Crazy Insane Kid, Or Insane Crazy Kid

 

Jonathan Gresham VS Masashi Takeda - Bloodsport 4/4/2019

JJZ: I know I've seen this match before, I don't know if you have though. Either way it is 100 percent worth a second watch. To put it simply, this match is wonderful. Technical, stiff, raw, aggressive, brilliant. Takeda impressed me so much with what he did. And on the flip side Johnny G impressed me with his striking. This is a 10 minute masterpiece. If I was there live for this I don't know what could've topped it because it was so much more than I thought it was gonna be. And I had high expectations, especially the second time around. Curious if either of these wrestlers will make your greatest wrestler project you're currently doing?

CJD: I have seen this before, I was there the night our good buddy Shaun "the Jawn" played us this gem! But make no mistake, I'll gladly rewatch this match any day of the week. It was one of my favorites of 2019 and you know that was a year loaded with wrestling I enjoyed. In fact, this very show was so stacked that one of the only matches that topped it for me happened later that night! And it wasn't the main event which most people had as match of the night!! It's funny to me that for a Bloodsport event the commentators are totally ignorant of Takeda's 11-4-1 MMA record and just want to play up his deathmatch background. I get pushing the styles clash but come on. I actually did nominate Gresham for #GWE26 but whether or not he gets my vote really depends on his next few years. Takeda I'd be surprised but if I can find more matches like this one then maybe! I think he's a very good, not great deathmatch wrestler, but I love him in matches where he brings that unpredictable edge to a different setting. As for this match you nailed everything great about it. So many wonderful transitions I totally forgot about. I love how it escalated. I love the finish. I love this match!

Forever Forward Fridays

 

Jaguar Yokota/Devil Masami VS Jumping Bomb Angels - AJW 12/10/1984

CJD: I watched this match a few months ago and decided to revisit it this week to see if I wanted to play it forward. You know I'm on the 5 year quest that is Greatest Wrestler Ever which I'm going to try to not let bleed over into our blog too too much, but is bound to overlap at times. And our current Joshi Journey on fridays has been great for that as I've gotten to watch two or more matches from some serious contenders who I need more exposure to. And this match is one I'm going to bring back to you because holy shit, talk about trailblazing. These women were tearing shit up in 1984, setting a pace for high impact tag team wrestling that would make current indy wrestlers jealous. At a glance this might look like a sprint, and on first watch I thought it was more of one. But there's too much substance and too strong fundamentals to consider it anything other than an all-time great tag by my standards on second watch. We've featured a lot of tag team wrestling on Tuesdays and Fridays lately but I hope this still stands out from the pack for you. I know it's a match that really stuck with me.

JJZ: This might be the most a match you've shared feels like our old days of watching wreslting together. Old, grainy, I have no clue who some of the talent is. But most importantly, I'm excited. I don't know why but the start of this gave me a flashback to the movie Body Slam with Piper and Tonga Tom. Anyway, this was a fucking blast. Non stop action with spots I wouldn't expect to see in 1984. The pace for that time was also a very nice surprise. My wrestling viewing has been down so much as of late that Play It Forward has been my central vein. Matches like this always raise my heartrate and remind me why I love this sport. Now let's talk about the finish. Jesus. I made sure I had my 1984 Wrestling Mind on and when I saw this I was shocked. I was expecting the typical 80s AJPW/NJPW double countout. I don't care about the spoiler because fuck it, that was awesome. Can't wait to kick something back after that.

B Faultless Junky's Runnin' Dry

 

Masashi Takeda/Takumi Tsukamoto VS Masaya Takahashi/Takayuki Ueki - BJW Barbed Wire Board Death Match 7/5/2016

CJD: I was looking for something pretty different from your match to play forward. But unless I was going with a Kodaka singles match the material just wasn't there online. And I tried with Kodaka but you know I'm not a big fan, while I do like Tsukamoto. So here we have another undercard deathmatch. Well at least this time it's the semi main. And we have another team who are the clear favorites (B Faultless Junky's... how about that for your random Japanese team names) and two much less known guys giving them everything they've got. And you've got a simple gimmick in a barbed wire board match rarely done well these days. So very similar to your match despite my best efforts. But also like your match I think this way overdelivers. I'm also obviously giving you a path with a ton of options out with Takeda if you don't want to have to dig through the gutters like we've been doing a bit lately on Tuesdays. I'd probably take that road out if I were you in all honesty but you do you baby.

