Death by Midwest: The Best of 1990 Volume 1 from Second Coming Video

Ya know, I’ve been covering a lot of IWA Mid-South for a long time, and I wanted to branch out and try something new. I picked this up from a DVD table at the AAW show in Berwyn a few months ago. It’s from Second Coming Video, whoever that is, showing the best matches from 1990 from across the world.

January 31st, 1990, Osaka.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match
Naoki Sano © vs. Jushin Liger

This is a rematch of a few months prior, where Sano had beat Liger for the belt. We’re in Osaka from the looks of it. Liger slaps Sano and goes with PALM STRIKES to start. He ain’t messing around. Spinning heel kick by Liger sends Sano out and he hits a seated senton off the apron to the floor. Sano whips Liger HARD into the rail. TOMBSTONE in the ring and Sano TEARS LIGER’S MASK. You get a glimpse of Liger’s face there. LIGER IS BUSTED OPEN. STIFF big boot by Sano followed by a Boston Crab. There are drops of blood all over the ring and you can see it in Liger’s hair. Liger can’t defend himself but keeps kicking out. Pedigree by Sano gets 2. Spinning headscissors by Liger sends Sano out….TOPE SUICIDA!!!! Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by the surfboard, but Sano rakes his eyes to get out. The mask is completely off now and you can see Liger’s face. Fisherman’s for 2 by Sano, followed by a German suplex for 2, then back to the Boston Crab. DRAGON SUPLEX….for 2 by Sano. Sano pins him again and he’s getting frustrated. Liger clotheslines Sano out and catches a breath, but Sano comes back with a lariat for 2. Liger goes for the CAPPOOOO KICK but Sano ducks. And hits a STIFF Jumping Back Kick. Liger avoids another, but Sano backdrops him to the outside and flies off the top rope onto him. Liger barely beats the count getting back in. Liger reverses a superplex for 2. LIGERBOMB attempt, reversed into a pin by Sano…for 2. TIGER SUPLEX by Sano….Liger grabs the ropes. HEAD DROP GERMAN SUPLEX BY LIGER….for 2! Rana attempt by Sano but he gets POWERBOMBED for 2. TOMBSTONE by Liger followed by a SHOOTING STAR PRESS for the win at 20:02.

Rating: ****1/4 Liger overcame all obstacles to regain the belt in that one. I’ve never seen someone go after Liger with such aggressiveness as Sano did there, but no matter how demoralized or beaten Liger seemed, he kicked out of everything Sano threw at him. Eventually, Liger got energized and hit enough big moves to put Sano away. Great match.

Feburary 10th, 1990, Tokyo Dome

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH:
Vader © vs. Stan Hansen

This is from the All Japan-New Japan 1990 supercard in front of a sold out Tokyo Dome. And of course, why not have each company’s resident masters of stiffness face off? They club away at each other and they’re not pulling ANYTHING. DAMN. Short arm clothesline by Vader and then start with FOREARMS. Sweet Jesus. Vader takes off his mask to reveal that his EYE HAS POPPED OUT OF ITS SOCKET. Thank god the swelling has kept it in place. They improvise some stuff because I think neither of them know what to do here. Vader wails at him in the corner. BACK SUPLEX BY HANSEN! They spill outside to brawl some more until Vader knocks Hansen down with one stiff punch. Powerslam by Vader gets 2. Vader comes off the top with a shoulderblock for 2. Vader hits a STIFF lariat and sends Hansen outside again. Hansen avoids a charge and Vader posts himself. More brawling and they spill into the crowd. Back inside, Hansen KNEES the eye of Vader! You sick man! Guess he must have popped it back in at some point. Dropkick by Vader. Pretty one, too. LARIAT by Vader, Hansen stays up…LARIAT by Hansen, Vader stays standing too. Crowd is going nuts. They brawl outside again with more stiff punches and both men get counted out at 15:47 as they spill deeper into the crowd.

Rating: *** I’ll be generous because of how stiff they were. For most of the match, Hansen had to avoid striking Vader’s face because of the injury, and being careful isn’t really that man’s style, which makes it a strange match.

June 8th, 1990, Nippon Budokan.

