Ryan Navigates '90 - #25 (4/15 - 4/20)
Genichiro Tenryu bids adieu to AJPW (for now), the Intercontinental title's future is decided, and Newborn UWF impresses with a trio of shoot-style contests.
Good day!
We at Ryan’s Reviews (and, by “we”, I mean “I”) hope all of your various holiday celebrations are festive and safe! For the eight people who checked out one of my articles on Christmas Day, I hope I made the day at least a little bit merrier.
It’s time to get SUPER SERIAL, people, because Part 25 of Ryan Navigates ‘90 will be dominated by a triple-shot of Newborn UWF shoot-style matches. Spoilers: They’re all pretty awesome.
Aside from that, we have a major development regarding the Intercontinental title, Flyin’ Brian and the Z-Man look to extract their pound of flesh from the Midnight Express, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight title is up for grabs in Dallas, and Genichiro Tenryu calls it a day in All Japan.
SUNDAY, APRIL 15th
WWF Wrestling Challenge
We start things off with WWF President Jack Tunney. Back in the day, when you saw this guy on television, serious shit was going down.
The Tun announces that since the Ultimate Warrior cannot properly defend both the WWF and the Intercontinental Championships, the IC title has been surrendered and vacated. Chalk up another title reign on Vacant’s résumé!
A tournament to crown a new champion will take place, with the participants to be announced next week. We’ll get into the tournament itself in Part 27, and it’s kind of a turd.
I’ve seen people say that this move devalued the IC title, which I can understand, but this is a logical solution. Warrior wasn’t going to realistically defend the Intercontinental gold while holding the WWF title, so this was the best option. Also, given Warrior’s alleged history of losing, damaging, selling, and giving away title belts when he was on the road, entrusting him with BOTH championships would have been asking for trouble.
UWF Fighting Area
Akira Maeda vs. Tatsuo Nakano - This should be a fascinating matchup, as you have THE top guy in Maeda squaring off with someone MUCH lower in the pecking order in the pudgy, pompadour-sporting Nakano. All of the Newborn UWF matches I’ve explored so far have been between fighters on a fairly even standing, so it’s nice to see an honest-to-God mismatch.
Maeda wrestles Nakano to the ground and sinks in a front facelock to kick things off. After Maeda releases, he gets a leg kick and continues his dominance by looking for an armbar. The fans are INTO Nakano, who manages a front facelock and a couple of quick knees before taking Maeda to the mat. We stand back up, where Maeda blasts Nakano with knees and tries to secure a double wristlock, but Nakano keeps fighting it. Maeda switches to a jujigatame, but he can’t get that, either.
Nakano escapes and gets a couple of nasty kicks to Maeda’s noggin. Maeda gets some nasty knee shots, then finally knocks Nakano down with a couple of headbutts to the jaw. Nakano rises to his feet and corners Maeda for some knees and a snap suplex! He gets some glancing blows as the fans go APESHIT. Nakano works on top, then rains down some shots on a vulnerable Maeda. After standing back up, Maeda gets some kicks and palmstrikes before locking in a rear choke, which Nakano breaks via the ropes.
Moments later, Maeda gets a bridging German suplex, then transitions into an attempted side strangle hold.
Nakano fights out and peppers Maeda with headbutts on the mat, then one vicious kick to the back of his head. Nakano tries a kick, but Maeda catches him with a leg capture overhead suplex. He transitions directly into a legbar for the tap! Maeda escapes with the win.
***1/2 - This was fairly short, but very dynamic and fun to watch. Nice little story being told here, and the fans were REALLY behind Nakano’s quest to score a monumental upset against Maeda. I enjoyed Nakano’s use of dirtier tactics (like the kicks to the back of the head) to stand a chance.
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoji Anjo - Here’s a couple of guys who would have significant notoriety in the future UWFi version of this promotion. This could be another match with a discrepancy in standing, though the gap in the pecking order would be much narrower than the one between Maeda and Nakano.
Anjo, in his ever-fashionable purple leopard-print motif that goes all the way down to his ankles, teases a few kicks during a fairly tentative start.
They trade some leg kicks before Anjo scores some knees in the corner. Takada catches a knee and hits a leg capture overhead suplex, then transitions to a top mount. Anjo wriggles free, but Takada blocks a takedown attempt by holding onto the ropes. Another takedown attempt is countered by Takada, then we work the mat until Anjo breaks a legbar via the ropes.
Anjo wrestles Takada down, but they’re too close to the ropes for anything to happen. Anjo manages to corner Takada with knees and takes him over with a suplex, but Takada counters Anjo’s further efforts with a legbar, which forces him to burn his second rope break.
