Phil Schneider

Going to do a Live Blog over at Segunda Caida http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2015/02/nxt-take-over-live-blog.html

As long as you aren't going against me

We decided to take this project on over at Segunda Caida Review for every new match we add http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2015/01/ongoing-all-time-moty-list.html

That is kind of dumb, a handheld of Blue Panther/Blackman v. El Hijo del Santo/Espanto Jr. from 1990 just showed up on youtube a couple of weeks ago. Can that be my 2015 MOTY?

Aztec warfare doesn't count that match happened in 2014

Beat me to it be five minutes. He is doing a whole wrestling album which is pretty awesome. This has to be the only indie rock song to name drop Al Madrill

I didn't love that match, I thought it was a little fish nor fowl. Ricochet was a little too grounded to break out too many cool spots, and Thatcher was limited by having to work around Ricochet's limits on the ground. Though both guys had better matches the next night

Let's not go crazy here, they had some nasty stuff, but go rewatch Ikeda v. Ishikawa, this wasn't that.

I have a Nakamura v. Ibushi review coming up on Segunda Caida whenever Eric adds to it, but I also watched Okada v. Tanahashi and I still don't get it. They do a nice job of building drama I suppose, but I have a hard time getting into matches with such mediocre execution, both guys threw some of the worst bodyslams I have ever seen, and their elbow exchanges looked dainty, this is Shinya Hashimoto and Yoshiaki Fujiwara's company, lay it in a bit. Then to have the whole match finish be built around such bad looking frog splashes, I guess it isn't for me. This reminded me a lot of a Cena v. Orton match actually, nicely layed out and all, but nothing about it popped

I think this is early 90's

Here is the ongoing list that Eric and I have been doing. http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2014/01/2014-moty-master-list.html There is some matches one of us have watched and are sitting in drafts waiting on the other, but I imagine the top 10 is going to be pretty solid

Neither of them worked a match. Flair made some appearances if we are counting guys who didn't work matches

The answer is Dusty Rhodes

Man we reviewed a 2014 Davey match for Segunda Caida's IWA-MS top 18 countdown http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2014/12/iwa-mid-south-top-18-matches-16-john.html Man it was jarring to see how awful he is, he might be the worst in ring actor I have ever seen, his selling and emoting is like a home for mentally challenged teens put on Streetcar Named Desire

Don't you two have google? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KOvSvhxoRk

Lawler and Dundee had a cage match in 1986 which looked awesome

We are doing a live blog over at SC http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2014/12/wwe-nxt-r-evolution-takeover-like-blog.html

This was my number one match in the Other Japan Best of the 90's voting, and truly a beautiful piece of professional wrestling. It is paced differently then any of the other matches in the Top 15, and I am guessing the odd pacing may have been a reason it finished low on some peoples ballots. Fujiwara, especially in the late 80's and 90's does this really stop-start almost Fugazish pacing, where you have big exchanges or moves, and then lulls, where both guys would circle or feint, before the next attack. I really like this kind of pacing, it is the kind of thing you often see in shootfights or boxing matches, really brings drama to the moments of action. The first part of this match, Fujiwara is really not taking Yamazaki seriously at all. Like he is almost contemptuous, imagine Flair v. Scott McGhee or Ricky Steamboat in their first match. He throws in a cheap shot headbutt, dancing around mugging, puts on a knee bar while reclining with his head resting leisurely in his hand. At one point Yamazaki throws some kicks which miss, and Fujiwara responds with some really assholish thrown kicks of his own. Almost like the Jock Football player taunting the Asian kid with fake Karate. Fujiwara has some of the greatest facial expressions in wrestling history, and he really gets across contemptuous prick. Yamazaki finally gets some respect when he hits Fujiwara with a nasty kick to the stomach for a down. Yamazaki tends to be kind of hit and miss with his kicks, and Fujiwara only sells the ones that land big, unlike a lot of other guys who will sell intent not result. Fujiwara also is always trying to catch the middle kicks, although even when he does, he will sell the shot if it is solid enough. The last ten minutes of this match really bring it over the top. Fujiwara has gotten four downs on Yamazaki so he just needs one more knockdown for a technical decision. So Yamazaki has his back against the wall. He gets fed up with the abuse and you almost get the sense he has decided to dish out some receipts even if he is going down. Like many Fujiwara matches ring positioning is very important, Fujiwara had been trapping Yamazaki in the corner and punishing him with bodyshots. Yamazaki kind of bull rushes Fujiwara in the corner, and just unleashes body shots of his own, seemingly aiming right for Fujiwara's sake soaked kidneys. The downs get close to even, and they announce five minutes remaining. They then go right to the corner with both guys now throwing with abandon and trying to maneuver the other into the corner, Yamazaki gets the final turn and cracks Fujiwara with a knee lift for a nine count. Now UWF2 had booked a ton of 30 minute draws, including one in the opening match of this show. Really the only reason to book so many undercard 30 minute draws is for a main event finish like this. So we are at 28 minutes and Yamazaki unloads with nasty headbut right to Fujiwara's mouth. Now this is a clearly a receipt for the headbutts earlier in the show. Fujiwara comes up with blood dripping from his mouth, and this look on his face "So were throwing headbutts now, Motherfucker," and he just unloads with three nasty headbutts including one right to the eye for the TKO at 29 minutes 30 seconds. Yamazaki was technically fine here, but this was the Fujiwara show. Just an artist at telling a story with smirks and eye rolls and sneers. Every action had a reaction, great great stuff.

