To see in the New Year, I decided to create a top 10 of the matches I’ve reviewed in the blog this year. Due to the fact the blog only started in September, and the fact I’m pretty useless at getting round to writing stuff up means that the pool of matches to choose from is pretty shallow, but I’m pretty happy with this final list:
10. Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari (NJPW, 2009)
Fun time-limit draw between two teams of junior heavyweights, which benefits from a fine ending sprint as both teams try to get the win before the time goes.
9. Little Guido vs Super Crazy (ECW Living Dangerously 2000)
The standout match on an otherwise average card saw two guys cram as much as they can into ten minutes. Even the Sal E Graziano interference helps the match, essentially giving both guys another item to throw themselves from.
8. Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Konnan (WCW Slamboree 1996)
Choice US title match jammed in between a poor Battlebowl tournament. Tells a nice story with Liger having to change tactics when he realises Konnan can hang with him on the mat, before falling prey to one big move.
7. Danny Boy Collins vs. Kid McCoy (Best Of Reslo Vol 1)
Ahead of it’s time junior heavyweight style match from the UK sees two guys happy to work snugly whilst exchanging some quality matwork. Collins looks especially good here.
6. Masato Tanaka & Kohei Sato vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takashi Sugiura (Zero-One Truth Century Creation 2003)
Hard-hitting interpromotional tag match sees all four guys crank it up, resulting in a 15 minute tag match that feels far shorter than that.
5. Bob Backlund vs Stan Hansen (WWE Wrestling’s Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches)
In which Bob Backlund shows how tough he is by not backing down when trapped in a cage with the clubbing Texan. Superb brawl between two greats.
4. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW 2009)
Mayhem reigns with the veteran faces clashing with the evil heels. The heels are suitably vicious in working over Tenzan, and frequent tags keep this fast-paced and very entertaining
3. Derrick Bateman vs. Byron Saxton (FCW 2010)
One of my shocks of the year, a perfectly crafted grudge match which sees a furious Bateman seeking revenge on smug heel Saxton, only for Saxton to take advantage of a lucky break and work over the head of his dazed foe. A good story well told, helped by Bateman’s glazed eye selling.
2. The Superflies (Jimmy Ocean and Ricky Knight) vs. Tony Stewart and Geraint Clewd (Best Of Reslo Vol 1)
2/3 falls tag match sees the sleazy Superflies pull out all the cheap heat tactics in the heel handbook to work over the dynamic young faces. Fantastic crowd reactions and the ‘Flies willingness to make their green, if willing, opponents look great makes this a superb tag-formula match.
1. Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson (WWE Wrestling’s Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches)
An even better Backlund tag brawl, this time fuelled by a mutual desperation to win the title from both men. Both men attack each other like feral animals and the ending sequence, where a frantic Backlund powers his way out by kicking away at Patterson’s face, is superb.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Everyday Is Like Tom Zenk: Zenk & Bagwell vs Taylor & Flamingo
Z Man & Marcus Bagwell vs Terry Taylor & Scotty Flamingo
This comes in the middle of a fued between Bagwell and the Taylor Made Man. Bagwell starts with Flamingo and looks pretty darn good, showing a fiery athleticism that was missing from the Buff Bagwell days. Taylor comes in as the veteran of the match as pointed out by JR, and plays the role of the cocky vet very well, whilst also letting Bagwell look good against him. Zenk also displays some good babyface fire when he comes in, hittng flying headscissors on both heels and busting out a springboard crossbody on Taylor which pops the crowd. Flamingo manages to make a blind tag to Taylor, who gets the advantage on Zenk from behind and starts pumping out some heeling tactics, starting by choking Zenk behind the referee's back. The heels continue to work Zenk over, cutting off the ring and drawing Bagwell in to distract the ref whilst they choke Zenk out. Zenk fires back with a neckbreaker, and makes a pretty abrupt hot tag to Bagwell. All four guys end up in the ring, allowing Zenk to hit a superkick on Taylor for the win. The match could have used another 5 minutes or so to stretch out the heat sequence on Zenk, but it was a perfectly decent wrestling match, with all four bringing a fact tempo to the match.
Zenk & Bagwell vs Taylor & Flamingo
This comes in the middle of a fued between Bagwell and the Taylor Made Man. Bagwell starts with Flamingo and looks pretty darn good, showing a fiery athleticism that was missing from the Buff Bagwell days. Taylor comes in as the veteran of the match as pointed out by JR, and plays the role of the cocky vet very well, whilst also letting Bagwell look good against him. Zenk also displays some good babyface fire when he comes in, hittng flying headscissors on both heels and busting out a springboard crossbody on Taylor which pops the crowd. Flamingo manages to make a blind tag to Taylor, who gets the advantage on Zenk from behind and starts pumping out some heeling tactics, starting by choking Zenk behind the referee's back. The heels continue to work Zenk over, cutting off the ring and drawing Bagwell in to distract the ref whilst they choke Zenk out. Zenk fires back with a neckbreaker, and makes a pretty abrupt hot tag to Bagwell. All four guys end up in the ring, allowing Zenk to hit a superkick on Taylor for the win. The match could have used another 5 minutes or so to stretch out the heat sequence on Zenk, but it was a perfectly decent wrestling match, with all four bringing a fact tempo to the match.
Zenk & Bagwell vs Taylor & Flamingo
Saturday, 4 December 2010
WWE NXT Season 4: A Preview
So I'm very impatient and decided I wanted to see what the new NXT rookies were like before the new season starts. Therefore, I used the power of youtube to check out each NXT rookie to see what they bring to the table. The result? A mixed bag...
Johnny Curtis vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger is South African and seems pretty green. With that in mind, it’s a testament to the more experienced Curtis that this match is pretty good. Curtis shows some nice aggression in the early stages, but two weak Kruger dropkicks send him outside where he gets hit by a Kruger cannonball from the apron. Kruger seems to want to try more flashy stuff (he hits a cautious looking standing rana at one point), but it’s Curtis who is giving the match structure. Curtis gets the win following a top-rope leg drop in a decent 5 minute match. Curtis looked pretty good here.
Curtis vs Kruger
Jacob Novak vs. Xavier Woods
Woods is better known as Consequences Creed in TNA. Novak is noticeably very green - nothing he does is particularly bad, but nothing is actually very interesting either. He’s like the heel Lucky Cannon. Sadly, Novak dominates most of the match in an uninteresting manner. Woods makes the comeback and wins following a leaping DDT from the top rope. I do think Novak has some potential, he kept the match structure simple and didn’t blow anything (bar an awkward moment when he ran off the ropes and stopped instead of hitting a prone Woods). But he didn’t look ready for national TV and hopefully he’ll get some more time in FCW after NXT.
Woods vs Novak
Conor O’Brian & Calvin Raines vs. Lucky Cannon & Conrad Tanner
Only O’Brian match I could find on you tube (not counting his previous days in WWE developmental as I want to keep this current). I’ve never seen quite so many awful tattoos in one sitting. It takes a while for the heel team of O’Brian and Raines to get control, but they make the most of it when they do, working over the arm of Lucky Cannon with aplomb. Both O’Brian and Raines look pretty good, I especially loved the vicious stomp on Cannon’s arm by O’Brian. Due to the short length of the match, around 7-8 minutes, the hot tag seems pretty abrupt, but at least Tanner has some babyface fire to heat up the crowd. The end comes when Raines distracts Tanner, allowing O’Brian to hit a full Nelson slam for three. If the WWE had a tag division, then I’d prefer to see Raines called up with O’Brian to make an impact there, but it looked like O’Brian should do pretty well as a singles act.
