anarchistxx

I prefer going to shows with a few kids there. Makes for a better atmosphere, especially at some indy shows when they're more vocal about the 'good guys'. Then again, it's easy to get caught up in the atmosphere of a show. I really criticised ROH fans for their duel chanting and 'this is awesome' chants, yet I was at a recent 1PW show and found myself doing the same thing. Nobody bothered the kids at that show though, and a lot of them made the event a success. There were so many kids who bought the 'Pukka 1' orange t-shirt and were allowed in the ring in the intermission, and it added to the atmosphere for the Darren Burridge match.

Watched ROH Final Battle 2005, my last 2005 show before I get onto the newer stuff. Must get round to writing full reviews for these, I've only done ROH Final Showdown and a couple of random matches. Anyways... Rave/Milano was a good opener. Classic heel/face structure, well put together, the sort of simple match ROH needs more of on their shows. **1/4 Cabana/Azreial was a joke. Azreial is just useless, and Cabana isn't much better unless he's doing comedy, so as you'd expect, this sucked. 1/2* Claudio/Nigel was solid. They made good use of the two referee's, told a nice little story around Nigel not being able to cheat, once again a good heel/face structure built around a decent feud. Castagnoli can be a little uninteresting, and Nigel is kind of inconsistent, but it was OK. ** Shelley/Corino was really a bit random. Corino is the face, but nobody really likes him and anyway, why have face or heel when you can do duelling chants? The match itself was once again a solid affair, but very forgettable. Some decent arm work, Corino did a pretty great job of selling it actually, I can't fault him for that, but just seemed a bit out of place. *3/4 I usually hate 4-Corner Survial's, but at least Dragon/Joe/Whitmer/Lethal had some purpose, and with the variety of angles they took into the match, it was always going to be somewhat interesting. Joe was so far above the rest and it showed, and his perfornmance saved the match from mediocrity, bit too much non selling and chucking out random offence at the end, but the finish made sense and it was an altogether fun bout. **1/4 Strong/Aries v Mamaluke/Rinauro was good. I like Aries and Strong as a team, and they had the roles nailed down really well, with the champs having to cheat to get the advantage against the superior challengers. Mamaluke looked really good here, so not so subtle heel work, and I lvoed the multiple barricade attacks on Aries. The built well to the hot tag, and once again they got the right finish. **1/2 Danielson/Marafuji was good, but didn't blow me away. There were some great moments, but the match just seemed to lack direction. I wasn't digging the Eddie/Dean throwback spots either. It's the kind of match that's technically good, and you can't analytically find a lot wrong with the psychology or selling, but it didn't have a lot of depth, and ends up being just another title defence. Kobashi took Marafuji to a much better match than this. **3/4 Ki/KENTA kind of fell victim to its own hype. The cries of 'best match ever' and the like had me going in expecting a classic, which in all reality, it wasn't. It was nice and stiff, but after the first 5 minutes there was little to shout about up until the strecth. Low Ki busts out all his spots, Kenta busts out a few of his, there were times when this match looked great, but it didn't come together for them in the end. This is good-very good, and if you mark for stiff battles you'll probably go crazy over this. Apart from the stiffness, there isn't a lot to set this apart from a regular ROH main event. I would have prefereed gangster Ki, and some of his selling was rather dodgy at times, overselling when he hit a move, yet when Kenta was on offence his selling was pretty average. They got the big match atmosphere down nicely, and the action was good, you'll rpobably get more out of the match if you come in expecting less. ***1/4 Why does Christopher Daniels get a promo on DVD every show? He's an awful interview. I beg ROH to stop this happening. I liked the show. Everything on the undercard beside the Cabana match was solid, and a lot of it was pretty good. Add in two main events which while they don't live up to the hype, are certainly an enjoyable way tgo spend an hour, and you've got a good show all round. Not the best show they've done, but most will like it. Solid all round.