Anjo teases another high kick to put Takada in the corner, then Anjo unleashes some hard knees!
However, Takada says, “fuck this” and hurls Anjo over his head! Moments later, Takada catches another kick and wrestles his way into a Boston crab, but Anjo powers out! He blasts a prone Takada with kicks, then continues the assault after standing back up. Anjo grapples him down, but Takada counters with an ankle pick, but they’re both in the ropes.
Takada weathers a few more kicks before tossing Anjo over his head again. They counter each others’ holds again until Takada kicks Anjo in the head during a legbar attempt, resulting in a knockdown! Anjo rises back up at 9, then both guys continue to grapple on the mat. Takada ends up on top with a Fujiwara armbar, forcing a third rope break, resulting in two downs for Anjo.
Takada catches Anjo with a boot to the face, then unleashes more kicking! The camera flash going off gives us a spectacular shadow effect.
Takada gets a backdrop driver and works the mount, but Anjo escapes. Back up, they trade knees and kicks before Takada knocks Anjo down with a spinning back kick! Anjo comes back with some knees and a palm strike to put Takada down! Takada rises back up, and they let the palmstrikes and kicks fly until Takada gets a belly-to-belly suplex. He grabs a legbar until Anjo counters with a leg grapevine, then into his own legbar. They each have a leg barred, and they stalemate for a while until Takada breaks out into one of his own, forcing Anjo to again seek refuge in the ropes.
Anjo gets a few knees, but Takada fires back with some high kicks. Anjo retaliates with palm strikes, with the last one putting Takada on his ass! Takada gets back up, and they unleash the strikes until Anjo catches a kick with a takedown. He looks for a double-wristlock, then opts for a hammerlock attempt. We work off of that for a while until Takada escapes and gets a his own hammerlock for the submission!
**** - This was an excellent shoot-style contest, mostly thanks to some explosive strike exchanges, sweet reversals, and another rock-solid underdog story with Anjo taking it to Takada. I would have gone even higher on this one if it wasn’t for some slow periods on the mat dragging things down a bit.
Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - Fujiwara had served as a mentor to Yamazaki in years prior. They even won the IWGP Tag Team Championship as a duo in 1987 when they both were in New Japan, where they worked between stints in UWF promotions.
Yamazaki immediately corners Fujiwara, then quickly counters a drop toehold into a leglock that he soon releases. Back up, palmstrikes are teased, then they trade gut punches and knees in the corner until they hit the mat for some simultaneous leglocks.
Fuje manages to convert that into a leglock of his own, but Yamazaki gets to his knees and palmstrikes the crap out of him. Fujiwara endures and gets a legbar that forces Yamazaki’s first rope break. We stand up, where Yamazaki gets some kicks, but Fujiwara parries the blows and ensnares him with his eponymous armbar. Yamazaki escapes and snatches a legbar, but Fujiwara counters into one of his own and sinks it in. The crowd wills Yamazaki into rolling into the ropes for his second rope break.
After a reprieve on the floor, Yamazaki gets a palmstrike into Fujiwara’s face, then we get an awesome sequence where Fujiwara powers out of a Boston crab, only for Yamazaki to immediately grab a legbar. However, Fujiwara picks the ankle and causes Yamazaki to consume his third rope break, resulting in a down.
Yamazaki wrestles Fujiwara down with an inside cradle and goes for a hammerlock, but Fujiwara doesn’t let him get it. Yamazaki switches to a leglock, but Fujiwara stands up and grabs a legbar. Yamazaki grasps for the ankle, but Fujiwara mulekicks out of it. A stand-up results in Fujiwara coolly grabbing the ankle for a takedown, then transitioning to a hammerlock attempt that Yamazaki escapes via the ropes.
Back up, Yamazaki backs Fujiwara to the ropes and works over the midsection before hitting some forearms to the head. After a bit of lock-up teasing, Fujiwara hits a headbutt, then whips Yamazaki to the mat with a sweet hammerlock takeover! Again, Yamazaki has to seek refuge in the ropes. Yamazaki is slow to get up, so that counts as a down.
Yamazaki makes it up at 9, but he gets taken down with a Fujiwara armbar attempt. The younger combatant rolls through, but Fujiwara holds on with a different armbar, which Yamazaki tries to break with knees. Fujiwara persists, going for a jujigatame.
