Assorted IWE Matches That Tickle My Fancy

                 (Written by jom)

     IWE back-to-back?? Yeah bitch!!! The thunk of Kintaro Oki headbutts call to me like a siren's song. I also genuinely cannot find it in myself to write about anything else because IWE is one of the only things in wrestling that interests me currently. I could power through an article written about a random schmuck working in basements, but I don't really want to. All I want to do is put more words to the page about why Rusher Kimura was one of the best top guys in the history of Japanese wrestling, or why Mighty Inoue should've gotten a top heavyweight run in AJPW regardless of his actual size. As always, here are five matches from the IWE archives, some of which I already adore while others I fully intend to adore. IWE is not a perfect place, but the shape of its spirit fits perfectly into my soul.

Gypsy Joe vs. Kintaro Oki (07/01/1980)

      A tragically clipped affair. The version we currently possess has nearly 10 minutes cut off from the start, which I can only assume mostly consisted of Gypsy Joe beating Oki's ass. We come in with Oki firmly in control and never see anything else, but this functions well as an Oki agenda piece. He's such a physical wrestler, an early template of the nasty stiff brawlers that would become more prevalent in the late 80s and early 90s. The influence on a guy like Fujiwara is blatantly apparent, down to the similar headbutt form, but to call him a prototype of Fujiwara would be an insult to both. Oki, for as talented at matworking as he was (just see the Bock match from the last post for proof of that), cared much more about the striking and bigger drama more often than not. He spends this whole match throwing chops at the throat and turning his own brain into mush with the nastiest headbutts of the era. Joe, for his part, is as receptive as he should be, taking said headbutts by wandering into the crowd like he's forgotten where he is, tumbling over tables and the like. It breaks my heart that we have none of his work on offense, but it's cool to see him doing everything he can to get over Oki's headbutt as a weapon of mass destruction. Nothing vital, but if you want to see Kintaro Oki beating ass, it's a good six minutes of that. 

2/3 Falls: Ashura Hara vs. Mile Zrno (05/06/1979)

    I've never seen Mile Zrno before. I know that close friends have pushed the agenda for him for years, but he's somehow stayed outside of my radar for the eight or so years I've been in this sphere. I can't believe it's taken that long because Mile Zrno is astounding. He's probably the closest anyone from this period of wrestling has ever come to feeling like the French Catch guys of the 40s & 50s. He's a total monster in this match, working the mat with excellent execution and beating Hara down with nasty uppercuts and dropkicks. His work constantly teeters the line between beautiful and vicious, at some points pulling off the most fascinating armbar transitions you've ever seen, and at others grinding Hara into the dust with grounded elbows to the head or kicks to the face. Hara, for his part, puts in his best juniors performance I've really ever seen, showing his strength in the bombs category while also proving himself equally capable in the grappling portions. He pulls off an incredible drop toe hold counter to a single leg early on and looks like a beast wrenching hammerlocks on the ground. More than anything else though, this match really finds itself in the smallest of moments just as it does in the biggest. The moments before the takedowns or suplexes feel almost more important, as these two masters square each other up and try to bait one another into making a mistake or giving the smallest opening needed to advance. It's a clinical affair, one that even gets a massive boost in the ending portion with one of the most ahead-of-its-time finishes I have ever seen. Once again, IWE blows me away with one of its more scientific matches, reminding me that there's a lot more to International than the blood-and-guts brawling (even if I love that stuff oh so much).

Kintaro Oki & Kim Kwang Sik vs. Alex Smirnoff & The USSR (10/08/1980)

     I miss when wrestling had shit like "The USSR." I take pride in the fact that one of the bigger deal indie stars in my region is a dude named Vladimir Koloff, who spent years really milking that Cold War heel heat (even if nowadays he's more of just a generally very good worker). The USSR is actually longtime WWF jobber Charlie Fulton, dressed up in one of Smirnoff's spare singlets and wearing a black mask that just says "USSR" on the front. Not enough people talk about IWE's revolutionary and ahead-of-the-times approach to integrating political strife into wrestling storylines, because who else was booking Korean War revenge matches like this? This match is incredibly fun, and works as a pretty great display of all four men's talents. Smirnoff and USSR are great heaters for the babyface with Smirnoff doing most of the heavy-lifting. He's a wonderful scumbag, happy to interfere in the match and throw hidden closed fists or use a Foreign Object. USSR is clearly one of the least talented workers of this time period, but the bar for talent is so high at this point that he still shows an innate understanding of working that puts him head and shoulders above a lot of guys today. The Koreans are by far the stars of the show though. Kim Kwang Sik, who I didn't realize until after the match is Oki's shoot younger brother, comes off as Oki's personal Teranishi. He's an athletic specimen who flies around the ring so gracefully while also throwing headbutts with incredible viciousness. Seeing Kwang Sik work here just makes me yearn for the 80s Korean wrestling tapes that must exist in some Seoul uncle's basement. And of course my guy Oki delivers the Oki-ism in droves. Tons of headbutts, tons of personality, he's just the best. Wrap all of that together nicely with a "referee Lou Thesz antics"-colored bow and you have yourself one of the most enjoyable tags in all of my IWE viewing. It's not as serious or as climactic as some of the more flat-out great tags from the promotion, but seeing Kwang Sik use himself as a wheelbarrow to pull the Russians into Oki headbutts is an experience like no other. 

