For my birthday last year, my ex-housemate bought me tickets for this TNA tour. Despite not being a huge wrestling fan himself, he joined me for the show, which featured a steel cage match in the main event. Taking our seats, we settled in to enjoy the show...
Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs Bad Influence
Pretty solid choice for an opener. Chavo and Hernandez were pretty over in Nottingham, which surprised me as UK fans often seem to side with entertaining heels, which the Bad Influence boys certainly are. We kicked off with some comedy early on, as a mix-up led to Kazarian accidentally working over the arm of his tag partner on the apron, as well as a spot where Hernandez held Kazarian up for a vertical suplex, whilst his partner rammed Daniels' head into every corner of the ring, before Hernandez finished the move. Chavo eventually got isolated, and Bad Influence worked the crowd terrifically to build up to the hot tag. This was the best possible use of Hernandez, who looked like a tank in taking out Daniels and Kazarian. Eventually, Chavo hit a frog splash on Daniels for the win.
Marty Scurll vs Rockstar Spud
Two of the stars of British Bootcamp paired up here. Spud, despite being absolutely tiny, is great at projecting himself to a big crowd. The Rockstar gimmick has probably added years to his career, both by making him more interesting as a character, but also by limiting the insane stunts which he went for early on in his career (as my friend put it tonight, "Spud appears to have more poses than moves"). Which doesn't mean Spud wasn't impressive here, as he hit a swank tope and a nice Code Red that got a 2 on Scurll. Marty also looked great here, schooling Spud on the mat early doors and looking great in the process, as well as nailing the Rockstar with a perfect tornado DDT. Marty went for his backbreaker finisher a few times, but Spud slipped out and rolled Scurll up for three. Great showcase for both of them.
The Blossom Twins vs Tara & Gail Kim
I missed the last episode of British Bootcamp, so I'd never seen the Blossoms wrestle until tonight, and I was pretty impressed. They looked comfortable in the ring with two relative veterans, and you never got the impression they were being carried. The heel team were having some communication problems throughout, but managed to isolate Holly Blossom and worked her over. The Blossoms look too sweet to be wrestlers, so they were able to illicit sympathy pretty easily, and they achieved a decent pop for the hot tag. Kim managed to hit Eat Defeat on a Blossom, but was pulled off from making the cover by her own partner. Tara then tried to take control, but again the heel bickered. This allowed the Blossoms to switch places in the ring, and roll up an unsuspecting Tara for three. After the match, the heels attacked the Blossoms, but Velvet made the save, managing to have the worst looking offence of the match in her minute long save section. The Blossoms look like they'd be a good addition to the TNA roster.
Rob Van Dam vs Zema Ion
This was better than I was expecting. RVD seems to go through the motions a lot in TNA and, while he didn't set the world on fire here, at least he seemed to be having fun. Ion did a fair bit of schtick work early on, reapplying his hairspray after every RVD attack, until Van Dam stole it, spraying the head of a bald chap at ringside. The match was exactly what you'd expect, though Ion looked pretty good on offence here, with a sweet looking tornado DDT. RVD won a short match with the Five Star.
Magnus & James Storm vs Austin Aries & Bobby Roode
Apparently, the previous night had seen a triple threat match between Storm, Roode and Aries that Storm claimed had ended up more like a handicap match. To combat this, he brought out his tag partner Magnus, who got a huge reception. This match was really good, as you'd expect with workers of this standard, especially with Storm and Roode being so well versed as tag workers. Roode and Aries stooged nicely in the early going, allowing themselves to look foolish to show their opponents superiority. After working through the heat period, we ended up with all four guys in the ring. Aries tried to spit some beer in the face of Storm, but ended up getting Roode instead. Storm hit Roode with the superkick and Magnus followed that with a top rope elbow for three.
The main event was held in a steel cage, so Jeremy Borash had to work the crowd for the ten minutes that the cage was being assembled. All in all, he did a good job, though his attempts to find a Notts Forest fan in the crowd didn't go as well as he hoped. Still, he did a tricky task well.