JJZ: I'll tell you what, the time on the match said 11 minutes but they made it feel like a 20 minute war. Love love love that this was just a barbed wire boards match. Not that that isn't insane but sometimes it nice to just focus on one crazy ass thing not seventeen. The last quarter of the match was really something. Edge of your seat material. I really enjoyed this one. Curious where it will lead me. Tsukamoto impressed me a lot in his matches last week and here. He definitely has that BJW toughness in him. I know both his matches were in the same vein but I think it was a little bit of a coming out party for him in my eyes.

Forever Forward Fridays

Crush Gals VS Akira Hokuto/Devil Masami - GAEA 05/14/2000

JJZ: The madness that is this match is hard to put into words. My wrestling viewing has been down recently and matches like this make me want to go down a squared circle wormhole for the rest of the day. Wild, stiff, a little sloppy (nothing wrong with that) are all ways I'd describe the match. Many times I said "Jesus!" out loud. Also saw a few things I've never seen before. The crowd was great and made the tension in the arena come through the screen! The non stop action made for a what the fuck is gonna happen next viewing experience. I couldn't see how this was gonna go home so for me the finish was perfect. I'm super curious if you've seen this before. If not hope you enjoy as much as I did.

CJD: You sent me this match the same week you sent me a deathmatch to watch and I definitely didn't expect this to be the wilder of the two matches. But boy was it ever. The Crush Gals have recently reunited for the first time in years and are main eventing GAEA's 5th Anniversary show in front of 9,000 fans. To answer your question no I haven't seen this before as early 2000s joshi is definitely a blind spot for me but right off the bat that says a ton about the historical significance all 4 of these women have in Japanese pro wrestling. This match is so all over the place I don't even know what to say about it. There were times I was kind of over it, but then it would hook me back in. By the end it's just too damn entertaining. I feel like there's an American influence on this match, like a big RAW main event or even ECW, but then with all the joshi legacy and storytelling that these women bring. It wrapped up like the ending of a blockbuster action movie. This one really took me on a ride!

On The Mic I Score, Just Like The Yankee Two Kenju

Yuko Miyamoto/Isami Kodaka VS Takumi Tsukamoto/Toshiyuki Sakuda - Big Japan 5/13/2017

JJZ: Well this looks insane. Let's see how far they take it with this match. Isami will always just look way too skinny to be a death match wrestler to me. Everything must hurt so much more!! Tsukamoto and Sakuda don't like familiar. I haven't watched a ton of newer Big Japan though. Man, I really got a kick out of this match. It had some ridiculous stuff but then a few spots snuck in that made me laugh. We've watched some sick ass shit together so I know this won't be anything shocking to you but I think you'll get what I was going for with this one. Miyamoto really shows he is a men among boys at time. I'd love to grab a best of the decade from him at some point in the future. By the end of the match everyone did things that impressed me and I'm really excited to see what you'll be throwing back at me next week.

CJD: Ha, I was actually thinking Kodaka looked like he's put on some muscle finally at this point, and against Sakuda who's especially tiny for once I thought Isami was a legitimate threat in this match. You know I love Big Japan but there's one thing about BJW that usually comes up short and that's undercard deathmatches. (At least I'm assuming this is an undercard match, I'm not positive I have the date right on this one.) They often are there just for the sake of it, more of the snuff film aspect of deathmatches that I think critics of the genre assume they're all generally like. When deathmatches are great they have huge drama but on an undercard match it's hard to create those stakes and most BJW shows don't even try. Even worse then guys will overcompensate by doing the sickest shit imaginable to themselves in a spot nobody remembers or cares about. This match strikes a good balance with both of those issues, by not trying to do too much, and building with a nice steady pace that actually gets you invested by the end. Yankee Two Kenju are the clear favorites and control the pace but the young guns more than hold their own and make me buy that they might pull off the upset. Miyamoto does look like the best guy in the match but nobody looks bad here. It reminds me of a Kobashi/Taue VS Vader/Akiyama match I watched recently I was telling you about, where it looked can't-miss on paper but nobody looked better for it. This looked like nothing but made me look forward to the next match I watch from everyone in it. Which for some of them will be next week!
And jesus, that one bump Yuko took!!!

