue. First half of the match saw them mainly work on Kobashi's knee. Finally they got cooking with a super-hot match with one great move after another going 22:17 and ending with Kobashi pinning Fuchi with the moonsault. **** All Japan,
803
804
805All Japan Women, 1/27: 1. Yumiko Hotta pinned Bat Yoshinaga with a backward superplex in 7:19. *1/2; 2. Mima Shimoda & Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita beat Mika Takahashi & Takako Inoue & Miori Kamiya in 11:57 when Yamada pinned Takahashi after reversing a pin attempt. Super fast paced match with one great move after another. Kamiya did some nice Lucha Libre spots. ***3/4; 3. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Manami Toyota & Suzuka Minami in 12:14 when Kong pinned Toyoda with a powerslam. Another good fast-paced match with lots of good moves. ***1/2; 4. Bull Nakano pinned Akira Hokuto in 19:46 to retain her world title. I can't even begin to describe this match, but it had everything you could ask for. There were so many great  moves that it would take a half-page to describe them all. Among them: Bull, at her size, did the Pillman move but instead of jumping into the ring, jumped out of the ring. Hokuto kicked out of sure pins time-after-time which produced great heat. Hokuto did four consecutive dropkicks off the top rope (one from each post). Nakano did an enzuigiri from off the top rope. Hokuto jumped off the top rope outside the ring, flipped in mid-air and splashed onto Nakano ala Jushin Liger. Nakano did a tombstone piledriver off the middle rope. Anyway, Nakano finally won after a back suplex. I will be very surprised if there is a better match on television anywhere in the world in 1991. *****
806
807New Japan, 2/2: Keiji Muto pinned Rambo with the moonsault. Rambo was kind of green but Muto carried it to a decent match. There were some missed moves and the fans were well aware of it, but Muto is such a good worker that it was still okay. **; 2. Masa Saito & Masa Chono beat Riki Choshu & Hiroshi Hase when Saito pinned Hase with the Saito suplex. Started slow but turned into a good match. But the match wasn't as good as one would figure given who was in the match. ***1/2; 3. Big Van Vader won the IWGP world title pinning Tatsumi Fujinami. Very good bloody brawl. Vader bled from the eye (needed surgery when he got home after this tour) and it was one impressive juice job. They brought the doctor in the ring to check the cut and Vader kicked the doctor. Finish saw Vader sit down on a sunset flip attempt, do a big splash and two lariats and get the clean pin. ***¾
808
809~~~
810
811All Japan women have a TV taping on 3/7 with Aja Kong & Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi vs. Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga & Kyoko Inoue on top plus Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyoda vs. Akira Hokuto & Minami Suzuka. . . All Japan opened on 2/23 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall before a sellout 2,100 fans as Steve Williams & Terry Gordy defeated Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi in 21:55 of a great match in the main event and The Black Hearts (Tom Nash & David Heath) who are getting a big push beat Jumbo Tsuruta & Mighty Inoue when they did the vegomatic on Inoue and legit knocked him out. The promotion put the Black Hearts over big and the fans were surprised because they were able to wrestle like Japanese with all the hot moves since both are students of watching Japanese videotapes. Also Butch Masters & Skywalker Nitron beat The Undertakers, Joe & Dean Malenko beat Richard Slinger & Masa Fuchi and Rocky Iaukea beat Mitsuo Momota. . . 2/24 at Korakuen before another sellout of 2,100 saw Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada beat Tsuruta & Fuchi, Gordy & Williams beat Masters & Nitron, Malenkos beat Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Black Hearts beat Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa, 5
812
813 Jushin Liger was married on 2/23 at the Keio Plaza Hotel. In the news reports on the wedding in the newspapers, Seiji Sakaguchi was quoted as saying that Liger was the most important wrestler in the New Japan promotion and it was announced that he would wrestle Akira Nogami on the 3/21 Tokyo Dome show. . . New Japan starts its new tour on 3/1 with Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami & Keiji Muto vs. Brad Rheingans & Badnews Brown & Big Van Vader in the main event plus Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine defending the IWGP tag team titles against Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos and Kengo Kimura vs. Mike Rotunda. . . 3/4 in Hiroshima has Vader defending the IWGP title against Fujinami. If Fujinami wins, his 3/21 match with Ric Flair will be a title vs. title match. Also Liger & Muto vs
814
815
816The yearbook is, from a writing standpoint, the best one yet, with a feature by Frank Deford on Mildred Burke; Jonathan Probber on Ric Flair; myself on Lucha Libre and Jushin Liger; Features by Bruce Mitchell, Paul MacArthur and Mike Tenay veon aspects related to newsletters; a feature by Kurt Brown on his trip to Japan; A rundown of the major news stories of the year; the awards balloting; a listing of just about every major and minor name in wrestling with their promotional affiliation, age, height, weight, real name, etc., a special section on retired wrestlers, the annual ratings; a feature on Greensboro wrestling in the mid-70s by John Hitchcock; a feature comparing 1989 to 1990 in the U.S. scene by Chris Zavisa and much more. It doesn't rank with past books as far as comedy, but it has far and away the best writing. All subscriptions, yearbook orders, letters to the editor, match reports or any other news items should be sent to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228. Fax messages can be sent to the Observer after Noon Eastern time (9 am. Pacific) at 408-378-6562.
817
8183/1 at Arena Mexico in Mexico City before what appeared to be a huge crowd saw Sultan Gargola & Canadian Vampire & Ponzona beat Huracan Sevilla & Ciclon Ramirez & Javier Cruz in 2/3 falls. The second fall was incredible. Ciclon backdropped Sevilla over the top rope and he did a Riger flip in mid-air and splashed backward onto Gargola as the highlight. ***; Kimala & Aguayo & Mascara Ano 2000 beat Konnan & Black Magic & Lizmark. Lizmark suffered a fractured clavicle doing a Road Warrior-Hawk like clothesline off the top rope on Aguayo and landing wrong on his shoulder in winning the second fall. Third fall saw Lizmark sitting on the floor holding his shoulder in pain while Konnan went to the back to get a stretcher crew and in the ring Magic got trounced *1/4; Fuerza Guerrera retained the NWA world welterweight title going to a double count out with Gallo Tapado. Guerrera is just about the best worker in the promotion right now and he did everything. Tapado was a big name in the 70s who appears to have been brought back to put Guerrera over so Guerrera can stretch out his feud with Octagon. Next week the two have a mask vs. mask match. *1/4; Main event saw a hair vs. hair match between legends Kato Kung Lee vs. Kung Fu. The two, along with Blackman, formed a three-man team called The Fantastics many years back and were awesome. Fu is 39, but looks 20 years older. Lee is around 42, but looks 10 years younger, but wrestles his age. The match was real bad, with Lee winning with a rope-walk into a kick to the mouth and a submission and Fu lost his hair. 1/4*
819
820ALL JAPAN
821
822
823*Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami for the IWGP jr. heavyweight title. Hopefully this match will be part of the PPV show, but logic says it won't be. This also has the potential to be the best match on the show. Both guys have worked together so style clashes aren't going to be a problem. In fact, they worked together last year on the New Japan/All Japan/WWF Tokyo Dome card after working as a tag team on the All Japan/New Japan Dome show. Nogami is "coming back" after a tour of Europe and Canada for nearly one year, and he'll be anxious to make a good showing. Liger never makes a bad showing.
824
825
826NEW JAPAN
827
828The latest tour opened on 3/1 in Suwa before a sellout 2,350 for a television taping as Tatsumi Fujinami & Riki Choshu & Keiji Muto beat Tony St. Clair & Big Van Vader & Brad Rheingans when Fujinami made St. Clair submit to the dragon sleeper in a very exciting match, Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine kept the IWGP world tag team titles beating Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos when Machine pinned Enos after a head-butt off the top rope, Seiji Aoyagi & Masa Chono beat Badnews Brown & Masanobu Kurisu via DQ and after the match Choshu made the save as Kurisu was attacking Aoyagi with a chair, Mike Rotunda pinned Kengo Kimura (Rotunda didn't get over as he worked too slow a pace for Japan), Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Animal Hamaguchi & Kantaro Hoshino, Kuniaki Kobayashi & Osamu Kido beat Jushin Liger & Takayuki Iizuka and prelims.
829
8303/4 in Hiroshima drew 5,200 fans as Fujinami pinned Vader to regain the IWGP title, Machine & Hiro Saito kept the tag titles beating Choshu & Hamaguchi and Hase & Sasaki beat Muto & Liger when Sasaki pinned Liger in 16:28.
831
832
833NEW JAPAN, 2/16: 1. Liger & Koshinaka & Aoyagi beat Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Norio Honaga. Aoyagi is a karate guy who throws good kicks but tries to do more as a wrestler than he can really do. Basic good fast-paced match ending with Koshinaka pinning Honaga with a dragon suplex (full nelson into german suplex) ***1/4; 2. Norton pinned Kengo Kimura after a lariat. Norton did good power moves and Kimura sold well to make him look like a monster. Norton didn't sell Kimura's winning move at all, not even budged from his feet which makes Kimura look great. For what it was supposed to be, it was good, which is a squash to get Norton over *1/2; 3. Muto & Chono beat Singh & Kurisu when Chono pinned Kurisu. Singh mainly beat on Chono most of the match using foreign objects and choking. After the match Singh kept on Chono with a chair until Choshu made the save. **1/4; 4. Choshu & Masa Saito & Fujinami beat Bigelow & Demolition Ax & David Finlay. Match only went eight minutes which is short for a main event but Bigelow made it a good one going up for slams and suplexes for Saito. Fujinami made Finlay submit to the dragon sleeper. After the match Singh & Kurisu attacked Choshu until Muto & Chono made the save. **3/4.
834
835OREGON
836
837Japan: New Japan changed its tag team titles on 3/6 in Nagasaki before a full house of 3,380 as Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beating Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito in 19:02 when Hase pinned Saito. Other results saw Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Badnews Brown & Big Van Vader and after the match Tiger Jeet Singh attacked Choshu and bloodied jobber Black Cat when he tried to make the save, Masa Chono pinned Brad Rheingans, Keiji Muto & Masa Saito beat Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos and Jushin Riger & Shiro Koshinaka beat Kantaro Hoshino & Kuniaki Kobayashi. . .
838
839 They had a one-night blind draw trios tournament on 3/8 as Bulldog K.T. & Gran Hamada & Brazo de Plata beat Masa Michinoku & Villano V & Black Power, Kendo & El Brazo & El Signo beat Silver King & Super Brazo & Villano I, El Hijo Del Santo & Monkey Magic Wakita & Villano III beat Solar & Black Terry & El Texano, Perro Aguayo & Brazo de Oro & Coolie S.Z. beat Jose Luis Feliciano & Shu El Guerrero & Yoshihiro Asai in the first round. Semifinals saw Hamada's team beat Kendo's team and Aguayo's team beat Santo's team until Hamada's team beat Aguayo's team in the finals. The show was unique because faces and heels were together and partners fought one another, etc. But the most interesting thing occured after the show when Asai, who is the top star with the group, said that he would be leaving the promotion after the tour and said he would like to either join SWS and feud with Sano or New Japan and feud with Riger. Riger originally wanted to wrestle Asai at the Tokyo Dome last February but Asai was threatened that he'd be blackballed out of Mexico if he worked the New Japan date since the Mexican group felt they needed him as a "new hot star" if they were to make it in Japan. Universal promoter Hisatsune Shinma (son of Hisashi Shinma, who ran New Japan for years and years) said that Asai was staying with the group, however.
840
841
842THE READERS PAGES
843 Gabriel Daigle of 7385 Bradley Dr., Buena Park, CA 90620 is looking for a tape of Wrestle War '91, the All Japan women Wrestlemarinpiad II card and old LJN WWI' action figures of Jim Neidhart, Bret Hart, referee, Hulk Hogan and Hillbilly Jim. . . John Mastandrea of 641 Northwest 73rd Terr., Plantation, FL 33317 is looking for any pre-1983 tapes of Ric Flair. . . Tony Duncan of Route 2 Box 2183, Royston, GA 30662 is looking for Japanese wrestling magazines and souvenirs from Japanese promotions and any photos from the Clash in Gainesville. . . Clint Freeman of 196 E. 75th St., New York, NY 10021 has Japanese tapes for sale or trade including the best of Jushin Riger plus tapes of FMW, SWS and UWF. . . Ron Wyatt of P.O. Box 4251, Suffolk, VA 23434 is interested in getting tapes of Kevin Sullivan from Florida when he did his satanic gimmick. . . Mike Conway of 6167 Camino Manzano, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 has about 20 tickets to Wrestlemania VII that he wants•to sell. He can be called at 714-921-8119. . Joseph Perry of P.O. Box 191425, Sacramento, CA 95819 puts out a newsletter called "Turnbuckle"' for $5 for sets of four issues and also have a list of videotapes for trade and will send the list with a SASE with two 29C stamps and he'd like to get tape lists from other traders in exchange. . . Georgiann Makropoulos of 23-44 30th Dr., Astoria, NY 11102 puts out Wrestling•Chatterbox for $2 per issue. . . Jerry Blundo of 395 Terhune Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652 is looking for a copy of the 1/27 All Japan women's television show and looking for Observer yearbooks pre-1989. . . Rich Daniel of 20611 Darnestown Rd., Dickerson, MD 20842 has 20 beta wrestling tapes from the early 80s for sale. . . Rob Feinstein of 865 Green Ridge Circle, Langhorne, PA 19053 is looking for anything on actor Cory Haim and looking for recent Memphis tapes with Eddie Gilbert, Jerry Lawler and Jim Cornette.
844
845
846The PPV arrives with Ross and Lex Luger doing the announcing with Paul E. Dangerously and Dutch Mantell and Tony Schiavone in the heel and faces dressing rooms respectively for interviews. We open with Morton & Rogers beating The Royal Family. Ross reminds everyone that Morton & Rogers have already advanced to the finals of the world tag team tournament. Second match has Windham beat Rotunda. Then Dutch interviews Landel and reminds Buddy that Steiner has held the world tag team title and the TV title. "Dutch, you hit the nail on the head. He's held all those titles before. Hey, he's a great athlete, there's no denying that, but he's also dumber than a tree stump. He couldn't spell Cat if you spot him a C and an A. And that's why I, the legend slayer, the man who defeated Ric Flair, will defeat Rick Steiner. I'll use my superior brain. They say he graduated college. What was his degree in, sprinkler maintainence? It probably should have been in criminal law because we all know he's nothing but a kleptomaniac. By the way, Dutch, do we have time to play the tape of when I beat Ric Flair?" !Mitch says time is short and cuts off the interview.
847
848Rick Steiner pins Landel with a Saito suplex. Then Owen Hart & Chris Benoit defend the U.S. tag belts against Horner & Armstrong. An interview is done by Mantel' in the dressing room and we see our first glimpse of Bill Watts. Watts tells Armstrong & Horner that "everything has been taken care of. You just do what I told you to do and you'll leave the ring as champions." He then produces a piece of paper. "This is the contract for tonight's match. I know, because I'm the one who drew it up. What nobody else knows is this. Why don't you read this." Dutch scans the contract to the part Watts is pointing out and looks up in surprise. "Hey, this says the belts can change hands on a DQ. You did that on purpose. You've got something up your sleeve!" Watts is laughing hysterically and says, "Those two are great wrestlers, but brains will always beat a good wrestler outside the ring. So if they accidentally get disqualified, then they lose the belts.
849
850Watts comes out with Armstrong & Horner and shows the contract and makes Gary Cappetta announce the stipulation to the crowd. Ross is shocked by what has transpired and Paul E. just says that Watts is a genius and everyone in the NWA is our of their league playing mind games with him.
851
852The match goes more than 20 minutes with Owen & Chris getting lots of near falls. Finish has a ref bump with Benoit. Owen is getting doubled on and Horner holds him as Armstrong goes into his trunks for a foreign object but comes out with powder. As he goes to throw it, Owen flips Horner and dropkicks Brad and the powder flies in Brad's eyes. Owen then leaps off the top rope with a blind sunset flip and has Armstrong pinned but the ref sees the powder in Armstrong's eyes and calls for the bell and DQ's Hart & Benoit, giving the titles to Horner & Armstrong.
853
854Before the next match is a video done in the studio with Ross and Schiavone announcing the Tokyo Dome show on TBS on 3/24. They show brief clips, introducing U.S. fans to Choshu, Fujinami, Hase, Vader and Masa Saito and also show highlights of past shows with Riger. Announced is Sting vs. Muta for the world title, Flair vs. Fujinami and say more matches will be announced in the weeks to come.
855
856Next match is Pillman vs. Scotty with Pillman going over clean. After the match Scotty claims he got his shoulder up and says that the fans are prejudiced in North Carolina against him and says he wants a rematch in the state of New Jersey.
857
858Next is Scott Steiner defending the U.S. title against Bobby Eaton. Match goes 16 minutes. At the 14 minute mark, Rick comes to ringside. As Cornette is on the apron and hits Scott with the tennis racquet, Rick then grabs him. Cornette runs out of his sports coat with Rick chasing behind him. Scott kicks out of the pin and then reverses a whip and hits the Frankensteiner for the win.
859
860The plan for the main event was to have Muta pin Sid Vicious, but we all know Sid won't let that happen. So we replace Sid with Terry Taylor who is announced as the newest member of Bill Watts' UWF stable. Watts' guys all come to the ring wearing matching UWF outfits that say "Bill Watts presents the UWF" on them. The live crowd is wondering about Sid and Watts grabs the mic. "I guess you're all wondering about Sid Vicious. Well, I've got a scoop for all of you. He's fired. We used him at Starrcade to get at Sting. We used him to destroy the Horsemen. But there's nothing left to use him for, so he's through. Sid Vicious is no wrestler. He's a prima donna and we used him for all he's worth and not we've got the man we want. He's one of my boys. I'd like to welcome Terry Taylor back to the UWF."
861
862The finish has DiBiase holding Flair outside the ring. Watts takes off his belt and starts whipping Flair with it. Down the aisle comes Funk who jumps on Watts. Both teams of wrestlers jump out of the ring and pull the two apart. About a minute later, Sting is coming off the ropes and Watts pulls down the ropes. Watts throws Sting back in. Gordy is on the top rope ready to jump on Sting and Watts has the ref distracted, but Funk shakes the rope and Gordy crotches himself. As this is going on, Taylor jumps on Sting who is out. At the same time, Flair suplexes Gordy off the top rope and has him covered. The ref counts the fall but nobody knows which fall he's counting. There's confusion everywhere. He then asks to watch the finish on replay to Ross. They play the tape back and the ref announces that it is his judgement that Flair had Gordy pinned first and he raises the faces' hands. Watts explodes as the show goes off the air.
863
864The next week on TV, Cornette is being interviewed. He's asked how Bobby Eaton got a title shot on such short notice over worthy contenders like Stan Hansen and Lex Luger and Cornette says it's always good to know people in high places. Suddenly Watts comes out. He said that he had signed the match just before his "unique termination." He then tells Cornette now it's time for his part of the bargain. Cornette says, here are the documents you asked for. Watts laughs and leaves. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to like you," Watts says to Cornette.
865
866When Taylor is interviewed with Watts, Watts complains again about the result of the PPV match. He says the ref was afraid of losing his job because that's how those Funks are, and that's why his team lost. Taylor claims to have pinned the world champ and demands a title shot
867
868~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
869readers bowdren 3x in njpw in march 18, 1991 
870
871The show started at 3 p.m. with about a ten minute long opening ceremony on the big screen. Ring announcer Hideki Tanaka would announce the match, which appeared on the big screen, and then one side or individual and then the other would do an interview. The interviews were done the previous morning at the hotel and most were done in American style. The fans laughed at the Japanese doing American interviews. Some of the Japanese just did calm interviews as well, usually ending with some sort of a good closing remark because most interviews ended with a "OOOOO" from the crowd. When running down the card, there was no doubt the two matches the fans wanted to see the most were The Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki and Flair vs. Fujinami. There was some interest in seeing El Gigante for the first time while the Sting-Muta, Doom vs. Vader & Bigelow and Riger vs. Nogami matches all got good crowd pops when they were announced. Showtime.
