Ryan Navigates '90 - #40 (6/3 - 6/6)

Trios awesomeness from Hamada's UWF, Dr. Death and Stan Hansen have a beefy brawl, and the Triple Crown is up for grabs!

Apr 04, 2025

Good day!

As we continue chipping our way through the towering slab of marble that is June 1990, we have a small, yet mighty slate. Gran Hamada’s UWF brings us a pair of strong trios matches, one featuring the women of AJW, and the other contested by veterans of Mexican lucha libre.

In addition, we have a couple of big-time heavyweight encounters in All Japan, including a match for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and a sturdy brawl between two of the greatest foreigners to work in the Land of the Rising Sun. Finally, we’ll take a very brief look at Rob Russen’s IWA promotion.

We don’t have anything happening on June 3rd, so let’s start right at June 4th.

MONDAY, JUNE 4th

UWF Super Estrella '90, Night 2

Aja Kong, Grizzly Iwamoto & Bison Kimura vs. Honey Wings (Kaoru Maeda & Mika Takahashi) & Manami Toyota - Hey, it’s our first Manami Toyota match of the series! She’s only a couple of years into her career at this point, and she’s the current AJW Champion. Unlike her more famous black gear, she’s clad in the other Bret Hart color, hot pink.

Because of the name, I expected the Honey Wings to come out dressed as bees. Maeda would actually leave AJW by 1991, change her name to KAORU (stylized in all-caps), and find her greatest renown as a top star in Chigusa Nagayo’s GAEA Japan promotion. She worked in GAEA from the promotion’s inception until the doors closed in 2005. KAORU would then freelance (with regular appearances in Mayumi Ozaki’s Oz Academy) before signing with Nagayo’s Marvelous That’s Women Pro Wrestling (or Marvelous for short), where she remained until her retirement in 2022.

Takahashi didn’t have a long tenure, wrestling from 1986 until 1991, but she did capture AJW’s Japanese Tag Team Championship with Maeda twice during that time.

All three of the heels were members of Dump Matsumoto’s Atrocious Alliance stable, who famously opposed the Crush Gals during the 1980s boom period for the promotion. Longtime readers should be familiar with Kong, who, like Toyota, is one of the greatest of all time.

Grizzly would retire before the end of 1990 after a five-year run. Kimura had a longer career, wrestling until 1998. She spent a good portion of her post-Atrocious Alliance tenure as Aja Kong’s second-in-command in the Jungle Jack stable.

Unlike the last match we saw from Gran Hamada’s UWF, the two matches we have here were captured on handheld. There is actually a commercial version of this match that can be found on YouTube, but I’m watching what I’m given in this case.

Toyota and perpetual rival Kong start off, but Manami quickly eats a triple big boot and gets thrashed by Kong’s trio. Grizzly comes in for some nasty hair throws, but Toyota manages a tag to Takahashi…who is IMMEDIATELY beset by Kong. Takahashi gets worked over by the villains, including a double clothesline and double suplex from Kimura and Iwamoto.

Takahashi comes back with a headscissors and a pair of hurricanranas on Kimura for two. She tries to back-elbow Kong a couple of times, but keeps bouncing off of her like a tennis ball off a brick wall. Takahashi scurries over to tag Toyota, who again gets overwhelmed by Kong.

Grizzly comes in for some more abuse, including a second-rope powerslam!

Toyota fights back with a cross-chop before tagging Kaoru in. Maeda gets attacked immediately, but she comes back with a hurricanrana out of the corner. Kimura tags in, but she gets hit with a neckbreaker. However, Kimura works over the ass a bit with an atomic drop and an overhead powerbomb with a landing on the posterior. Kaoru comes back with a fisherman’s suplex, then she and her teammates hit a triple dropkick on Bison!

The Honey Wings hit a double diving headbutt, but Kong breaks up the pin. Takahashi comes in for La Silla, but Kimura bridges out of the cover. Toyota comes in and blasts Kimura with a dropkick, then Kong comes in and takes one of her own! However, Kong ducks another dropkick, but Toyota catches her with a crossbody and tags in Maeda…who takes an atomic buttdrop from Kong! That poor coccyx.

Kong bowls Kaoru over with a huge shoulderblock, and a vertical suplex gets a near-fall. Kong gets two off of a PACKAGE PILEDRIVER, which would cause monocles to fall into champagne flutes nowadays, then it’s time for Takahashi to get worked over by Kimura and Iwamoto. Grizzly drills her with a DDT for two, then Iwamoto and Kimura hit a Doomsday Device for another near-fall!

