anarchistxx

I'd be very interested. It might be an idea to throw in the Wrestling With Shadows documentary as Disc 13, which would cap the whole set off.

May I nominate the Taka Michinoku v Dick Togo match from K-Dojo on 04/03/05. Awesome match, they build it around the crossface so well, and the finishing run is really hot. Many times I thought it was over, the build in this match is absolutely perfect, from working a slow pace to picking it up at the end. Not too much goofy no selling, so good neck work from both, leading to the crossface spots and everything was really smooth. Probably won't have time to put it on the disc, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. You should all see it.

I just read that Hogan would often have his match midway through the show, so he could leave early. Because of this, they ended the match with an excitng tag match, which would send the crowd home happy, in the absence of Hogan.

When Hogan wanted to leave early

One pronblem may be that many people have seen most of the matches on the set. That'll be the reason I won't be buying them. I'll happily discuss though, since I have most of the matches on DVD.

The problem is, there's only a few categories I'd be interested in. It's like with Good Helmet's MOTY discs, I'd be interested but I've seen 80% of the stuff anyway, and what I want I have acquired, and what I don't want I don't want to acquire. Similarly, in the recent WWE, WWF and WCW topics, as well as 90's AJPW, I've seen what I want to see, and have no reason to want to see more. The Lucha, Joshi and Indy 96-PD are the only ones I have any interest in. Wouldn't it be easier to do one project first, and then if it works go on to the next one, and so on?

Well, although most of you may have hated the weeks developements in the WWE, I thought they added some great unpredictability, and not only that will most likely pull in more viewers. I'm begging them to continue with Edge pushing the mark on TV, because he has been highly entertaining recently, even before his Title win. Raw got the best rating its had in a year, and expect Smackdown to go up as well.

I like ROH matches that don't start with a useless wrestling sequence.

So you read the book Loss? There's more than one side to every story, you know. I've read many books, but I don't automatically believe that everything in them is true. And for the record, I hate a lot of WWE stuff. I just don't hate all of it as a way of life. If I see something good, I compliment it. It's not like I'm WWE's Number 1 Fan. I Wrote |Loss Wrote I take you back to page 4... Loss Wrote And in actual fact, nobody would say WWE is a strong as they were five years ago. That doesn't mean everything they throw out is shit. If this were the attitude era, you'd still be finding something to complain about. Oh, and by the way.... Loss Wrote Loss Wrote Loss Wrote here you are, putting words into my mouth that I never said. And you have a go at me for doing the same thing? And call me a hypocrite. Strikes me as pretty ironic, actually. And then you talk about me making sweeping generalizations, and you make one right here. What, are you so special that nobody could possibly know these facts but you? You have no clue whether he or I knows these facts or not.

And Loss, I enjoy your posts but I really think you should stop acting superior in this thread. Telling people that they have 'no idea what they are talking about', they probably know the same facts as you but have formed a different opinion on them. Just because you've watched thousands of matches doesn't mean you always know better.

Jesus Christ people, Coffey was entertained. If people are entertained than buyrates will go up. So you telling him he knows fuck all about the business and what put WCW down (And quite frankly, you probably don't either) is ridiculous. And those complaining, you'd be complaining if Cena had retained. or if Masters had won. Or if Caerlito had won. Or if Angle had won. Or if HBK had won. Or if Kane had won. You're seemingly never happy. At least it had some shock value, and yes, in my opinion, will make a lot more people tune into Raw tomorrow night, than if Cena had predictably retained. So yes, it will probably entertain me, and bring in ratings. I think it was absolutely the right move. It would have made no sense for Edge to cash in at a PPV when Cena was fresh and ready. It made perfect sense for him to cash in now when Cena has just had a gruelling match. For people that drone on about the WWE's 'booking decisions not making sense', you've sure been quick to shit on this one. Sorry to be having a go, but your constant negativity towards whatever the WWE does is ridiculous. If Rey mysterio won the World Title you'd be complaing about a bad finish or something.

