Welcome to From the Crow’s Nest! This will be an ongoing series of reviews looking at the history of wrestling in Portland, Oregon … specifically Pacific Northwest Wrestling.
The history of Portland Wrestling goes as far back as 1925 (we won’t go that far back), but it’s best known for the multiple decade run under Don Owen, whose father, Herb, founded the promotion.
The Portland territory was unique, in a few ways.
It was small. Owen usually kept an active roster of just 10 to 12 wrestlers, and worked a busy loop of shows in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in Canada. You’ll see this on some of the TV segments where they break down the upcoming calendar.
Because of the small roster, episodes of Portland’s TV program had a structure that was unique but also seems a perfect fit for a television show. The main event of most episodes was best two out of three falls. Between falls, wrestlers typically went back to the locker room, and during these brief intermissions, they would either hold interviews with wrestlers or cut to commercials with sponsors. It’s a hoot watching the latter, and seeing both the style of the time and some of the prices that seem insanely low, especially by 2025 standards.
Portland’s TV program was an institution in the region. Owen ran his TV every Saturday night out of the Portland Sports Arena — a renovated bowling alley that the promotion owned. Eddie Graham followed a similar tact in Florida, running his promotion out of a building he owned. The show aired live — and then, live to tape — on KPTV Channel 12 in Portland for decades, on nothing more than a handshake deal.
The crowds, at least on these initial episodes, were red hot. Owen offered “season passes” to the TV tapings, which, combined with the regular loop of towns, forced his wrestlers to shake up their routine and not work the same kind of match time after time. “The first several rows of ringside, you couldn’t buy a ticket, because they were all permanent reservations,” Dave Meltzer once said about Portland crowds to Slam Wrestling. “The first six rows had the same people sit in those chairs for 52 weeks a year for years on end. The only way to get a ringside ticket was if one of them died, you literally had to be in their will.”
The Portland product is, in some ways, a harbinger of what changed in wrestling in the 2000s. The promotion emphasized more smaller wrestlers and a fast-paced style. Owen also had a reputation for paying well, which left no shortage of individuals who wanted to make their way through the territory. Consequently, a who’s who of talent makes appearances in Portland over the years.
With that introduction out of the way, let’s dive right into the footage.
We pick up with what I believe is the oldest existing video from Portland’s TV show.
Lonnie Mayne vs. Jesse Ventura, 5/7/77
You may know the Moondogs more as the tag team that worked throughout different territories in the U.S., but Mayne was actually the original Moondog. He also would have a much larger legacy in wrestling if he hadn’t been lost too soon. He died in 1978 at the age of just 33 in a car accident en route to a booking in California. Mayne worked almost exclusively as a heel in the early 1970s, and challenged Pedro Morales for the WWWF Title at Madison Square Garden. By 1977, though, Mayne was a beloved fan favorite of the Portland Sports Arena crowd. There’s an excellent bio of Mayne at Pro Wrestling Stories if you’d like to know more about him.
In this match, a best-two-out-of-three fall affair as was the custom on Portland TV, Mayne wrestles Ventura, who was at this point a fixture in the territory before going on to bigger stages in the AWA and WWF. The surviving footage starts with the first fall in progress, then jumps ahead to the third fall, with no finish. Mayne had a reputation for being wild in and out of the ring; at one point, he heads to ringside and throws a drink in Ventura’s face. One punch later and Ventura goes sprawling to the floor.
Between the ropes, Mayne was rather fearless. In the third fall, he takes a variation of what I know best as the Harley Race bump to the floor: hooking his feet on the ropes then dropping down on his head. As if the beverage wasn’t enough, Jimmy Snuka — another wrestler who became a regular in Portland in the 1970s before moving to bigger stages — comes to ringside and tosses Mayne a cowbell to start laying waste to Ventura. Somehow, this isn’t a DQ.
This one falls in the Worth Watching category for me. There’s nothing earth-shattering here but the crowd is hot, the action is entertaining, and there’s some significant historic value here.
Cocoa Samoa vs. Buddy Rose , 8/13/77
This is the earliest footage in Portland of Buddy Rose. If there’s an all-time MVP of the territory, it’s probably him. I also think Rose is one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time and, if you follow me through this journey, don’t be surprised if you end up agreeing. Rose can chain wrestle, brawl, and fly. He takes these fantastic heedless-looking bumps, and gives enteraining interviews as a villain who is either talking trash or extremely aggrieved at some perceived injustice. Meanwhile, he has a willingness to bleed buckets that I found endearing. This match with Cocoa is just the tip of the iceberg on the footage of Rose, who personally is responsible for most of the surviving footage from Portland in this era, because he had a habit of recording episodes of Portland’s TV program so he could go back and review his matches.
