You'll Never Be Revolution

Genichiro Tenryu VS KENTA - NOAH Autumn Navigation 10/8/2005 Day 1

JJZ: To quote Ron Swanson. I know what I'm about son. And I'm all about stiff ass wrestling from Japan. The world is still upside down so I just picked something that I wanted to see. So KENTA is the second two-time MDTSOCWWKD Champion and #1 in my heart. I love this man. One of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Stiffer than a 16 year old on prom night VS a grumpy old vet on viagra right here. Tenryu is wrestling like he is annoyed at his little brother while KENTA is striking like he is trying to murder him for years of torment. Tenryu's punches are a nice little FU to KENTA. Even though Tenryu isn't selling the slaps KENTA is getting his receipts. In the end it plays out like you expect. It's what you want. It's what you need. Love my puro. Love you CJD.

CJD: Love you right back. You're speaking my language with this match. I drove 13 hours with a 7 month old in the car and I got in, cracked a beer and put this on. I've read rumors before that Tenryu got a penis implant so 55 year old on viagra sounds about right. I talked a lot about Hogan last week, but I'd much rather talk about Tenryu. I didn't learn to appreciate him until about this era of his career, when his surly old man routine meant I could totally ignore his sometimes awkward style. Which is strange because I got other ex-sumo guys, but it took a while for Tenryu to click for me. My loss, and I'm glad I eventually realized it. Tenryu brings a big match feel like few others can. He works a crowd like few others can. And case in point, he worked me thinking he was going to eat KENTA alive in this one. It's definitely not 50/50, but between the beautiful ragdoll selling, Tenryu's relentless beating, and some expertly timed comebacks, this match took me on a journey that arrived at a destination that left me very satisfied.

The Idea Of Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan VS Genichiro Tenryu - SWS SuperWrestle In Tokyo Dome 12/12/1991

CJD: I don't remember if as a kid I liked the idea of Hulk Hogan. As you know my first pro wrestling memory was the Mega Powers VS the Mega Bucks and Hogan is the least of that memory. I did enjoy watching his feud with Savage because it was a story that felt very real to me as a kid and I thought it was neat that someone was seemingly equally powerful as Hulkamania. Years later I loved when Ultimate Warrior beat him. And that's about all I remember about Hulk Hogan as a kid. But I was a weird kid. I loved Max Moon and High Energy and loved to hate Repo Man and Papa Shango. I probably wasn't their target audience.

As a "smart" teenage fan in the 90s I agreed with court of opinion that Hogan was the worst. Shit worker, held everyone down, total asshole. Then in my early 20s I thought, hey, Hogan was fine for what he was. Now it's 2020 and public opinion has shifted a lot since the mid 2000s and with good reason! But if there's one thing Hogan's racist creepy ass has going for him, I don't think your average fan considers him to be as shitty at the actual act of pro wrestling as they used to. Right? Right?? Ah fuck him either way.

ANYWAY, even if you don't think Hogan was the shits, and even if you've seen some Hogan in Japan working a more technical style, this match will still knock you on your ass first time around. By the end I think it's more of a spectacle than a great match, but what a spectacle it is. I knew a little bit about SWS before watching this but read up more after and what a glorious trainwreck it sounded like it was. Thankfully it lasted long enough and had deep enough pockets to produce this once in a lifetime encounter. I used to wonder why Tenryu would pop up in WWF from time to time. Now I'm wondering why he never had a run in New York!

JJZ: When I saw you played this match forward my first thought was Hogan can't half ass this match. And right from the start his moveset is different and his strikes are harder. I believe Tenryu would have made him pay if they weren't. Hogan's demeanor is so different in this match than any other I have seen before. Tenryu looks like he doesn't give any fucks who Hulk Hogan is and I even thought he was gonna drop the Hulkster on his head with that powerbomb. I was impressed with how giving Hogan was in this match. I don't want to give anything away but I was shocked at the things Hulk let Tenryu get away with. This was a really good match with a hot ass crowd. I thought the offense was 50/50 and both guys came out looking good.

They Call Me Mr Dynamite

Davey Boy Smith/Dynamite Kid VS Genichiro Tenryu/Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW RWTL 7/12/1985

CJD: One of the aspects of 80s wrestling I find most fascinating is All Japan and New Japan sniping talent from each other. And still to this day there's a quality to watching the British Bulldogs in AJPW that makes me think "did this really happen??" But they fit in seamlessly and this match is a great example. Both teams cut off the ring nicely and both teams wrestle to their strengths. I feel like we've been bringing that fire back and forth with our match selections and this might be a bit more of a refreshing mint to cool the palette. But I'm all about those ebbs and flows and while this isn't a MOTY kind of encounter, it is a dream match that I was very satisfied with. And am still kind of amazed even happened in the first place.

JJZ: So I'm gonna start this with a question that I know I could just look up but I'll act like it's the 80s where that wasn't possible. Did Dynamite Kid hurt his back in AJPW or NJPW? Davey Boy really has had a crazy career. Having successful runs in 80s WWF, AJPW and NJPW. Then early 90s WWF and WCW. Then again in late 90s WWF. Dude has been around. Definitely have a classic build starting out here. Gotta point out real quick that this match gets extra points for being in my favorite AJPW ring. Love the red and blue split. Very nice tag match. Told a good story and everyone came out looking strong. I like the finish because honestly I didn't see it coming in the RWTL. Also love the connection between the two matches from Dynamite against a top NJPW star last week to Dynamite against top AJPW stars.