Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Riki Choshu (NJPW 9/6/87)
--Fujiwara doesn't even wait for Choshu to get to the ring before unding him and laying some badass headbutts to rock his brain. All that makes Choshu's head bloody not even three minutes in, and the crowd were eating it up. Looked to me like they had accepted Fujiwara and Choshu needed to pay for his invasions and betrayals. Probably as far off from the actual story shit that happened, but what the hell. Fujiwara gives Choshu a piledriver and lifts his head when going for a pin, "you thought that was all?". Fujiwara's headbutts are insane-looking, btw, I can only think of Chris Benoit throwing better ones. Once Choshu starts actually getting in some moves, Fujiwara's all, "ok, I'll choke him". Choshu's had enough and stomps Fujiwara while standing, and Fujiwara reacts differently to each one, the first was like "I dare you to kick me again", the second was like "getting closer", the third was like "almost.....", and then he goes back to the throat and into an armbar. Choshu still in content with using some stomps, and Fujiwara sells each one harder and harder. And the way he sells those punches in the corner, oh my God, his facial expression of being somewhat surprised and happy at the same time that Choshu has a nice amount still left in him in incredible. Choshu's trying to put Fujiwara away with a variation of the Scorpion Deathlock, but he can't quite sink it in properly and once Fujiwara grabs the ropes he stomps the motherfucking crap out of him. Fujiwara reverses a suplex into a Fujiwara Armbar and has this insane SMILE while doing it, like "I put the kibosh on your move, bucko". Fujiwara goes to pull off that entire turnbuckle section and throws it at Choshu's head, I mean that thing can't hurt THAT much but it was a really nifty touch that I'be never seen before. His Irish-whip-into-it attempt is futile and Choshu's fighting for his career so he reverses it. Choshu goes for the Riki Lariat and it ends up becoming a FUJIWARA ARMBAR. Choshus's beyond pissed and figures Fujiwara's head hasn't got any blood on it, so he just has to bring him to the outside and bloody it up. His head and chest becomes flooded with his own blood and he's still trying to lay those headbutts in. What was really was his final headbutt, he hits it then wobbles around, selling an emotion of "these headbutts are going to finish ***me*** off", and it was his final one. Choshu can't believe he's actually got the strength to pull those off, so he finishes him with two Riki Lariats that Fujiwara sells like a god of selling. All of that was in thirteen minutes. You don't want to miss this one.
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Tuesday 19 July 2011
......It's Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana
Bryan Danielson v Colt Cabana (ROH 24/6/06)
--Lucky Cabana stopped with the horrible seeming Dusty Rhodes impression after the first couple of minutes otherwise this could've been a struggle to get through. Danielson's reminding me of Bob Backlund where he can make the most simple move a really interesting one by doing next to nothing. Cabana, once through with the screwing around was a pretty top notch babyface and made the transition from in toruble to having a burst of energy really well, used an Asai moonsault and everything. Couple of comedic stuff but it was actually funny so it was hardly bothersome, and then they moved on into full throttle mode which, while I didn't dislike, I would've sufficed without. Notable moments were Danielson countering a turnbuckle ten-punch position by ducking and shoving Cabana so his coconuts would land on the turnbuckle/ring post connector, and Cabana's fisherman cradle DDT suplex thingy. Real good.
--Lucky Cabana stopped with the horrible seeming Dusty Rhodes impression after the first couple of minutes otherwise this could've been a struggle to get through. Danielson's reminding me of Bob Backlund where he can make the most simple move a really interesting one by doing next to nothing. Cabana, once through with the screwing around was a pretty top notch babyface and made the transition from in toruble to having a burst of energy really well, used an Asai moonsault and everything. Couple of comedic stuff but it was actually funny so it was hardly bothersome, and then they moved on into full throttle mode which, while I didn't dislike, I would've sufficed without. Notable moments were Danielson countering a turnbuckle ten-punch position by ducking and shoving Cabana so his coconuts would land on the turnbuckle/ring post connector, and Cabana's fisherman cradle DDT suplex thingy. Real good.
El Hijo del Santo x Dos
El Hijo del Santo/Eddy Guerrero v Perro Aguayo/Leon Chino (WWA ?/?/90)
--Santo is seriously a contender for my best worker EVER. The crowd kinda, wasn;t as interested as they probably should have been (they weren;t dead at all, but, kinda, not too loud), and Santo saw that and just went totally relentless on Perro. He grabbed a chair from the crowd and whacked his head with, and stole an audience member's drink and threw it right in his face. Never knew Perro actually had a decent amount of mat skill either, all I hear is how he's such a wild brawler. Definitely worth a watch.
El Hijo del Santo/Super Astro/Kendo v Negro Casas/Blue Panther/Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 4/6/90)
--I heard this was the first of Hamada's UWF and holy shit if that's true this could NOT have been any better. Nothing serious in terms of rudo v technico, but it was six guys having a shitload of fun. Crowd ate up every second, there were cheers going for like evry guy. Real awesome mat work, Negro's chop/slaps are a thing of beauty, and Santo makes having the best timing ever look easy. It being handheld quality probably stops it from being a good introduction to Lucha, but it's real, real great. In short, this the Lucha Libre version of ECW Barely Legal's 3-on-3 w/Sasuke, Hamada, TAKA, etc.