Spud

Waylon Mercy

ROH FINAL SHOWDOWN Alex Shelley v Roderick Strong (Final Showdown) One of the best ROH openers I've seen. They play the story of Shelley coming for revenge against generation Next, emphasized by his attack on them before the match, and this leads into an intense, hard-hitting affair. We soon establish that they know each others moves, and it's going to come down to a mistake, with the coll finisher reverse section in the early stages, and the pace never really lets up from then on. The key to a successful opener, is that there's plenty happening, and this match has that, whether in stiff strike battles, or nice, if a little predictable, counter sequences. It follows a tried and tested formula, with early face domination, followed by a heel beatdown, followed by a face comeback. They manage to keep the intruige going, by the way they let their oppone t have comebacks. Shelley teases several comebacks during the Strong control segment, and when he finally does get a run of moves going, the build gives it a big pop. A lot of good moves were hit in the match, but unlike a Special K match, they all felt in the right position, and not just that they were their for show. One criticism is Shelley's selling. It isn't anything really glaring, but there isn't much of it. He's OK once he's just taken a move, but he forgets about the reasonable extensive back work later on. Strong doesn't have a lot of long term stuff to sell, but what he needs to he sells well. They told a simple revenge story., which they touched on reasonably. There were some really strong buts, such as Shelley spitting on him, and calling him a 'piece of s***', but when it came to actually hitting moves, and using mannerisms, it wasn't all their, a frequent problem with some ROH workers. Despite this, we got a really fun opener. It isn't an Owen/Bret, but it's the type of solid bout ROH needs on its undercard. The finish was well thought out, in order to make both wrestlers look good, which it did. In fact, Shelley and Strong weren't afraid to make each other look good in the match, bumping hard for each others offence and strikes, and in the end, it payed off, with both men coming out of the bout stronger than when they came in. *** Matt Striker v Masked Chicago Superstar (Final Showdown) Why they felt the need to put this match on the show is beyond me. If they were so desperate to put Striker on the show, they could have at least given him a opponent off the roster for a vaguely interesting bout. As it is, I went into this match with no interest in it, and nothing they did changed my mind. It wasn't that anything they did was that terrible, or full of botches. It's just that it was mundane, meaningless action, and I found my mind wandering about 30 seconds in. There's nothing to see in this one, I suppose if you are a fan of Matt Striker, then you might think this was OK, if not, avoid it. 1/4* Samoa Joe v Jack Evans v Delirious v Ebessan (ROH Final Showdown) As far as entertainment goes, this was one of the best matches on the event, well the first time I saw it. It was still entertaining the second time, but the humour had lost its edge. It isn't worth discussing the work, because that's not what they go for here. They went for a humorous bout, and for the most part, succeeded. Evans and Joe ruled, but I didn't find the Ebessan/Delirious stuff any more than midly amusing. Evans going over was good for me, though I'd have liked to see him run off with Joe's Pure Title at the end. The match protected everyone, Joe didn't look bad, seen as he didn't take the pin, Evans looked good, and it only made his character better, which can mean more entertainment. Delirious and Ebessan have no credibility, so they've nothing to lose. I actually liked Delirious's match with Lethal at JVPII, I'd like to see him do some more serious stuff. But that's another story. As far as this match is concerned, you'll be entertained, but don't expect anything with any substance. I enjoyed it. ** ROH TAG CHAMPIONSHIP CM Punk/Ace Steele v Jimmy Jacobs/BJ Whitmer (ROH Final Showdown) I got nothing that I wanted out of this bout. Not only was it underwhelming and for the most part boring, it was also a real waste of what could have been a reasonable match. After they spent so long building the tag in to Whitmer, he gets taken out after a couple of moves. And where's all the hate between Whitmer and the Saints? Who knows, but had they used it, and demonstarted it properly, this could have been a good match. They were actually trying to build something in the first couple of minutes, but that soon went out the window. The heat segment on Jacobs was nothing to be interested in, and the lack of a real face/heel structure completely damaged the match. Whitmer gave out his usual moves, with no thought for placement or timing. It all looked very lacklustre and by the numbers to me, and it is one of the worst matches Punk has been in. I couldn't get excited about anything that happened, and just wasn't bothered by what I was seeing. Most importantly, they didn't draw me in. It didn't help that the live crowd seemed uninterested for the most part, or that the only good spouts of offence were badly placed. There were some good things about the match, everything was done pretty crisply, and they built to a hot tag in a decent way. Unfortunately, since it wasn't a hot heel team dealing out the offence, it ceased to matter. This match isn't the worst you'll ever see, but it just leaves me feeling completely underwhelmed, and that watching it has been a waste of my time. *1/4 Jimmy Rave v Matt Sydal (ROH Final Showdown) This is a Top 10 ROH match this year for me, and much better than a lot of the pimped, for several reasons. Firstly, there is an actual heel and face demographic here, and each man's working and understanding of their role is far better than many higher up the card. Sydal times his comebacks to perfection, and he always includes something exciting, fiery and innovative to keep the crowd on his side. Rave, as well as the brilliant Price Nana on the outside, taunt the crowd at every opportunity, and heel it up. A simple Abdonimal Stretch segment in this match is far more effective than any of the fancy stuff much of the roster busts out. The result is you desperately wanting Sydal to win, and hating Rave and wanting him to not only lose, but