Yoshihisa Yamamoto v Nobuaki Kakuta
Well this was sort of a miracle. For starters, I think it might've been a shoot, and so far there haven't really been any of those that've been good. Secondly, it's Kakuta, and history tells us you don't really want to be watching Kakuta in a shoot for 20+ minutes (or an anything for 20+ minutes). And yet this actually kind of ruled! It's the earliest version of the Yamamoto we know and love (I assume we all love Yamamoto). Those bouts with Naruse offered glimpses of what he could do, but they were very much about the young guys finding their feet. This was him turned loose and just all over an opponent. He gave Kakuta no reprieve and thoroughly dominated him on the ground through the first three rounds. Then Kakuta started swinging with the leg kicks and body shots, managing to narrowly avoid being submitted, always being in with a striker's chance. Crowd were crazy into the last couple rounds and I found myself all the way behind Yamamoto pulling off the upset. Just as the final round was coming to a close we got some controversy, as Kakuta seemed to maybe catch Yamamoto low with a knee, and the ref' apparently called for the TKO as the time limit expired. Yamamoto was having none of it and eventually they - the judges at ringside, I guess? - decided it wasn't a knockdown and the fight would continue into a sixth round. It only lasted another fourteen seconds, but man were the people all in on those fourteen seconds. Best thing Kakuta's done by a pretty significant margin and our first real look at the Yamamoto we'd come to adore.
Mitsuya Nagai v Sergei Sousserov
This was pretty good stuff as well. Sousserov looked like a machine at points with the way he'd toss Nagai around, plus he had some flashy stand-up and a couple neat moments on the mat (fitting, as Han is his cornerman/possible trainer). A few of those throws were awesome -- he'd really snap into them, all hips and torque. You look at him initially and wonder if he's maybe going to be another kickboxer, but he was much more along the lines of your Eastern European grappler. Nagai had his moments and looked pretty solid as well. He was never full blown manhandled or anything, and on the "if this was a real fight" scale it looked like he could've held his own okay. His final flurry of strikes certainly looked brutal enough that you could buy it as a stoppage. Sousserov's name is familiar to me so I'm guessing he shows up again later down the road, and I'm more than okay with that.
Rudy Ewoldt v Georgi Keandelaki
If I were to guess, based on Keandelaki LAYING IT IN with the body punches, I'd maybe venture that this was a shoot. It would be a ropey guess at best, however. This was a round and a half and they kept it moving along, no real pissing about, but after the scintillating five and a bit rounds of Nobuaki Kakuta that you never thought you'd ever live to see, this was always going to struggle to pop.
Volk Han v Sotir Gotchev
I was pretty hyped for this and I'm happy to report it didn't disappoint. I don't know how many worked fights Gotchev had, but I'd assume this was only his second (after the Kopylov fight). That he can throw guys around with aplomb goes a ways to making you forget about the bits where he obviously looks inexperienced. Han was Han. All of his wrist manipulation stuff looked awesome; the nasty wrist lock thing, the crazy standing armbar, and best of all the way he used it to grab Gotchev in a sort of dragon sleeper before dropping him with an elbow to the chest that looked like a fucking Kill Bill execution blow. He did this thing later on where Gotchev was on all fours and Han grabbed the arm, drew it underneath Gotchev's leg, planted his foot to keep that leg in place, then pulled upwards like he was trying to hyper-extend the elbow under Gotchev's own thigh. Basically this had about four things to add to the running list of Volk Han submissions I'd never seen anyone do in a match before. It wasn't quite like Gotchev could slam Han at will, but Han was clearly having trouble with him, and when Han would try to roll upon landing Gotchev would just drop him super awkwardly on a shoulder or elbow. It actually led to Han using a decent amount of his rope breaks, but of course in the end he found a way to deal. I'm not entirely sure what it was - could've been a choke, could've been an armbar, could've been a bit of both - but it looked like it hurt and every bit the Volk Han way of submitting someone. Really good bout.
Dick Vrij v Herman Renting
This didn't start out great, but it got better as it went and by the end it was about as lively as you could hope for between these two. Renting is never really aggressive in his fights and sometimes he'll outright stand in the corner as if he's waiting to be hit. I don't know if he's gassed or what, but you can imagine how compelling it is. He started this like he actually intended to do something, and you may not have bought him actually hanging with Vrij, but you maybe bought him being able to grab a submission if the stars aligned. Vrij was pretty much coasting for the first couple rounds, but they got a bit chippy with each other and some little cheapshots were thrown. Last couple rounds picked it up. Renting kept retreating to his safe haven (the corner), but Vrij is not the guy who'll let you rest on your laurels that way. In fact he probably kicked him harder.
Akira Maeda v Chris Dolman
Pretty listless main event, at least until the last forty seconds. Lots of tepid stand-up. At one point they wound up clinched in the corner trading slow knees to the body, like they were doing assisted knee raises at a Body Combat class. Maeda's leg was taped up heavily again and they drew attention to it a few times. Crowd picked up on it when he'd back away clearly favouring it after Dolman's probing kicks. Set up to the finish was pretty telegraphed, but the finish itself was surprising.
Complete & Accurate RINGS
Friday, 13 April 2018
Monday, 9 April 2018
Takeover/Wrestlemania Weekend
Another Wrestlemania has come and gone and somehow, someway, Roman Reigns is even further away from being the Top Guy than he was when they started this whole endeavour. Never has there been a more shoddily booked company Ace. But for the first time in about a decade I was genuinely hyped for what was happening over Wrestlemania weekend. The Mania card itself was the best in a long time, Takeovers are usually good, plenty of indie shows had interesting match-ups on them, etc. The only shows I watched in full were Takeover and Mania, and while some of the booking decisions in the latter were...questionable, I didn't regret staying up until 5.30 in the morning watching it. It's way too long these days (the pre-show started at 10pm and the closing montage hit at about 5.20am, which is ridiculous), but it had my favourite match of the year from the most unlikely of sources and a bunch of other stuff that I thought was decent to good. Plus Takeover had Velveteen Dream and overall was pretty great top to bottom. I will now gush about things I liked most.