Sting & Kurt Angle vs Devon & Doc
We actually ended up getting a handicap match for most of this, as Mike Knox attacked Angle before he got in the cage, leading to Sting having to take on both Aces & 8's members alone. The drama of the match came from this, as Angle made repeated attempts to get into the cage only for Knox to keep beating him down everytime he got close, whilst Sting took a battering in the ring. Eventually, Angle hit a low blow on Knox and was able to enter the cage, cleaning house in the process. However, as he had Doc in the ankle lock, a fourth Aces member came in and nailed him in the head with a hammer. Suprisingly, this didn't kill Kurt instantly, as he kicked out at two. A table got set up in the ring, which cued Bully Ray to come to the rescue. He joined up with Sting to hit a Wassup Drop on Doc, before Devon got double chokeslammed through the table for the winning three count.
All in all then, a pretty good night of entertainment. None of the matches were jaw-dropping, but none of them were less than decent either. All the wrestler seemed to be having fun, and the time seemed to fly by. Can't complain too much about that.
Sunday 27 January 2013
Saturday 12 January 2013
TNA World X Cup 2008
With the announcement that TNA are running special stand alone PPV's, including a World Cup tournament, what better time to revisit the 2008 X Cup, which saw wrestlers from Dragon Gate, CMLL and NJPW join TNA for a one month tournament. There is a points system, but essentially the winners of the final Ultimate X match win the whole thing. It's the first blog review of the year and there are two contenders for the year end top 10 already. It's going to be a great year...
Tyson Dux & Daivari vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The initial Dux/Alex Shelley segment is really smooth, and the larger Dux keeps up with Shelley throughout, though he does massively telegraph a top rope Sabin armdrag by standing there with his arm out. Team International are slightly bigger than the Guns, so try to overpower them, but the Guns use some quick tags and a slight speed advantage to control. The heat section on Shelley is really brief and I did briefly think that the match was going to be a glorified squash, but Daivari grabs Sabin on the outside as he tries to springboard in to gain some advantage. Again, the heat section doesn't last too long as Team International, whether accidentally or on purpose, sort of get in each others way, allowing Sabin to come back. Shelley blitzes Daivari, and gets two on a top rope splash. Daivari always struck me as a small guy who didn't do much high-flying, so I was pretty impressed with the top rope rana he hit. Dux is certainly smoother than Daivari in the ring, and I wonder why he never appeared in TNA after the X Cup. The end sees Dux caught in a tree of woe, and Shelley hits Sliced Bread on Daivari to hit the three. Team International are the only team not representing a promotion, so don't expect many wins.
Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs Rey Buccanero & Ultimo Guerrero
Team Mexico are a lot bigger than their Japanese opponents. Yoshino & Doi uses their speed to control Buccanero early, as well as some superior double-teaming. The size difference is so great that Guerrero doesn't need a partner to hit a double spinebuster on both of his opponents. Guerrero and Buccanero also use some swank double-teams which pop the crowd. The match is super fast paced, and I loved the spot where Yoshino hit a missile dropkick on Guerrero whilst also landing on Buccanero with a senton. Similarly, I loved Guerrero knocking Yoshino from the ring, and Buccanero sliding out of the ring straight into a splash on him. With Yoshino out, Guerrero drapes Doi over his knees, and Buccanero comes off the top with a corkscrew senton, which is enough for three. Good, high-paced TV match.
Alex Koslov vs Rey Buccanero
As far as I know, Koslov has some lucha experience, so he should work well with Buccanero here. A quick opening section leads to an insane Koslov plancha. Standing enzuigiri gets two and Koslov looks really slick here. Buccanero comes back with a Cradle Driver that lands Koslov directly on his head. Twisting senton gets three. Felt like a good match cut off 3 minutes in.
Milano Collection AT vs Curry Man
Again, Daniels has wrestled in Japan plenty of times, so this is a sensible pairing. Milano does that "roll the opponent 360 degrees round the ring whilst pinning him" spot I always like, leading to an awesome "dizzy" sell by Curry Man. Milano has great flexibility here, bridging out of a Curry Man pin, doing the splits to avoid a top rope dive and generally looking pretty impressive. Curry Man is super-over here, so he keeps the offence simple, knowing everything will get a reaction. It also allows AT an opportunity to shine. Milano hits a sneaky low blow followed by a twisting quebrada to win.