get his ass kicked. This is all shown by the reactions of the live crowd, and the heat the bout generates. Also, there is none of the garbage that usually happens at the start and finish of a ROH bout. You sense these guys actually hate each other, and want to hurt each other, and they show it in other ways than simply throwing out stiff strikes. Instead of 5 Minutes of tedious mat work, that leads nowhere apart from to 40 Winks for the bored viewer, they start off with a fiery sequence of face domination, the way it should be. They don't try and make it epic, there's no handshake or anything like that, it's all action. It's the best match to demonstarte this since Lethal/Ki from MXR in ROH. There are no sickly cuddles at the end, just elation, anger and relief from the respective compeiteters. In terms of offence and the actual moves they perform, there's so much to see here, mostly from the awesome Sydal. His high flying moves are all so crisp and so effective, and he always knows the right time to use them. He also pulls out some great innovative slams and pins, all beautifully performed. They allow the crowd to get behind him and show he has to pull something extra out the tank to beat Rave. Rave, on the other hand, uses a more simple attack, but it is very effective in its own way. He does a great job of targeting the ribs, and they play a huge factor in the match, finally culminating in the finish courtesy of a Rave Clash. He busts out gut-busters, spears, all nicely done and positioned. There were plenty of near falls, and the match kept you on the edge of your seat. The structure of the match is good as well, as everything feels in control, and the beginning, middle and end all have clear themes and control sections. Rave's offence works so well, because Sydal sells it really well. There are no examples of him no selling everything, and he sells right up until the end, even when he's on the offensive. They make the most of every move, and make it count, and nothing looks forced. In addition, the timing is right on everything they do, nothing looks out of place, and they tell a consistent story of Sydal having to pull big moves out to beat Rave, while the cocky Rave wants to punish Sydal to send a message to Punk, and stop him messing with the Embassy. It's simple, but works well, nothing deep, but you wouldn't expect it from this sort of match. The pacing is brilliant, they never let up, and yet it doesn't feel too go-go-go. It's all spot on. The psychology was reasonable too, from rave's point of view, with him targeting the ribs as a set up to the Rave Clash. There are a few things that stop the match going to the top level. Firstly, the length. The bout simply isn't long enough (Around 10 Minutes) to build anything complex, or take it to the next level. Don't get me wrong, the length helps the match, as I doubt they could produce anything better in 30 Minutes, but it still stops it from being 'great'. There is also little attempt at charisma displayed. Rave especially needs to work on his facials, because to be honest, he doesn't seem to have any, and he showed little emotion in the match. It was less of a problem for Sydal, since he was the face and didn't have to rely on them much to get the crowd going, although he did make some attempt at evoking sympathy at a few points. Had Rave not had Nana on the outside, though, his shortcomings could have been a major problem. This was a really underrated match, and made a great change from all the 'epic' action of ROH. It didn't try to be 90's AJPW, it just went out and was itself. They were fairly ambitious in their offence, but mainly went for a simple match from a story perspective, which was fine by me, given its place on the card. May actually just creep into the Top 5 ROH this year for me, though it was not without its difficulties. I'm sure the ROHbots didn't dig it, but I really enjoyed it just the same. ***1/2 Doug Williams/Colt Cabana v Chad Collyer/Nigel McGuiness (ROH Final Showdown) Much the better of the nights Tag Matches, even if I wasn't a Williams mark. They actually keep a continuing theme throughout the match, of the cowardly McGuiness not wanting to go at it with Cabana, and Cabana and Williams outsmarting their opponents with the British style. This could have been a whole lot better had a drip like Collyer not been involved, who, while a reasonable wrestler, has the charisma of a fish. Still, his teams control segment was actually pretty good. They heeled it up nicely, and built to the hot Cabana tag. At the same time, they allowed Williams his comebacks, and always made the match look like a contest. The match had a slightly exhibition feel to it, which didn't help matters, but I though all 4 performed their roles to a decent level, if not producing anything too spectacular. At the end of the day, this was just a nice tag match, nothing more, nothing less. There are some cool spots, and there are some bits that aren't that good, but luvkily, due to its short duration, these are infrequent. Far more entertaining than the other Tag Match, and while they didn't throw out as much stuff, the stuff the gave us here was much better, and got me into the match. A solid outing. **1/4 ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Austin Aries v James Gibson (Final Showdown) This isn't a half bad title match. I fail to see how its been pimped as a MOTY Contender, but it's still a good match. The opening mat work is decent, but I'm still left wondering what the actual point in it was, except to show they can mat wrestle. It leads nowhere, and although you could call it a 'feeling out process', none of the work here convinces me that it's relevant. The Aries arm work that comes after is OK, but I would have preferred to see him work the back, which he actually started doing briefly, and then seemed to give up on. The main problem with the arm work is that it just doesn't lead anywhere. Gibson sells it great, but it is worthless, as it plays little part in the match. There are no payoffs at the end of the bout, Aries doesn't try to put Gibson out with any submissions, Gibson even manages to hit the Tiger Bomb. Had he not done this, I might have got at least something out of the arm work. In fact, it's not as if the actual wear down of it is anything to write home about either. Aries pulls a few interesting moves out of