What are you watching?

[Guest wildpegasus]

I watched Supercard of Honor from ROH, and it really is a must-see show. The overall card just blows away anything WWE or TNA have done this year. From top to bottom you've got great angles and great matches. The two most talked about matches are the Dragon's Gate trios match and Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong. Dave Meltzer gave the DG match ***** and it more than deserves it. It starts off slow and builds to a tremendous climax with one incredible spot after the other. The match has timing, teamwork and, and I know some people will refuse to accept this, great psychology. This is one match you really have to see. Danielson/Strong goes 56 minutes and while not quite as good as the DG match it's still really great. It's such a change from the mainstream to watch two guys go out there and just wrestle.

 

Umm, Smackdown has been going out there all year just wrestling and they're mainstream.

[Guest DRH 502]

The 6-man is just fucking great. Building for a hot tag in a match when there were no tags was a major flaw but it is easy to look past. Just some tremendous spots. I bought a few Dragon Gate shows after this and I must say they are somewhat entertaining. Not really my type of wrestling but still amazing none the less.

What about that double team gimmick where they laid dude out for the double stomp by CIMA who immediated landed on his feet, rolled forward and hit the lungblower on the dude across the ring sitting on the middle rope?? Just mindblowingly awesome...the mexican headscicors to the german was quite nice as well

 

...the hair gimmick didn't get over as well as it should have. I wish they would have released it without commentary like Joe vs. Kobashi because I hate Prazak and the other dude on commentary.

 

Dragon/Strong was great as always....

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

There were no official tags, but they said it was like Lucha rules which basically means they guy has to leave the ring before one of his partners can come in. If the heels keep a babyface from leaving the ring, to allow a partner in, it's as good as preventing the tag.

 

The crowd were incredible too. I know they get knocked by the misinformed, but they were great here. They had some familiarity with CIMA and possibly knew Dragon Kid but they didn't know anything about the rest of the wrestlers, but by the 15-minute mark they were going insane and were even chanting "please don't stop" as the wrestlers were building to the finish. You cannot buy passion like that.

[Guest wildpegasus]

This thread reminded me that I had rewatched the Kobashi vs Misawa 03 match a few days ago or so. Last time before that was about a couple of years ago.

 

This is so terrific. The fans, the drama, the heart, the passion, the hard hitting, the bumps, the moveset and a fitting "conclusion" to the saga of Kobashi vs Misawa. They wrestled the match just the way it should've been given the situation. A true torch passing the way it was meant to be. I love wrestling.

 

 

Also watched KENTA/Marafuji vs Rikio/Morishima from 7/16/06

 

Not perfect by any means but a great bout which anyone can enjoy. Marafuji vs Kobashi is still my NOAH MOTY however.

[Guest DRH 502]

Quad, I feel you on the crowd. Thats why I wished the could have had the match minus commentary. With crowd heat like that there is no need for it.

 

I also check out Ki vs. KENTA last night for the third time. I like it more and more each time I watch it. Danielson vs. Marufuji...not so much. I'd really really like to see more KENTA though, anyone here want to shill me a comp tape??

[Guest wildpegasus]

Quad, I feel you on the crowd. Thats why I wished the could have had the match minus commentary. With crowd heat like that there is no need for it.

 

I also check out Ki vs. KENTA last night for the third time. I like it more and more each time I watch it. Danielson vs. Marufuji...not so much. I'd really really like to see more KENTA though, anyone here want to shill me a comp tape??

 

Make sure to watch any KENTA/Marafuji matches either in singles against each other or in tags. KENTA is a better tag wrestler than a singles wrestlers so that's where you'll find a lot of his good stuff. Besides what I told you previously here is another site that has some KENTA matches

http://www.dumbkitty.com/sites/thewrestlingscene/

This is from Dan Ginnetty's puroresu show. They do English commentary and often talk about things from a bodybuilder/athletic perspective which I thought you might appreciate. KENTA's offence is very difficult to reproduce so they often mark out for the difficulty of it.

 

 

 

You want to watch the KENTA/Marafuji vs Misawa/Ogawa match from 4/24/04 which is available online. KENTA and Marafuji are underdogs here but they step up to the plate in what might not only be KENTA's best ever match but this is arguably the best match of the decade. Either way it's up there. A must, must see.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood vs Brisco Brothers Starrcade 83

 

This was really good. Nothing too special or anything or but a fun, fun match that managed to look really realistic for a pro wrestling match without resorting to ultra stiffness. Steamboat hits the deadlift counter out of the short arm scissors that Davey (Just how strong was Davey??) Backland and Benoit like to use so yeah; even if the rest of the match sucked I would've still liked this one because that's one of fav moves ever in wrestling. It never fails to wake me up; not that this match needed to wake me up or anything.

