1990 Awards Spectacular! 

 

Hello, and another year is in the books. Having enjoyed 1989, I found 1990 to be a bit more of a struggle. Well, it’s taken me ten months. There weren’t even that many shows. True, I did watch absolutely all of All Japan’s TV for an entire year. But apart from that, the shows were relatively low in number. To jog the memory here are some shows I covered; some FMW (some televised, some fancam), a little bit of Maeda’s UWF before it started to go to shit, nowhere near the amount of NJPW I wanted to do, every big TV/PPV from WWF/WCW, a string of Tri-State shows of varying quality, AWA Superclash IV, The Wrestling Summit, some tasty All Japan Womens shows, WWC’s yearly anniversario show, the first SWS shows and a string of TV shows from the new UWF, under Herb Abrams. Now, let’s see how everything ranked! 

 

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
 

1. Jumbo Tsuruta (2). Finally Jumbo climbs to the top step. He’s had a blinding year. First off finishing his issues with Genichiro Tenryu as he left AJPW and then moving on to making Misawa the next big thing. His work with everyone this year has been fascinating, and he’s peaked as a worker without a shadow of a doubt. Easily the winner here, and he could have won in 1989 too if Flair hadn’t done crazy things.  

 

2. Ric Flair (1). A difficult year for Flair as his feud with Sting went belly up quickly and he found his feet opposite Luger. Even with Sting as the champion, he continued to perform admirably in the upper card, getting a tune out of just about everyone (apart from Junkyard Dog) before ending the year with the misery of hiding under a mask at Starrcade. Had a ***½ match with Butch Reed. 

 

3. Stan Hansen (RE). After a disappointing 1989, Hansen lit up the first half of 1990 and ended up getting great matches out of an array of opponents including Hulk Hogan. If he hadn’t endured a dip in form around the autumn, he could have challenged the top two.  

 

4. Genichiro Tenryu (5). If Tenryu had stuck with All Japan the promotion would have been a very different place. There would have been no need to elevate Misawa. Tenryu was brilliant at the start of the year and made a decent effort in the newly founded SWS. He could arguably have placed higher if he wasn’t working with Koji Kitao.  

 

5. Jushin Liger (10). If I had re-watched all the NJPW I saw the first time around, Liger could arguably be even higher here. The fact I’ve placed him P5 off a couple of rewatched matches should reflect what a talent he is. It’s a shame New Japan have wiped their history off the internet. Liger is the kind of guy who has a back catalogue that deserves to be seen. Liger finished P2 in the Observer awards the same year. I feel bad he’s this low. 

 

6. Mitsuharu Misawa (NE). The first time Misawa makes the list. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, his breakthrough year as a top guy. He went from being a barely competent Tiger Mask to being one of the two best wrestlers in the best promotion on the planet. It does help that he got to work with Jumbo Tsuruta, the best wrestler anywhere in 1990 but it would have come anyway. It’s been a pleasure watching the Pillars begin their journey to greatness in 1990. 

 

7. Vader (8). Vader gains a place, despite limited footage (again, thanks to NJPW). He’s one of those all-time great big men. Unless you’ve seen Vader in his prime, you cannot understand his appeal. A genuine monster. There were loads of big guys, but none like him.  

 

8. Toshiaki Kawada (NE). With one Pillar entering higher up, we also gain the hugely improved Kawada. As with Misawa, the difference between him in 1989 and him at the end of 1990 is enormous. He’s gained so much confidence.  

 

9. Masanobu Kurisu (NE). I had to put Kurisu in here somewhere. He is a motherfucker. The star of early FMW, he outshined Onita. Just a surly old fuck, going bald, dad bod, kicking the shit out of everyone who came near him. A wonderful pro-wrestler. Seeing as he just signed with New Japan, I probably won’t see him wrestle again until WAR in 1994. A total bastard.  

