Astral Projector, Super Astros Projector

TAKA Michinoku/Sho Funaki/Tiger Mask IV VS Papi Chulo/Super Loco/Apolo Dantes- WWF Super Astros 5/30/1999

CJD: I didn't know which way I was going this week. And maybe the weird stuff is just catching my eye right now, but after watching a few okay matches this one stood out because it was just so damn unique. If we watched this in 1999 our minds would have been blown. If you cut out the intros and the Owen Hart memorial stuff this match might not even be 5 minutes. But for what it is, on a WWF show at the time, and with the guys involved... this is fucking bonkers. Pro wrestling is so weird. It's hard to really critique something like this but I will say TAKA and Papi Chulo both came off like stars which was clearly the intent. And our boy TMIV held his own in the process! We've had plenty of weird detours over the years here at PIF and this is one of the weirder ones. Enjoy my friend.

JJZ: So much flavor in this banger baby. I think everyone really shined in this match. It started at a 10 and never stopped honestly. I'm always super impressed with matches like this when the energy is so high and every crazy spot is hit perfect. The chance for shit to go off the rails is very high but all six wrestlers kept it on track. That T Mask backflip kick thingy might've popped me the most because it was hit right on target and that could of easily fanned. Nice pick baybay!

Bred For His Skills In Magic

Jushin Thunder Liger/Tiger Mask IV VS Kenoh/Hajime Ohara - NOAH 8/2/2014

JJZ: This was part of the 2014 NOAH Jr tag league and this is as far from a traditional Jr's match as you will see. It's wild to watch Liger getting out heeled when you think about his nuclear heated run in the past with NOAH. There is a time to wrestle and there is a time to fight. And all four of these guys came to that arena that night for a fist fight. Sometime you watch a match and it is totally opposite of what you expected. Usually you're disappointed. Not in this case at all. I was so taken aback at what I was surprisingly seeing and kept saying to myself, this is so good. How did I not see this before. And I hope you've never seen this before either. Little side note. I know I live and drink at NOAH's well and probably should avoid it for a while but damn I'm glad I took a sip this week.

CJD: This match was such a breath of fresh air. Everyone brought so much to the table but the main thing I was thinking was "fuck me, Jushin Thunder Liger is great." When people think of Liger they probably think of his colorful technical precision and groundbreaking matches. But the thing that is so impressive to me about the thousands of matches he had in his career is how much purpose he put into almost every single one. This feud is such a great example. Neither one of us were aware of it and it's yet it's another in an endless list of great storylines Liger and company built and paid off over his career. Like how many times have you seen Liger, even in a throwaway undercard 6 man like last week, just have "a match?" There's always so much intent there. That's the stuff I love in pro wrestling. And I love Jushin Thunder Liger!! Also Tiger Mask's gear was fire.

JJZ: Yes it was.

YOH Gabba Gabba!

Rocky Romero/SHO/YOH VS Jushin Thunder Liger/KUSHIDA/Tiger Mask IV - NJPW 9/15/2018

CJD: So you've just been through the uphill battle that is finding decent NJPW matches up for free online. I guess they're cracking down more than ever. And this match has a lot going against it. Cheating a bit going right back to SHO. Also right back to KUSHIDA. And yet another extremely short match (don't let the overall runtime fool you, it's first up and flies by). But fuck, this is great trios action while it lasts. Even in its brief duration so much happens and everyone has such a clear role to play. YOH especially shines and you can feel Liger's influence on this division for decades in both directions just from his presence in this simple little match. The way he works with YOH for their interaction here makes me think about how he's done that with so many wrestlers over the years, no matter how small the promotion or how big the stage, he makes everyone he works with feel like you need to watch what comes next for them. I wish I could have found something a bit more interesting for you this week but there was a lot to like here despite the fact I wish it was triple the runtime.

