Ballad Of The Frontiersmen

                     (Written by jom)

     Watching early FMW tapes with friends has reminded me that FMW is probably the greatest promotion of all time. Hell, you can chop off everything that happened after Onita's FMW retirement match and it'd still comfortably sit near the top. Early FMW scratches an itch for me that nothing else from the era does, standing as one of the final bastions for weird gimmicky territory-esque brawling and shenanigans. It's also one of my favorite things to groupwatch, and everything I talk about here comes from the latest instance of me hopping into a voice call and shooting the shit with the buds. I hope you don't have a Tarzan Goto allergy, because if you do, fuck you!!! 

Tarzan Goto vs. Invader #4 (05/29/1991)

     1991 Tarzan Goto deserved a run in Puerto Rico. At least two or three weeks, enough time to get a tag with Carlos Colon and singles matches with TNT and Miguel Perez under his belt. Here he is stepping up to Invader #4 (Jose Estrada Jr.) and completely knocking it outta the park with a great little gem of a brawl. They're tied together with a bull rope and it really has no effect on the match itself, as neither man concerns themselves with the rope. All they care about is hitting each other in the face and chest real hard. Both guys are great punchers, and when they aren't punching, they're chopping, something they're equally great at. Mr. Pogo plays a great manager here too, cutting off a big Goto house of fire with interference and eating his comeuppance a few minutes later. All it takes is four minutes for these men to put together a well-told story, and Tarzan Goto comes out of it looking like a complete badass. Probably one of the best sub-five minute matches of all time, or at least one that speaks to my interests more than many others.

Sambo Asako & Ricky Fuji vs. Big Titan & The Gladiator (09/23/1991)

    Big Titan and Gladiator are such a great team of big ass white guys. They are so good at throwing people, which is a wonderful skill to have when you've been given free reign to throw people. They do a lot of throwing in this match, an Elimination Stretcher Street Fight against two of the biggest fan favorites of the era. Seeing Gladiator somehow pull off a nasty nasty powerbomb on the massive Sambo Asako is a sight to behold. Asako in general is a sight to behold here, hitting weird avalanche DDTs and throwing himself cannon ball-style onto both men on the outside. He also gets hit with one of the gnarliest bumps I have ever seen to start the match, which does a great job of setting the bar for how much his ass would get kicked. Ricky Fuji is really hot in 1991 and I get why he was the way he was after seeing him be so hot. The finish is something I saw happen a good bit in IWE and it fills me with joy to see FMW bring it back, as FMW was IWE's true spiritual successor. Can't go wrong with this one.

Tarzan Goto vs. Leon Spinks (03/25/1992)

    Realistically speaking, this is the most culturally relevant opponent Goto has ever faced, right? Onita and Tenryu are icons of wrestling in Japan, and his stints in Memphis let him face relevant names stateside like Snuka and Lawler, but Leon Spinks goes beyond all of that by quite a bit. Simply put, I could namedrop Snuka and Lawler to my dad and probably get a few words about each, but Spinks would get at least a paragraph. All of that is to say that Goto enters this match with the exact sort of reverence for Spinks' boxing abilities that he deserves. Goto completely controls the first half of the match, but he does so via pure pro wrestling, diving for single legs and drop toe holds while doing everything he can to avoid any jabs or hooks thrown his way. It's a fantastic display of Goto's ability to work to the situation, as well as how explosive he can be, lunging at Spinks with quick and impactful lariats to pulls off some great close down counts. Once Spinks finally gets rolling with the punches, it's lights out for Tarzan Goto, who takes the shots like a champ and sells like death, all while building to a desperate and bloody final stand. Onita, deservingly, gets most of the praise for the early FMW different style fights, but this feels like it could stand right alongside the Onita/Soos or Onita/Matsunagas of the world. Goto finds himself in the Different Style danger zone, and he never once flinches or backs down. What a fight.

The Shooter vs. The Sheik (04/23/1992)

    Hello to The Sheik! I truly love the old man Sheik run in FMW, such a fun time even if Sheik nearly burned to death halfway into it. Very few old man wrestlers have possessed such a powerful fluoride stare, eyes like a dead fish that shoot right through you and into something much darker. Sheik running through crowds with the spike pointed directly out in front of him had to be one of the most terrifying things to witness in 1990s Japan. The Shooter, little rookie Katsutoshi Niiyama, surely knew exactly what he was in for here. That's probably why he jumped Sheik before the bell and punched him in the face as much as he could before Sheik could even get his hands on the spike. This is a demonstration in inevitability, a proof that sometimes things have to happen and no amount of struggle can prevent fate. Shooter certainly puts that to the test with all his fighting, but at the end of the day, the Sheik will be covered in blood, and none of it will be his own. If you like stabbing, you'll love this one.