--Santo is seriously a contender for my best worker EVER. The crowd kinda, wasn;t as interested as they probably should have been (they weren;t dead at all, but, kinda, not too loud), and Santo saw that and just went totally relentless on Perro. He grabbed a chair from the crowd and whacked his head with, and stole an audience member's drink and threw it right in his face. Never knew Perro actually had a decent amount of mat skill either, all I hear is how he's such a wild brawler. Definitely worth a watch.
El Hijo del Santo/Super Astro/Kendo v Negro Casas/Blue Panther/Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 4/6/90)
--I heard this was the first of Hamada's UWF and holy shit if that's true this could NOT have been any better. Nothing serious in terms of rudo v technico, but it was six guys having a shitload of fun. Crowd ate up every second, there were cheers going for like evry guy. Real awesome mat work, Negro's chop/slaps are a thing of beauty, and Santo makes having the best timing ever look easy. It being handheld quality probably stops it from being a good introduction to Lucha, but it's real, real great. In short, this the Lucha Libre version of ECW Barely Legal's 3-on-3 w/Sasuke, Hamada, TAKA, etc.
Triple Double A
Arn Anderson v Ronnie Garvin (NWA ?/4/86)
--Not even David Crockett's abysmal commentary could stop this from being a small bucket of fun. Only last around eleven minutes, but Arn's so awesome at getting you interested in what he's doing, and the match turns out pretty great in that short time. A good chunk of the match is basically slow & power-struggle...."y", but they do build it up into some captivating title chase parts. Oddly enough though the best parts in the match were the slow parts, and i'd give 100% of the credit to Anderson. At one point they're in an arm lock power struggle and Arn's losing so he complains about hair pulling, then the ref goes to check if Garvin's actually doing & AA does it behind his back & jerks Garvin to the mat in a headlock. Then Garvin pulls AA's hair in retribution so he looks like the cheater. DQ finish with Tully probably set up a good little feud so it's forgivable. Anderson's also the greatest ever at "drunk-punching".
Arn Anderson v Bobby Eaton (WCW 19/5/91)
--Probably about as good as a midcard 12 minute TV Title match gets. The whole thing going in was the fact Eaton was a tag wrestler his whole career, and was looking for his big break as a singles performer (TV Title was pretty big), while Arn was viewed as maybe the greatest TV Champion ever. It was great. Anderson started off being the "crafty veteran singles wrestler", trying to really squash Eaton and get it done quickly. My favourite part was him shoving Eaton off of the top turnbuckle into the ramp they used to have. Bobby looked like he could've fucked his knee if he landed one second earlier. Anderson works on the leg the most of the rest of the match and eaton had some pretty great comebacks. Bobby getting the win was great too.
Steven Regal v Arn Anderson (WCW 20/2/94)
--Goes nearly a half hour so of course it was great, but there was something missing, and I can't put my finger on it. Nothing to complain about overall, seeing Regal with his face only a mother could love grinding Anderson's body parts where the bones stick out is about as good as it gets. I'm going on a ledge and saying Regal's one of my favourite sellers too. I love how he scrunches his face when in certain predicaments and yells out an "AOWH" at times like when he gets caught in a leg scissors. This match was really Regal trying to keep his TV Title by going the full half hour since he figured he couldn;t beat Arn cleanly, and he didn't. His manager helped him with a cheapshot win at the end with like eight seconds remainding in the time limit. Regal having a taped leg the whole match was weird considering Anderson hardly ever touched it until the end, but whehn he did the crowd went nuts, but they didn't really...build it off from that. Awesome match though, these two are becoming two of my favourites to watch ever.
--Not even David Crockett's abysmal commentary could stop this from being a small bucket of fun. Only last around eleven minutes, but Arn's so awesome at getting you interested in what he's doing, and the match turns out pretty great in that short time. A good chunk of the match is basically slow & power-struggle...."y", but they do build it up into some captivating title chase parts. Oddly enough though the best parts in the match were the slow parts, and i'd give 100% of the credit to Anderson. At one point they're in an arm lock power struggle and Arn's losing so he complains about hair pulling, then the ref goes to check if Garvin's actually doing & AA does it behind his back & jerks Garvin to the mat in a headlock. Then Garvin pulls AA's hair in retribution so he looks like the cheater. DQ finish with Tully probably set up a good little feud so it's forgivable. Anderson's also the greatest ever at "drunk-punching".
Arn Anderson v Bobby Eaton (WCW 19/5/91)
--Probably about as good as a midcard 12 minute TV Title match gets. The whole thing going in was the fact Eaton was a tag wrestler his whole career, and was looking for his big break as a singles performer (TV Title was pretty big), while Arn was viewed as maybe the greatest TV Champion ever. It was great. Anderson started off being the "crafty veteran singles wrestler", trying to really squash Eaton and get it done quickly. My favourite part was him shoving Eaton off of the top turnbuckle into the ramp they used to have. Bobby looked like he could've fucked his knee if he landed one second earlier. Anderson works on the leg the most of the rest of the match and eaton had some pretty great comebacks. Bobby getting the win was great too.