Watched ROH Vendetta yesterday. Delirious/Ace Steele v Chad Collyer/Nigel McGuiness was an acceptable enough opener. They didn't bring anything fresh or interesting, but they had a nice little story worked around Steele and Collyer, and it was at least watchable. Can't say it did a lot for me though. *1/2 Jimmy Jacobs v Sal Rinauro was suprisingly good. In fact, Jacobas has become one of the most watchable guys in ROH right now, with his new gimmick with Lacey. Anyway, some successful comedy, some decent wrestling towards the end, just wish ROH didn't have to have 5 nearfalls and people kicking out of finishers every match. **1/4 BJ Whitmer v Claudio Castagnoli didn't grip me at all. Don't get me wrong, the work wasn't so bad, but I have zero interest in Whitmer, and Claudio having a good match usually depends on him having a game opponent. 3/4* I can't believe Christopher Daniels is still so over. Another depressing 'Daniels' style match, made worse by the fact he was facing the best wrestler in the world, Samoa Joe, and still couldn't produce something good. Joe wasn't at his best here, I wasn't feeling the feud, Daniels was himself. Not a car wreck, but Joe can do so much better. *1/2 Adam Pearce v Davey Andrews is one of the worst debuts I've ever seen. Pearce is so dull both in character and what he does in the ring, and Andrews doesn't bring anything to the table either. It wasn't even one of those fun squashes where somebody gets totally destroyed. 1/4* The second Danielson/Strong match was good, but it's very overrated, and not a patch on the first. The transitions were weak and the offence switched far too ofetn. Dragon's selling was pretty crap for a lot of this: he takes a slam on the steel ramp, and 10 seconds later is back on top after a kick to the gut. It was also too long, and Dragon's smirk and heeling felt out of place 30+ minutes in to a gruelling match. The beginning was great, but at times they looked like they were killing time out there with some stuff. Sometimes this looks like a real top drawer bout, and like I said I enjoyed it. Dragon once again did some nice heeling, Strong did a good job at playing the plucky underdog, it had a lot of things going for it. But it should have been 30 instead of 47. Don't know why people prefer this to the This Means War match. *** The Generation Next/Embassy 8-Man was fun. Ending was shocking, and Shelley's attack on Evans was awesome. Honestly, you will cringe at some of the stretches. Everyone was showcased pretty well, and everyone established their role, and stuck to it nicely. Pretty entertaining for the most part, even if it was just there to whet your appetite for Steel Cage Warfare. *** Not one of the better ROH shows. The 2 main events are definately worth watching, and it was booked well. Better than This Means War but didn't hit the heights of the previous Dragon/Strong match with anything on the show. ---------- Also watched ROH Steel Cage Warfare today. Ring Crew Express v Blade/Mikaze had some reasonable high flying action, but the problem is nobody actually cares about these teams. No structure, no character, no point. 1/2* Have to admit I liked Andrews/Primeau. Perhaps because it was the opposite of the above match, but Andrews squashing him was good to watch. Extra marks for the numerous Ricky Reyes squahses after the match. * Colt Cabana/Milana Collection AT v Sal Rinauro/Tony Mamaluke was fair. Serious Cabana sucks, but I enjoy MIlano, and the tag champs are serviceable at least. Won't blow your mind, but was a passable outing. *1/2 Dragon/Romero was really great. In fact, there's probably nothing to choose between this and the first Strong match as Dragon's best defence. It also happens to be criminally underrated, don't know why it was easily the best match on this show. Loved the work around the kicks and submissions leading to the big moves, everything felt real, an engrossing contest. SElling both through the facials and actions was good, and just an all round quality piece of wrestling. ***3/4 Joe/Lethal was good as well, I'd probably put it around the same level of their Manhattan Mayhem match. Action before the heel turn was good, with Lethal believably playing the underdog face, then getting frustrated when he couldn't match up to Joe and put him away, so resorting to the chair. Simple story that they played out, Joe showed why he's the best in the world by being an awesome sympathy face, a role he's not exactly used to playing. Liked Lethal going over clean. Couple of blown spots, but they don't detract from the match, it was a little methodical in the beginning, but overall it was good. ***1/4 Homicide/Corino was basically ruined by Cide's shoulder injury. Even then though, they managed to put on a more than watchable bout, and the attacks to the ear with the fork were both sickening and entertaining. Cide's character work came across really well, with his sadistic smiles after the attacks, and Corino at least brought some intensity and hate. Could have done without the contrived board spot at the end, but they deserve great props for pulling a decent match out here. **1/4 The Embassy/Generation Next Steel Cage Warfare I have mixed feelings about. As a feud blowoff, it wasn';t as good as it could and should have been. It really drags at times, a lot of the action is predictable, and it feels more like an angle than a match at some pojnts. Then again,t here are some really fun moments, most of them bring the hate, adn they had some good ideas. It was good no doubt about it, but just too long and meandering to be anything special, and it's only the third best match on the show. **3/4 This was better. I doubt I'll ever watch the first 3 matches again, but Dragon/Romero is worth getting the evn for a alone. Chuck in a damn good Joe/Lethal match, and two other reasonable matches, and you have a worthwhile show.