Kimura hits a gourdbuster, but Toyota breaks up the pin. Kong tags in and headbutts Takahashi into her own corner, allowing a tag to Toyota. Manami tries to work the arm, but Kong is having none of that nonsense. A flurry of headbutts and a piledriver net a near-fall, then Toyota gets put in the tree of woe, allowing for some triple-teaming from the baddies.

Kong continues punishing Toyota with a lifting two-handed choke, then tags Kimura in for more of the same, but Toyota fights out with a dropkick and tags Maeda back in. She hits a trio of flying facebusters and a bridging vertical suplex for two, then gets a butterfly suplex for another near-fall. Kong checks back in, but Maeda catches her with a bodypress. Toyota tags back in and she manages to slam Kong!

Takahashi tries a slingshot legdrop, but mostly whiffs on it. Toyota hits a nice one of her own, then Maeda hits a running kick to the head to send Kong to the floor. Takahashi follows with a suicide dive, then Kaoru hits a plancha. Toyota goes for a running pescado, but Kong catches her and unceremoniously dumps her back into the ring!

Kong hits Toyota with a powerslam for a close two, but Toyota attempts a roll-up for her own two. Toyota runs into a Kong avalanche for a VERY close near-fall, then Kong plants her with a Tombstone, but Toyota again kicks out! Kong hits a back suplex for two, but Toyota tags out to Takahashi, who gets the now-legal Iwamoto in a Boston crab. Everyone else comes in, and it’s a triple Boston crab from the babyfaces. Crabs for everyone! I…could have phrased that differently.

The holds are eventually released, and Maeda accidentally crossbodies Takahashi! Kimura tags in and does some stuff I miss because the person holding the camera is going apeshit. Takahashi fights back and tags in Toyota, who does a primitive version of the rolling cradle for two. Iwamoto and Maeda tag in, with Grizzly bowling over Kaoru and hitting a second-rope clothesline for two. Maeda ends up in the opposing corner and gets thoroughly worked over, then Kong tags in and blasts her with kicks.

Maeda comes back with a snapmare, then her and Takahashi hit double-team cross chops and a double dropkick for two. Toyota hits a missile dropkick, but she bounces off of Kong after an Irish whip. Moments later, Toyota hits a lovely bridging German for two, then tries for a dragon suplex, but Kong hits a glancing blow with the uraken. Kong then hits a massive bridging German suplex on Toyota for the three!

****1/4 - This was basically an exhibition match, but these ladies put on a hell of a show, fitting perfectly with the overall vibe of the promotion. The match was worked at a feverish pace with crazy offense and a nice little “David vs. Goliath” story.

Everyone did well, but the real highlights were the Kong/Toyota interactions. Those two have always had S-Tier chemistry, and this was an early manifestation of that. It’s especially interesting watching Toyota this early in her career working things out.

2-out-of-3 Falls: Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera vs. Super Astro, El Hijo del Santo & Kendo - That’s a hell of a line-up on paper, especially that first team.

Long-time readers of mine may remember me mentioning that Kendo was Transformer in Part Ten of Ryan’s Dive into ‘95. However, I was wrong. Kendo did use the Transformer name at one point, but it was not the same guy. This fella, who came from the Dominican Republic, started wrestling in 1970. Kendo wrestled most of his career in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and EMLL/CMLL, but he had extensive experience in Japan. He got over REALLY huge in Hamada’s UWF in particular (even in this match, the fans are SUPER into him), and he also wrestled many matches in Michinoku Pro. He still seems to be active in Mexico as Super Kendo.

Astro had been wrestling since 1974, racking up UWA and WWA World Middleweight title wins along the way. He was brothers-in-law with Rey Misterio Sr., and his son, Super Astro Jr., started wrestling in 2014. Super Astro was active for nearly fifty years, with his most recent match, per Cagematch.net, taking place in 2023. Hell, he could probably have had more since then.

PRIMERA CAIDA: Hijo del Santo and Casas show off their technical capabilities in an early mat-based sequence, with Santo expertly working an anklescissors, which Casas converts into a few near-falls. Casas comes back with a monkey flip, then they trade near-falls until they stalemate as the crowd goes ballistic.

Kendo and Panther check in, with Kendo getting the best in their initial exchange. Panther comes back with some hiptosses and armwork, then they counter each other’s attempts at sunset flips. Panther attacks the arm a bit, but Kendo escapes with an armdrag, prompting Guerrera to tag in.