Steven Regal v Arn Anderson (WCW 20/2/94)
--Goes nearly a half hour so of course it was great, but there was something missing, and I can't put my finger on it. Nothing to complain about overall, seeing Regal with his face only a mother could love grinding Anderson's body parts where the bones stick out is about as good as it gets. I'm going on a ledge and saying Regal's one of my favourite sellers too. I love how he scrunches his face when in certain predicaments and yells out an "AOWH" at times like when he gets caught in a leg scissors. This match was really Regal trying to keep his TV Title by going the full half hour since he figured he couldn;t beat Arn cleanly, and he didn't. His manager helped him with a cheapshot win at the end with like eight seconds remainding in the time limit. Regal having a taped leg the whole match was weird considering Anderson hardly ever touched it until the end, but whehn he did the crowd went nuts, but they didn't really...build it off from that. Awesome match though, these two are becoming two of my favourites to watch ever.
These Are All WWE Matches. Insert Crappy Title.
Bob Backlund v Hussein Arab (WWF 4/6/79)
--This is really damn good, and not even one of the better Backlund matches there is. I'm not even saying that as a gimmicky poster or anything, either. He's one of the best ever at mixing mat wrestling with pure fun, and Sheik's no slouch at it too. Match goes thirty minutes and I loved it all, even the pre-match stuff with Lou Albano when McMahon threw what looked like coffee straight in this damn face. The match itself had a bit of a mix of everything, I've always loved how Backlund can make the most simple common move look so deadly and entertaining. He has the best Full Nelson reversal ever. Sheik's actually growing on me more and more not just as a fun pleasure to watch, but a legitimately GREAT match worker. Him countering a rope jump with a (spiked) boot to the face was a highlight. Match was mostly mat stuff, though, but then they get tired of it and batter each other with chairs (not sure what the rules were back, no one was DQ'ed), and the crowd was sucking it up like hell. No way Sheiky could have resisted BOB'S ATOMIC DROP, and he got his dues. GO BACKLUND.
The Undertaker v The Big Show (WWE 23/2/03)
--Nothing of a must-see, but as far as WWE style slugests go this is a pleasant watch. Very rough-housian with heavy punches, forearms, BS' backwork, headbutts. Not really ultra-stiff but satisfying enough to make you believe that shit really hurt. Taker even bladed. A-Train interference was a bit of a pain but it set up a cool UT dive on him & PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY. Definitely don't regret watching, need to check CS08 real soon.
Owen Hart v Davey Boy Smith (WWF 3/3/97)
--If you asked me last year I would've said this was a top twenty matches I've ever watched or something. Now? About top 250, but I still really liked it. Started off with some bizarre twisty rolly thingys that I can only explain as being each guy trying to say "I'm a better mat worker than you are, partner". They were cool on the eye and stuff but I don;t love them like I used you. I find it really funny that a while ago I used to worship the armbar-rolly thingys, and now my favourite part was by far when they were hinting that they might cheat each other out of the match. Totally different things. Also loved how Davey would do some athletic taunt and Owen would duplicate it to get in his head. Both guys were pulling tights, putting feet on ropes, etc. and I though it was all great. I've heard some were bothered or whatever that all that tension didn't explode into a fist outburst or something but I though it didn;t warrant it anyway since they were tag Champions together. Not surprised this wasn;t the mind-blowing "scientific technical clinic" or whatever I used to think this was, but I'd be ltying if I said I didn;t really like it. Like, I wouldn't be against watching this again tomorrow, for example.
HHH v Edge v Chris Benoit (WWE 29/11/04)
--the result of this was bloody stupid given HHH was the Champion and lost the title only to win it back at NYR, but the match itself is a blast, glad it was recommended to me. This is the type of 3-way match I mean when i said "good spotfests", no dull moments and everything was really fun, like an attitude era match or something. Opened up with Unter taking it easy while Benoit and Edge beat each other up, he was jokingly clapping and giving those little "ow" facial expressions and it was awesome. It's a given all WWE three-ways will have two guys in the ring while one's on the outside, and a lot of the times it'll be done in a stupid way like getting throwed over the top rope and landing on their feet and "collapsing" or something. This was done greatly though, there was only like one that wasn't that convincing, but it was coincidentally my favourite one, because Benoit got Edge and Suplex'ed him on Helmsley fucking HEAD. Batista and Flair coming out made for another good "take-ou-on-guy" moment when they bashed Benoit, too, and Orton's (acting GM) involvement added a little bit to the match cos of his HHH feud. Not sure if they even had any matches after this in 04, but... yeh. Benoit used the sharpshooter a couple of times, likely in reference to Backlash 04, and i thought that was really cool. Again, they should've learned from Taker/Angle 02 that this type of finish doesn't go down too well, but Vince loves those "who won?" moments. Still doesn;t explain HHH bringing in a chair after the referee got knocked down in a no DQ match, though. Anyway, great match.