The video quality is not the best and Portland commentator Frank Bonnema — whose broadcast position is referred to as The Crow’s Nest (get it?) — pooh-poohs what he perceives as a light crowd. Adding greatly to the atmosphere, there’s a granny in the front row who’s vigilant as Rose repeatedly pulls on Cocoa’s trunks while ensnared in a headlock. At one point in the match, Cocoa delivers his leaping headbutt and Rose takes what I consider his signature bump: an explosion of movement where he pushes off with his legs and sends himself flying back to the mat. The landing is more reminiscent of a cartoon character who slipped on a banana peel. It’s ridiculous taken as a snapshot, but it works because it’s so over the top. It’s a regular part of Rose’s matches and it often serves the purpose of making the opposing wrestler’s offense look devastating, which, really, is one of the major points of a wrestling match, isn’t it? Rose wins the match clean with a modified backbreaker that looks like something out of the Roderick Strong arsenal, but the decision gets overturned when he keeps attacking Cocoa, ultimately shoving referee Sandy Barr.
This is honestly Skippable, but if you’ve never seen Buddy Rose in action, it’s a fine introduction with a low investment of time.
Kraken Pro Wrestling celebrated its one-year anniversary with the Kraken Classic. The event also represents the climax of stories that have been cultivated since Kraken first started running. Whereas usual installments of this series focus on an entire set of episodes from a single taping, while watching these matches, I decided that breaking up the Kraken Classic into two parts made more sense.
Episode 48
The original Kraken Classic was an eight-man tournament that played out over the first several episodes of Kraken’s show on YouTube. The format’s been changed; the first round now consists of a pair of four-way matches, with the two winners advancing to a one-on-one match for the finals and a guaranteed shot at the Kraken Title.
The first four-way involves Lamar Diggs of The Business, Ehren Black, Joey Hyder, and Jayy Wells. Black is the biggest man in Kraken and Diggs is not far behind him. To no surprise, the story revolves around the two monsters. Hyder and Wells try to join forces against them, then get pummeled by them, only to see the inevitable breakdown and battle between the two behemoths. This is a fun match that is sloppy in places but it’s one of those where the flaws in execution go to serve the inherent chaos of a four-way match that is one fall to the finish.
This is a good match and it is laid out well, giving everyone a chance to shine. Hyder shows his toughness, taking some chops early that leave his chest a gruesome shade of purple. He hits his “Razzle Dazzle” combo (a Finlay roll into a standing moonsault) on Diggs in an impressive athletic display. Later, he throws a knee trembler that I’d like to see become part of his usual arsenal.
I wrote about Wells and his steady progression in Kraken as part of the last review. He’s a hometown guy with a ton of crowd support at these shows in Tifton and he strings together some big offensive moves down the stretch that made me buy that he was going to win even though I already knew the outcome of this match. It’s always a slick feat when a match draws you in to that extent. Wells hits Hyder with a cutter and I adored what comes next: Wells, feeling the effects of the beating he’s taken thus far, uses his head to slowly roll Hyder onto his back for the pin because he’s too fatigued to use his strength and put Hyder’s shoulders on the mat.
This is a real battle that felt like it had stakes and some surprises. Donnie Harris on commentary at one point proclaims the match “is lasting longer than some marriages” (a weird remark when we were about 10 minutes in), but I thought this one breezed by, especially compared to another match on this card. Diggs and Black have a few scraps, and their interactions just provide a tantalizing tease of what a singles match between them would look like. Diggs ultimately scores the win over Hyder, with manager Justin Kayse (who also happens to be Kraken Champion) helping out his charge by taking his briefcase and blasting Black in the head with it outside the ring. Credit to Diamond Duke for pointing out this bit of interference after the fall, noting the “smart move” by Kayse. I actually missed it watching live and caught it on a rewind. It happened fast, and in the background, so calling it out like that was welcome. That’s good commentary.
The second Kraken Classic first-round match involves Sam Hanson,Charlie Kills, Hitta K of the H-Town Hittas, and Brandon Whatley. These four had a tough act to follow after a hot, action-packed opener and this match definitely felt a step or two below the first one as a result. I tend to run cold on multi-man matches because I feel like they fall into the trap of a couple guys in the ring doing something while everyone else is selling or just waiting outside the ring. This match delved into that dicey territory at times. My single top highlight was when Hanson ensnares Hitta K in a bulldog choke, and the amazing expression on Hanson’s face as he exhorts his opponent to tap. Kudos to the camera operator for being in the perfect spot to capture this, too. Charlie gets the duke and Hitta K takes the fall, which pleasantly surprised me given the Hittas entered this match undefeated as a team in Kraken.