Masato Yoshino vs Doug Williams
You'd think this would be a bit of a styles clash, but this works pretty well. Both play to their strengths: Doug uses his size advantage to make his strikes look really nasty, whilst Yoshino outpaces him and takes control with his flying ability. The layout of the Impact Zone was really good at this time, as it gave a nice, big area for dives. Yoshino takes full advantage of this with a huge tope. I like the comments from Don West, saying Yoshino is so fast that it's harder for him to stop when Doug strikes him. They sort of flub a flying headscissors, but Yoshino wins my heart by putting in an extra burst of effort, as if he realised Williams was blocking it and knew he had to put in a little more to complete the move. Nice top rope buttlerfly suplex by Williams. Nice ending sequence sees Doug hit the Chaos Theory for the win.
Kaz vs Ultimo Guerrero
Of all the matches so far, this one feels the most awkward in the early goings, as you can see both guys aren't quite clicking yet. Love Guerrero hitting a handstand in the corner and holding it to give added momentum when he lets gravity send him into a prone Kaz. Feels like a spot Ziggler should steal. Guerrero dominates a fair bit here, nailing a nice top rope reverse suplex for two. The storyline here is that, as Team TNA captain, Kaz is feeling a lot of pressure to win, which plays into him fluffing (deliberately) a springboard to give Guerrero more advantage as Kaz sells a knee injury. Tenay mentions the looks of concern on the faces of all Team TNA, which is odd as Curry Man is fully masked. Guerrero blocks a top rope rana with a nice powerbomb. Kaz avoids a moonsault and nails the Wave of the Future to win the match. Decent enough, though I thought the knee injury would play a bigger part in the ending.
Masato Yoshino, Puma & Milano Collection AT vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Buccanero & Averno vs Doug Williams, Tyson Dux & Alex Koslov vs the Motor City Machineguns & Curry Man
This is an elimination match, and I can only imagine it's going to be nuts.To start, Curry Man challenges Yoshino to a race having seen his speed, but just trips him up instead. Dux and Williams come in to double team Sabin, and they look super slick as a team, with just nice, quick double teams. Even odder when you consider they aren't a tag team. Team Mexico come in, triple team Williams and Dux, and swiftly eliminate Dux with a Buccanero Cradle Driver. Puma and AT come in to attack Buccanero, but Averno is swiftly tagged in and takes care of both guys, eliminating Puma with a spinning facebuster. Thing is, this is a total spotfest, but it's so quick, fluid and crisp that it's really fun to watch.
Both Machine Guns end up in the ring with Milano, who evades both of them and rolls them both up in a double single leg crab. Awesome. After the escape, Milano shoves the ref, then grabs Sabin's leg between his own legs to pretend he's taken a low-blow, but the ref outside the ring prevents the DQ. Sabin gets the Cradle Shock to pin AT for 3. Milano has undoubtedly been the star of the match so far. Yoshino is the last member of Team Japan left and the Guns smell blood, blitzing Yoshino to try and eliminate him. Averno comes in and continues to hammer Yoshino. However, Yoshino comes out of nowhere with a high-speed roll up to eliminate Averno. Team TNA and Team International ignore the knackered Yoshino and start going for each other, with frantic results, so Guerrero and Buccanero dive off the top to take out Curry Man and Williams. A top rope powerbomb eliminates Curry Man mere seconds after West highlights that all of Team TNA are left in the match. Williams is swiftly pinned too after a twisting senton from Buccanero.
After the Machine Guns wipe out on a missed pescado attempt, Guerrero and Koslov wind up in the ring together, with Koslov hitting a low blow on Guerrero, followed by an Anaconda Vice variation for the tapout. Sabin swiftly focusses on Buccanero , nailing a top rope hurancanrana and a kick to the face to fully eliminate Team Mexico. The Guns double team the two remaining opponents, Koslov and Yoshino, but somehow Yoshino keeps surviving. He's like the Conquistadors from the second Survivior Series. Koslov manages to survive long enough to pin Sabin for three with his feet on the ropes to leave a final three of Yoshino, Koslov and Shelley. After Koslov nails Shelley with an insane plancha, Yoshino ties up Koslov in a ridiculously complex submission hold for the tapout. Yoshino, the ultimate survivor, tries his best to eliminate Shelley, but gets caught with the Sliced Bread...which only gets 2! A swank Shelley Tiger Suplex only gets two. Eventually, a Kryptonite Krunch gets the three. Absolutely unreal spotfest, and they made Yoshino look awesome in defeat.
This leaves the scores as:
Team TNA - 6
Team Japan - 4
Team International & Team Mexico - 3
Which means that whoever wins Ultimate X for 4 points, wins. Convenient.