Adam Cole v EC3 v Velveteen Dream v Ricochet v Killian Dain v Lars Sullivan (Ladder Match) (Takeover, 4/7/18)
The multi-man ladder match has been run into the ground as a concept by now, but this was about as much as I'm ever going to enjoy one these days. I don't even actively dislike matches like this, they're just not very interesting anymore because pretty much everything has been done already and you inevitably reach the point of diminishing returns. But I'm absolutely 100% all in on Velveteen Dream so for the first time in ages I was rooting super hard for a wrestler to win a predetermined contest. I thought he was legitimately great in this. His selling has an awesome car crash quality to it where his limbs go all rubbery on those big bumps. Him hitting elbow drops on everyone and capping it with the Purple Rainmaker off the ladder was my favourite spot of the year. I love him. I want him to win matches and titles and I'm bummed when he doesn't. I don't even dislike Adam Cole, but I was deflated when he won, not because Adam Cole won a match and he's lame or whatever, but because Velveteen Dream DIDN'T win. When/if he wins the NXT title I'll absolutely flip and I never expected to be invested in a wrestler like that again in my old age. I generally have no use for Ricochet but he's perfect for a match like this. That SSP to the floor at the start was wild and he was the projectile in an impromptu person-chucking contest so I liked him fine. Hopefully he curbs more of his annoying tendencies in the NXT run. EC3 never really did anything for me in this. Most of his offence was very early 2000s indieriffic and I wasn't sure whether he was hitting a move or the other guy had reversed it. The beefies were fun and I'm fine enough with Cole as the best possible version of Edge. They maybe could've done with trimming it by a few minutes, but I was hyped for this and it came through.
Adam Cole v EC3 v Velveteen Dream v Ricochet v Killian Dain v Lars Sullivan (Ladder Match) (Takeover, 4/7/18)
The multi-man ladder match has been run into the ground as a concept by now, but this was about as much as I'm ever going to enjoy one these days. I don't even actively dislike matches like this, they're just not very interesting anymore because pretty much everything has been done already and you inevitably reach the point of diminishing returns. But I'm absolutely 100% all in on Velveteen Dream so for the first time in ages I was rooting super hard for a wrestler to win a predetermined contest. I thought he was legitimately great in this. His selling has an awesome car crash quality to it where his limbs go all rubbery on those big bumps. Him hitting elbow drops on everyone and capping it with the Purple Rainmaker off the ladder was my favourite spot of the year. I love him. I want him to win matches and titles and I'm bummed when he doesn't. I don't even dislike Adam Cole, but I was deflated when he won, not because Adam Cole won a match and he's lame or whatever, but because Velveteen Dream DIDN'T win. When/if he wins the NXT title I'll absolutely flip and I never expected to be invested in a wrestler like that again in my old age. I generally have no use for Ricochet but he's perfect for a match like this. That SSP to the floor at the start was wild and he was the projectile in an impromptu person-chucking contest so I liked him fine. Hopefully he curbs more of his annoying tendencies in the NXT run. EC3 never really did anything for me in this. Most of his offence was very early 2000s indieriffic and I wasn't sure whether he was hitting a move or the other guy had reversed it. The beefies were fun and I'm fine enough with Cole as the best possible version of Edge. They maybe could've done with trimming it by a few minutes, but I was hyped for this and it came through.
Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match) (Takeover, 4/7/18)
I'm not quite as high on this as the majority, but I still thought it was pretty excellent. It was maybe the best possible version of a WWE grudge match with all the DRAMA and callbacks and storytelling and whatever else that you could ask for. Ciampa getting all that heat was incredible. The silent entrance! They were booing him for absolutely anything at the start and he reveled in it. Thought this could've done with being trimmed a bit as well, but the big spots were huge and the stretch run was pretty great. Mostly felt like they communicated the hatred as well. I'd rather they went the Duggan/DiBiase route, but I'd rather every match went the Duggan/DiBiase route and this is 2018 and those expectations are unrealistic and so we take what we are given. Gargano grabbing Ciampa's beard as he slapped him about the face was great. Ciampa stomping Gargano into oblivion then applauding himself was one of the best things I've seen all year. The finish was basically perfect and drew the whole thing together really well. The melodramatic acting, the INNER CONFLICT, the bastard trying to be a bastard, the comeuppance...yeah, this promised something special and it delivered.
Charlotte v Asuka (Wrestlemania, 4/8/18)
Man, how about that Charlotte entrance? Going in I thought this might've been a sleeper pick for MOTN, and it wasn't that but it was still pretty great. It was also stiff as shit. Asuka was really laying it in with those kicks, the knees, grabbing Charlotte in a surfboard and curb stomping, reeling off a nasty flurry when Charlotte tried to get defiant. Match had some big bumps as well, like the suplex off the apron and the Spanish fly off the top rope that looked potentially disastrous when they came off initially. Charlotte's dodgy arm being a theme throughout worked well and I thought she did a really good selling it right until the end, especially with the one-armed figure eight. I kind of question why they had Charlotte tap Asuka clean as a sheet already, but I'm guessing they're building to Charlotte/Ronda for next year so...fine, I guess?
Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle v Stephanie McMahon & HHH (Wrestlemania, 4/8/18)
The miracle of all miracle matches. I fully expected this to blow. Angle somehow moves slower than Undertaker and Undertaker moves slower than my 88 year old grandfather. HHH is less interesting to me than lots of uninteresting things. Rousey has looked awkward at best in the build up. Yet this match went from kinda nothing when it was Angle/Helmsley to way hotter than expected when Rousey got in to flat out awesome by the end. I was practically in slack-jawed disbelief at one point. When they did Rousey/Helmsley I fucking flipped my melon and when she put him in the armbar I was stripped to the waist. I thought he was actually going to tap for a second there. Steph was the best McMahon on this show by a million miles and I loved how she was basically a cheapshotting Jim Cornette for the most part. Did she look stronger against Rousey than she should've? Maybe. But she took the advantage by clawing Rousey's eyes and Rousey sold it great and her eye shadow was all over the place like Steph had maced her or something, so it's not like she bested her with wrestling proficiency. She certainly never looked as strong as most of us probably feared she would. I wouldn't have hated it if Rousey just ragdolled her silly, but I don't mind her showing a wee bit of vulnerability out the gate. Can't say enough good things about Rousey in this match and it felt like a true star making performance. I mean, she absolutely felt like the biggest deal on this card and she probably main events Summerslam and that is fucking wild. Match was probably laid out to the letter but I don't give a shit. Lay everything else out to the letter if it ends up being this enjoyable. I wasn't sure how it'd hold up on a rewatch, but it was somehow even better and it was already one of the most fun live wrestling experiences I've ever had. Amazing spectacle and genuinely one of my favourite matches in company history.
Friday, 6 April 2018
Spotlight: Kairi Sane
I'm on a 2018 catch-up kick right now and that's coincided with an NXT catch-up kick so here's me taking a shallow dive on your 2017 Mae Young Classic winner, Kairi Sane (whom I'd watched all of two times before she got to WWE).
Kairi Sane v Tessa Blanchard (Mae Young Classic, 7/13/17)
I'm a little surprised Blanchard was the first one to lose to Kairi in this tournament. I figured they'd have her advance if for no reason other than the name (they'll usually milk that "third generation superstar" for all it's worth). I'd never actually seen her before so for all I know she could be rubbish, but she sure never looked it in this. In a lot of ways it felt like Sane ran through her usual stuff, the running forearm in the corner, the Kabuki elbow, the spear and so on, while Tessa was booked to look as strong as possible in defeat. Which, you know...that's a pretty good idea. She was fun roughing it up with her rabbit punches from the headlock, throwing a few big forearms, desperation headbutts, a nice abdominal stretch where she was really twisting Sane's neck. At one point she hit a Codebreaker out the corner that about put Sane's teeth through the back of her head. I liked Sane's ax kick to the lower back as a set up to the elbow drop, but she kind of took forever climbing up the turnbuckles, stopping to do her pirate salutes and all that. Still, this was good stuff and I think I'll check out a few more tournament matches.
Kairi Sane v Peyton Royce (NXT, 11/29/17)
This wasn't much. It mostly felt like a way to give Sane a bounce back win after the WarGames 4 way, without the loser losing too much by losing (better believe I thought that through). Royce has a pretty fun bitchy character and makes amusing self-entitled facial expressions, like that move she did should've ended the match and how dare Sane kick out of it. Who does she think she is? Not a lot of what she actually hits looks very good yet, but she'll get better. There are enough bland indie wrestlers who do lots of cool stuff in a vacuum with no personality, so I know I'd rather someone was ahead of the game with the character work while needing to catch up on move execution than the other way around. Sane was mostly fine, her running forearm to the sternum looked nasty (Royce sold it like it really winded her too) and her elbow drop is of course awesome. Her spear isn't the best, but not a lot of people can make that move look good at this point.
Kairi Sane v Shayna Baszler (NXT, 2/28/18)
Well this was real tidy. I maybe should've watched their MYC final before this in case I missed a callback or whatever, but what's done is done. Baszler was pretty badass in this and I thought she was comfortably the better of the two. All of her armwork looked nasty and I liked how unconventional some of her throws were. She hit a gutwrench suplex that landed Sane in a seated position, but then she followed up by just drilling her in the back with a kick. I don't know if the suplex was intended to land like that as a set up to the kick or the kick was something she chose to do after noticing how Sane landed, but either way it was sort of impressive. She threw a couple absolutely brutal looking knees as well. There was no thigh-slapping, it was just patella to nose and that was that. The suplex at the end was of course intended to land like that and it was a killer set up to the choke. Sane was fine selling the arm initially, but when she started making her comeback she dropped it almost instantly. Long-term limb selling/limbwork doesn't really bother me as much as I grow soft in my old age, but I wanted a wee bit more from her. I probably will watch their Mae Young Classic now because this was good.
Kairi Sane v Tessa Blanchard (Mae Young Classic, 7/13/17)
I'm a little surprised Blanchard was the first one to lose to Kairi in this tournament. I figured they'd have her advance if for no reason other than the name (they'll usually milk that "third generation superstar" for all it's worth). I'd never actually seen her before so for all I know she could be rubbish, but she sure never looked it in this. In a lot of ways it felt like Sane ran through her usual stuff, the running forearm in the corner, the Kabuki elbow, the spear and so on, while Tessa was booked to look as strong as possible in defeat. Which, you know...that's a pretty good idea. She was fun roughing it up with her rabbit punches from the headlock, throwing a few big forearms, desperation headbutts, a nice abdominal stretch where she was really twisting Sane's neck. At one point she hit a Codebreaker out the corner that about put Sane's teeth through the back of her head. I liked Sane's ax kick to the lower back as a set up to the elbow drop, but she kind of took forever climbing up the turnbuckles, stopping to do her pirate salutes and all that. Still, this was good stuff and I think I'll check out a few more tournament matches.
Kairi Sane v Peyton Royce (NXT, 11/29/17)
This wasn't much. It mostly felt like a way to give Sane a bounce back win after the WarGames 4 way, without the loser losing too much by losing (better believe I thought that through). Royce has a pretty fun bitchy character and makes amusing self-entitled facial expressions, like that move she did should've ended the match and how dare Sane kick out of it. Who does she think she is? Not a lot of what she actually hits looks very good yet, but she'll get better. There are enough bland indie wrestlers who do lots of cool stuff in a vacuum with no personality, so I know I'd rather someone was ahead of the game with the character work while needing to catch up on move execution than the other way around. Sane was mostly fine, her running forearm to the sternum looked nasty (Royce sold it like it really winded her too) and her elbow drop is of course awesome. Her spear isn't the best, but not a lot of people can make that move look good at this point.