Tarzan Goto & Atsushi Onita vs. Grigory Verichev & Koba Kurtanidze (12/09/1991)

    Man, Tarzan Goto sure was fighting a lot of gold medalists during the early 90s. Four months before he would face olympic boxing gold medalist Spinks, here he is teaming with big man Onita against judo gold medalists Verichev and Koba. The soviet judokas are super interesting to me, both because they absolutely rule and because I've seen barely anyone ever talk about them. Around 2017, there was this massive push online for a greater reverence for Gary Albright, motivated by a few music videos, a larger push for UWFi footage, and other miscellaneous factors, and the end result was a resounding success. Honestly, if that same effort was put towards canonizing Verichev and Koba, I think it would go the exact same route (even if there's significantly less Koba footage). The two are grappling monsters, eating Goto and Onita alive with tons of throws where they make the stocky wrestlers look as light as feathers from how easily they're manhandled. Verichev stands with his willingness to eat big bumps and great counter-play abilities (including a gargantuan ippon on Goto onto the floor), but Kobe really brings it home in the ending stretch by hitting Goto with some of the scariest belly to belly suplexes I have ever seen, somehow turning each one into a neck drop halfway into the motion. Onita and Goto deliver all the usual fireworks, complete with amazing Goto headbutts and tons of Onita fire, and they never relent in their attempts to conquer the soviet judo forces with the spirit of pro wrestling. It may not be as climactic as the previously-discussed Spinks match, but it makes up for it by being sooooo god damn fun. Fantastic match from four fantastic wrestlers in a fantastic company. I fucking love FMW!!!

Goto Ippa 09/30/2007

               (Written by jom)

     We return to Asakusa Indies Arena Fight Club. We return to Tarzan Goto's izakaya. We return to another great day of Goto Ippa action. I usually try to space out these show reviews to have a little bit of variety, as that is the spice of life. However, I've just been in a Tarzan Goto mood (coinciding with my IWE mood), and I've actually still never seen this show, even though I bought it almost a year ago. I kind of do that a lot. For the purpose of working on my bad habits as well as consuming more Tarzan Goto goodness, we are breaking unwritten rules and checking out another Goto Ippa show only a week after the last Ippa review. A lot of the same faces are back, and we've got a couple new ones to check out this time around. Plus, a massive money main event. What's not to love? So kick back, relax, enjoy some Tarzan Goto pizza (which did exist), and let's jump right in.

Shimizu No Gohaku vs. Lee Gak Who

      Lee Gak Who is probably most well known for that time Keita Yano shot on him and made him cry on an EXIT show. He's generally an awful worker with a propensity for taking liberties and no-selling, so much so that the aforementioned Keita incident isn't the only shoot I've seen him involved in. Considering all that, you've gotta imagine how shocking it is for me that I think the first portion of this match is genuinely great. Shimizu and Who hit the mat and don't leave it for about three minutes, going back and forth with really interesting and scrappy holds. Who hunts for armbars and kneebars with a more shooty mindset, which goes perfectly with Shimizu's amateur positioning and propensity for sugar holds. It's easily the best grappling I've seen on a Goto Ippa show yet, and it filled me with more confidence in Lee Gak Who than ever before. Sadly, the two eventually stood up, and that's what reminded me that I am watching a Lee Gak Who match. Lee Gak Who is truly awful. Shimizu spends most of the match weathering the storm of his strange full-force elbows and bizarre hesitation. The issue is that Shimizu never tries to get any payback on Who, nor does he ever even push the pace. He seems entirely content with letting Lee Gak Who dictate the match, which is an awful decision on his part. There are certainly cool or interesting moments in the match, mostly stemming from Lee Gak Who hitting nasty shots from weird angles, but nothing actually good for the match as a whole. A total mess, and one that didn't even have the balls to be a fun mess either. 

Wild Bear vs. Asuka Ichigeki

    For the second review in a row, I am here to tell you that Asuka Ichigeki's match is not good. I don't enjoy doing it! I fully believed in my last review that Mountain High was at fault for that match's failures, but two in a row is not a good look for Goto Ippa's resident karateka. Wild Bear is at least a more receptive worker and gives Ichigeki more to chew on, going for the usual strategy of out-grappling the striker early on before spending a lot of his time biting Ichigeki's hands and feet and crying in pain from Ichigeki's holds. Ichigeki once again delivers some very nice kicks (including a cool little handstand kick in the latter half of the match), but it's impossible to not notice that he is just not able to ramp the intensity up enough. The match moves at a snail's pace, never a good thing for a different style fight, and too much of it is the same formula of "Bear gets a hold in, Ichigeki punches and kicks his way out, Ichigeki puts his own hold on and Bear takes half a minute to get to the ropes". At least the match ends with a funny/awesome little bit of cheating and an actual walk-off finish that I've never seen in wrestling before. Otherwise, this is Goto Ippa going 0-2, which breaks my heart.