 

10. Kenta Kobashi (NE). I debated adding Kobashi to last year’s list, one that didn’t feature any of the other Pillars. That’s how good he was, that quickly. Misawa and Kawada took ages to get going. Kobashi just showed up in god tier from day one. He must make the cut this year. He must.  

 

Honourable mentions: Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Hulk Hogan (he got a great match out of WARRIOR people), Tatsuo Nakano, Akira Taue, Isao Takagi, Mr Perfect.  

 

Gone from ‘89: Ricky Steamboat (3). From that Flair feud to Luger to out of WCW. He basically sat out of 1990 and will be back next year. Mad that he did that after the best year of his career. Masakatsu Funaki (4). I assume he kicked all kinds of ass, but I can’t find any footage as UWF was imploding and people were turned off it. Terry Funk (6). Terry spend most of the year out of action before returning to AJPW in tags at year’s end. He’s still great but can’t get near a top ten on limited action. Lex Luger (7). 1990 was a decent year for Luger but it’s the end of him trying this hard. He’ll be decent for another year but then we go into lazy Luger, and we’re stuck with him. Randy Savage (9). Randy worked with Dusty Rhodes all year, he had no chance.  

 

BEST TAG TEAM 

 

1. Midnight Express (RE). The Midnight’s return for one final push. One last great year as a team before Stan Lane just disappeared. MXP had a string of great matches, mainly to stick it to Jim Herd and Ole Anderson for all the bullshit. The Southern Boys match is an all-timer, a near perfect example of how to do dirty southern pro wrestling in tag form. Great matches with Rock n’ Roll Express on their way out too. And new talent like Pillman & Zenk. Great tag team, will be sorely missed. 

 

2.Steiner Brothers (6). The Steiners are unlucky not to win. They were the dominant tag team in 1990. No one performed as consistently as they did. The trouble is, I know I can vote them for the win next year. Midnight’s are gone after this year. And I do believe that MXP were the better team in 1990. It’s a shame they never collided. Rick Steiner is already slipping into Scott’s shadow here, but WCW take forever to do anything about it.  

 

3. Miracle Violence Connection (NE). One of those teams who just infiltrated the Japanese scene and the upper echelons of it especially. The way they work with the top stars; Hansen, Jumbo and Misawa, is telling. They can bring it to anyone in AJPW. It’s a shock that WCW didn’t go after them as a package deal. What with both guys past associations with the promotion. 1990 is the first year that Doc feels like a star. That’s what makes the team work. 

 

4. Fantastics (RE). My 1985 tag team of the year are back in shocking fashion. The Fantastics are genuinely great in AJPW. I can’t believe how good they were. The match they had with Joe Malenko & Tsyoshi Kikuchi almost got them in here single handedly. An absolute banger of a match.  

 

5. Can-Am Express (3). It’s tough narrowing this down to just five teams. Can-Ams belong on the list. They were fantastic in 1990 and would have cemented the spot if Dan Kroffat hadn’t gotten injured near the end of the year.  

 

Honourable mentions: Rockers, Doom, Hart Foundation, Southern Boys, Rock n’ Roll Express, Malenkos, Flair & Arn.  

 

BEST PROMOTION 

 

1. AJPW (2). Finally, AJPW wins the big one. Runners up the last two years, they nailed it in 1990. A great promotion to watch for many reasons. The great tag team division, the burgeoning young talent that was springing up everywhere in 1990 and the various veterans delivering. It’s the end of Tenryu but with his departure, and that of some other top end talent, the space appeared for Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, Taue, Kikuchi and the rest is history. Jumbo’s one-two victory punch here of ‘wrestler of the year’ and ‘best promotion’ is richly deserved. What a great worker. 

 

2. AJW (NE). All Japan womens is a great promotion. They were innovative and told brilliant, bloody storylines. The roster of talent they have in 1990 is insane too. The likes of Bull Nakano, Aja Kong, Manami Toyota and Akira Hokuto just hitting their stride. Easily the second best promotion in 1990.  

