Graham Crackers
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Everything posted by Graham Crackers
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I love this match and I especially love how it plays to everyone's strengths. I'm specifically speaking about Tenryu, Kobash, and Go. Tenryu is a fantastic heel. Like I pointed out before, the way he avoids going toe to toe with Kobashi is perfect heeling for NOAH. Kobashi's getting more and more worn down at this point so he's basically there to kick ass and tag out. Most of that ass kicking is in the form of the chops but Tenryu goes above and beyond in making you understand how serious Kobashi's chops are. Not only does he do his best to avoid them, when he finally gets hit with them he blades his old lumpy chest! The other bit of fantastic heeling comes in his interactions with young Go Shiozaki. Tenryu cutting off rookies and punching them in the face is well documented and Shiozaki is the perfect candidate. Only negative I see is that the finish is obvious long before it comes. -
[2005-04-24-FUTEN] Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda
Graham Crackers replied to Loss's topic in April 2005
Yes, this is brutal. If you've heard of this match you probably already know that. It's also a smarter match than many have given it credit for. This is a top ten match but Ishikawa vs Greco is better. -
This is probably my favorite NOAH junior tag that doesn't involve invaders from New Japan. The fact that it's actually a six man tag with two big name heavyweights there to keep everybody in check says a lot about why I don't love more of those matches. I like this a lot more than dawho5 but that doesn't surprise me in any way.
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There really is a lot to like here but this is just way too long. This is the most okay Wataru has ever looked outside of the first NOAH vs NJPW junior tag and that Ishii match. Kanemoto would probably be an easy pick for junior heavyweight of the last decade were it not for a lack of interesting opponents. This is a feather in his cap and may help someone get a sense of him for the GWE project but it's not a MOTYC or something that'll factor into this project.
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[2005-01-08-NOAH-Great Voyage] Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki
Graham Crackers replied to Loss's topic in January 2005
Not as good as the Ogawa match but still a really good Kobashi vs heel match. I get so used to wrestlers going strike for strike that it's really refreshing to see someone trying to avoid Kobashi's chops. I really appreciate that Suzuki, Tenryu, and Ogawa go that route against Kobashi during this era. This is how I'd rank Kobashi's GHC defenses from best to worst: vs Honda vs Ogawa vs Takayama vs Misawa vs Suzuki vs Taue vs Akiyama vs Rikio 2 vs Saito vs Sano vs Rikio 1 These matches were straight garbage: vs Chono vs Smith vs Gladiator vs Nagata -
Solid Kobashi title defense with one of the nastiest apron spots of his career. I do like Saito but he's not at the level of Kobashi's best opponents. Probably not a match that'd make my ballot.
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I have no problem with comedy in pro wrestling. In fact, I really like it. I love Midnight Express comedy spots. I love Los Brazos. I think Fuerza Guerrera is hilarious. There are a few moments that work for me (I laughed at the mime spot) but it just doesn't coalesce into a good match.
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This is really good so I don't really mean to disparage it but... I did found this to be kind of disappointing. I remembered liking this a lot when I saw it years ago but this is missing that special something that Kobashi's best GHC defenses had. Even the Takayama match which has an uninspired opening ranks above this for me. I can see the point that dawho5 is making but this just feels cold. The layout is that of a well realized epic but in many ways it feels "average." This is an epic formula that works but I feel like it needed something more. I don't know what would have made me feel the intensity but this didn't have it.
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Agreed. Kanemaru needs heavyweights to bump for or a heated feud to get above this level.
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Some guys are also really good at those house show matches where they take less bumps or rely on schtick. Other guys look like they're falling asleep out there. The severity of this kind of thing varies.
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Probably my favorite match of his. It's also a great showcase for Pierrotthito and Demus who are some of the best rudo bases of the last ten years. Mascarita Dorada/Astral/Ultimo Dragoncito vs Demus 3:16/Pequeño Pierroth/Pequeño Black Warrior, CMLL 8/13/10 Wrestling these days is full of flashy offense but rarely is it done this well. The tecnicos supply some jaw dropping aerial maneuvers and your rudo team features two of the best bases, if not the best in wrestling today. There are a lot of cool heels and cool rudos out there so it's great to see rudos who will make real asses of themselves. When it comes time to cut them off the tecnicos also do a great job of getting tossed around. This had a great rhythm, some great overlap between falls, and I think everyone's control segments lasted the perfect amount of time.
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That cage match against Abyss was awesome. I totally didn't expect that. It's a shame that the only other match I've seen from that show (AMW vs Team Canada) also features brawling outside the cage but what do you expect? This is TNA, not a promotion that lays out their cards in a logical fashion.
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I've always thought of spotfests as referring to matches that were based around moves and sequences rather than selling, striking, or matwork. I can see why someone might consider a match with guys hitting each other with little story a spotfest or "matwork for the sake of matwork" a spotfest but to me those things are so fundamental to my enjoyment of pro wrestling that I can pretty easily get wrapped up in something like that. It might not be as special as a match that uses selling to get me invested but if the striking and matwork impresses me I can still dig it. I do think there is a right way to work a spotfest and when it's done right it's one of the most fun things in pro wrestling. To me, the key is rhythm. Classic Mpro has that. CMLL minis matches often have that too. The offense in those sorts of matches are frequently spectacular but what makes that work in the context of a match is that you're given enough time to breathe and absorb what just happened before the next spot but you aren't force to wait around too long for something else to happen.
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The best Cena vs Orton match was from Summerslam 2007 and they've all gotten progressively worse from there.