872
873 There were about 500 fans in attendance in the Hall that is nearly sold out every time pro wrestling arrives. There was an article in the April issue of "Inside Kung Fu," a U.S. magazine, on Sayama. These-days, Sayama refuses to talk about pro wrestling. When we got into the building, a few hours before show time, we saw most of the Japanese wrestlers on our right doing either light weight work, jogging, or Keiichi Yamada (Liger without the hood) doing what seemed like 45 minutes of straight squats without weight. A few Americans, most notably Brian Pillman, got in the ring to continually test the ropes. Some of the other WCW personnnel, particularly Jim Ross, Rick Steiner and Tony Schiavone were taking photos of the building like tourists. At about 1 p.m., they did a run-through of the opening ceremony, in which, on the giant screen, they would list the match, and then have interviews and/or angles that set up the match. The sound system in the Dome is the best of any arena I've ever been in. Shortly after that, they opened the doors to fans.
874
875I arrived at the Korakuen Hall at about noon Thursday afternoon. Thursday was a national holiday in Japan (which explains how one could draw such a big crowd for a Thursday afternoon show), basically celebrating the Equinox (you know, the first day of spring). The place was already jammed with wrestling fans. They were selling the Dome program, super slick like nothing you've ever seen in the United States but then again, it should be when it goes for $15. The programs were selling like crazy. The concessions alone on a major show like this have to be incredible. Someone told me that the UWF on its Tokyo Dome show in 1989 did $1.1 million just in concession sales, and I wouldn't be surprised if this show didn't top that. Starrcade windbreakers were going for $37 a pop. Interestingly enough, just a hundred yards or so away from the Dome and up a few flights of stairs, at Korakuen Hall that day was "shooting," Satoru Sayama's attempt to create a new sport. There were about 500 fans in attendance in the Hall that is nearly sold out every time pro wrestling arrives. There was an article in the April issue of "Inside Kung Fu," a U.S. magazine, on Sayama. These-days, Sayama refuses to talk about pro wrestling. When we got into the building, a few hours before show time, we saw most of the Japanese wrestlers on our right doing either light weight work, jogging, or Keiichi Yamada (Liger without the hood) doing what seemed like 45 minutes of straight squats without weight. A few Americans, most notably Brian Pillman, got in the ring to continually test the ropes. Some of the other WCW personnnel, particularly Jim Ross, Rick Steiner and Tony Schiavone were taking photos of the building like tourists. At about 1 p.m., they did a run-through of the opening ceremony, in which, on the giant screen, they would list the match, and then have interviews and/or angles that set up the match. The sound system in the Dome is the best of any arena I've ever been in. Shortly after that, they opened the doors to fans.
876
877Baba and the basic comment by everyone was that the entire country of Japan is so proud to have someone like him as part of their culture and history. Inoki is different than Baba, more a grandstander (as you'll see later) but also far more charismatic. He's like Dusty Rhodes, both in ego and also in charisma, but taken to the 1,000th power. They did formal contract signings with oversized gimmicked contracts for the five big matches on the show--Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami for the junior heavyweight title, The Steiners vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki for both the WCW and IWGP world tag team titles, Doom vs. Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow, The Great Muta vs. Sting and Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami for both the WCW and IWGP world titles. Now Ric Flair's ring style is tailor ,made for the United States, but the outside the ring champion character of Ric Flair really shined here. Sometimes his interviews that attempt to legitimize wrestling and the world title as comparable or even above any championship in sports are almost comedy in this country because of what the wrestling product has turned into. In his early days as champ, that may not have been the case because the title really did have a lot of prestige among the wrestling fans as the biggest belt around. But in recent years, as wrestling has drifted more toward exaggerated characters and bad comedy, doing a serious sports interview seems out of place. In this setting, it was perfect. All the interviews were translated both into English and into Japanese. Hase did a super interview as did both Flair and Fujinami. It was acknowledged when Doom came out that,the two had had their problems in the United States but both said they had come to Japan to win their match and Simmons said "We aren't here to discuss what's going on in the United States." Whatever product mix one favors in regards to pro wrestling in comparing different styles whether it is Lucha style, NWA style, WWF style, UWF Japan style, All Japan, New Japan, whatever, the fact is that the Japanese style itself enables the sport (and you can't argue the word sport doesn't 
878
879 There was an article in the April issue of "Inside Kung Fu," a U.S. magazine, on Sayama. These-days, Sayama refuses to talk about pro wrestling. When we got into the building, a few hours before show time, we saw most of the Japanese wrestlers on our right doing either light weight work, jogging, or Keiichi Yamada (Liger without the hood) doing what seemed like 45 minutes of straight squats without weight. A few Americans, most notably Brian Pillman, got in the ring to continually test the ropes. Some of the other WCW personnnel, particularly Jim Ross, Rick Steiner and Tony Schiavone were taking photos of the building like tourists. At about 1 p.m., they did a run-through of the opening ceremony, in which, on the giant screen, they would list the match, and then have interviews and/or angles that set up the match. The sound system in the Dome is the best of any arena I've ever been in. Shortly after that, they opened the doors to fans.
880
881
882The card airs in the U.S. on PPV, edited down to one hour and 50 minutes on 4/7. Matches that definitely won't be airing on PPV are the opener, the Norton-Equalizer, Choshu-Singh and the Doom match. I'm not sure how much the remaining seven bouts will be edited or if they'll even include Liger-Nogami. Live this card wasn't as good as Phoenix, but edited right, the only advantage Phoenix should have would be that it was longer.
883
884I'm convinced this show should have been a free Clash rather than a $9.95 mini-PPV on a taped delay. The best television rating WCW has drawn in its recent history was the first Clash, head-to-head with Wrestlemania IV. The only people who will order this PPV are the kind of people who either will buy any wrestling event, the total hardcore junkies that WCW already can sell its product to, and newsletter readers, which WCW can also already appeal to. This show, because of its international scope and the size of the crowd, hyped as being live (and the real show was just three days earlier and nobody in the states knew the finishes really by then) and aired on Wrestlemania day would give the promotion a major credibility boost. It wouldn't be seen as just a Georgia regional thing, and the way the Japanese handled the title match would make that world title seem like it was not only more than just a company champion, but a real world champion. Granted, going head-to-head with the PPV of Mania is partially a predatory move and under normal circumstances, it would be considered a cheap business tactic. But the question is, if the situation was reversed, what would the WWF do? It's already been shown before in Chicago and Phoenix when WCW had PPV shows that the WWF didn't sit back and let them run a successful show without attempts at hurting the gate. And what about recent events in regards to booking arenas. The WWF did everything in its power, even pulling out of the Meadowlands completely as its final ultimatum, in order to keep WCW from getting dates in the New York market. The Meadowlands didn't back down and Titan is out, but many other arenas in the past have and it has kept WCW out of some markets and in other markets forced it into secondary facilities which make it already have the secondary promotion stigma to it before it comes to town (once it comes to town it usually enforces the secondary stigma but that's another story for another day). As of right now, WCW will be out of St. Louis after the end of the month when Kiel Auditorium is torn down. The Arena in St. Louis, which has an exclusive with Titan, has had a threatening letter sent by WCW and no doubt would like to avoid litigation and allow both groups in the building. At the same time, Titan is firm that it will pull out of St. Louis if WCW is allowed in the Arena. And since the Arena is run by Spectacor, which has an excellent long-term relationship with WWF, this is going to be an interesting battle. While watching the Dome show, probably the single biggest point of curiosity was how would American fans react to the aftermath of the Liger-Akira match and the Steiners tag match. In the former, the two guys did acrobatic moves that U.S. fans have never seen and when it was over, the loser carried the injured winner back to the dressing room.
885
886~~~~~~
887
888March 15 - Sawara Gym
889This was an All Japan women's show about two-and-a-half hours out of Tokyo. It was in a small building, more like a skating rink than a gym, with no balcony. The crowd was about 400. I missed half the show and really didn't watch the matches as closely for notes as watched they intensity of the work. I'd never seen an All Japan spot show before. Those of you who have seen the women on tape know the workrate. In a small town with a small crowd, the only differences is no juice and no dives out of the ring. But the pacing is just as fast and the flying moves in the ring just as plentiful. The one thing about these women, and it's been said before but when you're up close you can really appreciate it, is the conditioning of the girls. By that I don't mean they have low bodyfat, because they are actually encouraged to get heavy so they have more padding so the bumps don't hurt as much. But even though the girls are all fairly thick, with particularly big legs, they can work forever and never even take a deep breath. It's like watching sprinters, because everything is at a sprinter pace, go out and run a mile at a sprinter pace, never tire and never breathe heavy. There is no T&A, in fact, it's just the opposite. Almost pure athletics, well, as pure as it can be and still be pro wrestling. The last three matches saw heels win clean--Aja Kong & Mika Takahashi beat Manami Toyoda & Yumiko Hotta, Bison Kimura pinned Toshiyo Yamada (Yamada had the same basic spinal injury that felled Tommy Young and she has been warned a bad bump could paralyze her, yet she works like that isn't the case. She had to be carried out of the ring after a "captured" suplex but worked the next night anyway) and Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue & Tomoko Watanabe won 2/3 falls from Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami & Mariko Yoshida. All three bouts were 3 1/2 stars. After the show, even before showering and taking the bus home, the prelim girls are taking down the ring and cleaning up the arena and the main eventers are in the lobby selling their gimmicks and signing autographs.
890
891March 17 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall  
892This was Sunday, and it was a unique day in that All Japan women had a show at noon and JWP had a show at 6:30 p.m. Both cards were not only sold out, but had standing room in every conceivable spot. The All Japan literally had people hanging from the rafters, including several people hanging from a ladder in the back. JWP announced its crowd at 2,500 (I estimated 2,300) and All Japan announced 2,500, which looked legit. JWP show, which didn't sell out in advance, was priced from $37 down to $22 while All Japan's pricing was $45 down to $18. The afternoon show was excellent and the evening show was also very good, but two cards in one day is just too much wrestling. I really don't see how the city can support this much wrestling, although it continues to do so and the business isn't hurting any. But over a tep day period, this made seven shows. And this doesn't include the Tokyo Dome the following ,Thursday, All Japan at Korakuen on Saturday and Sunday and the WWF at the Dome (which is 100 yards from Korakuen) the following Saturday).
893
894Yumiko Hotta & Esther Moreno & Cynthia Moreno beat Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Toshiyo Yamada via count out in 11:08. Esther is about 4-10 but is an incredible worker. Her sister is pretty green, but wasn't in much. Tons of heat and all action with one spot after another with no let up. The match would have been better than four stars except there were some missed moves. Esther did a moonsault that put Muta to shame. Hotta does the stiff kicks and is a brutal and very good worker at what she does. It ended with great brawling all over the building and Esther snuck into the ring to beat the count. ***3/4
895
896
897All Japan women: The 3/17 card both of All Japan and JWP were both taped for home video and not for television. . . They have a TV taping on 4/4 with Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Yumiko Hotta & Akira Hokuto to decide the new WWWA tag team title holders (belts are vacant), Bull Nakano vs. Mika Takahashi, Suzuka Minami & Takako Inoue '& Mariko Yoshida vs. Debbie Malenko & Manami Toyotda & Etsuke Mita. . 4/21 at the 6,000 seat Yokohama Bunka Gym has Nakano vs. Bison Kimura for the WWWA title, Aja Kong vs. Monster Ripper, Hokuto & Yoshida vs. Takako Inoue & Minami, Malenko & Toyoda vs. Kyoko Inoue & Bat Yoshinaga The Moreno sisters vs. Mita & Shimoda and Hotta vs. Yamada. . . 4/29 at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo has Nakano vs. Monster Ripper for the WWWA title, Minami vs. Hokuto for the All Pacific title, Kong & Kimura vs. Malenko & Toyota. . .The group is talking about bringing Madusa back now that her management situation is under control.
898
899
9008. Aja Kong pinned Akira Hokuto in 10:31. Kong shaved her head clean bald backstage before the show. This match doesn't sound good because of the size difference but Hokuto is unbelievable at making a match. Kong jumped her early with the famous oil can and chair shots and Hokuto bled from the opening bell. Kong bit at the cut to make it bigger. They brawled all over ringside, cleared out elevated ringside and even went to the lobby. Aja dominated until missing a cross bodyblock from the top rope outside the ring (at roughly 220 pounds). Hokuto made the big comeback including leaping off the top rope, doing a full flip in mid-air outside the ring ala Riger and landing back first onto Aja. Hokuto has so many injuries she's wrapped up like a mummy, particularly her knees, shoulder and elbow, but she works like she's impervious to it doing suicidal maneuvers like they are nothing. Kong juiced. Kong then held Hokuto upside down, climbed the ropes and jumped off with a power bomb. Hokuto kicked out, but Kong splashed off on the back off the top rope and pinned her. After the match Aja grabbed the mic and said words to the effect of, "I never thought you were this tough but after this match I realize how tough you are. Let's you and me form a tag and we'll get rid of Bull." Hokuto grabbed the mic and said something to the effect of, "F--- off, I don't need your help" which got the expected huge pop. ****
901
902New Japan: The last tour ended on 3/14 before a full house of 3,200 at Nagoya's Rainbow Hall as Black Cat pinned Tony St. Clair, Kuniaki Kobayashi & Animal Hamaguchi beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto, Seiji Aoyagi & Kengo Kimura beat Masanobu Kurisu & Badnews Brown, Masa Chono & Masa Saito beat Mike Enos & Brad Rheingans, Norio Honaga pinned Jushin Liger (Liger did the shocking job here apparently to make people think Nogami could beat him for the title at the Dome show), Muto pinned Mike Rotunda, Tony Halme beat Larry the Villain in a horrendous match, Hiroshi Hasa & Kensuke Sasaki kept the tag titles beating Takayuki Iizuka & Shiro Koshinaka in 24 minutes ****1/4 and Choshu & Fujinami beat Vader & Super Strong Machine ***1/2. . . Next tour starts 4/15 with the junior heavyweight tournament. . . In 1990, New Japan ran 114 cards and sold 487,738 tickets. If you figure an average ticket at no less than $33, that's roughly $15 million total in gate receipts or an average house of nearly $140,000. I'd estimate during the same period, Titan ran six times as many house shows but only drew double the income. . . New Japan announced this schedule for major cards for the remainder of 1991. 4/30 at Tokyo Sumo Hall, 5/25 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall, 5/31 at Osaka Castle Hall (14,000 seats), 6/12 at Tokyo Budokan Hall, 7/16 at a baseball stadium outdoors in Sapporo, 8/7 at Nagoya Aiichi Gym, 8/9-8/10-8/11 three nights in a row at Tokyo Sumo Hall, 9/23 at Yokohama Arena and 11/5 at Budokan Hall. They must have major plans for August to run at 11,000 seat building on three consecutive nights. Only hint is that they want the Steiners and El Gigante for that week.
903
904The 3/2 show arrives with heavy emphasis placed on the 3/24 Clash from Tokyo. Videos are shown to familiarize U.S. fans with some of the top Japanese wrestlers. Matches announced on this show for the card are Thunder Liger vs. Brian Pillman for the lightheavyweight title, Arn Anderson vs. Shinya Hashimoto, the winners of the tag team tournament face Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki for the tag team title and back together as a team are the Steiners against Masa Saito & Masa Chono. Later in the show, when a video airs of the finish of the PPV main event, Watts begins bad mouthing the NWA hierarchy and demands that the next PPV show be held in Bixby, OK.
905
906After an up close segment with Flair, Watts is out on the podium talking about the Tokyo card. He said Armstrong & Horner had signed the contract to appear with the NWA before switching to his group and that something like this will never happen again. Ross then tells Watts he's got a surprise, that the match has been changed and that Armstrong & Horner will now be wrestling Owen Hart & Chris Benoit in Tokyo. Watts is furious and says they're banned. Ross tells Watts that this past week they signed with New Japan to appear in Tokyo and it has nothing to do with the U.S. court system.
907
908On Main Event, Scotty claims his bench is this week up to 485 pounds and that his mentor Joe Weider has promised him that Lee Haney will be there to help him get his bench up to 500 in two weeks.
909
910Ross opens the 3/23 show saying this show was taped the day before the crew left for Japan. Sting comes out with bandages around his ribs. Ross asks him what happened and Sting says that the day before at the gym when he and Luger were working out, that some weights accidentally fell on him and he pretty much brushes off the injury and continues talking about the title match with Muta.
911
912Up close and personal is with Pillman talking about his attempt to win the title from Liger.
913
914Main Event show features a Windham & Landel TV match where Morton & Rogers attack them, resulting in a heel DQ win over Rich & Zenk.
915
916Watts comes out and announces that after Armstrong & Horner defend the US belts, he'll have a surprise announcement concerning their future.
917
918Scotty announces he did a 493 bench press and that next week, in front of a national audience, he'll do 500 pounds on the Saturday program.
919***********************************************
920
921I didn't get a chance to see the PPV broadcast of the WCW/New Japan show at the Tokyo Egg Dome because it won't be shown in this area until 4/20 (head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling on TBS as a matter of good planning by the local cable company). While we didn't ask for a poll on the show, because any four-and-a-half hour card post-edited down to just under two hours should look good, the Thumbs up/ Thumbs down of those who had left messages as of Monday afternoon was 38-1 thumbs up. The only real complaints were about what was edited out, and the truth is, when you edit a show down that much, at least one that has that many highlights, there are going to be good things left on the cutting room floor. It's just inevitable. I know what was left in and what was left out, and while I may have changed things a little bit here and there, the editing process in this case isn't going to satisfy everyone. For those who haven't seen the show and are thinking of ordering it, what does air in seven minutes of the six-man tag match (Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk & Tim Horner vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi & Shiro Koshinaka & Takayuki Iizuka), or roughly half the match supposedly edited to show Pillman as the star (live Horner was the best of the three although everyone in the match except Kobayashi looked very good), four minutes of Jushin Riger (13 minutes cut out), most of Barry Windham & Arn Anderson vs. Masa Saito & Masa Chono (roughly one minute and a half cut out), all of El Gigante vs. Curtis Hughes (all 2:11--Hughes was called Big Cat and Jim Ross said, "He's a guy we haven't seen, at least in the ring, in a while," thus not acknowledging him as Mr. Hughes), Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki (about three minutes edited out) and the complete Sting vs. Muta and Flair vs. Fujinami matches. After the main  event they ran a press conference (in which the actual press was banned from) where an enraged Flair took the belt from Fujinami. Ironically, Fujinami walked out the door of the room carrying the belt and later that night Flair was calling Fujinami "champ" at the post-show Sayonara party. But it really doesn't matter if the "story" is consistent in both Japan and the United States anyway. Tokyo Sports a few days back ran several photos of Flair with the belt taken at the Meadowlands show this past Thursday so the Japanese do know that Flair not only is considered champion but is defending the title in the United States with the heat being placed on the WCW hierarchy. Actually, whatever "worked" 
922
923~~
924
925Cable TV's "The Discovery Channel" has a show called The Incredibly Strange Film show. The show takes a fun look at campy films, exploitation films and bad movies. On April 13 they feature the films of El Santo. The program airs at 11 p.m. Eastern on Saturday night and is repeated the following Saturday in the early a.m. Although I consider myself to be a more mainstream fan than most, my two favorite articles in the yearbook were Kurt Brown's Trip to Japan piece and the Lucha Libre for beginners. It's fun reading to how different cultures take to various styles of pro wrestling. From the television perspective, I can see why Dr. Morales' commentary is greatly appreciated. Try listening to any baseball or football game in the United States. Subtract the play-by-play and what you basically get are anecdotes and comparisons to games and individuals of the past. Since historical references are banned or simply not used on U.S. television shows (Jim Ross aside), we instead get an endless stream as to what Steve Beverly calls the All-Cliche team. As to demand for wrestling, Japan seems to have an unquenchable thirst for variety of styles. When you think about it, the United States is just the opposite in that only one promotional style has gotten over big. Our society sees pro wrestling as a cartoon show come to life, to provide amusement for children and those of child-like mentality. Competition to the WWF has never been a factor here as the public at large isn't clamoring for more or different styles of wrestling like it does in Japan. The new wrestling fans of the 1980s were comfortable with tongue-in-cheek presentation and larger-than-life characters and that is that. To the general public, the NWA would seem too serious, because it tries to be sport, and last year's WCW would seem like nothing more than a poor imitation of the WWF. The WCW can be a profitable No. 2 promotion without getting mainstream public recognition. As to rising higher than No. 2, that is up to Vince McMahon to infuriate mainstream fans, threaten his advertising base with more exploitative angles than before. Eventually the mainstream may come to the realization that his brand of entertainment for children is actually a bit demented.