I'm sure that was because of security reasons surrounding Sgt Slaughter's 'Iraqi Sympathiser' character.

Wrestlemania will always sell out: end of story. Usually the tickets sell in about an hour don't they? And in any case, I don't think Vince would have gone to a big stadium if he didn't have some big match he thought he could get.

Catching up on some ROH, I have 3 2005 shows that I wanted to see, then everything in 2006 from 4th Anniversary up to Destiny, without the Weekend Of Champions and How We Roll shows. I've seen 3 of the milestone series already though. Saw ROH This Means War 2005 tonight, and I have to say, the show was really bad, probablyh the worst ROH show I've seen. Claudio v Shelley opened up. I don't usually like these exhibition style matches but I dug this for the most part. They engaged in what turned out to be a fascinating matwork battle for the first 10-12 minutes, and it only really dropped off when they got a bit cliched towards the finish. The angle with Nigel helped, as did Shelley's great charisma. Was a promising start. **3/4 The Blade/Mikaze v Azreial/Andrews tag was really bland. None of the 4 bring anything different or interesting to the table, it doesn't say a lot for Azreial that his finest ROH hour was being squashed by American Dragon. Wrestling was actually OK, but nobody was interested. 3/4* While it was very fun watching Reyes squash the despicable Mitch Franklin, there didn't seem to be much point in it. Especially since all his push did was set him up to lose to Aries a few times. 1/2* The Kikutaru/Whitmer/Nosawa/McGuiness match was a waste. Why they continue to book these pointless bouts is beyond me- especially since they brought it two imports for this one. As 4-Ways go, this was right down on the lower end of the spectrum. There was some failed comedy, some dull wrestling, and this show is getting worse. 1/2* Styles/Aries is supposedly an Indy Dream match, but I can't say it's ever popped up in any of my naps. It isn't all that good either. They don't mesh well together, and while there's a few cool things to see, it's another nothing match. I like Aries when he's doing character work, such as his grumpy ROH veteran act, but in terms of his offensive reportoire I find him rather 'indy' for my liking, for lack of a better term. Still, he's better than AJ. *3/4 Cabana/B-Boy was just dismal. The wrestling was stale, Cabana couldn't seem to decide on his character, B-Boy wasn't over and there was never any doubt about the result. Not especially bad, just totally boring. The after match brawl with Homicide was also pretty bad, not helped by the fact the fans cheered loudly for Homicide, when he was booked as the despicable heel. 1/2* Please never let Lethal or Daniels attempt comedy again. To be fair, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, but it came accross as terrible on tape. Then again, when they got onto the wrestling it was maybe even worse. I had a forlorn hope that as Curry Man Daniels might be a bit better, but here he is, his same old self. Another waste. 1/2* Dragin/Strong saved the show. Dragon is the cocky prick who thinks he's better than everyone, Strong is the young upstart with a lot of heart but whose not quite on Dragon's level. Some great moments, too many to mention, liked the struggles for the Strong-Hold, like the finish coming out of nowhere, loved Dragon flipping of the fans when they beckoned him to come and do the ole ole kick on the other side. Not a perfect match by any means, and the work they did was really simple, but it succeeded because of that. They didn't give away too much with their first match, yet told a compelling story and the time flew by. Very good, though I hope they'll go on to better things. ***1/2 So yeah, without Dragon/Strong this show sucks. Next, it's Vendetta.

