Dark Pegasus Video Review: All Japan Classics #40

All Japan Classics #40 — The Axis of Carnage! (Part 2)

Dory Funk Jr. vs. Butch Reed (2/20/82)
This is from Florida so Funk is working heel. Dory was the NWA International Champion at the time but Reed was a non-contender. He would go on to be huge in the Mid-South and then not so huge in the WWE before recovering and becoming respectable in the NWA/WCW. I’m guessing they’ll go for a Flair vs. Sting sort of vibe on this one. Dory rides him down with a headlock but Reed comes back with a bearhug. He tosses Funk into the corner like a rag doll. Dory ties up but Reed grabs a headlock and WILL NOT LET GO! Dory tries shucking him off the ropes three times but Reed is too powerful. Finally, Dory is able to back him into the ropes and respond with a headlock of his own. Reed finds his way out of that and Dory baits him into grabbing another headlock just so he can deliver a backdrop suplex. Nice. A series of forearms rocks the big guy back and Dory takes it to the mat with a front facelock. More forearms in the corner. No one does a better uppercut forearm than Dory Funk Jr. NO ONE! They fight over a suplex and Reed wins that one. Crossbody block by Reed gets two. Dory backs into a corner and knees Reed as the brash youngster tries to capitalize. Dory tosses him out and continues to work on him as he tries to get back in the ring. Smart. A Funk abdominal stretch is reversed and turned into a cradle by Reed. It gets two. I don’t remember seeing Reed do that move before. Reed shoots him off and they collide mid-ring for a double KO. Dory goes for a dropkick but Reed holds the ropes and Dory falls harmlessly to the mat. They then do a really-neat-if-it-wasn’t-so-contrived series of leapfrogs which ends when the try to leapfrog into each other. Dory sets up for a piledriver but Reed backdrops him over the top, which is a DQ in the NWA. Funk picks up a cheap win. Dory carried this one because Reed was still very green. It’s too bad he didn’t develop his actual wrestling ability as much as he did his biceps or else he could have been a huge name. **3/4

National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs. Mike Graham (2/20/82)
Mike Graham is the son of Eddie Graham the legendary promoter. I’m not up on my Florida territory like I should be (this is still in Florida, btw.) He looks kind of like Tom Selleck. I don’t know who Flair is. Some guy I guess. Ha, ha, look at the little belt. It’s sooooo cute. Flair talks a little trash and Mike has his fists balled up like a good little cookie-cutter babyface. Flair drop-toeholds him down and the exchange reversals until Graham backs him into the corner and hesitates throwing a punch. He hesitates is lost. Flair kicks him when he’s not looking. This only serves to piss Mike off and he rams Flair into the turnbuckles. Flair ties up and starts pushing him around just to frustrate Graham. Flair does THE oversell of a punch by flopping backwards like the Rock after a Stone Cold Stunner and bouncing out of bounds. Now, THAT’S how you put a guy over. Flair suckers him and delivers a Snake Eyes. The Nature Boy nails him in the back and locks in a sleeper. Ooo, ooo, I bet the hand drops twice and then starts to shake on the third one and then Graham recovers despite the fact his blood flow has apparently been cut off for several minutes. Damn, I’m good. Now, it’s Flair in the sleeper. Oh, Irony thou art a cruel and unyielding bitch. Flair inches towards the ropes but…can’t…quite…make…it. Flair’s arm quite clearly goes down three times but the ref doesn’t call for the bell. I’m wondering if this match is fixed! Graham lets go of the hold and covers. ONE, TWO, THR—NO NEW CHAMPION! Yet. You see, Flair got his leg on ropes. Graham vertical splashes it and goes right to work on Flair’s leg. It’s like a black fly in your Chardonnay. Neither of them are actually ironic. Neat to think about, though. Graham slugs away at Flair until the ref intervenes and Graham throws the ref over the top for no reason. Flair sends Graham into the turnbuckle and Graham bounces off into the ropes, realizes that he’s on the TV side of the ring, and staggers over to the neutral side so he can backdrop Flair over and people can see him. Oops. The ref, for some odd reason, hasn’t disqualified Graham for assaulting him or backdropping Flair over the top (which was a DQ in the NWA but the ref was probably still out from being thrown out of the ring so it cancels out). Instead, the ref counts Flair on the floor. Graham suplexes Flair back in for two. Is that Adrian Adonis that wandered down to ringside? It doesn’t matter much as Butch Reed comes down and blasts him (note that the earlier match on the tape is from the same card). Flair is a bloody mess for some reason that I missed. Graham tries the figure-four but gets sent into the ref knocking him out of the ring again. Flair locks in the figure-four for real but Graham rolls it over to reverse the pressure. Flair makes the ropes but Graham’s too stupid to let go so he gets disqualified. Graham then goes all Buffalo Bill on Flair, the ref, and everyone who comes out to calm him down. PUT THE FUCKING LOTION IN THE BASKET!!! Flair walks out through the crowd and manages to both strut and limp at the same time. Just another day at the office for Flair. ***1/2

