(Written by jom)
Ashura Hara vs. Mile Zrno (05/07/1979)
Zrno and Hara run it back just one day after their previous classic. This is our final piece of Zrno's IWE run, which might be the strongest foreigner run in IWE history just based on the average quality of each match on tape. It seems like all it took was one day for Zrno and Hara to figure each other out too, because the grappling in this match is, somehow, noticeably better, a completely mind-blowing turn of events considering just how good the matwork of their first match was. It's almost llave-like in a way, as both men refuse to break contact for minutes on end as they flow through incredible holds and incredible counters to holds and incredible counters to counters of holds. There's plenty of wonderful little moments, like Zrno locking in a hammerlock and slowly pushing Hara to the ground to prevent a bodyslam counter, or Hara pushing his leg into the back of Zrno's knee to force a drop toe hold that Zrno had no intentions of going down for. Zrno and Hara are also not afraid to lay into each other just as hard as they did in their Korakuen match, with Zrno's uppercuts especially standing out. Having said all of that, is this match better than their first encounter as a whole? Sadly, I don't think so, albeit the race is incredibly tight. I could simply say that the finish of the first match is still too magnificent to be overtaken, and that wouldn't be entirely wrong, but that's certainly not the only reason why that match is better. Honestly, this match's progression is strange. For as riveting as the grappling is, it never seems to fully leave that first gear, certainly not helped by this being one fall to a finish rather than another best 2/3 falls match. Once this finish for this match comes, it sort of just happens. It's cool, but it feels almost random compared to the fantastic build-up for their first match's ending stretch. Still, this match is great, and another must-watch for the grappling heads in the audience.
Rusher Kimura vs. Mighty Inoue (06/29/1975)
I will admit that going into this match, I was tepidly excited. I had a strong feeling that whatever they gave me, I would enjoy it, but I also could imagine the less-than-engrossing Kimura matwork I'd have to get through for all the good bits. I think Kimura is a perfectly fine worker on the ground, but enough Kimura matwork matches have come and gone in my life for me to know that his matwork just isn't what I want to see from him. It's not his strong suit, and on occasion feels like a waste of time. This match is not a waste of time. This match is a wonderful case of both men using their time perfectly. A sizeable chunk of it is clipped, and maybe that portion was all Kimura matwork, but the wrestling we do get is totally killer through and through. This is Rusher Kimura engaging in counter-style pro wrestling, and, against all previous assumptions, he's actually pretty amazing at it. He and Inoue go through sequences clearly based around Kimura's partial immobility, which leads to Kimura eating shit some times and pulling off awe-inspiring counters in the others. This match is also a wonderful case study for Mighty Inoue, not only as a worker, but also as a character. He is ruthless right from the jump, turning slaps into punches and choking Kimura in the corner, looking for any advantage he can take over the more experienced champ. Once Kimura escalates the violence himself with throat-targeting chops and big bombs, Inoue gets to showcase himself as one of the most resilient men of the time by kicking out of more 1970s kill moves than I've seen anyone else do. It's the type of performance that establishes a guy as a true main event star, and I have to assume that's what it does for Inoue at this point in time. Tack onto all of that a fantastic finishing stretch featuring the very best counter in IWE history and you have yourself one of the greatest straight-up wrestling matches of the era. One day I'll learn to never doubt Rusher Kimura.
Strong Kobayashi vs. Bill Watts (01/19/1974)
I will be entirely honest and admit that some of these 50+ year old Japan singles matches wear on me, at least a little bit. I've spent the last month or so professing my love for Ancient Pro, so it certainly does hurt me to come clean. This match is a strong example of the kinds of older matches that feel a little too much like a chore at times. Basically the entire first half is grappling, and while the grappling has moments of greatness, most of it is pretty dry. I find it fascinating that, at this point in time, there wasn't an obligation to create a sequence out of the matwork. Nowadays, it's entirely impossible to see guys do early match grappling without each hold being part of some larger sequence. In this match though, Kobayashi and Watts maintain holds until their opponent escapes, and that's the end of it. The closest thing to a modern sequence comes with Watts tries to do the same full nelson escape Kobayashi had just used, only for Kobayashi to catch him with another full nelson. Outside of that, each hold was treated as its own spot, and it's certainly an interesting way to look at matwork, if not incredibly tedious at some points. However, I still think this match is pretty sick, mostly because the entire back half is Kobayashi bleeding and hulking up while Watts fluctuates between cheating torturer and big ole baby. They also amp up the energy by 10 for the entire final fall, which helps a lot with engagement. Maybe I would enjoy the early portion grappling if I wasn't a Tiktok-brained zoomer, but that's the way the cards fell, and I do still find a lot of joy in this matchup. Expect more Strong Kobayashi ace run on the blog in the future.