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

Misawa is right off of abandoning the Tiger Mask gimmick and is now facing the biggest star of the 80s. Jumbo shows the power advantage early on with a swank little bodyslam. Dropkick by Misawa but he gets met with a big, big boot. LARIAT….for 2 by Jumbo. Misawa reverses a back suplex for 2. Fake dive by Misawa then a dropkick off the apron. He elbows Jumbo into the first row. Misawa ELBOWS Jumbo off the apron and then hits a pescado. Back in, Misawa slows the pace down with a front facelock. Jumbo reverses but then Misawa turns that around. More tests of strength follow that. It serves a purpose, though, as this match was to establish Misawa as a main event heavyweight. Hammerlock by Misawa gets broken up in the ropes, but Misawa slaps Jumbo, twice in fact. High knee by Jumbo into an abdominal stretch. Misawa reverses, but Jumbo tosses him to the outside and throws him to the rail. Butterfly suplex by Jumbo gets 2. Jumbo keeps the slow pace with a side headlock and then a slam. He tries for another but Misawa catches him with a dropkick. Missile dropkick by Misawa…for 2. He follows up with a elbow smash in the corner and a gutwrench suplex. Frog Splash off the top…for 2! Misawa goes for a crossbody, but Jumbo hangs him up on the ropes and covers for 2. Piledriver by Jumbo gets 2, as does the Thesz press that follows. Dropkick by Jumbo, which the crowd really likes, gets 2. Jumbo tries for a cover after every move, seeming somewhat desperate to put the fiery youngster away. Misawa goes for a superplex but Jumbo knocks him down and hit and hits a missile kick of his own for 2. Crowd starts to chant for Misawa. POWERBOMB…for 2. Jumbo is looking very frustrated. Backslide by Misawa for 2. Jumbo goes outside, gets knocked down with a baseball slide and then Misawa heads up top for a PLANCHA. Misawa gets in some kicks but Jumbo blocks a German suplex. Lariat by Jumbo is ducked into the rolling prawn for 2. Misawa climbs, but his Frog Splash gets KNEES….for 2! Crowd is going nuts now. 20 minutes gone.

Jumbo hooks on the Boston Crab but Misawa gets the ropes. Back up….LARRRRIATTTTT by Jumbo…for 2! Up again…LARRRIATTT #2…for 2 again! Running clothesline in the corner followed by a BACKDROP DRIVER but Jumbo clutches his head and neck and can’t make the pin. GERMAN SUPLEX BY MISAWA…for 2!!! TIGER DRIVER…BLOCKED INTO A PIN FOR TWO! High knee by Jumbo and he’s looking for another lariat. Misawa goes for the diving back elbow, Jumbo elbows him first but hits himself in the process on his lariat arm. Jumbo charges but Misawa moves and Jumbo CRASHES on the ropes and writhes in pain. Misawa’s got him now. Jumbo blocks a suplex, Misawa goes for a back suplex, Jumbo turns it into a pin, but Misawa rolls through and gets the THREE at 24:23! CROWD LOSES IT’S DAMN MIND.

Rating: ****3/4 That was incredible. Not from a stiffness standpoint, but it’s the storytelling. Tsuruta-THE MAN in All Japan in 80s passes the torch to Misawa by putting him over in the best and most unselfish way possible. Something Misawa may need to do soon here in 2008.

July 7th, 1990, Baltimore.