Kairi Sane v Shayna Baszler (NXT, 2/28/18)
Well this was real tidy. I maybe should've watched their MYC final before this in case I missed a callback or whatever, but what's done is done. Baszler was pretty badass in this and I thought she was comfortably the better of the two. All of her armwork looked nasty and I liked how unconventional some of her throws were. She hit a gutwrench suplex that landed Sane in a seated position, but then she followed up by just drilling her in the back with a kick. I don't know if the suplex was intended to land like that as a set up to the kick or the kick was something she chose to do after noticing how Sane landed, but either way it was sort of impressive. She threw a couple absolutely brutal looking knees as well. There was no thigh-slapping, it was just patella to nose and that was that. The suplex at the end was of course intended to land like that and it was a killer set up to the choke. Sane was fine selling the arm initially, but when she started making her comeback she dropped it almost instantly. Long-term limb selling/limbwork doesn't really bother me as much as I grow soft in my old age, but I wanted a wee bit more from her. I probably will watch their Mae Young Classic now because this was good.
Thursday, 5 April 2018
2018...Like a Dream
Velveteen Dream v Johnny Gargano (NXT, 1/24/18)
Man, this was pretty awesome. They did some really nice amateur scrambling to start out and it looked great, just that right balance between slick and gritty (perhaps leaning slightly towards the former). It didn't last long, but it was another look at Dream working holds and he's no worse than competent at it. He also has a knack for the little things, even a simple grimace here or an added bit of wrench on an armwringer. His shit talking is always great and I loved him dismissively wagging a finger in Gargano's face, which then led to Johnny quickly grabbing the No-Escape. I'm guessing Gargano worked the arm a bit during the first commercial because when we come back Dream is really selling it. Even when he took over he kept stretching out that arm, hanging it tight by his side, always reminding you that it wasn't quite right, and I'm forever a sucker for someone instinctively throwing a strike with a bad arm before realising it was a terrible idea and quickly using the opposite arm. He looked totally comfortable controlling things as well. There was an awesome bit where Gargano was on the floor and Dream went up top for a dive, the crowd ready for something spectacular...and then he threw his hands up and climbed back down because forget risking his own butt for the pop. The stretch run had a handful of nearfalls that people really bit on as well, which surprised me considering the result must've felt like a foregone conclusion going in, then the arm came into play again at the finish. Dream goes up for the big elbow, hesitates because the arm is dinged up, switches to use the other arm (making a "subtle" show of it in true WWE storytelling fashion), but that hesitation costs him as Gargano gets the knees up and grabs the No-Escape. Can't really ask for much more out of a thirteen minute TV main event.
Velveteen Dream v Kassius Ohno (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, 1/27/18)
Not a great match by any stretch, but it had enough going for it that they kept me with them all the way through. The opening with Dream trying to make good on his guarantee and the crowd counting along was great, and not knowing the result beforehand I about lost it when he dropped Ohno with that right hand. Ohno's forearm when he got back to his feet was bonkers. They slowed it way down pretty soon after that, but I was never not engaged. Dream's selling and bumping for Ohno's strikes was awesome again. He might be one of my favourite guys in the world already purely in terms of eating elbows and roundhouse kicks to the jaw. His control segment wasn't amazing or anything, it was mostly pretty basic, but he stuck to working the back well enough and I liked him selling his own back after heaving Ohno's fatness over for a suplex. It's easy to draw parallels based on the airbrushed tights and the swivel hips, but I really was getting some early Rick Rude vibes from him, especially with how he'd slow things down and work the camel clutch. Rude always loved to do that, and I know it's not for everybody but it's refreshing to me in NXT's go-go-go environment. There were a couple choppy moments where things didn't come off great, but it's rare stuff like that will bother me. And how about the post-match, with Dream aping Ali as he stands over a downed Sonny Liston.
Velveteen Dream v Tyler Bate (NXT, 2/28/18)
This got some decent time and turned into a nifty little TV match. I'm sort of whatever on guys doing World of Sport tribute acts, but this had some really fun early World of Sport tributing from Bate. Since Dream was the one who started twisting arms you could even say Bate did it to show him up. They were establishing strengths! Some layered psychology! It's the pro-wrestling storytelling! Dream mostly worked the back again and I'm still rolling with the Rick Rude comparison. It's such an easy comparison to make, but it totally fits. This time he'd twist Bate's face and neck while applying the chinlock, and the chinlock itself was super deep, practically a camel clutch. A couple moments don't come off 100% smooth and you can see the wheels turning as they get into position for things, but Dream is 22 and Bate is even younger so it's hard to be too critical. Purple Rainmaker is far and away the best name for a finisher in WWE right now and already feels more protected than any other Rainmaker in wrestling.
Man, this was pretty awesome. They did some really nice amateur scrambling to start out and it looked great, just that right balance between slick and gritty (perhaps leaning slightly towards the former). It didn't last long, but it was another look at Dream working holds and he's no worse than competent at it. He also has a knack for the little things, even a simple grimace here or an added bit of wrench on an armwringer. His shit talking is always great and I loved him dismissively wagging a finger in Gargano's face, which then led to Johnny quickly grabbing the No-Escape. I'm guessing Gargano worked the arm a bit during the first commercial because when we come back Dream is really selling it. Even when he took over he kept stretching out that arm, hanging it tight by his side, always reminding you that it wasn't quite right, and I'm forever a sucker for someone instinctively throwing a strike with a bad arm before realising it was a terrible idea and quickly using the opposite arm. He looked totally comfortable controlling things as well. There was an awesome bit where Gargano was on the floor and Dream went up top for a dive, the crowd ready for something spectacular...and then he threw his hands up and climbed back down because forget risking his own butt for the pop. The stretch run had a handful of nearfalls that people really bit on as well, which surprised me considering the result must've felt like a foregone conclusion going in, then the arm came into play again at the finish. Dream goes up for the big elbow, hesitates because the arm is dinged up, switches to use the other arm (making a "subtle" show of it in true WWE storytelling fashion), but that hesitation costs him as Gargano gets the knees up and grabs the No-Escape. Can't really ask for much more out of a thirteen minute TV main event.