National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs. Harley Race (2/28/82)
Eight days later and EVERYTHING is different. Here, Race is the violent villain who is out to maim the precocious Nature Boy. Flair is in his first title reign here having defeated Dusty Rhodes for the NWA Title the previous year. Race, who was already a six-time champ by the time this match rolls around, is looking for lucky #7. Flair takes a forearm shot to the chin early on and it’s clear that Race’s intention is to brawl his way to another title. He gets a backdrop and a piledriver nearly two minutes into the match. They only get two so Race settles things down with a side-headlock. This is not the way the defending champion wanted to start out. Flair backs him into a turnbuckle and chops him. The Nature Boy’s trademark kneedrop is countered to a Race Indian Deathlock. Flair punches his way out of that and busts Race’s forehead wide open with a series of punches. Race uppercuts Flair so hard in the jaw that the young champion falls out over the top rope. In a judgment call, the ref allows the match to continue and the two men brawl on the outside. Ric slams Race’s head into the ringpost and delivers an elbow between the eyes. Race shoots him off of the ropes and hits a Flying Headbutt. Now it is the Nature Boy who is dazed. Race gives him a straight punch right to the nose that stuns the champ even further. A second rope headbutt and kneedrop further the damage and now Flair is busted open as well. A series of punches lasts well past the referee’s five count but the ref gives the two competitors leeway. Flair has had enough and takes it to the challenger in the corner. The ref gets knocked aside in the process and Flair gets tossed out of the ring. The ref admonishes Race so Race rams him into the ringpost. Flair is a bloody mess now but he still tosses people aside trying to get at Harley Race. Jack and Gerry Brisco as well as Genichiro Tenryu come out to break the two men up, as they had become a danger to themselves and those around them. Race won’t stop, though, and delivers a stalling suplex doing further damage to Flair’s bad back (from an airplane crash years ago). He continues the assault until Flair’s face is literally covered in blood. The term crimson mask has never been more appropriate as there isn’t a portion of Flair’s face above the nose that isn’t covered with red. The other wrestlers pull Flair out before more damage can be done. Flair tears away at the crowd of people in between he and Race and gets back into the ring for a few more punches. Finally, the two are separated permanently but they will fight another day. **** match. ***** brawl. Graded on the curve ****1/2

NWA United National Title: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tommy Rich (3/7/82)
Rich is a good wrestler, not NWA Title good, but good nonetheless. Rich actually did hold the NWA Title for a couple days but people don’t like to talk about it. This is in Charlotte and Tsuruta comes in as the evil Japanese heel because no one really knows who he is stateside. Rich is pretty over with the Charlotte crowd perhaps in part because he looks just like a young Ric Flair. Actually, he looks like Jeff Hardy (if he were normal) dressed in Ric Flair’s wrestling gear. Rich outwrestles Tsuruta to start but that’s just to show the crowd that the good guys always win in a fair fight. They cut away to three kids sitting in the front row. Hey, is that the Hardy Boyz and Lita? Tsuruta bridges on an overhand wristlock and forces Rich backwards. COBRA TWIST! Rich hipblocks out of it because it’s just an Abdominal Stretch over here. Jumbo can’t get him over for a Butterfly Suplex so the turns it into an underhook takeover into a pincover. Rich is in the ropes, though. We nearly get fisticuffs as the action heats up but the referee will have none of it. Tsuruta delivers a backbreaker and just holds Rich over the knee to increase the pain. A second one yields a two count for the UN champ. Rich fires back with a series of right hands. Tommy goes for a Thesz Press but they tumble out over the top rope. Uh oh. I got a bad feeling about this. They take turns pulling each other off the apron until they both get counted out. Rich makes like he wants to have a go at Jumbo but they wind up shaking hands. Good match until another screwjob ending. **1/2

Shoehi Baba vs. Bruiser Brody (4/16/82)
Baba continues his war with the “Axis of Carnage”. All Japan Classics #39 saw Stan Hansen show up at the Real World Tag League after jumping over from New Japan. He cost the Funks the league championship, put Terry in the hospital, and nearly did the same to Dory. Baba and Tsuruta made the save and a few months later Stan Hansen had his first match with the Giant Baba. Hansen couldn’t quite drive a stake through his heart so now it’s Brody’s turn. Brody wanders around in the crowd and won’t give up his chain delaying the start of the match. Baba makes the mistake of going after it and Brody wraps it around his throat. He cranks Baba’s neck to the side in hopes of getting a submission. No dice. Baba battles back and stomps him in the chest. Brody asks for, and gets, a test of strength, which he wins. That’s a little surprising I think. Baba powers his way back to his feet. They back into the ropes where Brody takes an overhand swipe at him but Baba dodges it. A shoulderblock yields no result so Baba tries a second but runs right into a Brody boot sending the big man to the outside. Brody tries to capitalize, but gets run right into one of the ringside spectators. Baba follows him in and gets revenge for the earlier big boot. It gets two. Brody’s head is split open and he’s bleeding pretty heavily. He battles back and drops a leg across Baba’s chest. That gets two. An Atomic Drop gets two more. An elbow drop misses and they roll to the outside. Uh oh. Baba wraps Bruiser’s arm around the ringpost. Brody grabs a chair and slams it over the head of the promoter. Then he sets up a table and throws Baba into it. I think it’s safe to say that Brody has been disqualified. Baba crawls back into the ring to get his hand raised but collapses and the ringboys (Haku!) have to attend to him. Brody and Robley come back to deliver some more punishment with the chain. The ring fills with All Japan underclassmen (Rocky Hata, Mitsuo Momota, Akio Sato) but, as per usual, they are unable to stop the carnage. Finally, Jumbo Tsuruta comes out of the dressing room and chases Brody away. This was bordering on good/very good before the finish. **3/4