Volador Jr vs Kaz vs Naruki Doi vs Daivari
I was really impressed with Volador when I saw him in the CMLL DVD I reviewed a month or so back, so looking forward to seeing him here. I like the way Kaz shows his experience edge by going for the X right from the start and goes for it any chance he gets. Volador slips slightly trying to climb the ropes, but I like his awareness as he realises Doi is about to pull him off the wire, so drops into a hurancanrana to maintain his advantage rather than take a blow. I did Daivari's gameplan of working over Kaz's injured arm to hinder his climbing ability. The 3 opponents all then zero in on Kaz's arm, which makes sense due to his experience edge. This leads to Kaz clearing them all away, but slipping off the cables, as he can't support himself with one arm. Volador takes a huge bump after Doi elevates him over the top rope, before Doi nails Kaz with a cannonball in the corner. Doi climbs, then takes a nutty bump from the supports to the floor. A really fun spot follows as Volador takes advantage of Doi fighting Kaz to go for the X, only for Kax to elevate Doi headfirst into the hanging crotch of Volador for a lowblow that sends the luchador to the mat. I like the way that on Kaz's next attempt to climb, he uses his legs to support himself on the cables, knowing his arm is still too injured. Daivari only just stops him. Volador takes Doi out of the match with a beautiful top rope moonsault to the floor. Daivari gets right up to the X, only for Kaz to leap from the top of the structure to hit a legdrop in an absolutely insane spot. However, this leaves the path totally free for Volador, who climbs to the X totally unhindered for the win. Team Mexico win the X Cup. Terrific match, a great mixture of logical storytelling, high drama and insane spots. Even in defeat, Kaz got to look great with the most memorable spot of the match
Tyson Dux & Daivari vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The initial Dux/Alex Shelley segment is really smooth, and the larger Dux keeps up with Shelley throughout, though he does massively telegraph a top rope Sabin armdrag by standing there with his arm out. Team International are slightly bigger than the Guns, so try to overpower them, but the Guns use some quick tags and a slight speed advantage to control. The heat section on Shelley is really brief and I did briefly think that the match was going to be a glorified squash, but Daivari grabs Sabin on the outside as he tries to springboard in to gain some advantage. Again, the heat section doesn't last too long as Team International, whether accidentally or on purpose, sort of get in each others way, allowing Sabin to come back. Shelley blitzes Daivari, and gets two on a top rope splash. Daivari always struck me as a small guy who didn't do much high-flying, so I was pretty impressed with the top rope rana he hit. Dux is certainly smoother than Daivari in the ring, and I wonder why he never appeared in TNA after the X Cup. The end sees Dux caught in a tree of woe, and Shelley hits Sliced Bread on Daivari to hit the three. Team International are the only team not representing a promotion, so don't expect many wins.
Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs Rey Buccanero & Ultimo Guerrero
Team Mexico are a lot bigger than their Japanese opponents. Yoshino & Doi uses their speed to control Buccanero early, as well as some superior double-teaming. The size difference is so great that Guerrero doesn't need a partner to hit a double spinebuster on both of his opponents. Guerrero and Buccanero also use some swank double-teams which pop the crowd. The match is super fast paced, and I loved the spot where Yoshino hit a missile dropkick on Guerrero whilst also landing on Buccanero with a senton. Similarly, I loved Guerrero knocking Yoshino from the ring, and Buccanero sliding out of the ring straight into a splash on him. With Yoshino out, Guerrero drapes Doi over his knees, and Buccanero comes off the top with a corkscrew senton, which is enough for three. Good, high-paced TV match.
Alex Koslov vs Rey Buccanero
As far as I know, Koslov has some lucha experience, so he should work well with Buccanero here. A quick opening section leads to an insane Koslov plancha. Standing enzuigiri gets two and Koslov looks really slick here. Buccanero comes back with a Cradle Driver that lands Koslov directly on his head. Twisting senton gets three. Felt like a good match cut off 3 minutes in.
Milano Collection AT vs Curry Man
Again, Daniels has wrestled in Japan plenty of times, so this is a sensible pairing. Milano does that "roll the opponent 360 degrees round the ring whilst pinning him" spot I always like, leading to an awesome "dizzy" sell by Curry Man. Milano has great flexibility here, bridging out of a Curry Man pin, doing the splits to avoid a top rope dive and generally looking pretty impressive. Curry Man is super-over here, so he keeps the offence simple, knowing everything will get a reaction. It also allows AT an opportunity to shine. Milano hits a sneaky low blow followed by a twisting quebrada to win.