 

3. NJPW (4). I watched just about enough to justify putting them in P3. It’s a crying shame so much of their footage has been wiped off the internet. I even asked around pals and they’ve ditched their NJPW footage because they can’t post it anywhere. Painful.  

 

4. FMW (5). I really enjoyed Onita’s passion project. The innovative nature of their ultra-violent promotion has seen them become moderately successful already and it’ll only improve from there. With UWF imploding and the Maeda-Takada relationship deteriorating the #3 in Japan spot is up for grabs.  

 

5. UWF (3). Almost by default, thanks to North American wrestling being in the shitter in 1990. UWF stopped having the same luster to it in 1990. It wasn’t the stunning, innovative promotion of previous years. Doing more of the same and getting stuck in a rut. By the end of 1990, Akira Maeda was done and went on to form another offshoot promotion; RINGS. It’s astonishing they went from 60k in Toyko Dome to defunct in 12 months.  

 

The UWF shootstyle phenomenon was a wild ride. From 1988-1990, they plugged a hole in the market and drew enormous crowds. By the start of 1991 it was all over. Maeda (RINGS), Takada (UWF-I) and Fujiwara (Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi) all started their own promotions. Japan is famous for splinter groups, and this might be the most insane one ever.  

 

MATCH OF THE YEAR 

 

You can find details of these matches in the relevant reviews.  

 

1. Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong (AJW, November 14) ****½ 

2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, June 8) ****½ 

3. Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW, January 31) ****½  

4. Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys (WCW, July 7) ****½ 

5. Misawa & mates vs. Jumbo & mates (AJPW, August 18) ****½  

 

NOTE: I have been keeping tabs of ‘best women’s wrestler’ this whole time and will reveal it at some point. This is the first year I’ve had five contenders. Hopefully I can get that on the board when promotions start taking them seriously. So, what, 2012?  

 

BEST MAJOR SHOW 

 

1. NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome. A show that could only be booked by Antonio Inoki. Continued presence of Russian shooters, the debut of Koji Kitao (soon fired for racism), Vader getting his eye punched out by Stan Hansen, Liger and Benoit showing off and Inoki shitting the bed himself in the main event. It’s still a fabulous show and one of the few ‘big’ shows of 1990 that actually lands. 

 

2. The Wrestling Summit. The famous WWF-NJPW-AJPW crossover in the Dome. Bret Hart having a honker with Misawa, Jake and Bossman shitting it in a stinker, Randy Savage having a wonderful match with Genichiro Tenryu, Andre being a freak show attraction and ending the show with the crossover brilliance of Stan Hansen wrestling Hulk Hogan. A legitimate **** main event. 

 

3. AJW Wrestlemarinepiad. The cage match main event was my MOTY. Honestly, the undercard is very mid (especially for the promotion), so that’s why it came in third. Main event is THE TITS though.  

 

4. NWA Capital Combat. Maybe this is just because I am a HUGE mark for Robocop. There’s other good stuff here including MXP vs Pillman & Zenk (even though the cage for Cornette was stupid), Steiners vs Doom, and Flair-Luger. The booking was an issue at the time but honestly; Doom paid off as tag champions and Luger was hurt.  

 

5. NWA Great American Bash. The undercard here is certainly sluggish and not what Jim Herd wanted at all. I’m sure when he hired Ole he wasn’t thinking; let’s book Harley Race vs Tommy Rich. However, MXP vs Southern Boys on this show is one of the best matches of the year. Not just in WCW. Plus, Sting finally gets the world title. Although, his win would lead the some of the worst booking WCW, or anywhere, had seen to this point.  

 

WORST WRESTLER 

 

1. Zeus (1). How has he managed to retain? Well, he went and wrestled a match against Abby in Puerto Rico. And I’ve seen it. He’s still incapable of doing anything and they want him to take bumps and stuff. So, yeah, well done mate.  