--This is really damn good, and not even one of the better Backlund matches there is. I'm not even saying that as a gimmicky poster or anything, either. He's one of the best ever at mixing mat wrestling with pure fun, and Sheik's no slouch at it too. Match goes thirty minutes and I loved it all, even the pre-match stuff with Lou Albano when McMahon threw what looked like coffee straight in this damn face. The match itself had a bit of a mix of everything, I've always loved how Backlund can make the most simple common move look so deadly and entertaining. He has the best Full Nelson reversal ever. Sheik's actually growing on me more and more not just as a fun pleasure to watch, but a legitimately GREAT match worker. Him countering a rope jump with a (spiked) boot to the face was a highlight. Match was mostly mat stuff, though, but then they get tired of it and batter each other with chairs (not sure what the rules were back, no one was DQ'ed), and the crowd was sucking it up like hell. No way Sheiky could have resisted BOB'S ATOMIC DROP, and he got his dues. GO BACKLUND.
The Undertaker v The Big Show (WWE 23/2/03)
--Nothing of a must-see, but as far as WWE style slugests go this is a pleasant watch. Very rough-housian with heavy punches, forearms, BS' backwork, headbutts. Not really ultra-stiff but satisfying enough to make you believe that shit really hurt. Taker even bladed. A-Train interference was a bit of a pain but it set up a cool UT dive on him & PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY. Definitely don't regret watching, need to check CS08 real soon.
Owen Hart v Davey Boy Smith (WWF 3/3/97)
--If you asked me last year I would've said this was a top twenty matches I've ever watched or something. Now? About top 250, but I still really liked it. Started off with some bizarre twisty rolly thingys that I can only explain as being each guy trying to say "I'm a better mat worker than you are, partner". They were cool on the eye and stuff but I don;t love them like I used you. I find it really funny that a while ago I used to worship the armbar-rolly thingys, and now my favourite part was by far when they were hinting that they might cheat each other out of the match. Totally different things. Also loved how Davey would do some athletic taunt and Owen would duplicate it to get in his head. Both guys were pulling tights, putting feet on ropes, etc. and I though it was all great. I've heard some were bothered or whatever that all that tension didn't explode into a fist outburst or something but I though it didn;t warrant it anyway since they were tag Champions together. Not surprised this wasn;t the mind-blowing "scientific technical clinic" or whatever I used to think this was, but I'd be ltying if I said I didn;t really like it. Like, I wouldn't be against watching this again tomorrow, for example.
HHH v Edge v Chris Benoit (WWE 29/11/04)
--the result of this was bloody stupid given HHH was the Champion and lost the title only to win it back at NYR, but the match itself is a blast, glad it was recommended to me. This is the type of 3-way match I mean when i said "good spotfests", no dull moments and everything was really fun, like an attitude era match or something. Opened up with Unter taking it easy while Benoit and Edge beat each other up, he was jokingly clapping and giving those little "ow" facial expressions and it was awesome. It's a given all WWE three-ways will have two guys in the ring while one's on the outside, and a lot of the times it'll be done in a stupid way like getting throwed over the top rope and landing on their feet and "collapsing" or something. This was done greatly though, there was only like one that wasn't that convincing, but it was coincidentally my favourite one, because Benoit got Edge and Suplex'ed him on Helmsley fucking HEAD. Batista and Flair coming out made for another good "take-ou-on-guy" moment when they bashed Benoit, too, and Orton's (acting GM) involvement added a little bit to the match cos of his HHH feud. Not sure if they even had any matches after this in 04, but... yeh. Benoit used the sharpshooter a couple of times, likely in reference to Backlash 04, and i thought that was really cool. Again, they should've learned from Taker/Angle 02 that this type of finish doesn't go down too well, but Vince loves those "who won?" moments. Still doesn;t explain HHH bringing in a chair after the referee got knocked down in a no DQ match, though. Anyway, great match.
Long Writes Make For Typos And Slight Play-By-Play. Bryan Danielson Has 'Til Five.