Yamazaki grabs some leg and works his way off the mat, then BLASTS Fujiwara with kicks! Fujiwara withstands the shots, grabs the leg, and goes into a calf/anklehold. The sixth rope break for Yamazaki results in Down #3, then Fujiwara catches another kick and goes for a legbar. However, Yamazaki snags a leg of his own and grinds on that at the same time. Fujiwara tries to kick out of it, but Yamazaki turns it into a half-crab. After a while, Fujiwara FINALLY concedes and uses a rope break to escape.
A slightly agitated Fujiwara absolutely UNLOADS with slaps, but Yamazaki takes Fujiwara down with a hard German suplex! Fujiwara makes it to his feet, but Yamazaki kicks him in the back of the head to put him on the mat. Fujiwara can’t answer the ten count, giving the match to Yamazaki! He’s literally jumping for joy after the bell while the crowd goes berserk.
****1/4 - This was another fantastic match on what seemed like a hell of a show from Newborn UWF. This had the best matwork of the three matches, as everything was always moving with intent and purpose, especially in contrast to the Anjo/Takada bout. The student-teacher storyline was impeccably told, and I love the dynamic of the lesser-experienced Yamazaki having to use rope breaks to escape submissions, while Fujiwara used patience and guile to counter Yamazaki’s holds into his own. When Fujiwara finally gave in and used a rope break, you can sense that Yamazki has finally gotten to him. Fujiwara got frustrated, and that allowed Yamazki to capitalize.
Yamazaki's absolute elation in upsetting his mentor was also great to see, while Fujiwara is having an MVP-caliber year so far for match quality.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18th
USWA Evansville TV (Memphis)
For the Evansville market, Chris Champion and Mike Awesome cut a promo, and what in the HELL is with Champion’s hair?!?
Both of them scream a lot at each other and to the camera ahead of their showdown with Jerry “The King” Lawler and Ronnie P. Gossett. Mike Awesome in particular is hilariously over the top, shouting “brother” after every sentence like distant relative Hulk Hogan. They’re DONE with Lawler and FAT RONNIE, guys!
THURSDAY, APRIL 19th
AJPW Champion Carnival 1990, Night 18
Triple Crown Championship: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Genichiro Tenryu - There’s definitely a lot of history with these guys, but just from what I’ve watched from this year alone, their heated exchanges in various tag matches really make me look forward to this one.
In something you really didn’t see much of in All Japan, Stan Hansen comes out and beats the hell out of Tenryu during his entrance! Hansen chokes him out with his bullrope and lariats him in the corner.
Tsuruta comes out and chases Hansen out by swinging the belt around. Hansen grabs a mic, saying it should be him and Tsuruta, not Tenryu, before being herded to the back by ringside attendants.
Ever the sportsman, Tsuruta goes to check on his assaulted opponent…but Tenryu slaps him in the face! Jumbo is proper pissed off and it’s ON. Tsuruta slugs away at Tenryu while streamers fly into the ring, which makes for a pretty neat visual.
Tenryu counters a backdrop driver into a pin attempt, then blasts Jumbo with an enzuigiri and a powerbomb…for two! Moments later, Tsuruta fights out of a headlock and cracks Tenryu with forearms and a dropkick. Lariat in the corner drops Tenryu, then Jumbo gets a jumping knee seconds later for two. After a sleeper, Jumbo heads up for a flying kneedrop, but Tenryu being in the ropes prevents a meaningful pinfall attempt.
Tsuruta goes for a piledriver, but Tenryu backdrops out…only to run into a big boot for two. Jumbo heads upstairs again, hitting a flying knee to a standing Tenryu this time for another near fall. Tsuruta takes it to the floor with a whip into the guardrail before hitting a piledriver in the ring for a two-count.
Jumbo blasts Tenryu with double-handed chops, but Tenryu intercepts his ascent up the turnbuckles with an enzuigiri as the crowd chants for the challenger! Jumbo’s knee hits the turnbuckle, allowing Tenryu to sink in a legbar, which Tsuruta breaks via the ropes. Tenryu kicks the crud out of his foe and applies the Prison Lock, causing Jumbo to writhe in pain. Tenryu releases the hold and soon counters a Thesz press into a stun gun. Tenryu goes for a jackknife pin, but Jumbo rolls through for a two-count of his own!
Tenryu catches a lariat with a pinning combo for two, then he hits an enzuigiri, but Jumbo escapes a powerbomb with a bridge. However, Tenryu rolls into another powerbomb try, which Jumbo kicks away from, then Tsuruta follows up with a lariat and a backdrop driver for two!
Tenryu counters a swinging neckbreaker with a backslide for two, but Jumbo catches him with a backdrop driver hold for the three!