926Steve Gennarelli
927Melbourne, Florida
928
929I'm almost done with the yearbook and it is the best one yet. Last year's book was outstanding but there was so mjah good journalism in this book that it was better. You did an excellent story on Jushin Riger. People should give him a lot of credit because his size has always worked against him. I'd like to see him come to the states because I believe there are a lot of fans who would take to his style ala Muta in 1989 and he would definitely get over here. 
930Vinnie Carolan 
931Stoughton, Massachussetts 
932
933I have to say that this was probably the best yearbook ever. The articles were both the best and the best written. I especially enjoyed the article on Jushin Riger and Frank Deford's article on Mildred Burke.
934Tom Meier,
935Demarest, New Jersey
936
937
938~~~
939
940~~~~~
941BOWDREN THE BOOKER
942The 3/24 Clash takes place in Tokyo. I know the company booked it as a PPV, but we're trying to educate the public to so many new things that trying to sell it blind on PPV is ridiculous. Since the show took place earlier, we've edited it down for what we want to show.
943
944We start off with Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine beating the Southern Boys; then we have Arn Anderson pinning Kengo Kimura. Both these matches we only show highlights of. The first match that airs live will be Thunder Liger vs. Brian Pillman. Figure we need a match of this calibre since it's going head-to-head with the dynamic Kerry Von Erich vs. Dino Bravo match on PPV. The two do all their hot moves and Liger gets the win, but both shake hands, hug and raise each others' arms when it's over. Before the second match we have an interview with Jim Ross in the dressing room with Owen Hart & Chris Benoit. They are talking about the match with Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner . Ross tells Hart & Benoit that there have been lengthy round-the-clock meetings at WCW headquarters in Atlanta concerning the ridiculous travesty of justice that has taken place in regards to them. Ross tells them that even though every member of the board was sympathetic to their position, their hands are tied legally because of the maneuverings of Bill Watts and Jim Cornette temporarily. He says WCW is doing everything to allow them to return to the United States, and it will take place, but that Watts's protests have forced them to prove to the INS that they aren't taking the jobs of American citizens with the same talent so right now WCW is being forced to advertise in trade journals looking for U.S. citizens with similar wrestling backgrounds and once the group accepts that they aren't taking jobs from qualified Americans, they'll be able to return. Ross also reads a letter from the WCW championship committee which states that they recognize the controversial nature of Hart & Benoit's loss of the U.S. tag team titles and that the win was dubious in and of itself and that certainly Hart & Benoit are qualified and deserve a return championship match. However, since they aren't allowed to wrestle in the United States, the WCW committee regretfully can't approve of tonight's match as a title match because if Hart & Benoit were to win, they'd wind up being stripped off the title because they couldn't defend them in the United States for 30 days. The letter says that even though the board is opposed to the actions of Bill Watts, they recognize he has a valid point and thus tonight's match will be non-title. Since it's a non-title match, Hart & Benoit go over clean in about 12 minutes. Next has the Steiners beating Masa Saito & Masa Chono. Next has Midnight Express vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki. If everything goes right, we've got a classic here, titles vs. titles. We pull out every favor we can to get the result we want here, which is Midnights getting a win. In return, we have to promise to have the Midnights drop the titles back in the United States so guaranteeing Hase & Sasaki a U.S. program as faces down the line. Next comes Vader & Bigelow beating Stan Hansen & Ron Simmons when Hansen turns on Simmons during the match and hits him with the lariat and walks out and 
945
946
947~~
948
949JAPAN TV RUNDOWN
950
951WCW IN JAPAN  
952A big thumbs up to the Japan PPV show. The best match was easily the Steiners vs. Hese & Sasaki. This was a totally different type of match than Flair vs. Steamboat or Savage vs. Warrior and in its own category, it is probably the best match I've ever seen. It was hard not to pick Riger vs. Nogami or Sting vs. Muta as the best match. The worst match was the six-man tag team opener although it would have been the second best match on the card had it been at Wrestlemania. Flair vs. Fujinami was technically a good match. My biggest complaint with the show has nothing to do with the wrestling. This show should have been a Clash of the Champions aired on March 24, 1991 at 4 p.m. Eastern time. It shouldn't have been in direct opposition to Wrestlemania but close enough and free enough to where the average fan could make a comparison between the two shows, but not have to make a choice. Anytime fans are asked tO choose between the WWF and WCW, they will choose WWF. Conversely, anytime fans are asked to compare WWF to WCW, WCW will come out on top. WCW was in a perfect position to capitalize on this theory using the Japan show, however they chose to do the exact opposite, thereby exposing their talent before the largest crowd to see pro wrestling this year to maybe 50,000 fans in the United States instead of several million. As the contracts of Jim Herd and Jim Barnett are up in January, as is Ted Turner's three-year commitment to WCW, let's hope that the fall and winter of 1991 and early 1992 brings some wholesale changes at the top of the WCW hierarchy.
953Scott Hudson
954Atlanta, Georgia
955
9562/24 All Japan Women: 1. Mika Takahashi & Mayumi Yamamoto beat Mariko Yoshida & Takako Inoue in 7:10 when Takahashi pinned Yoshida after a fisherman (Perfect) suplex and Northern Lights suplex. Fast paced and very good ***1/2; 2. Suzuka Minami & Etsuko Mita & Toshiyo Yamada beat Noriyo Tateno & Yumiko Hotta & Mima Shimoda when Tateno missed a kneedrop off the top rope and Minami pinned her with a german suplex in 8:21. Yamada and Hotta kicked the you know what out of each other. Just one great move after another. ****; 3. Manami Toyota beat Akira Hokuto in 16:25 when Minami threw in the towel for Hokuto. Hokuto's arm was in a cast and Toyota had her in an armbreaker submission but she wouldn't quit so her partner threw the towel in. These are the two best women wrestlers in the world right now and they did everything imaginable. ****1/2; 4. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue beat Aja Kong & Bison Kimura in 22:50 of a double hair match. Aja came out with scissors and cut Bull's hair early. Bull got them away and used them. Aja made the comeback and started cutting Bull again. They brawled all over the building. Ended up using chairs, stares, tin cans (no pots, pans, bricks or sticks however) and scissors. Bull finally pinned Bison with a legdrop off the top rope and Kong & Kimura both shaved their heads bald. ****3/4
957
958. As the tournament stands as of 4/12, Group A (Hansen, Misawa, Kobashi, Kid, Furnas, Ace, Hoss) should be won by Hansen. Hansen was 5-0 in the group with only a match left on 4/15 with Kobashi. Misawa was 4-1 with a match left with Hoss which he'll surely win while Kobashi is 3-2 with the bout left with Hansen and Kid is 3-2 with a match left with Furnas, Furnas is 2-3, Ace is 0-6 (a few losses via forfeit) and Hoss is 1-5. Group B (Spivey, Tsuruta, Kawada, Smith, Taue, Kroffat, Jack) comes down to the 4/15 Tsuruta vs. Spivey match as both were 5-0 going into the match. Kawada is 4-2, Taue 2-3, Kroffat 1-4, Smith 1-5 and Jack 0-5. So the Champion tournament which usually produces comedy and new grudges J., Carnival final on 4/16 probably was Hansen vs. Tsuruta. New Japan: Tour opened 4/15 in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall with a line-up of Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami & Masa Saito vs. Kokina & Samu & Fatu, Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura, Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs. Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto, Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay and Norio Honaga vs. Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit). . . The junior heavyweight tournament will be a round-robin with Liger, Finlay (from England), Honaga, Pegasus Kid, Too Cold Scorpio (an independent wrestler from the Denver area), Negro Casas (Mexico) and Owen Hart. Top matches are Kid vs. Hart on 4/17, Hart vs. Casas on 4/23, Liger vs. Kid on 4/27 and Liger vs. Hart and Casas vs. Pegasus Kid on 4/28 with the finals on 4/30 at Tokyo Sumo Hall. The main event at Sumo Hall will be Muto vs. Scott Norton while a mixed match has Tony Halme vs. Seiji Aoyagi which should be interesting since Aoyagi is a very small karate star and Halme is a 320 pound guy doing a boxer gimmick. . . Next tour is 5/25 until 6/12 with Bam Bam Bigelow, TNT, Pegasus Kid, Miguelito Perez and Big Van Vader. There will be several big shows during the card as it opens at NK Hall in suburban Tokyo,' ' has a 5/31 card at the Osaka Castle Hall (14,000 seats with ringside priced at $150) and runs Sumo Hall on 6/12. The 5/31 card will celebrate Fujinami's 20th year as a pro wrestler and be Tatsumi Fujinami night. Fujinami's pro debut was May 9, 1971, when he was 17 years old. The idea is to bring in some of Fujinami's old rivals similar to what Antonio Inoki did with his 30th anniversary show last year. The only problem is Fujinami's biggest rival is Riki Choshu and nobody else really comes close, and other rivals like Akira Maeda and Dick Murdoch can't come for political reasons, Masked Superstar is no longer Masked Superstar, Hulk Hogan is Hulk Hogan and Adrian Adonis is no longer alive. The only name it looks like they are bringing in is Canek and they're trying to find the whereabouts of Chavo Guerrero. . . New Japan announced tour dates for the remainder of the year--6/20 to 7/4; 7/14 to 7/29; 8/5 to 8/11; 9/10 to 9/23; 10/5 to 10/18, 11/3 to 11/16 and 12/8 to 12/16. The only card next January will be the Tokyo Dome, as besides that show, the company will be taking off from 12/16 to 1/31. . . Supposedly, concessions and gimmick sales at the Tokyo Dome for the 3/21 card totalled approximately 270 million yen or right at $2 million which sounds ridiculous but I've heard of shows in Japan which have done $30 per head in concessions and if any show is going to do business like that, the biggest show of the year is the one. .
959
960here are talks of trying to bring in Jushin Liger and Great Muta for some dates over the summer, and Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki will be brought in for a program with the Steiners as soon as all the paperwork gets taken care of. . . It's widely speculated right now that the Bash PPV show on 7/14 from Baltimore will be double headlined by Flair vs. Luger for the belt and Sting & ?"Gigante & Missy Hyatt vs. Dangerously & Windham & Anderson in a cage match, although no doubt that all will be changed before anyone reads this. . . 4/12 in Baltimore drew 3,800 as Dusty Rhodes & Big Josh beat Royal Family, Big Van Vader pinned Johnny Ringo, Bobby Eat
961
962DM: As pointed out here a few weeks back, the cable industry, of which TBS has stock in and vice versa, wouldn't have been too happy with a free show aired on the same day as Wrestlemania. However, I do agree this show was a show they needed to expose the mass audience to rather than limit it to the hardcores, and it should have been for free, maybe the day before. The Japan show was great, but I was unhappy with a few things. First, forcing the New Japan wrestlers to come into the king using WCW entrance music instead of their usual things. Second, the editing of the Jushin Liger and Steiners match, which, took out some of the best moves on the card was a bad idea. Also, WCW was trying to snow us with claims like Liger was inspired by the Steiners in his moves and that Japanese kids were painted their faces like Sting. The biggest piece of baloney, and also the best-made, was the post-match press conference with Flair taking the belt away from Fujinami. I don't blame the fans in Japan for thinking the way this situation was handled was b.s.
963David Mello
964Napa, California
965
966
967~~~~
968
9695/6 at Korakuen Hall has Onita vs. Pogo and Berichev defending his title against Tarzan Goto. . . Pink Cadillac in for JWP and getting a big push winning handicap matches underneath. . . 4/19 in Akita saw The Scorpion keep the JWP and UWA women's world jr. title beating Plum Mariko. . . All Japan women have a killer schedule with shows every single day between 5/8 and 6/27 except for June 2nd off, or just one day off in seven weeks.. . JWP has Korakuen Hall booked on 4/26 with Harley Saito & Miss A vs. Rumi Kazama & Shinobu Kandori and Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki & Scorpion vs. Eagle Sawai & Mayumi Ozaki & Isachiko Kogane. . . Monster Ripper debuted for All Japan women on 4/21 at Korakuen before a sellout 2,000 going to a double disqualification with Aja Kong. There was a lot of legit heat between the two which led to it being a bad match. Kong was really unhappy about the finish and the quality of the match since Ripper is no longer at the level she's used to her foes being at. Kong also didn't like the non-finish since fans were chanting "re-start the match" and Kong grabbed the mic and asked to re-start when she wasn't supposed to. They didn't want Kong to do a job but Ripper is getting the title shot with Bull Nakano on 4/29 so she can't do a job before then. Nakano beat Bison Kimura and after the match Ripper hit the ring and the two brawled . . . 4/20 in Ema before 1,400 saw Aja & Bison & Mika Takahashi beat Esther Moreno & Yumiko Hotta & Manami Toyota, Toshiyo Yamada beat Takako Inoue and Bull & Kyoko Inoue & Debbie Malenko & Bat Yoshinaga beat Mariko Yoshida & Etsuko Mita & Suzuka Minami & Akira Hokuto. . . 4/19 in Ueda saw Nakano & Inoue beat Minami & Mita, Toyota pinned Hotta and Kong & Kimura & Miori Kamiya & Takahashi beat Moreno & Hokuto & Yamada & Mima Shimoda. . . JWP on 4/18 in Sakata saw Miss A & Masami beat Kandori & Yamazaki in the main event.
970
971The six-man tag match was a lot better live because half the match was edited out. Riger-Nogami was also over-edited which took away from the match, but at the same time, it was a match with two wrestlers, neither of whom are familiar to American fans so you didn't want it to be long. Sting vs. Muta and Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki was about the same live as on television, although in the latter, there were hot moves edited out but the product as it aired was really super anyway. It was interesting how the belts themselves were put over. In Japan, they treated the Steiners WCW tag titles and Hase & Sasaki's tag titles as equals and from a promotion standpoint, Flair and Fujinami's belts as equals. However both Flair and Fujinami's interviews basically made the WCW belt the important one with Flair saying he wasn't interested in being a challenger for Fujinami's belt since he was the real and only world champion and Fujinami talking about the heritage of the title and about being a young child and seeing Lou Thesz defend it. On television, while they had to present the WCW belts as being superior for•all obvious reasons, it still came off as somewhat downplaying the IWGP belts. The biggest strengths of the announcers were knowledge of the Japanese wrestlers favorite holds--and calling them correctly. Where it really came apparent was Masa Chono's STF hold, which would mean nothing to an American who had never seen it before, but by saying what it was and getting it over, fans should have understood it was a finishing move and why Arn Anderson sold it the way he did. Ditto Fujinami's Dragon sleeper. The weakness was that Jim Ross by the end of the show almost seemed too clairvoyent, in that he would expect something to happen, and almost immediately, it always did. I was very surprised, however at how they "played" the finish of the main event. It seemed they were way too defensive about the finish, to the point that when the show ended, it didn't even seem controversial and there seemed to be no reason for a 
972
973Both were far smaller than any of the wrestlers who were regularly working the circuit at the time. Most fans had never heard of them and quickly started exiting for the rest rooms or the hot dog stands, waiting to see Bob Backlund or whoever it was they had paid to see that night. The match was never even advertised on. TV, and then again, why should it have been, since virtually nobody in New York had ever heard of either wrestler at the time. Of course the two tore the joint down that night, ending with a standing ovation, and clips of Tiger Mask aired on a few local newscasts and on George Michael's Sports Machine show before the week was up. Tiger Mask was brought back later in the year for a three-week WWF tour, hitting several of the major arenas and working "hot" television matches with the likes of Curt Hennig (who then weighed about 210 pounds but was even then one of the better athletic workers on the circuit even though basically a TV jobber), Eddie Gilbert and a pretty memorable match against Mr. Saito. The next spring, I was on college spring, break vacation in South Florida with seemingly every college student from the Northeast, and as things would have it, one night a huge group of us got to talking about pro wrestling. There were college kids not just from the Northeast, but from the Midwest and even Canada, all telling stories about their local stars and heroes. Of the kids from the Northeast, the two most "over" names were Jimmy Snuka, by far, and second was Tiger Mask, this guy most of them had seen only once or twice but seemed to remember as being like Jimmy Snuka, but actually being better. For whatever reason, in that age group, everybody hated Bob Backlund, who the WWF was promoting as the lead babyface, partially because he came off in their eyes as too square. Tiger Mask retired amidst a New Japan scandal, came back one year later for the original UWF and his name value helped establish the new fledgling group, but then retired amidst another series of scandals, and now in Japan is thought of as one of those nostalgia figures, like a rock group that was hot as hell for two years and never heard from again. I can almost envision him walking down the streets of Japan and someone in their 20's, who grew up watching him, saying, "Hey, didn't you used to be Satoru Sayama."
974
975More than anyone else, Sayama was responsible for the first rung of people who started trading Japanese videotapes. Sure, Japan had classic brawls with the Funks vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen, and the beginnings of the high-speed, hot moves one-after-the-other style popularized by the original Tatsumi Fujinami-Riki Choshu feud, but Tiger Mask was totally unlike anything anyone could see in the United States. Even though today's Jushin Liger is far better in terms of putting together great matches and execution of moves, his impact wasn't one-one hundredth that of Tiger Mask, who was the first, and in people's selective memories, can never be topped, no matter how many mid-air flips and shooting star presses Liger does.
976
977
978Now comes the news that WCW is talking about instituting a junior heavyweight division, although "junior heavyweight" may not be the semantic term given for it. This news coming just a few weeks after the top WCW officials were in Japan and saw Jushin Liger is probably not coincidental. If WCW does institute its own title, which will more likely than not be announced on June 12 at the Clash of Champions from Knoxville, one would think it's candidate to build the division around would be Brian Pillman. The immediate reaction to this is two totally polarized views. View No. 1, held by an awful lot of people within the business particularly is that tagging Pillman with the junior heavyweight tag and putting a junior title on him will be almost like a death knell to his career. Another view, held by those who have seen the division used viably, particularly by the New Japan promotion, is that this is a move that will open up a new level of excitement to American pro wrestling.
979
980In practice, lighter weight divisions have flourished for years in Mexico, partially because the country has such a great demand for wrestling and because there are so few legitimate heavyweight wrestlers in the country. Lighter weights were a big deal in England for years, but wrestling in that country has taken a turn for the worst when it comes to popularity and when you say wrestling there today, people think of the World Wrestling Federation even though smaller British promotions still exist. Stampede Wrestling flourished for years with heavy emphasis on smaller guys, called mid heavyweights in Canada, which may be a better semantic term to use for the American public. But that territory died as well, because of its inability to compete from a television production standard with the WWF and because whenever it developed a good wrestler, they always left for greener pastures which made it seem minor league. Then there was New Japan. The junior heavyweight title was created in 1978, as a way to push Tatsumi Fujinami and give him a title since Antonio Inoki would forever by heavyweight champion. The division gained popularity at that time, but took off in 1981-83 under Tiger Mask. Right now the division is maintaining some popularity mainly due to Liger, because unlike three or four years ago when New Japan was loaded with lighter weight stars, today Liger lacks a wide variety of rivals, and his best rivals today (Owen Hart, Pegasus Kid and Negro Casas) are no longer fresh opponents. Clearly, the division needs a new sensation, and the level Liger has brought the standard to makes it pretty difficult to come up with comparable foes.