This is a classic example of a big star tag match. It isn't a shootstyle match (missile dropkicks, top rope headbutts ect), this is your main eventers matching up. Lots of heat, guys getting off their big moves, and setting up your singles matches. The kind of match that would headline a Smackdown PPV. I enjoy stuff like that, although it isn't a match that was particularly high on my Other Japan ballot. This was a nice table setter for Takada v. Maeda and Fujiwara v. Super Tiger which are the big two feuds in the early part of UWF 1. I could see this match making me want to see those singles matches, especially Fujiwara v. Super Tiger. Super Tiger really comes off great here, as it almost feels like he is more over in early UWF1 then he is later. He is also throwing nastier kicks then either Maeda or Takada. Fujiwara is Fujiwara, and he has the charisma that is really need to pull of this kind of star based match.

I really liked all of the leglock work between Hechicero and Navarro in the opening section, it felt a little like a Imanari MMA fight with both guys trying to find a way to pick an ankle without giving up their leg for a counter. I liked the Terry v. Trauma stuff a ton as well, although it was more of an appetizer to the main dish of Hechicero v. Navarro. We only get a tiny bit of Navarro v. Terry although it was an awesome violent straight right by Navarro which I think split Terry's lip, I really wish we had one of their singles matches on tape. Loved the the finish too, with Navarro doing a slick gator roll into a guillotine choke, shows how Navarro can do nasty matwork in addition to beautiful matwork.

Total dream match which totally delivers. Hechicero has been having the best year match quality wise of anyone in wrestling, while Terry has been a little AWOL when it comes to great stuff available to watch. So happy our man Black Terry Jr. had his video camera ready to capture this match. We start out with some really great chain wrestling. Terry has been mostly a brawler in his late career resurgence, but he can still really rip it up maestro style on the mat, and when he gets a chance he seems right on the level of guys like Panther, Solar and Navarro. Hechicero is definitely the younger guy (respectively, he has been wrestling since 2001) in lucha most comfortable working a long mat section and he does some very cool stuff, including some nasty rolling leglocks. I also liked how the mat work was more intense and violent then a lot of maestro mat work, this was less of a showcase of technique then a matwork fight. When the match broke down into an actual fight it was awesome. I loved the finish with them brawling into the crowd and Hechicero taking a nasty little bump into folding chairs, they both get their legs stuck and just wail on each other Necro Butcher bar fight style. This was when you really appreciate BTJr.'s cinematography as we are really close up as both guys unload potato shots on each other. So much fun and right up there with the best things anywhere this year

Really fun mat based match which very much delivered on the promise of Hechicero mixing it up with the Traumas. We open with a spectacular Trauma 1 v. Hechicero section which has some cool athletic counters, and a series of nasty rolling cradles into submissions. We also get a cool second fall exchange between T2 and Hechicero. Maya looked good when the match sped up a bit, but he looked a little lost during the mat stuff, Trauma's will eat you up if you can't hang. The other thing that kept this from being really high end was the wonky finish which felt like some sort of double pin cop out so on one had to job. More of a match with great exchanges then a great match, but man alive were those exchanges amazing.