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Phil Schneider

DVDVR 80s Project
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Everything posted by Phil Schneider

  1. Phil Schneider
    Totally agree, it kind of felt like an Ogawa v. Hashimoto match, just great stuff. I also felt Cena winning was perfectly consistent with the match and the right move. You can't have your main guys demolished with no comeuppance, and it certainly didn't hurt Lesnar.
  2. Phil Schneider
    Nothing exists in a vacuum.
  3. Phil Schneider
    I was talking to Lee Benaka about an OMEGA show we went to back in the 90's. There was a street fight between Gemini Kid/Mad Maxx v. Venom/Shane Helms. Dean, Rippa and I were sitting on a couch in the crowd. Venom told us to move and just chucked Maxx onto our couch smashing it into kindling
  4. Phil Schneider
    A hell of match. I was a little hesitant about the NJ Juniors being able to hang in this kind of MPRO sprint, but they totally brought it. Ohtani especially was great, springboarding all over the ring and having a dickhead smirkoff with TAKA. Man alive, the MPRO team were sick athletes, just watching the speed they run the ropes, and the height they get on every move, when Sasuke somersaults through on the dropdown he just floats in the air forever. Of course our boy SATO is at his chubbiest and his fastest, he may have had the prettiest dive of the train with his double jump flip plancha. Liger is also just tailor made for this style, he captains his team so well, he is calling the plays like Jason Kidd. The finish was awesome as we get a triple flying headbutt on Shiryu, before Liger brings him to the top rope and spikes him through the mat with a brainbuster. I don't understand why this style is so bad now, why can't there be guys still doing this?
  5. Phil Schneider
    Pretty much a perfectly executed MPRO formula six man. It has everything you expect, the intricate lucha armdrags and ranas, the signature comedy spots, the crazy dive train. When these guys get on this kind of roll, it really is something special. Man 1994 Sato (Togo) is one of the most athletic impressive wrestlers in history, the speed and agility he executes his stuff is incredible. He and Delfin match up to start the match, and their exchanges are at Gods Must Be Crazy speed. Sato also wins the dive train which is pretty impressive considering the company he keeps. We get Shiryu and Naniwa next, and they have a more mat based match up, with Shiryu ripping off some really quick amateur rides. It had been a long time since I have seen the Naniwa/Delfin MX arm wringer spot, but man do those guys execute it perfectly. Delfin is great as a cocky douche really getting into working over the arm, and Naniwa is also great as a guy sad and angry at always being a schlemiel. Outside of one awkward Shinzaki spot (and honestly he didn't bring a ton to this) this was textbook stuff, and exactly the kind of thing I fell in love with when I first saw it.
  6. Phil Schneider
    Tremendous match, pretty much a textbook TV title style match. Both guys target a body part, Arn with the arm, and Regal with the neck, and they go after them. Lesser wrestlers working this style will just go back to the same holds (even Flair pretty much just works the leg in the context of the figure four), but both Arn and Regal put on a ton of different locks and they all look great. It makes inherent sense, if you can't get a submission with a cravate try a crossface, hammerlock doesn't work use and arm stretch. Arn works a great hammerlock, bodyslamming Regal, turing him into a pin while holding it. Regal meanwhile wrenched the hell out of Arn's neck, cranking cravates, cracking him in the mouth with crossfaces. The brawling in this match was great too, Arn has a really pretty right hand and Regal was just vicious with uppercuts and headbutts. Finish run was very exciting as they worked the countdown with Arn desperately trying for the belt and Regal stalling. The crowd was super into the match at this point, chanting USA and popping huge for Arn's spinebuster. Finish was pretty surprising, as Regal gets the pin by holding onto Dundee's umbrella with 15 seconds left. It was a twist in a good way as everyone was expecting either an Arn win or a time limit draw. 1994 maybe the best in ring year in wrestling history, and this felt on the level of the other great matches of that year. If this looks like something on paper you would like, go watch it, it truly exceeds expectations.