981
982But can the division be workable with WCW? Certainly there are no guarantees. Like it or not, fans in this country have had nearly a decade of the bigger-is-better philosophy being crammed into our subconcious. No matter how good they work, without either a phenom like Liger to carry the division, or long-term and careful commitment to make it work, the odds are against it. But if done correctly, and being built around an athletic phenom (and it will take nothing short of that to make it work), the matches can and will turn heads and ultimately lead to greater respect and appreciation of wrestling. Using the New Japan model of 1982, which was the most successful application of a junior heavyweight division in a predominantly heavyweight promotion, here are some rules for success:
983
9841) Intermix the guys you are pushing as junior heavys with the heavys as little as possible. If Sugar Ray Leonard had to stand next to Larry Holmes, or better yet if Marvin Hagler, who had the killer rep more than Leonard, had to stand next to Holmes, the entire illusion of Hagler as a killer would have been destroyed. Negro Casas, at all of 170 pounds, isn't too small when he's in with a guy weighing 195, but he's a midget next to a guy weighing, 270. While Liger, because he's such a good worker, has been able to get away with being in the ring for quick spots against Bam Bam Bigelow and Big Van Vader (and even look believable doing spots with them), Liger is the exception to the rule. When Tiger Mask was hot, he never did jobs for any heavyweights nor did the foes he drew his good houses with, Dynamite Kid and Black Tiger. Kid and Tiger may have done jobs for Tiger Mask, but not for anyone else. If this division becomes the haven for guys who aren't big enough to beat Barry Windham or Lex Luger, then you are wasting your television time pushing a preliminary match with a worthless belt.
985
9862) The style of the match has to be different. If the junior heavyweights can't do things in the ring that the heavyweights don't, there is no need for the division. Les Thornton was a great technical wrestler but the junior heavyweight division meant nothing with he as champion. Ditto Hiro Matsuda. Even Danny Hodge only meant something within his region, and a lot of that was because he was a legitimate sports legend in that area before he ever was a pro wrestler.
987
9883) Realize right off that it isn't going to work at the beginning. Americans fans have been brainwashed by the Hulk Hogans, Lex Lugers and Road Warriors who they have never seen do jobs. That's why it was so easy to get Sid Vicious over.
989
9904) The division-has to be built around someone who is spectacular in the ring and also has charisma. My pick here, at least at the start, would be Liger. I'd get tapes, and WCW has a working relationship with Liger's office, of his matches and start airing them maybe every Sunday during the Main Event broadcast. Not right away, but eventually, his style will at least create curiosity and if brought in for live shows, he can be an attraction to the events. After he's been on a few PPV shows, as an attraction, with hand-picked opponents that people have never seen before (so they aren't established as jobbers to the fans which would mean he's really doing these hot moves on punching bags anyway), only then would you start programming your own guys like a Pillman or a Ricky Morton with him. If the fans believe medium-sized wrestlers from all over the world are gunning for the guy and that idea is somewhat in people's :leads, only then will it be viable to get him into a program and then build the division in the United States.
991
992New Japan: Unlike All Japan, in which the results of most matches are so predictable (but at least you always get the clean finish), New Japan has been doing a lot of upsets, particularly at the TV taping on 4/19 in Okinawa before 3,290 fans. Main match saw Scott Norton (who is getting the super push on this tour squashing everyone in sight until his match with Keiji Muto which main events Sumo Hall on 4/30) & Kokina & Samu beat Muto & Masa Chono & Riki Choshu when Norton pinned Choshu with a powerslam. Just as surprising underneath saw Negro Casas pin Jushin Liger and David Finley pin Pegasus Kid. Also Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Masa Saito & Kuniaki Kobayashi and Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka beat Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito. . . Hase & Sasaki have five tag matches during this tour and they've vowed to win all five before challenging the Steiners to a rematch. There was talk of the rematch headlining the Fujinami show on 5/31, but it looks like New Japan can't get the Steiners for that date. . . . 4/18 in a Tokyo suburb before 2,060 saw Choshu & Fujinami & Osamu Kido beat Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito, Liger pinned Norio Honaga, Owen Hart made*' Pegasus Kid submit to the spinning toe hold and Norton & The Samoans beat Muto & Chono & Masa Saito when Norton pinned Chono. . . 4/20 in Okinawa saw Fujinami & Muto & Chono beat Machine & Goto & Saito, Choshu & Kobayashi beat Kido & Koshinaka, Norton & Samoans beat Hase & Sasaki & Saito when Norton pinned Hase, in another big upset in the junior heavyweight tournament, Honaga pinned Hart plus Casas pinned Too Cold Scorpio and Finlay & Pegasus Kid beat Liger & Takayuki Iizuka. . . 4/21 in Okinawa before 2,450 saw Choshu & Masa Saito & Fujinami beat Samoans & Norton, Muto & Chono beat Hart & Finlay, Hase & Sasaki beat Casas & Pegasus Kid and Liger pinned Too Cold Scorpio. . . Masa Saito announced that the NWA title has been held up which pretty much has quelled any problems relating to the Tokyo Dome finish and it would be decided on 5/19 in St. Pete. He brought back a publicity poster printed by WCW with lists Fujinami and Flair both as "WCW champion?" building up the PPV which was how the publicity was sent to the cable companies for this month's cable guides that both men would be claiming the world title going into the St. Pete match. . . Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki and Liger vs. Nogami aired on TV 4/20. Nogami is now wrestling in England again.
993
994 Bob Roop talking about a comeback. . . On a few Steve Gator Wolf shows in Arizona, David Hannah (190 pounds) and Jason Peters (180 pounds), the latter of whom is from here in San Jose both made their pro debuts that amazed everyone doing a Japanese style match including a Liger-like dives with flips out of the ring. They stole the show in their first pro match and again in their second match. The two have been working out at Slammers Gym regularly and were said to be the best kids at the gym. . . . Jerry Monti has shows on 5/17 in Clear Lake, CA and 5/18 in Colusa, CA using Buddy Rose as his headliner and bringing back Gerhardt Kaiser as a manager. Kaiser was the lead manager for Roy Shires in California in the mid 70s. . . Wendell Cooley beat Doug Vines to win the All-Star wrestling title on 4/17 in Crossville, TN. . . . 4/20 in Portland saw Doug Masters beat Mike Winner, Jimmy Jack Funk drew Larry Oliver, Rip Oliver beat Al Madril, Judy Martin vs. Terry Power never took place because Martin attacked Power before the match began and Equalizer & Bart Sawyer went to a no contest with Grappler & Dirty White Boy. . . 4/6 line-up for Carolina, PR had Carlitos Colon vs. Dick Murdoch in a barbed wire cage, Invader #1 & El Bronco #1 defend the WWC tag titles against California Studs (Tony Anthony & Brian Lee), Scott Hall defends Caribbean title against Giant Warrior (Butch Masters), TNT vs. Motor City Mad Man, Ricky Santana defends WWC jr. title against Mr. Pogo, Kim Duk vs. Action Jackson and Perez & Castillo vs. Galan Mendoza & Doug Gilbert. . . . Chicky Starr and the Super Medicos (Jose Estrada & Jose Estrada Jr.) are working for rival promoter Rafael Ramos.
995
996Jean Parillo &f 326 W. Jackson St., Woodstock, IL 60098 is looking for a tape of Wrestle Dream in Kobe. . . Bill Johnson of 114 Catherine St., North Syracuse, NY 13212 would like to buy 1980-84 Georgia Championship Wrestling tapes, the WATL History of Atlanta wrestling special, Mid Atlantic tapes from 1980-84 and any tapes of Bruiser Brody or Jushin Liger from Japan. . . Frank Heinold of Schwalbenstr. 29, 7110 Oehringen Germany is looking to buy NTSC tapes of WWF and any information on women's wrestling. . . J. David Johnson of 142 Earl St., Bridgeport, CT 06606 is looking for tapes of Jushin Liger, Pegasus Kid, Steve Williams and Konnan and is also interested in any Japanese memorabilia and will buy or trade for current Japanese wrestling magazines. . . Hisaharu Tanabe of 1819 Maple #14, Denton, TX 76201 is looking for the Wrestling Observer issue on Bruiser Brody.
997
998All Japan on 4/25 in Niigata saw Miori Kamiya & Takahashi & Kong & Kimura beat Mima Shimoda & Toshiyo Yamada & Yumiko Hotta & Akira Hokuto, Monster Ripper pinned Kyoko Inoue, Nakano & Yoshinaga beat Toyota & Suzuka Minami, Esther & Cynthia Moreno & Mariko Yoshida beat Sake Hasegawa & Etsuko Mita & Takako Inoue and Debbie Malenko beat Ito.
999
1000
1001NEW JAPAN
1002
1003
1004The current tour and junior heavyweight tournament ends on 4/30 and apparently the final match will be Negro Casas vs. Jushin Liger.
1005
10064/26 in Hida drew 1,950 as David Finley pinned Too Cold Scorpio, Norio Honaga pinned Casas, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Super Strong Machine beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki & Kuniaki Kobayashi, Riki Choshu & Masa Chono beat Owen Hart & Scott Norton when Choshu lariated Hart and the main event saw Tatsumi Fujinami & Keiji Muto & Liger beat Wild Samoan Samu & Kokina & Pegasus Kid when Muto pinned Kid.
1007
10084/25 in Ida drew 1,500 as Hart pinned Scorpio, Honaga pinned Finlay, Samoans & Norton beat Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura & Choshu, Pegasus Kid & Casas beat Liger & Takayuki Iizuka when Kid pinned Iizuka, Kobayashi & Hase & Sasaki beat Fujinami & Black Cat & Shiro Koshinaka and Machine & Goto beat Muto & Chono via DQ.
1009
10104/23 in Okinawa drew a sellout 2,540 as Fujinami & Muto & Chono beat Machine & Goto & Norton when Fujinami used the dragon sleeper on Goto, Choshu & Hase & Sasaki beat Kid & Samoans when Choshu pinned Kid, Casas pinned Hart, Hiro Saito pinned Kobayashi, Kido beat Iizuka and Liger & Koshinaka beat Finlay & Honaga.
1011
1012Tour opening night on 4/15 at Korakuen Hall before 2,000 saw Hart & Scorpio beat Black Cat & Casas, Pegasus Kid pinned Honaga, Kobayashi & Seiji Aoyagi beat Iizuka & Koshinaka, Saito pinned Masanobu Kurisu, Hase & Sasaki beat Kido & Kimura, Muto & Chono beat Machine & Goto, Liger pinned Finlay and Norton & Samoans beat Choshu & Fujinami & Masa Saito when Kokina pinned Saito with a big splash.
1013
1014SWS
1015Wrestling Observer Newsletter
1016
1017PO Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228
1018
1019May 18, 1991
1020
1021The World Wrestling Federation returned this past week from probably its most successful overseas tour in history, a nine-event "WWF Rampage" tour of the United Kingdom. The first eight events of the tour were sold out back in January, and a second date was added last Sunday in Manchester, England (a matinee show to go along with previously sold out evening show in the same building) at the G-Mex which also sold out. According to several readers who have taken vacations in England over the past year, the WWF, which is on the Sky Channel in Europe, is more popular in that country than it is in its home country.
1022
1023
1024OTHER JAPAN NEWS
1025
1026
1027The other big show of this past week was on Monday night (4/29) at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo for All Japan women, which was both a taping for television and home video before 2,200 fans (not really that great a crowd since eight days earlier they drew basically the same sized crowd at Korakuen Hall). The main event saw Bull Nakano keep her world womens title pinning Monster Ripper in 14:48 with the somersault leg drop off the top rope, plus Aja Kong & Bison Kimura kept their WWWA tag team titles beating Esther Moreno & Manami Toyota, Akira Hokuto won the All-Pacific title from Suzuka Minami in 21 minutes with a new maneuver called the Northern Lights power bomb which is basically what it sounds like, Takako Inoue won the Japanese womens title pinning Kyoko Inoue, Bat Yoshinaga kept the martial arts title beating Kim Torisu, Toshiyo Yamada & Mariko Yoshida & Sake Hasegawa beat Debbie Malenko & Cynthia Moreno & Yumiko Hotta and Mika Takahashi & Miori Kamiya beat Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita.
1028
1029BOWDREN THE BOOKER
1030
1031We pick up the 4/27 television show with Stan Hansen and Ron Simmons going to a wild DDQ when the ref loses control of the match. Up close and personal has an interview with Steve Armstrong who discusses Brad Watts' change in attitude, name and the affect it has had on his family. Next up is a Luger interview, but before Lex starts talking, they have a taped interview with Sting who says that the world title is on the back burner because he's focused on one priority and that's getting Luger back. Luger laughs and says Sting is old news and he has no intention of wasting his time wrestling Sting. Rick Steiner comes to ringside and says that Sting doesn't need his help but he tells Lex that he's turning into a real jerk. Luger tells Rick he has no problem with him, but he doesn't like Steiner coming on television and making a statement like that. Steiner says he's not trying to start an argument, but that Luger's behavior is "stupid." Luger laughs and says, "Thanks for contributing your well-known and vast intellect to this discussion, but I never asked you for your opinion." Steiner starts to respond and Luger slaps him in the face. "Who cares what you think," Luger says. Steiner responds with a short clothesline and walks off, leaving Luger on his butt. Toward the end of the show more matches are announced for the 5/12 PPV, the world lightheavyweight title has champ Thunder Riger defending against Negro Casas and Ross says this is a rematch from a match recently held between the two in Japan. Ross said that next week on television, we'll see that match. Also Scotty the Body is signed against Mike Rotunda. At this point Ross calls in Dory Funk who announces they've added Lex Luger vs. Rick Steiner to the card and asks him who will face the Great Muta in the main event for the world title. He reminds Funk of Sting's comment that he's putting the title on the back burner and wants a match with Luger. Before he can answer, Barry Windham and Coach Budro come up to demand the title shot. Barry says that based on his victory over Sting, he deserves the shot. Ross goes to Landel, "I suppose you have something to add, but first, what's this Coach Budro bit all about." "Certificed by the YWCA, brother. Those girls said I was the best mud wrestling coach they ever had. But now, Coach Landel is following in the footsteps of the great Vince Lombardi and going to coach my man to greatness. Do I have to do this? No. I could go to Beverly Hills and be a gigolo, I could go to Hollywood and hang out with Alyssa Milano, I could go to Palm Beach and party with my friends The Kennedy's, I could shoot hoops with Dominique, but I've committed myself to training Barry Windham to be world champion and brother, if there's one thing that everyone knows about Buddy Landel, is that he's reliable!" Suddenly out come Bill Watts and Terry Taylor. Watts says that he respects Windham and his position, but says that Taylor had the world champion pinned at Wrestle War and that it's high time he gets his title match. After they leave, Funk says the decision on who gets the title match will be made next week.
1032
1033In syndication, we've put together Dutch Mantell & Rip Rogers as a losing tag team and called them The Odd Couple. During World Wide, Scotty the Body tells everyone that the International Win a Dream Date with Brian Pillman contest is going great, but he reminds everyone that deaf mutes only are eligible and that the winner needs to be able to read sign language so she and Brian can carry on conversations.
1034
1035When the 5/4 show opens, Ross announces that early in the program Funk will be out to announce who gets the world title match. He also announces Scott Steiner vs. Arn Anderson for the U.S. title. Up Close and Personal is with Jim Cornette, doing an interview at Denny's. They talk about the PPV match against Hase & Sasaki for the IWGP tag team titles. Cornette said that he doesn't like his guys to have to wrestle Hase & Sasaki again because he's heard that they eat raw fish and to him that means they're basically cannibalistic. They show a tape of the Thunder Riger vs. Negro Casas match to build up the rematch on the PPV.
1036
1037Funk comes out, joined by Watts, Taylor, Landel and Windham. Paul E. says that the world has been waiting all week for the announcement of who gets the title shot in St. Pete. Funk says the NWA board has closely examined both Windham and Taylor's claim to be No. 1 contenders and other claims as well, and our decision is the man who gets the title shot will be...Sting! Everyone starts screaming at once how the NWA is biased as they go to a break.
1038
1039Later in the show Ross and Paul E. are joined by Sting who is congratulated on his title shot at the PPV. Sting says that you have to focus on one goal at a time and his goal right now is to teach Lex Luger a lesson. He demands a match with Luger at the PPV. "I won't wrestle the Great Muta. Yes, I'd like another crack at the world title. I want it so bad I can taste it, but first things first and the first thing is Lex Luger. The only way I'll wrestle in St. Pete is against Lex Luger and if the NWA doesn't like it, they can shove it! At this point Funk comes out and tells Sting that the decision has been made and the match has been signed for him against Muta for the title at the PPV. Sting says that "I think I've made my position clear. I want Luger or nobody." Funk says Luger has already been signed to a match and he steadfastly refused to sign a match with Sting and he feels Sting is making a big mistake because world title matches don't come along very often and he should focus on winning the title, because then Lex Luger will be forced to deal with him as champion. Sting says he's made his position clear and he doesn't care what anyone thinks and tells Funk that unless he makes the match with Luger, he won't be wrestling in St. Pete. Everyone is shocked and Funk says the NWA is at a loss. Luger already has a match and.....then Windham & Landel run out. The credits start rolling with Landel saying, "BW, BW, if Sting isn't going to take the title shot, it's got to go to BW. He's earned it, brother." Funk looks at Sting, "I only want Luger, I've made my decision." Funk says that Windham was the alternate choice and that he's getting the title shot.
1040
1041The 5/11 show opens with them pushing the PPV heavy. Ross also announces that this is the week that Bill Watts' Mexican sensation will debut and also debuting is a new tag team called The Northern Lights from Point Barrow, Alaska, who have signed an open contract for the PPV and will wrestle Brad Watts & Tim Horner. Also they'll air a Windham & Landel workout video for their match with Muta. He also says that Terry Funk was injured in a match in Japan and that during the week Ric Flair & Ricky Steamboat were informed of this and they've said they've got a third man picked to join them at the PPV but say his identity will be kept a secret until match time.
1042
1043After Brad Watts & Tim Horner win a squash, Watts comes out and says it's time to debut his Mexican sensation. Bill talks about how everyone is familiar with the legendary Mil Mascaras and how he's bringing into the UWF his first cousin, "Moondog Mascaras." At that point a masked man comes out and the camera zooms in showing a toothless smile. Ross says there's something about this situation and this guy that seems familiar but he can't put his finger on it. Ross says that something tells him that this guy isn't even from Mexico but Watts tells him it's nonsense because Mil Mascaras is Mexican right? Ross agrees. So his cousin must be Mexican, right? The masked man goes into the ring and starts pounding on the jobber, who grabs a headlock, and somehow the mask comes off right away revealing Cactus Jack. Ross is outraged about the fraud and said he new all along that Watts is such a bigot he'd never let anyone from a foreign country join his group. After the match during another interview, Watts starts talking about Moondog Mascaras and Ross interrupts and tells him that everyone knows it's Cactus Jack. "His real name is Moondog Mascaras," Watts said. "When
1044he first started wrestling, he didn't want to capitalize on his famous family name. He wanted to earn his reputation on his own, like a man, and even pretended to be an American." Ross responds, "Yes, and I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Mascaras thought long and hard about naming their son Moondog. "I realize you don't know anything about foreign culture, but I'll have you know that in Mexico, Moondog is an old and very respected first name. It means, `the burritos are burning,'" as Watts and Cactus start laughing hysterically. Cactus then goes, "Buenos Dios Caballero Bill." Watts goes, "See, I told you he was a Mexican." They go to a break but before they do, Ross asks Watts to stay for the next match to see the debut of Alaska's Pride and Joy, the Northern Lights.