JJZ: Baby cakes this was quite a fun little six man tag. I agree with you that YOH really did shine in this match. This is a match that if you were there live for it might think, this is just a filler match. But it definitely was not. It made the most for what it was. And big ups for the commentators. I really enjoyed the picture they painted for that time in all the wrestlers life. I would love to see that British J-Cup. I'm positive it's not on NJWORLD. I would've definitely watched the shit out of that. My favorite thing about this match was that the vets let the young guys get their shine while still looking good themselves. Nice match baby cakes.

Cat Power

Jushin Thunder Liger VS Tiger Mask IV - NJPW BOSJ Semifinals 6/17/2006

JJZ: Fuck it. In the past four days I've watched a ton of amazing masked wrestlers and this match can stand with any of them. Liger's been played here more than any other wrestler, but I want to watch this match right here right now and it's about damn time the King gets his crown. Without question in my opinion Liger is top 10, maybe MAYBE top 5 all-time. After watching this match TMIV might be the perfect opponent for Liger to end his career against at the Tokyo Dome in 2020. This match has it all. Picks up when it needs to, slows down when it needs to. Technically sound, great highspots, and stiffness. Also Liger is very vocal. Enjoy it my southern bell.

CJD: I loved the subplot of Liger's slow burn to his first title run here at PIF. The crazy thing is we've featured three of his matches and we still haven't even sniffed his prime. Maybe next week...? Either way, this was a blast. I was worried I'd already seen it but luckily I'm thinking of a different match between these two from around the same time period. Liger was an absolute beast in this one, I can't argue your placement of him among the GOATs in the slightest. I hadn't even considered who will retire him, there are so many great options, I'd hate to have to make that call. Great pick JJZ.

I Was Lightning Before The Thunder

Tiger Mask IV (c) VS Mike Quackenbush - FSM NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship 5/11/2007

CJD: Back when this match happened I read a lot about it and considered picking the show up. I bought the first FSM DVD and thought they had potential, but I believe they folded soon after. At one point in time, with much criticism from the message board I posted it on, Tiger Mask IV was in my top 10 wrestlers in the world. This match is years after that but he still has a bit of greatness deep down. After finally watching this I'm pleasantly surprised by what these two did in a venue and in front of a crowd that had to be giving TMIV flashbacks of Michinoku Pro gymnasium shows. I'm also always trying to slowly push PIF back from generation to generation so I'm very curious to see what you come back at me with here.

JJZ: I will confidently say that I've probably watched more wrestling with CJD than almost any person has ever watched wrestling with another human before. So with that certain wrestlers always remind me of Chris. TMIV is one of those wrestlers. Now I do enjoy TMIV so this match has me amped. This is Tiger Mask's second match on PIF but first as the MDTSOWWKD CHAMPION. Love that Bryce is the ref. Big room with a small crowd but they come through nicely. Very surprised to hear that at the time Quack had never wrestled in Japan. He'd be perfect for Dragon Gate or MPro. This has a classic Japanese Junior style but it ends up going in a different direction. Shit!

Editor's note: This match has been taken down since we originally shared it. We'll check back periodically to see if we can find a new link. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Sabre The Flavor

Jushin Thunder Liger/Tiger Mask IV (c) VS Yoshinari Ogawa/Zack Sabre Jr - NOAH GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 12/7/2013

CJD: Nine times out of ten if you put two roads in front of me I'll take the road less traveled. This was the tenth fork in the road for me. I watched a lot of Eagles matches, all of which I liked, but none accomplished what this match did. This is basic, Southern influenced Japanese tag team pro wrestling goodness, and a complete departure from the last ZSJ match. John since you're Captain Noah you may have already seen this one, but on the off chance you haven't then I hope you enjoy it.

JJZ: Really liked this match. The biggest thing that stuck out to me is the fact that Liger/TM IV/Ogawa have all been wrestling as long or longer than ZSJ has been alive at the time of this match and Zack got so much offense in. The respect he was given by two legends says a lot and you can tell he felt little to no pressure in this title match. Ogawa who I am not normally a big fan of did his role of vet tag partner pretty perfect. Loved the end also. Excited to select the next champion!