Raines & O'Brian vs Tanner & Cannon
Brodus Clay vs. Lucky Cannon
More Lucky Cannon! The sad thing is, he’s the workhorse of this match, essentially wrestling around Clay in the early going. Cannon works over the leg of Clay, which is a sensible tactic, but Clay soon takes over and we never see any leg-offence again. Abe Washington calls Clay the “Super Sexy Suplex Machine”, but Clay’s offence is pretty weak, with a nerve hold and a really crappy looking giant swing both being pretty poor. Clay’s finisher is pretty choice though, hitting a Tongan Death Grip which he holds into a choke slam, but when the best thing about your match is that Lucky Cannon looked pretty good, you’re in trouble.
Watch Lucky Cannon wrestle himself
Derrick Bateman vs. Byron Saxton
Cheating a bit here with the final two rookies together in one match. The commentary from Abe Washington and FCW champion Mason Ryan implies that Saxton did something to Bateman’s partner Johnny Curtis that was so reprehensible, even Abe can’t abide it. Bateman and Saxton both looked really good here. Bateman came out of the gates with some really fire in his offence and you could really believe he wanted revenge on Saxton. Saxton was far better than I expected, maybe not fully polished in-ring but with a heap of physical presence and charisma. He takes control with a nice move, lifting the ring skirt to swing Bateman’s head into the exposed steel ring structure from the apron, which Bateman sells really well with a glazed look for the rest of the match. Saxton then concentrates his offence on the head and neck. Bateman makes an explosive comeback with a big lariant and a choice legsweep into the turnbuckles, but Saxton wins with a move called the Recommendation, like a full Nelson into a Side Effect. Genuinely good match from these two, with a story that made sense.
Bateman vs Saxton
Johnny Curtis vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger is South African and seems pretty green. With that in mind, it’s a testament to the more experienced Curtis that this match is pretty good. Curtis shows some nice aggression in the early stages, but two weak Kruger dropkicks send him outside where he gets hit by a Kruger cannonball from the apron. Kruger seems to want to try more flashy stuff (he hits a cautious looking standing rana at one point), but it’s Curtis who is giving the match structure. Curtis gets the win following a top-rope leg drop in a decent 5 minute match. Curtis looked pretty good here.
Curtis vs Kruger
Jacob Novak vs. Xavier Woods
Woods is better known as Consequences Creed in TNA. Novak is noticeably very green - nothing he does is particularly bad, but nothing is actually very interesting either. He’s like the heel Lucky Cannon. Sadly, Novak dominates most of the match in an uninteresting manner. Woods makes the comeback and wins following a leaping DDT from the top rope. I do think Novak has some potential, he kept the match structure simple and didn’t blow anything (bar an awkward moment when he ran off the ropes and stopped instead of hitting a prone Woods). But he didn’t look ready for national TV and hopefully he’ll get some more time in FCW after NXT.
Woods vs Novak
Conor O’Brian & Calvin Raines vs. Lucky Cannon & Conrad Tanner
Only O’Brian match I could find on you tube (not counting his previous days in WWE developmental as I want to keep this current). I’ve never seen quite so many awful tattoos in one sitting. It takes a while for the heel team of O’Brian and Raines to get control, but they make the most of it when they do, working over the arm of Lucky Cannon with aplomb. Both O’Brian and Raines look pretty good, I especially loved the vicious stomp on Cannon’s arm by O’Brian. Due to the short length of the match, around 7-8 minutes, the hot tag seems pretty abrupt, but at least Tanner has some babyface fire to heat up the crowd. The end comes when Raines distracts Tanner, allowing O’Brian to hit a full Nelson slam for three. If the WWE had a tag division, then I’d prefer to see Raines called up with O’Brian to make an impact there, but it looked like O’Brian should do pretty well as a singles act.
Raines & O'Brian vs Tanner & Cannon
Brodus Clay vs. Lucky Cannon
More Lucky Cannon! The sad thing is, he’s the workhorse of this match, essentially wrestling around Clay in the early going. Cannon works over the leg of Clay, which is a sensible tactic, but Clay soon takes over and we never see any leg-offence again. Abe Washington calls Clay the “Super Sexy Suplex Machine”, but Clay’s offence is pretty weak, with a nerve hold and a really crappy looking giant swing both being pretty poor. Clay’s finisher is pretty choice though, hitting a Tongan Death Grip which he holds into a choke slam, but when the best thing about your match is that Lucky Cannon looked pretty good, you’re in trouble.
Watch Lucky Cannon wrestle himself
Derrick Bateman vs. Byron Saxton
Cheating a bit here with the final two rookies together in one match. The commentary from Abe Washington and FCW champion Mason Ryan implies that Saxton did something to Bateman’s partner Johnny Curtis that was so reprehensible, even Abe can’t abide it. Bateman and Saxton both looked really good here. Bateman came out of the gates with some really fire in his offence and you could really believe he wanted revenge on Saxton. Saxton was far better than I expected, maybe not fully polished in-ring but with a heap of physical presence and charisma. He takes control with a nice move, lifting the ring skirt to swing Bateman’s head into the exposed steel ring structure from the apron, which Bateman sells really well with a glazed look for the rest of the match. Saxton then concentrates his offence on the head and neck. Bateman makes an explosive comeback with a big lariant and a choice legsweep into the turnbuckles, but Saxton wins with a move called the Recommendation, like a full Nelson into a Side Effect. Genuinely good match from these two, with a story that made sense.
Bateman vs Saxton
Thursday, 2 December 2010
WCW Slamboree 1996
WCW was my favourite wrestling company of all-time. The first wrestling I ever got to see was 1992 WCW on ITV every Saturday, and I loved that stuff. Therefore, I thought it time to revisit my favourite company in the days just before the NWO showed up.
Hawk & Lex Luger vs Animal & Booker T
I'm going to count off examples of the booking making a mockery of the "random draw" claim. Here is number one, as the Road Warriors end up on opposite teams. However, at least the fans will finally get to see the Roadies square off, right? Luger and Animal start off by working a reasonable power match, where at least Luger seems motivated. Booker continues the work on Luger, including a swank spot where he turns a missed elbow into a spinneroonie into a roundhouse kick for two. It breaks down into a melee when Luger stupidly shoves Hawk for saving him from being pinned and all four brawl outside and get counted out. The LOD never exchanged one blow to the disappointment off all. Stupid booking.
The Public Enemy vs Kevin Sullivan & Chris Benoit
Mockeries two and three see a regular tagteam facing two guys who don't like each other. This actually turns out pretty good, the opening exchange between Benoit and Rock is fun, as Rock clearly doesn't mind Benoit getting stiff with him on a huge powerbomb. The fight goes to the floor and Dusty gets very happy when the plundah! is brought out. Sullivan LEATHERS Rock with a hard plastic chair, but TPE get the win when both members plummet through Chris Benoit who is prostate on a table. Brief but fun
Sgt Craig Pittman & Scott Steiner vs the Booty Man & Rick Steiner
Here is mockery four. Pittman guides Booty Man through a passable mat sequence before planting him with a huge belly-to-back suplex. The crowd really want to see the Steiners fight and, despite Scott's hesitation, they get their wish. The Steiners go through a fun exhibition in the ring, until Scott lures Rick in by feigning injury and rolls him up for two. They then exchange a series of suplexes before both tagging out. Pittman locks the Code Red on Booty Man, but Leslie manages to tag in Rick who hits a German Suplex for 3. The three decent workers didn't let Booty Man stink this one up too much, so it was pretty fun, especially the Steiners sequence.