1045
1046Two masked men come out as Watts is joined by Brad & Tim, who are scouting their mysterious opponents. The Lights start doing some hot moves and Bill starts going, "You guys think you pulled out some ringers, well, my son and his best friend can beat any ringers you guys bring in." After a few more moves Brad goes, "Dad! It's the damn Canadians. They're back! I thought we had that all taken care of." Bill goes nuts. "Ross, it's those Canadians. They're banned from the United States!" At that point the Northern Lights score a win and they go to a commercial.
1047
1048THE READERS PAGES
1049
1050Kenneth Pulvidente of 4 Edan Ct., Amityville, NY 11701 is looking for AWA action figures of Boris Zhukov, Nord the Barbarian, Adnan Al-Kaissey and Carlitos Colon and is also looking for a regular supplier of tapes from Portland and Puerto Rico.
1051
1052Mike Rogers of 2740 SE Lewellyn, Troutdale, OR 97060 puts out the monthly Ring Around the Northwest newsletter for 50 cents per issue and also has computerized results from many areas from the past. Send him a SASE for more info.
1053
1054John Hoven of 859 W. Arrow Highway, San Dimas, CA 91773 is looking for a tape of the 3/21 and 3/30 Tokyo Dome shows and the 4/1 Kobe show.
1055
1056Terry Dart of 21 Upper Ave., London, ONT N6H 2L5 Canada is looking to buy a copy of BrunoSammartino's autobiography, the "Rumble by the River" videotape and The Best of Bruiser Brody videotape.
1057
1058Paul Partyka of 6226 S. Meade, Chicago, IL 60638 is looking for a tape of the movie "Caged Men," tapes of Bruiser Brody in Puerto Rico and board games with past/present wrestlers.
1059
1060Joe Pomar of 64 Gibson, Buffalo, NY 14206 is looking for a copy of WrestleWar '91 and will trade anything in his collection for it.
1061
1062Vincent Bonanno of P.O. Box 191, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013 wants to buy or trade for copies of the Superstar Pro Wrestling game deluxe edition and Supersets 86 and 87.
1063
1064Bill Jacobs of 461 Maple St. #C, Manchester, NH 03104 is looking for tapes of Mexican and Japanese wrestling and also tapes of the Masked Superstar and Bob Backlund's title defenses.
1065
1066Roland Nadeau of 305-383-1564 is looking to get a hold of Paul Spiegel for information on his wrestling convention.
1067
1068William Perkins of 130 South Ave., Marietta, GA 30060 has an original 1949 movie poster of "Alias the Champ" with Gorgeous George for sale in mint condition.
1069
1070Bobby Yates of 1971-D Lakeview Rd., Asheboro, NC 27203 is looking for a tape of the January 5, 1991 All Japan womens show in Tokyo and a copy of the movie "Heavy Metal.".
1071
1072WRESTLEMANIA
1073
1074I thought Wrestlemania wasn't too bad but I think you and everyone else overrated the Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage match. The finish of the match was disgraceful. The after-match with Elizabeth was great but it took too long to develop. The Rockers really showed how good they were by carrying Haku & Barbarian to a good match. Hogan and Slaughter was just an average match wrestled in very slow motion.
1075I watched six matches of Jushin Riger and I definitely think you and your so-called experts highly overrate him. First off, he doesn't do much basic wrestling. Okay, he does great high spots, but most of the time he hurts himself or his opponent which is why he isn't as great as you say. Maybe you should get some wrestlers to help with your next yearbook.
1076
1077Ken Dunlop
1078
1079Sydney, Australia
1080
1081WCW
1082
1083
1084One of the biggest upsets in recent pro wrestling history took place this past Tuesday night at Tokyo's Sumo Hall when Norio Honaga, a long-time preliminary wrestler, captured the IWGP junior heavyweight title by winning the tournament that was going on the previous two weeks. Originally Jushin Liger was going to defend the title against the tournament winner at Sumo Hall, but instead Liger vacated the title and the top two finishers in the tournament would decide the vacant title on Tuesday. Well, as the round-robin tournament worked out, four wrestlers (Liger, Honaga, Pegasus Kid and Negro Casas) tied with 4-2 records. At Sumo Hall, Honaga, who originally figured to be the doormat of the tournament, pinned Pegasus Kid while Liger pinned Casas. This set up the unique finale, with the junior heavyweight title match being the final match on the card and billed as the card's main event for the first time in recent memory and ending with the upset with Honaga pinning Liger in 22 minutes using Jaguar Yokota's version of the german suplex to win. The upset victory got one of the biggest pops in recent memory on a New Japan big show. The reason for this apparently strange booking decision by Riki Choshu (New Japan booker) appears to be two-fold. First, Choshu, with results like this and other "surprise" finishes on television, is attempting to educate fans into believing that on any given night, any wrestler can beat any other wrestler. This gives a booker so many more options and so much more longevity, plus makes every near fall mean something if the fan himself truly can't figure out for certain which man will win. It's the opposite in All Japan, which generally has better quality main events on its cards now, however, generally one can figure out almost for certain several wrestlers who aren't going to do the job and usually the guy who will and even for who and with what hold. Secondly, among the boys, this gives the booker a lot of personal popularity. As one person close to that business remarked to me, Honaga, who has been a doormat most of his career, will always remember the night he was in the main event, won the title and got the biggest pop of his career and he'll always thank Choshu for it. If every prelim guys gets one big chance, they'll probably be more loyal to Choshu as a booker and thus his longevity is more secure from both sides. The wrestlers are thankful because anyone can get a break. The booker has more options in putting together major shows because fans believe that basically anyone given the opportunity has a shot at winning.
1085
1086NEW JAPAN
1087
1088
1089Not a lot of news this week because in Japan this past week is known as Golden Week, which is a week-long business holiday so the only company that ran shows during the week was FMW.
1090
1091New Japan finished its tour on 4/30 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo before a crowd announced as a sellout 11,500 (realistic crowd was slightly less than that because there were empty seats in the upper deck) for a card designed to benefit former Japanese pro wrestling star Toyonobori who is broke and very ill. Honaga pinned Liger in the main event to win the vacant IWGP junior heavyweight title, also Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 20 minutes when Fujinami made Hase submit with a figure-four leg lock (this is not a coincidence that Fujinami used Ric Flair's finisher on the last big show before he goes to the United States), Scott Norton pinned Keiji Muto in nine minutes with a power-slam in a pretty bad match, Liger pinned Negro Casas (disappointing because Liger was saving everything for the main event and Casas didn't do a lot either), Honaga pinned Pegasus Kid, Tony Halme (doing a boxing gimmick) knocked out Seiji Aoyagi (karate) in the third round of a mixed match, Masa Saito & Masa Chono beat Kokina & Samu, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Super Strong Machine beat Shiro Koshinaka & Kuniaki Kobayashi & Takayuki Iizuka and Osamu Kido pinned Kengo Kimura in the opener.
1092
1093
10944/27 results saw Hase & Sasaki beat Kokina & Samu, Fujinami & Kido beat Chono & Kobayashi, Owen Hart pinned David Finlay and Pegasus Kid pinned Jushin Liger. 4/28 saw Liger pin Owen Hart with a top rope DDT (Hart was legitimately injured with this move and had to miss the Sumo Hall card), Pegasus Kid pinned Casas, Hase & Sasaki beat Machine & Hiro Saito and Chono pinned Kido.
1095
1096Special show on 5/6 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo drew a full house of 2,000 with Hase pinning Liger on top plus Chono beat Kobyashi with the STF and Muto pinned Iizuka.
1097
1098Iizuka is going to England to form a tag team with Akira Nogami.
1099
1100It's interesting to note that New Japan has Budokan Hall booked on 6/12, which is the same night at the Clash from Knoxville, so they'll have to do a big show without Muto, Hase and Sasaki most likely. Actually there is some talk that Hase will team with Chono in Knoxville against the Steiners because Sasaki has working visa problems.
1101
1102Shinya Hashimoto returned from Red China where his knee was given acupuncture treatment because it really is so bad. Hashimoto was also in Minnesota and there were magazine shots of him giving a note to Jesse Ventura from Antonio Inoki with the idea being Inoki wants to open up a political relationship with Ventura. Kind of ridiculous. But Hashimoto may be in Tampa to see SuperBrawl, and Masa Saito & Riki Choshu will both be going to Tampa for the show.
1103
1104OTHER JAPAN NEWS
1105
11064/20 NEW JAPAN
1107
1108
11091. Jushin Liger pinned Akira Nogami from the Tokyo Dome ***1/2; Before the second match they showed a couple of angles. Early in the card, Masanobu Kurisu was DQ'd against Hiro Saito for kicking him low and beating on him. Later Saito, Machine, Goto and Norio Honaga all jumped Kurisu with a four-on-one and destroyed him and left him bloody. Kurisu was said to be "injured" and missed the rest of the tour; 2. Keiji Muto & Masa Chono beat Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto. Heels dominated this fast-paced match but Chono got the submission on Goto with the STF. ***1/4; 3. Liger pinned David Finlay in 11 minutes with a DDT off the top rope. Finlay kicked out of a lot of hot moves. He moved well but didn't do anything spectacular. ***1/4; 4. Scott Norton & Kokina & Samu beat Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami & Masa Saito in 9:17 when Norton gave Saito a lariat and Kokina pinned him with a big splash. It was better than decent, but nothing special. **1/2
1110
1111USWA
1112
1113HERE AND THERE
1114
1115
1116George Michael Sports Machine on NBC-TV recently aired some clips of Jushin Liger.
1117
1118Madusa Miceli sang the national anthem during a U.S. vs. Japan rugby game held in Minnesota.
1119
1120The Pit Bulldogs are headed to New Japan in July.
1121
1122Next big All Japan women's show is 5/26 at Korakuen Hall with Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga vs. Akira Hokuto & Sake Hasegawa (getting her first chance at a main event), Yumiko Hotta vs. Toshiyo Yamada, Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota, Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi & Miori Kamiya vs. Suzuka Minami & Cynthia Moreno & Takako Inoue and Kyoko Inoue & Debbie Malenko vs. Esther Moreno & Mariko Yoshida.
1123
1124Next is Stan Hansen going to a double count out with Ron Simmons in 8:00. Then Thunder Riger keeps the lightheavyweight title beating Negro Casas in 14:00. Then Lex Luger vs. Rick Steiner goes 10:00. Sting comes to ringside at the finish. The finish has Luger getting Steiner up for the torture rack but Sting grabs Luger's leg with the ref out of position and Luger trips with Steiner on top for the pin.
1125
1126Top matches have been announced for the Fujinami 20th anniversary show on 5/31 at Osaka Castle Hall. Main event has Fujinami defending the IWGP title against Masa Chono, Steiner brothers vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP tag team title, Norio Honaga vs. Jushin Liger for the IWGP jr. title, Keiji Muto & Riki Choshu vs. TNT & Bam Bam Bigelow, Big Van Vader vs. Tony Halme in a wrestler vs. boxer match and Shinya Hashimoto vs. Randy Thornton (billed as pro wrestler vs. football player as Thornton is being billed as having played from 1987-90 in the NFL with the Broncos and Giants). In addition, Steve Keirn is being flown in as a guest. Keirn had three relatively famous title vs. title matches with Fujinami in 1980 when Keirn was NWA junior heavyweight champion and Fujinami was WWF junior heavyweight champion and apparently they're going to air one of those matches on the big screen at the show and then Keirn will appear live in the ring.
1127
1128The Liger vs. Hase match on 5/6 went 28 minutes and was said to be a fantastic match.
1129
1130Speaking of Liger, he's going to tour Mexico to get himself more familiar with Lucha Libre style and also to see if he can find himself some new opponents.
1131
1132NEW JAPAN, 4/27
1133
1134
11351. Negro Casas pinned Liger in less than seven minutes. Casas worked stiff and strong and carried this to a very good match, even though there is a style clash between the two. Really Liger didn't do a lot here, although he did do a dive over the top rope with a mid-air flip outside the ring. Casas did two unique moves. The first was climbing to the top rope while holding a chair, then leaping off outside the ring onto Liger and crashing the chair on his head. He then jumped into the ring and did a dive through the ropes but Liger picked up the chair and Casas dove headfirst into the chair. Casas pinned Liger pouncing on him when Liger tried a monkey flip. ***3/4; 2. El Gigante beat Curtis Hughes from the Tokyo Dome *; 3. Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka beat Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito when Fujinami pinned Saito after the enzuigiri. A fast paced good match but they also missed some spots. Fujinami needs to retire his dropkick, which was once the best in the business but now is close to being the worst. He can barely get off the ground now. ***1/4; 4. Norton & Kokina & Samu beat Choshu & Muto & Chono in a fast-paced good match. Kokina works well for his size but needs to tag in and out because he doesn't have a lot of stamina. I think the guys goes a legit 490 pounds and can do some things at that size that are amazing. Muto and Norton tried to work some hot spots to set up their 4/30 match and Norton even juiced after Muto posted him. Norton wound up pinning Choshu with a powerslam. ***
1136Note: The All Japan television show that aired on 4/28 (Misawa vs. Tsuruta from Budokan) drew a 6.3 rating from 12:30 to 1:30 a.m. on Sunday night/Monday morning which is probably close to a 70 share of the audience in that time period.
1137
1138New Japan drew 5.0 ratings on both 4/27 and 5/4 while All Japan on 5/5 drew a 4.6 with Hansen & Spivey vs. Gordy & Williams.
1139
1140USWA
1141
1142All Japan women drew 1,100 on 5/18 in Kumamoto as Akira Hokuto beat Mima Shimoda and Aja Kong & Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi beat Sake Hasegawa & Yumiko Hotta & Manami Toyota and 1,550 on 5/16 in Mayazaki as Hotta went to a 30 minute draw with Toshiyo Yamada and Bat Yoshinaga & Bull Nakano beat Suzuka Minami & Hokuto.
1143
1144
1145
1146Funk: Bill's back in Oklahoma. He had an airplane business. Bill has always done very well for himself. Bill's a guy who needs to be back in
1147the wrestling business and I really think he will be. He has too much knowledge. Now you talk about a genius and a guy who knows what's he's doing, there's a guy who does. He was filling up the Superdome before anyone else was promoting at that level. He was setting bigger records than even Vince McMahon Sr. was in New York. He has a lot of talent and I think he'll be back in the business in a year or two for sure.
1148
1149Caller: I was watching a tape of wrestling from Japan which included some of your matches and also a wrestler named Jushin Riger. Have you ever wrestled him and what is your assessment of him.
1150
1151Funk: I've never wrestled him because there are two different organizations over there. It's like the old NFL and AFL. Very seldom do guys cross over. Riger is a very valuable piece of talent for the other organization. I think he's phenomenal, just excellent. It's terrific to get a smaller guy like that into the profession. They are just as popular. Sometimes they are even more entertaining because of the amount of moves they can do and their quickness than the heavier guys. I think there should be a lighter weight division and a heavier weight division in the United States. To fulfill what every fan wants out of professional wrestling it's necessary to give them both.
1152
1153WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER May 27, 1991First Class Mail
1154
1155POST OFFICE BOX 1228U.S.Postage Paid
1156
1157CAMPBELL, CA 95009-1228Permit No. 5634
1158
1159San Jose, CA
1160
1161
1162Jushin Liger worked here from 5/9 to 5/19 but apparently didn't work the major buildings in Mexico City against Casas, Blazer or Pegasus Kid.
1163
11641. Jushin Liger pinned Owen Hart in the junior heavyweight tournament. Hart started out doing one great move after another. They went down to the mat to exchange submission holds before picking things up once again with one great spot and move followed by a near fall after another. This match was about as great as one would expect from these two. Hart actually dwarfs Liger since he appears to have him by a good 40 pounds now. Hart went to the top to do a moonsault and Liger got up, jumped to the middle rope and stuck his head under Hart's legs, and dropped him backward with Hart taking an incredible bump. Finish saw the DDT off the top rope by Liger, but this DDT looked lethal and, in fact, Hart was injured with the move. ****1/2; 2. Steiners beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki from the Tokyo Dome ****1/2; 3. Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami & Keiji Muto beat Scott Norton & Samu & Kokina via count out. This match was surprisingly good and had lots of heat. The match was fast-paced from bell-to-bell with everyone working hard, although Samu really carried things for his team even though the focus was on Muto and Norton. All kinds of hot moves. Kokina went up for a slam by Choshu. Samu pulled off the turnbuckle pad and Norton rammed Muto's head into it and he juiced at eight minutes. Norton also dropped Muto groin first on the guard rail outside the ring. Norton juiced as well. It wound up with Norton counted out of the ring. This match was similar to the Road Warriors vs. Tenryu & Hogan match from the Tokyo Dome in that it was a bloody match ending similarly, although this was really the much better of the two. ****
1165
1166All Japan, 5/5
1167
1168UWA
1169
1170
1171Villano III defeated El Signo in two of three falls to win the UWA lightheavyweight title on 5/16 at La Arena Pista Revolucion in Mexico City.
1172
11735/12 at El Toreo in Naucalpan saw Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) & Dos Caras & Enrique Vera win two out of three falls from Canek & The Killer & Fishman. During the second fall, Canek came off the top rope with a crossbody block but Blazer rolled with it and got the pin but while being pinned, Canek pulled off Blazer's mask. After the match was over, Canek challenged Blazer to a mask vs. mask match and Blazer challenged Canek for the UWA title. Also El Texano & Villano IV & V went to a no contest with Pegasus Kid & Baby Face & El Engendro when Villano V and Pegasus removed each others masks simultaneously in the third fall, Silver King & El Cestial & Fantasma beat Black Terry & Shu El Guerrero & Jose Luis Feliciano 2/3 falls, The Ninja Turtles beat Laser & La Flecha & Robin Hood & El Vagabundo and Los Matematicos beat Ricky Boy & Urquides & Lobo Rubio.
1174
11755/13 in Puebla saw Dos Caras & Villano IV & Blazer headlining against Canek & Fishman & Pegasus Kid plus Los Brazos vs. Baby Face & Killer & Negro Navarro, Akiyoshi & Takayama & Samurai vs. Engendro & Scorpio & Scorpio Jr.
1176
11775/16 in Toluca had Blazer & Caras vs. Canek & Pegasus plus Hamada & Akiyoshi & Takayama vs. Baby Face & Scorpio & Scorpio Jr.
1178
11795/15 at El Cortijo Bullring in Mexico City saw Enrique Vera beat The Killer to keep his UWA junior heavyweight title.
1180
11815/14 in Pachuca saw Negro Casas beat Jose Luis Feliciano to keep his UWA world middleweight title.
1182
1183Jushin Liger worked here from 5/9 to 5/19 but apparently didn't work the major buildings in Mexico City against Casas, Blazer or Pegasus Kid.
1184
11855/19 at El Toreo in Naucalpan saw Canek beat Blazer in a two out of three fall mask vs. mask match forcing Blazer to unmask as Owen Hart, Pegasus Kid kept his WWF lightheavyweight title beating Villano V in a match that went more than 40 minutes and was said to be the best match in Mexico City thus far in 1991 by Ovaciones newspaper. Pegasus won the third fall with a superplex off the top rope followed by a dropkick off the top rope. Also Kokina & Blue Panther & Navarro beat Villano I & IV & Aguayo, Samoan Savage & Fatu & Navarro beat Baby Face & Scorpio & Scorpio Jr., Super Raton & Super Pinochio & Fantasma beat Negro Casas & El Hijo del Diablo & Angel de la Muerte via DQ and Los Mohicanos beat Marlin & Gran Apache.