In between the two four-ways, we get a short interview segment involving the debuting Joe Black, who is set to face Kevin Kantrell later on the card. I first met Joe more than a decade ago and I’ve been a fan of his work ever since, so I’ve enjoyed getting to see him receive the plaudits he deserves as of late on the Southeastern scene. Joe is smooth and succinct on his comments, which serve as a perfect introduction for him in Kraken. Kantrell steps in, words get exchanged, and Joe departs without shaking Kantrell’s hand, which is a nice callback to the Kantrell-Will Huckaby match that ultimately caused so many problems at the end of 2024.
Episode 49
This episode revolves entirely around the latest Kraken Championship, the Cash In Hand Title. If you’ve been reading these reviews, you know about the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble concept. This is the extrapolation of that: an actual title that the winner then will defend in future scrambles. Defend successfully three times and you get a shot at the Kraken Title. This is billed as the “ultimate” Cash In, Cash Out Scramble. It’s more of a mix between a scramble and a rumble. Five wrestlers start out, and as participants get pinned or submit, a new competitor joins the fray.
There are 13 (!) wrestlers in this match at some point or another, so I feel it would be counterproductive — and a slog to read, for that matter — to do a straight recap. Instead, I wanted to share my major takeaways from this scramble.
Nick Quick is one of the first participants and also the first elimination. He continues to win me over as a small underdog and he takes a beating well, which elevates whomever is going against him.
Kraken’s core fan favorites are all very over. The Saturday Night Temptations get good reactions for each of their entrances and, when Jak Myles joins as the final entrant, he quickly gets the crowd chanting, “Sweep!” In a time when many crowds sit on their hands just waiting to react to the next big move, it’s endearing to see several Kraken wrestlers connecting with their audiences to such a degree.
If you haven’t seen this yet, or you already have, go back and watch and pay attention to what C.J. Shine does. Shine comes in early in the order and is there for most of the match, doing a fine job directing traffic and keeping the match flowing. Shine gets pinned late in the match by ERC, which is probably the best moment yet for ERC in Kraken.
Each wrestling promotion has to build its own narrative or, if you’ll indulge my nerdy Dungeons & Dragons side, lore. Establishing certain moves as all-but-unbeatable adds to that lore, and the Woodgrain jumping piledriver by Brother Azriel certainly qualifies. Azriel uses the Woodgrain to defeat Hitta J, who gets pinned for the first time in Kraken. A tough night for the identical twin Hittas …
Jay 2 Strong puts on a tour de force performance in this match. One of the first five entrants, Jay goes the duration. Not only that, he bumps and sells for just about every other participant when they join the fray. I was really impressed with his work here.
Once everyone has entered, the match switches to a “one fall to a finish” format. The participants at that time are Sweeper, Jay, Huck, and Don Haylo. Myles, appropriately, gets the win after hitting each of the other three with his Russian legsweep finisher. It’s a great story moment as well as the first real signature win for Myles, who was a lovable hard-luck loser on the early Kraken shows, had one of his Cash In Cash out Scramble payouts stolen by The Business, and gets some revenge here by pinning Jay from The Business — even though Jay is somewhat on the outs from the rest of the group heading into the scramble.
I think there’s enough in this scramble to appeal to most wrestling fans but for maximum enjoyment, you’d need to be pretty familiar with Kraken’s product. Fortunately, getting familiar is made easier with my full set of Kraken reviews.
Kraken Pro Wrestling made its debut in the summer of 2024. I learned about the promotion not long after that and, back in the fall, I started watching and reviewing episodes of Kraken TV on YouTube, writing up my thoughts and posting them here. Life got in the way several times since, but I reached the end of 2024 with the episodes contained in this taping.
By this point, Kraken has established a core roster and is building some long-term storylines. The most significant plot point is the introduction of the Pieces of 8, a novel concept to determine participants in the Kraken Classic. The Pieces of 8 are coins, each of which gain the holder entry in the tournament. Whomever receives the coins then have to maintain possession until the Kraken Classic. If any coin holder gets pinned or submitted, in a singles or a tag match, whomever gets the duke claims that coin.