 

And Angelo Mosco makes a terrific refferee! I marked out watching him actually keep control in the ring.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Jake Roberts vs Big Boss Man Wrestling Summit 4/90

 

Wow, this was a very good match. Roberts is really smart in the ring and Bossman once again brings the wrestling effort. The work from Robets comeback late in the match was done really well with Roberts knocking Bossman with several hits to the face. Bossman avoiding the kneelift was a cool spot as well. You could tell the Japanese fans really appreciated this one. Someone so needs to make a Best of the Big Boss Man comp.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Bruiser Brody vs Tenyru Champion vs Champion AJPW 4/88

 

Excellent match. The indestructible Brody puts over Tenyru BIG, BIG time and that's what makes a lot of this match work. The beginning work is fine though it really picks up at the end with several spots that have you losing your mind such as Tenyru kicking out of Brody's knee and than Brody hitting a beautiful top rope knee kneedrop that would impress DK himself. That's gotta be one of my fav spots in puroresu history now.

 

Michinoku Pro 10/10/96

 

Really good though I couldn't get myself into it too much. Lots of truly impressive highflying and quickness.

 

Marafuji vs Inoue 8/06

 

Really good solid match. The Marafuji vs Akyima match certainly has a chance to be a classic. I know I'll be on the edge of my seat watching it.

 

Akyima vs Taue Jan 06 Title Fight.

 

Very, very good and one of the better matches of the year. I'm particulary digging Akyima's knee strikes and I'm always a fan of Taue who I have a soft spot for. Still not better IMO than Marafuji vs Kobashi however as I thought that match was a little better in getting over all the damage inflicted in it.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I watched a match between Greg Valentine and Ricky Steamboat from 1985 on 24/7 last night. When I watch something from the 80s from the Fed, I usually expect some punchy-kicky-resthold stuff that I'll tell myself is entertaining because it's nostalgic and "that's how things worked back then". This, however, was a pretty good match I felt. Steamboat did a lot by doing nothing at all... he just got into a stance as if to say "I am ready to do something!" while Valentine sold it by standing there, backing away, being defensive. When Valentine let his guard down, Steamboat would do some striking kicks. I really liked the "striking kicks" Steamboat did throughout the match, as well as the usual chops and such.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

That was definitely a dandy of a match, assuming you're referring to the one from MSG. They made it appear that there was a hint of shoot in the early goings but it segued out of that. Pretty decent ending which put over Steamboat as a threat but didn't take the title. Nice crisp kick at the end before Valentine spilled over the top rope.

[Timmy8271 0]

Just watched a best of Smokey mountain comp. Some great stuff on there like Fultons/Bodies, Thrillseekers/Bodies, Candido/foley, Candido/Smothers in a ladder match and the loser leaves SMW match: Bodies vs RNR express. The wrestling in SMW isn't important, the way it's done is. Unbeileveable heat for the Bodies and cornette. Jericho in that thrillseekers match(the famous one) really cut himself bad. Just great stuff from SMW. I need some more of this stuff.

 

Also watched:

 

2. 8/22/85: JAGUAR YOKOTA vs LIONESS ASUKA. This is the first Joshi match i have ever seen. It's way different than any match i have ever seen. They don't kick out at pin attempts, just power out. The crowd is just amazing and the moves the women do is great. I couldn't tell them apart but that doesn't matter.

 

10. 6/12/86: AKIRA MAEDA vs TATSUMI FUJINAMI- Another good match. The ending is great as Maeda just nails Fujinami with a wheel kick right in the eye. Some really stiff moves in this match. They shake hands at the end.

 

6. BUNKHOUSE CAGE MATCH: TERRY FUNK VS BRUCE WALKUP. This is from CWF in 82. Funk is training for his Bunkhouse match with Dusty Rhodes. He faces the jobber Walkup in a empty arena cage match. He screams and bloody's Walkup during the match. Afterwards, Soile calls him a deranged animal.

 

 

1. 10/86: LEX LUGER vs GREAT MUTA, from Tampa. Bad match. Luger is really green and screws up so many moves i can't name them. Muta sells nothing for the rookie. It's no wonder Brody no sold Luger in that cage match.

[Guest DRH 502]

Doesn't the ladder in the Candito/Smothers match break??

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

That was definitely a dandy of a match, assuming you're referring to the one from MSG. They made it appear that there was a hint of shoot in the early goings but it segued out of that. Pretty decent ending which put over Steamboat as a threat but didn't take the title. Nice crisp kick at the end before Valentine spilled over the top rope.

 

That would be the one (MSG, 85)

[Guest wildpegasus]

I've been watching a few matches lately. Some classics and even a match that's said to be one of the best of all time but there was nothing that was really hitting home with me. One of the ways I judge matches is how they make me feel. If they can make me come out of a bad mood or get me pumped up mentally than it gets some extra stars.

I was watching a few matches there last night and like I said I haven't been feeling much as of late. 3 matches into my viewing and I was worried that I was starting to become jaded to absolutely everything. One match started to bring me out of this mindset and than other totally did so and reminded me of why I love this art we call professional wrestling. Ironically, it was a match I already knew I really liked but a match that didn't hit me as hard back than as it did now.

