Best Friends, Stiffer Enemies

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ret52

Stan Hansen/Dan Spivey (c) VS Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW Tag Team Championship 7/6/1991

CJD: This match is bonkers. You have three of the best wrestlers in the world at the time doing what they do best... and Dan Spivey. It's very fitting that Misawa is the first of the Four Pillars to hold the Mason Dixon Tri-State Outercontinental WWKD Championship. Will his former best friend turned bitter rival be the next in line?? Contemplate that question while you go on the journey this match will take you on. You once mentioned how AJPW is a vault of greatness that never ends. This is a perfect example, a match I would never look twice at normally, but I was very happy I made time for.

JJZ: You know me so you know how excited I would be for this. The way Hansen comes in and cleans house right away, followed by Kawada throwing the belts at him is such a tone setter. Nothing gets me as excited while watching wrestling as 90s AJPW. The story in this match is Kawada and Hansen trying to kill each other. The hate they are wrestling with I feel through the screen. Bonkers is a fantastic word for this match. It's a ride that I hope never ends but we both know it will. Shout out to my son Joey for watching this match with me and learning all about the 4 pillars and "The Lariat" Stan Hansen!

Mason-Dixon Tri-state Outercontinental WWKD Champions #51-60

As Play It Forward enters its second year we've been kicking things off with a diverse lineup of MDTSOCWWKD Champions indeed. Over the course of Champs #51-60 we featured wrestlers born in a total of five different countries and talent that spans multiple generations. Let's take a look at all the elite talent that held the big gold imaginary belt through the end of March up until now!

51. Kaito Kiyomiya
52. Naomichi Marufuji
Past and future Kings of NOAH. Kiyomiya is among the youngest Champs we've had at PIF although I believe "Hot Fire" Myron Reed still holds that record.

53. Prince Devitt
54. Dave Mastiff
A nice contingent of EuroChamps. While contemplating young Champions I was shocked to learn that Mastiff is in fact 34 years old. He might be a Bastard but he's a Babyfaced Bastard!

55. Kevin Steen
56. Super Dragon
57. Mike Quackenbush
You like indy wrestling? We like indy wrestling. The series of matches featured over the course of these 3-4 weeks were some of the most interesting and fun to watch for me thus far in PIF's history.

58. Tiger Mask IV
59. Jushin Thunder Liger
You like 90s junior heavyweights? We like 90s junior heavyweights... still having great matches in the 2000s!

60. Satoshi Kojima
I'd be hard pressed to name 100 PIF Champs better than him.

Koji Outta Nowhere

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28m89p

Satoshi Kojima VS Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW 7/18/2004

JJZ: Always heard about Misawa returning to AJPW for the first of two times but never went out of my way to watch since it was against Kojima, so when I saw this match I thought it was perfect. I must say, with the video quality of our last three matches, I feel like it's 3AM and we're in your parents' basement, which I'm loving. This show is in Ryogoku Hall, a venue I wish promotions ran at more these days. Something about the seating I just love. This match is worked like a Triple Crown title match even though Kawada had to defend the belts following it. There are big bumps, great falsies, and a fantastic botch. It's wild to hear the crowd cheering for Kojima over Misawa at an AJPW show. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did Chris.

CJD: Honestly, I didn't even know this match ever happened or that Misawa even went back to AJPW at all. This match feels like his penance for leaving. No part of him looks like he wants to be there, he's clearly banged up even by Misawa standards in this era, and he still makes Kojima look like a million bucks. This VQ is absolutely making me feel like I'm eating a slice of delicious room temperature greasy Celebre's stromboli in that tiny South Philly basement. The reaction of the crowd for Misawa and Kohei Wada shaking hands got me some sort of emotional. I gave Kojima a lot of shit in this era but really if had self edited just a little bit he would have been the perfect ace to help AJPW through the difficult times to come. This was a fascinating watch on a few different levels.

You've Been Thunderstruck

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2t05zm 

Jushin Thunder Liger VS Satoshi Kojima - NJPW G1 Climax 8/8/2001

CJD: Funny story. Back on the ROH message boards in the mid 2000s, which was about as much of an internet cesspool as you could get without diving into the dark web, I remember a post where someone wanted Gabe to bring Kojima back in. I said it would be a waste of money and there were 100 better wrestlers in Japan at the time I'd rather see instead. I got called out to list them, so I did. People really took umbrage to Billy Ken Kid in particular.

Fast forward to 2019, you know I get down with Koji these days, and that I've especially been on a kick of his matches lately. Something to keep in mind going into this was this was a time period when juniors entering the G1 was seen a huge challenge. Liger always makes for extremely entertaining junior/heavyweight matches, and after more matches featured here on PIF than any other wrestler we STILL haven't touched the prime of his career. But something tells me this isn't the last we've seen of him. Enjoy this one baby, dare I say it's right up your alley.