I'd love to rank this really highly, but unfortunately it's hard to when it's so clipped. My version starts on the start of the decimation of Kobashi's leg, so it's JIP pretty far through. What's after it is great, if not quite as great as the same tag with Kawada replaced by Kikuchi on 21/10/91. But the 20/04 tag has great selling by Kobashi, a molten crowd, as you'd expect the roles are perfectly defined. But still around ***3/4 for me. Unusual but I'd rate this higher than you. I think it's better than the clash match, a lot tighter and they fit a lot more in, with some great moments like Vader just pummeling Sting around the ring. The Bash was first, but this built on it and they did an even better job. Watched recently. The main thing it has going for it is the awesome story, especially if you know the background of it being Austin's last match. Unfortunately, the first few minutes aren't good at all. They get through on their charisma, but the actual action isn't that good. The leg work by Rock makes sense and works well, and the finish is decent enough, only about *** at the most though for me. That's really suprising. Both matches are really overrated, but I don't like Punk/Joe I at all, and I like Eddie/Lesnar quite a bit. Thought it was a bit similar to the Orton match myself, in that stuff like Edge's thumbtack bump didn't have the great impact it should have. Finish was brilliant, match was just good. My current MOTY is Dragon/Shelley from Arena Warfare, though I'm getting 7 new ROH shows in from this year which will likely change it. Also haven't seen any Puro this year apart from Marafuji/Kobashi which on a second viewing isn't nearly as good. Dragon/Shelley is real entertaining until Dragon stops his leg work, and then it goes average for a while, until they pick it up for the stretch. First 15 minutes are good enough to keep it around ***1/2 stars and my MOTY so far.

Thanks been searching around for that one.

Loss, what's the finish to that match? Does Misawa go over Taue with the Tiger Suplex? If so it's a date I've been searching for. I've got the date down as 12/05/91 at the moment.

I think him doing the jobs is a good reason he's stayed over. People have legitimate sympathy for him because of it. He was getting some boos at Wrestlemania and I believe the show after, so I think the losses were done for a reason, since a lot of people were questioning Rey's legitmacy as World Champion. Oh, and I'm not 'Daryl Devaney' on SC by the way.

A question rather than a thought but it doesn't deserve it's own thread. Looking for a match date. It's an All Japan early 90's 6 Man Tag (Likely 1991). It's Kobashi/Kikuchi/Misawa v Taue/Tsuruta/Fuchi, it features leg work on Kobashi and Kikuchi, and Taue beats Kikuchi when he cathces him running in with a kind of STO (Not sure of actual name). It could be either 26/08/90 or 24/03/91 though could be neither. My DVD also has a Taue/Fuchi/Jumbo v Kawada/Kobashi/Misawa tag supposedly on 24/3/91 but I'm sure that's the wrong date.

For a name that hasn't been mentioned, Tully Blanchard is supposed to still be in pretty good shape. And I can't see Lesnar having that many injuries if he came back to the WWE. He could make a deal where he doesn't do house shows, and his style isn't exactly that high risk. I doubt he's going to be trying Moonsault's off a cage knowing he already has a previous history of bad neck injuries.

I think it'll be Booker defending against Taker first, and then moving onto Batista after that feud. Rey may even get a rematch, since they make a big deal out of the 'rematch clause' they days.

I think the main problem is that TNA doesn't want most of ROH's guys (Briscoes, Delirious) and ROH doesn't want most of TNA's guys (Gunn, Konnan). There's only a few guys who go between the companies now in any case.