The Bluebloods vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan & VK Wallstreet
Herein lies mockery five. They at least try to explain this, by pointing out that Regal was scheduled to team with Finlay until the Bloods took him out, but considering that Regal was feuding with Finlay, it still ranks on the mockery list. This match is far too short to be any good, but Regal still manages to bring some goods- backed into a corner by Duggan, he hooks Hacksaw's ankle with his foot, thus preventing a clean break and allowing him to paste Duggan when the ref tries to intervene. Duggan and Wallstreet don't coexist at all, making it even worse when Duggan uses an illegally taped fist to pin Taylor and make the Bloods look like idiots.
Dick Slater & The Earl Of Eaton vs Alex Wright & Disco Inferno
This is pre-Boogie Knights, so doesn't qualify as a mockery. Again, too brief to really comment on, though Wright has some nice spunky babyface offence. Slater nails a dancing Disco with his boot while the ref is distracted to get the win
DDP & the Barbarian vs Meng & Hugh Morrus
The Faces Of Fear on opposing teams in this match makes this mockery six. Morrus misses a plancha right off the bat, hitting the floor with a satisfying thud. The Meng/Barbarian segments are the ones you'd anticipate most and are every bit as awesome as you'd hope, and the rest of the match is pretty fun as well. Barbarian throws Morrus across the ring from the top rope, while Morrus hits the best moonsault I ever saw from him. The ending is a bit poor, as we get a double-pin with only Barbarian's counting due to DDP making the ropes, but the match as a whole is fine
Big Bubba & Stevie Ray vs Fire & Ice
Mockery seven. Very, very short, but it's a a perfectly serviceable powermatch while it's on. Train and Stevie Ray aren't good workers, but getting four big guys in the ring to hit power spots for 3 minutes with no resting is a fine way to kill time. Fire & Ice advance
Eddie Guerrero & Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair & Randy Savage
As a straight tag match, this would be unholy good. Sadly, it’s mockery number eight that sees Flair teaming up with hated rival Savage, while Flair’s best friend is half of the other team. The end result is that this is a bit of a mess, with Flair attacking his own partner, Guerrero feeling bad for Savage, then Arn turning on Guerrero with a DDT to allow Flair the win. There are some choice moments in the match: Flair tags Macho in after assaulting him, then grabs Eddie’s hand to make him tag in Arn who decimates Savage which is fun, while Eddie gets a huge pop for giving Flair a poke to the eyes.
Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong
The first time that the Cruiserweight title was defended on WCW pay-per-view. Essentially a bit of a squash here, which is a shame given the talent on display. After a fun opening exchange, Malenko offers Armstrong a test of strength, only to dropkick his knee when approaching for lock-up. Malenko then spends the bulk of the match working over BA’s leg and, though Armstrong gets a small comeback at the end, Malenko makes quick work of him with a toprope gutbuster. The match is pretty short and, much as I hate to say it, a bit dull
Dick Slater & The Earl Of Eaton vs. VK Wall street & Jim Duggan
Yep, there’s a second round of tournament matches before we can get to the battle royale. This match starts with partners Duggan and Wallstreet brawling before joining forces to defend themselves when the opposition attack. However, this leaves the face/heel dynamic out of sorts, meaning that a hot-tag to Wallstreet gets no reaction, which doesn’t enhance a match that already feels like it’s going nowhere. Some more miscommunication leads to Duggan punching his partner into an Eaton rollup for 3.
The Public Enemy vs. Ric Flair & Randy Savage
Match never gets started and is more angle advancement than anything else: Liz accompanies Flair to the ring, throwing Savage’s money into the crowd. This prompts the Macho Man to come out and attack Flair before security break them up. The crowd loved this more than any other second round match.
Diamond Dallas Page & the Barbarian vs. Booty Man & Rick Steiner
DDP flexes in front of the Booty Babe before the match starts, but takes a neato bump to the floor from a Booty Man attack. This is the best second round match, but only by default as at least the face/heel divide was clear. Steiner plays face-in-peril following a decent minute of action with the Barbarian, but the match still feels far longer than it is. Booty Man hits the High Knee on Barbarian following the hot-tag, but Page drops an elbow to the back of his head to get the win for his team.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Konnan
This is a US title match. Liger is accompanied by Sonny Ono and is wearing black, so you know he’s evil. They work a quick mat sequence, which ends in what we now know as the “Indy applause stance”, before exchanging holds again on the mat. The mat sequence is pretty smooth and has some nice little features, including Konnan using the old Regal trick of grinding a forearm into Liger’s face during an STF. As the mat sequence is pretty even, Liger changes his tactics, winning a striking battle with palm thrusts and a rolling Koppo kick. This leads to Liger concentrating more on high-impact offence to work over Konnan. A Fisherman Buster gets two, and is swiftly followed by a Ligerbomb for two. However, Liger makes the mistake of abandoning a successful tactic and gets catches only boot when trying a top rope move, allowing Konnan to hit Splash Mountain for the win. Best match of the show thus far, a solid 10 minute match which told a decent story and allowed a change of pace from the rest of the show.
Battlebowl Final: Scott Norton vs. Ice Train vs. Dick Slater vs. The Earl Of Eaton vs. Rocko Rock vs. Johnny Grunge vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Barbarian
Not the guys you would have picked from the opening list of competitors. There are a lot of big guys in there, which helps the eventual winner look pretty impressive, though it also means that, due to a lack of space, we get guys casually walking round hitting each other and little else. We end up with a final four of DDP, Train, Barbarian and Grunge after a few quickfire eliminations. DDP hits Diamond Cutters on all three and, moments after Dusty yells how he’s now got to throw them over the top rope, pins Grunge and Train to eliminate them, before Barbie kicks out. Page and Barbarian actually have a nice little finishing spot, including DDP getting to kick out of a huge powerbomb, before another Diamond Cutter gets the win. Weak match which is saved by a solid ending which gave DDP a good deal more credibility.
Sting vs. The Giant
The main event and Giant’s first title defence, and Sting had brought Lex Luger out to be chained to Jimmy Hart to prevent interference. The match had a lot of potential: Sting had proven he could be an effective underdog against a larger heel during his Vader series, while Giant was improving all the time. Indeed, the opening part is pretty good, Sting using speed to try and take down the Giant (including a crossbody attempt where he just pings off the future Big Show), but tries a body slam too early which allows the Giant to take over. Giant’s offence is still pretty basic, but Sting puts it over like death, including some frantic thrashing during a body scissors. However, the second half of the match is marred by interference from both Luger and Hart, as well as some logic issues from Sting (why would he chose to Stinger splash a precariously balanced Jimmy Hart instead of trying to finish off the massive Giant?). Luger and Hart struggle over the megaphone which results in it hitting Sting in the head, making him easy pickings for a choke slam for the Giant’s win. The match was going well until the final 5 minutes, but it’s too short to be a satisfying main event.