1186
11875/20 in Puebla had Kokina & Fatu & Samoan Savage vs. Canek & Villano I & IV, Hamada & Tinieblas Jr. & Sr. vs. Blue Panther & Face & Dr. Wagner Jr.
1188
1189JAPAN
1190
1191
1192All Japan women ran a big show on 5/26 at Korakuen Hall before a packed house of 2,200. It was said to be the best All Japan women show of the year, which is high praise indeed since their worst show of the year at Korakuen would probably be better than any show of almost any other promotion all year. Main event saw Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga beat Akira Hokuto & Sake Hasegawa three falls to one. Actually three of the four falls lasted less than 30 seconds as a surprise. Hokuto invented a new move called the Northern Lights power bomb, which I'm told is exactly what it sounds like. Also Aja Kong went to a 30 minute draw with Manami Toyota, Toshiyo Yamada pinned Yumiko Hotta, Suzuka Minami & Takako Inoue & Cynthia Moreno beat Mika Takahashi & Bison Kimura & Miori Kamiya and Esther Moreno & Mariko Yoshida beat Kyoko Inoue & Debbie Malenko. The last match was said to be the surprise of the show with Yoshida and Malenko both having their best performances thus far in Tokyo. Yoshida and Hasegawa are going to start getting pushed now.
1193
1194So Baba switched to clean finishes, basically because the fans demanded it. Riki Choshu, who books New Japan, does mainly clean pinfalls, not exclusively like Baba, but he books big upsets (like Honaga beating Liger for the junior heavyweight title) to give the impression that on any given day, anyone can beat anyone. This makes every near fall exciting, because even when one thinks they know who is going to win, they don't know "for sure," and it's that doubt that adds so much to the excitement. In the WWF, the actual "finish" isn't that important, where as in Japan, it's the only thing. Mexico books a lot of programs on the babyface getting humiliated, similar to the beginnings of WWF programs and some WCW programs. But the humilation isn't being locked in a coffin, blinded by cologne in the eyes, or whatever, it's generally getting beaten clean and "losing face." To regain face after a clean loss, the losing face puts up his hair, mask or title, which is what the biggest programs normally come down to.
1195
1196
1197The Group A Battle Royal, which saw eliminations only by pinfall, ended with Conan, Rayo, Black Magic and Mascara Ano 2000 as the survivors. Other results saw Astro Boy & El Guerrero Samurai beat The Northern Invaders via count out in the third fall after both winners had hit dives out of the ring. Samurai did a Liger leap off the top rope with a full mid-air flip and splashing on his foe on the floor. *; Then Misterioso & Volador & Tiburon won two straight falls from El Hijo Del Diablo & Septiembre Negro & Jacque Mate. The second fall saw the rudos counted out after all three did spectacular out of the ring dives. **1/2; Atlantis & Kato Kung Lee & Octagon won two of three falls from Satanico & Brazo de Oro & El Brazo in a pretty good and heated match **1/2; The elimination title Battle Royal (which only went 6:48) **3/4--after the Battle Royal, Mascara Ano 2000 and Perro Aguayo attacked Conan until Rayo made the save and the main event saw Aguayo & Nitron & Blondy win 2/3 falls from Ringo Mendoza & Lizmark & Morgan when Aguayo power bombed Mendoza in the third fall. *. You can imagine how big Nitron looks next to the guys here and he does sell for the little guys, but his timing in his moves are just hideous.
1198
1199Conan replaced Octagon as fan letters volume. Octagon had been dominant in fan letters all 
1200
1201New Japan has the Fujinami anniversary show this coming Saturday night in Osaka with Fujinami vs. Chono for the IWGP title, Honaga vs. Liger for the jr. title and Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki for the tag team title plus Hashimoto vs. Randy Thornton (a football player trained by Brad Rheingans) and Big Van Vader vs. Scott Norton.
1202
12031. Tony Halme knocked out Seiji Aoyagi in a boxer vs. karate match. There was a huge size difference which made it visually look as though Halme could destroy Aoyagi at will. It was interesting and did have heat since fans believe in these mixed matches for some unknown reason. Halme ended up winning via KO in the third round *; 2. Scott Norton pinned Keiji Muto with a powerslam. Muto did all his stuff to make this match okay. Norton has a ways to go, but either Muto is such a good worker that he gave the illusion that Norton is progressing or he really is. Norton is getting the super push and kicked out of the moonsault and broke the octopus hold. When Muto missed a second moonsault, Norton hit the powerslam for the finish. **1/2; 3. Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 20 minutes. Good fast-paced match although Hase and Sasaki were really carrying things against the two legends. Choshu and Fujinami worked over Hase's legs at the end for several minutes trading scorpion deathlocks back-and-forth before Fujinami finally got a submission with the figure four leglock. ***3/4; 4. Norio Honaga won the jr. heavyweight title in the tournament finale beating Jushin Liger. This was Honaga's big night, but he just isn't that good. He did everything he can do, but just isn't of this calibre. Liger still carried it to an excellent match with a lot of heat and near falls at the end. Fans were chanting for Honaga for the upset as the underdog, which is the opposite of U.S. fans in that way. Liger set him up for the DDT off the top rope when Honaga hit a low blow. They then traded several near falls until Honaga won with a Jaguar Yokota version of the German suplex and the place popped like crazy for the surprise finish. ****
1204
12055/12 All Japan
1206
12075/19 All Japan women
1208
1209
12101. Bat Yoshinaga decisioned Akemi Torisu in a 6-round kick boxing match. This was a shoot and Torisu had her nose splattered with blood all over her white karate outfit and all over Yoshinaga's as well. Can't rate as entertainment something that is sport; 2. Takako Inoue won the Japanese title from Kyoko Inoue in 12:07. Only the last few minutes aired. Kyoko has turned into a super worker and carried this match. Takako is being pushed as a new "cute" Noriyo Tateno type. She won with a kneelock submission; 3. Akira Hokuto won the All-Pacific title beating Suzuka Minami, her usual tag team partner in 20:49. Just a super match. They did one unique move after another for near falls which drew great heat. Hokuto did a Liger-like dive off the top rope onto the floor with a mid-air splash. They also invented new types of suplex and DDT maneuvers for near falls. Hokuto won with three straight dropkicks off the top rope, a fourth leap off the top rope which turned into a somersault in mid-air to a leg lariat, then picked Minami up as if she was going to do a vertical suplex, but dropped her on her head sideways like a DDT for the pin. ****1/2; 4. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura kept their world tag titles beating Esther Moren
1211
1212
12135/11 New Japan
1214
1215
12161. Tony Halme knocked out Seiji Aoyagi in a boxer vs. karate match. There was a huge size difference which made it visually look as though Halme could destroy Aoyagi at will. It was interesting and did have heat since fans believe in these mixed matches for some unknown reason. Halme ended up winning via KO in the third round *; 2. Scott Norton pinned Keiji Muto with a powerslam. Muto did all his stuff to make this match okay. Norton has a ways to go, but either Muto is such a good worker that he gave the illusion that Norton is progressing or he really is. Norton is getting the super push and kicked out of the moonsault and broke the octopus hold. When Muto missed a second moonsault, Norton hit the powerslam for the finish. **1/2; 3. Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 20 minutes. Good fast-paced match although Hase and Sasaki were really carrying things against the two legends. Choshu and Fujinami worked over Hase's legs at the end for several minutes trading scorpion deathlocks back-and-forth before Fujinami finally got a submission with the figure four leglock. ***3/4; 4. Norio Honaga won the jr. heavyweight title in the tournament finale beating Jushin Liger. This was Honaga's big night, but he just isn't that good. He did everything he can do, but just isn't of this calibre. Liger still carried it to an excellent match with a lot of heat and near falls at the end. Fans were chanting for Honaga for the upset as the underdog, which is the opposite of U.S. fans in that way. Liger set him up for the DDT off the top rope when Honaga hit a low blow. They then traded several near falls until Honaga won with a Jaguar Yokota version of the German suplex and the place popped like crazy for the surprise finish. ****
1217
1218
1219All Japan women on 6/1 in Isezaki drew 2,100 as Bull Nakano beat Yumiko Hotta and Bison Kimura & Aja Kong beat Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada. . . All Japan women had a TV taping on 6/5 with Nakano & Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto & Mariko Yoshida, Kong & Kimura vs. Toyota & Yamada, Takako Inoue vs. Sake Hasegawa, Debbie Malenko & Miori Kamiya & Mika Takahashi vs. Esther Moreno & Suzuka Minami & Hotta.
1220
1221~~~
1222
1223Steve Keirn & Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido beat Miguelito Perez & Pegasus Kid & Super Strong Machine when Keirn pinned Perez, Masanobu Kurisu & Mystery Partner (who turned out to be Kim Duk aka Tiger Chung Lee) beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto when Duk pinned Goto with a tombstone piledriver, Keiji Muto & Riki Choshu beat Bam Bam Bigelow & TNT when Muto pinned Bigelow with a german suplex in 10:37, Norio Honaga retained the IWGP junior heavyweight title beat Jushin Liger in 17:22 of a bloodbath (although it was a nice "surprise" to give Honaga the belt, it's getting ridiculous because he is an uncharismatic opening match guy), Scott Norton beat Big Van Vader via count out in 10:08 of a match said to be good, Shinya Hashimoto beat Randy Thornton in a martial arts match by submission at 1:08 of the second round (Thornton has only had one or two pro matches and they didn't want to let people see how green he is so they didn't give him anytime), Rick & Scott Steiner kept the IWGP tag team titles beating Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 16:48 when Scott pinned Hase with the Frankensteiner (the hold was a lot more over this time around) in a match said to be as good or better than their match at the Tokyo Dome and the headline match 
1224
12255/29 in Shimizu before 2,740 saw Chono & Masa Saito & Choshu beat TNT & Machine & Vader, Fujinami pinned Perez, Bigelow & Pegasus Kid beat Liger & Muto when Bigelow pinned Liger, Honaga & Saito & Goto beat Hoshino & Koshinaka & Kobayashi and Hase & Sasaki beat Kido & Kimura.
1226
12274/28 in Chiba saw Vader & TNT & Perez beat Fujinami & Kimura & Muto, Choshu & Kido beat Bigelow & Pegasus Kid, Goto beat Chono via DQ, Liger & Hase & Sasaki beat Honaga & Hiro Saito & Machine, Kobayashi & Aoyagi beat Hoshino & Koshinaka.
1228
12294/30 in Gifu saw TNT & Bigelow & Vader beat Fujinami & Muto & Chono when Choshu did the surprising clean job for Bigelow's big splash, Chono made Kimura submit to his new leglock that he was debuting just before his title match with Fujinami, Liger & Koshinaka beat Perez & Pegasus Kid and Saito & Goto & Machine beat Hase & Sasaki & Kobayashi.
1230
1231Japanese Wrestling Journal reported that the 5/6 Liger vs. Hase match, which went 28:07, was a match of the year candidate.
1232
1233
1234
1235Jon Babler of 2102 E. Menlo Blvd., Shorewood, WI 53211 is looking for tapes of Jushin Liger, Atsushi Onita and Joel Goodhart shows.
1236
1237The semifinals and consolation match took place 6/7 at Arena Mexico. Caras beat Nitron (former WCW bodyguard for Woman) in a battle of heels in a match that looked pretty hideous. Caras mainly worked on Nitron's knee with kicks before making his much larger foe submit to a half crab. The other semi was a battle of faces, with Conan beating Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a match that appeared to be similar to a Japanese-style with lots of apparent finishing moves and near falls until Conan attempting a rolling reverse cradle and both guys' shoulders were down but Conan got his up just before the count of three. Rayo then wrestled Nitron in a match to determine the No. 1 contender for the championship when it's decided and Rayo won it quickly via DQ due to outside interference of Canadian Vampire Casanova in a match that looked bad. Rayo bled after being posted. Also on the card, Oro & Plata & Platino beat Guerrero de la Muerte (Warrior of Death) & Septiembre Negro Jr. (Black September, Jr.) & Angel de la Muerte (Angel of Death) in 2/3 falls via count out in the third fall when the heels were counted out after being hit with three dives out of the ring. Oro and Plata did simultaneous Liger-dives over the top rope with mid-air flips. **1/4; Tiburon & Mano Negro & Misterioso beat Herodes & Gran Sheik (Arias Romero) & Sultan Gargola via count out in the third fall when Herodes took a bad bump on the floor and hit his head and was legit KO'd and had to be carried out on a stretcher so the match had to be stopped before going to the planned finish *1/4; Pierroth Jr. & Kung Fu & Satanico beat Dandy & Kato Kung Lee & Mogur via count out in the third fall (yes, it sounds redundant but remember the second match wasn't supposed to have that finish) when Satanico and Kung Fu beat on Lee until he was counted out *3/4 and Lizmark & Sangre Chicana & Octagon beat Fabuloso Blondy (Ken Timbs) & Canadian Vampire Casanova & Mascara Ano 2000 via DQ in the third fall when Blondy hit the ref *1/2.
1238
1239Here are my first half of the year award picks: Wrestler of the year - Jumbo Tsuruta; Most Outstanding - Hiroshi Hase; Best Babyface - Hulk Hogan; Best heel - Aja Kong; Feud of the year - Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa; Tag team of the year - Hase & Kensuke Sasaki; Most Improved - Tsuyoshi Kikuchi; Most Unimproved - Yoshiaki Yatsu; Most Obnoxious - Javier Llanes; Most Charismatic - Hogan; Best Technical - Hase; Best Brawler - Atsushi Onita; Best Flier - Jushin Liger; Most Overrated - Ultimate Warrior; Most Underrated - Kikuchi; Best Promotion - All Japan; Best TV show - All Japan; Match of the year - Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto 1/6 Tokyo; Rookie of the year - Octagoncito; Manager of the year - Paul Bearer; Announcer of the year - Alfonso Morales; Worst announcer - Herb Abrams; Best move - Nakano's somersault legdrop; Most disgusting promotional tactic - WWF exploiting Persian Gulf war; Worst Wrestler - Mongolian Mauler; Worst tag team - Undertakers; Worst TV - World Championship Wrestling; Worst manager - Mr. Fuji; Worst match - Undertakers vs. Nitron & Butch Masters; Worst feud - Hogan vs. Slaughter; Worst on interviews - Warrior; Worst promotion - WCW; Best Booker - Riki Choshu; Best Promoter - Giant Baba; Best Gimmick - Undertaker; Worst Gimmick - Fantasia; Most Embarrassing - IRS.
1240
1241This is the third issue of the current four-issue set. If you've got a (1) on your address label, it means your Observer subscription will expire with next week's issue. Renewal rates remain $6 for four issues, $12 for eight, $24 for 16, $36 for 24, $48 for 32 and $60 for 40 issues within the United States and Canada. Overseas weekly airmail delivery is $9 for each set of four issues through $90 for 40 issues. There are still plenty of copies remaining of the Wrestling Observer Yearbook. The 110-page book includes feature stories on Ric Flair, Jushin Liger, Luna Vachon, Mildred Burke, Mexican wrestling, Japanese wrestling, the annual Observer awards balloting results and a directory of all big-time active wrestlers with real names, ages, years pro, etc. The subscribers price for the book is $12 in the United States and Canada $18 overseas. Subscribers can order as many copies as they wish as that price. Non-subscribers price is $14 domestic and Canada and $20 overseas. All subscription renewals, yearbook orders, letters to the editor, match results, news items and any other correspondence can be sent to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228. Messages can be faxed to the Observer after Noon Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific time) daily at 408-378-6562.
1242
1243EMLL
1244
1245
1246JAPAN
1247
1248
1249The biggest show of the past week took place 6/12 at Budokan Hall where New Japan drew a near sellout of 14,014 fans despite three of its biggest stars (Hase, Chono and Muto) being in the United States at the time. The card was said to be overall just so-so by the standards of what one expects for a major Budokan show. Results saw Riki Choshu beat Kensuke Sasaki via submission with the scorpion in 11:02, Tatsumi Fujinami beat Seiji Aoyagi in a wrestler vs. karate match via submission in 6:04, Shinya Hashimoto won a mixed match with a third round knockout from a Soviet Olympic boxer whose name I don't know, Big Van Vader pinned Scott Norton with a big splash in 12:46 in a battle of stiff clotheslines, Jushin Liger regained IWGP junior heavyweight title pinning Norio Honaga in what was said to be the best match on the card, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito beat Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu via DQ and Osamu Kido & Shiro Koshinaka beat Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kengo Kimura.
1250
1251Upcoming shows are 6/20 in Korakuen Hall (Muto & Hashimoto & Fujinami vs. Canadian Giant & Demolition Ax & Norton, Choshu & Chono vs. Brad Rheingans & Badnews Allen, Hase & Sasaki vs. Machine & Pegasus Kid); 6/26 in Tokuyama (Choshu & Chono vs. Duk & Kurisu, Muto & Fujinami & Hashimoto vs. Allen & Rheingans & Norton and Canadian Giant & Ax vs. Osamu Kido & Masa Saito); 7/1 in Kagoshima (Choshu & Hashimoto vs. Allen & Norton, Fujinami vs. Rheingans, Muto & Chono vs. Giant & Ax); 7/4 in Fukuoka (Chono & Muto vs. Hase & Sasaki with the winners getting the next shot at the Steiners, Hashimoto vs. Norton, Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid in a mask vs. mask match) while the first big show of the following tour on 7/19 in Sapporo (TNT & Great Muta vs. Hase & Sasaki, Vader vs. Hashimoto, Choshu & Fujinami vs. Duk & Kurisu, Bigelow vs. Singh and Mad Bull Busters vs. Liger & Chono).
1252
1253
1254All Japan women had a television taping on 6/18 in Sapporo with Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beating Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue in 2/3 falls which went approximately 30 minutes to keep their tag team titles. In the third fall, Aja pinned Bull to set up either a singles title match or a return hair vs. hair match between the two on 9/2 billed as a Survival match. The next two top matches had Akira Hokuto keep the Pacific title beating Toshiyo Yamada with a Northern Lights 
1255
1256All Japan women will be starting a single elimination Grand Prix tournament on 7/7 which ends on 8/18 at Korakuen Hall to determine the No. 1 contender for Nakano's title. Both the semifinal matches and the final will take place at Korakuen. First round matches have Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda, Takako Inoue vs. Suzuka Minami, Yamada vs. Miori Kamiya, Kyoko Inoue vs. Debbie Malenko, Esther Moreno vs. Mariko Yoshida, Yumiko Hotta vs. Kong, Hokuto vs. Etsuko Mita and Takahashi vs. Kimura. They're bracketed so the winners of the first two matches listed meet each other, etc. down the line all the way to the finals.
1257
1258USWA
1259
1260
1261The new tour opened on 6/20 at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall before a sellout crowd of 2,000 as Keiji Muto & Shinya Hashimoto & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie) & The Canadian Giant (Greg Rollins) & Scott Norton when Hashimioto pinned Ax with a DDT. The Giant appeared to be much taller than Andre the Giant or Shohei Baba, billed at 7-5, and there are those who said he appeared in the ring to be taller than El Gigante who appeared at the Tokyo Dome and some newspapers reported that he was the tallest man ever to wrestle in Japan. Riki Choshu & Masa Chono beat Badnews Allen & Brad Rheingans, Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Pegasus Kid & Super Strong Machine, Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto, Masa Saito pinned Osamu Kido and Kengo Kimura & Kuniaki Kobayashi beat Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka.