Forever Forward Fridays

Mayumi Ozaki VS Akira Hokuto - JWP Thunder Battle Queen in Yokohama II 11/18/1993

CJD: John last week you talked about those matches that you are on the fence about for the first half but hook you for the second half. Well this was a different type of hot and cold match for me, Act 1 I was all in, Act 2 not so much, Act 3 brought things home nicely enough that I still enjoyed the ride overall. Watching more Ozaki she has a ton of charisma, even in a field of GOAT joshi wrestlers in her generation, but she definitely suffers from some of the tendencies I don't love about the style. Hokuto is one of those GOAT peers though and especially excels in big match settings so she helps reign in some moments of this one that go off the rails a bit. Phil talked about the traditional joshi narrative last week and what I like most about this match is how it's a heated interpromotional match like we've seen the Dangerous Queen in many times over but it's not pandemonium from start to finish like we often would expect. The nasty competitive edge is there but this is more of a pot that's simmering forever but you can never tell when it's going to boil over. So it skirts the line of that traditional joshi psychology but I think still presents something pretty different. And there are some little moments that I won't spoil but really drive home what great personalities both of these women are. And man I really loved those first 8 minutes or so. Very curious what you think about this one!

JJZ: Now this is the wild ass Joshi I was first used to. Quick, stiff, a little sloppy (not knocking it) with random technical work. Love it! Also love the foot biting spot again!!! This match has a charm to it I can't really put into words. To me it's just joshi and I Iove the ride it takes me on. There is beauty in the madness that this match brings. The rapidness of it really confuses me to the point that I can't not watch every single second. The anything you can do I can do better back and forth leaves you wondering what the fuck is next. Great crowd btw. Both ladies sell very well and make me say by the end what is it gonna take to finish one of them off??

Bad Kana Follows You Around

Kana VS Yuko Miyamoto - Kana Box Office SGP Global Jr Heavyweight Championship 10/27/2013

CJD: I'm not going to lie, I'm a Yuko Miyamoto mark and would've played this match forward even if it was just to see what you played back. But lucky for both of us this match is actually really damn good. Kana has to work for every little bit she gets in this match and Yuko definitely does not ease up due to the intergender aspect. Watching these two Asuka matches back to back from earlier in her career I'm immediately impressed by how good she was at just plain wrestling. Her transitions into and out of holds puts a lot of other wrestlers to shame. The other thing I'm struck by is how she refuses to let a match drag. She brings energy into moments that hook you back in before your attention can even start to wander. Add in the charm of that weird tiny venue that looks like an early level boss fight in a NES game, and Ultraman Robin presenting the prestigious SGP Global Jr Heavyweight Championship, and this match was an easy choice.

JJZ: I feel like I've seen wrestling in this venue before. Any help on that CJD? I love that Miyamoto is respecting Kana at the start with his "You do belong in the ring with me" attitude. It's very inspiring to think that Kana who became Asuka has reached such great heights in the biggest wrestling company in the world. This match is the opposite of junk food. It's an art house feature. Nothing was wasted and the crowd was buzzing at times. No commentary added to the drama while the camera work really made the match feel epic. It definitely wasn't 50/50 but I never felt like Kana was getting dominated. Everything was executed well and stiff. I liked the finish and thought both wrestlers came out of this match looking great.

CJD: I THINK it's the venue BattlArts ran later on. Not positive though. Love it either way!

Gone Fishin'

Hey y'all, we're going to take a week off. Nothing major, just a little r&r time for the FanCam Connection. We'll be back with a banging Kana oddity next Tuesday and a classic Mayumi Ozaki spectacle next Friday!