Magaki vs. Iori Sugawara

     Thank christ. This match is awesome. I am so happy that this match is awesome. It's also a very striking case of guys being leagues better than others, so much so that it's genuinely a little jarring. Magaki and Sugawara feel like they're just on a different level from everyone to come before them on this show. They're snappy, driven, and have a clear idea of what they're doing. Most of all, though, they seem professional. I'm not here to rag on any of the hobbyists in the J-indie scene. Hell, some of my favorites are the guys that clearly had things going on outside of the business. It just really reinvigorates the spirit to see a match like this after going through a Lee Gak Who match and an Asuka Ichigeki match. Love those two to death (well, love Ichigeki to death), but you can tell they spent a lot more time on their martial arts than their wrestling. Anyways, this match is a nice little treat of a midcard affair. Magaki and Sugawara have got themselves figured out character-wise, and both guys have really nice offense. Magaki's heel antics are very fun, and Sugawara is a mean ass pirate karate guy who throws hellish kicks. Lots of this is back-and-forth work but done more naturally than literally going back and forth. My favorite part of the match by far was the outside brawling, where the house lights came on and we finally got our first look at the izakaya part of Goto's izakaya. Pretty good izakaya Goto! But yeah, this match is very enjoyable and a needed refresher after the last two slogs. Not the kind of match that elicits much discourse, but most wrestling doesn't need an essay written about it. 

Ricky Fuji vs. Mountain High

     Speaking of professionals, hello Ricky Fuji! My thought process coming into this match was very simple: if there is anyone that could get a good match out of Mountain High, it would probably be Ricky Fuji. Fuji has always been a very giving and putty-like worker, easily able to mold himself to the situation and accentuate his opponent's strong points. Mountain High, more than anyone in Goto Ippa, truly needs a helping hand like that. And because of these two forces colliding, this match is... good? It's okay? It's something, but I don't think I would call it bad. Mountain High is truly incapable of doing anything besides throwing punches, which wouldn't be as much of a problem if he wasn't so prone to letting his opponent take over, thereby forcing himself to do things besides throw punches. His selling fluctuates between barely acceptable and outright nonexistent, and his brain just can't seem to comprehend the idea that the action should probably stay moving and not have odd breaks where people just stand around! Still, Ricky Fuji does his damndest here to make Mountain High out to be a monster, at one point even bumping and feeding for High's full-force punches to the face like a bumbling heel trapped in a Robert Gibson hot tag. I'm not sure if that says more about the strength of High's punches or the resilience of Fuji but I'll stick to thinking about the latter. If this match were to serve any purpose, it would possibly be a wonderful piece for a Ricky Fuji agenda, showing how even when facing the most incapable of opponents, Fuji still found a way to make them look good. Certainly not anything great or even particularly worthwhile as a whole, but if you're a Ricky Fuji fan then you'll probably appreciate the man's hard work.

Tarzan Goto & Chappie Kimura vs. Musashi Oyama & Tomonobu Matsumoto

    A stunning piece of work. Earlier this week, I talked about an amazing IWE tag where Umanosuke Ueda got to show every side of his character, from merciless fouler to crying coward. This match kind of serves the same purpose for Tarzan Goto. Goto rounds up two of his trainees and his most reliable veteran for a massive tag match, one that goes 30+ minutes and tells a fascinating story of Goto having his own methods used against him. The early portion of the match is mostly dominated by the younger guys, Kimura and Matsumoto, and they are AWESOME. Kimura is even slicker than he was on the last show, gliding around the mat with super compelling shoot style grappling and throwing nasty kicks all over the body. Matsumoto, meanwhile, gets a greater opportunity to show his stuff, bruising up Kimura with chest chops and pushing the pace as much as he can. Of course, the time eventually comes for Goto to turn back to old habits, and we get a condensed version of the beating Matsumoto got only a month earlier, with knives, forks, chairs, and whatever else Goto can get his hands on smashed into Matsumoto's head with reckless abandon. Kimura gets with the program too, throwing punches at the wound on Matsumoto's head and grinding his head against the ropes. It all seems to be going according to Goto's plans... until CUBAN ASSASSIN K shows up and destroys Goto's arm with a barbed wire kendo stick!!! After a bit of selling on the outside, Goto comes back up with an arm covered in blood, and suddenly, this match takes a total turn. Now Goto gets to be the injured man in peril, as Oyama and Matsumoto target the arm wound with a ferocity even greater than Goto's. Oyama uses all the veteran wiles he has to ground Goto and rip at his arm with the nastiest holds ever used in a dojo, and Matsumoto flies at Goto's arm like a cannonball. It leads to some of Goto's best work of the 2000s, if not THE best outright. Really, if you have any care at all for these guys and this kind of wrestling, contact Hasegawa and get yourself this match. I wouldn't be shocked if this was the best thing to ever come out of Goto Ippa, or at bare minimum the best of what we currently have on tape. Witness the passion of Tarzan Goto. You owe it to yourself.