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AJPW Super Power Series 1988 - Day 9 - 24/05/1988
Jumbo Tsuruta & The Great Kabuki vs. Revolution (Ashura Hara & Genichiro Tenryu)
A good match even if Kabuki isn’t exactly a favourite at the time. He puts in solid work and the other three do the rest to create an intense, stiff wrestling match with some blood to enjoy too. And I really enjoy how they approached the double count out finish. It just further enhances the feud brewing between Tenryu and Jumbo. ***1/2
NJPW IWGP Champion Series 1988 - Day 5 - 27/05/1988
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Hiroshi Hase (c) vs. Owen Hart
For a title change, it's unfortunate that there wasn't a full clip easily available for this. Instead, this was 5 minutes roughly of solid technical wrestling and an unceremonious flash pin. The crowd cheered for Owen following the match, but I can't say this was wonderful, even if it had Owen looking better than he did in the earlier matches I saw him in. **1/2
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs. Riki Choshu
Quite a phenomenal match. Fujinami came off as a force to be reckoned with first the majority of the match, schooling Choshu both on the mat and in the standing positions, working on the leg and arm of Choshu but throwing big strikes and throwing Choshu around the ring. Then Choshu began a great comeback, working the leg and ankle of Fujinami, which brought the match to its emotional peak where Fujinami got rid of his wrestling boot and began wrestling on one foot, giving his performance a well balanced case to it. Choshu was great as well, selflessly selling and then working like a great de facto heel. The finish was a little hard to swallow with a weird no contest, where Choshu would've won via ref stoppage because the ankle injury was too much before he intervened and refused the win, but I will admit that it added somewhat to reignited a light in an old feud. Great match. ****1/4
WWF on MSG Network - 27/05/1988
Koko B. Ware & The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid) vs. Bobby Heenan & The Islanders (Haku & Siva Afi)
Siva Afi replaced Tama, who quit out of protest to Sika being fired, which is a shame but I've never seen Afi so I got to see what the “hype” is about. He certainly wasn't good. Some clumsy bumps and fake offence but he was inoffensive. The match also flew by more than I thought it would. The Heenan and Koko comedy spots connected with me this time in front of a hotter crowd and with a more interesting shell around it. Haku and the Bulldogs had their working boots on to make it work, so much so that it evened out nicely when it turned into a FIP match with Koko being worked over. The finish was nice too, although I thought the timing off was a tad off. Heenan used a foreign object to knock Koko out for the shock win. ***
WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Randy Savage (w/Miss Elizabeth) (c) vs. Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil)
Prior to the match, Bobby Heenan came out to brag about his early win and issued an open challenge with much bravado. I just hope he's up for the ultimate challenge…
These matches rarely start slow. Savage isn't interested in easing his way into the match against the cerebral Dibiase and it always creates a shock to the true system. Dibiase cuts him off and throws him to the hard floor and takes control. This is a standard sort of match you'd expect between the two, but still strong and effective in terms of combining workrate and drama. Both work fast and work big with the theatrics, Dibiase especially who probably has more credit for the over the top bumping than Mr Perfect gets. This reached its dramatic conclusion with a potential double knockout with Savage only just turning over to pin Savage and seemingly about to win before Virgil interferes and attacks Savage. Savages manages to send the heels away and celebrates greatly with Elizabeth on his shoulders, only for them to return and attack Savage with Elizabeth there, which was put over a shocking moment. A great finish and angle to set this apart from being another match between the two. ***3/4
CWA Mid-South Coliseum - 29/05/1988
AWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Jerry Lawler (c) vs. Dutch Mantel
This had a good mix of schtick and good solid wrestling. Hardly a MOTYC, but it was a great showcase of getting a lot out of a little. Dutch Mantel, for example, spent the majority of the first portion of the match complaining about potential weapons Lawler could be hiding in his attire. The match itself was good being built around Mantel working the arm and then your standard Lawler comeback. Very standard match, but done really well. Lawler’s selling wasn’t too strong in this one though. ***1/2
NWA Main Event 1988 - 29/05/1988
NWA World Television Title Match: Mike Rotunda (w/Kevin Sullivan & Rick Steiner) (c) vs. Ron Garvin
The match itself wasn’t extraordinary, but the crowd was super hot for this and Garvin, which enhanced everything. Garvin came across as a real badass here with his stiff strikes and Rotunda’s bumping for him. Even when Garvin captured the headlock, Rotunda felt trapped. This ended with the Varsity Club interfering. Garvin was able to fend them off initially but fell victim to the beatdown when the footage cut out. Good tv match. ***1/4
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