 

2. El Gigante (NE). El Gigante wrestled 66 times in 1990 and only three of those were televised. He was on GAB ‘90 but never tagged in and made a mess of throwing two people out of the ring afterwards. He can’t do anything, and WCW knew that, so they kept him hidden.  

 

3. Master Blaster Iron (NE). This guy. This fucking guy. WCW hired him because they needed a big musclehead to tag with Kevin Nash. He had no idea what he was doing. Not a fucking clue. He got replaced after a week and was never heard from again. During one match he literally just stopped and asked Nash what he was supposed to be doing. In any other year, a shoo-in for first. 

 

4. “Nightstalker” Bryan Clark. If you’ve only ever seen Clark in Kronik or as Adam Bomb, you will not be prepared for how much he stinks as Nightstalker. WCW hired this guy from a sinking AWA, thinking he could do a job for them as a big dude with a good look. He couldn’t do shit. It’s testament to some trainer somewhere that he looked passable later in his career because the Nightstalker was one of the worst wrestlers I’ve ever seen. He’s FOURTH here. What the fuck 1990?  

 

5. “The Viking” Tony Halme. Ludvig fucking Borga came in fifth because this year had such bad wrestlers. The Viking regularly fucked stuff up. Herb Abrams generously put it on TV anyway. He could NOT do the International. It was hilarious watching him try. Try and remember three moves, you stupid nazi prick. No?  

 

6. Rockin’ Rebel. Rockin’ Rebel has a 1.33 rating on Cagematch. That’s not a typo. He stinks. How are there five wrestlers worse than him?  

 

7. Nitron (Tyler Mane). Couldn’t do much of anything but did get carried to a passable match when tagging against the Funks, which elevates him above everyone higher up. Couldn’t hit moves though, or bump, or sell. He eventually gave up and went into acting. He was Sabretooth in the Bryan Singer version of X-Men.  

 

8. Motor City Madman. The parade of shit wrestlers WCW signed in 1990 continues. Hailing from Detroit, the Madman got a mini push in WCW in late 1990 before disappearing again. His big spot was not wanting to take Sid’s powerbomb and having to be forced into it by Dan Spivey.  

 

9. Ken Patera. Deteriorated to the point of uselessness, he was picked up by UWF! It should speak volumes that even HERB ABRAMS realised how shit he was and moved on.  

 

10. Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik made it in here above Andre the Giant, who could barely walk in 1990. That’s how bad Sheik was. WCW signed him, forgot to release him and his contract rolled over. So, he’d been sat at home for months eating kebabs and shit and suddenly they call him up and put him on PPV opposite Mike Rotunda. The match honked something fierce. Hilariously, Sheik would see out that deal, finally get released for real, and go back to WWF and headlined a PPV in 1991. Wrestling, eh?  

 

DisHonourable mentions; Konnan, Giant Baba, Rochester Roadblock, Kevin Nash, David Sammartino, JYD, Dino Bravo, Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Akeem, Andre the Giant, Sid, Johnny Barretta, Jimmy Snuka and KOJI KITAO.  

 

WORST PROMOTION 

 

1. AWA (1). One more for the road, Verne? AWA was hysterically bad in 1990. I’ve not even seen the Challenge Series stuff. Superclash IV is awful. The promotion had such production issues that the cameramen weren’t even paying attention during matches. Usually because they were bored. Tommy Jammer. Baron von Raschke. Awful, boring matches. No main events. Leaving gaping production issues on releases. Including Verne Gagne getting Eric Bischoff to re-do an interview. They left that in! Anyway, it’s dead now. There was nothing we could do.  

 

2. WWC (2). A repeat runner up spot for Carlos Colon’s Carribbean shitshow. Chicky Starr. Atkie Malumba. They booked Robocop! Invader #1 babyface push. Abby vs Zeus! Ron Starr. The show I watched had an HOUR long match between Carlos Colon and Savio Vega where they put sand in the ring, for some reason.  