Kraken booker Will Huckaby shared with me that Donnie Harris, the lead commentator and on-screen authority figure, first came up with the idea as the premise for a secondary title. Using the coins to secure spots in the Kraken Classic evolved from that. Donnie mentions the new concept at the start of Episode 27, then explains it in greater detail to start Episode 29.
Wrestling tends to be all about recycling ideas — whether that means capitalizing on a hot trend or digging into something from a past era that has fallen out of favor and can seem like an innovation today. However, this is a very creative concept I do not recall seeing yet. It’s an idea I could see a major company stealing and using, and I mean that as a compliment to the creative team at Kraken.
This is also the first Kraken event at a venue the promotion still uses, a senior center in Tifton, Georgia. The entire vibe reminded me of some of those early CHIKARA shows from small public spaces in Pennsylvania. I’m not saying it means Kraken should put on a Cibernetico match, but I’m not not saying that, either.
A full menu of tag wrestling on this episode. After heavily teasing dissension between themselves at the last taping, Lamar Diggs and Jay 2 Strong of The Business face Jayy Wells and Gabe Norton in a fun little sprint. I don’t think Wells or Norton have won a match yet in Kraken but they bust out some nifty combo offense and I certainly didn’t have “Norton hitting an ushigaroshi” on my bingo card. Diggs and Jay throw in some small beats to keep their disagreement simmering; I especially liked Diggs chopping Jay across the chest to tag into the match.
The main event on this episode pits Noir against the Saturday Night Temptations. Thus far, I prefer Ehren Black as a singles act. This match rated as skippable for me but give Black, the other half of Noir Mr. Wright, and one of the Temptations, CJ Shine, props for thinking on their feet to keep the match moving and everyone safe when Karl Hager has a medical issue that basically takes him out of the contest.
This taping includes multiple installments of the Diamond Den interview series, hosted by Kraken commentator Diamond Duke. However, the one here featuring “The Sweeper” Jak Myles should have been left on the metaphorical cutting room floor. Duke just tosses out a bunch of bad jokes about trash, garbage, and janitors, and Jak doesn’t really seem to know how to respond. Jak has been getting built as a “man of the people” type of fan favorite but this segment did nothing to help him.
The Cash In, Cash Out Scramble returns. Myles gets his second straight win in the match but, this time, The Business doesn’t show up to attack him for the envelope of money. Myles wins with an STO, which I actually think looks better than his Russian legsweep. Kassius King, Don Haylo, Travis Ray, and ERC round out the field and everyone gets at least one moment to shine even in a short match. King not to be confused with Cassius King, who has a similar look to Kassius. Did I mention they also both wear white gear? Forget what I said about not being confused…
The main event on this episode is one of the better matches yet in Kraken, a rematch between Hold My Beer Hanson (now being billed as “Sam Hanson”) and Brother Azriel from the previous taping. Both wrestlers do a good job building off of what they did in the first match, and doing so without repeating many moves and spots from that initial meeting. The context of the first match adds to the quality of the second, and this incredibly hard-hitting rematch actually stands out as one of my favorite Kraken matches yet — as you’ll see in the lower section. Little touches helped elevate this one. I loved the facial reaction from Azriel when Hanson’s arm failed to drop the third time on a submission hold, and Hanson’s struggle to roll over Azriel for a pin attempt later in the match. I also caught for the first time that Azriel’s jumping piledriver — one of the more established finishers in Kraken — is called The Woodgrain. I can dig it.
Before Hanson’s match, he and Huck are backstage and bump into Kevin Kantrell. Words are exchanged and Huck and Kantrell agree to a match. This is the third or fourth time Huckaby has ended up in a match after bumping into someone in the back. I would suggest Kraken wrestlers just avoid hallways and doorways with Huck altogether at this point.
The centerpiece of this episode is the Kraken return (in some snazzy gold gear, no less) of Trever Aeon, who was suspended from the prior taping by Harris. Aeon faces the debuting Chad Skywalker. At first I found it distracting that Skywalker wrestled in a vest but after seeing some of those leaping stomps to the face, I think he can wear whatever he wants. Skywalker’s use of misdirection and hitting seemingly standard moves from unique angles helped him stand out here. The match goes to the time limit, but Donnie gives them a few more minutes. Diamond Duke is really lobbying Donnie to make that move; as mentioned in an earlier review, I like moments where, even with face/heel commentators, something happens to provoke a genuine human reaction. Once Donnie restarts the match, things heat up quickly. Skywalker looks like he went to the astral plane after eating a nasty-looking snap back suplex. He responds with a nice combo punctuated by an elbow drop out of a springboard moonsault from the second rope. Aeon wins with a second or two remaining in a finish that is executed very well. The only thing I didn’t like about this match was Skywalker using the cross face during the overtime; at this point that hold should be the sole property of Kantrell.