 

That match is the Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero/Chris Jericho bout from the Brian Hildebrand show from 1998.

 

I now think this this is the best match Benoit and Malenko ever had together. In fact, it may be the best tag team match of the various tag team combinations we had in the late 90s WCW even surpassing stuff like the Benoit/Saturn vs the Triad PPV handicap match.

Perhaps before I wasn't into the tag team formula present here as I am now. Perhaps I wasn't into the great work around the sleeper that was here. Perhaps I wasn't as happy at the offence as I am now. I don't know but what I do know now is that this match is brilliant.

 

The match is handheld and not televised. The handheld is perfectly fine but a television production would probably be better for the match as Benoit's offence at the time comes off better when you have a camera close up.

 

Jericho and Eddie are your classic heels in this and do a great job of portraying that. Benoit and Malenko are of course the faces. Everything done after that is spot on.

 

Benoit is super agressive on Eddie and he cowers in the corner.

Jericho like the coward he is takes over with a eye poke. Eddie and Jericho proceed to work over Benoit while concentrating some on the throat making the sleeper spots that more effective.

Benoit does a great face in peril job that is not predictable at all. In fact, the number of times you think he's going to get it but than ends up with Benoit not getting the hot tag is truly refreshing. I LOVED how when he got first opportunity for a tag it makes sense on why he can't get it. I loved on how when Eddie and Benoit were going to get another double tag team effort on him that Benoit than senses the urgency of the situation and than fights backs with everything he's got like only he can. The comeback spots in here were just spot on and than at the end of the face in peril segment where Eddie like a good heel does cheats on the outside by going back to a sleeper yet again. That puts the face back in the "most peril" possible before making the tag (something I always like in my tag matches) before in an awesome bad guys get what's coming to them spot Benoit gets the hot tag. Really great work in there that gets the emotions brewing.

 

Than they have a sweet ending stretch where a battered Benoit who appeared to have been taken out by Eddie on the outside comes back and makes the save. Following tht we got a nice payoff at the end where the heels get their just deserts which was a very satisfying way to end the whole bout. If I had to give a rating I would say it's over the 4 star mark.

 

I also watched Rip Rogers in a ladder match against the Hardy Boys. Lots of fun in that one as well with what looked to be a reallly banged up Rogers still bringing it in the ring like only he can.

_________________

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I was watching the 11/30/91 MSG show on 24/7 last night before Raw. The Flair/Hogan match fooled me... I thought for sure Hulk was going to Hulk-Up out of the knux shot and they would brawl to a double count out or something. I was shocked to see Flair get the 3 count, but did not care for the "reversed decision" ending.

 

It was also weird to see Bret Hart win a match (against The Mountie, which I think violated some sort of law by being watched in Canada so let's keep that one quiet) with his 2nd rope elbow.

[Timmy8271 0]

Doesn't the ladder in the Candito/Smothers match break??

 

I don't think it does.

 

Been watching a lot of 80's stuff. I got a florida comp from 82/83. Some great great stuff on there. Like: Funk/Walkup Bunkhouse steel cage match in a empty arena, Flair vs Rhodes bunkhouse match( Flair is in a suit), Rhodes vs Sullivan cage match (the famous one with Jake Roberts as Santa Claus), Midnight Rider vs Lucifer Loser leaves CWF forever {Sullivan loses and is banned forever, leads to the Dusty's sister getting blinded) and much more.

 

Also got one of the Wrestlecrap comps. This is a classic. It feautres: Who, Freddie Joe Flloyd, The Goon, TJ hopper, A Fatu vs Rad Radford match, West Hollywood Blondes, Heel Jim Ross times 2(seriously, this isn't even wrestlecrap i loved heel jim ross), Billionare Ted, Battle Kat and more.

 

And Finally, My new favorite tape: Best of Brainbusters. This tape features basically all of the Brainbusters tv appearnces. From the SNME's vs Demolition and Rockers, to my favorite: Rockers vs Busters from SNME, Warrior vs Blanchard, Both Survivor Series (89 doesn't have Blanchard as he was fired) and a lot of squash matches. Great Great stuff.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I loved how the best heels (Busters, Perfect, DiBiase) always gave the jobber some token offense to get the crowd going before cutting them off. For 10-15 seconds, Dale Wolfe would look like Ricky Steamboat in there getting the heels flippin and floppin before charging into a boot.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I watched the 1988 Halloween Primetime episode on 24/7 today. Heenand was gold when he went with the hot dog place (Tony Polackos I believe) with Monsoon.

 

Off-topic: Anyone think merging the WCW tidbits, WWF tidbits, Old School Questions, and What You're watching threads (questionable on the last) into one big CTDWAT thread would be a good idea? I often watch things on 24/7 or an old tape and I just feel like saying "hey, remember when X happened?". That's neither me asking a question or giving an old tidbit, or reviewing a match I just watched. At the very least, I think General Wrestling needs a CTDWAT.