  7. Phil Schneider
    This was kind of the 90's version of the Fujiwara v. Tiger Mask matchup. Liger is the striker flurrying with palm strikes and slipping in sneaky kappo kicks, while Fujiwara is trying to take him down and slow him down. Some very cool stuff here, including Fujiwara being pretty punishing, landing a big right hand in the corner, and really laying in a beating on Liger when he had the mount, including some nasty bodyshots. Finish run was pretty nifty with Liger having Fujiwara on the ropes with a big kappo kick and a nasty dropkick to the knee, Fujiwara however reverses an irish whip and when Liger dives off the ropes, he side steps him and slaps on the Fujiwara armbar for the finish, it is the kind of counter wrestling finish which Fujiwara is the master of.
  8. Phil Schneider
    Just an old fashioned slugfest between two nasty dudes. Fujiwara is at his dickish cheapshotting best. Landing a sneaky headbutt after a knuckle lock, kidney shots in the corner, and slaps to the chops. Meanwhile Yatsu lands some big throws, and some of the nastier stomps I have seen in a while. There is an awesome nearfall, as Yatsu hits a couple of super brutal bulldogs, but as he goes for a third, Fujiwara slips out and locks in the Fujiwara armbar. I also really liked how after getting caught with a suplex for the pin, Fujiwara went right back to throwing blows. He didn't really give a shit he lost, he just wanted to take a chunk out of Yatsu's ass.
  9. Phil Schneider
    These two guys have just magically charisma with each other. Their June 1987 match is one of my favorite matches of all time, this doesn't live up to that, but it is a worthy entry in the cannon. Fujiwara knows exactly where he is going to win this match, he needs to get Choshu to the ground and submit him, while Choshu wants to keep the match on the feet and smash Fujiwara. It is worked very similar to a striker v. ju jitsu artist MMA match, although way more exciting then those matches usually are. Choshu ends up cutting Fujiwara on the temple and both guys are awesome at losing their temper and talking shit. Unusually for a Fujiwara match this wasn't about the arm, as Fujiwara is constantly moving Choshu into the corners and dragging him down and attacking his leg. FInish was pretty surprising as Fujiwara has a ankle lock variation and Choshu is pulling himself to the ropes to break, he gets almost their but can't take it and gives up. Seemed really abrupt, and that probably kept this from being an EPIC match, still excellent stuff, and Fujiwara really had a hell of a 1994
  10. Phil Schneider
    A big star six man tag which totally delivers. Starts out a bit slow, but it kicks in gear when our man Fujiwara tags in, he has great exchanges with both Hashimoto and Hase. A great strike exchange with Hashimoto, with Fujiwara landing nasty chops to the neck and Hash laying in kicks. Super cool spot with Hase catching a Fujiwara headbutt and turning it into a uranage. Finish is totally awesome, Hase hits his giant swing on Fujinami , but it makes him dizzy so he stumbles into a Riki lariat. From there you have a big run of moves with everyone hitting their signature stuff, until finally the 80’s stars get triple submissions and the win, The old guys team is totally awesome and I need to see more of them.
  11. Phil Schneider
    Enjoyable six-man match with everyone looking good. Hashimoto was definitely the standout on the 90's stars team, his interactions with Choshu were totally awesome. They are a pair of thick barrel chested dudes beating the snot out of each other. I loved Hash getting cracked by two Riki lariats and then countering the third with a sick superkick. Our man Fujiwara was a supporting player in this match, but he had some nifty moments, a couple of gritty scraps with Hashimoto and a very cool moment where he clocks a dizzy post Giant swing Hase with a headbutt. Match never really reached the crescendo which would separate it from the pack, but despite that it was well worth seeing.