Elsewhere in this one… Donnie Harris explains the Pieces of 8 in greater detail to open this episode. It’s a segment of considerable length and he nails it in one continuous take and is pretty smooth in the process.
There’s another Diamond Den on this episode, this time with Kantrell as the guest. This continues to establish Kantrell, his credibility, and his undefeated streak, while creating the question of what he still has to do to get a shot at the Kraken title. It makes for an effective piece of storytelling, and shows the capability of segments like this.
Charlie Kills scores another win in the opening match, besting Josh Breezzyy. I can summarize Charlie best as Kraken’s lovable murder clown. It can be tough to convey emotion during a match with your entire face covered, but Charlie does a good job of this, especially when he sells. The work here is solid but the match did not connect for me.
The beginning of this episode is different from anything Kraken has done to date. Things open with a seemingly silly backstage segment with Rose Gold and the Temptations, until the debuting Tsu Nami attacks Rose, a brawl that goes all the way into and around the ring. One of the Temptations screaming out “Mama no!” as the brawl leads away from them got a genuine chortle out of me. A scheduled match between them gets called off because of the attack. I liked this as something fresh for Kraken but it ran on a bit too long for me.
Sandwiched between this and the taping main is a brief segment between Diggs and 2 Strong where they agree to, well, stop disagreeing. Jay makes the segment when, after the two have a rather intense handshake, he quietly asks Diggs to please let go.
After their aforementioned hallway escalation, Kantrell takes on Huckaby in a contrast of styles and sizes that mostly sees them beat, as I wrote when making notes in the moment, the everloving piss out of one another. Kantrell is rugged and ruthless attacking the arm and hand of Huckaby. Kantrell wins by submission, but not with the Crossface. Instead, he takes a spinebuster, rolls through a pin attempt by Huckaby and hooks him in a Muta Lock. After Huck refuses an offered handshake, Kantrell speaks on the house mic in a promo that sounds like it was recorded from the bottom of a well. Poor sound quality notwithstanding, the message is there: he’s coming for the title, which really should be the goal of every wrestler on a given roster, right?
2024 Review
With this the end of Kraken’s offerings for 2024, and fully realizing we are nearly halfway through 2025, I thought it’d be worthwhile to try and identify the best matches and top performers for this still-new promotion.
Best Matches of 2024
#1, Kevin Kantrell vs. Jay 2 Strong, Episode 26
Kantrell works as a full-fledged fan favorite for the first time in Kraken in a highly entertaining, back-and-forth contest. Read my thoughts on this match here.
#2, Trever Aeon vs. Dominic Stuckey, Episode 18
Stuckey makes his Kraken debut in a very good match against the top babyface in Kraken. Read my thoughts on this match here.
#3, For 3 Minutes vs. Justin Kayse: Trey Shaw vs. Dominic Stuckey, Episode 22
Now part of The Business, Stuckey faces Shaw in another top-notch match. Unfortunately, this marked Shaw’s final Kraken appearance to date. Read my thoughts on the match here.
#4, Hold My Beer Hanson vs. Brother Azriel rematch, Episode 28
This match got covered in this installment and really jumped out as something unique and compelling.
#5, Will Huckaby vs. Lamar Diggs, Episode 14
A hoss fight that saw both men push the boundaries with some high-risk moves down the stretch. At the time it aired, it was the best match in Kraken at the time and also the longest — two hurdles that have been surpassed several times by the end of 2024. Read my thoughts on the match here.
2024 MVP:This isn’t necessarily about the best wrestler on the roster or the top draw, but about who brings the most consistent value as compared to their time on screen.
Honorable Mention:Jay 2 Strong is one of the more consistent wrestlers on the roster and one of the best if he’s slated for a big match. CJ Shine maximizes his time on camera whether that’s a main event tag match or a 20-second cameo in a backstage segment.
Fifth place: Lamar Diggs — The heavy hitter of The Business, Diggs speaks softly or hardly at all but hits like a truck. He projects an imposing figure of menace any time he is on camera, whether in a match or just looming at ringside or in the background of a segment.
Fourth place: Dominic Stuckey — I sang Stuckey’s praises when he showed up in the fall of 2024 and had he compiled a longer run in Kraken, he likely would have finished higher. He did produce two of the top Kraken matches in 2024.