[cawthon777 0]

Watching Anarchy Rulz 99 at the moment. Just finished Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Guido and now I'm to Credible vs. Sabu.

[spman 0]

I'm running through some tapes I got from a dealer at an Indy show I was at last week. I just finished the first volume of a history of the WCW title match which goes from Luger to Hogan, and includes some rarities like both Vader vs Simmons matches, and fancams of the Sting vs Vader matches from Europe where they flip flop the belts back and fourth in less then a week.

 

No's I'm watching Saturday Nights Main Event Volume #1 which has the first 3 shows on it. Not too thrilling wrestling wise, but entertaining nonetheless.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Finally got around to seeing Judgment Day from this year, and that was a really good show. The womens match and Khali/Undertaker were crap, but they're easy to ignore when the rest of the show ranges from watchable (Angle/Henry) to solid (Lashley/Booker, Helms/Crazy) to very good (MNM/London & Kendrick) to excellent (JBL/Rey, Benoit/Finlay).

 

In spite of the mountains of crap they produce the WWE can still put on a good show when they want to, if every WWE pay per view was this level of quality I'd actually spend money on them more than just the rare occasions i do now.

[Cuban Linx 0]

I like Samoa Joe. I dislike TNA. Thus Joe wrestling matches I’d like to see in TNA presents a problem for me. But then "The Best of Samoa Joe: Unstoppable" comes along, allowing me to see all the highly praised Samoa Joe matches while avoiding all the horrid booking, crappy shows and Petey Williams matches. A win-win situation.

 

Slammiversary - Samoa Joe vs Sonjay Dutt

 

Not much of a match, more of a quick exhibition of Joe's signature stuff to introduce him to a new audience. Of course when those moves involve him dropping the crappy Dutt on his head, smacking the hell out of him and choking him out, a good time is had by all.

 

Impact - Samoa Joe vs Delirious

 

Pure squash match, but I still preferred it to the previous match since this didn't have Joe being forced to sell Sonjay's pathetic offence. Delirious doing his sprint around the ring act only to run straight into Joe's leg sweep was nice, and from there it's total Joe domination which is always fun, particularly since Delirious is more than willing to die on the receiving end. Entertaining beatdown.

 

No Surrender - Samoa Joe vs Chris Sabin

 

Hell of a match, by far the best I’ve ever seen Chris Sabin ever involved in. They do a good job establishing that Joe is tougher, stronger and hits harder early on, with Sabin having to use his quickness and go to the top rope to get any offense in at all. Sabin getting the advantage after the springboard dropkick/apron dropkick/dropkick to the floor was really well done, and he got some really good nearfalls off his flash moves like the tornado DDT and especially powerbombing Joe from the turnbuckles late. Sabin cutting out his more contrived offense is a definite plus.

 

They also did a good job building to Sabin hitting the Cradle Shock, going from being unable to lift Joe at all, to barely getting him up and finally having Joe up on his shoulders before it was countered each time, the crowd was going nuts for it the third time and would have exploded had Sabin been able to hit it. I'm sure TNA never followed up on that though.

 

Joe was typical Joe in this one, which is to say damn good, and with Sabin giving the best performance I’ve ever seen from him this match was quality. Best TNA match I can remember seeing, though I have a feeling it won't remain #1 for long with some of the other Joe matches I still have coming up.

 

Sacrifice - Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles

 

Maybe my expectations were too high, but to me this was... not that good. The ref bump that a blind man could see coming from a mile away and the run in by Daniels leading directly to the finish are of course the main negatives, but even before that I didn't get the 'MOTYC' vibe I’ve seen this match praised as. Worked too even for my liking, Joe's the unstoppable monster but you have Styles slamming Joe like it's nothing barely minutes into the match, compare that to the Sabin match where they made the crowd go nuts for Sabin just picking Joe up, let alone slamming him.

 

It IS Joe vs Styles, so it goes without saying there is some very good stuff here. Joe countering AJ's fruity forearms with a great looking jab to the face, before just facewashing Styles right out of the ring onto his head and then murdering him with the Elbow Suicida was FUCKING AWESOME, for starters. I don't care for AJ's kip up rana, and Joe doesn't take it particularly well, but it did lead to the far more enjoyable sequence of Styles getting shoulderblocked down and trying it again, only for Joe to counter by killing AJ with the Powerbomb into the Boston Crab/STF.

 

Styles' enziguri to nowhere after the rolling cradle was cute, Joe's lariat was nasty and Joe slapping the shit out of AJ before eating an enziguri right to the face from Styles was nice too, but at the same time there's too many poor strikes from Styles and moonsault DDT-type things for my liking (even if Joe does make them look better than usual). Joe has great offense and Styles bumps as well as or better than anyone, so to have the match as a 50/50 even contest is working away from those strengths.

 

Having now watched the match a second time it is better than I originally gave it credit for up to this point, but the finish still kills it for me. Styles using the Torture Rack on Joe would bug me at the best of times, it leading to a terrible ref bump and a Daniels run-in is worse. Joe winning due to Styles being distracted by Daniels doesn't fill me with joy either.