Indian Strap Cage: Great Kusatsu vs. Wahoo McDaniel (11/28/1973)
Now this is way more in line with my brain pattern. This is our only piece of Wahoo McDaniel in IWE footage, which breaks my heart considering Wahoo's one of my favorite territory guys. Thankfully, the single match we have is this one, with one of the best IWE stips I've ever seen. This match also has no sound, which presents a very interesting question: how did the fans in attendance respond? Considering the kind of action and their usual reaction to cage matches, it's a safe assumption that they were super vocal and gave this match the kind of noise it deserved. It's also true though that IWE crowds could be criminally silent depending on any number of factors. Therefore, we must consider this match to possess Schrodinger's Crowd; as long as we have no sound, we have no way of knowing whether or not the crowd audibly cared. Anyways, this match fucking rules. Even with about half of it clipped away, what we get is super sick and exactly what you would want: guys beating the fuck outta each other. I've very quickly come around on Kusatsu being one of my sleeper favorites of the home team IWE boys, and this is just another feather in his cap as he takes the fight to Wahoo with tons of nasty punches and elbows. Wahoo is more than happy to respond with his own punches, as well as those signature chops that probably sounded like death itself. It's only now as I write this review that I realize we have lost one of the best audio experiences in wrestling history. There's slams into the cage and whips with the strap and tons of drama surrounding the four corners winning stipulation. This match almost definitely sounds as good as it looks, but we'll probably never know for sure. If we had this match in complete form with audio, it'd probably be a top 10 IWE matches contender. As we have it now, it's just a real great match, and another piece of ammunition in the slowly growing Great Kusatsu agenda.
Cage: Rusher Kimura vs. Gypsy Joe (05/07/1979)
In the last IWE write-up I did, I spent a good amount of time on the Joe/Kimura tag series, bemoaning the lack of a culminating all-out brawl before realizing that I had no right to criticize those matches for not being something I had concocted in my own imagination. It was a reflective moment for me, a lesson in appreciating something for what it is rather than depreciating for what it isn't. Well, I regret to inform you all that this match is actually exactly what I have been looking for, which means that I have now had my cake and eaten it, too. Gypsy Joe sets the tone by sauntering down to the ring with a sledgehammer, and then spends the rest of the match trying to split Kimura's head open with his own sledgehammer-like fists. There has never been a more vampiric performance in Joe's career, as he relishes in Kimura's ever-growing bloodshed and tries his damndest to get his fill, constantly biting at the wound until his mouth is covered in Kimura's blood. Joe also utilizes The Foreign Object better than any IWE foreigner before or since, using it as a crutch any time Kimura starts to get a little too feisty, and, sometimes, just for fun. It may not shock you to learn that this is also the greatest Kimura performance I have ever seen, as he swings wildly with the hardest punches and slaps he has ever thrown and attempts to destroy Joe's brain with ridiculous headbutts. He's a wonderful face in peril for the whole match, but he shines the most once he finally gets The Foreign Object from Joe, turning into a Dracula of his own and giving Joe his own case of face-ripping torment. At this point in the blog's history, we've talked about a lot of great IWE brawls, and we've talked about a handful of great IWE cage matches. Hell, we've even talked about a different Joe/Kimura cage match. This match stands above everything else so far, and it does that from nearly a mile up. This is, at least up to this point, the greatest IWE match I've ever seen. Oki vs. Bock and Inoue/Hara vs. Ellering/Lathan stand as the only real opponents (in terms of what's been discussed on the blog), and even those feel a step below right now. I'm certainly riding a discovery high and a recent viewing high. I've watched this three times now and I will certainly watch it twice more by the end of the week. Still, even after I cool down, I don't think my opinion will change. It’s simply the best.
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