Bryan Danielson v Roderick Strong (ROH 5/11/05)
--First Strong match I saw was with Davey Richards where he was pulling shit out of his arse all over the place, so watching him in a match that has so much good stuff in it I had to take notes to write it all down i's great. Don;t think I've ever seen Danielson as a heel either so that was also great, and he was really, really damned great. I knew crap was gonna go down right from the slap to Strong's face and him retaliating with chops and and stuff to Danielson's already red chest. Danielson going to the outside and kicking the barricade was a cool little bonus. I thought for a while Danielson was kinda getting to crowd-invloved, but I guess the fact he's a heel means he wouldn;t mind the 60 minutes expiring, so he might bide time to get there. Then he blames crowd for it and asks "if they're done" verbally abusing him. When he got back inside and they started tussling around, I noticed how Dragon was going for a more slow match (good mat worker and, again, probably trying to bide time) and Strong was full force in-your-face trying to kick the living shit out of Danielson and get it over with, and whenever the pace was slow/fast, the control ususally swapped between Dragon and Strong respectively. Like when Strong would use a flurry of chops and forearms, and take one moment to walk a circle around the ring, Danielson woul greet him with a headbutt. The first slow Danielson domination part is really where I started loving him as a heel, he was putting on the usual "I'm the best wrestler in the world and this is why" submissions that have pretty much never been seen before, but he was using cheat tactics and yelling at the "I got 'til five". I gotta note how it didn;t look stupid him overpowering a bigger guy. He's like the opposite of Barry Windham in which you almost forget how small he is. Strogn didn;t lookk tiny either, though, he was a demon throwing out the chops and making Dragon flee for his life (and his chest look like someon had rubbed berries all over it). He was a good face where he would mock Dragon by mimcking the "I got 'til five" line when he was using the ropes on offense. Danielson getting back in control is really what I loved, though, and he was getting to be more and more of an arse the longer the match went, he even started his own "Roderick" chant. Strong suddenly had this awesome surge of frustartion where he was desperate as hell to get the win NOW so he tries to break Dragon's back and slap on the Stronghold. After that a weird back-an-forth exchange near th ramp that was probably the worst part of the match but really by no means "bad". Awesome moment #871529 came when Strong was choping at Danielosn, who was spitting in his face after every chop, and when he couldn't take it anymore he got on his knee and made one of the best facial expressions ever. LOVED how chnaged his stragedy throughout too, at this point he figured he needed to slow down the fast-moving prick and lay him down with a sleeper, then Strong's suplex almost kills him so he figures THAT doesn't work either. Danielson kinda got back in offense too quickly here, but that could be tied to the fact Strong took too long, and Danielson wanted that slow pace like I said. He tries ANOTHER route to victory and tries to knock him out with a belly-to-back from the toop, which Strong counters into a nifty little crossbody, so THAT didn;t work either. He figures "hell with it- CATTLE MUTILATION", but that one fails too. This was awesome, they were both at their desperation point where Danielson had tried amost everything and String was just throwing stuff left and right. None of it looked like "HEY CROWD I CAN DO THIS AND THAT" either. I guess Danielson's standing bringing Indian Deathlock kinda did, but given he forced the announcer to announce him as "The Best Wrestler in the World", it was awesome. Strong gets busted open and Danileosn obviously goes straight for it, and throws in a Dragon Suplex for good measure. Still doesn;t work. Danielson's furious and stomps around like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, then uses a crossface chickenwign, which, doesn't work. It's Strong's turn for fury so he tries put him Dragon away with a superplex and the Stronghold, and it was real cool that he couldn;t get it locked on the first time because of his screwed leg and fatigue. Dragon goes back to the Corssface Chickenwing (duh, it;s Backlund's move), and when String gets ti the ropes, he's all, "that's it, Roddy dies today" and hits the top rope belly-to-back he couldn't hit earlier. STILL wasn't over. Strong's back to going into all-out awesome mode, and they have a forearm exchange. One move kater and Strong's eating elbows he canlt take it (ref stops it) and the Dragon picks up the win and looks like Ivan Drago after he'd killed Apollo Creed. Fucking tremendous, the pace swapping was done picture perfect and it didn't get boring after a billion zillion minutes, best match of 05 behind Eddie/Rey 23/6.
--First Strong match I saw was with Davey Richards where he was pulling shit out of his arse all over the place, so watching him in a match that has so much good stuff in it I had to take notes to write it all down i's great. Don;t think I've ever seen Danielson as a heel either so that was also great, and he was really, really damned great. I knew crap was gonna go down right from the slap to Strong's face and him retaliating with chops and and stuff to Danielson's already red chest. Danielson going to the outside and kicking the barricade was a cool little bonus. I thought for a while Danielson was kinda getting to crowd-invloved, but I guess the fact he's a heel means he wouldn;t mind the 60 minutes expiring, so he might bide time to get there. Then he blames crowd for it and asks "if they're done" verbally abusing him. When he got back inside and they started tussling around, I noticed how Dragon was going for a more slow match (good mat worker and, again, probably trying to bide time) and Strong was full force in-your-face trying to kick the living shit out of Danielson and get it over with, and whenever the pace was slow/fast, the control ususally swapped between Dragon and Strong respectively. Like when Strong would use a flurry of chops and forearms, and take one moment to walk a circle around the ring, Danielson woul greet him with a headbutt. The first slow Danielson domination part is really where I started loving him as a heel, he was putting on the usual "I'm the best wrestler in the world and this is why" submissions that have pretty much never been seen before, but he was using cheat tactics and yelling at