Match of the Day - Gigante Muta challenge!

Great Muta vs. El Gigante - NJPW Fighting Spirit: Day 8(1995)

Yes, El Gigante, better known as that guy with the furry body suit, Giant Gonzalez took on one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all time, the Great Muta. The match includes El Gigante performing no real offense, Muta standing on a chair to spew his green mist in Gigante's face, and a very awkward looking finish to one odd match-up.

Enjoy!

Match of the Day - The American Dragon tours FMW w/ Lance Cade in 1999

American Dragon & Lance Cade vs. Hisakatsu Oya & Yoshinori Sasaki - FMW (1999)

Two rookies from Texas Wrestling Academy taking a tour of Japan in 1999.

Here's a rare match, it's American Dragon, mask and all, along with his tag team partner also from the states, Lance Cade taking on Frontier Wrestling Alliance's Hisakatsu Oya and Yoshinori Sasaki. It's a bit slow, but it pays off once you realize that that guy in the silly dragon mask is now over as rover in WWE currently. Damn right, that's because that kid in the red, white, and blue costume is Daniel Bryan, the Goatface Killah of WWE.

Unfortunately Lance Cade, who did happen to move onto WWE and become a three-time World Tag Team Champion, passed away in 2010 due to heart failure.

Fun Fact #654: In 2012 Daniel Bryan was awarded the "Most Animal-Friendly Athlete" award, and was honored in his town as they announced that January 13th would be renamed, "Daniel Bryan Day". Yesterday was definitely Daniel Bryan Day!

Match of the Day - The Shibata/Ishii G1 stiff fest

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 23 Day Night 4 (2013)

If there was one bit of hype that I read on the internet that I did believe this year, it was the hype for New Japan Pro Wrestling. With an incredible good match to match ratio, exciting wrestlers, and outstanding events, I think it's safe to say that NJPW was the best wrestling promotion of 2013.

One outstanding event NJPW put on this year was the 23 annual G1 Climax, a super tournament featuring 20 of the top wrestlers in Japan that took place over the course of 9 days. That's right, a 9 day event that NJPW streamed lived every day featuring pretty much only good matches. One match in particular that got mega attention over the course of the 9 days is the Shibata/Ishii match from Night 4.

Tomohiro Ishii versus "The Wrestler" Katsuyori Shibata is an adrenaline rush of stiff strikes and Japanese fighting spirit (which would be called no-selling in America). There's no feeling out process in the beginning, no rest holds, and absolutely no slowing down. There is a story to it however and that story is: who can look the most legit.

Match of the Day - FMW takes a whack at WarGames: the match beyond!

Hayabusa, Jinsei Shinzaki, & Masato Tanaka vs. Mr. Gannosuke, Yukihiro Kanemura, & Atsushi Onita - barbed wire baseball bat ladder WarGames deathmatch - FMW Super Extreme Wrestling War (1997)

Part 1:

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling decided to take the concept of WarGames from NWA/WCW and replace the two ring element of the match with hardcore weapons like ladders, barbed wire, steel chairs, and handcuffs. The one thing that makes this match a WarGames-type match like the ones seen on the Great American Bash tour of 1987 with the Horsemen and Road Warriors, other than it being held in a caged structure, is the "staggered entry" format. Two men start in the cage and after a certain amount of time, another member from either team gets to enter the cage... but once this match got underway, that was also thrown out as all hell broke loose.

Part 2:

Yes, the match was one big cluster of violence, but really, that's what WarGames was all about; you got to see your favorite team (the good guys) take on the rival team (the bad guys) with little to no rules or restrictions. Granted this particular "WarGames" match didn't have the double ring set up that the original was known for, it still had the best wrestlers from FMW destroying one another inside one cage!

Match of the Day - Don't ever fuck with Kishin Liger!

Kishin Liger vs. Bad Boy Hido - NJPW (2006)

Kishin Liger is the much darker and sadistic side of Jushin "Thunder" Liger. One could also argue that he is the KISS version of Jushin Liger, but don't let that fool you, this is not the Liger who wants to party all night. No, this is the Liger you definitely do not want to be crossing paths with. First appearing after The Great Muta ripped off his mask in 1996, The "Kishin" character only makes rare appearances when it is most fitting for revenge - such as this match featuring Bad Boy Hido ten years later. Hido, an ultraviolent specialist, thought it would be a wise move to chop some of Liger's hair off...