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I love Sabu though I'm not sure if he's a top 100 guy. His greatest strength may be that botched sequences don't take away from his matches (for me at least) and often add to the bizarre atmosphere he creates. If he does make my list he'll be towards the bottom.
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One of my favorite cult wrestling heroes. Sasuke as psychopath bumper with crazy ideas is the embodiment of pro wrestling to me. I need to rewatch some of his New Japan matches but the MPro tags from the 90s still hold up as incredible. I'm not sure if he's the best worker in that style but he is someone O really enjoy in those matches. I do think that some of his 2000s performances are a real feather in his cap. Some of the 2000s mpro tags are disastrous clusterfucks (more of a booking problem than anything else) but Sasuke is generally great in singles matches. vs Ultimo Dragon Mpro 8/30/2007 - Sasuke carries a past his prime Dragon by turning the match into a surly brawl. vs Fujita Jr. Hayato Mpro 6/19/2009 - Juniors MOTDC vs Kenou Mpro 11/7/2010 - A little long in the tooth but avoids overkill. Sasuke sells that every movement he makes causes him immense agony. Or he's not selling and every movement actually hurts that bad. w/Shinzaki vs Kenou & Hayato Mpro 11/4/2013 - Awesome epic tag match. I'm not calling him a lock but he's someone I enjoy who I think I'd like to have on my list.
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1997 Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda Battlarts 11/5/97 - Sick match. 1998 Otsuka vs Yuki Ishikawa Battlarts 1/20/98 - Their best match against each other. 2000 Otsuka vs Naoyuki Taira Battlarts 5/11/00 2001 Hashimoto/Otsuka vs Misawa/Ogawa NOAH 1/13/01 - Sadly Otsuka is portrayed as the lowest ranked guy in this match. Otsuka/Tiger Mask IV vs Malenko/Hidaka Battlarts 2/13/01 - Great Battlarts tag where Otsuka is the star of the show. Otsuka vs Takashi Sugiura Zero1 4/18/01 - Brutal headbutts and some great grappling. 2004 Otsuka vs Hiroyuki Ito U-STYLE 8/18/04 - Awesome shoot style match. Otsuka vs Tamura U-STYLE 8/18/04 - This is practically a squash match but it's not bad. Tamura looks great and it's easy to imagine that they could have had a good competitive match by how well their styles match up, however briefly, in this match. 2005 Otsuka vs Yuki Ishikawa BML 9/11/05 - This is always a great match-up. 2007 Ishikawa/Otsuka vs Ikeda/Hara Battlarts 7/21/07 2008 Otsuka vs Yuki Ishikawa Real Japan 6/18/08 - Short match but really fun. Like a good TV match. Ishikawa/Otsuka/Sawa vs Ikeda/Usuda/Super Tiger II Battlarts 7/26/08 - One of the best Battlarts style matches 2009 Otsuka vs Yuki Ishikawa Battlarts 1/10/09 - B Rules match (all grappling) Otsuka vs Yujiro Yamamoto Battlarts 2/15/09 - Terrific Otsuka showcase against a game younger opponent Otsuka vs Super Tiger II Real Japan 3/1/09 Otsuka vs Daisuke Sekimoto IGF 3/15/09 - It's cool to see Otsuka take on a powerhouse. More of a series of good ideas as opposed to a good match. Otsuka vs Akira Shoji Real Japan 9/11/09
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The positive thing about Bryan in WWE as opposed to Bryan on the indies is that it limits what his opponents can do. I loved Bryan on the indies and I think that we got to see a lot of great things from him on the indies that we will probably never see him do in WWE, especially during that 2007 run which may be the best single year of his career. That being said, there are times where he probably could have reined in his opponents a bit more. He worked long matches with guys who were exposed in long matches, worked even with guys he shouldn't have, or allowed his opponents to engage in some of the masturbatory stuff that gives independent wrestling a bad name.
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I haven't watched it in a while, but I remember liking it. I feel like the Dibiase vs Armstrong matches were the least organic matches on the Mid-South set.
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2006-2007 is the peak in my opinion. ROH vs CZW is a feud I still go back to when I'm in the right mood.
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Keeping the integrity of the list - a case against strategic voting.
Graham Crackers replied to TravJ1979's topic in 2016
I believe it was Resident Evil who had Taylor vs Rogers as number 1 and allegedly he really believed it was the best WCW match ever. -
I can't say I'm very familiar with Ibushi as I've never watched DDT and Ive only seen the most highly touted New Japan matches of the last 3 years or so. I'm aware that he has been divisive among some fans. What I do know is that his match against Koji Kanemoto from the 2009 BOSJ is one of the best New Japan Junior matches of the last ten years. Does Kanemoto have a thread yet?
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For me it has a lot to do with the fact that the All Japan style of 1988-89 is a style of wrestling I really like but before that it only shows hints of it's later greatness. The highs in the pre-1988 period are great (Terry Funk as top babyface, Choshu era, Baba vs Hansen, some other main events) but most of it is not a wrestling style I particularly like. There are a lot of NWA style main events that lack the heat of their American equivalents. Some just feature guys taking turns trading moves (this is my memory of every Race vs Jumbo match). Bach to Choshu, I've liked a few of his 2000s matches. Specifically the Shibata match from Riki Pro and his Sasaki and Tenryu matches from World Japan. His Onita match from 2000 is not a good showing though:
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I think Bam Bam and Pequeno Pierroth are worthy of discussion. I'd like to see more of both, particularly pre-2009.
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Navarro gets on my list for his 2000s run as badass mat wizard grandpa. I wish his 80s footage was more spectacular. If some truly great matches of his were unearthed I'd put him ahead of Black Terry but he's a couple steps behind him until then.