the "I got 'til five". I gotta note how it didn;t look stupid him overpowering a bigger guy. He's like the opposite of Barry Windham in which you almost forget how small he is. Strogn didn;t lookk tiny either, though, he was a demon throwing out the chops and making Dragon flee for his life (and his chest look like someon had rubbed berries all over it). He was a good face where he would mock Dragon by mimcking the "I got 'til five" line when he was using the ropes on offense. Danielson getting back in control is really what I loved, though, and he was getting to be more and more of an arse the longer the match went, he even started his own "Roderick" chant. Strong suddenly had this awesome surge of frustartion where he was desperate as hell to get the win NOW so he tries to break Dragon's back and slap on the Stronghold. After that a weird back-an-forth exchange near th ramp that was probably the worst part of the match but really by no means "bad". Awesome moment #871529 came when Strong was choping at Danielosn, who was spitting in his face after every chop, and when he couldn't take it anymore he got on his knee and made one of the best facial expressions ever. LOVED how chnaged his stragedy throughout too, at this point he figured he needed to slow down the fast-moving prick and lay him down with a sleeper, then Strong's suplex almost kills him so he figures THAT doesn't work either. Danielson kinda got back in offense too quickly here, but that could be tied to the fact Strong took too long, and Danielson wanted that slow pace like I said. He tries ANOTHER route to victory and tries to knock him out with a belly-to-back from the toop, which Strong counters into a nifty little crossbody, so THAT didn;t work either. He figures "hell with it- CATTLE MUTILATION", but that one fails too. This was awesome, they were both at their desperation point where Danielson had tried amost everything and String was just throwing stuff left and right. None of it looked like "HEY CROWD I CAN DO THIS AND THAT" either. I guess Danielson's standing bringing Indian Deathlock kinda did, but given he forced the announcer to announce him as "The Best Wrestler in the World", it was awesome. Strong gets busted open and Danileosn obviously goes straight for it, and throws in a Dragon Suplex for good measure. Still doesn;t work. Danielson's furious and stomps around like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, then uses a crossface chickenwign, which, doesn't work. It's Strong's turn for fury so he tries put him Dragon away with a superplex and the Stronghold, and it was real cool that he couldn;t get it locked on the first time because of his screwed leg and fatigue. Dragon goes back to the Corssface Chickenwing (duh, it;s Backlund's move), and when String gets ti the ropes, he's all, "that's it, Roddy dies today" and hits the top rope belly-to-back he couldn't hit earlier. STILL wasn't over. Strong's back to going into all-out awesome mode, and they have a forearm exchange. One move kater and Strong's eating elbows he canlt take it (ref stops it) and the Dragon picks up the win and looks like Ivan Drago after he'd killed Apollo Creed. Fucking tremendous, the pace swapping was done picture perfect and it didn't get boring after a billion zillion minutes, best match of 05 behind Eddie/Rey 23/6.
Touch My Mask And You're A Dead Man
El Hijo del Santo v Espanto Jr. (Arena Coliseo Monterrey 31/8/86)
--Mother of God where do I begin? I'll guess I can start with the fact that Espanto looked like one of the best pure heels there ever was. He was constantly throwing around Santo like he was a sack of crap, trying to really spit in the face of the legacy he and his father would have (it was mask v mask, ftr). First fall was basically FULL of that, best part was Espanto knocking Santo out of the ring, and giving him literally zero seconds to get a breather, doesn't seem like much, but the way he was going about it was as about as awesome as it gets. He seemed to want to get the match over with real quickly too, w/ the first fall ending in no more thn three minutes. After Santo had lost the 1st fall, he went outside the ring after Espanto continued attacking him, and he acted like "what kind of monster is this??? Can I beat him???" Kids came up to console him and everything, he was a REAL superhero to them. Second fall was really about Santo getting the score evened up (and revenge), and it only lasted about as long as the first. Third fall was fucking IMMENSE, full of mask-ripping, blood flying everywhere, both guys ramming each other into the ring poles, planchas, you name it. Espanto was biting away at Santo's head at one point for like a straight minute and it looked like he was spitting out the blood. The chairshots he gave were brutal too, and it wasn't those fold-out chairs, it was those ones like they'd use in a school, and they blew up Santo's head hugely. The whole thing was just about two guys who didn't respect or like each other trying to save their masks in total violence. Must-see.
--Mother of God where do I begin? I'll guess I can start with the fact that Espanto looked like one of the best pure heels there ever was. He was constantly throwing around Santo like he was a sack of crap, trying to really spit in the face of the legacy he and his father would have (it was mask v mask, ftr). First fall was basically FULL of that, best part was Espanto knocking Santo out of the ring, and giving him literally zero seconds to get a breather, doesn't seem like much, but the way he was going about it was as about as awesome as it gets. He seemed to want to get the match over with real quickly too, w/ the first fall ending in no more thn three minutes. After Santo had lost the 1st fall, he went outside the ring after Espanto continued attacking him, and he acted like "what kind of monster is this??? Can I beat him???" Kids came up to console him and everything, he was a REAL superhero to them. Second fall was really about Santo getting the score evened up (and revenge), and it only lasted about as long as the first. Third fall was fucking IMMENSE, full of mask-ripping, blood flying everywhere, both guys ramming each other into the ring poles, planchas, you name it. Espanto was biting away at Santo's head at one point for like a straight minute and it looked like he was spitting out the blood. The chairshots he gave were brutal too, and it wasn't those fold-out chairs, it was those ones like they'd use in a school, and they blew up Santo's head hugely. The whole thing was just about two guys who didn't respect or like each other trying to save their masks in total violence. Must-see.