NWA U.S. Tag Team Title Match:
Midnight Express © vs. Wild-Eyed Southern Boys

The Express in this one are Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane, with Jim Cornette as always. The Southern Boys are Tracy Smothers and Steve Armstrong, dressed in Confederate gray. How I hate Southern gimmicks/Southern pride. And I’m from North Carolina, folks. The Midnights jump the Southerners and they brawl outside. Eaton gets taken out with a double shoulderblock. Eaton goes up but gets slammed back down and then monkey flipped. Flying clothesline by Steve and Eaton takes a powder. Smothers comes in and Eaton gets double chopped. Superkick by Smothers. Another superkick for Eaton and he finally tags out to Lane. Lane cracks me up by doing karate poses, but apparently he’s a black belt. They face off and Lane hits a series of strikes. Smothers fires back and gives Eaton another superkick for good measure. Tracy and Lane go to the mat. Eaton gets tagged and then armdragged. Poor Bobby. He heads outside but Tracy dropkicks him through the ropes. The Midnights try to take control but Steve takes them down with a double crossbody and the Boys try to cover, but to no success. Cornette is going bezerk outside. Cornette distracts the ref as Lane throws Tracy over the top rope and then into the rail. Cornette nails him with the racket, then gets Armstrong to distract the ref so Stan can throw Tracy into the rail again. Great stuff here. More Midnight double teams on Tracy. Spinning clothesline by Eaton. Kicks by Lane, but Eaton soon eats another superkick. Guillotine leg drop by Eaton! More double teams followed by a swinging neckbreaker by Eaton. Butterfly suplex by Lane gets 2. Tracy knocks down Eaton, and makes Lane eat the turnbuckle, but Lane rakes the eyes. Double sunset flip by Tracy gives him time for the HOT TAG! In comes Armstrong and the proverbial house of fire offense. Everyone’s in now. Missile dropkick Hart Attack on Lane…..for 2. Eaton pushes Armstrong off, ROCKET LAUNCHER…but only for 2. The Southern Boys switch to fool Eaton, who gets rolled up…for 2. Ref gets distracted and Lane gets a kick to the back of Tracy’s head for the win at 18:12.

Rating: **** Really exciting formula action showing just how good the Midnights were. And how good Tracy Smothers once was. Finish was a little strange, but that’s my only complaint.

September 1st, 1990, Nippon Budokan.

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

This is the next All Japan Budokan show, again headlined by these two. Misawa had unsuccessfully challenged for the Triple Crown against Stan Hansen two months prior. Crowd is so pumped they cheer the bell ringing. Misawa catches a kitchen sink. Jumbo shoves Misawa into the ropes and elbows his stomach a total of three times. Misawa fires back a diving back elbow then a jumping senton for 2. Jumbo goes for the kitchen sink again but Misawa turns it into a rollup for 2. Test of strength similar to what they had last match. Jumbo tosses Misawa outside and tries to follow him out but Misawa quickly gets back in. Mind games. ELBOWS by Misawa. He stays on Jumbo til the veteran knocks him down with a big, big boot. High knee gets 2 for Jumbo. Boston Crab by Jumbo. He switches that to a stepover toehold until Misawa makes the ropes. ELBOWS by Jumbo. Swinging neckbreaker by Jumbo gets 2. More elbows from both men. Series of kicks by Misawa gets 2. More kicks by Misawa, but Jumbo stops that with an ELBOW. Running Elbow by Jumbo gets 2. Piledriver gets 2 after that. That move just doesn’t mean much in Japan, does it? Butterfly suplex for 2 by Jumbo. Misawa gets a running crossbody for 2. Misawa goes for the diving back elbow but Jumbo just shoves him back down to the mat for 2. Thesz Press for 2 by Jumbo. And he is ANGRY! He goes for a Backdrop Driver but Misawa blocks it. ELBOWS by Misawa are NO SOLD. SLAPS by Jumbo! The ref separates them as Misawa falls to the outside and Jumbo goes after him and sends him into the rail and into the front row. Then he hits him with a chair. Misawa makes his way back in and Jumbo throws him right back out again. Elbows by Misawa and he heads up…Flying Elbow Smash! Jumbo gets sent outside and Misawa flies over with a pescado! Misawa goes up top again for another Flying Elbow Strike…for 2. ELBOWS by Misawa and the ref keeps trying to shove him away. Headbutt by Jumbo and a dropkick sends Misawa down…for 2. Powerslam follows but Misawa gets his foot on the ropes. Misawa reverses a powerbomb into a pin for 2. Jumbo misses a lariat…GERMAN SUPLEX by Misawa….for 2! Crowd is LOSING IT. TIGER DRIVER…blocked. Misawa goes for a headscissors takeover, but Jumbo ducks it and gets a 2. I think that’s what they were going for. High knee by Jumbo, but Misawa blocks the second one. Misawa goes up top but Jumbo stops him with a Superplex! BACKDROP DRIVER!!!! FOR TWO!!!! JUMBO CAN’T BELIEVE IT! ELBOWS back and forth, LARRIATTTT by Jumbo! BACKDROP DRIVER #2 WITH BRIDGE and Jumbo takes the win a 24:47.