Astro also makes his way in and takes a huge back bodydrop from Fuerza! Astro comes back with a rebound crossbody, then misdirects Guerrera with a springboard backflip before catching him with a rolling headbutt! Santo and Panther tag back in, with Panther working over the arm.

Casas comes in and dropkicks Santo to the floor, then Panther sends Kendo to the floor with a chop. Kendo flies back in with an armdrag, then soon hits a flying headscissors on Panther. It’s a kerfuffle in there, with Santo and Astro getting rammed into each other, then Casas and Guerrera get dispatched to the floor. Santo hits a plancha to Casas, then Astro lands a diving headbutt to Guerrera!

Seconds later, Kendo hits a version of the Manami Roll on Panther for three and the first fall!

SEGUNDA CAIDA: Casas blasts Astro with corner chops, but Astro comes back with a clothesline. Casas gets a back body drop, but Astro catches him on the way down with an anklescissors. That’s pretty impressive coordination. Santo and Panther go at it, with Panther catching his prey with a chop to block a leapfrog. However, Santo counters a tombstone with a front headscissors, gets another headscissors out of a knucklelock, then sends Panther to the floor with an armdrag variant.

Kendo deftly evades Fuerza with backflips and cartwheels, then gets the best of him with an armdrag. A missed enzuigiri puts Guerrera on the defensive, then Astro and Panther tag in. The blue kitty hits a loud chop, so Astro goes after him…only to run into a nasty chop from Guerrera. However, Astro comes back by taking Panther and Guerrera down at the same time, then sends them both out of the ring. He teases a dive, but fakes everyone out Tiger Mask-style. Casas tries to attack Astro, but ends up taking a catapult to the floor.

Back in, Casas SPITS on Kendo, then they have a pretty athletic sequence with Kendo dodging Casas’ attacks via the power of gymnastics. Casas and Panther try to double-team him, but Kendo evades, resulting in Casas tumbling to the floor. Kendo armdrags Panther to the floor, who accidentally knocks Casas off the apron in the process. This is quality comedy bumping from Casas.

Santo and Guerrera are now legal, with Fuerza taking his foe down with chops. The rudos triple-team Santo, then attack Kendo and Astro. Panther hits a double-underhook backbreaker on Astro, then he electric-chairs Casas onto him for the pin and the second fall.

TERCERA CAIDA: El Hijo del Santo gets rammed yambag-first into the ringpost by Panther and Guerrera, which is just rude. The heels then hurl Super Astro into the crowd before working over Kendo in the ring. Casas hits a big dropkick to send Kendo to the floor, then Astro comes in, only to be attacked. Panther powerbombs Casas onto a supine Astro, then Guerrera kicks him in the midsection to send him back to the outside. Santo comes in and circles Guerrera, but Casas kicks him from behind!

The rudos continue their assault, but Santo fights back with a small package for two. Santo wrenches in a headlock on Panther, but Casas puts a stop to that. Santo continues getting triple-teamed until he tags Astro…or so we thought, but the ref denies there was a legal tag. Santo ends up making his own comeback by slewfooting Guerrera and Panther out of the ring, then does the same to Casas, who takes a HUGE bump off the ropes from that. Casas remains in the ring, allowing Santo to apply the camel clutch, immediately broken by Panther.

Kendo comes in and hurls Panther off the ropes, then everybody comes in for roll-ups! Now it’s time for the rowboat spot, with Santo catching Casas in a Romero Special in the middle!

After that is broken up, Santo hits a big-time tope suicida on Guerrera, then Casas dodges an Astro headbutt and lands a missile dropkick. Casas stretches Astro with a high-angle Boston crab for the submission, the third fall, and the win.

Post-match, the bad guys continue attacking Astro’s injured midsection and even take out some of the ringside attendants.

**** - This was another tremendous showcase match, though I slightly preferred the women’s match over this. The first couple of falls were pretty much about the athleticism, while the rudos turned up the ruthlessness in the last fall. I really liked how the finish played into the injury sustained by Astro.

Speaking of, Astro was a lot of fun to watch, doing some truly impressive aerial offense for someone all of 5’3” and built like a Heineken beer keg. El Hijo del Santo continues to be excellent, and Kendo, while probably the weakest of the six, was supremely over with the fans and was pretty delightful in his own right. Also I quite enjoyed the antics from the rudos, and Casas’ bumping was terrific.

TUESDAY, JUNE 5th

AJPW Super Power Series 1990, Night 17

Stan Hansen vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams - Well, this should more than fulfill your suggested daily intake of MEAT.

