Reel in Place

vs Kenta Kobashi & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 7/15/1989) This is violence right off the rip, and man, Tenryu and Jumbo what a pairing. Kobashi really isn't up to this sort of thing here in 1989; he's game, but he can't match what Jumbo, Tenryu, and Hansen bring in terms of presence and violence, plus he's only got one kneepad. Hansen and Tenryu bully Kobashi early, to the point that Kobashi pretty much runs towards Jumbo to tag out. When Jumbo gets in there, he really takes it to Tenryu, enough that he thinks Kobashi stands a chance. Kobashi tries, but he just isn't on the level. Tenryu is so dismissive of him, and Hansen doesn't give a shit and just jumps in the ring to beat on Kobashi for fun. Kenta escapes again, and Jumbo comes back in. Tsuruta grabs Hansen's arm and takes the tone down a notch. He gives Kobashi another shot, and Kobashi continues the arm work. Hansen eventually fights out and tags Tenryu back in. Kobashi fires up, nailing Tenryu with a bar...

vs Jesse Hernandez & Leon White (AWA 4/3/1986) Right off the rip, Rose is antagonizing Leon, taunting from inside the ring when White is on the apron. Rose takes it to Hernandez early, but Jesse fights over to the corner and tags in Leon. The absolute second that White tags in, Rose bolts out of the ring, goes over to Somers, and they regroup. Both Rose and Somers take turns bumping and selling for Leon. Buddy takes a chop from Leon, and bumps out to the floor. He crawls into the ring and tags in Somers. Somers finds a way to get Leon into the corner, and Rose rakes White's eyes. Buddy tags in, ready to take advantage of Leon, but Rose gets nowhere. Leon lifts him up over his head for a slam, goes for the cover, but Somers breaks up the pin. Vader tags out at that point, and Hernandez doesn't stand a chance once he gets in there. Rose and Somers just take it to Hernandez; they get him in the corner and just pummel him. Leon White comes in to save his partner, but the refere...

  vs Abdullah the Butch & Brian Blair (NJPW 7/16/1983) This is surprisingly cordial for an Abdullah match; he and Murdoch fight over a top wrist lock for a significant portion. With that said, you can see a certain urgency, especially from Adonis, when Abdullah is in the match compared to when Blair is in there. It is striking how even Murdoch works with Abdullah; Murdoch almost works a heat on Abdullah at one point, and Blair comes in some approximation of a hot tag. Adonis gets some really good-looking punches off on Blair, follows up with some more strikes, and tags in Murdoch. Murdoch hits a brainbuster, but only gets two. Murdoch tags in Adonis, and Adrian gets overzealous with his strikes and ends up eating an atomic drop. Blair climbs to the top rope, but Adonis throws him off. Adonis goes up to the top himself, hits an elbow, and the three count. This was fine, not the Abdullah match you'd want to see, and Adonis especially looks good.  vs Rocky Johnson & Tony ...

  vs Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW 11/21/1991) Kawada and Kobashi start things off, and you can see the contempt on Kawada's face from the very beginning. Kawada tags out, and Misawa spends a few minutes working Kobashi's arm. Kawada tags back in, and isn't interested in working the arm all that much; he'd rather just kick Kobashi some more. Kobashi hits a spin kick and uses the opening to tag in Kikuchi. Kikuchi really tries, he does, but his forearms don't do much to Kawada, who knocks him to the mat with two chops. Misawa comes in and works over Kikuchi for a bit, but after a while, Kikuchi escapes the hold and gets Kobashi back in the match. Misawa and Kobashi go at it for a bit, and Kobashi doesn't offer much. Kawada tags in and thinks he and kick with Kawada, but Kawada grabs a kick and takes down Kobashi. Kawada reverses a suplex into a sleeper, and Kikuchi enthusiastically comes in to break it up. Misawa tags back in for a brief moment to ...

  vs Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio (WWE 4/21/2005) This is MNM's main roster debut, and it's for the tag titles. We start with Eddie taking it to Nitro before he tags in Rey. Quick tags from Eddy and Rey early, butting off the ring and working over Nitro. Mercury eventually tags in; he can't quite keep up with Eddie, but he is able to get Eddie into the MNM corner, and the numbers game takes its toll. MNM takes over, and much the same way the earlier parts of the match played out, it is quick tags and cutting off the ring. Mercury slows things down with an abdominal stretch. Eddie fights out, hits a backbreaker, and tags in Rey. We've seen it before, but the Rey hot tag is always great; his offense is purpose-built for this kind of thing. Rey goes for the cover and Nitro has to come in and break up the fall, which allows for MNM to get some double-team offense in on Rey before Eddie can intervene. Eddie gets back in there, and Eddie and Rey work together to get the ...

  vs The Fantastics (WCW 4/29/1995) This is interesting because Eaton has a real history with The Fantastics, having gone up against them with Stan Lane in 1988 in a feud that pretty much defines that year of JCP TV. This is 1995; however, Fulton and Rodgers aren't quite what they used to be. Fulton and Regal start things off, and boy I don't like Regal. I've read all of the accolades, watched all the matches, and when he does his make dumb faces in minor holds act, I hate it. This match is about The Blue Bloods working over Rogers. They do a fine job of it. This is a short TV match; the whole match is just building to Fulton getting in there. In 1988, this would have worked, this would have worked at Techwood Drive, but it's 1995, this is Center Stage, and Bobby Fulton is 7 years older. He hits a bunch of suplexes, he and Rogers hit a few double-team moves, but as the referee is shepherding Rogers back to the corner, Fulton attempts a pin. With the referee's back t...