Hawk & Lex Luger vs Animal & Booker T
I'm going to count off examples of the booking making a mockery of the "random draw" claim. Here is number one, as the Road Warriors end up on opposite teams. However, at least the fans will finally get to see the Roadies square off, right? Luger and Animal start off by working a reasonable power match, where at least Luger seems motivated. Booker continues the work on Luger, including a swank spot where he turns a missed elbow into a spinneroonie into a roundhouse kick for two. It breaks down into a melee when Luger stupidly shoves Hawk for saving him from being pinned and all four brawl outside and get counted out. The LOD never exchanged one blow to the disappointment off all. Stupid booking.
The Public Enemy vs Kevin Sullivan & Chris Benoit
Mockeries two and three see a regular tagteam facing two guys who don't like each other. This actually turns out pretty good, the opening exchange between Benoit and Rock is fun, as Rock clearly doesn't mind Benoit getting stiff with him on a huge powerbomb. The fight goes to the floor and Dusty gets very happy when the plundah! is brought out. Sullivan LEATHERS Rock with a hard plastic chair, but TPE get the win when both members plummet through Chris Benoit who is prostate on a table. Brief but fun
Sgt Craig Pittman & Scott Steiner vs the Booty Man & Rick Steiner
Here is mockery four. Pittman guides Booty Man through a passable mat sequence before planting him with a huge belly-to-back suplex. The crowd really want to see the Steiners fight and, despite Scott's hesitation, they get their wish. The Steiners go through a fun exhibition in the ring, until Scott lures Rick in by feigning injury and rolls him up for two. They then exchange a series of suplexes before both tagging out. Pittman locks the Code Red on Booty Man, but Leslie manages to tag in Rick who hits a German Suplex for 3. The three decent workers didn't let Booty Man stink this one up too much, so it was pretty fun, especially the Steiners sequence.
The Bluebloods vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan & VK Wallstreet
Herein lies mockery five. They at least try to explain this, by pointing out that Regal was scheduled to team with Finlay until the Bloods took him out, but considering that Regal was feuding with Finlay, it still ranks on the mockery list. This match is far too short to be any good, but Regal still manages to bring some goods- backed into a corner by Duggan, he hooks Hacksaw's ankle with his foot, thus preventing a clean break and allowing him to paste Duggan when the ref tries to intervene. Duggan and Wallstreet don't coexist at all, making it even worse when Duggan uses an illegally taped fist to pin Taylor and make the Bloods look like idiots.
Dick Slater & The Earl Of Eaton vs Alex Wright & Disco Inferno
This is pre-Boogie Knights, so doesn't qualify as a mockery. Again, too brief to really comment on, though Wright has some nice spunky babyface offence. Slater nails a dancing Disco with his boot while the ref is distracted to get the win
DDP & the Barbarian vs Meng & Hugh Morrus
The Faces Of Fear on opposing teams in this match makes this mockery six. Morrus misses a plancha right off the bat, hitting the floor with a satisfying thud. The Meng/Barbarian segments are the ones you'd anticipate most and are every bit as awesome as you'd hope, and the rest of the match is pretty fun as well. Barbarian throws Morrus across the ring from the top rope, while Morrus hits the best moonsault I ever saw from him. The ending is a bit poor, as we get a double-pin with only Barbarian's counting due to DDP making the ropes, but the match as a whole is fine
Big Bubba & Stevie Ray vs Fire & Ice
Mockery seven. Very, very short, but it's a a perfectly serviceable powermatch while it's on. Train and Stevie Ray aren't good workers, but getting four big guys in the ring to hit power spots for 3 minutes with no resting is a fine way to kill time. Fire & Ice advance
Eddie Guerrero & Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair & Randy Savage
As a straight tag match, this would be unholy good. Sadly, it’s mockery number eight that sees Flair teaming up with hated rival Savage, while Flair’s best friend is half of the other team. The end result is that this is a bit of a mess, with Flair attacking his own partner, Guerrero feeling bad for Savage, then Arn turning on Guerrero with a DDT to allow Flair the win. There are some choice moments in the match: Flair tags Macho in after assaulting him, then grabs Eddie’s hand to make him tag in Arn who decimates Savage which is fun, while Eddie gets a huge pop for giving Flair a poke to the eyes.
Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong
The first time that the Cruiserweight title was defended on WCW pay-per-view. Essentially a bit of a squash here, which is a shame given the talent on display. After a fun opening exchange, Malenko offers Armstrong a test of strength, only to dropkick his knee when approaching for lock-up. Malenko then spends the bulk of the match working over BA’s leg and, though Armstrong gets a small comeback at the end, Malenko makes quick work of him with a toprope gutbuster. The match is pretty short and, much as I hate to say it, a bit dull
Dick Slater & The Earl Of Eaton vs. VK Wall street & Jim Duggan
Yep, there’s a second round of tournament matches before we can get to the battle royale. This match starts with partners Duggan and Wallstreet brawling before joining forces to defend themselves when the opposition attack. However, this leaves the face/heel dynamic out of sorts, meaning that a hot-tag to Wallstreet gets no reaction, which doesn’t enhance a match that already feels like it’s going nowhere. Some more miscommunication leads to Duggan punching his partner into an Eaton rollup for 3.
The Public Enemy vs. Ric Flair & Randy Savage
Match never gets started and is more angle advancement than anything else: Liz accompanies Flair to the ring, throwing Savage’s money into the crowd. This prompts the Macho Man to come out and attack Flair before security break them up. The crowd loved this more than any other second round match.
Diamond Dallas Page & the Barbarian vs. Booty Man & Rick Steiner
DDP flexes in front of the Booty Babe before the match starts, but takes a neato bump to the floor from a Booty Man attack. This is the best second round match, but only by default as at least the face/heel divide was clear. Steiner plays face-in-peril following a decent minute of action with the Barbarian, but the match still feels far longer than it is. Booty Man hits the High Knee on Barbarian following the hot-tag, but Page drops an elbow to the back of his head to get the win for his team.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Konnan
This is a US title match. Liger is accompanied by Sonny Ono and is wearing black, so you know he’s evil. They work a quick mat sequence, which ends in what we now know as the “Indy applause stance”, before exchanging holds again on the mat. The mat sequence is pretty smooth and has some nice little features, including Konnan using the old Regal trick of grinding a forearm into Liger’s face during an STF. As the mat sequence is pretty even, Liger changes his tactics, winning a striking battle with palm thrusts and a rolling Koppo kick. This leads to Liger concentrating more on high-impact offence to work over Konnan. A Fisherman Buster gets two, and is swiftly followed by a Ligerbomb for two. However, Liger makes the mistake of abandoning a successful tactic and gets catches only boot when trying a top rope move, allowing Konnan to hit Splash Mountain for the win. Best match of the show thus far, a solid 10 minute match which told a decent story and allowed a change of pace from the rest of the show.
Battlebowl Final: Scott Norton vs. Ice Train vs. Dick Slater vs. The Earl Of Eaton vs. Rocko Rock vs. Johnny Grunge vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Barbarian
Not the guys you would have picked from the opening list of competitors. There are a lot of big guys in there, which helps the eventual winner look pretty impressive, though it also means that, due to a lack of space, we get guys casually walking round hitting each other and little else. We end up with a final four of DDP, Train, Barbarian and Grunge after a few quickfire eliminations. DDP hits Diamond Cutters on all three and, moments after Dusty yells how he’s now got to throw them over the top rope, pins Grunge and Train to eliminate them, before Barbie kicks out. Page and Barbarian actually have a nice little finishing spot, including DDP getting to kick out of a huge powerbomb, before another Diamond Cutter gets the win. Weak match which is saved by a solid ending which gave DDP a good deal more credibility.
