UnWrest

This is the 3rd big event for New Japan Pro Wrestling in California this year. The American experiment will be put to the test this evening as they are trying to sell an event on one week's notice for most the card and in a wrestling fandom still reeling off of the awesomeness that was ALL IN. Will New Japan succeed in creating a great show to make people sorry for not showing up? Let's find out... Here we go! I turn on NJPW World to see Hiroshi Tanahashi starring in "My Dad is a Heel Wrestler" coming to theaters in Japan. I would love to see that brought in to America with subtitles. We get a cool NJPW KING OF SPORTS intro. The opening video highlights the big happenings of Strong Style Evolved. Then, there is a rundown of the card. And here we go!!! J.R. and Kevin Kelly welcome us to the show! 1) ACH, Ryusuke Taguchi and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Roppongi 3K Roppongi 3K kick us off by coming to the ring. HERE COMES LIGER'S TEAM!!!! Taguchi is dress...

Welcome to another post in the continuing series looking at the history of WarGames! When we last left off, we had a mixed bag of different teams and stables competing in "The Match Beyond. Now, we are in February 1991. And some things have definitely changed in WCW. For starters, Arn, Dusty, and Barry had come back to the promotion (Dusty making his return on this very night of the WarGames match). The Horsemen are back together with a slightly different lineup. Gone are Tully and JJ. But replacing Tully was a huge psychopath by the name of Sid Vicious. (Sid as a Horsemen doesn't really make sense once you think about it.) Sting had emerged as a major main event talent and former World Champion by this point. Jim Herd was running the promotion, and he was causing a bunch of headaches for fans and Ric Flair. We also get The Steiner Brothers and Brian Pillman making a big splash in the main event scene. And since Arn is injured, taking his place on the Horsemen team is "L...

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Welcome to the latest installment of the UnWrest Focus series looking at WarGames! When we last left off, Dusty's team had once against vanquished the villainous Four Horsemen. But now, it's 1989. And things are a lot different. Dusty, Tully, Arn, and Barry were all in WWF around this time. And this year, once again at The Great American Bash, we have multiple teams teaming up into two teams. Dr. Death, the lone solo act in this match, is teaming with The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors to face The Fabulous Freebirds and The Samoan Swat Team. This should be... interesting. Let's do this! WarGames The Great American Bash '89 (7/23/1989) The Road Warriors, Dr. Death, and The Midnight Express vs. The Samoan Swat Team and The Fabulous Freebirds Paul Ellering and Jim Cornette are talking strategy in their team's corner. Paul E. Dangerously is talking over strategy with his team ("If I may throw another volley at you, sir!") Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin ...

Welcome to the second post in this edition of UnWrest Focus as we take a look at the WarGames matches available on WWE Network. This post will take us to another Great American Bash WarGames match. This is one year after the birth of the concept. While there have been multiple other WarGames matches at house shows (according to Wikipedia, at least), this is the third one that was televised or at least made available on WWE Network for us to watch 30 years later. Dusty Rhodes is still at war with The Four Horsemen here, but now, he's got a unique ally in former Horsemen Lex Luger. So, this will be definitely a new wrinkle on the match itself. Let's do this! 7/16/1988 WarGames Match The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, and JJ Dillon) vs. Dusty's Team (Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Paul Ellering, Dr. Death Steve Williams, and Nikita Koloff) The Horsemen decide that Arn Anderson will start the match for their team. Meanwhile, Dusty Rh...

As I'm typing this, Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll will be meeting later tonight for a chance at the vacant NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship. So, I figured "What better way to get myself hyped for the match than to watch one of their earlier matches?" And that's what I'm doing here. So, we're going back to a Ring of Honor tour in the UK to see these two up-and-coming superstars collide for the first time as Will Ospreay defends his then-newly won ROH World TV Championship against "The Villain" Marty Scurll. Woop Woop. Here we go. ROH Reach for the Sky Tour (11/20/16) London, England ROH World Television Championship Will Ospreay (c) vs. "The Villain" Marty Scurll If you want to follow along, click on this link: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll- ROH 11/20/16 (For the record, I'm watching the Honor Club event for this.) Dueling chants of Ospreay and Scurll before the bell rings. Here we go. Tie up. Both men jockeying for pos...

Welcome to another edition of UnWrest Focus. After focusing on several rivalries, Focus now turns its attention to "The Match Beyond." Over the next several weeks leading up to NXT Takeover War Games 2018, I will be watching each and every WarGames available on the WWE Network, including last year's NXT edition of the match. War Games is a unique concept of a match. Two rings, a double sized cage. Two teams of 4-5 (usually). To start off, you have one man enter from one team. After a period of around 5 minutes, a coin toss takes place outside the ring. The winner of the coin toss sends the next member of their team in for a 2 minute interval. Then, a member of the opposite team enters the ring. It continues until all the team members on both sides have entered. From that point on, the referees will only stop the match when a team member "submits or surrenders." Dusty Rhodes starts off the WWE Network Collection. He talks about wanting to create a creative out ...

I've never seen a Matt Riddle match. I've heard a lot about Riddle before and since his NXT appearance at TakeOver Brooklyn this year. Now, I'm ready to find out more about the man many on the Internet are claiming will be a huge star in WWE. So, why not check out a match in which he faces a New Japan legend and fellow legitimate bad ass, Minoru Suzuki?! My thoughts exactly. On this edition of UnWrest Focus Rewind, we go back to November 2017 and do a little scouting on the newest big signing of WWE/NXT, Matt Riddle. If you want to follow along, click on the link below.... Matt Riddle vs. Minoru Suzuki 11/10/17 Rev Pro/NJPW Global Wars (11/10/17) Minoru Suzuki (w/ El Desperado) vs. Matt Riddle That familiar theme of "Kaze Ni Nare" plays as Minoru Suzuki enters the ring. This entrance is among the greatest in wrestling today in my opinion. Suzuki just breathes torture as he walks to the ring intent on destroying whatever poor soul dares step in his way. ...

This is the final post in this edition of UnWrest Focus looking at the rivalry between Stone Cold and The Rock at WrestleMania. This will be a look at their final match ever at WrestleMania XIX, and Austin's farewell to in-ring competition in an unannounced retirement from the ring. Click Here for WrestleMania XV Match Review Click Here for WrestleMania X-Seven Match Review When we last left Austin and Rock, they had an absolute classic at WrestleMania X-Seven. The finish saw Austin selling his soul to Satan himself, Vince McMahon, to win the WWF Championship. The Rock and Austin would wrestle again the next night on Raw, but Triple H and Austin would join McMahon in decimating The Rock to form The Two-Man Power Trip. When Rock came back in July 2001, WWF was in the middle of its Invasion angle with Austin now leading the Alliance. You'd think he'd face Austin at SummerSlam, right? No. Instead he got Booker T. Austin and Rock would face off at Rebellion 2001 (a UK-On...