The Diet Butcher Of Tokushima

Alexander Otsuka VS Mitsuhiro Matsunaga - BattlARTS 11/9/1999

CJD: You wanted a BattleArts rabbit hole John? Well you're about to be Alice chasing rabbits into a tea party you never expected my friend!! I originally wanted to take us to RINGS to really get me out of my comfort zone but left feeling flat with my options. This match on the other hand somehow matched the highs of your damn near perfect tag, just in a completely different way. Matsunaga was so good at telling the monster movie story in his singles matches after the mid 90s deathmatch heyday was wrapping up. He really found his groove for the second half of his career which wasn't easy with how protected and limited he was. Side note I bet these two would have a blast at his steakhouse reminiscing about this match today. For what it's worth John, there is more of Mr Danger in BattlArts to explore if you want to stay buried in that rabbit hole!

JJZ: 13 year old John thought Matsunaga was the craziest wrestler of all time. Any tapes I got from BJPW I would watch his match first! Otsuka and Matsunaga put on one hell of an effort to make this a wild ass unforgettable match. So wild, in fact, that a FIREBALL was a transition spot! Come on! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Shout out to Tom McGinnis for all you Sixers fans. I haven't been watching a ton a wrestling recently, so this really sparked my inner flame for this beautiful art! I knew how great Matsunaga was, but Otsuka really shined for these 15 minutes. Would never have guessed he'd hang in Matsunaga's style match so comfortably. He was bluechew stiff as usual, but he was blood and guts approved in this gem.

Forever Forward Fridays

Anastasia Morningstar VS Brooke Valentine - Beyond Wrestling 1/26/2023

JJZ: Let's keep this blog a little hossy for the time being CJD. Morningstar definitely brings monster heel energy to all the matches I've seen so far. (Only 4 matches, to be honest). So, my first thought was to play forward Anastasia vs a plucky underdog babyface. But then I really liked the vibe I got from Brooke Valentine. Granddaughter of the Hammer? We'll never know, so let's just say yes. Brooke vs. Anastasia brings a lot of the same energy and toughness that your Willow vs. Anastasia match had, but I really liked it. So fuck it. Those elbows. That German. Them chops. Wish this was a twenty-two minute meat slapfest. I'm excited to hear your thoughts, cutie pie.

CJD: The thing I liked best about this match was the anticipation they built to every little thing they did. Johnny's great granddaughter did shine out in this match with a lot of personality but a bad ass aura to boot. There were some similarities to the Willow match for sure but I liked how they stressed in this one that Anastasia didn't have any help from outside sources for a change. There were some different tactics as a result and I was very happy you went with this stop on our Friday indy wrestling train. You know I'll take all the tests of strength ya got!!