 

3. UWF (NE). Not that Maeda one, the Herb one. Herb didn’t know what he was doing. He tried to mimic the WWF, but he was mimicking the WWF of five years ago, or longer, not realising no one was watching that style anymore. Or all the old timers he booked. Or the terrible young wrestlers he found like Tony Halme.  

 

4. WWF (3). An awful year for the fed. The Warrior experiment fell flat. It is better than 1989 because at least they don’t have a cartoon character headlining their shows, but they do have Warrior.  

 

5. WCW (NE). And because of how absolutely god awful WCW was under Ole Anderson, I’ve chucked them in the mixer too. The only reason they place as low as #5 is because they were ok at the start of the year and some of the undercard worked. Shame about Black Scorpion, eh Ole?  

 

WORST MAJOR SHOW 

 

1. AWA Superclash IV. One more kick in the teeth for AWA before they fuck off for good. This was an embarrassment. Tully Blanchard vs Tommy Jammer was a 15-minute hammerlock. Yoko vs John Nord was a lumberjack match filled with nerve holds. I’ve never seen anything like it. Finally, the NFL guy doing the legdrop in the main event. Absolute shit, fuck off Verne.  

 

2. WWC Anniversario. Carlos Colon really booked himself to go broadway with TNT in a match where NOTHING happens for an hour and the ring is full of sand. Plus the women’s title match is a squash, crowd pelt the ring with trash all show, Invader #1 has Robocop in his corner for a boxing match with Leo Burke and they brought Zeus back.  

 

3. WCW Clash of the Champions 13. Oh, dear lord. This is the show where WCW tried a bunch of experimental stuff, and it all sucked. Big Cat. Prime Time Brian Lee. Michael Wallstreet. Starblazer. African regional qualifier for the Pat O’Conner tournament. Motor City Madman. Renegade Warriors. Nightstalker. Magnum Force. Black Scorpion. Butch Reed main evented. Probably the low point under Ole. 

 

4. WWF Survivor Series. My least favourite WWF show of the year. An entirely pointless show where the winners faced off in the main event in the most boring way possible. The card is samey and dull, apart from when Sgt Slaughter worked against four guys. That just sucked. Gobbeldy Gooker. Fuck off, Vince. 

 

5. WCW Starrcade. So, Wrestlemania sucked in 1990. It’s totally salvaged by Hogan and Warrior in the main. Starrcade is so much worse. A couple of the matches are ok but the main event; a lifeless, listless ordeal pitting a masked Ric Flair against a helpless Sting sunk the whole thing. Plus, the Pat O’Connor tag team tournament! How did they let this happen? It was so bad that Ole Anderson got fired and WCW took a dramatic left turn back to Dusty Rhodes. 

 

NEXT: 1991.  

 

Sgt Slaughter headlines Wrestlemania, the Iraq War gets EXPLOITED by the WWF, Sting teams with Lex Luger (with varying results), Ranger Ross is back, Larry Zybzsko joins WCW, the NWA disappears, Terry Taylor turns heel, Hogan gets his belt back, Jake Roberts is blindfolded, Undertaker’s streak begins, Randy Savage is retired, Koji Kitao wrestles at Wrestlemania, WWF gets Nasty (Boys), the Mountie (always gets his maaaan), WCW’s title situation gets weird, Doom explode, Kevin Nash gets a makeover, Herb Abrams runs a fucking PPV, Scott Hall gets a makeover, Steve Austin arrives in WCW, Missy Hyatt main events a PPV, Ric Flair just ups and quits, Randy Savage gets married, CHAMBER OF HORRORS, Johnny B. Badd, Van Hammer, Rick Rude joins WCW, Undertaker wins the WWF title and WCW runs the worst Starrcade idea yet; the LETHAL LOTTERY/BATTLEBOWL. All in 1991!