the bag, but they aren't executed with any conviction, and you really get no sense that he actually wants to hurt Gibson. The match picks up dramatically once they go to the outside for the second time. Gibson is showing his desire to win the ROH Title perfectly here, with his determined facials, and moves like the awesome flip into the crowd. We then go into several believable near falls, which again emphasize Gibson's desperation to win the Title, before Aries gets the win. Aries, on the other hand, shows me little in the match. No facials or emotion, not determination, no sense of urgency. It's by the numbers stuff, you don't feel as if Aries really wants to win, or that he is willing to hurt Gibson to do so. Sure, we may see it in his offence, but the way he carries himself while doing the moves is bland. Gibson was pretty great throughout the match, but his selling really got to be iffy at the finish. While he did a great sell-job on the arm the whole way through, he forgot about Aries Brain-buster and 450, being up 20 Seconds after both these moves took place. It hardly puts over Aries finishing holds, when Gibson is up, and not even bothering to sell the damage soon after. On the plus side, the match is certainly not what you'd consider bad. It has a nice flow and structure, and a decent face/heel structure, which the fans promptly ignore for the sake of their duelling chants. The commentators don't help the match either, with their pimping of the match as a 'classic' after an unremarkable first 10 Minutes. But back to the good stuff. it's a credit to Gibson that he manages to get the crowd behind him as mkuch as he did, and as I have mentioned, his facials, gutty comebacks and timing helped matters. There was a decent range of offence shown, with some good teasing of spots, such as the finishers onj the outside. Unfortunately, they don't seem to build to the finish much, apart from in the story of Gibson's determination, and unwillingness to let go of a hold. This also doesn't make a great deal of sense, as if he was so desperate to win the belt, he would surely release the hold, so as not to get DQ'd or countered. But still, it's just a minor fault. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be able to take it to another level. The have the ground work down, but instead of building up on what they did in the first half, they just resort to the usual finisher stuff at the end, when something a bit more intelligent could have been worked out. Don't get me wrong, the finishing moments are sufficient, and they do a much better job of showing Gibson's determination that Aries would do with Punk at DBDIII, but there is something missing. there is something missing the whole match actually, and I can't put my finger on what it is. But this was a good, if unspectacular match. All the MOTYC talk was misguided, but what you got was a solid World Title match, but not a lot else. The length is about right, and they do a good job of creating excitement in the second half. It almost seemed to me like you had a first half, and a second half, and while they were good in their own right, didn't fit together that well. *** STEEL CAGE American Dragon v Homicide (Final Showdown) I actually enjoyed this much more than the first time I watched it. Maybe my expectations were too high back then, but this is actually a pretty good match. It's not great, but they do a good job out there. It helps that the crowd are involved, and hate Homicide's guts. Speaking of Homicide, he is awesome in this bout. The opening attack on Dragon, where he appears vicious and deadly, using a fork to get the early advantage. Not only on the attack, he bumps hard for Dragon, really putting over everything he does. He launches hinmself into the cage head first, he does a good blade, he sells everything Dragon does on him superbly. This is quite pivotal to the success of the match, in fact, especially due to Dragon's ridiculous appearence. I can't decide whether he looks more like a librarian, or a character from Lord Of The Rings in this, but whatever it is, he doesn't look in the least bit threatening. Had Homicide not sold and took his attack as well as he did, Dragon could never have been bought as a credible opponent. In fact, he doesn't help his own cause. He doesn't appear to want to hurt Homicide a great deal, and while it picks up towards the latter stages, his mannerisms don't go with his actions. One such example is him grabbing the referee by the throat, onlyhe looks calm and unemotive when he does it. He bumps OK for Homicide's offence, but the Super Ace Crusher looks sloppy, and he shouldn't be executing Diving Headbutts from the cage if he is going to land on his feet. However, he does attack Homicide well, and with some good stuff. I was especially loving the Surfboard he busted out in the middle. The action was consistent in this, and always went at a nice pace. It never got boring, which is a rarity for Dragon, at least in my viewing, and cage stipulation seemed to be used well. There was some great intense spots to see, such as the trading headbutts and strikes on the ropes. Unfortunately, had they been done by Benoit or Regal, they could have been so much better. Still, they were good in their own right, and effective in telling the story they wanted to hurt each other, and din't mind hurting themselves in the process. There was about as much psychology as you can expect from a cage match, and while that isn't a lot, they showed they wanted to kill each other, mostly in Homicide's case, and Dragon used a smart attack to wear Homicide down. Not sure about the finish, didn't come across very well to me, especially with the way it was built, but it didn't bother me in a major way. There's nothing new or innovative to see here, and the match certainly isn't a classic, but you'll still find it an enjoyable bout. Homicide shines in particular, with his character being spot on, cursing and swearing at everything in sight, and attacking Dragon after the match. The near falls were sufficient, with the Homicide Low Blow-Lariat combination, which he used to put down Dragon at reborn Stage 2, being the best and most believable of these. It's worth checking out, moreso if you're a fan of Cide, but at the same time don't expect anything too great. I did, when i first watched it, and wound up being disapointed. ***1/4