Sting vs. The Giant
The main event and Giant’s first title defence, and Sting had brought Lex Luger out to be chained to Jimmy Hart to prevent interference. The match had a lot of potential: Sting had proven he could be an effective underdog against a larger heel during his Vader series, while Giant was improving all the time. Indeed, the opening part is pretty good, Sting using speed to try and take down the Giant (including a crossbody attempt where he just pings off the future Big Show), but tries a body slam too early which allows the Giant to take over. Giant’s offence is still pretty basic, but Sting puts it over like death, including some frantic thrashing during a body scissors. However, the second half of the match is marred by interference from both Luger and Hart, as well as some logic issues from Sting (why would he chose to Stinger splash a precariously balanced Jimmy Hart instead of trying to finish off the massive Giant?). Luger and Hart struggle over the megaphone which results in it hitting Sting in the head, making him easy pickings for a choke slam for the Giant’s win. The match was going well until the final 5 minutes, but it’s too short to be a satisfying main event.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Best Of Reslo: Volume 1
Another fantastic purchase from IVP Videos, this time a compilation of the awesome Reslo show that used to air on S4C in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Hosted by the ever-so suave Bryn Fon and Welsh wrestling legend Orig Williams, the Reslo broadcast would generally show two matches and featured a style of wrestling that is distinctly European, focusing on matwork and wrestler schtick to entertain the crowd. As a half-Welshman, I felt it was my patriotic duty to dive straight in...
Johnny South vs. Frank Lopez
First thing to notice is how much of the audience is made up of kids, which is great because all these kids are clearly into the matches. They react to everything, which really helps a match like this shine. As matches go, it’s pretty basic, but both guys do things purely designed to get the crowd reacting- Lopez, the face, chants and claps to rally the kids behind him, South begs off and pleads with the kids to be quiet. The result is that the whole match entertains without being that good. The ending confuses, South has control over Lopez, but then elects to whip him with a chain, drawing the DQ win for Lopez.
Robbie Brookside vs. Lee Thomas
Brookside is a wrestler I’m very familiar with, having seen him live in 2004 dragging a decent match out of Darren Walsh at an All Star show in Leamington. Brookside is again awesome here, and this match is far more fast-paced than the last, for sure. Brookside takes control of the match early doors and works in quite a few spots where he outsmarts Thomas, much to the delight of the child audience. Thomas looks like the love-child of Bobby Eaton and Chris Candido, and, while not up to the high standard of either, he does keep up pretty well with Brookside. Brookside hits a nasty looking backdrop suplex, then hits a springboard suplex for the win.
Franz Schuman vs. Salvatore Bellomo
This is from the CWA promotion in Austria, and works under a round system. To be honest, this is a really dull match. Bellomo brings nothing to the table except some chokes and tedious brawling, while Schuman may have the right look (imagine a third Young Stallion) but none of the in-ring chops to back it up. Schuman rolls through a crossbody for the win.
Giant Haystacks vs. Pat Roach
Another match fought under a round system, this time best 2 out of 3 falls. Here we get 2 legends of UK wrestling, with Roach being the only person bar Harrison Ford to appear in the original Indiana Jones trilogy. Sadly, the match is awful. Haystacks dominates most of the match, and his moveset is based entirely on restholds, be it chinlock or nerve hold, and Roach doesn’t help by making his first offensive move a bear hug. Haystacks wins the first fall with a sleeper, before Roach FINALLY fires into life with a series of running shoulder blocks to win the second fall. Roach continues where he left off for the final fall, but collides with the ref, allowing Haystacks to hit an elbowdrop for the win.
Dave Taylor vs. Drew MacDonald
Not just Dave Taylor, but “Dancing” Dave Taylor! So unusual to see the future Squire Dave as a happy, smiling babyface, but it actually works, with Taylor showing some great babyface fire. MacDonald dominates the early stages and, like Haystacks, uses a nerve hold to down Taylor. However, unlike Haystacks, MacDonald really works the hold, grinding a forearm into Taylor’s face at the same time. Taylor makes a neat face comeback, using moves like a flying forearm and a splash which are more likely to pop the crowd. He also still has a ridiculously good European uppercut. Dancing Dave gets the win with an anticlimactic suplex, but this is the best match on the disc so far.
Danny Boy Collins vs. Kid McCoy
Until now, that is. This is a fine junior heavyweight match between two guys who seemingly have no problems getting a little stiff with each other. Collins impresses more initially, with a nice snap to everything he does, including a swish floatover butterfly suplex. McCoy seems to take a bit longer to warm up, but soon gets into his stride until he’s confidently working Mexican surfboard reversals with the seemingly more-experienced Collins. For an early 90’s match in the UK, it seems very ahead of it’s time, and it’s a shame when it finishes with a time limit draw, could happily have watched more of this.
The Superflies (Jimmy Ocean and Ricky Knight) vs. Tony Stewart and Geraint Clewd
You only have to look at the Superflies to know they’re heels: with bleached blond mullets and garish multicoloured tights, they ooze scummy heat. Stewart and Clewd seem much younger and less experienced, but have a great babyface energy and swiftly win the first fall with a Clewd rollup on Ocean. The ‘Flies pull out all the stops from the “Heel Tagteam” playbook, with tag-rope chokes and ref distractions a-plenty. A handful of salt to the face of Stewart evens the score to 1-1. A pin in the corner with feet on ropes almost earns the Superflies the win before the ref spots it, before allowing the young faces a chance to make their comeback. At this point, the Superflies turn into stooges of the highest order, frantically grabbing the ropes to avoid submission holds and each taking huge bumps to the outside from face offence. Clewd and Stewart more than hold up their end of the bargain, and pick up the win when Ocean accidentally hits Knight with some barricade meant for Clewd, allowing the face to pin Ocean following a sunset flip. Good tag action made more enjoyable by the efforts of the heel team.
Kensuke Sasaki and Klaus Kauroff vs. Eddie Steinblock and Hercules Boyd
Back to Austria we got for this largely pointless tag match, again best 2 out of 3 falls. Boyd overpowers Sasaki to start before Steinblock gets the first fall for his team with a power slam. Orig namedrops Antonio Inoki while Sasaki is in the ring, though I can’t tell you what he said due to the fact I don’t speak much Welsh. Boyd and Steinblock continue to out power Sasaki, before Boyd pins Kauroff following a hiptoss. Too short and a not particularly fun squash.
Johnny Saint vs. Barry Douglas
Johnny Saint was one of my main lures behind buying the DVD, as he specialises in the fluid, clever and above-all, fun matwork that the UK scene was known for. Saint comes to the ring to Reslo’s rather excellent theme tune, which is another reason to like him. The overall feel of the mtch is that Saint is letting Douglas get him in holds just so he can try and work out some elaborate way of escaping, which he does time and again. The highlight of this is a swank escape from a headscissors into a Boston crab. Saint is always one step ahead of Douglas, and the end comes as Saint outmanoeuvres and confuses Douglas, allowing him to get a roll-up for 3. A good, fun exhibition of a style that is becoming a lost art.