Velveteen Dream v Kassius Ohno (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, 1/27/18)
Not a great match by any stretch, but it had enough going for it that they kept me with them all the way through. The opening with Dream trying to make good on his guarantee and the crowd counting along was great, and not knowing the result beforehand I about lost it when he dropped Ohno with that right hand. Ohno's forearm when he got back to his feet was bonkers. They slowed it way down pretty soon after that, but I was never not engaged. Dream's selling and bumping for Ohno's strikes was awesome again. He might be one of my favourite guys in the world already purely in terms of eating elbows and roundhouse kicks to the jaw. His control segment wasn't amazing or anything, it was mostly pretty basic, but he stuck to working the back well enough and I liked him selling his own back after heaving Ohno's fatness over for a suplex. It's easy to draw parallels based on the airbrushed tights and the swivel hips, but I really was getting some early Rick Rude vibes from him, especially with how he'd slow things down and work the camel clutch. Rude always loved to do that, and I know it's not for everybody but it's refreshing to me in NXT's go-go-go environment. There were a couple choppy moments where things didn't come off great, but it's rare stuff like that will bother me. And how about the post-match, with Dream aping Ali as he stands over a downed Sonny Liston.
Velveteen Dream v Tyler Bate (NXT, 2/28/18)
This got some decent time and turned into a nifty little TV match. I'm sort of whatever on guys doing World of Sport tribute acts, but this had some really fun early World of Sport tributing from Bate. Since Dream was the one who started twisting arms you could even say Bate did it to show him up. They were establishing strengths! Some layered psychology! It's the pro-wrestling storytelling! Dream mostly worked the back again and I'm still rolling with the Rick Rude comparison. It's such an easy comparison to make, but it totally fits. This time he'd twist Bate's face and neck while applying the chinlock, and the chinlock itself was super deep, practically a camel clutch. A couple moments don't come off 100% smooth and you can see the wheels turning as they get into position for things, but Dream is 22 and Bate is even younger so it's hard to be too critical. Purple Rainmaker is far and away the best name for a finisher in WWE right now and already feels more protected than any other Rainmaker in wrestling.
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
NXT Takeover: WarGames (11/18/17)
My friend told me to watch this because he was at the show and his big bald head was all over the hard cam and sure enough there he was making faces like a daftie behind Funaki and Asuka. I was really only intending on watching a couple matches, but I wound up just watching the whole thing.
Kassius Ohno v Lars Sullivan
Cool little hoss fight. It only went about six minutes, but they laid it in and gave you what you want out of two beefy guys laying into each other. Some of the strikes were pretty great, especially those two elbows to the back of the head, a couple of Ohno's forearms and one straight right that Lars took right on the button. I haven't really followed NXT closely, but I remember folk talking about Sullivan at the time like he could be NXT's answer to Strowman. Has he faded off the map since then? Because I sure don't remember hearing much about him recently.
Aleister Black v Velveteen Dream
This was fucking dynamite. Velveteen Dream is my favourite guy in NXT by a distance and I like Black fine, so I had some expectations for this and they absolutely delivered. I loved Dream in this so much. The tights! The early going with Black controlling via the arm was really neat. He wasn't about to be thrown off his game by Dream's nonsense and I liked how he basically schooled him. The little "mind games" sequence after that was just great stuff. Sometimes that kind of thing can come off a bit hokey, but both guys have such unique charisma that it totally worked. Dream's facial expressions, initially at being ignored, then at being fucked with in equal fashion, were amazing. And yeah, every single thing he did in this ruled. Loved how he bumped for Black's strikes. Loved how he was obsessed with Black saying his name. Loved how that obsession had him yelling shit at the ref' like "ask him to say my name!" or "say my name!" while he had Black in a camel clutch. LOVED the swivel hips from the top rope where he sold the back. That's one of my all-time favourite spots and I'm all for someone channeling the spirit of Rickie Rude. Basically loved everything he did. They kind of teetered a bit into no-selly back and forth towards the end, but it wasn't egregious and Black catching Dream with Black Death as he was yet again telling him to say his name was a great finish. There's that obsession again, getting him in hot water.
Ember Moon v Kairi Sane v Peyton Royce v Nikki Cross
I'm not one for a fatal fourway, but I thought this was more than fine. Everyone got to hit their spots, the moves that kept someone out the picture for extended periods of time generally looked buyable (that powerbomb on the floor to Cross especially, good grief) and the crowd were into it. There were moments where a couple women had to stand around waiting for an incoming dive, but these are concessions you need to make with this kind of match. I was a fan of Nikki Cross going buck wild on folk, nothing fancy, just frantic swatting about the face. She's around the same age as me and went to Glasgow uni so there's a good chance I spilled a a pint of whiskey over her in Bamboo a decade ago (I did not go to Glasgow uni, but I did drink pints of whiskey in many Glasgow nightclubs). Royce's mannerisms were very girly girl and I liked how she juxtaposed that with elbowing people in the face, even if the elbows didn't look good. Sane is my favourite of the four and her top rope elbow drop is killer, but it feels like she's been a bit of an afterthought since winning the May Young Classic. She lasted like three minutes in the Rumble and I'm not sure what she's been up to since.
Drew McIntyre v Andrade Cien Almas
This might actually be the first McIntyre match I've watched since he came back to WWE. Unsurprisingly he's still really good. He didn't necessarily work as straight powerhouse to Almas' flier, but they did pepper in some really cool strength spots, including the awesome front-facing Alabama Slam as a counter to the reverse rana. I don't have much of an opinion on Almas one way or the other. Don't love him, but I don't dislike him and he has plenty of flashy offence that manages to look like it's actually designed to hurt. I did like how he had to improvise here and there or Drew would just keep plucking him out the air and slamming him. Vega is such a fun second, though. She's always shouting directions, sneaking in and involving herself. That spike hurricanrana was really cool and I'll always pop for a manager saving their client by putting a foot on the rope at the last second. Pretty nasty finish as well.
Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish v Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong v Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain (WarGames)
What the fuck is this referee's spray tan all about? It's honest to god Oompa Loompa orange. Who's responsible for applying this to him? How did that conversation go? "Don't scrimp with that stuff, I want you to make me look like...like a secret that's burning to be told!" It was outrageous! Anyways, this isn't your daddy's WarGames, but as far as bloodless iterations go I thought it was closer to Fall Brawl '94 than Fall Brawl '98. And Fall Brawl '94 ruled so yeah, I dug this plenty. It never felt full on chaotic like I wanted despite there being a thousand guys in it; they basically stuck to the one ring even when everyone was in there because...I don't really know why. They just did. In fact the only time a couple guys took a wander into the other ring was to do a German suplex off the top rope through tables and it about scalped Alexander Wolfe. But I thought it did manage to feel crazy enough, they did lots of fairly wild shit without getting too cutesy, and everyone got a chance to shine at some point. I'm not really sure who had my favourite performance, but Killian Dain is a big fat dude who bulldozed everyone and swallowed a key after locking the door, which was sort of goofy considering it's WarGames and the cage is locked anyway, but fuck it, maybe the fact he didn't know that made it even BETTER. Possibly. He also hit a Van Terminator which was pretty insane. I've never cared much about Adam Cole, but he felt like the biggest star in this by some margin. The 'Adam Cole Bay-Bay' chant is obviously over, but even beyond that I wouldn't expect it to be very long now before he gets called up to the main roster. Plus he was really good in this. He wasn't always interested in mixing it up unless he knew his buddies were around, which is really what you want in a guy who's supposed to be playing chickenshit, but when it came right down to it his team won because he was resourceful and pulled it out in the clutch. By golly I think I might be becoming an Adam Cole fan. For a first time WarGames in WWE, with all the modern WWE-isms that go along with that, I thought this was a decent success. I'd be into another one if it was for a title or something was at stake.
Kassius Ohno v Lars Sullivan
Cool little hoss fight. It only went about six minutes, but they laid it in and gave you what you want out of two beefy guys laying into each other. Some of the strikes were pretty great, especially those two elbows to the back of the head, a couple of Ohno's forearms and one straight right that Lars took right on the button. I haven't really followed NXT closely, but I remember folk talking about Sullivan at the time like he could be NXT's answer to Strowman. Has he faded off the map since then? Because I sure don't remember hearing much about him recently.
Aleister Black v Velveteen Dream
This was fucking dynamite. Velveteen Dream is my favourite guy in NXT by a distance and I like Black fine, so I had some expectations for this and they absolutely delivered. I loved Dream in this so much. The tights! The early going with Black controlling via the arm was really neat. He wasn't about to be thrown off his game by Dream's nonsense and I liked how he basically schooled him. The little "mind games" sequence after that was just great stuff. Sometimes that kind of thing can come off a bit hokey, but both guys have such unique charisma that it totally worked. Dream's facial expressions, initially at being ignored, then at being fucked with in equal fashion, were amazing. And yeah, every single thing he did in this ruled. Loved how he bumped for Black's strikes. Loved how he was obsessed with Black saying his name. Loved how that obsession had him yelling shit at the ref' like "ask him to say my name!" or "say my name!" while he had Black in a camel clutch. LOVED the swivel hips from the top rope where he sold the back. That's one of my all-time favourite spots and I'm all for someone channeling the spirit of Rickie Rude. Basically loved everything he did. They kind of teetered a bit into no-selly back and forth towards the end, but it wasn't egregious and Black catching Dream with Black Death as he was yet again telling him to say his name was a great finish. There's that obsession again, getting him in hot water.
Ember Moon v Kairi Sane v Peyton Royce v Nikki Cross
I'm not one for a fatal fourway, but I thought this was more than fine. Everyone got to hit their spots, the moves that kept someone out the picture for extended periods of time generally looked buyable (that powerbomb on the floor to Cross especially, good grief) and the crowd were into it. There were moments where a couple women had to stand around waiting for an incoming dive, but these are concessions you need to make with this kind of match. I was a fan of Nikki Cross going buck wild on folk, nothing fancy, just frantic swatting about the face. She's around the same age as me and went to Glasgow uni so there's a good chance I spilled a a pint of whiskey over her in Bamboo a decade ago (I did not go to Glasgow uni, but I did drink pints of whiskey in many Glasgow nightclubs). Royce's mannerisms were very girly girl and I liked how she juxtaposed that with elbowing people in the face, even if the elbows didn't look good. Sane is my favourite of the four and her top rope elbow drop is killer, but it feels like she's been a bit of an afterthought since winning the May Young Classic. She lasted like three minutes in the Rumble and I'm not sure what she's been up to since.
Drew McIntyre v Andrade Cien Almas
This might actually be the first McIntyre match I've watched since he came back to WWE. Unsurprisingly he's still really good. He didn't necessarily work as straight powerhouse to Almas' flier, but they did pepper in some really cool strength spots, including the awesome front-facing Alabama Slam as a counter to the reverse rana. I don't have much of an opinion on Almas one way or the other. Don't love him, but I don't dislike him and he has plenty of flashy offence that manages to look like it's actually designed to hurt. I did like how he had to improvise here and there or Drew would just keep plucking him out the air and slamming him. Vega is such a fun second, though. She's always shouting directions, sneaking in and involving herself. That spike hurricanrana was really cool and I'll always pop for a manager saving their client by putting a foot on the rope at the last second. Pretty nasty finish as well.
Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish v Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong v Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain (WarGames)
What the fuck is this referee's spray tan all about? It's honest to god Oompa Loompa orange. Who's responsible for applying this to him? How did that conversation go? "Don't scrimp with that stuff, I want you to make me look like...like a secret that's burning to be told!" It was outrageous! Anyways, this isn't your daddy's WarGames, but as far as bloodless iterations go I thought it was closer to Fall Brawl '94 than Fall Brawl '98. And Fall Brawl '94 ruled so yeah, I dug this plenty. It never felt full on chaotic like I wanted despite there being a thousand guys in it; they basically stuck to the one ring even when everyone was in there because...I don't really know why. They just did. In fact the only time a couple guys took a wander into the other ring was to do a German suplex off the top rope through tables and it about scalped Alexander Wolfe. But I thought it did manage to feel crazy enough, they did lots of fairly wild shit without getting too cutesy, and everyone got a chance to shine at some point. I'm not really sure who had my favourite performance, but Killian Dain is a big fat dude who bulldozed everyone and swallowed a key after locking the door, which was sort of goofy considering it's WarGames and the cage is locked anyway, but fuck it, maybe the fact he didn't know that made it even BETTER. Possibly. He also hit a Van Terminator which was pretty insane. I've never cared much about Adam Cole, but he felt like the biggest star in this by some margin. The 'Adam Cole Bay-Bay' chant is obviously over, but even beyond that I wouldn't expect it to be very long now before he gets called up to the main roster. Plus he was really good in this. He wasn't always interested in mixing it up unless he knew his buddies were around, which is really what you want in a guy who's supposed to be playing chickenshit, but when it came right down to it his team won because he was resourceful and pulled it out in the clutch. By golly I think I might be becoming an Adam Cole fan. For a first time WarGames in WWE, with all the modern WWE-isms that go along with that, I thought this was a decent success. I'd be into another one if it was for a title or something was at stake.
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
2018 Day 9
Ember Moon v Shayna Baszler (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, 1/27/18)
This was pretty damn fun, mostly down to Shayna's presence and personality. She's still a wee bit rough around the edges, telegraphing when a move she's attempting isn't going to hit, but her kicks and knees land well and she's a believable ass kicker. Her arm work ruled and that stomp to the elbow was disgusting. Moon sold it all real well, too. She was channeling Christian at a couple points with the possible nerve damage and she was really vocal, but not in the "look at my acting chops!" overbearing sort of way (though it maybe bordered on that after the Eclipse spot). The extended fight over the cross armbreaker never got long in the tooth to me and I thought they managed to keep the crowd with them the whole time; totally had them biting on each turn and potential escape and I loved Ember frantically clawing at Shayna's back. Baszler never seemed to have it fully locked in either, so I don't mind them milking a hold that ordinarily should be an instant tap. Also appreciated how Ember really went for it on that roll-up. This wasn't your garden variety schoolboy roll-up, she jumped on Shayna with her whole body weight like it was desperation time and maybe her only shot before her arm got snapped.
Aleister Black v Adam Cole (Extreme Rules) (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, 1/27/18)
Super fun plunderfest. This really isn't my thing as WWE always manage to make them feel hyper-manufactured and they never really come off organically, but the big spots were huge, the set-ups didn't totally take me out of the moment and we even got a little plasma to boot. The story of Black not resorting to using weapons because he was badass enough on his own was kind of cooky, but the moment he finally went fuck it and grabbed some furniture was pretty fun. This is of course 2018 so the furniture was set up in elaborate fashion and it wasn't Duggan grabbing a loaded glove and smashing someone in the face, but still. I guess it worked. The heel setting up a table because the crowd want it might seem counterproductive on the surface, but in your modern smark-heavy landscape I appreciated him knowing his audience well enough, and more than that actually acknowledging their existence. Nobody in WWE jaws with people in the crowd or stalls or interacts with fans anymore, so I thought that was cool. The fact a wrestler playing to the crowd like that felt fresh maybe says something about the state of where we're at today, but that's a whole other discussion. Cole's electric chair bump on the ladder was crazy, the double knees through the table looked great and the death valley driver over the chairs was ludicrous. Cole is an absolute nut job. The finish with the run-ins and stuff was pretty overbooked, but if you're going to do an ECW-style brawl in Philly then you might as well go all the way. Really commit to that nostalgia pop, you know? I wasn't going to bother with this, but I liked it a lot.
This was pretty damn fun, mostly down to Shayna's presence and personality. She's still a wee bit rough around the edges, telegraphing when a move she's attempting isn't going to hit, but her kicks and knees land well and she's a believable ass kicker. Her arm work ruled and that stomp to the elbow was disgusting. Moon sold it all real well, too. She was channeling Christian at a couple points with the possible nerve damage and she was really vocal, but not in the "look at my acting chops!" overbearing sort of way (though it maybe bordered on that after the Eclipse spot). The extended fight over the cross armbreaker never got long in the tooth to me and I thought they managed to keep the crowd with them the whole time; totally had them biting on each turn and potential escape and I loved Ember frantically clawing at Shayna's back. Baszler never seemed to have it fully locked in either, so I don't mind them milking a hold that ordinarily should be an instant tap. Also appreciated how Ember really went for it on that roll-up. This wasn't your garden variety schoolboy roll-up, she jumped on Shayna with her whole body weight like it was desperation time and maybe her only shot before her arm got snapped.
Aleister Black v Adam Cole (Extreme Rules) (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, 1/27/18)
Super fun plunderfest. This really isn't my thing as WWE always manage to make them feel hyper-manufactured and they never really come off organically, but the big spots were huge, the set-ups didn't totally take me out of the moment and we even got a little plasma to boot. The story of Black not resorting to using weapons because he was badass enough on his own was kind of cooky, but the moment he finally went fuck it and grabbed some furniture was pretty fun. This is of course 2018 so the furniture was set up in elaborate fashion and it wasn't Duggan grabbing a loaded glove and smashing someone in the face, but still. I guess it worked. The heel setting up a table because the crowd want it might seem counterproductive on the surface, but in your modern smark-heavy landscape I appreciated him knowing his audience well enough, and more than that actually acknowledging their existence. Nobody in WWE jaws with people in the crowd or stalls or interacts with fans anymore, so I thought that was cool. The fact a wrestler playing to the crowd like that felt fresh maybe says something about the state of where we're at today, but that's a whole other discussion. Cole's electric chair bump on the ladder was crazy, the double knees through the table looked great and the death valley driver over the chairs was ludicrous. Cole is an absolute nut job. The finish with the run-ins and stuff was pretty overbooked, but if you're going to do an ECW-style brawl in Philly then you might as well go all the way. Really commit to that nostalgia pop, you know? I wasn't going to bother with this, but I liked it a lot.