1262
12636/21 in Joetsu drew a sellout 3,920 as Allen & Rheingans & Norton beat Choshu & Hashimoto & Masa Saito when Saito was pinned by Norton, Machine & Goto upset Fujinami & Muto when Machine pinned Muto, Canadian Giant & Ax beat Kimura & Kido, Chono & Seiji Aoyagi beat Duk & Kurisu via DQ, Pegasus Kid & Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga beat Liger & Hase & Sasaki when Kid pinned Liger to help set up their mask vs. mask match next month.
1264
12656/23 in Kanagawa drew 2,510 as Norton & Rheingans & Allen beat Choshu & Kimura & Kido, Chono & Fujinami beat Duk & Kurisu via DQ in 27 seconds, Hashimoto & Masa Saito beat Canadian Giant & Ax, Pegasus Kid & Goto & Machine beat Liger & Muto & Black Cat and Hase & Sasaki beat Kobayashi & Koshinaka.
1266
1267
1268. Rockers beat Power & Glory when Michaels pinned Roma with a cross bodyblock. This match had a lot of good spots but it lacked heat. The exaggerated bumps by Janetty while trying to "get the heat" didn't work at all. This would have been a great match in the U.S. by a great U.S. match lacks intensity of a great Japan match because it's stop-and-start as compared to constant. **1/2; 7. Naoki Sano pinned George Takano with a tiger suplex. It started slow, but the high spots were incredible. Sano did a Liger-dive over the top, then a Liger dive off the top rope outside the floor right after another. ***3/4; 8. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Haku beat Genichiro Tenryu & Randy Savage in 16:25 when Haku pinned Tenryu with a stuff power bomb. Tenryu got beaten on for the first 10 minutes before Savage made the hot tag. Savage's offense was cut off quick. Haku did a lot of restholds but the crowd got into the face vs. heel style really big here so there was a lot of heat which made the match seem better than it really was. All-in-all this was a very good card. ***1/2
1269
1270
1271Since the promotion is cutting back to one show per night, probably for the rest of the year, everyone expects that after the Bash tour there will be personnel cuts to be made.
1272
1273Jushin Liger, Hiroshi Hase, Kensuke Sasaki and Keiji Muto will all be headed in for short tours before the end of the year.
1274
1275All Japan Women 6/25 in Niheji drew 1,600 as Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi & Aja Kong beat Takako Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota.
1276
1277NEW JAPAN
1278
1279 
1280
1281A big show was held on 7/4 in Fukuoka before 8,200 fans headlined by Keiji Muto & Masa Chono beating Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in 31:05 when Muto pinned Hase. It's interesting why this match took place--mainly the local promoter pretty well insisted on it because on paper, it looks to be the best possible match-up this promotion can deliver as these teams had a basic match of the year last November at Budokan Hall. In other matches, Scott Norton pinned Shinya Hashimoto with a powerslam, Jushin Liger won a mask vs. mask match pinning Pegasus Kid with a DDT off the top rope and Kid was unmasked as Chris Benoit (I'm sure that comes as a major shock to those of you that follow Japanese wrestling). After the match Liger said that Benoit was his toughest opponent and that he'd like to become tag team partners with him so the two rivals will form a team when Benoit returns to Japan. In other results, Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie) & The Canadian Giant when Fujinami pinned the Giant with an inside cradle, Mitsuo Matsunaga beat Seiji Aoyagi, Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu beat Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine, Brad Rheingans & Badnews Allen beat Masa Saito & Kengo Kimura and Shiro Koshinaka & Kantaro Hoshino & Black Cat beat Osamu Kido & Kuniaki Kobayashi & Takeshi Misawa.
1282
1283Hase & Sasaki go full-time to WCW in September while Liger, Muto and Chono will all work for WCW before the year is up.
1284
1285Sakaguchi is trying to make a deal for Muto to win the WCW title, possibly at Starrcade, and make his first title defense on the 1/4/92 card at the Egg Dome.
1286
12877/1 television tapings in Kagoshima drew a full house of 2,930 as Choshu & Hashimoto beat Allen & Norton, Fujinami beat Rheingans by submission, Muto & Chono beat Giant & Ax, Duk & Kurisu beat Hiro Saito & Machine, Hase & Sasaki beat Norio Honaga & Tatsutoshi Goto, Pegasus Kid pinned Cat and Kido & Kimura & Kobayashi beat Liger & Koshinaka & Hoshino.
1288
12897/2 in Kumamoto drew 3,640 as Fujinami & Muto & Chono beat Allen & Rheingans & Norton, Choshu & Kimura beat Machine & Goto, Duk & Kurisu beat Hase & Sasaki, Masa Saito & Hashimoto beat Giant & Ax and Honaga & Hiro Saito & Pegasus Kid beat Liger & Koshinaka & Cat.
1290
1291TV taping on 6/26 in Tokuyama before 3,450 saw Fujinami & Hashimoto & Muto beat Norton & Allen & Rheingans, Choshu & Chono beat Duk & Kurisu, Machine & Hiro Saito beat Hase & Sasaki, Koshinaka & Kobayashi & Liger beat Honaga & Goto & Pegasus Kid, Ax & Giant beat Masa Saito & Kimura. . .On 6/29, they held a six-man tag with Liger & Chono & Fujinami beating Ax & Giant & Pegasus Kid, with Pegasus doing the job, but the main interest of the match was Liger in with the Giant, who was 20 inches taller.
1292
12937/13 in Kanagawa drew 1,620 as Kyoko Inoue pinned Debbie Malenko and Cynthia Moreno & Kong & Kimura beat Hotta & Toshiyo Yamada & Toyota.
1294
12958/1 at Korakuen Hall has the first singles match in years of Keiji Muto vs. Jushin Liger.
1296
1297There will be a eight-man Round Robin heavyweight tournament to be held on 8/7 in Nagoya and 8/9-10-11 at Tokyo Sumo Hall. Group A consists of Tatsumi Fujinami, Muto, Big Van Vader and Scott Norton and Group B is Masa Chono, Riki Choshu, Bam Bam Bigelow and Shinya Hashimoto. The two men with the most wins within their group meet for the championship on 8/11 at Sumo Hall.
1298
12998/7 in Nagoya has Fujinami vs. Vader, Muto vs. Norton, Choshu vs. Chono, Hashimoto vs. Bigelow, El Gigante & Brian Pillman vs. Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura and Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Nogami & Kuniaki Kobayashi.
1300
1301Nogami will be back full-time in August.
1302
13038/9 in Sumo Hall has Fujinami vs. Muto, Vader vs. Norton, Choshu vs. Bigelow, Hashimoto vs. Chono, Liger vs. Nogami for the junior heavyweight title, Gigante & Masa Saito vs. Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu.
1304
13058/10 in Sumo Hall has Fujinami vs. Norton, Muto vs. Vader, Choshu vs. Hashimoto, Chono vs. Bigelow, Gigante & Liger vs. Super Strong Machine & Norio Honaga and Pillman vs. Nogami.
1306
13078/11 in Sumo Hall has the finals, Liger vs. pillman, Gigante & Masa Saito vs. Black Cat & Kantaro Hoshino & Kobayashi and Nogami vs. Honaga.
1308
1309JAPAN TV RUNDOWN
1310
13116/30, ALL JAPAN WOMEN: 1. Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta & Esther Moreno beat Debbie Malenko & Miori Kamiya & Mika Takahashi in 12:01. Typically fast-paced match which climaxed with all the near falls. Finish had Hotta pin Takahashi with a double arm suplex dropped into a power bomb. ***3/4; 2. Takako Inoue retained her Japanese women's title pinning Sake Hasegawa in 13:36 with a back suplex and pin. It wasn't that smooth at the beginning but they did a lot of nice suplexes toward the end of the match. **3/4; 3. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyoda in 13:29 when Kong pinned Yamada after a splash off the middle rope. Super fast-paced match with one hot move after another from bell-to-bell. ****; 4. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue beat Mariko Yoshida & Akira Hokuto in 15:31 when Nakano pinned 
1312
1313NEW JAPAN
1314
1315
1316This week's big show took place on 7/19 in Sapporo before a full house of 6,350 fans with Big Van Vader pinning Shinya Hashimoto in 18:34 of the main event, Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami beat Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu, Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Great Muta (as a heel) & TNT when Sasaki pinned TNT, Bam Bam Bigelow beat Tiger Jeet Singh via DQ, Jushin Liger & Masa Chono beat Mad Bull Busters (Pit Bulldogs in U.S.), The Samoans (Samu & Kokina) beat Masa Saito & Black Cat and Kuniaki Kobayashi & Shiro Koshinaka beat Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine.
1317
1318Most of the emphasis right now is promoting the early August tour.
1319
13207/20 in Hakodate drew 4,170 as The Samoans & Vader beat Chono & Muto & Choshu when Chono did the job in 8:44, Fujinami & Masa Saito beat TNT & Bigelow, Duk & Singh beat Hashimoto & Kengo Kimura, Hase & Sasaki beat Osamu Kido & Koshinaka, Masashi Aoyagi beat Kurisu via DQ and Norio Honaga & Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito bet Cat & Liger & Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino.
1321
13227/21 in Towada drew 2,620 as Saito & Fujinami & Hashimoto beat Mad Bull Busters & Vader, Chono & Choshu beat TNT & Bigelow when Chono made TNT submit to the STF, Muto & Koshinaka beat Duk & Singh via DQ, Samoans beat Hase & Sasaki.
1323
13247/17 in Aomori drew a sellout 2,150 as Vader & Samoans beat Chono & Muto & Fujinami with Chono doing the job, Duk & Singh beat Kimura & Choshu, TNT & Bigelow beat Masa Saito & Hashimoto, Honaga & Goto & Machine & Hiro Saito beat Hoshino & Liger & Hase & Sasaki.
1325
13267/16 in Asahikawa drew a sellout 2,660 as TNT & Bigelow & Vader beat Muto & Chono & Hashimoto when Muto did the job after a double big splash by Vader & Bigelow, Samoans beat Choshu & Masa Saito when Kokina splashed Saito, Duk & Singh beat Fujinami & Koshinaka, Liger & Hase & Sasaki beat Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine, Kobayashi beat Kurisu via DQ and Kido & Kimura beat Mad Bull Busters.
1327
13287/13 in Abashiri drew 2,540 as Vader & Samoans beat Choshu & Fujinami & Muto when Choshu did a clean job, Chono beat Singh via DQ when Duk interfered, TNT & Bigelow beat Hashimoto & Kimura, Mad Bull Busters beat Koshinaka & Kobayashi, Duk & Kurisu beat Aoyagi & Hase and Saito & Goto & Machine beat Liger & Sasaki & Hoshino.
1329
1330
1331
1332
13337/6, SWS: 1. Apollo Sugawara pinned Road Block with a schoolboy after a missed tackle by Road Block in 8:12. Road Block is pretty bad but he tries hard. *; 2. In the first match of an elimination tournament, Akira Katayama pinned Hiroshi Hatanaka with a german suplex in 11:17 in a hard-fought match. ***; 3. Kennichi Oya pinned Katayama with a back suplex in 6:22. **1/4; 4. Ishinriki pinned Oya in 4:17 with the Ishinriki suplex (similar to a back suplex) *1/4; 5. Kabuki pinned Ishinriki in 3:51 with a backslide. Fast start but the match was too short to build into anything. *1/2; 6. Kabuki pinned Fumihiro Niikura in 6:27 with a backslide. A fast open but too much time on the mat for such a short match. *1/2; 7. Kabuki pinned Tetsuya Yamanaka to win the tournament in 5:18 with a lariat. Kabuki gave the rookie, who showed a lot of promise, most of the match. Because of the size difference (Yamanaka is really skinny) the crowd didn't ever see Kabuki as being in jeopardy even though he was on defense throughout. *1/2; 8. Kendo Nagasaki & Goro Tsurumi & Shogun Wakamatsu beat Don Arakawa & George & Shunji Takano in 18:22 when Tsurumi pinned Arakawa with an elbow drop. Arakawa was beaten on most of the second half of the match. *; 9. Takashi Ishikawa & Tatsumi Kitahara beat Naoki Sano & Masao Orihara in 19:16. The first ten minutes of the match weren't much with Orihara mainly being pounded on. The last half of the match was super, however. Sano did a Liger-dive over the top rope with a full mid-air flip onto Kitahara. Orihara was then beaten on until past the 15 minute mark when he made the hot tag. Sano did one hot move and near fall after the other. Sano knocked Ishikawa out of the ring. Orihara then did a flying body press off the top rope onto the floor on Ishikawa who was halfway to the other side of the ring. Sano then did a dive through the ropes on Ishikawa. Kitahara then did a dive over the ropes onto Sano. As they were all brawling, Orihara climbed the top rope and did the moonsault to the floor onto Ishikawa (this is the move of the year, and it better be this year because he's not going to have a long career doing this move in every match). The crowd naturally was going nuts at this point. Back in the ring, Orihara missed a dropkick off the top rope and Ishikawa made him submit to the scorpion deathlock. 
1334
1335~~~
1336
13377/21 ALL JAPAN WOMEN: 1. Takako Inoue & Manami Toyota & Mariko Yoshida beat Cynthia Moreno & Esther Moreno & Mika Takahashi in 12:58 when Toyota pinned Esther with a Jaguar Yokota version of the german suplex. They were out there doing high spots at a million miles an hour. Esther and Toyota were great but the others are kind of green and it showed at times. The match climaxed with five straight dives out of the ring. ***3/4; 2. Hokuto kept the All Pacific title beating Yamada in 15:56 with a side suplex dropped into a piledriver. Hokuto was incredible, as per usual. However when she jumped off the top rope outside the ring, flipped in mid-air and hit Yamada on the floor with a rolling savate kick, Yamada was hurt and kind of out of it the rest of the way. She went through everything but her eyes were glazed so it was sloppy. In fact, she had to be carried out of the ring when it was over. ***1/2; 3. Kong & Kimura kept the WWWA world tag team titles winning 2/3 falls from Nakano & Kyoko Inoue. They brawled in the seats early with Aja juicing from chair shots. Bull pinned Aja in 11:11 with a somersault legdrop off the top rope. Second fall saw Bull bring a tin can into the ring and destroy it over Aja's head, but she did the no-sell gimmick. Kimura pinned Inoue in 4:01 with a blockbuster suplex. Third fall saw Nakano posted and bloody. Aja then destroyed her with the tin can and she sold it. Nakano missed a legdrop off the top rope and was hit with three karate punches, the third knocking her out of the ring. Kimura and then Kong both dive flying body presses off the top rope outside the ring on Nakano, who barely beat the 20 count back in. She was then pinned in 7:42 after three more karate punches. ****1/2
1338
13397/21 ALL JAPAN: 1. Deaton & Black beat Ace & Kobashi to win the Asian tag team titles. One great move after another here, particularly from Black and Kobashi. Black did a moonsault off the top rope to the floor onto Kobashi, which wasn't quite as pretty as Orihara's, but he's also a lot bigger guy and the move was every bit as suicidal. The crowd went nuts with that move. There were lots of excellent moves, but not as crisply executed as others but the near falls were better than usual. I can't stress how good Kobashi has become in such a short time, and Black, for two years in the business, is unbelievable. The crowd was chanting, "Billy, Billy" so he's got a long career in Japan ahead of him as this result shows. Finally Deaton pinned Ace with a rocket launcher in just over 20:00 with the crowd going nuts for the upset. ****; 2. Kawada made Fuchi submit to a sleeper. This was all exchange of holds on the mat yet the Tokyo crowd was into the submissions so the match actually had super heat. It was very different from what you'd expect from a Kawada match, but in its way it was great. Fuchi really did lot of neat shoot holds. ***; 3. Gordy & Williams & Rude beat Tsuruta & Taue & Inoue when Williams pinned Inoue with a powerslam. Good match, but not nearly on the level of most of the six-man main events from this group. ***1/4
1340
1341GLOBAL
1342
1343
1344The All Japan Grand Prix tournament for the world title shot at Bull Nakano will have Toyota vs. Suzuka Minami on 7/31, Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue on 8/2 and Yoshida vs. Kong on 7/30 and Hokuto vs. Bat Yoshinaga on 8/2. The semifinals and finals take place 8/18 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
1345
1346All Japan women drew 2,500 on 7/26 in Ageo as Bull Nakano beat Mariko Yoshida and Aja Kong & Bison Kimura beat Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota.
1347
1348BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Yoshihiro Asai. This is getting ridiculous with all these Japanese names, but then again, it's just a measure of the state of the wrestling business in the United States. Some may pick Jushin Liger or Naoki Sano or Owen Hart, but Asai seems to have a wider variety of different flying maneuvers, and since he's at a lighter bodyweight (175 pounds or so), he looks more fluid and graceful executing them.
1349
1350This is the first issue of the current four-issue set. This means if you have a (1) on your current address label that your Observer subscription will expire in three weeks. Renewal rates remain $6 for each set of four issues, $12 for eight, $24 for 16, $36 for 24, $48 for 36 up through $60 for 40 issues within the United States and Canada. Overseas rates for weekly airmail delivery remain $9 for each set of four issues through $90 for 40 issues. Copies of the 110-page Wrestling Observer yearbook are still available. The book includes a rundown on the top news stories of last year, the 1990 Observer readers awards, a listing of all title changes during the year, a rundown on all major cards of the year, and feature stories on Mildred Burke (by Frank Deford), Ric Flair, Lucha Libre, three articles on the wrestling press, Jushin Liger, Luna Vachon, Wrestling in Japan, Cactus Jack and a listing of all major active wrestlers with their real names, height, weight, ages, years pro and hometown. Copies are $12 within the United States and Canada and $20 overseas. All subscriptions, book orders, along with news items, results of live shows, letters to the editor and any other correspondence should be sent to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228. Fax messages can be sent to the Observer after Noon Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific) daily at 408-378-6562.
1351
1352EMLL
1353
1354
1355Fantasma; 5. Rambo; 6. El Egipicio; 7. Angel Blanco Jr; 8. Hurricane Castillo Jr; 9. Naoki Sano; 10. Tinieblas Jr.; LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (Villano III champion): 1. Owen Hart; 2. Pegasus Kid; 3. Brazo de Oro; 4. Signo; 5. Villano V; 6. Villano IV; 7. Texano; 8. El Brazo; 9. Jushin Liger; 10. Villano I; JUNIOR LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (Aguayo champion): 1. Silver King; 2. Solar I; 3. Blue Panther; 4. Mascara Sagrada; 5. Indomito; 6. Engendro; 7. La Fiera; 8. Hamada; 9. Kato Kung Lee II; 10. Feliciano; MIDDLEWEIGHT (Casas champion): 1. Yoshihiro Asai; 2. Blue Demon Jr; 3. Octagon; 4. Super Raton; 5. Halcon 78; 6. Falcon; 7. Charles Jr.; 8. Angel Azteca; 9. Eddie Guerrero; 10. Amigo Ultra; WELTERWEIGHT (Santo champion): 1. Ruben Garcia; 2. Black Terry; 3. El Hijo del Diablo; 4. Guerrera; 5. Espanto Jr; 6. Ramirez; 7. Sama; 8. Canelo Casas; 9. Zeus; 10. Volador; TAG TEAMS (Aguayo & Hamada champions): 1. Castillo & Perez; 2. Texano & Silver King; 3. Brazo de Oro & Plata; 4. Samoan Swat Team; 5. Signo & Black Power; TRIOS (Villanos champions): 1. Perez & Castillo & Gigante Guerrero; 2. Canek & Killer & Fishman; 3. Fatu & Samoan Savage & Kokina; 4. Brazos; 5. Sagrada & Octagon & Atlantis.