Masato Yoshino vs Doug Williams
You'd think this would be a bit of a styles clash, but this works pretty well. Both play to their strengths: Doug uses his size advantage to make his strikes look really nasty, whilst Yoshino outpaces him and takes control with his flying ability. The layout of the Impact Zone was really good at this time, as it gave a nice, big area for dives. Yoshino takes full advantage of this with a huge tope. I like the comments from Don West, saying Yoshino is so fast that it's harder for him to stop when Doug strikes him. They sort of flub a flying headscissors, but Yoshino wins my heart by putting in an extra burst of effort, as if he realised Williams was blocking it and knew he had to put in a little more to complete the move. Nice top rope buttlerfly suplex by Williams. Nice ending sequence sees Doug hit the Chaos Theory for the win.
Kaz vs Ultimo Guerrero
Of all the matches so far, this one feels the most awkward in the early goings, as you can see both guys aren't quite clicking yet. Love Guerrero hitting a handstand in the corner and holding it to give added momentum when he lets gravity send him into a prone Kaz. Feels like a spot Ziggler should steal. Guerrero dominates a fair bit here, nailing a nice top rope reverse suplex for two. The storyline here is that, as Team TNA captain, Kaz is feeling a lot of pressure to win, which plays into him fluffing (deliberately) a springboard to give Guerrero more advantage as Kaz sells a knee injury. Tenay mentions the looks of concern on the faces of all Team TNA, which is odd as Curry Man is fully masked. Guerrero blocks a top rope rana with a nice powerbomb. Kaz avoids a moonsault and nails the Wave of the Future to win the match. Decent enough, though I thought the knee injury would play a bigger part in the ending.
Masato Yoshino, Puma & Milano Collection AT vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Buccanero & Averno vs Doug Williams, Tyson Dux & Alex Koslov vs the Motor City Machineguns & Curry Man
This is an elimination match, and I can only imagine it's going to be nuts.To start, Curry Man challenges Yoshino to a race having seen his speed, but just trips him up instead. Dux and Williams come in to double team Sabin, and they look super slick as a team, with just nice, quick double teams. Even odder when you consider they aren't a tag team. Team Mexico come in, triple team Williams and Dux, and swiftly eliminate Dux with a Buccanero Cradle Driver. Puma and AT come in to attack Buccanero, but Averno is swiftly tagged in and takes care of both guys, eliminating Puma with a spinning facebuster. Thing is, this is a total spotfest, but it's so quick, fluid and crisp that it's really fun to watch.
Both Machine Guns end up in the ring with Milano, who evades both of them and rolls them both up in a double single leg crab. Awesome. After the escape, Milano shoves the ref, then grabs Sabin's leg between his own legs to pretend he's taken a low-blow, but the ref outside the ring prevents the DQ. Sabin gets the Cradle Shock to pin AT for 3. Milano has undoubtedly been the star of the match so far. Yoshino is the last member of Team Japan left and the Guns smell blood, blitzing Yoshino to try and eliminate him. Averno comes in and continues to hammer Yoshino. However, Yoshino comes out of nowhere with a high-speed roll up to eliminate Averno. Team TNA and Team International ignore the knackered Yoshino and start going for each other, with frantic results, so Guerrero and Buccanero dive off the top to take out Curry Man and Williams. A top rope powerbomb eliminates Curry Man mere seconds after West highlights that all of Team TNA are left in the match. Williams is swiftly pinned too after a twisting senton from Buccanero.
After the Machine Guns wipe out on a missed pescado attempt, Guerrero and Koslov wind up in the ring together, with Koslov hitting a low blow on Guerrero, followed by an Anaconda Vice variation for the tapout. Sabin swiftly focusses on Buccanero , nailing a top rope hurancanrana and a kick to the face to fully eliminate Team Mexico. The Guns double team the two remaining opponents, Koslov and Yoshino, but somehow Yoshino keeps surviving. He's like the Conquistadors from the second Survivior Series. Koslov manages to survive long enough to pin Sabin for three with his feet on the ropes to leave a final three of Yoshino, Koslov and Shelley. After Koslov nails Shelley with an insane plancha, Yoshino ties up Koslov in a ridiculously complex submission hold for the tapout. Yoshino, the ultimate survivor, tries his best to eliminate Shelley, but gets caught with the Sliced Bread...which only gets 2! A swank Shelley Tiger Suplex only gets two. Eventually, a Kryptonite Krunch gets the three. Absolutely unreal spotfest, and they made Yoshino look awesome in defeat.