There is a ladies match from the US next featuring Heidi Lee Morgan and another, unknown, wrestler, but it isn’t much cop and is pretty short, so I’ll move on to the last match, which is...
Col Brody vs. Boston Blackie
Brody looks like your stereotypical 1940’s military man, down to his thick moustache which Blackie threatens and pulls on to the delight of the crowd. Brody does a great job of keeping the crowd into the match, bumping huge for Blackie (including a big spill to the outside) and always allowing Blackie to stay one step ahead of him. A missed knee drop allows the Colonel to work over Blackie’s knee, including a pair of snapmares which send Blackie knee first into the ropes; After Blackie misses a top rope splash, Brody wins by ramming him chest first into an exposed turnbuckle and hitting a fireman’s carry roll for the three. Fun match made all the more enjoyable due to Brody’s antics and selling, and a good way to end an unique and entertaining collection.
Johnny South vs. Frank Lopez
First thing to notice is how much of the audience is made up of kids, which is great because all these kids are clearly into the matches. They react to everything, which really helps a match like this shine. As matches go, it’s pretty basic, but both guys do things purely designed to get the crowd reacting- Lopez, the face, chants and claps to rally the kids behind him, South begs off and pleads with the kids to be quiet. The result is that the whole match entertains without being that good. The ending confuses, South has control over Lopez, but then elects to whip him with a chain, drawing the DQ win for Lopez.
Robbie Brookside vs. Lee Thomas
Brookside is a wrestler I’m very familiar with, having seen him live in 2004 dragging a decent match out of Darren Walsh at an All Star show in Leamington. Brookside is again awesome here, and this match is far more fast-paced than the last, for sure. Brookside takes control of the match early doors and works in quite a few spots where he outsmarts Thomas, much to the delight of the child audience. Thomas looks like the love-child of Bobby Eaton and Chris Candido, and, while not up to the high standard of either, he does keep up pretty well with Brookside. Brookside hits a nasty looking backdrop suplex, then hits a springboard suplex for the win.
Franz Schuman vs. Salvatore Bellomo
This is from the CWA promotion in Austria, and works under a round system. To be honest, this is a really dull match. Bellomo brings nothing to the table except some chokes and tedious brawling, while Schuman may have the right look (imagine a third Young Stallion) but none of the in-ring chops to back it up. Schuman rolls through a crossbody for the win.
Giant Haystacks vs. Pat Roach
Another match fought under a round system, this time best 2 out of 3 falls. Here we get 2 legends of UK wrestling, with Roach being the only person bar Harrison Ford to appear in the original Indiana Jones trilogy. Sadly, the match is awful. Haystacks dominates most of the match, and his moveset is based entirely on restholds, be it chinlock or nerve hold, and Roach doesn’t help by making his first offensive move a bear hug. Haystacks wins the first fall with a sleeper, before Roach FINALLY fires into life with a series of running shoulder blocks to win the second fall. Roach continues where he left off for the final fall, but collides with the ref, allowing Haystacks to hit an elbowdrop for the win.
Dave Taylor vs. Drew MacDonald
Not just Dave Taylor, but “Dancing” Dave Taylor! So unusual to see the future Squire Dave as a happy, smiling babyface, but it actually works, with Taylor showing some great babyface fire. MacDonald dominates the early stages and, like Haystacks, uses a nerve hold to down Taylor. However, unlike Haystacks, MacDonald really works the hold, grinding a forearm into Taylor’s face at the same time. Taylor makes a neat face comeback, using moves like a flying forearm and a splash which are more likely to pop the crowd. He also still has a ridiculously good European uppercut. Dancing Dave gets the win with an anticlimactic suplex, but this is the best match on the disc so far.
Danny Boy Collins vs. Kid McCoy
Until now, that is. This is a fine junior heavyweight match between two guys who seemingly have no problems getting a little stiff with each other. Collins impresses more initially, with a nice snap to everything he does, including a swish floatover butterfly suplex. McCoy seems to take a bit longer to warm up, but soon gets into his stride until he’s confidently working Mexican surfboard reversals with the seemingly more-experienced Collins. For an early 90’s match in the UK, it seems very ahead of it’s time, and it’s a shame when it finishes with a time limit draw, could happily have watched more of this.
The Superflies (Jimmy Ocean and Ricky Knight) vs. Tony Stewart and Geraint Clewd
You only have to look at the Superflies to know they’re heels: with bleached blond mullets and garish multicoloured tights, they ooze scummy heat. Stewart and Clewd seem much younger and less experienced, but have a great babyface energy and swiftly win the first fall with a Clewd rollup on Ocean. The ‘Flies pull out all the stops from the “Heel Tagteam” playbook, with tag-rope chokes and ref distractions a-plenty. A handful of salt to the face of Stewart evens the score to 1-1. A pin in the corner with feet on ropes almost earns the Superflies the win before the ref spots it, before allowing the young faces a chance to make their comeback. At this point, the Superflies turn into stooges of the highest order, frantically grabbing the ropes to avoid submission holds and each taking huge bumps to the outside from face offence. Clewd and Stewart more than hold up their end of the bargain, and pick up the win when Ocean accidentally hits Knight with some barricade meant for Clewd, allowing the face to pin Ocean following a sunset flip. Good tag action made more enjoyable by the efforts of the heel team.
Kensuke Sasaki and Klaus Kauroff vs. Eddie Steinblock and Hercules Boyd
Back to Austria we got for this largely pointless tag match, again best 2 out of 3 falls. Boyd overpowers Sasaki to start before Steinblock gets the first fall for his team with a power slam. Orig namedrops Antonio Inoki while Sasaki is in the ring, though I can’t tell you what he said due to the fact I don’t speak much Welsh. Boyd and Steinblock continue to out power Sasaki, before Boyd pins Kauroff following a hiptoss. Too short and a not particularly fun squash.
Johnny Saint vs. Barry Douglas
Johnny Saint was one of my main lures behind buying the DVD, as he specialises in the fluid, clever and above-all, fun matwork that the UK scene was known for. Saint comes to the ring to Reslo’s rather excellent theme tune, which is another reason to like him. The overall feel of the mtch is that Saint is letting Douglas get him in holds just so he can try and work out some elaborate way of escaping, which he does time and again. The highlight of this is a swank escape from a headscissors into a Boston crab. Saint is always one step ahead of Douglas, and the end comes as Saint outmanoeuvres and confuses Douglas, allowing him to get a roll-up for 3. A good, fun exhibition of a style that is becoming a lost art.
There is a ladies match from the US next featuring Heidi Lee Morgan and another, unknown, wrestler, but it isn’t much cop and is pretty short, so I’ll move on to the last match, which is...
Col Brody vs. Boston Blackie
Brody looks like your stereotypical 1940’s military man, down to his thick moustache which Blackie threatens and pulls on to the delight of the crowd. Brody does a great job of keeping the crowd into the match, bumping huge for Blackie (including a big spill to the outside) and always allowing Blackie to stay one step ahead of him. A missed knee drop allows the Colonel to work over Blackie’s knee, including a pair of snapmares which send Blackie knee first into the ropes; After Blackie misses a top rope splash, Brody wins by ramming him chest first into an exposed turnbuckle and hitting a fireman’s carry roll for the three. Fun match made all the more enjoyable due to Brody’s antics and selling, and a good way to end an unique and entertaining collection.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
NJPW TV 07/01/2009
As part of my mission to improve my Puro knowledge, I've been investing in some DVD's from IVP Videos to get a better view of the Puro scene. I'm starting to work my way through NJPW's 2009 so here's the first show of the year.