JJZ: Liger working with heavyweights is so good. I'm enjoying his gear in this match. Kojima I'm hit or miss on, but lately, like you I've enjoyed him. The design of Kojima's tights keep tricking me, and I think he has his straps down. Which I know is a big no-no for CJD. This crowd is hot for Liger to get this win. Kojima using his size and weight to slow the match down and wear down Liger is basic nice psychology. They're building up to Liger's comeback perfectly and it does not disappoint. This home stretch is awesome. Not sure why but just like the crowd I popped big for that sleeper. Totally didn't see it coming. Damn Chris. You found an Ace of a match my friend.

Also would love if you can find that list. I 100% remember you doing that. And at the time I agreed with you about Billy Ken Kid.

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!

Dragon's Gonna Stretch You

Super Dragon VS Mike Quackenbush - RevPro Revolution J Tournament 2002

JJZ: Talk about a styles clash here. Right off the bat Super Dragon is showing more technical skill than I'm used to and Quack is working a little stiffer than he usually does. In my opinion shows the respect these two have for each other. This match really gave me a '93 ECW FanCam vibe. With the last Dragon match being pretty epic, this was a nice counterpoint to show him work a more straight forward style match. Quack brings a lot of energy and storytelling which is what he does best.

CJD: I was as excited for this match as any you've ever played forward to me. And for historical significance alone this is well worth us featuring. Unfortunately I couldn't help but wish for the only encounter these two ever had that it happened after they both had a bit more seasoning. This was disjointed, in a tournament setting it was perfectly fine with some good moments, but on a whole it played like more of a curiosity. Which is '93 ECW FanCam through and through, so I guess that's fitting!

Baby Steen, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

Kevin Steen/El Generico VS Super Dragon/Excalibur - CZW 12/11/2004

CJD: Totally selfish pick on my end this week. I've been reading about this match for a decade plus but would probably never sit down to it otherwise. CZW did their best to kill my favorite promotion, Big Japan, a few years previous to this. It made it difficult to ever give them a fair chance. The fact that their premise was a shitty ECW rip off didn't help entice me. But I knew they were bringing in great talent and I always heard this in particular was a benchmark match getting some under appreciated talent booked on the East Coast. Watching now it didn't disappoint in the slightest. The commentary is shitty, the match is a product of the times, but this is a statement performance from everyone involved and some great tag team wrestling.

JJZ: Look at Mr Steen. Baby baby shark. SUPER excited for Super Dragon. Excalibur being in this match made me smile since I haven't watched anything with him in forever. Props to him for becoming one of the best commentators in the game. El Generico is soooo skinny. This era of CZW always felt very backyard to me and I don't mean that in a negative way. Backyard wrestling is very near to my heart. God do I miss dickhead Super Dragon. I agree Chris that this CZW is a shitty ECW but can you imagine Super Dragon in ECW? You can tell how much this match means to all four of these wrestlers at this time. This match was so much fun and I found myself saying "Jesus Christ" and "Oh fuck!" out loud many times. If a match could perfectly define 2000s Indy wrestling this would be it.

CJD: Kayfabe Commentaries needs to produce a time traveling Super Dragon fantasy booking series. That's a license to print money right there.

JJZ: YEAH they do.

We Are The Sons Of No One, 100% Bastards Of Young

Dave Mastiff VS Kevin Steen - PCW 11/16/2013

JJZ: WWE Kevin Owens is very good but Kevin Steen is on a totally different level for me. I really miss Steen and I didn't even realize it until I watched this match. This has a fantastic mix of comedy and stiffness. Both wrestlers work the crowd while building a solid story and delivering a satisfying finish.

CJD: These are two surprisingly agile big beefy bastards beating each other up and letting their personalities shine. I think this match has a lot of similarities to my pick last week but Steen brings an entirely different set of skills to the table. Mastiff reminds me a little of babyface Jerry Blackwell in these two matches, a guy who you'd peg for a heel at first glance but who connects with the crowd in a "one of us" kind of way immediately. Also both are surprisingly good working underneath considering their size. And as for Steen, well we'll see more of him next week!

You Either Die A Prince, Or Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Demon

Prince Devitt VS Dave Mastiff - IPW:UK 1/19/2014

CJD: This match is interesting on a few levels. A few years later in the same promotion this would have been wrestled as much more of a dream match, but here you can tell IPW:UK is more of a mix of families and a small town indy crowd. Mastiff and Devitt wrestle as such but with more of a big match closing section, with the future star playing the touring heel to the local beefy bruiser. I was into the throwback feel of this one, and the opportunity to switch up the great run we just had from Japan.

JJZ: We're getting the Demon. I agree with the kid in the beginning of the match that stated Mastiff is "very large." I'm into this venue and crowd, they're popping at all the right moments. This bout tells a great story had me marking out a few times. When you first shared it I thought I'd seen it before but I was definitely wrong this time. I 100% approve of the 100% Bastard being the new MDTSOWWKD Champion!

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!