WE BE CLUBBERING right off the jump, with fists, clotheslines, and elbows flying. Hansen grounds Doc with a chinlock, but Williams snatches his head alligator-style and rolls to the ropes to break. We hit the floor where Hansen gets the upper hand with a vicious chop and some ringpost action, but Doc retaliates by wrapping Hansen’s leg around said post and dishing out more punishment at ringside.

Back in, Hansen gets a high knee and clobbers away at Dr. Death in the corner, but a missed charge returns the advantage to Williams. He works the arm, raining down headbutts in the process, then the violence spills back onto the floor, where Hansen gets some blistering chops and elbows to take control. We return to the ring, where Hansen weathers a Doc comeback and slaps on a Fujiwara armbar.

Hansen continues to work the arm until Williams drives him into the corner and unleashes some headbutts to break it up. Things get downright ugly and scrappy on the mat, then both guys exchange more headbutts. However, Hansen sees a window within Doc’s recovery to just slam him down and continue the punishment on the floor. Unfortunately for The Lariat, though, Williams rams him into the ringpost, busting him open in the process.

Back in, Doc mercilessly works over the wound and continues to assert his will at ringside. Williams tosses Stan back in and continues with the knees and right hands to the laceration. The crowd chants for Hansen as Williams continues to maul his prey.

However, Hansen rebounds off the ropes with a bionic elbow to a huge reaction from the fans! Williams stops Hansen’s comeback with a headbutt from his knees, then again works over the cut. Hansen soon fights back with a high knee, but Williams again cuts him off with chops and fists. A back elbow and a bodyslam each earn near-falls, as does a floatover suplex.

Williams continues the assault in the corner, but Hansen fights back with a big boot and a massive shoulderblock! Doc fights back with some headbutts, but Hansen catches him with a small package for two. Williams hits another bodyslam, then gets a sliding dropkick to send Hansen to the floor. Doc pulls up the blue mat and goes for a piledriver, but Hansen backdrops out of it!

Back in, Williams hits a top-rope axehandle to send Hansen back to the outside, then Doc hits a dropkick on the floor! Doc picks up Hansen and tries to run him into the ringpost, but Hansen escapes, and Doc is the one to eat the steel! Hansen preps for the lariat as Doc re-enters the ring, then goes to unleash it…but Williams ducks, sending Hansen flying to the outside! Doc clubs away at Hansen at ringside before depositing him back in, then he scoops Hansen for the Oklahoma Stampede!

Doc rams Hansen into the turnbuckle, but Hansen slips out before the powerslam could be completed. He absolutely beheads Williams with a lariat and covers for the three!

****1/4 - Take two big, surly gaijin and let them beat the crap out of each other, and you have a recipe for success. This was an awesome, hard-hitting brawl with Hansen in the rare position of being on the sympathetic defensive against an especially vicious Williams. They told a great story here, and the desperation lariat at the end was a great capper.

My only complaint is that it went a couple of minutes too long. Trim a little excess off, and you’d have a likely contender for the year’s top ten matches.

Triple Crown Championship: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Terry Gordy - I guess that wasn't enough meat, because here's some more! You should probably eat some kale while reading this to balance things out.

This is Jumbo’s third defense of the title after winning it from Genichiro Tenryu on October 11, 1989.

The gents work off of a side headlock to start as the camera shows Mitsuharu Misawa watching from the back of the building.

Jumbo ducks a couple of lariat attempts and blasts Gordy with the JUMPING KNEE, sending Bam Bam to the outside and the announcer into throes of excitement. Back in, Gordy gains the upper hand and takes Jumbo down with a lariat for two. Terry applies a double underhook submission as Misawa is interviewed. Gordy keeps up the pressure with a corner lariat for two, then works a chinlock until Jumbo hits a kneebreaker.

Tsuruta works Gordy into a Boston crab, then switches to a toehold when he sensed Gordy fighting out. Bam Bam reverses into a leglock of his own, but Jumbo reaches the ropes. Gordy blasts Jumbo with a three-point shoulderblock for another near-fall, then goes for the chinlock, which is quickly broken up via the ropes. Tsuruta gets some elbows and forearms in the corner, then cracks Gordy with a lariat for two. However, Gordy pops back up and hits one of his own for another near-fall.

Gordy snatches Jumbo in a front facelock, then backs Jumbo into the corner for a chop, but a charging elbow misses! Jumbo hits a backdrop driver for two, then lands a Thesz press for another near-fall. Tsuruta drills Gordy with a piledriver and a swinging neckbreaker, then hits a powerbomb for a VERY close two! Jumbo charges into a boot, then Gordy takes him down with a lariat for another near-fall. Gordy hits a back suplex for two, then hits his own powerbomb for another super-close count!