This leaves the scores as:
Team TNA - 6
Team Japan - 4
Team International & Team Mexico - 3
Which means that whoever wins Ultimate X for 4 points, wins. Convenient.
Volador Jr vs Kaz vs Naruki Doi vs Daivari
I was really impressed with Volador when I saw him in the CMLL DVD I reviewed a month or so back, so looking forward to seeing him here. I like the way Kaz shows his experience edge by going for the X right from the start and goes for it any chance he gets. Volador slips slightly trying to climb the ropes, but I like his awareness as he realises Doi is about to pull him off the wire, so drops into a hurancanrana to maintain his advantage rather than take a blow. I did Daivari's gameplan of working over Kaz's injured arm to hinder his climbing ability. The 3 opponents all then zero in on Kaz's arm, which makes sense due to his experience edge. This leads to Kaz clearing them all away, but slipping off the cables, as he can't support himself with one arm. Volador takes a huge bump after Doi elevates him over the top rope, before Doi nails Kaz with a cannonball in the corner. Doi climbs, then takes a nutty bump from the supports to the floor. A really fun spot follows as Volador takes advantage of Doi fighting Kaz to go for the X, only for Kax to elevate Doi headfirst into the hanging crotch of Volador for a lowblow that sends the luchador to the mat. I like the way that on Kaz's next attempt to climb, he uses his legs to support himself on the cables, knowing his arm is still too injured. Daivari only just stops him. Volador takes Doi out of the match with a beautiful top rope moonsault to the floor. Daivari gets right up to the X, only for Kaz to leap from the top of the structure to hit a legdrop in an absolutely insane spot. However, this leaves the path totally free for Volador, who climbs to the X totally unhindered for the win. Team Mexico win the X Cup. Terrific match, a great mixture of logical storytelling, high drama and insane spots. Even in defeat, Kaz got to look great with the most memorable spot of the match
Tuesday 1 January 2013
The Top Ten Blog Matches of 2012
So, for the third year running, I try to sum up the year on this blog with the 10 best matches reviewed this year. This year has seen me venture to more wrestling shows than in previous years, which is represented by the presence of several SWE matches on the list. Without further ado, here is the big 10...
10. James Storm, Sting & Hulk Hogan vs Kurt Angle, Bully Ray & Bobby Roode (TNA Maximum Impact Tour in Nottingham)
A bit of a self-indulgence here. While I accept this match isn't a mat classic, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Hogan and Sting team up in person. The epitome of a crowd-pleasing main event.
9. Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim - No DQ (TNA Knocked Out)
The TNA Knocked Out DVD featured 3 matches from the Kim/Kong series of 2008. This No DQ encounter was my favourite of the three, a hard-hitting PPV encounter which used the stipulation to enhance the match.
8. Psychosis vs Super Crazy (XPW Fallout)
From the much-maligned XPW comes this rather terrific match. Admittedly, it doesn't take much booking smarts to put these two together and end up with a great result, as the the luchadors put on a great match to totally steal the show.
7. Kid Kash vs 2 Cold Scorpio (Hardcore Homecoming 2005)
Another card-stealing match. On a surprisingly good ECW reunion card, these two combined some slick mat-wrestling with some hard-hitting action. I also enjoyed the contrast of Scorp dominating in the ring, and Kash dominating outside.
6. Stixx vs Mark Haskins (SWE vs HOP Ill Manors)
Great last-man-standing main event in the Southside/House of Pain interpromotional show, which saw two of the best workers in the UK put on a war, where they cleverly worked around the size difference between the two to leave both men looking strong at the end.
5. Gregory Helms vs Matt Hardy (WWE No Mercy 2006)
From one of the great forgotten WWE PPV's of the 00's comes this terrific opener, where two longtime friends put on a clinic in their home state in a battle of the OMEGA veterans.
4. El Ligero vs Ego Dragon (SWE Menace II Society II)
If Stixx/Haskins was a war, then this...fucking Hell. The two men fought all around the Rushcliffe Arena, with chairs, ladders, tables and even the ring ropes being used as a weapon. A vital part of my favourite feud in wrestling in 2012.