Here we are Loss, you said you wanted to see a match that I loved and here it is (If you still wnat to read it, after all that went down...)... NWA Heavyweight Championship Jumbo Tsurata v Kerry Von Erich (AJPW 22/05/1984) Really, really, good. The first fall is the weakest of the three, though not at all bad, and is necessary for build and to make the audience more involved with what was to come. Even then, it managed to be a decent fall. The quickly establish that Kerry has the speed advantage, and even though they don't play off it a great deal in the bout, it's always there. This fall is basically about Jumbo being one step ahead. Kerry gets the odd opening, but Jumbo's always got an answer, and never looks in trouble. He has the home crowd behind him, and takes real advantage of it, by out intimidating Kerry and showing him who the man really is. The action is a little stop start, and Kerry's selling is a little erratic, but the fall was a great setup for the rest of the bout. The second fall is where it really gets going. Jumbo is just great at attacking Kerry straight from the bell, and busting him open pretty badly. Next is one of my favourite wrestling moments, where Jumbo is just repeatedly coming down with blows in the corner, with the referee helplessly trying to pull him off. Part of the reason this fall is so good is it gives me the ability to suspend disbelief. At the start of the fall, it's almost a given Kerry will win it and take it into a third. But as the match goes on, you find you don't know what's going to happen. Kerry is bleeding all over the place, and only trying desperation offence, and everything he does Jumbo once again has an answer for. It's so intruiging and entertaining. The Iron Claw is used really well to end the fall. It's hit out of desperation, and turns the match completely on its head, not only getting the victory, but weakening Jumbo for the rest of the match. Jumbo, who thought he had it in the bag, is now faced with an uphill struggle, and Kerry's work communicating his aggression and desire through his facials and the extended Iron Claw after the bell is top notch. The third fall is likely the best of the three. There is great parrellelism at the beginning, with Kerry now in command and pounding on Jumbo with blows. They pull out yet another memorable moment, with a bloody Von Erich desperately trying to put the Claw on, and Jumbo desperately trying to escape it. Then, Jumbo starts to show his brilliance, in case you didn't already now. His vicious hand work is just so right for the situation. Firstly, it's brilliant in that it's focused, aggressive, sold amazingly well, and executed perfectly, both through his actions, mannerisms and facials. It's also great from a psychology standpoint: after all, the claw is the only move that has been able to do any damage to Jumbo in the match. It's simple, but it works. Don't discount Kerry's role in the match though, as he does more than enough to make sure this is a match to remember. After the hand work, it's just awesome, back and forth action. They bring the pinning sequences which they get spot on with their timing, and because of it act as legitimate nearfalls for the crowd. The finish is also memorable, the brawl on the outside, the backdrop on the floor, Kerry refusing to release the claw. This match had a few issues, like nearly all matches, but there is no doubting what a superb match it really is, and it isn't all just down to Jumbo either. Kerry's best ever match, and it's only a testemant to how great Jumbo was that he has several matches which rival this. Great emotion, drama, heat and action, one of my favourite bouts.****1/2 And some more stuff besides... Stan Hansen v Dory Funk Jr. (AJPW 26/04/1984) There is some good action packed in here, despite the lack of a coherent structure and story. In many ways, this is a clash between old school and new school. Dory, the ageing veteran, focuses his attack almost exclusively on holds, whereas Hansen weighs in with the hard strikes and relatively forward offence. They do a decent job of getting this over, though there are times when Hansen is on top wrestling, and Funk is striking and brawling his way to victory. Stan does an excellent blade job, though I'm not sure it was entirely necessary, but then again, it certainly lifted the match at a part where it was starting to drag, and added an intense element to the contest. I enjoyed Hansen a lot more out of the two, as he tended to bring more to the table and put more effort into the match. Dory's work was good and suited his character, but you couldn't help feeling he wasn't exactly throwing 100% into it all. Unfortunately, a few sloppy moves do occur, the most noticeable being a piledriver in which it's blatantly obvious Funk's head doesn't hit the mat. They do some nice teasing of spots, mostly based around the spinning toe hold, but at times the match does seem to lack direction. The finish with the Brody run in was disppointing, but they more than made up for it and the earlier botch, with a sick Spike Piledriver delivered to Funk on the exposed floor. This is never a match that will be discussed much, as it is too middle of the road, but has sufficient quality and entertaining sections to keep the viewer entertained. *** Jumbo Tsuruta v Rick Martel (AJPW 13/05/1984) This wasn't a bad match, but given the workers, and the time they got, you felt it could have been a lot better. The referee didn't help matters: Gene Kininski looks like Earl Hebner compared to this guy. His slow counts ruin any potential near falls, and he seems to be doing his best to take your attention away from the match and on to him. Not that the match is all that riveting mind you. It lacks any real focus for the majority. As soon as somebody tries to take it somewhere, as with Jumbo and the arm work, the other guy soon finds himself back on offence, and it all lacks any real structure. Furthermore, they can't seem to sort out their face/heel dynamic. Initially, it seems that Martel is the face, which is backed up by the crowds reacvtion, but then he'll give Jumbo some sympathy selling or work a 4 minute headlock. At times the action also seems to drag a whole lot. There are positives in the bout. The struggle for moves are always good, most noticeably in the case of Jumbo's armlock. Whatever they do, they put somethig extra into it: they don't just work the holds stationary, they tussle, crank them on harder and just generally work them. A younger Martel is far more athletic, and the points where he quickens the pace or probably the best of the contest. Jumbo is just Jumbo, with his facials and execution making ordinary moves look something different. This certainly isn't the most exciting match you'll ever see, nor does it have any sort of deep or meaningful storytelling and psychology. That isn't a major problem, but just don't go in here expecting an amazing match. It's a good match, but one that could, and in all honesty should, have been better. **1/2 Giant Baba v Stan Hansen (AJPW 31/07/1984) This was a heated brawl that was way better than I thought it had any right to be. Baba is awfully out of shape at this point, and doesn't look like he can do much at all, but he actually turns in a good display. Of course, it helps that he's insanely over with the crowd, and that his opponent is as awesome as Hansen, but nevertheless, his display can't be discounted. He communicates and adds drama to the bout through his facials, and suprisingly brings a nice range of offence to the table. He's willing to take Hansen's big hits as well, which adds to the match in a big way. It sounds like a cliche with 80's AJ by now, but the struggles for moves are once again excellent here. They also have the crowd in the palm of their hand, and there is so much heat for the bout which it badly needed to make it work. The brawling sections are brutal and entertaining, and for the stretch they pull out some believable near falls, and overall great action. While the selling throughout was generally good, I thought Baba could have sold the leg a little more towards the finish, especially with some of the vicious work Hansen did over it. As well, sometimes the offence switches between the two a little too freely. When sometimes it would be nice to see a better transition, given the fact that one of them may have been working over the other with a lot of offence for a few minutes, instead a small counter turns the tables instantly. Still, this really exceeded my expectations, and while it's no classic, it was a lot of fun to watch. ***1/4

