Do What They're Paying You To Do, Break Legs, Break Legs

Greg Valentine VS Tiger Conway Jr - Houston Wrestling 5/18/1979

CJD: So I've got to be honest. I'm not familiar with Tiger Conway Jr or his dad. But reading up about them on wikipedia I'm blown away by what seemingly normal lives they lived as fixtures of the Texas wrestling scene for the better part of a century. Greg has two great matches with Jr that are online and I was torn which one to play. I think the other a month previous might actually be a little better?? So if you want to Tarantino me and go right back to it and hold up our imaginary title, by all means!! I have no idea what your Conway options are going to look like. I'm going with this match though because it felt so memorable. With the little bit of Gino hijinx, Paul Boesch rambling on about Greg's "brother" Johnny at ringside (who is his dad fyi, who had him wrestle as his younger brother so Johnny wouldn't seem as old, isn't pro wrestling great), to a couple of "oh shit!" spots by 1979 standards. These guys had great chemistry. Valentine had a bit more variety to his game than you might give him credit for. And I can say at least up against the Hammer, Conway Jr was no slouch himself!

JJZ: I've got to be honest in that I appreciate your honesty because honestly I have no fucking clue who TCJ is. Sip of Honest Tea for the honest CJD. I know you said you this match has some oh shit moments and I really popped for that first big spot onto the ringside table. I found this one going back and forth from a structured technical bout to a flst fight. Really solid match all around. It feels like the Hammer only ever brings his A game. These two had such great heat between the ropes. If I didn't know this shit was scripted I would've thought if given the opportunity, one of these guys would've broke an arm or a leg. Wonderful match.

Forever Forward Fridays

Mayu Iwatani (c) VS Sareee - Stardom IWGP Women's Championship 4/27/2024

JJZ: So this match was actually on my 2024 To Watch list. Iwatani I'm not familiar with but it sounds like she had a hell of a year. She popped up on a lot of matches to watch list last year. Chris. Fucking banger of a match. These ladies just go for broke. Great spots. Great physicality. Solid crowd. I really got lost in this match. I was so locked in that nothing else mattered in the world for 27 minutes. Both women trying to fucking end each other. Just a test of wills. Fantastic match.

CJD: So not to be that guy, but you HAVE seen Iwatani matches before! Our good joshi buddy PB I'm almost certain has played you some of her over the years. She's had quite the storied career and it was really cool seeing her as such a well established Ace here. You could tell from the very first lock up that she was going to have to weather Sareee's storm if she had any hope to win this match. That if Iwatani was going to retain she was going to have to be willing to dig deeper and sacrifice everything. It was a simple and effective story and both women played it perfectly. Sareee was vicious, I've become such a fan. Great balance with the physicality as you said, the bomb throwing, and the pacing. We make a point not to lean into these big main event style title matches too too often. PIF was created with our ever dwindling attention spans in mind. But this was an easy epic to get invested in. Well worth your time!

Rap Vandals, Stomp Your Ass Like Wahoo McDaniel

Wahoo McDaniel (c) VS Greg Valentine - MACW NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship 9/7/1977

JJZ: I've always had a soft spot for Valentine which is weird to even say because he is such a hard man. So obviously the potatoes in this bout were off the charts. Making a stew with all those taters. I was really happy with the more than expected "wrestling maneuvers" to quote that POS. Loved the snap mare exchange half way through the match. They had a couple nice roll ups. Just more technical than I expected in general. Probably my favorite part of the match was that Wahoo would get 2,000 dollars in silver coins if he won. We need more stipulations like this today! Also the finish was pretty great.

CJD: Holy shit John. I can't believe PIF brought this match into my life. This is one of those matches you hear about growing up a wrestling fan, but you just assume isn't on tape or maybe is clipped down to nothing with dubbed over audio. But here it is in perfect VQ, in full, uploaded by Kazushi Sakuraba?!? That can't actually be him, right? Anyway. This was a freight train of a match barreling down on you for 10ish minutes of gritty grimey pro wrestling perfection. No daylight, no wasted anything. This lived up to everything I could have imagined and much more. I couldn't take my eyes away. I was actually happy when a stupid Liberty Mutual ad gave me a second to catch my breath! Greg Valentine is a PIF favorite for sure, but god damn did Wahoo McDaniel leave his mark on our imaginary MDTSOCWWKD Championship with this pair of matches!

Forever Forward Fridays

Sareee VS Yurika Oka - Sendai Girls 4/14/2024

CJD: I'm not going to lie, baby. I picked this match because Sareee's name was written in English and I'd know who for sure we're talking about. Modern joshi is definitely a blind spot for me, so thank you Chris Brookes for bringing us on another Joshi Journey!! Is it time to tap guest reviewer PB again soon?? So my first concern would be this match would be too similar to your last Friday banger. Once I saw them immediately take it to the mat, and set a slightly different pace right after, I could feel the vibes were different. The amount of "oh shit!" moments these women packed into a fairly simple 10 minute-ish match was impressive. Yurika Oka has cemented herself as one of my new favorite Plucky Underdog Babyfaces in these two matches. The way she executes with urgency and desire over precision is so endearing. And Sareee brought the noise as well!! Good luck practicing your kanji for next week homie.

