Phil Schneider

Parv should watch some FUTEN or WAR where this style is actually done well.

I thought both guys had shockingly bad basics. Omega looks great on big spots, but simple stuff like forearms, kicks to the stomach all looked pretty shitty. There was this one missed clothesline by Okada where he swung his arm way over Omega's head so Omega didn't even have to duck, shit like that wouldn't pass muster on a JAPW undercard, much less the dome show.

The best way to counter all of this six star nonsense is to drop a real classic.

Reviewed the main event over at Segunda Caida, I had thoughts http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2017/01/2017-doesnt-make-list-six-star-edition.html

Love the Kongo Kong v. Danny Cannon pick, don't think I would have it #1, but it is a great match

I was hoping one of my dudes would watch this so I wouldn't have to.

Fans bring the weapons Ian Rotten isn't the Ian Rotten that Ian Rotten fans love.

Both me and Eric go into pretty specific detail about what we liked about the match. If you want me to sit down with you and go through it together my tutoring rate is $100 an hour, I usually teach the LSAT but I am happy to work through wrestling with you

There are a bunch of reviews of that match, here is ours. http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/09/ongoing-2016-moty-list-lupus-v-trauma-1.html This board has folders full of people commenting on matches, here is the one on this match http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/35450-canis-lupus-vs-trauma-i-iwrg-942016/

We could really use a big match, seems like this month has been mostly undercard stuff, let's start the new year with something big!

Black Terry v. Wotan is the MOTY easily

Really great LA Park style arena brawl with Escorpion predictably fitting in great. Both guys really pound the crap out of each other, chucking chairs and cases of beer at heads and faces. Escorpion has some of the best punches in the world and he really cracks PARK. I loved Rey battling over the snack tray with the vendor, total asshole heel move to steal a guys popcorn just to whack PARK. Also really liked both of PARK's fatboy dives, he is approaching early 90's Super Porky level and is totally smushing people when he lands. Finish was kind of dumb, but perfectly within the kind of thing you get in your PARK brawls.

Here is the Segunda Caida review I did of that show http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2009/07/hybrid-wrestling-theory-of-evolution.html Here is a youtube clip video of the match

I was a little disappointed in this, some fun shtick, but it was pretty long and ground to a halt so they could do comedy spots with the ref. Kind of reminded me of all of the Monterey lucha in the early 2000s which would have awesome on paper matches but the actual match would be full of ref spots and guys mailing it in.

This was the final match of their awesome late 80s early 90s triology, and it is a hell of a finish. Liger starts out the disrespect by slapping Sano in the face, but Sano takes the early lead by piledriving Liger on the floor, ripping his mask and posting him. The rest of the match is this great visual of Liger with his mask ripped off, adding a bunch more red to the iconic red and white outfit. I loved all of Liger's comebacks in this match, he would squirm out of a Sano bomb attempt and hit a crazy dive or a desperation throw, but then get overwhelmed. This was Liger trying to ride a tidal wave, rather then a back and forth battle. Sano was great in this, such a vicious prick, there is a moment where he is just pounding on Ligers bloody head that you can see the joy in his face. I also loved his intelligence, there is a moment where he charges Liger in the corner, Liger moves, so Sano backflips out, Sano knows the kappo kick is coming so he just dives on his stomach to avoid it. Finish may have felt a little abrupt, with the level of punishment, but I dig the tombstone as a death move (Sano did a great post match sell of it) and Liger breaking out his first Liger SSP to close it out was pretty cool. I have a feeling that when I revisit NJ juniors for this project, the less juniory matches will stand out, and this was a great one.

I really enjoyed this, it felt like the worlds greatest Sabu v. Brian Lee match. If someone told you they found an awesome Sabu v. Brian Lee ECW HH on Youtube, you would want to go watch that right? Corbin was pretty great in this, I liked some of his early squashes, but I wasn't sure he had a actually match this good in him. Maybe my favorite spot of the match was him pinning Kalisto's head against the barricade and smashing it with forearms, it felt like the kind of thing Finlay or Ikeda might do. I also loved him stalking Kalisto around the ring trying to squash him with chair shots. Kalisto hit all of his big spots cleanly and they were high risk crazy stuff, it was almost too well executed, Sabu would awkwardly blow one or two of them which makes him finally hitting them even better. Loved that finish too, holy moly that was nasty.