Rating: ***** I think it’s even better than the first one. Jumbo came in more focused and more determined. And that was before he got angry. That said, it still took more than he expected to beat Misawa. You can feel now how intense this feud was getting. Absolutely a great match.

September 14th, 1990.

Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase

Well this is a tad confusing. These two had the infamous Muta Scale match. I’ve seen some reviewers state that this is that match, but all other information about Muta points to a 1992 match where HE bladed, not Hase, as what appears here. Readers?

They go to the mat early, with Muta landing a flipping dropkick. Muta lands a throat chop. Pumphandle type move from Hase. Then a nice spinning heel kick from him gets 2. A flip senton gets 2 as well. Handspring back elbow by Muta, which almost got messed up. Muta Lock applied after that. Muta lets go of the bridge and Hase makes the ropes. Slaps from Hase, but Muta fires back with a spin kick and they go outside and Hase gets posted. Hase gets up and is BLEEDING EVERYWHERE. It’s covering his chest in seconds. Muta bashes Hase into the metal part of the turnbuckle as Hase tries to get back in. Running elbow drop gets 2 for Muta. Cradle piledriver after that….for 2. Jesus, there’s so much blood. Sleeper with bodyscissors by Muta. That’s right, put PRESSURE ON IT. You sick man. Hase is re-defining crimison mask. Hase can’t even stand. Sleeper again by Muta but Hase gers out. He misses on a dropkick and Muta comes back with a kick. Muta goes for the sleeper again but Hase hits a back suplex. Hase heads up top for a Flying Knee Drop…for 2. Northern Lights…for 2! Hase knocks Muta to the apron and knocks him to the floor. Hase gives Muta a suplex on the floor. Back inside. HEAD DROP EXPLODER by Hase! He goes up top but gets GREEN MIST on the way down. Back suplex by Muta and he throws the ref down. Muta grabs a stretcher and beats the ref and everyone with it to draw the DQ at 18:35.

Rating: ***3/4 SO much blood. I can see why people get the matches confused (if that’s the case) as the bladejob here by Hase is just barbaric. The crowd was very, very into the match, which is only marred by the ending. It’s not the fact that it’s a DQ, but that it was sloppy and really pissed off a hot crowd.

September 15th, 1990, Philadelphia, PA.

Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert

This is from the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. Video quality isn’t great, but I’ve watched way worse. Cactus takes the mic pre-match and declares himself “a spiritual, social, and sexual loser”. Crowd pops for that. I love Philadelphia. “I was put on Earth to kick butt.” They start with Jack knocking Eddie down with a big punch. Jack grabs an arm wringer, Eddie tries to bail but Cactus holds on and pulls him back in. Eddie screw ups a leapfrog which the crowd really gets on him for. Cactus introduces Eddie’s knee to the post and goes to work on it. Leg drop to the nuts by Cactus gets 2. Figure four applied by Cactus. Some “Boring” chants start to ring out until Cactus fires them up with the Cactus clothesline. Cactus charges Eddie outside but flips himself over the guardrail. Eddie snaps Cactus’s neck on the rail. Suplex on the floor by Eddie. Eddie pulls out a string and chokes Cactus with it. Back suplex by Gilbert. Running bulldog by Eddie. Cactus blocks a suplex and hits one of his own. Eddie ducks a clothesline and hits the Hot Shot to win at 15:30.

Rating: *1/4 Some decent stuff in there but nothing really got me or the crowd going. I think we were both expecting a lot more effort. Then again, Eddie is from Memphis.

October 27th, 1990, Chicago, IL.