Monday, 2 April 2018
2018 Day 8
Negro Casas v Aramis (Lucha Memes, 3/11/18)
On one hand this didn't totally connect with me like I wanted. But then on the other hand it was still a pretty awesome balls out sprint. If nothing else it's yet another notch on the belt that is Negro Casas' case as the best wrestler to ever do it. Sub-10 minute sprints aren't necessarily what I'd think of if someone asked me what Casas was great at, purely because I can't think of many matches like that he's actually been a part of. Lucha Memes is nothing if not a little different, though. Casas came into this off the end of a broken rib and his selling was pretty exceptional all the way through. He'd drop to a knee in between bouts of rapid matwork or rope running, maybe because he hadn't quite convalesced like he thought, maybe because he's almost sixty and sixty year olds need a breather now and then. Aramis is a fun young flier and he wasn't about to go easy on a legend. His challenging of Casas to strike battles maybe bordered on hubris, but it led to a great moment where he took his shirt off mid-chop exchange because he is a man and pain is temporary or whatever, so Casas made to take his trunks off because I guess this is a thing the young folk do these days. Aramis almost topeing himself through the awning support post was outrageous, but of course the people were quick to check on Casas first and foremost, even to the point where it got a laugh out of Casas. I'd be all for Casas doing more of this sort of thing, provided his body held up to it.
On one hand this didn't totally connect with me like I wanted. But then on the other hand it was still a pretty awesome balls out sprint. If nothing else it's yet another notch on the belt that is Negro Casas' case as the best wrestler to ever do it. Sub-10 minute sprints aren't necessarily what I'd think of if someone asked me what Casas was great at, purely because I can't think of many matches like that he's actually been a part of. Lucha Memes is nothing if not a little different, though. Casas came into this off the end of a broken rib and his selling was pretty exceptional all the way through. He'd drop to a knee in between bouts of rapid matwork or rope running, maybe because he hadn't quite convalesced like he thought, maybe because he's almost sixty and sixty year olds need a breather now and then. Aramis is a fun young flier and he wasn't about to go easy on a legend. His challenging of Casas to strike battles maybe bordered on hubris, but it led to a great moment where he took his shirt off mid-chop exchange because he is a man and pain is temporary or whatever, so Casas made to take his trunks off because I guess this is a thing the young folk do these days. Aramis almost topeing himself through the awning support post was outrageous, but of course the people were quick to check on Casas first and foremost, even to the point where it got a laugh out of Casas. I'd be all for Casas doing more of this sort of thing, provided his body held up to it.
Sunday, 1 April 2018
2018 Day 7
Zack Sabre Jr. v Darby Allin (EVOLVE 98, 1/13/18)
Killer match. I'm still finding my feet with Sabre, but this was the first truly awesome performance of his that I've seen. It's the first time I've seen Allin in any shape or form, and I wasn't sure what I was expecting from him but this wasn't really it. He was pretty great here too, though. His roll-ups out the gate were really sharp and fluid and I like that he tried to take it to the mat with Sabre. He was never going to win like that, but I bought him being too stubborn to actually know it. The story of someone trying to prove himself by taking on an opponent at his own game can sometimes come off as forced, but this didn't and a lot of it was down to Allin's selling and wild reactions. Sabre just abused him for like 85% of the match. Any advantage Allin managed to take was fleeting, as Sabre would continually grab him and torture him. Some of the joint manipulation was absurd, bending an elbow here, fingers there, twisting a wrist, digging knuckles into ribs, moving onto an ankle, driving a knee hard into the mat, often doing two or three things at once. There was a point where he'd tied Allin up in some preposterous fashion and afterwards he celebrated by flexing his flimsy biceps like a big idiot and it ruled. Allin was great trying to fight out of all this, punching himself in the face like he was trying to deviate all that pain from having his limbs contorted to a spot of his choosing. He was coming out of this hurt, but it would be on his terms. The longer it went the more condescending Sabre became, kicking and slapping Allin in the face as the commentators kept noting how out of character it was. You could see him growing annoyed, but Allin wouldn't quit. Maybe it's because he's a moron, but he didn't know how to and eventually it led to openings where he almost scored that upset. The finish being the most brutal piece of misery Sabre inflicted upon him was a pretty fitting way to cap the whole thing off.
Killer match. I'm still finding my feet with Sabre, but this was the first truly awesome performance of his that I've seen. It's the first time I've seen Allin in any shape or form, and I wasn't sure what I was expecting from him but this wasn't really it. He was pretty great here too, though. His roll-ups out the gate were really sharp and fluid and I like that he tried to take it to the mat with Sabre. He was never going to win like that, but I bought him being too stubborn to actually know it. The story of someone trying to prove himself by taking on an opponent at his own game can sometimes come off as forced, but this didn't and a lot of it was down to Allin's selling and wild reactions. Sabre just abused him for like 85% of the match. Any advantage Allin managed to take was fleeting, as Sabre would continually grab him and torture him. Some of the joint manipulation was absurd, bending an elbow here, fingers there, twisting a wrist, digging knuckles into ribs, moving onto an ankle, driving a knee hard into the mat, often doing two or three things at once. There was a point where he'd tied Allin up in some preposterous fashion and afterwards he celebrated by flexing his flimsy biceps like a big idiot and it ruled. Allin was great trying to fight out of all this, punching himself in the face like he was trying to deviate all that pain from having his limbs contorted to a spot of his choosing. He was coming out of this hurt, but it would be on his terms. The longer it went the more condescending Sabre became, kicking and slapping Allin in the face as the commentators kept noting how out of character it was. You could see him growing annoyed, but Allin wouldn't quit. Maybe it's because he's a moron, but he didn't know how to and eventually it led to openings where he almost scored that upset. The finish being the most brutal piece of misery Sabre inflicted upon him was a pretty fitting way to cap the whole thing off.
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