Meltzer’s Classics: Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada vs. Keiji Mutoh and Shiro Koshinaka, 20/3/87

As usual, there isn’t much in the way of pictures.

You wait months for a Meltzer’s Classic and then two come along at once. We spoil you, we really do. We’re still in Japan, but we move away from Joshi and back to New Japan Pro Wrestling where two all-star teams go head to head for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. In one corner we have a very young Keiji Mutoh teaming up with Shiro Koshinaka, and in the other, we have Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada. I’ll be honest, outside of Mutoh these wrestlers are unknown to me, so I guess it’s time to see what they’re like.

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03/11/2017 0

Meltzer’s Classics: Chigusa Nagoya vs Lioness Asuka, 26/2/87

After a short break, we are back with another dive into Dave Meltzer’s five-star classics. We’re (as we often are) in Japan for this one and it’s our second appearance from all-around badass, Lioness Asuka. In this one, she goes up against her Crush Gals teammate Chigusa Nagoya in a match which takes both of them to the limit.

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02/11/2017 1

Meltzer’s Classics: Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu, 28/1/1986

There are no decent photos so here’s Jumbo.

We’ve already featured Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu in Meltzer’s Classics when they faced off against each other in 1989. Today, however, we are going back a few years to 1986 when they were on the same team defending their NWA International Tag Team belts against Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu. This is classic All Japan tag-team wrestling and it’s a whole lot of fun.

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06/09/2017 0

Meltzer’s Classics: Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka, 22/8/85

maxresdefault — It’s safe to say that Jaguar Yokota was cool as fuck.

After the discovery of a whole bunch of 5-star matches that we missed the first time around, Meltzer’s Classics has now dived back into 1985 and to the regular setting of Japan. This is our first women’s match to feature on the list as Jaguar Yokota defends her WWWA Championship against Lioness Asuka. Being honest, I hadn’t heard of either of these women, but a bit of research tells me that they are highly respected in Japan, if not in the West.

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31/08/2017 1

Meltzer’s Classics: Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai, 30/4/92

Meltzer’s Classics slides into 1992 and a wrestling world that I am more familiar with. Although in saying that, I as of this match haven’t picked up the ability to walk yet, but I’m out there somewhere. Uncle Dave is introducing us to a certain Jushin Thunder Liger who in his full body get up looks exactly the same as he did at the G1 Special. This is the final of what at the time was called Top of the Super Juniors where he goes face to face with El Samurai.

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11/07/2017 0

Meltzer’s Classics: Big Van Vader vs. Keiji Mutoh, 10/8/91

With the G1 Climax around the corner, it is fitting that our latest Meltzer’s Classic takes place at that very tournament. We jump back to 1991 when Keiji Mutoh (perhaps better known to Western fans as The Great Muta) took on Big Van Vader. It’s worth saying that the only footage that seems to be available of this match is filmed by a fan and is made up of around ten pixels. You can figure out what is going on but it fuzzes out occasionally, and some nuances may be missed.

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07/07/2017 0

Meltzer’s Classics: WarGames, 24/2/91

12-10-20152b1-36-542bpm — The Horsemen pulling off their classic ‘look mean’ faces.

For the second time, a War Games match makes an appearance in Meltzer’s Classics. It also once again features The Four Horsemen with Ric Flair, Barry Windham and Sid Vicious teaming up with Larry Zybysko who is replacing an injured Arn Anderson. On the other side of the two rings are our babyfaces, Sting, Brain Pillman and the Steiner Brothers.

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15/06/2017 0

Meltzer’s Classics: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, 8/6/90

hqdefault — As usual, we are fishing for scraps with these photos.

Mitusharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta is seen as a turning point for All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was the moment when the supremely talented Misawa stepped up to take his place at the top of the company. I’m by no means an All Japan historian, though, so rather than setting up this scenario myself, I’ll point you in the direction of this article which does the job wonderfully.

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30/05/2017 1

Meltzer’s Classics: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk, I Quit Match, 15/11/89

As usual for this period, there is a lack of photos. This is definitely of Flair and Funk, though.

You didn’t think we’d seen the last of Ric Flair, did you? Following his iconic series with Ricky Steamboat, it didn’t take the Nature Boy long to find his next opponent. Just minutes after their final match Terry Funk put his boot up Flair’s ass and all roads led to Clash of the Champions IX in an I Quit match.

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25/05/2017 2

Meltzer’s Classics: Steamboat vs. Flair III

I’m almost sad to be writing this article for it means we come to the end of Ric Flair vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat. The final match in their iconic series (although not in their careers) takes place at NWA Wrestle War in 1989, a month after their two out of three falls match. That means Ricky is still the NWA Champion and Flair is desperate to get it back.

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25/04/2017 0

Tag: Five Star Matches