 

It was a good match, but not a great one, though from what I remember hearing their Turning Point match might be the great match I’m looking for between Styles and Joe. As it is I preferred Joe/Sabin to this one.

 

Unbreakable - Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels

 

13 months after the fact, but I finally get around to watching the much-talked about three way. Would i go around calling this *****? No, but as far as three ways and total rapidfire spotfests go I liked this plenty.

 

The opening with Joe and Styles taking turns kicking Daniels brought back fun memories of Low Ki and Bryan Danielson doing the same to Daniels way back in the original ROH three way. Styles really should kick more, his punches and forearms are shit but his kicks are always nice.

 

From there onwards the match is a cavalcade of pretty much every big move and three way spot Joe, Styles and Daniels can think of, and they all certainly have the offence to pull that off. It’s hard to even recall my favourite parts because of the sheer amount of moves they throw out, though that can certainly be interpreted as a negative, it’s hard to digest much of anything they do since the second one spot is over they’re moving onto the next spot. I guess how you feel about that determines whether you’re in the “THIS IS AWESOME” or “overrated crap” crowd regarding the match.

 

There’s the usual three way problem of repeated instances of one guy out of the ring so the other two can fight, only to conveniently pop up to break up a pinfall, and as usual I don’t care for the ease Daniels & Styles are able to throw Joe around like he’s random X Divisioner #546 rather than Samoa F’ing Joe. The closing run lags a bit and isn’t as good as the first ½ or ¾ or whatever of the match, with most of the nearfalls and ropebreaks being somewhat heatless compared to the rest of the match as the crowd seemed to be into 'only pop for the huge spots' mode. That aside I still like this a lot, and I usually dread watching triple threats so they’re definitely doing something right. I’ll probably have to watch this again to get a better idea of exactly where I stand on this.

 

Bound For Glory - Samoa Joe vs Jushin Liger

 

An exercise in frustration. Joe and Liger obviously have a great match in them, and there's some good exchanges here, but it's just far too short to really amount to anything. Good while it lasted for sure, it just didn't last even remotely long enough.

 

Genesis - Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong & Christopher Daniels vs Matt Bentley, Austin Aries, Sonjay Dutt & Chris Sabin

 

Long match, with a (mostly) very good lineup, but not as good as one would hope. I wasn’t exactly paying full attention to this though, so maybe I missed something great. Strong and Aries the first guys eliminated, too much Matt Bentley (i.e. any Matt Bentley at all), Sonjay still sucks, it's more a collection of spots from various guys and a backdrop to the Joe/Daniels feud than anything else. About the most notable thing is the Joe beatdown on Daniels post-match, where they attempt to turn Joe, a guy who's popular for beating the hell out of people, heel by... beating the hell out of Daniels. Somewhat amusing to hear Tenay & West using the serious voice to put over how horrible and disgusting this is after the Muscle Buster on the chair, meanwhile the fans chant "One More Time!".

 

Impact - Samoa Joe vs Amazing Red

 

Red sucks, Joe rules. Joe squashes Red, I am happy. Joe absolutely kills him on the snap powerslam in particular.

 

Turning Point - Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles

 

Alright, now THIS is the match I wanted between Joe and Styles. A huge improvement on their Sacrifice match, better than Joe/Sabin, better than Unbreakable, best match in TNA history (that I’ve seen) and it’s not particularly close either.

 

While the first match was a 50/50 contest this one is all about Joe being a killing machine, and by god does he beat the crap out of Styles in this one. While Joe dominates the majority of the match AJ brings plenty of fire to the table as well, the hate is clear as both men just lay into each other as hard as they can, some of the kicks in particular are just ridiculously stiff-looking. Even some of the usual Joe/Styles spots have a little something extra on them, the AJ Dropkick as Joe is coming off the ropes spot they do in every match looks as good as it ever has, as does Joe’s chop to the back/kick to the face/kneedrop to the face spot, among other things.

 

Joe controlling the match in brutal fashion and Styles bumping like a maniac for him even serves to make AJ’s offence more palatable than usual, the Moonsault DDT, Pele Kick and moves of that nature are far better as desperation out-of-nowhere type moves, rather than signature moves he has to get in while on offence. Throughout the match they do a good job of giving the crowd teases of Styles getting on top, before Joe cuts him off and kills him dead each time.

 

About the only ‘negative’ I could mention would be the spot where AJ is on the apron with Joe waiting for him to springboard in, but Styles doesn’t move and Joe has to trade strikes with him for a little while before trying for it again. I only noticed it while watching the match a second time, so considering I didn’t even notice anything at all the first time I’d say that’s a sign they did a good job covering up any miscommunication between them.

 

Plenty of nasty moments in the match with both men bleeding from the mouth by the end of it, not a perfect match but it’s the best match Samoa Joe and AJ Styles have had together so far, and as far as TNA goes this is as good as it gets.