Third place: Kevin Kantrell — Kraken has some intriguing long-term stories simmering and the build of Kantrell has been one of the more consistent and well-done elements of their TV show. No matter the opponent or how big the size discrepancy, Kantrell has tapped them all out. That has also allowed Kantrell to showcase his talents against a variety of different wrestlers and styles.
Runner-up: Brother Azriel — I did not expect to see Azriel finish this highly when I started looking back at Kraken in 2024 and, to be honest, I did not think much of Azriel when I first saw him in Kraken. The big man is actually an incredibly consistent presence — the wrestling equivalent of the guy in a baseball lineup who rarely strikes out and often gets on base. He’s surprisingly nimble for his frame, hits hard when he wants to, projects a generally formidable aura, and has shown great versatility along the way: a pair of hoss fights against Hanson, a very good clash of styles with Kantrell, a classic Southern style main event with 2 Strong, and playing along with the shenanigans of the Saturday Night Temptations in their debut tag. I understand Azriel finished 2024 with some health problems but does make his Kraken return at some point in 2025, so I’ll be interested to see if he can keep it up after the time away.
MVP: Trever Aeon — If Stuckey is the ace of the heels and Kantrell is the workhorse on the roster, then Aeon is the top guy among the fan favorites. Since getting robbed in the Semifinals of the Kraken Classic, Aeon has been on a mission to bring down The Business and champion Justin Kayse and the fans appear to be fully bought into the chase. His only bad match in Kraken was on the debut episode and was more an indictment of his opponent than anything. Since then, Aeon has had an assortment of good to great matches under the Kraken banner, with the match against Stuckey as the high point. His bout with Skywalker on this taping nearly cracked my top five for 2024. As booker, Huckaby closed the year by using Aeon to introduce new talent like Brandon Whatley and Skywalker — two unique and talented wrestlers. Meanwhile, Aeon keeps meeting and beating every challenge in front of him like a heroic figure should in any fictional or dramatic work. Factor in the crowd reactions and Aeon is clearly the man whose won the hearts and minds of Kraken fans.
365 match reviews, one for each date on the yearly calendar? Challenge accepted. Welcome to 365 Wrestling.
The first installment in the project and we’re kicking things off by spotlighting two of my all-time favorites.
Rey Mysterio, Jr. has slowed down some, naturally, after the pile-up of years and injuries but his appeal, his style and many of his signature moves remain, in many ways, timeless. Tajiri, meanwhile, is a fine example that a wrestler doesn’t have to take a turn as a headliner to be memorable. Tajiri spent his entire time in American wrestling in the midcard, but his look, style and charisma paved a path to success for the Japanese Buzzsaw in WWE and ECW. Like Mysterio, Tajiri is still active. Though he’s slowed down more than Rey, Tajiri became MLW Openweight Champion near the end of 2021.
You can check out this match on Peacock. You can also watch a clip from the match in the video above.
The Match
Rey gets one more crack at Tajiri, who dethroned Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Title the previous September. Tajiri’s reign included him bringing on two lackeys to watch his back and interfere on his behalf, Akio (better known as Jimmy Yang) and Sakoda.
This culminates a four-month rivalry between Rey and Tajiri, and their familiarity shines through in this one. Rather than go right at one another, and flying around the ring, at the opening bell, they opt for a more patient, mat-based battle in the opening minutes. Each man anticipates key offense of the other: Rey blocks signature Tajiri maneuvers like the springboard back elbow and the Tarantula, while, late in the bout, Tajiri avoids a springboard senton by Rey with a sweet counter to a half crab on the left leg, which is the main target of Tajiri’s offense for most of the match.
After relying on a distraction from Akio and interference by Sakoda to get control of the match, Tajiri really works over that leg. The highlight of that attack is a pinpoint standing dropkick to the knee while Rey is hanging upside down in the Tree of Woe.
The finishing stretch is strong with each man scoring a very believable false finish. Ultimately, Rey foils interference by Akio and Sakoda, hooking Tajiri with a huracanrana into the pin to become two-time Cruiserweight Champ.
Final Rating: 7.6
This is a very good match that showcases both Rey and Tajiri in their primes. Everything flowed well and looked good. At under 12 minutes (counting entrances, and minus an early segment of the match we don’t see due to the commercial break), this is a brisk, action-packed match with real stakes, a strong narrative centered around Rey’s left leg, and a satisfying, definitive conclusion. Seek out this match if you haven’t seen it.
In Moore House Wrestling 