JJZ: So I honestly thought Daisuke Harada was the referee for a minute. My guy is his doppelganger. I actually know Sareee pretty well. She works NJPW once in a while. Solid ten minute match here homie. Oka definitely brought some fire to both of her matches but in this one Sareee was a counter balance to bring the match back to basics. Forearm shots really stood out to me like a chop battle in mid 2000s NOAH. In the small time window both women showcased a full toolbag of skills. Good shit.

Hit You With The Belly To Belly, The Suplex, Off The Roof Of The Duplex, Willin' To Group Text

Wahoo McDaniel (c) VS Magnum TA - NWA Worldwide US Championship Steel Cage Match 3/30/1985

CJD: Wahoo McDaniel versus Magnum TA for the United States Championship in a Steel Cage Match. Is there a more pro wrestling sentence in the English language? I hadn't watched a match in a minute, and with this bad boy I was sitting down to some of that meat and potatoes, basic food groups kinda wrasslin here to get my strength back! I wasn't aware just how much Magnum was built up and protected at this point, but this wasn't the only match I watched where his shortest match record was mentioned and such. That said, you can tell this was a match that was worked with the idea that under different circumstances, or different opponents, it would have been over much sooner. These two went the extra mile for what this night called for, and heel Wahoo was something I didn't know I needed in my life. But I did! Even while taking shortcuts he makes this feel like a gritty bar fight like only he can, and you know Magnum's bringing that babyface fire. Let's get after it babycakes!! Wrestling, yay!!!

JJZ: Wow, I don't think the crowd chilled out for a second. Meat and potatoes is the perfect description for this match CJD. They utilized every minute. All the punches, kicks and whips into the cage needed to happen to soften the guys up for the bodyslams and backdrops. Which exploded the crowd. Talk about using every part of the animal too. My initial thought was, man I'd kill for this to be ten more minutes. But after thinking about it, it kinda was perfect under fifteen. Well done homie!

Forever Forward Fridays

Maya Yukihi VS Yurika Oka - Sendai Girls 3/22/2024

JJZ: Yurika Oka is the blonde female wrestler. It was so tempting to go back to that same promotion but I really wanted to see the depth that Maya has. This was an above average opener/mid card kinda match. Slow start, nice build to some really slick offense and transitions. Maya made me a big fan of her's, mostly because she can crack! She hits hard and with purpose. Love it. Oka was also good. I was surprised how smooth she was during the second half of the match. I wasn't getting that vibe during that start. You know I love a single cam no commentary match. Brings a great vibe. These last two Friday matches were indie as fuck homie.

CJD: Single hard cam no commentary makes me feel like I'm sitting right next to JJZ watching this match. It's safe to say Maya has a mean streak after these two matches. She has been a revelation, I'm so glad we took a detour down this road! Oka brought some pep and snap to her, dare I say, plucky underdog babyface performance. The pace was one of my favorite parts of this match,  when they took it to overdrive for a half second to finish things off it popped me big time. I bought on a falsie and a half. Great little piece of action here baby, I'm glad you brought the variety with some Sendai Girls!!

Like Nikita Koloff, You Don't Wanna Make That Fatal Faux Pas

Magnum TA VS Nikita Koloff - NWA Worldwide 8/16/1986

JJZ: Baby cakes. Man oh man do I want to watch all of these matches! This is the sixth match of Koloff and TA's best of seven series. If I had to describe this match in one word it would be energy. From the crowd but more so from the wrestlers. Being 5 matches deep I thought they would be approaching it slower, but Nikita and Magnum really pushed the pace. I knew who won this already going in but the finish is what put this match over the top for me. Thought it came at a good time in the series since I'm sure they build up to it with a similar situation in an early match. Koloff is a wrestler I don't usually seek out but man have I loved both his matches we've featured. I was definitely selling him short. Way better in the ring then I remembered. Enjoy homie!

CJD: Nikita Koloff is definitely a PIF poster boy. Those wrestlers you never quite gave a fair chance, that when you check your biases at the door, often will surprise you. I'm familiar with this best of 7 series but don't think I've ever watched an entire match. So glad you got me to watch this one. The body language from both of these guys. Students of the game should take notes. It's not just selling, it tells a story beyond the physical toll. It projects the size, the scope, the stakes. This is fantastic American heavyweight pro wrestling, a style that isn't always synonymous with work rate and high energy. This match is proof they aren't mutually exclusive. That finish, and the way it's sold after, seal the deal on this all-time great match. Beautiful stuff!!