Jumbo fights out of another powerbomb attempt and goes for a back suplex, but Gordy kicks the ropes during the application, causing Jumbo to also be hurt by the impact. Gordy covers for two, then counters another Thesz press with a hot shot…but Jumbo kicks out! Jumbo shifts his weight during a powerslam attempt for another near-fall, but Gordy counters a back body drop attempt with a DDT for the three and the PIN?!? Holy crap.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” plays as tag partner Steve Williams celebrates with the new Triple Crown champion.

There’s a Confederate flag in the crowd, which is pretty wild to see in Japan.

***1/4 - This is a pretty good match overall, but not nearly as epic as I would have hoped, especially for a title change. There were times where the bout felt a tad lethargic, but it had some decent power stuff, and it definitely ramped up in excitement before the out-of-nowhere (and slightly unearned) DDT finish.

Even if the finish was a bit underwhelming, Gordy winning is still a nice moment. It must have come off as a huge upset back in the day given Jumbo’s much-anticipated showdown with Misawa was set for three days after this.

JUNE 6th

IWA Championship Wrestling

We welcome another new promotion to the Navigation, that being International Wrestling Association. One of about a million promotions with those initials, this IWA was founded in 1989 by Rob Russen, a music producer, promoter of boxing and pro wrestling, and former executive with Verne Gagne’s AWA.

In a fun little side note, one of Russen’s claims to fame was bringing an audition tape from a young(ish) nightclub manager to the attention of the Gagnes. That would end up reigniting what would become a rather remarkable wrestling career for Diamond Dallas Page.

Russen’s IWA (and his earlier promotion, NWF Pro Wrestling) were indie promotions, but thanks to his connections, they did have some significant TV distribution, penning deals with Comcast, DirectTV, SportsChannel America, and the Sunshine Network. During the nascent days of the company, they primarily held shows in Florida and the northeast United States. In the years since, IWA moved their base of operations to Girard, Ohio and chiefly promoted shows around the state.

Like many indies from around this time, IWA had a roster comprised of veterans who previously worked under the national spotlight (Ivan Koloff, Manny Fernandez, Jerry Lawler, Kerry Von Erich, Terry Taylor, Afa, Jules Strongbow, Cousin Luke for some reason, Thunderfoot II, David Sammartino, etc.), newer workers looking to build their name (Cactus Jack, the aforementioned DDP, Shane Douglas, Tom Brandi, and so on), and fixtures of the tri-state independent wrestling scene (Jason Knight, Tony Stetson, Johnny Hotbody, Larry Winters, and more).

IWA’s most recent shows, per Cagematch.net, took place in 2010, but the promotion is still listed as active as of April 2025. Russen owned the promotion up until his passing in 2021.

Today, Lee Marshall (sans moustache, which is mildly unsettling) interviews Jerry “The King” Lawler. Lawler explains the prestige of the Unified World Heavyweight Championship to the “ignorant” fans, and again talks about how other “world” champions only face competitors from their own companies.

Lawler’s belt can be defended anywhere against anyone, then asks Lee to name some challengers.

Marshall brings up Kerry Von Erich, Steve “Gator” Keirn, and Brickhouse Brown, with Lawler not exactly enthused about the prospect of facing any of them. Lawler reiterates that he’ll beat anyone. All they have to do is sign the dotted line.

This was pretty much a boilerplate Lawler promo to establish him with a newer audience. Unlike some of the indies that turned out to be one-and-done, we’ll actually continue to see IWA content trickle in throughout the course of the project.

THE TUGBOAT TRIBUNE

As always, the news comes courtesy of Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Tag Team” update! ABC has indeed ordered 12 episodes and will have the show on hand as a potential mid-season replacement for January.
A couple of warring Canadian promotions, the CNWA (Canadian National Wrestling Alliance) and Bruce Hart’s rebooted Stampede Wrestling, are knocking on death’s door.
- The CNWA would fold in 1991, but it got revived by Vance Nevada in 2010 and ran shows until 2013.
Reports indicate that El Gigante continues to be awkward and not very good, to say the least. He has been working with Cuban Assassin on a new clawhold finisher, though.

NEXT TIME: THAT match between Jumbo Tsuruta and Mitsuharu Misawa! Plus, Terry Gordy puts his newly-won Triple Crown title on the line against Stan Hansen, tons more action from Hamada’s UWF, some EMLL trios action, and another chapter in the Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams feud!

Catch up on the rest of Ryan Navigates ‘90

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Ryan's Dive into '95

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