Matches listed in chronological order. NOTE: Front page only contains a few months worth of updates. This page has everything.

Race vs Jumbo, 6/11/77. Upgrade.

Hashi vs Kenta Kobayashi, 5/31/00. Look at that skinny loser, who let him in? Wait that's KENTA?! Why indeed it is, and KENTA just a week after his debut no less. Hashi is a 2 year pro, and although he's near the bottom of the roster that still puts him way ahead of a fresh-faced rookie. Kenta shows off his athleticism and has very good execution for someone at this stage. Hashi counters the flying with a focused "destroy the back" approach. The crowd really gets into it down the stretch, as Kenta shows he won't be put down with a few token moves (like is usually the case in New Japan). Repost.

Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/29/93. Upgrade.

Kawada & Fuyuki vs Takano & Nakano, All Asia titles, 7/19/88. Such HEAT for midcarders! I think current puro is mostly lacking quality-wise, but gosh, it sure would help if guys were getting chants like this. Fuyuki's execution and selling is the best part of the match. The middle with Fuyuki's peril segment is a step up in quality, between Fuyuki's selling and the smarts from the 'akanos. Neat to see Kawada's run-in briefly no-sold, followed by more emphatic kicking; very 'modern' touch. Hot hot finish.

Tenryu & Hara vs Jumbo & Yatsu, 6/4/88. Leg work in the first half plays a major role in the second. You know a match is stiff when you wince in advance because of someone *entering for a save*. Man are the lariats beefy in the interactions of this match, just one after another that send these thick dudes hard to the mat. The fact that two of the lariats stand out from the rest means that they're incredible. In addition to hard-hitting, there are some absolutely brilliant moments. All that and a real finish!

Jumbo & Yatsu vs Misawa & Kawada, 7/7/90. Upgrade.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kobashi & Ace, RWTL '97. Upgrade.

Tenryu vs Hansen, 3/27/88. In the first match the initial moments were hot and then it settled down. Here it's a good two and a half minutes of battling to kick things off. Tenryu seems to be fighting harder. After a lull Tenryu wins me back with some emphatic kidney shots. Hansen countering with elbows and knees to the forehead is a suitably violent reply. Some very big bombs to finish it up. More of what you want from them, as compared with the first match.

Kawada, Taue & Ogawa vs Misawa, Akiyama & Asako, 1/2/95. Upgrade.

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kawada & Fuchi, 7/19/93. Upgrade.

Jumbo, Kabuki & T. Ishikawa vs Hara, Kawada & Fuyuki, 3/11/88. OH YEAH! That is what I am talking about! H-A-T-E HATE. Kawada starts us off with a mega spinkick, Jumbo and Fuyuki hate each other, Jumbo obliterates Hara, Ishikawa obliterates Fuyuki with a double-team, Kabuki does what he does best (punch)... that is a first half I can get behind. Fuyuki is Kikuchi 0.1, and his pairing with Jumbo is the highlight of the match, though there are a lot of highlights. Weak-ish finish but this being 1988 it beats a non-finish. This holds up well enough that it would be a very high-end match if it happened today.

Hansen vs Tenryu, 3/9/88. Follow-up to "nobody potatoes me!". Sadly it isn't the slugfest you'd expect based on the setup, but the match in isolation is good. Hansen going to a quasi stump-puller rather than a chinlock shows that he means business (and his business is pain). He works over the back in some very painful ways. At a certain point one wonders if the back focus is just filler, but it does factor in down the line. Hansen's focus, frustration and trademark stiffness are enough to make the match interesting.

Hansen, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Ace & Omori, 4/15/95. Upgrade.

Kawada, Taue & Fuchi vs Baba, Kobashi & Kikuchi, 7/28/94. Upgrade.

Hansen & Gordy vs Tenryu & Hara, 3/5/88. Upgrade.

Tenryu & Hara vs Yatsu & John Tenta, 2/29/88. Tenta, the future Earthquake, started in All Japan after transitioning from sumo. Fast pace and the novelty of green-but-good Tenta puts this into the "good stuff" category.

Gordy & Williams vs Misawa & Kobashi, 1/21/93. Upgrade.

Jumbo vs Tenryu, 8/31/87. The first match in a great series. The opening minutes, RIGHT THERE is a sea change in singles match construction for the company. The teases, the chip shots, the fact that they don't start off with filler. Well, not an extended hunk of filler. Tenryu cranking on a wristlock and forcing Jumbo down isn't even filler, it's GOOD. Later on we get the type of multi-part transition that was at the core of the '90s style. In most old-school matches, a wrestler would take over based on just one move. They're clearly trying to raise the bar with the effort in this. In the context of the offense they reel off in this, frustration, exhaustion and a non-finish makes 100x more sense than is typical for such singles match finishes. They do a hell of a lot right, and it's obvious by the end that this matchup was the future of the company.

Hansen & DiBiase vs Yatsu & Nakano, tag titles, 7/17/87. This was DiBiase's last tour of All Japan for some time, so to an extent there's a sense that he and Hansen are doomed to lose. However, there are shows remaining in the tour, and Yatsu/Nakano is a seriously overmatched pairing (on paper). The opening minutes only have their occasional moments, but then DiBiase is put in peril in a memorable way. Lots of desperation, plus they tease the prison lock like crazy, which is a personal favorite. Then in a real twist Hansen is similarly worked over. Not the match you expect coming in, but a good one, and you feel like a Yatsu/Nakano win would be fitting rather than forced by booking.

Jumbo vs Bockwinkel, 12/12/78. Upgrade.

Jumbo & Tenryu vs The Road Warriors, 3/12/87. The Roadies have somewhat of a reputation as uncooperative/lazy. I think the main issue is they wanted opponents who matched up with them in physicality and didn't respect opponents who worked loose/light. They loved Japan and vise-versa. The Roadies doing heel tagless switching, and a control segment, differentiates this from the what we're used to in All Japan. Lots of fun at the start, after the hot tag, and even the restholds are made interesting by the switching.

Baba vs Robinson, 7/24/76. Upgrade.

Choshu vs Tenryu, 9/3/86. Some unexpected spots, callbacks to their past, and plenty of bombs in the last five minutes. Sum total: a good professional wrestling match brought to YOU via. the magical internet.

Dory Funk Jr. vs Horst Hoffman, 12/15/75. Upgrade.

Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Ogawa & Akiyama, All Asia titles, 1/24/93. Upgrade.

Fuchi vs Hiro Saito, 6/12/86. Somewhat overlong beatdown in the first part, but the comeback and second part make up for it. Hot closing run.