I didn't think Dragon/Joe was anything special. Dragged somewhat in the middle, and they went right off track towards the finish. I never got into it at all. Also, too much time spent doing the ole ole crap. Perhaps it warrants a rewatch. I might review it once I finish my Final Showdown review.

Afraid not.

I'd much rather have seen Batista/Undertaker. I was hoping they'd get Henry/Batista over on Smackdown.

Kurt Angle - Overrated by most internet wrestling fans, underrated by most people on sites like this and DVDVR, not to mention all the ROHbots. I think he's a very good wrestler. He's not amazing, or the best wrestler around today, but his matches are varied and interesting, and he can pull a reasonable match out of most opponents. Great body of work, against a variety of wrestlers, with vastly differing styles. AJ Styles - I don't dig him at all. All the contrived sequences and spots he throws out every week do nothing for me. he is a decent worker, but nothing more. Shawn Michaels - He has the face role down to a tee, and is one of the best at playing it. His matches are generally of a good quality, and he has a number of very good-great matches in his body of work as well. Has a few problems with selling and psychology from time to time, similar to Angle, he is a very good rather than great worker. Kenta Kobashi - From what I have seen, Kobashi is great, but then again, I haven't seen all that much of him, aside from his highly pimped matches, so it's not fair for me to give an opinion. Christopher Daniels - The worst wrestler on this list by a kile. The fact that his in ring character is completely different from his gimmick. His 'perfect' moves which make his matches look more like ballet. His complete lack of facials or emotion in his matches. Can't stand him. ohn Bradshaw Layfield - Seems to have gone from underrated to overrated in the span of a few months. I don't love his mic work like some, but it is solid, but his ring work is just passable. Very carryable, but I don't think he's anything more than a reasonable talent. Necro Butcher - Must confess I've never seen a match of his.