NWA U.S. Tag Team Title Match
The Steiner Brothers © vs. The Nasty Boys

Talk about dangerous tag teams. Huge brawl to start, which suits everyone in this quite nicely. Scott gets a chair from Saggs. Scott avoids a superplex and hits a BELLY TO BELLY SUPERPLEX on Saggs. Knobbs breaks up the pin. Saggs gets caught putting his head down on a whip and Scott hits a TIGER DRIVER. Scott puts Sags on his shoulders…DOOMSDAY BULLDOG! As the ref gets distracted, Knobbs hits Scott with a chair for 2. Knobbs hits a sidewalk slam, and then a powerslam for 2. Saggs gives him a knee drop off the apron to the floor. Pumphandle slam by Saggs and he headbutts Scott in the back. Rick breaks up a pin. Abdominal stretch by Knobbs, pulling the tights for extra leverage. Bearhug by Saggs. Eventually Scott breaks that up with a belly-to-belly. STEINERLINE by Rick! He goes for another, but Knobbs moves and Rick flies to the outside. Tough bump by Rick on the apron. Spike piledriver by the Nasties on Scott, but the ref won’t count a pin because Knobbs is still in there. Rick sneaks in and nails Saggs with a chair! Crowd LOVES THAT. Saggs is busted open. Knobbs cuts off the tag. Boston crab by the bloody Saggs, continuing to work on that back. Scott powers out but can’t get the tag again. Atomic drop on Saggs but Scott still can’t get the tag. Knobbs misses a charge in the corner and Saggs gets clotheslined. HOT TAG TO RICK. Belly-to-belly on Knobbs that he didn’t look ready for. Saggs tosses Scott to the outside and then Rick gets tossed too. Rick goes up top as the Nasties celebrate and hits a DOUBLE STEINERLINE! Saggs wasn’t even turned around and Rick hit him anyway. The Nasties slam Scott on the floor. They double team Rick until Scott trips up Saggs and pulls him out. Saggs gets posted. FRANKENSTEINER on Knobbs and the Steiners retain at 15:30.

Rating: ***1/2 Fun match. The Nasty Boys were fine heels working a good formula match and the Steiners were super over. The Nasty Boys were always dangerous to work with, but the Steiners were perfect opponents for them. Look at that double clothesline Rick did. Saggs forgot to turn around, but Rick just hit him anyway. They would make the Nasties pay for messing up and the result was a damn good brawl.

November 1st, 1990, Nippon Budokan.

IWGP TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Keiji Muto and Masa Chono © vs. Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki

More stuff from the Muta vs. Hase feud. Sasaki and Chono start with Sasaki giving Chono a big powerslam. Chono clotheslines Sasaki after a criss-cross. Both tag out to their partners and place goes nuts for both guys. Quick armdrag by Muto. Hase tries to bridge in a test of strength but Muto grabs an armbar. Hase gets doubleteamed by Muto and Chono. Backdrop by Muto followed by a big elbow drop. Muto works the knee of Hase and Chono does the same. Hase reverses it into a cross armbreaker but only for a moment. Muto back in and gets the Muta Lock on. Sasaki in to break that up and gets tagged in by Hase. He gets a few HARD strikes and knocks Chono down. Running powerslam and a big elbow drop get 2 for Sasaki. Hase gets a sidewalk slam for 2. Chono blocks a sharpshooter but gets a double clothesline for 2. Sasaki crashes and burns on a dropkick and gets 2 big boots from Chono. Handspring back elbow by Muto. STF applied by Chono on Sasaki, and Muto prevents Hase from interfering, but Sasaki makes the ropes. Muto gets a figure four but Sasaki makes the ropes again. Sasaki blocks a hip toss and tags in Hase. SAMBO SUPLEX by Hase on Chono! He hooks on the Sharpshooter but Muto breaks it up. Sasaki superplexes Chono and then Hase comes off the top with a splash. That gets 2. Sharpshooter by Sasaki. Muto tries to break it up but Hase tosses him out. Running dropkick then a bulldog by Sasaki. German Suplex…for 2 on Chono. Chono boots Sasaki and gets the tag to Muto. Handspring back elbow by Muto. Hase gets tagged in and gets a back suplex. DRAGON SUPLEX by Muto, Chono dives over them to dropkick Sasaki away but Hase kicks out at 2. Moonsault by Muto…for 2! Sasaki gives Chono a powerslam, Hase runs over to Muto…NORTHERN LIGHTS for the win and the titles at 16:56.

Rating: ***1/2 Nothing too crazy there but a good back-and-forth tag team contest.

The 411: This is a great comp DVD. Two amazing Jumbo vs. Misawa matches, a fair helping of intense feuds from New Japan, and some wild tag matches from WCW/NWA. The only bad thing on here is a boring Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert match, but I'm sure Foley fans will want to track it down anyway. I'll be reviewing Vol. 2, featuring more New Japan and some house show stuff from WWF. BIG thumbs up for this.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]