great muta

Konnichiwa!

Back with the second part of the NOAH double header from 26/27 June, with Great Muta getting dragged out of the mothballs being the selling point for this one. The 26/06/2021 show had a fantastic Cage match Main Event that made the show a thumbs up all by itself, but this show might be a bit more of a difficult sell.

I actually don’t mind Muta matches, but you 100% need a hot crowd in order to make them work and this show will have zero fans because they’ve taped it at the NOAH TV Studio, so there’s no way for Keiji Muto to really hide here and I’m not sure his in-ring in the Muta gimmick by itself will be good enough to make the match work, but I’ll be happy to proven wrong.

Gomezamania runs wild!

And we’re back with more of the best Dream Matches imaginable- headlined by the legendary Desperado himself, Joe Gomez, teaming with “Plain Old Rick” against WCW’s roidiest, midcardiest Power Plant graduates. Also, we’ll get the British Bulldogs in a standard tag match against the Fantastics from All Japan, plus a FAT MAN STAND-OFF between Mabel & Bam Bam Bigelow! Oh yeah, and one of those bizarre jobber matches where CHONO & MUTA take on goobers like El Dandy and Damian. Can the luchadores win? I doubt it.

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 12, 2019
Hosts: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

This is a different kind of show as it is a fallout show from Slammiversary, meaning it’s going to be similar to a post Takeover show in NXT. Just like those shows, there was a match taped to fit in here, but the majority of the show is going to be about the pay per view. It was a good show so the extra attention is a good thing. Let’s get to it.

Culture Clash 19
Date: April 6, 2019
Location: NYC Arena, Jamaica, New York
Commentators: Matthew Ryan Shapiro, JD, Ben Venuto

This is Amazing Red’s House of Glory promotion and as usual, I have no idea what to expect from this show as I’ve never seen the promotion before, but that’s the point of the weekend. The card looked good though and that’s enough to get me to check out the show. Hopefully it’s as solid as it looks, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

Live from Asheville, NC

Airdate: February 21, 1993

Attendance:  6,500 (sold out)

Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Jesse “The Body” Ventura

Who will win the White Castle of Fear match? Can Windham defeat Muta for the NWA World title? Who debuts/returns to WCW on this show? Let’s find out!

Live from Tokyo, Japan

Airdate: January 4, 1993

Attendance:  63,500 (sold out)

Will Muta finally beat Chono and unify the NWA and IWGP titles? Will it be worthwhile unlike the match at Starrcade? Can Liger regain the IWGP junior heavyweight title against Ultimo Dragon? What happens when the Hell Raisers and Steiners lock up? Who will win the battle between Tenryu and Chosu? Let’s find out!

Live from Tokyo, Japan

Airdate: January 4, 1992

Attendance:  50,000

Will Chosu or Fujinami unify the G18/IWGP title? Can Chono win the WCW World title? Will Muta and Sting keep their peace against the Steiners? Let’s find out!

Live from Tokyo, Japan

Airdate: March 21, 1991

Attendance:  55,000

Since I watched this on NJPW World and know approximately three words in Japanese, this ought to be interesting. Also, this was dubbed “Starrcade ’91 in Tokyo Dome” so if the real Starrcade ’91 sucks, WCW didn’t recruit enough Japanese wrestlers.

Live from Atlanta, GA

Airdate: December 13, 1989

Attendance:  6,000

Hosted by Jim Ross, Terry Funk, & Jim Cornette

Since WCW used Funk for color commentary on singles matches and Cornette on tag teams, I thought I’d offer my own special guests…read on!

Live from Philadelphia, PA

Airdate: October 28, 1989

Attendance:  7,300

Hosted by Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

Put Flair, Funk, Sting, and Muta in a cage. Mix in electricity, Gary Hart, and a Philly crowd. Will the recipe be a masterpiece? Or a disaster? Read on!

NWA WrestleWar ’89: Music City Showdown

Live from Nashville, TN

Airdate: May 7, 1989

Attendance:  5,200

Hosted by Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

Can Steamboat/Flair III stand up against the first two classics? What will the rest of the show entail? Let’s find out!

Monday Nitro #253
Date: August 14, 2000
Location: Skyreach Place, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Scott Hudson, Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden

We’ve gotten through New Blood Rising and now it’s time to get ready for another of WCW’s grand pay per views in Fall Brawl. Booker T. is still World Champion and now gets to defend against Kevin Nash, who survived the totally real triple threat last night. I’m not sure why but I have a feeling this show is going to be bad. Let’s get to it.

Thunder
Date: August 2, 2000
Location: Hulman Center, Terre Haute, Indiana
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Stevie Ray, Mike Tenay

New Blood Rising is almost here and these shows just get worse and worse. Monday was another show where it felt like WCW was mad at us for watching them and were trying to get rid of as many remaining fans as they could. I don’t want to imagine how bad Thunder could get. Let’s get to it.

Monday Nitro #251
Date: July 31, 2000
Location: FirstStar Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, Scott Hudson

I made the mistake of believing that things might be turning around and this is what I get for it. The whole place has gone nuts again with Russo’s ideas turning it into more of a circus than a wrestling show and no one seeming to know the difference anymore. The main event tonight is Sting challenging Booker T. for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

Monday Nitro #250
Date: July 24, 2000
Location: CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Scott Hudson, Mark Madden

The shows have been a lot better lately but you know the bad has to be coming at some point. In this case the big story has been Scott Steiner going insane, along with the return of Kevin Nash. New Blood Rising is coming soon enough and I’m sure you’ve all heard of the reputation that show has attained. Let’s get to it.

Thunder
Date: July 12, 2000
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone

It still feels weird to say that Booker T. is the World Champion but it’s a nice feeling to have. For once things feel fresh and with the addition of the newcomers in the tag division, there’s an actual youth movement going on around here. Now unfortunately there’s no reason to think this is going to last but at least we can enjoy it while it’s around. Let’s get to it.

Live from Orlando, FL

Airdate: February 14, 1986

Attendance:  unknown

Hosted by Gordon Solie and Mike Graham

Prior to the first match, Solie shills the latest copy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated with the Road Warriors on the cover.