3. James Storm vs Bobby Roode (TNA Bound For Glory)
TNA has been on fire this year, but one of the few things they've messed up has been the Storm/Roode feud, which has seen the Cowboy look like a chump far too often. That wasn't the case here though, a bloody, brutal, beautiful match. If they'd left it here, it'd have been just perfect.
2. Mikey Whipwreck vs Kidman (The Best of Mikey Whipwreck)
So, Mikey Whipwreck, ECW icon....had the best match on his "best of" tape in WCW. Here positioned as the roughneck bully of the Cruiserweight division, he dominates this match in a taster of what Mikey's WCW career SHOULD have been like. Kidman battles from beneath like a great underdog champ, and both men leave the match more over than when they came in. Tremendous.
1. The Predators vs Project Ego (SWE Menace II Society II)
A fantastic tag encounter between two of the best teams in the UK today. The Predators are one of the fastest rising duos in the country, with Joseph Connors specialising in the art of being an unlikable dickhead in the ring, whilst Malen is just vicious. Paired up with the slick, confident Ego team, we got a great battle where their two styles just meshed perfectly. A bit of comedy, a bit of classic tag-formula and some swank highflying lead to my match of the year. A great advert for UK wrestling.
10. James Storm, Sting & Hulk Hogan vs Kurt Angle, Bully Ray & Bobby Roode (TNA Maximum Impact Tour in Nottingham)
A bit of a self-indulgence here. While I accept this match isn't a mat classic, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Hogan and Sting team up in person. The epitome of a crowd-pleasing main event.
9. Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim - No DQ (TNA Knocked Out)
The TNA Knocked Out DVD featured 3 matches from the Kim/Kong series of 2008. This No DQ encounter was my favourite of the three, a hard-hitting PPV encounter which used the stipulation to enhance the match.
8. Psychosis vs Super Crazy (XPW Fallout)
From the much-maligned XPW comes this rather terrific match. Admittedly, it doesn't take much booking smarts to put these two together and end up with a great result, as the the luchadors put on a great match to totally steal the show.
7. Kid Kash vs 2 Cold Scorpio (Hardcore Homecoming 2005)
Another card-stealing match. On a surprisingly good ECW reunion card, these two combined some slick mat-wrestling with some hard-hitting action. I also enjoyed the contrast of Scorp dominating in the ring, and Kash dominating outside.
6. Stixx vs Mark Haskins (SWE vs HOP Ill Manors)
Great last-man-standing main event in the Southside/House of Pain interpromotional show, which saw two of the best workers in the UK put on a war, where they cleverly worked around the size difference between the two to leave both men looking strong at the end.
5. Gregory Helms vs Matt Hardy (WWE No Mercy 2006)
From one of the great forgotten WWE PPV's of the 00's comes this terrific opener, where two longtime friends put on a clinic in their home state in a battle of the OMEGA veterans.
4. El Ligero vs Ego Dragon (SWE Menace II Society II)
If Stixx/Haskins was a war, then this...fucking Hell. The two men fought all around the Rushcliffe Arena, with chairs, ladders, tables and even the ring ropes being used as a weapon. A vital part of my favourite feud in wrestling in 2012.
3. James Storm vs Bobby Roode (TNA Bound For Glory)
TNA has been on fire this year, but one of the few things they've messed up has been the Storm/Roode feud, which has seen the Cowboy look like a chump far too often. That wasn't the case here though, a bloody, brutal, beautiful match. If they'd left it here, it'd have been just perfect.
2. Mikey Whipwreck vs Kidman (The Best of Mikey Whipwreck)
So, Mikey Whipwreck, ECW icon....had the best match on his "best of" tape in WCW. Here positioned as the roughneck bully of the Cruiserweight division, he dominates this match in a taster of what Mikey's WCW career SHOULD have been like. Kidman battles from beneath like a great underdog champ, and both men leave the match more over than when they came in. Tremendous.
1. The Predators vs Project Ego (SWE Menace II Society II)
A fantastic tag encounter between two of the best teams in the UK today. The Predators are one of the fastest rising duos in the country, with Joseph Connors specialising in the art of being an unlikable dickhead in the ring, whilst Malen is just vicious. Paired up with the slick, confident Ego team, we got a great battle where their two styles just meshed perfectly. A bit of comedy, a bit of classic tag-formula and some swank highflying lead to my match of the year. A great advert for UK wrestling.
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