Match of the Day - The unmasking of Tiger Mask II!

Tiger Mask II & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Samson Fuyuki - AJPW (1990)

I was doing a little research on the Tiger Mask character and I came across this gem of a match. It features Tiger Mask II teaming with Toshiaki Kawada against Kawada's former tag team partner, Samson Fuyuki (AKA Ricky or Kudo Fuyuki) and Yoshiaki Yatsu. During the match, Tiger Mask II responds to Fuyuki and Yatsu's strikes and constant headbutts by firing back a more aggressive arsenal on Yatsu, which is followed by Tiger Mask instructing Kawada to remove his mask. The removal of the tiger mask revealed the of face of Mitsuharu Misawa, who then went full-on assault mode on Yatsu, leading to the two men spilling out onto the floor and almost brawling into the crowd!

While the crowd quickly recognized Misawa, who had been under the tiger mask for almost 6 years, Misawa was not the icon of Japanese wrestling that we think of today. Thanks to this match and the unveiling of the tiger mask however, Misawa would go on to shine as one of the greatest wrestlers in Japan with dozens of championships under his belt, multiply matches of the year, and over twenty legitimate 5 star matches.

As for the Tiger Mask legacy, the rights to the character (based of the character from the Manga series) would be picked up by New Japan Pro Wrestling and given to Koji Kanemoto in 1992.

Match of the Day - Kenta Kobashi takes on the American Bossman

Kenta Kobashi vs. The Big Bossman - AJPW (1993)

One of the greatest Puroresu/Japanese wrestlers of all time, Kenta Kobashi wrestled his retirement match today in Japan. Kobashi has wrestled countless five star matches including almost every All Japan Pro Wrestling match rated five stars by the Roger Ebert of wrestling reviews, Dave Meltzer. 

Kobashi's finest matches may have included the likes of Mitsuharu Misawa (and tagging with Misawa), Stan Hansen, Jun Akiyama, Steve Williams, and Samoa Joe, but my personal favorite Kobashi match currently has to be his AJPW match against The Big Bossman from 1993. Kobashi takes Bossman to the limit and really makes him look unstoppable at first. If anything, this match was Bossman's best thanks to Kobashi.

Enjoy.

Match of the Day - From mega-man to mega-flop: the brief Tom Magee story

Tom Magee vs. Hiroshi Wajima - AJPW (1988)

Tom Magee seemingly had it all: a great look, super strong, agile, and even a martial arts background right up there with his multiple strongman and powerlifting accomplishments. It only made sense that he would be the next big thing in the WWF.

But the man they called "MegaMan" became mega-flop just after a couple of years in the business. As legend has it, Tom Magee had everything going for him and more that he was going to the next Hulk Hogan in no time. But as time went by, it was clear that Magee had what was called Warren Harding Syndrome in that Blink book I had to read in high school - he had the look but just wasn't a good president, or in Magee's case, a good professional wrestler.

In this match from All Japan in 1988, Tom Magee shows us that cartwheels and being ripped to the moon doesn't make you a good worker. Magee eventually finds himself in a Boston crab by his opponent Hiroshi Wajima that he can not bear and calls it quits. Less than three minutes into the match.

Match of the Day - RIP Reid Flair

Reid Flair & Keiji Muto vs. Seiya Sanada & Tatsumi Fujinami - New Year Shining Series - AJPW (2013)

Here is young Reid Flair in a tag match with Keiji Muto against Seiya Sanada & Tatsumi Fujinami at a jammed packed AJPW event from January. Reid had just got back from his tour of Japan and was ready to work some indy shows when he was found dead in his hotel on Friday.

Such a shame to lose someone so young regardless of their personal demons.

Match of the Day - Akebono versus Big Daddy V in slow motion.

Akebono vs. Big Daddy Voodoo - AJPW (2011)

In honor of fat Tuesday, I present a match featuring that guy who sumo wrestled Big Show at Wrestlemania 21 and won, taking on Big Daddy Voodoo, better known to the viewers at home as either that guy with the man-tits named Big Daddy V, The fat guy in the pajamas called Big Vis, that big black guy in all black in The Undertaker's Ministry as Viscera, or that fat guy in purple who kept hurting people and actually won the 1995 King of the Ring... Mabel - depending on when or if you ever have ever seen him wrestle in the last two decades.

So yeah, this is definitely a "how much do these guys weigh?" Art Donovan kind of match up!

PS: No, this match was not recorded in slow motion, but from the stamina and speed that these two superheavyweights possess, it almost seems like this match has been slowed down to a snails pace... or should I say, a Akebono meets Big Daddy V pace.

Luckily for the Japanese fans, Big Daddy did cover up those titties of his... Ayeyeye.

God love the dead silent Japanese crowd.

Match of the Day - Muta/Tajiri vs Goldust/Hakushi

The Great Muta & Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Goldustin & Jinsei Shinzaki - AJPW (2007)

Some really nice contrasting styles in this All Japan Pro Wrestling tag team match featuring Great Muta, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Goldust as Goldustin for copyright reasons, and Jinsei Shinzaki AKA Hakushi.

Speaking of styles, it appears that Goldust seemed to be a little more homoerotic, if you will, here in Japan than he would in the states. My guess is that those sort of old school sexual mind games that Goldust puts on his opponents are more acceptable there than in America. It's definitely not acceptable on a product like the G rated Saturday Morning Slam on The CW where Goldust will most likely end up wrestling on now that he's back in WWE after making his 3rd or 4th Royal Rumble return.

This match is all fun and games until Muta and Tajiri gang up on Dustin, giving him a double dosage of mist while Shinzaki was known out of the ring, followed up by a shining wizard for the win.

PS: I would have loved to see the oddball team of Goldust and Tajiri in WWE. I'm quite surprised now that they were never a tag team...