Let's just say Hido got what he had coming to him.

Match of the Day - The bread eating deathmatch!

Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Ken Ohka - Bread Eating Deathmatch - Union Pro (2011)

Aw yes, the age old classic of two grown men and their hunger for bread.

The object of this kind of deathmatch is not to kill your opponent with lighttubes or glass or even give them a near-death experience with Legos or fine-china, no, this "deathmatch" is all about who can eat more bread that is hanging high above the ring. Of course, there are a few deadly shots with that stale-looking baguette that one could argue belongs more in a normal deathmatch than one where consuming bread is the key to success. You know, success: to be named the dominate breadwinner. Get it?

Don't worry though, the two opponents (or contests, I guess) Ken Ohka and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi were given milk to help them swallow all the bread they had grabbed (were they not aloud to use their hands?) from the strings. Unfortunately though, they had to share it.

Bonus: I embedded the version of this match that features English. The only thing is that Ken Ohka is said to be Roger Tableman and Tsuyoshi is Jasons Love-him. I'm not sure why, but that's the names listed on the video themselves as well but don't appear on the Japanese version.

Theme results

Food: Bread (all kinds) and milk. 

Match of the Day - Kota Ibushi takes on YOSHIHIKO as rocket-launching Hulk Hogan?

Kota Ibushi vs. YOSHIHIKO - Ironman Heavymetalweight and KO-D Openweight Championship match - DDT (2009)

Two great Japanese wrestling stars of Dramatic Dream Team go one-on-one with each other's title on the line. Kota Ibushi was the KO-D champ at the time while YOSHIHIKO (dressed as Hulk Hogan) was the reigning Ironman Heavymetalweight champ - a title that is defended under 24/7 rules just as the Hardcore title once was back in the states. The seemingly normal title match soon becomes a 30 minute slobberknocker!

PS: I heard that YOSHIHIKO stiffed Ibushi pretty good in this match due to some backstage heat/bad blood between one another. Maybe that Infinity Destroyer YOSHIHIKO delivered to Ibushi was a little more personal than perceived.

I sure hope YOSHIHIKO gets signed to WWE soon so his career can really blow up!

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 - Johnny Saint's retirement match

Johnny Saint vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa - Johnny Saint's retirement match - Michinoku Pro's These Days (1996)

While not a household name here in the States, Johnny Saint is a super icon in the UK where he performed for the World of Sport-era wrestling company, Big Time Wrestling. Saint is well known for his superb realist approach to the sport of professional wrestling and his uncanny reversals. He may not look like much, especially for American wrestling, "bigger is better" standards, but Saint is one hell of showmen with the mat skills to back it up. 

In 1996, Saint took on Naohiro Hoshikawa in his first ever match in Japan at Michinoku Pro Wrestling's event known as These Days. Along with his debut in Japan this would also be his last match for about 10 years. Saint would not return to in-ring action again until 2007 when he competed against another World of Sport-era wrestler, Johnny Kid in the British wrestling company, LDN.

Johnny Saint also wrestled for the first time in the States in 2009, teaming up with Jorge "Skayde" Rivera and Mike Quackenbush at Chikara's 2009 King of Trios Tournament. 

Take a look at this match and many others by Johnny Saint. They are usually a bit longer and contested under World of Sport rules with rounds and little breathers to give the matches a more sport-like feel. Because, you know, wrestling was/is a sport.

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...

Match of the Day - Chikara's incredible 4-way dance

El Generico vs. Nick Jackson vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Jigsaw - Chikara King of Trios (2009)

Now to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of Chikara, a still relatively unknown  independent promotion that has actually been around since 2002. I will say this though: I've only seen/heard good things about this company and from what I've seen, I've enjoyed. While similar to other promotions like Ring of Honor where they take pride in "professional" wrestling and the true art behind it, Chikara actually has a much sillier side, whereas ROH is pretty dead serious most of the time - the only weakness I've seen from that respective brand of pro wrestling. Chikara also incorporates colorful characters and luchadore style that comes with a sort of Japanese wrestling and cosplay feel to it which actually works and makes sense as the whole roster can still wrestle their way out of paper bags... Something most WWE superstars today surely can't do.

Anyways, this is probably one of Chikara's greatest matches. I'm not just saying that because people say that on Youtube either, I truthfully believe this to be hell of a must-see match for any fan of pro wrestling. Every character brings a great amount of agility and ring-saviness to this match and every second is a thrill to watch. Yes, a lot of it does look like a very choreographed dance number that these young athletes recite every night but hey, I don't care. It's damn entertaining and actually very talented. Can you do a moonsault off the top rope, land on your feet, and then do a standing moonsault right after?