1356
1357ALL JAPAN
1358
1359Television taping on 7/24 in Ueda drew a sellout 3,700 as Riki Choshu & Keiji Muto & Shinya Hashimoto & Masa Chono & Tatsumi Fujinami won 2/3 falls from TNT & The Samoans (Kokina & Samu) & Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow when Hashimoto pinned Samu in the third fall plus Kim Duk & Tiger Jeet Singh beat Tatsutoshi Goto & Super Strong Machine, Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki beat Mad Bull Busters (American Pit Bulldogs), Shiro Koshinaka beat Masanobu Kurisu via DQ, Jushin Liger & Kuniaki Kobayashi (in his hometown getting a huge reaction) beat Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga and Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura beat Masashi Aoyagi & Masa Saito.
1360
13617/26 in Ishikawa drew 3,580 as Bigelow & Vader beat Hashimoto & Fujinami when Bigelow pinned Fujinami in 9:55, Singh beat Choshu via DQ, Hase & Sasaki beat Bull Buster Rex & TNT, Muto & Chono beat The Samoans, Hiro Saito & Machine beat Duk & Kurisu and Goto & Honaga beat Kantaro Hoshino & Liger.
1362
13637/23 in Fukushima drew 3,150 as Choshu & Fujinami & Hashimoto beat Samoans & Vader, Bigelow & TNT beat Hase & Sasaki, Hiro Saito & Goto & Machine beat Duk & Singh & Kurisu, Muto & Chono beat Kido & Kimura, Liger & Koshinaka beat Mad Bull Busters and Honaga pinned Hoshino.
1364
13657/25 in Tokyo drew 2,450 Fujinami & Choshu & Hashimoto beat TNT & Bigelow & Vader, Muto beat Singh via DQ, Duk & Kurisu beat Hiro Saito & Machine, Liger & Chono & Masa Saito beat Rex & Samoans and Hase & Sasaki beat Koshinaka & Kuniaki Kobayashi.
1366
1367OTHER JAPAN NEWS
1368
1369Bob Magee
1370Cherry Hill, New Jersey
1371
1372Sunday's Bash was the most embarrassing PPV wrestling show of all-time. Nobody fell in the scaffold match. There was no woman in the mixed tag team match. No blood in cage and chain matches, and no champion in a world title match. What are we supposed to believe in this world when we are told in the same week that Hulk Hogan never took steroids except for healing an injury and that WCW is a competently run company.
1373
1374Ric Flair leaving WCW may be the best thing to happen to wrestling since 1983, or at least since Victor Rivera's retirement. Nothing the WWF will do with him can be any worse than what WCW has done. But firing Flair without having him drop the title did unbelievable damage. The NWA title was the foundation of the promotion and they've destroyed all respect for it.
1375
1376I guess it's okay to jump on Scott Hudson now that he's not just a fan. Okay, Billy Black has wins over Kenta Kobashi, Naoki Sano and Jushin Liger? I must have missed that tape, Scott. All the hype in the world is okay, but leave the lying to Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. You've got the job but that doesn't mean you have to give up your credibility.
1377
1378Actually I've enjoyed the first two weeks of the Global show. Pedicino seems to be building a base of talent. Later he needs to bring in guys who can be pushed big-time and keep the ones who make an impression at the beginning.
1379
1380Steve Yohe
1381
1382Alhambra, California
1383
1384New Japan ran a special show on 8/1 in Shimonoseki, which is Memorial Day in Japan, with free admission on the beach and drew an estimated 20,000 fans to see Jushin Liger win a 12 man Battle Royal by pinning Hiroshi Hase in 19:56 and the first singles meeting in many years between Keiji Muto and Liger ended with Muto winning plus Shiro Koshinaka & Masa Chono beat Hase & Kensuke Sasaki.
1385
1386
1387HERE AND THERE
1388
1389Complete results from Joel Goodhart's indie show on 8/3 at Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia before 562 fans saw The Sandman beat Rockin Rebel 3/4*, 
1390
1391
1392Complete results from Joel Goodhart's indie show on 8/3 at Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia before 562 fans saw The Sandman beat Rockin Rebel 3/4*, Cactus Jack beat Eddie Gilbert in an explosive match ****1/2, Luna Vachon beat Madusa Miceli via DQ in a match where Luna juiced **3/4, Gilbert beat Jack in a stretcher match *****, Crybaby Waldo won a handicap match DUD, Austin Idol DDQ Buddy Landel in a match which was strictly a brawl all over the building using all kinds of furniture as weapons ****, The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) beat Stan Lane & Jim Cornette when Fulton pinned Cornette when Cornette's attempt to throw powder backfired ***1/2, D.C. Drake & Johnny Hot Body & Larry Winters won an elimination tag team match from J.T. Smith & Tony Stetson & C.N. Redd that lasted 35 minutes and seemed like it would never end DUD (all the TWA titles were at stake here so when Smith beat Drake to win the second fall, Smith became the new TWA champion), and Jack DDQ Gilbert in a cage match ***1/2. Goodhart announced for 9/21 the insinuation of a Ric Flair-Terry Funk main event which seems to be unlikely, Madusa vs. Luna in a hair vs. hair match, Eddie & Doug Gilbert vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Jack (not a definite but it seemed like that it what the cage match set up), The Sheik vs. Abdullah the Butcher in a barbed wire match and Owen Hart vs. Takayuki Iizuka. Goodhart also announced that Keiji Muto and Jushin Liger would be working for him before the year is out, but I'm pretty skeptical about that since New Japan has a working relationship with WCW and is about to send Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in full-time and Muto and Liger in for brief tours before the year is over.
1393
1394THE READERS PAGES
1395
1396Ray Baka of P.O. Box 19420, Cleveland, OH 44119 would like to buy Japanese wrestling t-shirts, particularly the Bruiser Brody t-shirt in which the proceeds were used for Brody's son's college fund.
1397
1398Mark Vitek of 3008 S. Union Ave., Chicago, IL 60616 would like to purchase videotapes of Jushin Liger.
1399
1400
1401If there was a downside of the week, it was the reaction to the returning Akira Nogami. Nogami captured the IWGP world junior heavyweight championship on the 8/9 show beating Jushin Liger in 17:16, but the crowd reaction wasn't favorable. It was Nogami's first match in Japan since losing to Liger at the Tokyo Dome show in March. But fans were disappointed that he didn't show any new moves, and also seemingly have caught on to the gimmick of Liger dropping the title in order to regain it. When it was with Naoki Sano, it was the first time and Sano was awesome and they had some of the best matches of the decade. With Pegasus Kid the situation was similar, while with Norio Honaga it was such an upset that the place popped big and Honaga became a cult hero in Tokyo. But it was too soon (the Honaga angle was in April) to try and repeat the Honaga angle with another wrestler fans didn't take as a serious world title contender and it didn't work. When Nogami kept the title the next night against Brian Pillman, the crowd heat wasn't there, while Nogami was heavily booed on the 8/11 show against Honaga, and even did the job for Honaga in a non-title match.
1402
1403NEW JAPAN
1404
1405
1406The complete big money tour began on 8/7 in Nagoya before a full house of 11,000 fans as Kim Duk & Masanobu Kurisu beat Tatsutoshi Goto & Norio Honaga, Hiro Saito & Super Strong Machine beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki when Machine pinned Hase, Masashi Aoyagi knocked out Mitsuhiro Matsunaga in a match with double juice which ended with both men shaking hands and agreeing to form a tag team (Matsunaga is a legitimate protege of Aoyagi, who is from Nagoya), Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka beat Kuniaki Kobayashi & Akira Nogami, El Gigante & Brian Pillman beat Osamu Kido & Kengo Kimura and then in tournament matches, Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Big Van Vader with a backslide in 12:14, Masa Chono beat Riki Choshu via submission with the STF in 14:17, Scott Norton pinned Keiji Muto with a powerslam in 9:59 and Shinya Hashimoto pinned Bam Bam Bigelow with a DDT in 10:00.
1407
14088/9 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo before 11,500 saw Honaga & Goto & Machine & Hiro Saito beat Kobayashi & Kido & Kimura & Koshinaka, Hase & Sasaki beat Pillman & Black Cat, Gigante & Masa Saito beat Duk & Kurisu when Gigante beat Kurisu with the claw, Nogami pinned Liger in 17:16 to win the IWGP jr. title and in tournament matches, Bigelow pinned Choshu in 10:10 after a series of DDT's, Muto pinned Fujinami in 13:56, Hashimoto and Chono went to a 30:00 draw and Vader beat Norton via count out in 10:53. The fact New Japan was able to sellout this show in advance was doubly impressive considering it was the first night of the three-night run (and fans knew ahead of time that the following two nights, in particular the final night, was going to have the biggest matches) and also because SWS was running a big show the same night at the Yokohama Arena and free tickets are very easy to come by on SWS shows.
1409
14108/10 at Sumo Hall before 11,500 saw Duk & Kurisu beat Hiro Saito & Goto, Hase & Sasaki beat Kido & Kimura, Nogami pinned Pillman with a german suplex, Gigante & Liger (team of the tallest guy in wrestling and the shortest superstar in wrestling) beat Honaga & Machine when Gigante put the claw on Honaga and then in the tournament, Chono made Bigelow submit with the octopus hold (mangigatamae) in 12:38, Fujinami went to a double count out with Norton in 7:56, Hashimoto pinned Choshu with the dramatic finish in 7:50 in a match Hashimoto needed a clean win in to tie Chono and force a playoff to get into the final the next night and Muto pinned Vader in 13:54 to determine who would advance into the final.
1411
1412After the round-robin group phase of the tournament, Group A final standings saw Muto win the group with a 2-1 record, Norton and Fujinami were both 1-1-1 and Vader was 1-2. Group B final standings saw Chono and Hashimoto tie for first place with 2-0-1 records forcing a sudden death playoff on 8/11 since the tie-breaking criteria, the result of their match, was no help since they worked a 30 minute draw, Bigelow with a 1-2 and Choshu with an 0-3.
1413
1414Final show on 8/11 at Sumo Hall before 11,500 saw Hiro Saito & Machine beat Duk & Kurisu, Masa Saito & Gigante beat Black Cat & Kantaro Hoshino & Kobayashi when Gigante put the claw on Cat, in the Group B championship match, Chono made Hashimoto submit in the middle to the STF in 15:50, Liger pinned Pillman with a diving head-butt off the top rope in 13:53 in a match described as good but not as good as you would think, Honaga pinned Nogami in a non-title match in 11:06, Norton & Bigelow & Vader beat Hase & Sasaki & Fujinami in 14:28 when Bigelow pinned Sasaki and the championship match saw Chono pin Muto to win the tournament.
1415
1416For you video buffs, I believe the four tournament matches on 8/7, 8/9 and 8/10 will appear on television over the next three weeks but the final night will be produced for a home video rather than free television.
1417
1418The 8/1 free show at the beach in Shimonseki with a Battle Royal plus Liger vs. Muto actually drew closer to 30,000 fans than the 20,000 we reported here last week.
1419
14208/25 in Tokyo at an Amusement Park called East-live has Chono & Hase & Sasaki & Koshinaka vs. Hashimoto and four ring boys in a 4-on-5 elimination tag team match plus Kido vs. Fujinami, Liger & Nogami vs. Hiro Saito & Honaga, Aoyagi vs. Kimura and Goto vs. Kobayashi.
1421
1422
1423
1424~~~~~
1425
1426Wrestling Observer Newsletter
1427
1428PO Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228 August 19, 1996
1429
1430WCW HOG WILD POLL RESULTS
1431
1432Thumbs up 65 (43.6%)
1433
1434Thumbs down 55 (36.9%)
1435
1436In the middle 29 (19.5%)
1437
1438BEST MATCH POLL
1439
1440Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko 82
1441
1442Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon 37
1443
1444WORST MATCH POLL
1445
1446Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant 67
1447
1448Scott Norton vs. Ice Train 19
1449
1450Based on phone calls and fax messages to the Observer as of Tuesday, 8/13. Statistical margin of error: +-100%
1451
1452The situation involving Jushin Liger (Keiichi Yamada) appears to have taken a turn for the better over the past week. While this is not confirmed at press time, it appears that the biopsy of his tumor revealed it wasn't cancerous. The situation, which was certainly career threatening if not life threatening, appears to not be so serious to the extent that Liger's doctor has okayed for him to return to wrestling on 8/18 for a Michinoku Pro Wrestling show in Aomori. As the irony would have it, that promotion had scheduled a major show, and two of its top stars, the Great Sasuke and Tiger Mask were going to have to miss the show because of recent injuries. Sasuke suffered a fractured skull in his J Crown tournament final match on 8/5 at Sumo Hall against Ultimo Dragon and probably won't return to action until September. Tiger Mask blew out his knee on 8/6 during an MPW show in Imabetsu.
1453
1454In 1994, Liger was scheduled to work a special show for Michinoku Pro in Aomori, but just before that show was to take place, he suffered the broken ankle which kept him out of action for nearly one year and missed the show. So the storyline, which has reality to it, is that Liger felt he owed the fans in that city an appearance, plus it helped out Michinoku Pro, a promotion that Liger has had strong business relations with over the years with Sasuke, its owner, being a primary foe for Liger on major New Japan shows. Liger announced that his doctor, after finding out the tumor wasn't cancerous, said that it would be okay to wrestle.
1455
1456Liger will undergo surgery to remove the tumor on 8/23. His recovery depends upon whether or not they'll have to operate on the brain to remove the tumor, which largely depends on the size of the tumor, which is believed to be two centimeters in diameter. Liger said he's hopeful of returning by the September New Japan tour, which starts on 9/12, although it is believed that should they have to operate on the brain, it becomes a lot more tricky surgery and his recovery time could be significant.
1457
1458Liger had been deaf in his left ear for the past three years which he believed stemmed from the punishment he'd taken to the head as a wrestler, and had been suffering of late from serious headaches. The doctors discovered the tumor when he went to get his headaches checked out in June, which he kept quiet and scheduled the surgery after the J Crown tournament.
1459
1460
1461The news wasn't as positive this past week for Ahmed Johnson (Tony Norris). Johnson had emergency kidney surgery on 8/6 and was in intensive care for several hours. He's expected to be out of action for about three months. He returned home after surgery by the end of the week. Clips of the surgery were aired on Monday Night Raw on 8/12 and the storyline is that it is a possible career ending injury stemming from attacks by Faarooq Asad and his competing in a Battle Royal. The IC title will be put up in a tournament which begins on the 8/19 Raw television show. Asad won't be wrestling on the SummerSlam show as they decided to simply cancel the Johnson-Asad match and give the remaining matches more time.
1462
1463~~~~~~
1464
1465Wrestling Observer Newsletter
1466
1467PO Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228 August 14, 1996
1468
1469ICHI, NI, SAN, DA!
1470
1471If you look at a listing of the largest crowds and biggest gates in the history of pro wrestling, one company dominates the list. While an argument can be made that the No. 1 promotion in the world today is the World Wrestling Federation, because of its stronger international presence, no argument can be made that within its home country, no promotion right now is any hotter or has the kind of mainstream appeal and popularity as New Japan Pro Wrestling.
1472
1473The evidence of the latter was clear throughout Tokyo this past week. Can you imagine an equivalent of this at any point in either the United States, Mexico or Europe? During the closing days of the Olympics and with baseball season in full swing, that the cover story with four large color photos for three straight days in several of the daily sports pages revolved around the G-1 Climax and J Crown tournaments. By the time the finals rolled around on 8/6, New Japan had drawn approximately 55,000 fans and probably well in excess of $3 million in ticket sales and who can even estimate how much in concessions to the same building over five days. Standing room tickets for the championship night at Sumo Hall were being scalped for $100 to $200. Not that this is anything new. The G-1 tournament, which debuted at Sumo Hall in 1991, has annually done figures in this range, and has gotten so popular that there are even betting pools, similar to the NCAA basketball tournament in the United States, with insiders and outsiders trying to figure out who is going to beat who with what move and how much time the matches will last.
1474
1475From having three sellouts at the Tokyo Dome over the past year, to selling out four of five nights this past week at Sumo Hall, to building for its long-term future better than any promotion in the world, there are many who would say New Japan in many ways is the closest thing to a model of what a national wrestling promotion should be.
1476
1477The name that immediately comes to mind when the promotion is mentioned, is its founder, all-time legend and spiritual leader, Antonio Inoki. There is no wrestler of the modern era, and few if any ever, who have had more enduring impact on pro wrestling in their part of the world. And there are none, in history, who have been able to maintain his level of popularity for more than three decades.
1478
1479This didn't exactly happen overnight. In fact, to adequately explain how New Japan got to where it is, one needs to go back 36 years.
1480
1481Rikidozan was the lord of Japanese wrestling, a mythical national hero who has been described as the Babe Ruth of his country. Like the Babe, he actually grew bigger in death than he was in life, not that he wasn't plenty big in life. In his case he was stabbed to death in a night club 
1482
1483
14844. Ultimo Dragon--real name Yoshihiro Asai (WAR International jr. heavyweight) defeated Jushin Liger--real name Keiichi Yamada (British jr. heavyweight) to unify the belts at 2:38. Dragon dropkicked Liger out of the ring and immediately hit a tope, then climbed to the top rope and did a flip plancha to the floor. Liger in the ring made a comeback with a throw out german suplex and some koppo kicks. They went right to the finish, with Dragon going for La Magistral (another over move since it's been used as a finish in numerous jr. matches this year) for a near fall, going for a second but Liger blocked and reversed it (the finish of their previous match at the J Cup in December), but Dragon reversed the reversal into a cradle of his own for the pin. The crowd went nuts and was buzzing for about two minutes after the finish. At the time this looked like great booking even though one would expect a 20:00 classic with these two. It was exactly what the crowd wasn't expecting and most important, it educated them to the idea that for the rest of the week, the finish could come at any time. However, as the week went on, it became apparent the true reason for this finish was quite a bit more serious. ***
14853. Liger & Norio Honaga beat Casas & Takaiwa in 12:04. Honaga is in his last year, as he's expected to retire and become a referee in 1997. Casas pretty much carried the match as Takaiwa didn't show much, Honaga looked bad and Liger actually looked good but obviously was limited. He particularly got a big pop doing La Magistral on Liger. Casas did a senton off the apron and a tope. He busted his eye open legit hitting the guard rail on the tope, and later did a senton off the top rope. Honaga tried a Mexican submission move on Casas that was supposed to be the finish but the two didn't work it right and it looked bad, so Honaga then pinned Casas after a sunset flip. **3/4
14863. Kobayashi & Nogami beat Liger & Samurai in 14:24. Liger did a lot of comedy early. Eventually the heels stuff piledrove him on the floor. Kobayashi did a superplex on Samurai and Nogami followed with a splash off the top (the old Power & Glory finisher) for a near fall. Samurai also kicked out of a stuff power bomb and Kobayashi's trademark fisherman suplex. Finally Liger mad the hot tag and eventually gave Kobayashi a plancha. In the ring, Samurai got a near fall with a german suplex on Nogami. When he tried a second, Nogami reversed it and used a rolling german suplex (a series of two in a row rolling and holding onto the first once) to score the pin. ***1/4
1487
14887. Casas & Otani beat Liger & Samurai in 13:19. The crowd was actually kind of dead for this match early even though Casas & Otani looked good carrying things. Casas, whose eye was bandaged up from a cut two days earlier, did a nice tope on Liger. Things picked up from there, although Otani hurt himself during the match as he appeared to be dropped on his shoulder more than his back in receiving a stuff power bomb and was holding his neck the rest of the match and bleeding from the mouth. Casas pinned Samurai with La Magistral. ***1/4
1489
1490Liger then was given the house mic. There was a story in the newspaper that morning vaguely saying that Liger may not wrestle for the rest of the year. Liger quickly went over his situation, saying that doctors had discovered a tumor in his brain. He would be undergoing a biopsy to see if it was malignant later in the week, and would have an operation later in the month (8/23 to be exact) to have it removed. If it's benign, he expected to return to the ring. If it's malignant, his career could very well be over, and asked the crowd to pray for him. His music played and he received a thunderous send-off, as fans realized it could be for the last time as an active wrestler.