The Dusty DVD Documentary was really overrated, and I found it boring from when they started talking about his WWF run. Which, incidentally, they spent far too long on.

Actually, there's several. 1. They wrestled only a few weeks ago on the WWE v ECW special. 2. Most of the WWE crowd doesn't care about Sabu, and don't even know who he was or what he's done. 3. It isn't really that big a match anyway. 4. They want to give Cena something better to do at the big 4- after all, he's perceived as their top guy.

Don't know why people are bitching so much. ECW TV from 99-01 was awful in itself. When the 'good' stuff was on, barely anyone saw it, and the only bits people have seen are the 'good' bits. Who knows if it was crap. So maybe the new ECW is poor, I haven't watched it and wouldn't know, but I do know that ECW TV from 99-01 was absolutely awful, so it isn't as if ECW TV was good in the past.

I guess, but HHH has been booked in a way that now he's always the favourite in his matches, whoever he's facing. The exception would be against guys like Undertaker or Angle, who people buy as equals to HHH.

The reason Triple-H took him lightly was because HHH perceives himself as the top guy, and thinks Cena is just a street thug. Doesn't hurt Cena's credibility, especially since he beat him, convincingly. Edge has to go over for the title at Vengeance. Just hold some tournament in ECW or something. Then Edge can feud with Cena and then hopefully we can see an Edge/HHH feud, which would be a new match I'd actually be interested in seeing, even if it wouldn't be amazingly good. Edge and Lita are really good at the moment, from any recent stuff I've seen. An Edge title win would make me tune into Raw the next night, just like I ded when he won the strap in January. Cena isn't out of options for feuds once the Edge feud is over, he can go heel and feud with Michaels when he heals or Carlito, and he can stay face and wrestle Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Masters, Umanga and eventually Orton at Wrestlemania. They aren';t the most exciting of matches but he'll get his heat back.

Cena is completely protected. He never loses clean, in fact has lost less than 5 times in about 18 months, the times he does lose he's at a real disadvantage by other factors.

People voted for the matches. There are supposed to be 5 from each decade. No Race/Backlund means I won't be buying it.

Started watching Flair/Jumbo 2/3 falls 08/06/82 Watched it with my dinner but when my dinner finished Turned it off in the 1st fall when Jumbo locked the Boston Crab

Watched Jumbo/Tenryu 04/90 Not bad but 80's bouts were better I won't be reviewing it