No, It Isn't A Box Office Movie, It's a Pro Wrestling Match
Stan Hansen v Andre the Giant (NJPW 23/9/81)
--Yeah here it is, possibly my favourite puro match ever. I know some would look at Andre's name on a match and think 'eh....', but this is outstanding. Like Stan Hansen....STAN HANSEN.....playing an underdog babyface (STAN. FUCKING. HANSEN. AS AN UNDERDOG BABYFACE). The first thing I noticed was the prescence and 'aura' of Andre, is unexplainable really, but just looking at him walk to the ring here in itself is....awesome. Then he goes ahead and walks over the top rope, and boots Hansen with one of his legs on the way in. After that, it's really nothing special at all, just chops, headbutts, punches, boots, elbows, etc. But damn, they made it seem so important, and it felt like a big-time anime monster fight or something. The way Andre was yelling, there was something about his booming voice 'AHH's that made the match feel BIG. Andre's selling really helped the match feel big too, he would tilt backwards into the ropes and there would be like slight bounce on the ropes. It made him seem like a monster who could only taken down after being rocked back and forth after some hihg-impact move. Even then he didn't go down, which helped built to the LARIATOH near the ending (almost like that's the only thing that could take him down). Speaking of which, the double count-out was great, it built a whole 'nothing will contain these two from whooping each other' dynamic.Found it weird how Inoki seemed to like double count-outs with the match starting again, but yeah, I didn't mind it at all because I didn't want the match to end. And after the LARIATOH spot, Andre got knocked out of the ring and was all 'fuck it, I can't take this, I'll get my loaded elow pad'. and then the referee nearly dies when Andre Lariat's him after the ref tries to pull it off of him. Great ending, if you ask me. I don't generally like using the term 'psychology', but there was some cool psychological stuff here also, like Andre targeting the Lariat arm for a part of the match, and Hansen shoving on a camel Clutch thing after he slammed Andre. But it was mostly a BIG FIGHT atmosphere-ish match, and the crowd dug it (they went bezerk when Hansen sammed Andre). So yeah, get it, watch it, love it, but just not as much as me, because....I dont think it's possible.
--Yeah here it is, possibly my favourite puro match ever. I know some would look at Andre's name on a match and think 'eh....', but this is outstanding. Like Stan Hansen....STAN HANSEN.....playing an underdog babyface (STAN. FUCKING. HANSEN. AS AN UNDERDOG BABYFACE). The first thing I noticed was the prescence and 'aura' of Andre, is unexplainable really, but just looking at him walk to the ring here in itself is....awesome. Then he goes ahead and walks over the top rope, and boots Hansen with one of his legs on the way in. After that, it's really nothing special at all, just chops, headbutts, punches, boots, elbows, etc. But damn, they made it seem so important, and it felt like a big-time anime monster fight or something. The way Andre was yelling, there was something about his booming voice 'AHH's that made the match feel BIG. Andre's selling really helped the match feel big too, he would tilt backwards into the ropes and there would be like slight bounce on the ropes. It made him seem like a monster who could only taken down after being rocked back and forth after some hihg-impact move. Even then he didn't go down, which helped built to the LARIATOH near the ending (almost like that's the only thing that could take him down). Speaking of which, the double count-out was great, it built a whole 'nothing will contain these two from whooping each other' dynamic.Found it weird how Inoki seemed to like double count-outs with the match starting again, but yeah, I didn't mind it at all because I didn't want the match to end. And after the LARIATOH spot, Andre got knocked out of the ring and was all 'fuck it, I can't take this, I'll get my loaded elow pad'. and then the referee nearly dies when Andre Lariat's him after the ref tries to pull it off of him. Great ending, if you ask me. I don't generally like using the term 'psychology', but there was some cool psychological stuff here also, like Andre targeting the Lariat arm for a part of the match, and Hansen shoving on a camel Clutch thing after he slammed Andre. But it was mostly a BIG FIGHT atmosphere-ish match, and the crowd dug it (they went bezerk when Hansen sammed Andre). So yeah, get it, watch it, love it, but just not as much as me, because....I dont think it's possible.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Terry Funk Will Call You All Sorts O' Derogatory Names And You Will Like It.