Rusher Kimura vs. Ron Bass (10/11/1980)

     I think one of the more interesting aspects of all this IWE watching has been figuring out what works best for Rusher Kimura. I've seen as many good Kimura singles matches as I've seen bad ones, and I think it has a lot to do with Kimura's status as one of the original Stoic Japanese Men. Kimura commands a presence entirely through muted emotions, chopping down opponents with a stone face and only really changing that expression in the rarest circumstances. As such, Kimura's best work in singles action almost always comes against wrestlers that pop out of the screen in big and borderline cartoonish ways, whether they be foreign monsters (the Ox Bakers of the world) or complete chickenshit heels. Ron Bass comfortably sits as one of the best of the latter category, as he puts into a wonderful cowardly performance here. His facial expressions are great, fluctuating between absolute fear of Kimura's chops and Grinch-like deviousness while plotting his fouling. He begs off like a madman and hunts for the ropes every single time Kimura puts on even the most basic hold. He is, in every single way, a coward, and his cowardice is his weapon against Kimura. Gimmick brother Don Bass (which I constantly pronounce in my head as Donbas) also does a good job of fouling it up, especially when Kimura goes outside and gets caught in a storm by the brothers. It all leads to a textbook Kimura comeback and a big finish, wrapping up nicely as an easy crowdpleaser. I have no interest in pretending that this is some life-changing piece of work, but it's a strong performance from both men that knew their roles very well. As feel-good as it ever was.

Cage Death: Animal Hamaguchi & Mighty Inoue vs. Yasu Fuji & Umanosuke Ueda (11/14/1979)

    I would say this is probably my fifth time watching this match. My feelings on it have fluctuated a lot over the last couple of months. The initial viewing in April mostly met my expectations, albeit I didn't think it went beyond being great. The second viewing a few weeks later left me feeling about the same, albeit I did find myself appreciating the heel heat portions more. The third viewing in July marked a major turning point, as my eyes opened and I came to love it as maybe my favorite IWE match. August came around and I finally watched the full version of this match (I had only watched the clipped IWE Chronicles edition up to this point), which further cemented my feelings on this being a strong contender for #1. Now, here I am, five months removed and five watches completed, telling you that I... don't love this as much as I did after the last watch. I think there are undeniable negatives to some of this work, even if it pains me to say that. The first half of this match is good, with points that go into the territory of "very good", but it's also a little bit of a slog at times. Most of it is heel fouling which is something Ueda and Fuji excel in, but the Ueda choking clinic can make the mind wander, especially compared to how chaotic and unrelenting the second half of the match is. The complete lack of Ueda crowdbrawling also does kind of hurt the soul, even if its absence is necessary because of the stipulation. The bits of Ueda crowdbrawling we get after the match mostly make up for it, but comparing this match to the other big Ueda matches of his IWE stint makes it clear that having some crowdbrawling probably would've made that first half a little bit more energized. Having said all of that, this is still one of the best IWE matches ever. For as long as the first half can feel, it's also jam-packed with great fouling and some of Ueda's best Foreign Object usage. Yasu Fuji bites and kicks at wounds and hits a nasty piledriver while also bumping huge for the babyface comesbacks. Hamaguchi and Inoue both get chances to show that viciousness beneath the surface that has been bleeding out in all of their tags against Ueda, and Inoue once again impresses more than anyone else in the second half when he gets his hand on a buckle and goes wild. All of my complaints pretty much exist to say that this isn't the best IWE match, but it's certainly still in contention for the top 10, let alone when we just focus on the IWE cage matches. An incredibly compelling and cathartic match, even if I no longer think it's the greatest thing IWE ever offered up.