(Written by jom)
Great Kusatsu vs. The Stomper (11/04/1979)
The (Mongolian) Stomper makes his debut in the Kokusai zone. I deeply respect Kusatsu's commitment to getting over all the top act foreigners in late stage IWE, usually at the cost of his own credibility as a main eventer. Here he is bumping like a beast for Stomper, getting beaten down and choked out while letting Stomper get over all his bigger moves and, more importantly, his character. Kusatsu certainly isn't a weakling in this match though; he pulls off some of his usual big spots, like the always great counter cobra twist and the figure four leglock, and he even hits a massive suplex on Stomper that shakes the ring. Still, Stomper is a real animal of a worker, frantically hunting down Kusatsu and always applying the pressure. He has Yasu Fuji hovering around him as well, ready to jump in and interfere any time Kusatsu gets a little too deep in control. Grading this in the "great match" way feels almost wrong, because this match actually does exactly what it sets out to do and does so excellently. Stomper is now a credible top guy, ready to take on Rusher and Oki and whoever else he'll need to stomp all over in this tour. Good stuff and a well-done debut match.
Mike George vs. Kintaro Oki (04/26/1980)
Good stuff. Mike George is a Mid-South guy, so I honestly assumed he would fit like a glove, and he kinda does? Maybe it's just by the nature of this match, but while he definitely works well, he's not doing as much fighting as I would've expected. This is primarily a grappling match by design though, so maybe that's not the best option for studying the Mike George capabilities. This follows a pretty basic structure of Oki dominating on the mat, George pushing back with fouling, and Oki making the big comeback with chops and headbutts. It's the time-tested formula for most IWE main eventers, and it's one I usually enjoy no matter what. This match is no exception, albeit it's certainly not trying to stand out from the pack. Oki's armwork is cool and feels very unrelenting, as he constantly hunts for grounded armlocks from any and all positions. George's fouling is more than competent, and features the first white boy cross chop I've ever seen. The Oki comeback, as always, rocks. Not a match that elicits much discussion, but a perfectly fine outing indeed.
Rusher Kimura vs. Umanosuke Ueda (04/20/1979)
For some, this might be the most anticipated matchup of the IWE voyage. IWE's greatest hero takes on its most notorious villain with the IWA World Heavyweight championship on the line. Just for a bit of historical context, these two's first singles match came in 1976, where Ueda beat Kimura and actually won the title (a tragically lost piece of wrestling as far as I know). They'd have a rematch a month later that would end in a no contest, and then Ueda vanished from wrestling for half a year, vacating the belt before Kimura could ever win it back. Now, here we are, three years later. This match starts with the very rare appearance of Thinker Kimura, as Rusher actually tries to out-wrestle Ueda to cancel out Ueda's bullshit fouling. It's a fascinating strategy for a guy like Rusher to use. He's a wrestler who thrives off of passion, and it's almost bizarre to see him use his brain instead of his heart for his decision-making, but it's an awesome wrinkle in the match for sure. Of course, no amount of hammerlock hunting can stop Ueda from engaging in his fouling ways, complete with an infinite number of headlock punches and foreign object jabbing, and a man can only take so much. It isn't long before Kimura abandons the measured approach and lets the raging beast loose, turning the match into the frantic bloody brawl it was always meant to be. Chairs and ring bells are smashed over heads, referees are ignored, and the ring itself is torn apart. I can't imagine there was ever any doubt that the Ueda/Kimura singles would rip, but it truly passes with flying colors. The wonderful IWE violence we're all here for.
Mighty Inoue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (11/25/1978)
Well, hey there Jumbo. I've talked a bit about the IWE/NJPW feud of 1979 and 1980, but I've somehow yet to talk about anything fromthe IWE/AJPW feud that took place during the preceding years. This is from 1978's Japan League, where Jumbo repped Zen Nihon as he skipped the tournament blocks period and jumped straight into the single elimination stage. Inoue is a perfect dance partner for Jumbo, as Inoue pretty much fulfills the same role of revolutionary young gun. And wouldn't you know it, these two very clearly have a great match in them! This is not that match, but it's a very nice preview of what's possible for the pairing, and a very good match in its own right. The early portion is that old grappling that has become lifeblood for me, full of interesting little counters and complex entries into basic holds. Inoue is a fiend for an armlock and Tsuruta does a great job of countering with big arm drags and more subtle movements like dropping a knee on the stomach to prevent the sequence from going all the way back into an armlock. It isn't as engrossing as it certainly could be, but it's competent at worst and genuinely pretty great in a few moments. Once both men start dropping more bombs, this match moves the closest it could possibly get to greatness, with Inoue especially showing out with some truly awe-inspiring counters. Give these guys five more minutes and let them go wilder earlier into the match and you'd have yourself one of the best matches of this ilk from the 70s. As it stands, this is still a ton of fun and worth watching if you're a fan of either man.
Ashura Hara vs. Gypsy Joe (11/07/1979)
As I've mentioned a few times previously, I originally started this IWE journey privately months ago, mostly going through the IWE Chronicles DVD releases while randomly watching matches posted to the Channel 12 account that has littered my blog since turning this into a writing thing. Back then, this match comfortably sat at the top of my list as the very best of what IWE ever offered. Well, it's been a few months since then, and things have changed. I've found matches that speak to my soul just as much as Hara/Joe did. I've found others that may reach me on an even deeper level. But, here I am, months later and one fresh rewatch removed, ready to tell you that this match still hits just as hard, if not harder. This is IWE at its most cruel. More specifically, this is Gypsy Joe at his most cruel. In the Rusher Kimura cage match, I pinpointed him as a Dracula-esque blood drainer, but the Gypsy Joe here feeds more on suffering than blood. The way he tortures Hara around the ring goes beyond the scope of anything seen before, dragging him by the hair and face to throw him into the metal beams on the cage and finding all opportunities to punch him as hard as he can in the nose and jaw. Hara certainly tries to fight back, wildly throwing punches and chops into the air, but always gets cut off and dragged back into hell, convulsing as he goes. Joe's violence would be enough on its own for sure, but Hara's disgusting jerky motions and gasps for breath take his struggles and transform them from an attempt to fight back into an attempt to live. Hara really only gets his comeback through sheer force of will, picking the right moment to put everything he has into one final momentum-shifter, and it starts the most harrowing babyface revenge segment I have ever seen. Ashura Hara, after 10+ minutes of torment, gets it all back in blood by scrambling Gypsy Joe's brains into a mushy mess. I mean it when I say that I don't think it would fly nowadays, at least not in any of the major American or Japanese companies. It's scary, but it's also entirely fitting as a punishment on Joe for his abhorrent actions leading up to the comeback. This is a match of consequences, and the consequences are graver for Joe than any other man. One of the most compelling pieces of work from IWE's catalogue, and one that more than holds up as one of the best IWE matches ever.
...But where exactly does it land on the list??? Considering the occasion of this being the 10th IWE post so far, I thought I'd release my IWE ranking list. This list only includes matches I've covered on Dragon Screw, and I'll release a new list every now and then so the people can know what it's currently looking like. I already know of a few matches that I've already seen that'll probably make it into the top 15 once I cover them (and a few I haven't seen but have high hopes for), but I do feel pretty confident in the top 5 being pretty unshakeable. Behold!!!
Thank you to everyone that has been tuned in for the IWE reviews so far. I'm planning to slow down the posts for the next month or so, just because I want to chill out from making blog post announcements every three or so days. That being said, I already have the lineups figured out for the next few posts, so who knows. Maybe there'll be a new one ready within two days of this. Regardless, thanks again for checking this stuff out, and go watch some IWE bro.
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