 

Impact - Samoa Joe vs Jay Lethal

 

Joe and Lethal always work well together, and unsurprisingly this is the best of the ‘squash’ matches on the DVD. Joe in kill mode with Lethal getting just enough offence to look good before getting finished off, good short match between the two.

 

Final Resolution - Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels

 

Really not much of a fan of this match. I don’t care for watching Christopher Daniels wrestle though, someone who is a fan of his will probably like this a lot more.

 

Daniels’ offence generally stinks, and this had FAR too much Daniels in control. Even when Joe was on offence Daniels doesn’t go out of his way to die for it like Styles does, so this really doesn’t hold a candle to the previous Joe/Styles match. Pretty slow and uninteresting, in the end I just didn’t particularly care about this. Likely underrating this a lot, but whatever.

 

Really great DVD overall though, but then it’s a DVD of 11 matches featuring Samoa Joe killing people, it’s impossible for this to do anything but rule.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Some of the highlights of my Black Friday fun:

 

Better Than Our Best:

 

Jimmy Yang vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels

 

This was a good four-way match, with Joe and Styles working very stiff with each other. Joe was the standout performer of the match. Yang didn’t take as much of a backseat as you might think considering who was involved. There were some nice spots, with Yang showing great agility and flexibility that you’ll probably not see out of him for a while, if ever again.

 

After the match, Joe called out Bryan Danielson to demand ‘his’ belt back. Danielson came out and showed why he’s such a great heel and also very underrated on the mic with how he mocked Joe, tried to get the crowd to chant against Joe and was generally a complete dick.

 

Blood Generation vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong

 

This was a great tag match that went around 20:00 and saw great teamwork from the BG crew and Aries take quite the beating, even suffering a broken nose.

 

Lance Storm vs. Bryan Danielson

 

This was a good technical match, with Storm working a far better than he was allowed to in WWE. If you’re a fan of Storm and want to see what he can do without restrictions, then you’ll want to see this.

 

Homicide vs. Colt Cabana

 

This was an excellent streetfight. A wild brawl with some crazy spots, this was very intense. They stayed almost entirely within the ring or the ringside area, which is actually a refreshing change from most streetfights where they go all over the building sometimes just for the sake of it. The visual highlight was sea of chairs getting thrown in by the fans. Highlights of the actual brawling saw Cabana throw rubbing alcohol into the face of a bloody Homicide which Homicide sold like a trooper and Cabana superplexing Homicide onto the sea of chairs. If you want snowflakes, I’ll go with ****1/2.

 

Time To Man Up:

 

The Briscoe’s vs. KENTA and Davey Richards

 

This was a great tag match that went around 20:00 with the Briscoe’s showing why they are a tremendous team and have improved immeasurably since their last run in ROH. The match was very stiff and very hard hitting and you really got a sense that this match was important because of how much intensity everybody showed.

 

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

 

A good match but not the best you’ll see from these two. Joe was probably holding back a little as he was going 60:00 the next night with Danielson. Still, this was better than a lot of what you’ll see elsewhere.

 

Unified:

 

Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards

 

This was good match, almost entirely down to Richards, who continued to show why he’s getting the strong push he is. If the Pure title was still around I’d see Richards was a good bet to get the belt from McGuiness, but as it is he’ll have to ‘settle’ for an ROH World title run in about twelve to eighteen months.

 

The Briscoe’s vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong

 

This match was fantastic. There was so much great teamwork from both teams, intensity that just grabbed your attention and a rabid crowd going nuts for everything in the home stretch. These are definitely two of the best tag teams of the year, and this is easily one of the best tag team matches of the year. For snowflakes, I’ll go with ****1/2.

 

Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson

 

This was a wrestling war. The match was fought under Pure Title rules, and the story of the match was Danielson trying to get McGuinness to use up his three rope breaks, which would allow Danielson to use the ropes freely. The match was intense like the tag match but in a different way. Whereas the tag match was both teams going all out with the big moves, this match saw Danielson and McGuinness go all out with stiff wrestling. The “ouch” moment was late in the match when Danielson pulled McGuinness head first into the ring post three or four times and McGuinness’s head hit the post full busting him open legit. The crowd was going mental at this point just going nuts for Nigel and wanting him to win, but it was not to bed and Danielson won with repeated elbow strikes to Nigel’s head as he had his arms tied up. A definite Match of the Year candidate, ****3/4 in snowflakes, and you have to see Nigel’s post-show promo in the back which has a close shot of a huge lump on his head from he hit the ringpost.