After the match, Tenryu is ushered to the back, then Jumbo scraps with Hansen again until it’s broken up by the ringsiders.
***1/4 - This was very good overall, with some great energy in spots and palpable heat, but it didn’t really live up to some of the epic sequences they had in their tag matches. The bookending angle with Hansen pretty much overshadowed everything with Tenryu. Also, Tenryu got in some decent comeback and hope spots, but Jumbo dominated much of the match. All of that was likely design, though, as Tenryu had one foot out the door.
And with that, Genichiro Tenryu departs All Japan Pro-Wrestling, a company he’d been with for his entire career up to that point. Honestly, he did nearly everything he could to do in AJPW, and this move really does force Giant Baba to freshen up the top of the card. We’ll see how All Japan pivots and what’s in store for Tenryu later on in the year.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20th
NWA Power Hour
The Z-Man & Flyin’ Brian vs. The Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton & “Sweet” Stan Lane) - The United States tag team titles are not on the line here. This is simply about the faces getting vengeance against the heels. This is evident in the fact that Pillman and Zenk sprint to the ring, forcing the Midnights to seek sanctuary on the floor.
This is your reminder that the NWA is brought to you by ROOS!
After a bit of stalling, we start proper with Brian and Bobby, with Eaton getting some punches until Pillman hits a flying headscissors and a dropkick to send his opponent outside. After some recuperation, Zenk tags in and gets beset by Eaton with fists. However, Z-Man makes a comeback with a monkey flip and hiptosses to both Eaton and Lane, then Pillman slingshots in with a double-clothesline!
The heels bail to the floor while the faces (and the crowd) are in throes of excitement. Once things settle down, Lane still cannot get things going, having a monkey flip countered with a Z-Man punch and Pillman getting a shot in from the corner. Sweet Stan heads out for a reprieve, then gets a quick advantage before tagging in Bobby…who gets immediately slammed by Zenk! Pillman checks in and continues his team’s advantage after a brief bit of offense from Eaton, hitting a top rope crossbody before tagging Zenk back in.
Eaton takes a double-team back body drop, but Z-Man gets caught in the Midnights’ corner. However, Zenk backdrops Eaton out and slingshots Lane in for a dropkick from Flyin’ Brian! Double-team hiptoss again force the Midnight Express to retreat to ringside.
Loud “CORNETTE SUCKS” chants fill the arena as Team White Meat Babyface continues their work on Lane, including a Pillman chop that sends Lane over the top. Z-Man comes in and gets the sleeper on Lane, but he releases to sock Jim Cornette on the apron! Bobby does get a knee from the apron, though, and a high knee from Lane sends Zenk to the floor for some abuse from Eaton.
The Midnights finally get a sustained advantage, with Lane getting a falling clothesline and the Express hitting a drop toehold/elbow combo on the Z-Man. However, Zenk reverses a suplex into one of his own, but Lane prevents the tag to Pillman. Lane misses TWO blind charges in a row, though, and it’s HOT TAG PILLMAN! Brian goes wild with chops and dropkicks! Flyin’ Brian heads up for a missile dropkick, but Eaton breaks up the pin. It’s a four-way fray!
Pillman goes for a top rope clothesline, but Lane blasts him in the throat with Corny’s omnipresent tennis racket behind the ref’s back! Lane covers for the win.
***1/4 - This was fairly one-sided for the babyfaces, but it was overall very entertaining and energetic. The work itself was also outstanding, with all four being on point. The Midnights simply refuse to have a bad match, and Zenk and especially Pillman were solid foils. Despite the initial storyline around Pillman’s throat issues being dropped by the NWA, the finish still managed to call back to it, which was good to see.
The finish also opens the door for a future United States tag title match, which we will get at Capital Combat.
USWA Challenge (Dallas)
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship: Jerry “The King” Lawler (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett - This was during one of the periods where Lawler ACTUALLY was champion in Memphis as well, having recently regained the belt back from Jimmy Valiant.
Lawler backs away from Jarrett to start, then snatches a microphone as he is often wont to do. He gives Double J a chance to spare himself a butt kicking by crawling across the ring and apologizing to the King.
Jarrett naturally refuses, but Lawler dodges the first punch. The King grabs the mic and offers a second chance to leave, but Jarrett stays in the match. Lawler halts an Irish whip and hits us with a strut. Lawler then reverses a whip to the corner, and it’s time for more mic work, with him proclaiming that Jarrett isn’t ready for prime time as he’s still “wet behind the ears”. Ronnie P. Gossett encourages the fans to chant “Go Lawler Go”, but the fans don’t oblige.
