Rookie Of The Year

Jun Akiyama VS Al Perez - AJPW 1/15/1993

JJZ: I was really in the mood for some young Akiyama. I honestly can't remember the last time I've watched a singles match of his this early in his career. I knew even going against a gaijin in Al Perez that he'd be working from under but I wanted to see that dynamic. I haven't watched an Al Perez match in years. I remember always liking him but thinking he never reached his full potential. He did some really cool shit in this one. His strength took me by surprise a little bit. Perez threw Jun around like a little pup at times. Both guys showed a lot of good offense and took some brutal maneuvers from each other. The home stretch of this contest was the driving force of me playing it forward to you. Perez and Akiyama really showed out during it. Enjoy baby cakes.

CJD: Al Perez never reaching his full potential is very much his MO, I think even according to him, although maybe more for lack of opportunity. It's surprising after this match we didn't see more of Perez in AJPW. For that matter was he ever in ECW? It seems like a natural fit that Heyman would have found a great use for him when nobody else could. Either way he made the most of this opportunity with young prodigy Jun Akiyama. They put on one hell of an undercard match, with real struggle, peaks and valleys. I really enjoyed their chemistry and then that finishing stretch totally had me hooked. Great find I had no idea ever happened, my partner in crime!

Forever Forward Fridays

"Speeball" Mike Bailey VS BREEZE - Prestige Wrestling 9/24/2023

Match Link

JJZ: So I wasn't sure going into this match what type of match they would work. Even with that mindset I was suprised that they did a working from under 70/30 kind of match. I think it's a great way to show Mike Bailey's ability to work so many different roles effectively. His last match we played against King was such a wild match it's awesome to see him work such a traditional style here. This is the first match I've watched on the indies with Breeze and man do I still love him. His run in WWE was just pure entertainment but you could tell he still had such a great workrate in him. I will say Mike's explosive style offense worked extremely well for this type of match. While Breeze was able to slow everything down it made Bailey look even better when he was able to hit his crowd popping attacks. Really enjoyed this one and I hope you do too baby cakes.

CJD: It was surprising how much of a Speedball showcase this was, even though I'd agree Breeze took the majority of it. There's a point to be made that part of being a great pro wrestler is how great you can make your opponent look, and Breeze did that at a high level in this match. I also really enjoyed watching another promotion other than PWG run this unique venue. Keeping in that Friday indy spirit. The thing I enjoyed most about this match is after a lot of serious business at PIF lately, this was a fun, easy watch, that still dialed it up a notch when it needed to. I'm very curious to see where Prince Pretty brings me next!

Is The Great Zebra White With Black Stripes Or Is It Black With White?

Kenta Kobashi/Kentaro Shiga VS Jun Akiyama/Maunakea Mossman - AJPW 6/9/2000

CJD: We've been talking music while reviewing our matches lately. First albums, demos, quoting lyrics. Well I'm going to roll with it. Your previous Shiga match was like an EP that introduces an exciting new sound for the band. This Shiga match is like the album that follows up that EP and delivers on all that promise and then some. You talked a lot in your review of your match about how things felt fresh. I agree completely and 1999/2000 AJPW desperately needed that fresh coat of paint. And even though everyone here was still in the Burning stable and these teams were just having a little competitive rivalry, you could feel that there was much, much more on the line. I've always had a soft spot for Shiga and Mossman (the future Taiyo Kea), and it's because sometimes you'll stumble onto awesome matches like this from both. This match is made by the hierarchy that Kobashi and Akiyama bring, and their performances are phenomenal. But dare I say our MDTSOCWWKD Champion of the week, Kentaro MFing Shiga, is the star of this show!

JJZ: Wow. This match. I can't believe we are stilling finding these wonderful gems 24 years after the fact. The energy between Akiyama and Kobashi was vibrating off the screen. But the shing star of this match was SHI fucking GA. The way he was demanding to start. And then when Jun wouldn't start the match with him, he just picked his spot and took him out. Well Godamn son, go and take it then. This is why I will always say this is the greatest wrestling ever. And this is what Japan nowadays is missing. At the end of the day this is two vets, a green horn and a guy would I'm not sure his level of Pro but I'd guess it about fourth or fifth year, just putting in work. If the same top guys worked a tag with a mix of experience like this today in NJPW, they'd definitely treat it as a rest match. I hope all that made sense. Also all four guys told a complete story that anyone could understand in any language. Also, that finish was sick!