 

Epic Encounter II

 

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness – 2/3 Falls

 

This was another tremendous match but it was totally different to their Unified match. The Unified match was William Regal vs. Fit Finlay where this match is Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair and I would actually call it a modern day version of some of the Steamboat vs. Flair matches. It featured excellent wrestling as well some great heel work from Danielson. Danielson grabbed a headlock on McGuinness and while you initially had a number of people chanting boring, Danielson not only told those fans that he was going to keep the headlock on for the whole match but after ten minutes of working in and out of the hold he had the whole crowd popping huge every time he went back the headlock. It was great. And what made it better is when he had got them popping for the headlock he teased going for it again and then went to a reverse chinlock just to fuck with them. But it gets better. When he grabs the chinlock, McGuinness actually chastises him and says, “They asked for a headlock. Know your wrestling.” Not only is the wrestling and the ga-ga great, but the story of the match is great. There are spots in it that play off of their previous matches including recreating the finish of their first Title vs. Title match and the big spot of their match at Unified where Danielson pulled McGuinness head first into the ring post. The match went the full 60:00 with each man getting a decision, with Danielson’s coming via a small package, which is how he beat McGuinness in their second singles match. The match was Steamboat vs. Flair because it was two guys going out there and wrestling for 60:00. No gimmicks, no bullshit, just two guys who wrestled and made it mean something. Snowflake time: ****3/4.

 

Gut Check

 

Jim Cornette promo

 

This is Cornette’s promo to explain his turning on Homicide at the Cage of Death match. It’s almost 20:00, but it’s a fantastic promo that sees Cornette explain in a very logical manner why he turned on Homicide and hates the fans that turned on him for it, but also why he hasn’t turned on anybody else. It’s a great heel/not heel promo because Cornette makes a credible argument for why he’s turned against Homicide and the fans who he feel turned against him but why he hasn’t turned against anyone else. It’s great because not only do the reasons make sense for the character but it’s believable as to why he would turn on Homicide and some fans but not on anyone else or the rest of the fans. Top notch stuff.

 

The Briscoe’s vs. Homicide and Davey Richards

 

Another fine tag match featuring the Briscoe’s, who may be the best tag team of the year. The Briscoe’s showed great teamwork and some fine double team moves.

 

Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana 2/3 falls

 

This was Danielson’s second 2/3 falls in consecutive days and like the one with McGuinness they played off of their previous matches but the match itself told a completely different story allowing for two completely different matches. This match had the stipulation that if Cabana lost he couldn’t get another title match while Danielson was champion, but also that if the 60:00 time limit expired with only one fall taken then whoever had that fall would be declared the winner and would be ROH World Champion. Their previous title match at ROH’s 100th show saw Danielson pin Cabana in just five minutes, so this match saw Cabana score the first fall in just five minutes. Not only did it play off of their last match but it also put Danielson in the position of having to play catch up for the rest of the match as if Cabana won another fall or the match went to the 60:00 time limit then Cabana would be the new ROH Champion. The story played out for the rest of the match with some great antics from both men and also the crowd; after Danielson did his “I have till five” bit some of the crowd chanted “same old shit” and another part of the crowd responded with a “it still works” chant. The match got incredibly heated as it hit the 55:00 mark with the crowd going nuts for Cabana’s imminent title win. And then, at 59:45, it happened. Danielson distracted the referee and nailed Cabana with a punch to the groin. A small package later and Danielson tied the match 1-1 with literally seconds to go. Needless to say the Chicago crowd was pissed. The match wasn’t quite as good as the one the night before with Danielson and McGuinness, maybe around ****, but it told a very good story and Danielson did a damn good job considering he severely injured his shoulder at around the 9:00 mark.

 

Glory by Honor V – Night One

 

Samoa Joe/Takeshi Morishima angle

 

This was notable for the reaction. It was set up with everyone on the roster, including ROH and NOAH wrestlers who weren’t wrestling, surrounding the ring for Bruno Sammartino’s appearance. After Bruno had left, the wrestlers returned to the back. Joe and Morishima bumped into each other as they went to aisleway at the same time. They each offered to let the other go first but they bumped into each other again. After a few seconds of arguing, Morishima shoved Joe who, after shoving back, rolled into the ring and as he dared Morishima to fight, the crowd went completely apeshit. They went crazier for this angle, when few of them would have been that familiar with Morishima, then just about any other angle in ROH and almost any match in ROH history. It was like they knew they were seeing the start of something special, which they were, as the idea is for Joe vs. Morishima to be the big dream match in 2007.

 

Samoa Joe and Homicide vs. The Briscoe’s

 

This was a really good match with the usual intensity and physical action you’d expect from those involved. It’s almost a broken record at this point, but The Briscoe’s are probably the best tag team of the year for 2006. They have the teamwork down pat, they have the intensity, and they can have a good to great tag match with just about any team.

 

Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA

 

This was their first singles match in ROH, and it had the story going in of KENTA having two pinfall wins over Danielson, coming in a tag match and as part of a three-way. The match was great with Danielson working around his injured shoulder which also played into the story of the match. The big spot was KENTA hitting the Go To Sleep, which he used to beat Danielson the previous two times, and Danielson getting his foot on the ropes to break the count. Danielson winds up winning with Cattle Mutilation, and both men get a big standing ovation from the Manhattan Ballroom. ****1/2 of goodness.