Forever Forward Fridays

Cuty Suzuki VS Mayumi Ozaki - JWP Openweight Championship Semifinals 10/15/1995

JJZ: I'm sure when watching matches to play forward, like me sometimes you get five ten maybe even 15 minutes into a match and decided this ain't cutting the mustard and turn it off. Several times I considered bailing because of the slow start and I just was not in the mood for something like that at that moment. But boy oh boy did this son of a bitch build to an epic ass home stretch. Just gonna point out that there was a little slop rounding third, but I didn't mind. Joshi's wildness is something I've always appreciated more than been bothered by. During this Joshi ride my unfamiliarness has been great because everything is new to me baby!!! I had no clue who was gonna win and since it's part of a tournament I hope you don't either.

CJD: So you know I usually watch your match first and read your comments second. And I was literally going to come back and say something like "the first half of this match was fine, the second half was fucking bananas." Low and behold you already lead with pretty much that! Really the 50/50 build wasn't bad, there was good intensity, it just wasn't that engaging. But man Ozaki flips out on the outside with the damndest one handed bulldog I've ever seen, a wacky dive, a 2 Cold Scorpio direction change splash back in, and then Cuty eventually transitions back to offense with an electric chair slam and 3 consecutive top rope double stomps!! And I'm not even giving away the biggest holy shit moments in this match! Ozaki is one of those classic joshi names I know and I've liked what I've seen but I'm pretty green overall. Looking forward to watching more of her next week. This Friday joshi run is going strong and I have no idea if there's an end in sight but I like the little PIF subplot it's created and our good buddy Phil joining in on so much of the ride. And Cuty Mania Vol 2 keeps delivering!! Last thoughts, we talk a lot about what makes for a good opening round match and finals in a tournament, but this was a perfect semi final. Builds at a good pace, doesn't outstay its welcome, big finishing stretch but still leave something on the table for the main event. Also it set the seeds for some story line work going into the finals I would assume.

PB: The last few entries have presented me with the opportunity to express my adoration for the quintessential joshi narrative. This time around I knew I was in for something different before the match even started. The staredown prior to the bell immediately tells you everything that you needed to know about what to expect in the 17 minutes to follow. Whether intentional or not, there is a slight hint of intimidation behind Suzuki's brave posturing. This felt appropriate considering Ozaki doesn't often play nice. The a-typical silence and brooding pace of the first few minutes sucked me in, but as much as I love a good slow-burn part of me wonders if choosing to forgo the traditional high-paced opening salvo came at the expense of getting the crowd invested from the start. I'm not sure whether the pacing of the rest of the event contributed to the underwhelming response, but it didn't stop them from telling an incredibly solid story which isn't always easy in a tournament structure. The ending was a little on the loose side, but the body of the match and the extra thought put into the psychology left me wanting very little from this match.

I Should've Known You Would AP Cross Me

Kana VS Ayako Hamada - SHIMMER 10/27/2012

JJZ: I definitely should be in bed right now. I need to be up in 5 hours. But! I'm feeling my drink as my grandmom would say and want to watch some wreslting! I'm picking Kana to give you a path out of Joshi if you'd like. The back and forth hold for hold start was very well done in my humble opinion. This was a nice 50/50 match with stiff strikes and tight spots. The crowd is super into this and I am jealous I wasn't there live for this one. I loved the finish because I wasn't expecting it. I thought it would go the other way! Hamada is really good. We both now how good Asuka is but Hamada can work. I was really left impressed with how well rounded she was.

CJD: First of all, my wife and daughter are away visiting family for the first time since she was born and I'm eating copious amounts of pizza drinking some beers and keeping one eye on our group message with our buds as they razz you about not being able to figure out where to watch Dark Side of the Ring online. So I very much feel like I'm in your living room right now watching this match. Second of all, I love this venue, it looks like somewhere you'd have a beef & beer at. Third of all, this match was paced beautifully! I agree complete that the early game of chess was perfect, really slick wrestling which built the foundation for a great finishing stretch. This match felt so big, like an irresistible force VS an immovable object. They could have easily pressed the tempo because of how hooked the crowd was but instead that kept that steady build and the big moments were all that much more rewarding as a result. We have been featuring so much great women's wrestling lately and this match still stands out as one of my favorites.