Shockingly fun Texas Death Match (which appears to be just a No DQ match in WWF world) , Putski is a guy who I never liked before and is pretty much universally considered a turd. Putski has a weird overly muscled body and these tiny T-Rex arms, and can really barely move. Larry Z however puts on a heel masterclass, he is bumping all over the ring for Putski's stump arm punches, and flying into tables and chairs. He is also super nasty on offense, laying into Putski with lightning fast punches and at one point removing the turnbuckle and smashing the back of Ivan's head directly into the ring bolt. This kept moving, kept violent and I loved the cheap foot on the ropes pin to escape with a win. Zbyszko is a guy I really like, and while the Regal matches may be better matches, this would be on his superworker submission reel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k5lbgs2aI Here is the match, I remember Vince seeming nervous on commentary

I am calling it now, everyone in that Black Excellence tweet is losing their belts tonight.

I also love the semi troll move of not even having Kawada v. Misawa in your top 3 for 1994

I love the list, but you got to watch some 2010 and 2011 FUTEN tags!

: I am in the middle here, I like this more then Eric, some of his issues with this don't bother me at all, but I don't think this match is the apex of shootstyle, or among the best matches ever. I had no problem with the match escalating to the strike fest, I totally buy the match structure of two guys battling over mat supremacy, until they lose their tempers and start throwing hands. The final stand up run was awesome, felt like the wildest MMA fights and I liked that the match built to that point. Tamura is great at milking a nine I also don't really have a problem with the little dickish punches, I have seen a ton of great Fujiwara matches where he taunts a guy by slapping him around or lightly kicking him, I was fine with it as a bit of character work, otherwise Yammamoto is pretty dry in this match so it was nice to see him show some flash. However I am totally with Eric on the draw, really deflating finish, it just kind of ended, I wouldn't mind a draw if it came as one guy was struggling to get up after a 9 count, or desperate to escape a submission hold, but this came in the middle of an otherwise unremarkable scramble. It had no climax, it just stopped. The skill level on the matwork here was really impressive, they countered with real speed and explosiveness and there was a bunch of cool dramatic moments, with guys failing to counter and needing to get to the ropes. Still I prefer guile to athleticism in my matwork. My favorite mat wrestlers are old maestros like Fujiwara, Han and Navarro, guys who know all the tricks, they may not have the strength and speed, but they can catch you sleeping. This was very focused on armbars, kneebars and chokes, I would have liked to see a little more wizardry. Even something like the Zach Sabre Jr. v. Drew Gulak match I saw live had guys applying odd counters and cool unique submissions, this was basic stuff done at the highest level, but for best shootstyle match ever I want some pizzaz.

I was at this match live, loved it, and I may have loved it even more on video. Both live and tape had advantages. Live I could really feel the thud of all of the strikes. These shots didn't have the snap of a Low-Ki kick, they thumped, the sound when they landed wasn't sharp it had a real bass to it. On tape you can really see the close up of the mat work, I could tell that Thatcher was mauling Riddle's foot, but on video you can really see him try to separate the toes and turn the ankle. Thatcher has been hit and miss lately, but having this kind of harrowing violence in his grappling is where he is at his best. There is no test of skills, this is a mean guy trying to use grappling to maim the guy across from him. The no holds barred stipulation came in to play mostly with a lack of rope breaks, there was a bunch of innovative cool looking spots around no rope breaks, including both guys locking in kneebars and rolling off the apron to the floor, and Thatcher using the ropes to choke Riddle out and break a triangle. Finish was also an awesome use of the ropes, as Thatcher hung Riddle by the arm into a hangmans crossarmbreaker. Great stuff, right up there with my favorite Thatcher matches ever, and the best Riddle match of his young career.

I am live blogging this as well over at SC http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/12/evolve-74-live-blog.html

I am doing a live blog of EVOLVE 74 over at Segunda Caida http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/12/evolve-74-live-blog.html