 

Motor City Madness

 

Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

 

This was a fine match, maybe not great, but still very enjoyable. The funniest part was Danielson, who had to wear Bob Backlund-like trunks due to his regular gear going missing, mimicking Backlund’s weird walk, where he walks across the ring while squatting. The match was enjoyable and so were Danielson’s heel antics.

 

Samoa Joe and Homicide vs. The Briscoe’s – Falls Count Anywhere

 

The match started in the ring as normal but the fight, and this is what it turned into, soon went to the floor. Chairs were flung about with wild abandon as all four men sent the crowd scattering in all directions to avoid getting hit with, only the chairs, but anything else they could get their hands on. The war made its way to the parking lot and one of the Briscoe’s did a shooting star press off of a truck onto everyone else as well as security. Joe immediately started screaming about his knee being injured and was taken away, leaving Homicide to be dragged back to the ring by the Briscoe’s who got the win with spiked Jay Driller. This was a very wild match and you can do worse than check it out.

[The Buzz 0]

Right now I'm finishing up a few compilations. A four disc Best of Mistico comp, Misawa's Path to Becoming the Five Crown King(I think that's the title of it), Best of Bruiser Brody in Puerto Rico, and a Best of WWC.

 

To be honest the man that has impressed me the most from watching the best of Mistico dvds is not Mistico himself, but Perro Aguayo Jr.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

A friend lent me his copy of the 1991 Survivor Series. The show reminds me how much fun Heenan & Monsoon were on commentary. They manage to work in a debate over WWF Magazine in the middle of the Rockers dissension angle.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

A friend lent me his copy of the 1991 Survivor Series. The show reminds me how much fun Heenan & Monsoon were on commentary. They manage to work in a debate over WWF Magazine in the middle of the Rockers dissension angle.

 

Heenan: If you'd read the WWF Magazine, you'd know that these guys don't get along.

Monsoon: (Almost losing his headset) THAT'S NOT IN THE MAGAZINE!!! WHY DON'T YOU GET SMART!!!

 

Always loved that exchange. Their commentary during the Team Duggan vs. Team Mustafa match made it totally enjoyable.

 

Without Monsoon constantly selling his lines, I don't think Heenan is nearly as revered for his commentary. But even when he spews off a 1/2 assed line about Santana or someone, Monsoon reacts w/ such disgust that it makes the original comment funnier than it was . . . hope that made sense.

[Guest Teq]

‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat – MSG 26/12/87

 

Rather rare to see these two in the same ring. The first half of the match is built around Steamboat dominating Rude with his speed and quickness, always taking him back down by the arm and wearing it down. Rude gets his heel work in, seemingly takes advantage for a split second then Steamboat is able to quickly counter. This false sense of power is what keeps the crowd alive and gives the match its flow. An early spot sees Steamboat tossed over the top rope but he catches on and begins to rise up backwards into the ring only for Heenan to try and prevent it and get a kick in the face for his troubles.

 

The final stretch becomes much faster in pace, containing many near falls and a great sequence of side headlock takeover, legscissors, counter, bridge, pinfall that has the crowd roaring. The time limit expires at the 20 minute mark, just as Steamboat comes off the top with a chop to the head.

 

A very solid match, which is probably why they put it on again a month later at the debut of the Royal Rumble PPV, but, it was lacking a clean finish and a certain underlying spark that would push it up higher.

 

***1/2

[humanoid92 0]

A friend lent me his copy of the 1991 Survivor Series. The show reminds me how much fun Heenan & Monsoon were on commentary. They manage to work in a debate over WWF Magazine in the middle of the Rockers dissension angle.

 

Heenan: If you'd read the WWF Magazine, you'd know that these guys don't get along.

Monsoon: (Almost losing his headset) THAT'S NOT IN THE MAGAZINE!!! WHY DON'T YOU GET SMART!!!

 

Always loved that exchange. Their commentary during the Team Duggan vs. Team Mustafa match made it totally enjoyable.

 

Without Monsoon constantly selling his lines, I don't think Heenan is nearly as revered for his commentary. But even when he spews off a 1/2 assed line about Santana or someone, Monsoon reacts w/ such disgust that it makes the original comment funnier than it was . . . hope that made sense.

 

 

Haha, classic. I probably haven't seen that show in 8-10 years and I remember that exchange. There was also something along the lines of:

 

Monsoon: You just get the magazine to look at the pictures.

Heenan: ...... I can read.

 

Then of course there's Heenan talking about charging a cover for Thanksgiving back in Beverly Hills.

 

I miss those guys.

[CanadianChris 0]

Just got finished watching Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair from WrestleMania VIII on YouTube, including the prematch promo from Flair and both postmatch promos. Oddly enough, this was the first time I'd ever seen the full match. I'd only ever seen clipped versions of it before. It was an absolute epic. Savage's sell job of the leg was top-shelf, and his postmatch promo was incredible -- the most intense promo I've ever seen him give, which is saying a lot.

 

My only complaint is that I would have loved to see these two go at it five years earlier -- every match they ever had was past Savage's prime, and every match in WCW was past Flair's prime as well.