Jarrett finally gets one up on Lawler with a dropkick, sending the King to the corner for a counseling session with Gossett. Ronnie then gets up on the apron, and Lawler ends up inadvertently running into him! Oh, the ironing is delicious! Hot Goss rolls out of the ring as USWA CHALLENGE ROLLS ON…
…and we’re back with Gossett handing the King a chain (take a drink), which Lawler wraps around his fist. He clobbers Jarrett in the head while the ref was distracted, setting in motion an extended control session. Lawler and Gossett get their shots in, and we play a bit of “hide the chain” after a bit of choking with said object.
Jarrett punches Lawler to kickstart a comeback, but Lawler procures the chain from Gossett and punches Jeff in the guts to cut it off. Lawler then trolls the Dallas fans with the VON ERICH CLAW, but Jarrett nails Lawler with another punch, launching the King into the air! Both guys end up punching each other down, and it’s time for Jeff to launch a sustained comeback with fists aplenty!
Double J gets a beautiful dropkick for two, then Gossett distracts the ref to prevent a further pin count after a suplex. Jarrett goes after Wide Load (as Marc Lowrance has been calling Gossett during the match; well, that, and “that fat SLOB”) and counters a Lawler chain attack with a back body drop! Jarrett snatches the chain for himself, then hits a chain-assisted fistdrop for the three and the title…
…well, not so fast!
Referee Tony Falk spots the chain around Jarrett’s fist and reverses his decision, awarding the match to Lawler via disqualification! Jarrett and the fans try to convince the referee of his “innocence”. There’s a brief moment where Falk may indeed reverse his reversal, but Lawler and Gossett double-team Jeff to stop that and seal the disqualification decision.
“Superstar” Bill Dundee comes out to make the save, so Terrence Garvin and the Dirty White Boys (Tony Anthony & Alex Porteau, who had since replaced Len Denton) come out to attack the babyfaces, 5-on-2. The DWBs hold Jarrett down for a big Gossett splash, then hit him with a spike piledriver.
After Lowrance calls for some troops to come out to assist the faces via the house mic, Billy Joe Travis of all people comes out with a gee-tar and El Kabongs Tony Anthony! He helps chase the heels away and looks for some measure of revenge against Gossett, who had apparently hit him the prior week.
*** - This was more vintage Lawler shenanigans with promos, shtick, and chain stuff, but some quality heeling (especially with THE CLAW) and a hot crowd elevate this one. I also liked that Lawler managed to outwit Jarrett a couple of times in the beginning before the buffoonery kicked in.
Jarrett’s offense was elementary stuff but timed and executed very well, especially when paired with Lawler’s exaggerated bumping and selling. The teased double Dusty finish was also pretty interesting.
The Travis turn came off pretty well, and the Texas fans really liked it. I’m curious to see how this pans out, but I REALLY dug scuzzy heel Billy Joe and would have liked more of that.
THE TUGBOAT TRIBUNE
As always, the news comes courtesy of Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Legendary luchador Gory Guerrero passed away at the age of 69 on April 18th. Of course, he was the father of Chavo, Mando, Hector, and Eddy Guerrero, but Gory was a massive star in his own right, most famously teaming up with El Santo.
Toronto-based WWF official John Bonello is in serious legal doodoo after he was arrested for offering an undercover police officer $5,000 to murder his wife. Egads, man.
Bonello would be initially sentenced to 18 months behind bars, but the Court of Appeal for Ontario upped the sentence to five years because the original decision wasn’t enough of a punishment or a deterrent.
Capital Combat ‘90 was originally set to feature Flyin’ Brian & The Z-Man vs. The SST, but the Samoans no-showed a TV taping and got canned as a result.
As such, they have been replaced with the Midnight Express, and the United States Tag Team titles will be on the line, as was highlighted earlier.
UK wrestling legend Giant Haystacks was set to wrestle Lex Luger around the horn as “The Titan” (yes, a not-so-subtle reference to the WWF’s corporate name, Titan Sports, Inc.), but it didn’t really pan out as he had to leave to take care of his ailing wife.
Sid Vicious is set to return to the NWA in July as a heel to feud with Luger.
Because of the Goodwill Games, Ted Turner has apparently banned the use of the word “foreign object”, preferring the announcers to use “international object” instead.
NEXT TIME: Another Saturday edition, with enough Jerry Lawler to choke a horse. Plus, oodles of content from both branches of the USWA.
In the meantime, though, have a Happy New Year! I’ll see YOU in 2025!
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