Ricky Steamboat v Terry Funk (NWA 14/6/89)
--Always loved this and this time was no different, except for the fact I got to go through Funk's interviews and squash matches beforehand. I love watching him whinge and complain about he's not on the top 10 NWA Title contender list and how Flair's a banana nosed horse toothed jackass who he had a dream that his sister ran over outside of a patio or something. He goes off at one point about how he'd go through Luger, Sting, Steamboat and his pig-nosed little kid and that of course gets Ricky out and as a result is this. Terrific match, and one that I find more "popcorn" than "classic" or something. Terry's only five or so weeks deep into his heel turn so he's still freshly looney and you have to love looney Terry Funk. His punches stand out for me the most and I'll always remember this one spot. Steamboat's sitting down in the ring and Funk presses on his shoulders; looks like if done wrong it could break both parties' neck but he doesn't fucking care because he's LOONEY TERRY FUNK and by the end of it if it comes down to plastering your head with a mic then he'll do it. Steamboat's performance is as usual but I'll give a shout-out to the spot where he carries Funk 360 degrees all the way around the outside of the ring for a press slam. Luger's heel turn at post-match and Steamboat begging to not being hit with a chair makes me want to give their Great American Bash match a shot again since I didn't love it. This though? This is every shade of excellent.
--Always loved this and this time was no different, except for the fact I got to go through Funk's interviews and squash matches beforehand. I love watching him whinge and complain about he's not on the top 10 NWA Title contender list and how Flair's a banana nosed horse toothed jackass who he had a dream that his sister ran over outside of a patio or something. He goes off at one point about how he'd go through Luger, Sting, Steamboat and his pig-nosed little kid and that of course gets Ricky out and as a result is this. Terrific match, and one that I find more "popcorn" than "classic" or something. Terry's only five or so weeks deep into his heel turn so he's still freshly looney and you have to love looney Terry Funk. His punches stand out for me the most and I'll always remember this one spot. Steamboat's sitting down in the ring and Funk presses on his shoulders; looks like if done wrong it could break both parties' neck but he doesn't fucking care because he's LOONEY TERRY FUNK and by the end of it if it comes down to plastering your head with a mic then he'll do it. Steamboat's performance is as usual but I'll give a shout-out to the spot where he carries Funk 360 degrees all the way around the outside of the ring for a press slam. Luger's heel turn at post-match and Steamboat begging to not being hit with a chair makes me want to give their Great American Bash match a shot again since I didn't love it. This though? This is every shade of excellent.
Friday 8 July 2011
Project 1996
Got the 1996 yearbook (thanks to the good folk at DVDVR, namely Loss and Goodhelmet) in the mail today and I'm planning making a list out of it. I'm definitely not ranking every match since the idea of a yearbook isn't the same idea as a match of the year contender set, and that allows for some crappy stuff to come through, I want it to be the "best of the best" of sorts. I've always wanted to make "Top ___ of the year" lists and I've got started on it a ton of times but never follow through with (like with anything, namely my top 100 matches of the 2000s list that lasted one week). The yearbooks are the best way to get these done since there's practically the whole year right there on the one set. I'm doing this with all yearbooks when I get them and even though none are likely to be ever finished I'll have a ball with them and that's all that matters.
I have no idea right now how deep I'll go, I don't want to say I'm making a top 20 only for my heart to be broken when a certain match falls off. E.g. there's no way I'm leaving a match like Vader/Inoki off of this list no matter how many matches I think are better. I can't see myself going too far past 30 or so, but we'll see.
If there's any matches from 1996 (or the other years) that aren't on the yearbook(s) that I think should make it I'll include them as well.
I have no idea right now how deep I'll go, I don't want to say I'm making a top 20 only for my heart to be broken when a certain match falls off. E.g. there's no way I'm leaving a match like Vader/Inoki off of this list no matter how many matches I think are better. I can't see myself going too far past 30 or so, but we'll see.
If there's any matches from 1996 (or the other years) that aren't on the yearbook(s) that I think should make it I'll include them as well.
Friday 1 July 2011
Ric and Flexy Lexy
Ric Flair v Lex Luger (NWA 26/12/88)
--This was so excellent and Luger held his part perfectly. When Flair eventually went for the leg Lexy sold it exceptionally and rushed absolutely nothing. Pre-leg target it was all about Flair not being strong enough to hold Luger down, and Luger shoves off the futile attempts Flair makes at chopping away at his chest. I loved how he’d seem to chop away and chop away and have no effect, and then he’d get in basic control and chop him just for insult. I also thought it was terrific how Flair didn’t chop at every chance and threw some “this ‘roided prick is going to need more softening up” strikes in there. Flair knocking Luger over with a shoulder block leads to Flair getting a really big head and posing on the canvas flexing his own muscles like Luger normally would. Flair does most of his usual stuff in terms of being chased outside the ring and making a hundred stabs at finally getting a successful offense streak in, and the referee bump leading to the chair shot across the knees was as good as any cheap shot they could’ve pulled off here. The announcers sell the chair shot themselves as if Flair jammed a knife in his face as well, going off on how Lex’s kneecaps could be completely destroyed and stuff. The argument against Flair going to the rope is something I don’t totally disagree with, but the top rope gets sold a thousand times as being “high risk”, and Flair risks his control every time and loses it most times. It’s as good a transition spot as almost any. I love how in Flair matches the opponent often tries Flair’s own finisher before getting to their own, and Luger getting Flair in the Torture Rack but not being able to hold him up due to his weak leg made it that much more lovable. Cheated finish fitted well as the cherry on a masterpiece of a performance from Flair.
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