That match helped set up…

2/3 Falls: Shoehi Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/20/82)

First Fall: Buck Robley is seconding Hansen and Brody. Or is it “thirding”? I know what you’re saying, THE Buck Robley. Hansen and Tsuruta start out with a crisscross and move faster than I ever thought they oculd. Tsuruta shoulderblocks him to the canvass but misses an elbow drop. Hansen tries one of his own but that misses. Brody tags in and hits his one-handed slam. There’s already a little trash-talking going on between Brody and Baba. Shoehi tags in but Baba hits him with a big boot to the face. Baba responds with one of his own. The heels corner Baba and Hansen locks in a reverse chinlock to calm things down. Baba escapes that and stomps on Hansen’s lariat arm. Tsruta comes in and delivers a few more followed by a reverse armbreaker. Hansen reverses another armbreaker to a schoolboy rollup and stomps Tsuruta into the mat. Tag to Brody and he delivers a dropkick. Tsuruta comes back with a gutwrench suplex. This is a really fast pace considering the guys involved and the fact that it’s multiple falls. Hansen delivers his dropkick but gets small packaged for a quick one count. Jumbo hits a Jumping Knee on Brody but Hansen makes the save. Baba comes in to take him out but the ref escorts him back out. Hansen takes that opportunity to hit the Western Lariat and duck back out of the ring. Brody drops an elbow and finishes the first fall.

Second Fall: The first fall was one of the wildest brawls in recent memory. Tsuruta is down and out after the lariat but Hansen tells Baba to get him up and tell him not to be such a pussy. Baba tells him to shove it up his ass and go back to his own corner. Odd visual: Hansen, Brody, and Robley them calmly discuss strategy. Weird. Baba can’t even drag Jumbo to his feet but it’s time to start the second fall so Brody just stomps a mudhole in his chest. Hansen continues the beating as the crown gets firmly behind Jumbo. The young native swings wildly but only finds empty space. Brody misses a big elbow drop enabling Tsuruta to make the hot tag to Baba. Shoehi goes into full kickass mode and levels Brody and everything Brody-related. The heels overwhelm him, though, bringing Tsuruta back in before he was really ready. Brody and Hansen bring the chain in and CLOTHESLINE BABA WITH THE EVERLOVIN’ CHAIN!!! Obviously, that’s enough to draw the DQ.

Third Fall: The seconds try to reconstruct Baba’s windpipe from memory but, in the end, they just wind up rolling his decrepit monkey skeleton body back into the ring for Brody to pick over the bones. See, Brody and Hansen win the fall and they come out on top; Brody and Hansen lose the fall and they come out on top. That strategy session earlier on must have worked. Now, they go for the methodical wearing down of Giant Baba by pounding away at him. Nothing ultra high-impact or high-risk, just killing him softly. Baba scraps back against Brody and hits a Russian Leg Sweep. Tsuruta tags Baba’s prone body and comes off the top rope with a chop right between Brody’s eyes. Jumbo’s ready to take on both guys and he does! The ref tries to step in between he and Hansen so Baba takes that chain and wraps it around Brody’s throat. Ah, your own medicine is a bitter pill to swallow. They take it to the floor and brawl off into the crowd. Tsuruta knocks Hansen out of the ring with a dropkick and follows him out for a little fracas of their own. Uh oh. My screwjob sense is tingling. Indeed, both teams brawl until they’re both counted out. Result of the match: DCOR. Well, the ending sucks as usual, but the rest is pure gold. ****1/2

The 411: Baba/Tsuruta vs. Brody/Hansen/Snuka vs. the Funks was the biggest rivalry for All Japan that year and they managed to stretch it out all year until the 1982 tag league. The matches all had solar heat and were well-booked throughout the entire feud and on this tape in particular. There is an abundance of screwjob endings, but they always served to set up another match down the line. The American matches were all pretty good with Flair vs. Race being particularly good. Two ****+ matches and no bad matches is enough for an easy recommendation. All Japan Classics #40 gets a firm thumbs up.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]