Reel in Place

  vs Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (AJPW 4/19/1990) Williams and Spivey start this off, but it really gets going when Gordy and Hansen just start mugging each other. This is just like a square dance of violence; guys tag in and out, they punch each other, maybe hit a few slams, maybe not, hit each other some more, and then tag out. That can't last forever, so we have to work some holds, which is not a strength of anyone in this match, but it is a necessary evil, I suppose. There are some diminishing returns, because it starts off so hot, but they can't keep up that pace, so each flurry is a bit shorter, a bit less intense, and at the end some of it verges on perfunctory. Still good, but man does it start off so incredibly great.  vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Davey Boy Smith (AJPW 6/1/1990) This is a lesser version of the previous match. Big moves in every combination, interspersed with little spots to buy some time to recover. In this match, there are a lot fewer holds, and a lot m...

vs Hart Foundation (WWF 9/23/1985) The Bulldogs take the early parts of this; for the most part is pretty basic stuff. The Hart Foundation take over on what is a pretty subtle heel move where Bret grabs the trunks to shoot Davey off into the ropes, and then hits a kitchen sink knee. To me, it is just too subtle to really work for changing the momentum in such a drastic way. Bret and Jim work over both Bulldogs for the bulk of the match from that point, and the moment that turns that momentum just isn't impactful enough. Bret ties Dynamite in the ropes, and attempts a running attack of some kind, but Bulldog frees himself, Bret gets caught in the ropes, and Davey Boy tags in. Davey takes it to Brett for a bit, but Bret hits a backbreaker that gets momentum back for the Hart Foundation. Bret hits a top rope Hart Attack, but while the referee is getting Anvil back to his corner, and Bret is covering Davey, Dynamite hits a top rope headbutt, rolls Davey out, and covers Bret himself for...

  vs Giant Kimala & Jun Izumida (AJPW 11/15/1997) I just watched Giant Kimala in 1990 WWC and came away impressed; this is seven years later, and he's much more limited. Izumida isn't much better. That makes this match more about Hayabusa and Shinzaki building their match around their offense, with a short section where they sell for Kimala. It isn't very good; I wouldn't say it was bad, but it didn't really do anything for me either.  vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 11/23/1997) These All Japan tags, especially the ones featuring the stars of the promotion, don't take on a standard match format; they just turn into rock fights, with varying degrees of big move sequences. As far as those go, this is fine; it's a pretty good match, with an interesting combination of guys, not anything I'd say is an all-time good match, but a very solid match. I think a lot of what carries these matches is the novelty of FMW's big stars being in All Japan ...

vs The Midnight Express (Gulf Coast 8/31/1984) The crowd is super heated for this; they especially want to see The Fantatics get to Cornette, which they tease a few times. It is their pursuit of Cornette that leads them to ending up on the receiving end of some of the Midnight Express' offense, and even some cheap shots from Cornette. Bobby Fulton is on the receiving end of this, and finally fights his way over to his corner and tags in Tommy Rogers. Rogers has some early success, but Condrey grabs a handful of his hair while he's running the ropes. The Midnights work a pretty smothering heat segment on Rogers, with very little shine. Rogers finally gets in some offense, chiefly a dropkick that leaves both he and Bobby Eaton down, which leads directly into a double hot tag. In the midst of all four wrestlers being in the ring, Eaton throws Rogers into the referee. Condrey bodyslams Fulton, but Eaton misses a top-rope elbow drop. The referee rolls into the ring and counts three ...

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 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  Andre the Giant & Giant Baba (11/20/1990) This is Taue and Jumbo's first real time in the ring with Andre. Jumbo was in a battle royal in 1974, but this is real virgin territory for Taue. This is fine. You get all of the Andre stuff you'd expect, Baba does everything he needs to do to make Andre's moments meaningful, Jumbo plays his part, but fiery underdog Taue slapping the shit out of Andre is the highlight of this match. That isn't the highlight of a great match, but it certainly makes this one worth watching.  vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 9/4/1991) There's a lot to like here. I would say that over the course of these matches, Taue has stood out more to me than Jumbo, and he's fine here, but Jumbo is great, in particular, the exchanges with Kawada are great. The shame of this match is that the Kawada/Jumbo sections aren't the main trust of the match. The main conflict is Jumbo and Misawa, which is fine, but it doesn't really...