I'm not encouraging Rey to take steroids. I like the way he looks, just don't think he would make a believable WWE Champion. I will reiterate, I like the way he looks, just in case he's reading this and orders some steroids. The US Division is fine for him, and for a man his size, has done incredibly well for himself.

I got into ROH a little bit, but to be honest I now have no motivation to watch any of their shows. The only wrestler from ROH that I want to watch is Samoa Joe. I recently picked up 5 DVD's and was unimpressed. The Punk/Aries match at DBDIII is certainly not the match I've been told it was. Only just makes *** in my view. And Punk's 'best promo ever' at the end, was average, and totally ripped Jake The Snake. I find most of their stuff to be very overrated. They do throw out MOTYC, and I have seen some great matches on their shows, but most of the time the hype exceeds the actualy performance. I don't watch WWE any more because their programming bores me. I only catch any pimped matches, and I buy some of their DVD releases. I have no interest in TNA. Samoa Joe once again is the only talent I have any interest in, and I can just download the matches he has. Out of the bunch, I'd say WWE is better, but I'm not a fan of either really at the moment.

Maybe that was a bad example, but if he came up with some other word for people to call him, and claimed it was for his white friends only, I'm sure you'd have something to say. HBK actually apologized for these actions to the creative team, and says he regretted it completely. For the record, it wasn't anything to do with putting over Hogan, it was about being put in a feud with Chris Masters. I'm not a HBK mark by any means, and I know he acted like a piece of shit in his first WWF run. II now accept that HBK has grown up, and out of that behaviour. He isn't even one of my favourite wrestlers, I just think he gets way too much flak of much of the IWC.

Viscrea has been portrayed like a jobber. Flair has been portrayed as a driven legend, despertae to get his own back to HHH, and prove that he 'still has it'. If your theory was correct, Viscera would be Main-Eventing PPV's, I suppose it would give you something else to complain about at least. The bottom line is, WWE wanted to put over Orton. He has been booked as stronger than Mysetrio, and he is the one in line for the future push. If there had been a count-out you would have complained about WWE not running a proper pinfall or submission finish. It's hardly going to lessen Rey's credibility, losing to the man who has beaten everyone on the entire roster. Add to that that it was a multi-man match, and the fact that Rey went over HBK clean on Raw just a couple of weeks back, then Rey loses nothing. Had HBK lost, he would have lost a lot of credibility, being pinned clean by Rey Mysterio in two straight matches, a man who was jobbing to talent such as Spike Dudley as recently as last year. I'm sure Mysterio didn't see the job as worthless. On the contrary, I'm sure he would have been thankful he was getting the rub from a legend such as HBK. The bottom line is, whoever HBK is booked to defeat, you will always claim he has an alterior motive. Despite all the reports he's changed, the reports that he's apologized for his actions in the past, the fact that he's put over HHH, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and many others since his return. That's most of the main event roster.

It's called protecting a finishing move. If people kicked out of it all the time, you'd just complain at that as well. Because that's obviously why Shawn got the pin. He was the last one left for crying out loud, who else was going to get the pin? If somebody else had pinned him earlier, you'd just moan on about how he was eliminated too early, and is being 'buried'. Of course, it's Shawn Michaels, so it has to be 'petty'. Were you saying that when Guerrero finally beat Mysterio? Of course not. And what would you say, if your white friend said you can't call him Dave or whatever his name is any more? If he said only his white friends could call him that? You'd call him racist, that's what. Smells like hypocrisy to me.

Tyson was beating opponents with KO punches, anybody can be put down or be hit with a hard punch and feel the effects. I'm not sure the same can be said for a hurricanrana, or indeed moves such as the West Coast Pop- how are we supposed to believe that a 280+ pounder is going to fall on his back because Mysterio jumps on his shoulders. Plus, Tyson wasn't dwarfed size wise, not height wise, by any of his opponents. HBK is a lot bigger, or appears to be a lot bigger than Mysetrio. Plus, his finisher is a kick which can be considered devestating whoever it hits on.

I am not encouraging Rey to get bigger. I don't think he should be bigger. I just think that at the size he is, he isn't a legitimate contender for the World Title.