Really?

Prove it.

This match comes from King of Trios 2009: Night two were all four individuals had wrestled in a group of three with respected teammates usually from a related aspect such as company i.e. Nick Jackson (one half of the Young Bucks) and El Generico whom both represented Pro Wrestling Guerrilla the night before as they were title holders of that company at the time. Also, Japanese wrestling sensation, Kota Ibushi (winner of this match) wrestled in a team comprised of DDT wrestlers, a Japanese promotion Ibushi currently works for and actually has had a number of intense matches with El Generico just like this one.

The only time this match got a little hairy was when El Generico went to give Ibushi the "Brainbuster" from the top rope and it actually looks like Generico loses a hold of Ibushi and he lands awkwardly on the turnbuckle. However, the commentators say that he kicked out of the Brainbuster on the way down so you could counter out to stick Generico with an amazing "super-reverse-rana".

Match of the Day - Mysterio takes on Pscosis at Super J Cup 1995

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis - Super J Cup (1995)

Today's match is probably the best example of a Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis match out of the hundreds, maybe thousands, that have taken place. It comes from the second Super J Cup hosted by Wrestle Association R as an exhibition match to show the Japanese crowd just what these two young athletes were capable of.

I definitely believe it's the best example of both the technical and high-flying wrestling skills these two could easily bring to the table when they faced each other as well as the fact that Rey and Psicosis brought their show to a very quiet and respectable crowd which put pressure on every single move and hold they would make.

As the match picks up and Rey and Psicosis start to really pull out some high risk maneuvers such as Psicosis's scary-looking suicide dive to the outside or Rey Mysterio's super-high top-rope asai moonsault, the crowd starts to show some true excitement towards this little match before the Super J Cup tournament (won by Jushin Liger). You can tell that the audience had not seen such lucha libre, fast-paced style wrestling before and were really eating it up.

After watching multiple Rey Myserio Jr./Psicosis duels they soon begin to look like a choreographer dance by two long time opponents. I'm not saying this good or bad but you can tell just by watching these two masked stars from Mexico go at it that they have had a lot of matches together and complement each other's styles like no one else. It probably also helps that both Rey Mysterio Jr. and Psicosis were trained by the same person... Rey's uncle and original bearer of the Rey Misterio name, Rey Misterio Sr.

Match of the Day - Megumi Kudo the former kindergarten teacher retires Combat Toyoda

Hardcore Wednesday:

Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda - No-Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch - FMW (1996)

In what is said to be one of, if not, thee first female wrestling hardcore matches, Megumi Kudo (in the pink) takes on Combat Toyoda (the bigger one) in a deathmatch featuring exploding barbed wire rather than traditional ring ropes, and it's not a pretty sight.

For any of you at home who are unaware of this sort of "deathmatch"-type of match, it's essentially the most violent matches conceived, so take "Extreme Rules" and times the violence/weapons/bloodiness by 100%. This deathmatch in particular took place in Frontier Material-Arts Wrestling (FMW) founded by Atsushi Onita, the guy who brought the deathmatch-type hardcore-based wrestling to Japan after spending an early part of his career touring Memphis.

Japan always has a way of taking a good thing from America to the extreme whether it's hardcore-style wrestling, horror movies, reality shows, or music. So much so actually, that we go and copy them right back...

Unfortunately though, the copycats we make here in the states turn out to be The Hunger Games, Wipeout, and Combat Zone Wrestling.

Anyways, this brutal deathmatch has to be one of the most tastefully violent female wrestling matches I have seen. It has emotion, it makes sense, and it also features wrestlers - female wrestlers, I may add - that could actually wrestle. Combat Toyoda is by no means a "diva" and Kudo, who may look like a little pink power ranger, is one pretty face you didn't want to mess with... and this match proves it.

This match is also noted as Combat Toyoda's last match as she would retire right after this match. Kudo, the victor of this barbaric match believe it or not, would continue to fight in such matches until her retirement match in 1997 against Shark Tsuchiya in the longest titled match: a "No ropes 200V double hell double barbed wire barricade double landmine glass crush death match".

Also, Megumi Kudo was supposedly a kindergarten teacher before making her return to wrestling via FMW. I really don't know if this is true or not.