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari
Aside from Yujiro and Naito’s brief TNA spell, I’m not at all familiar with any of the guys in the ring. It’s a solid little tag match, which opens nicely with Naito and Milano trying to work each other over on the mat, only for Ishikara and Yujiro to do the same with a little more stiffness. There is a nice early spot with Ishikari kicking Yujiro off the apron, then using Naito’s own limbs to tangle him up in the ropes. Milano and Ishikari have the early advantage and work in some nice double team manoeuvres to stretch Yujiro. After a brief flurry of offence from Team No Limit, Milano manages to capture both opponents in a two-man single-leg crab, which is just the right side of goofy for me to enjoy. Milano has a habit of tying his opponents up in knots, which is pretty cool. Naito fires back with a huge flying forearm, getting great air, before nailing a crisp moonsault for 2. The ending sprint sees all four men in the ring desperately trying to finish each other off, only for the bell to signal a time limit draw. A fun opener, I was particularly impressed with the team of Milano and Ishikari, who had nice chemistry and really cool snug offence.
Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru & Nobuo Yoshihari
This is essentially a competitive squash match, as Kanemoto and Taguchi take it in turns to beat up the rookie Yoshihari, especially Kanemoto, who reaches high levels of dickishness here, including a brutal face wash in the corner. After an extended heat session, Minoru finally gets the hot tag and works a far more competitive exchange with Kanemoto, leading to a nifty submission reversal sequence, which ends with Yoshihari saving Minoru from a heel hook. Minoru’s selling leaves a little to be desired -he seems to hit moves normally, before remembering afterwards that his ankel is supposed to hurt. Kanemoto takes Minoru out on the outside, allowing Taguchi to hit a cross-arm breaker on Yoshihari for the tap out. An entertaining squash made by Kanemoto’s nasty offence and wanker behaviour.
Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & Kazuchika Okada vs. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
Super enjoyable sixman, with the larger Nakanishi being the wildcard here, who barely sells some Gedo chops before levelling him with one of his own. Okada, who is currently with TNA in an attempt to get some seasoning, has a load of fun, spunky face offence, but gets caught by a rookie mistake, and the heels take full advantage, neatly cutting off the ring while beating him down. Okada makes the hot tag following a crossbody on two men, and Nakanishi is a house of fire with some nice power offence, before Tiger Mask is equally effective, this time with some fun high flying moves, culminating with a suicide dive to the outside. Okada and even Nakanishi both follow with dives of their own. Back in the ring, Tiger Mask plants Gedo with a tombstone and a standing moonsault for the win. Short, simple and effective.
15 Man Battle Royal KOSHIGAYA: Tetsuya Naito, Yujiro, Milano Collection A.T., Taichi Ishikari, Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Minoru, Nobuo Yoshihashi, Tiger Mask, Kazuchika Okada, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo & Kuniyoshi Wada.
Just a fun little battle royal that features all the previous guys, plus Wada. Nothing amazing, but features some fun spots, including Minoru trying to double-cross Yoshihashi, only for the double cross to backfire. There is a comedy spot featuring Jado’s tights falling down, but the ending is really a showcase for Makanishi, who hits a double suplex on Jado and Ishii, before putting Jado in a torture rack for the win.
Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa
This is very much a veteran vs. rookie match, with Nagata enjoying an early dominance on the mat. As the match progresses, Nagata continues to enjoy the majority of the offence, with Hirasawa having to settle for the occasional hope spot. Nagata does miss a yakuza kick in the corner, which allows Hirasawa to enjoy his main spot of dominance, hitting a belly-to-back suplex and locking Nagata in a crossface, which Nagata counters out of fairly easily. Hirasawa hits a nice looking spine buster on Nagata, but there is never any doubt as to the victor, Nagata locking in a crossface on Hirasawa for the win.
Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomoaki Honma
Some 8-man mayhem here, with the veterans playing face, and there is a noticeable divide between the slightly broken down legends and the evil younger wrestlers. A chaotic opening culminates with the faces working over Honma, giving me my first chance to see Liger in many a year, and it’s nice to report that he’s still aces. The heels finally get an advantage by singling out Tenzan on the outside and proceed to work him over, despite several failed attempts by AKIRA to save him. The heels work Tenzan over like a gang assault, with chokes and biting which keeps it looking vicious. A hot-tag is prevented by attacking Liger and AKIRA on the apron, but a second chance sees both men pre-empt the assault, allowing the hot-tag to Chono. STF to Yano, but the heels make the save. Yano receives a series of finishers (palm strike, Yakuza kick) but is saved once more. Tenzan is tagged back in too soon and falls prey to more heel chicanery, but Makabe hits Yano with a chain-lariat by accident, allowing Tenzan to hit the Tenzan Driver for 3. Solid match with both teams playing their roles well.
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Wataru Inoue
This was the first time I’d really seen any of these guys, and I was pretty impressed as they worked a solid tag team encounter. After some back-and-forth action, the Tanahashi/Inoue combo took the advantage by working over the leg of Nakamura, with Tanahashi looking particularly good- not only did he get great air on an elbow and hit a sweet second-rope senton, he also gave Nakamura time to make his comeback before stopping him off with kicks to the injured leg. Inoue was certainly portrayed as the weaker link of his team as not only did he fare less well than his partner during the opening exchanges, it’s also his mistake that allows him to be caught by Goto in Shouten for the win. Nakamura and Goto looked more cohesive as a team, with Goto especially looking good.
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari
Aside from Yujiro and Naito’s brief TNA spell, I’m not at all familiar with any of the guys in the ring. It’s a solid little tag match, which opens nicely with Naito and Milano trying to work each other over on the mat, only for Ishikara and Yujiro to do the same with a little more stiffness. There is a nice early spot with Ishikari kicking Yujiro off the apron, then using Naito’s own limbs to tangle him up in the ropes. Milano and Ishikari have the early advantage and work in some nice double team manoeuvres to stretch Yujiro. After a brief flurry of offence from Team No Limit, Milano manages to capture both opponents in a two-man single-leg crab, which is just the right side of goofy for me to enjoy. Milano has a habit of tying his opponents up in knots, which is pretty cool. Naito fires back with a huge flying forearm, getting great air, before nailing a crisp moonsault for 2. The ending sprint sees all four men in the ring desperately trying to finish each other off, only for the bell to signal a time limit draw. A fun opener, I was particularly impressed with the team of Milano and Ishikari, who had nice chemistry and really cool snug offence.
Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru & Nobuo Yoshihari
This is essentially a competitive squash match, as Kanemoto and Taguchi take it in turns to beat up the rookie Yoshihari, especially Kanemoto, who reaches high levels of dickishness here, including a brutal face wash in the corner. After an extended heat session, Minoru finally gets the hot tag and works a far more competitive exchange with Kanemoto, leading to a nifty submission reversal sequence, which ends with Yoshihari saving Minoru from a heel hook. Minoru’s selling leaves a little to be desired -he seems to hit moves normally, before remembering afterwards that his ankel is supposed to hurt. Kanemoto takes Minoru out on the outside, allowing Taguchi to hit a cross-arm breaker on Yoshihari for the tap out. An entertaining squash made by Kanemoto’s nasty offence and wanker behaviour.
Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & Kazuchika Okada vs. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
Super enjoyable sixman, with the larger Nakanishi being the wildcard here, who barely sells some Gedo chops before levelling him with one of his own. Okada, who is currently with TNA in an attempt to get some seasoning, has a load of fun, spunky face offence, but gets caught by a rookie mistake, and the heels take full advantage, neatly cutting off the ring while beating him down. Okada makes the hot tag following a crossbody on two men, and Nakanishi is a house of fire with some nice power offence, before Tiger Mask is equally effective, this time with some fun high flying moves, culminating with a suicide dive to the outside. Okada and even Nakanishi both follow with dives of their own. Back in the ring, Tiger Mask plants Gedo with a tombstone and a standing moonsault for the win. Short, simple and effective.
15 Man Battle Royal KOSHIGAYA: Tetsuya Naito, Yujiro, Milano Collection A.T., Taichi Ishikari, Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Minoru, Nobuo Yoshihashi, Tiger Mask, Kazuchika Okada, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo & Kuniyoshi Wada.
Just a fun little battle royal that features all the previous guys, plus Wada. Nothing amazing, but features some fun spots, including Minoru trying to double-cross Yoshihashi, only for the double cross to backfire. There is a comedy spot featuring Jado’s tights falling down, but the ending is really a showcase for Makanishi, who hits a double suplex on Jado and Ishii, before putting Jado in a torture rack for the win.
Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa
This is very much a veteran vs. rookie match, with Nagata enjoying an early dominance on the mat. As the match progresses, Nagata continues to enjoy the majority of the offence, with Hirasawa having to settle for the occasional hope spot. Nagata does miss a yakuza kick in the corner, which allows Hirasawa to enjoy his main spot of dominance, hitting a belly-to-back suplex and locking Nagata in a crossface, which Nagata counters out of fairly easily. Hirasawa hits a nice looking spine buster on Nagata, but there is never any doubt as to the victor, Nagata locking in a crossface on Hirasawa for the win.
Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomoaki Honma
Some 8-man mayhem here, with the veterans playing face, and there is a noticeable divide between the slightly broken down legends and the evil younger wrestlers. A chaotic opening culminates with the faces working over Honma, giving me my first chance to see Liger in many a year, and it’s nice to report that he’s still aces. The heels finally get an advantage by singling out Tenzan on the outside and proceed to work him over, despite several failed attempts by AKIRA to save him. The heels work Tenzan over like a gang assault, with chokes and biting which keeps it looking vicious. A hot-tag is prevented by attacking Liger and AKIRA on the apron, but a second chance sees both men pre-empt the assault, allowing the hot-tag to Chono. STF to Yano, but the heels make the save. Yano receives a series of finishers (palm strike, Yakuza kick) but is saved once more. Tenzan is tagged back in too soon and falls prey to more heel chicanery, but Makabe hits Yano with a chain-lariat by accident, allowing Tenzan to hit the Tenzan Driver for 3. Solid match with both teams playing their roles well.
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Wataru Inoue
This was the first time I’d really seen any of these guys, and I was pretty impressed as they worked a solid tag team encounter. After some back-and-forth action, the Tanahashi/Inoue combo took the advantage by working over the leg of Nakamura, with Tanahashi looking particularly good- not only did he get great air on an elbow and hit a sweet second-rope senton, he also gave Nakamura time to make his comeback before stopping him off with kicks to the injured leg. Inoue was certainly portrayed as the weaker link of his team as not only did he fare less well than his partner during the opening exchanges, it’s also his mistake that allows him to be caught by Goto in Shouten for the win. Nakamura and Goto looked more cohesive as a team, with Goto especially looking good.
Friday, 5 November 2010
TNA Webmatches (Episodes 7-9)
Back after too long a delay. I've got a few shows/DVD's I'm halfway through writing about, but for now I'm going to look at a few more TNA webmatches.
Kiyoshi vs Shark Boy
This is “Stone Cold” era for Shark Boy. Kiyoshi is joined by No Limit on their brief excursion to TNA from NJPW, during which they jobbed repeatedly. Kiyoshi dominates after a brief exchange, though the big dumb grin on Shark Boy’s mask really undermines any trouble he is in. Less than two minutes in and Kiyoshi puts on a nervehold, seemingly to allow Shark Boy to break and hit all his Austin tribute spots. Shark Boy looks to be going for the Chummer, but No Limit interference allows Kiyoshi to hit a Widowmaker for 3. Not too much fun, it felt really brief and Shark Boy, fun as he is, has really soft looking offence.
Taylor Wilde vs Madison Rayne
Madison looks far more jobbery here than she does now, it’s quite impressive just how far she’s come in terms of looks and character, though she’s still good at playing the bitchy role here. Taylor is super-over with the crowd, who for once don’t bother with duelling chants. Rayne’s offence seems to mainly revolve around attacking Taylor’s face, which I hope is deliberate to fit in with her position in the Beautiful People. Madison still goes for multiple covers, which I’m on record as being a fan of. Madison looks to go for a bulldog, but gets shoved into the ropes, allowing Taylor to hit a German suplex for the win. Decent match, though Rayne would get better in later months.
ODB vs Sojo Bolt
I’m far less confident about this match being any good. Cody Deaner is with ODB, reminding me instantly why I was glad he left TNA. The match is awful: it lasts about three minutes, it’s barely got any structure and they keep cutting to Cody fucking Deaner at ringside. I know I said before that TNA missed a trick on ODB, especially with how over she was, but matches like this make me realise how little I miss her.
Kiyoshi vs Shark Boy
This is “Stone Cold” era for Shark Boy. Kiyoshi is joined by No Limit on their brief excursion to TNA from NJPW, during which they jobbed repeatedly. Kiyoshi dominates after a brief exchange, though the big dumb grin on Shark Boy’s mask really undermines any trouble he is in. Less than two minutes in and Kiyoshi puts on a nervehold, seemingly to allow Shark Boy to break and hit all his Austin tribute spots. Shark Boy looks to be going for the Chummer, but No Limit interference allows Kiyoshi to hit a Widowmaker for 3. Not too much fun, it felt really brief and Shark Boy, fun as he is, has really soft looking offence.
Taylor Wilde vs Madison Rayne
Madison looks far more jobbery here than she does now, it’s quite impressive just how far she’s come in terms of looks and character, though she’s still good at playing the bitchy role here. Taylor is super-over with the crowd, who for once don’t bother with duelling chants. Rayne’s offence seems to mainly revolve around attacking Taylor’s face, which I hope is deliberate to fit in with her position in the Beautiful People. Madison still goes for multiple covers, which I’m on record as being a fan of. Madison looks to go for a bulldog, but gets shoved into the ropes, allowing Taylor to hit a German suplex for the win. Decent match, though Rayne would get better in later months.
ODB vs Sojo Bolt
I’m far less confident about this match being any good. Cody Deaner is with ODB, reminding me instantly why I was glad he left TNA. The match is awful: it lasts about three minutes, it’s barely got any structure and they keep cutting to Cody fucking Deaner at ringside. I know I said before that TNA missed a trick on ODB, especially with how over she was, but matches like this make me realise how little I miss her.
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