  12. Phil Schneider
    Despite being the first ever New Japan trainee, this was Fujiwara’s only IWGP title match. This is a match up of two of my favorite wrestlers of all time, I saw Hashimoto maul Dylan Knight live in a tiny gym in Pennsylvania and caught his bandana when it was thrown to the crowd. I still have the bandana hanging in the hall of my apartment. I could see a lot of Puro nerds not caring for this match. This isn’t smooth and dramatic like a classic All Japan match from the 1990’s, this was rough and awkward. Both guys would try attacks, which would get countered and then there would be pauses and restarts in action. It was very weirdly paced, in a way I really liked and could see other people hating. Fujiwara really dominates the opening, working on Hashimoto’s shoulder and attempting to really lock in the Fujiwara armbar. The first pause and shift in momentum comes, when Hash bulls Fujiwara into the corner and wraps his bad knee in the ropes. Hash then points to his shoulder in a real “eye for an eye” kind of way. Nothing was hit really cleanly here, Fujiwara kept trying to catch all of Hash’s kicks. Some he would succeed in blunting, but a lot would go through. The more that landed the less he was able to block, in a way that you could tell he was being worn down. All the blocking and awkwardness was the really the opposite of the big strike exchanges most main event Puro matches have. Everything was a struggle. There is a long fight for the first DDT, with Fujiwara trying a bunch of counter attempts, and Hash laying in the knees. When it finally hits Fujiwara takes an almost Kobashish bump on it . Hash pins him off a second DDT which really was sold the way a tough boxer sells a meaningless second knockdown. The first KO was really enough to win the match, but his heart won’t let him go down. Still there was no fight left in him. I loved this match, it really felt more shootstyle then Hash’s match against Takada. This didn’t have the drama of that match, but it had the rough edges and awkwardness, which really made it look like a fight.
  13. Phil Schneider
    This is exactly what we thought it was, the two stiffest nastiest fuckers in WAR, kicking and chopping each other unnecessarily hard. Kitihara comes out firing, backing Tenryu in the corner with kicks, and Tenryu stops conversation with a thunderous chop to the throat. That is pretty much the story of the match, not a ton of moves, mostly both guys cracking each other. Tenryu is very good at working near falls against lesser guys. He gets drilled with a couple of head kicks just barely beating the count, and really puts Kithara over as a dangerous guy. Of course he mutilates him with stuff, nothing I love more then reckless Tenryu clotheslines and he delivers a couple of corkers. Nothing complicated about this match at all just a batch of violence.
  14. Phil Schneider
    This match won the Tokyo Sports MOTY for 1994, that is 1994, the year of Misawa v. Kawada, Vader v. Takada and the Super J Cup. Still you watch this match and think "Yeah fuck a Misawa v. Kawada, this is it right here." Epic match with everyone playing their parts perfectly. Both Goto and Hara are awesome as the bruiser tag partners whose job is to beat on the opposing teams big hitter. Hara brutalizes Onita early with headbutts busting him open, while Goto cracked Tenryu with lariats, superfly splashes and a a face first piledriver on the table. Then they clear out and let the two megastars match up. The finishing run may not have been the smoothest wrestling I have seen, but holy shit are Tenryu and Onita pair of charismatic motherfuckers who know how to draw you in a match. Tenryu's selling was brilliant here, at about the ten minute mark of the match he gets caught with a big DDT from Onita, and he is never able to shake off that shot. He goes back on offense, hits some big moves, but he has this awesome thousand yard stare even when he is firing back. When he finally goes down, it is a huge monster deal, but I buy Onita getting the win, even without explosions. The main event interpromotional WAR tag is one of the greatest thing in wrestling history.
  15. Phil Schneider
    This had some really strong moments and good performances, but I just don't think these kind of matches are doing a ton for me in 2010. It went too long, even with a clip in the middle, and didn't feel like it had much of a structure. Just a lot of guys doing a bunch of things, some of the things are really cool, but it didn't build much of a coherent tale. I really like Orihara as either an underdog fighting through a beating, or a dickish asshole stiffing people. He can do both in one match and make it work, but here it felt a little like he was shifting back at forth randomly. Also Sasuke brutally blew the Sasuke Special #2 which ruined what had been an awesome dive train. Otherwise Sasuke was pretty great, as he really has a awesome overall shtick, graceful and crazy, as adept at quick lucha exchanges as lunatic bumping. Man is SATO (aka Dick Togo for yall that don't know) stellar too, such crazy agility for a stocky dude, he had the best dive in a match with Orihara, Ultimo and Great fucking Sasuke which is really something. Ultimo had some nice moments, I loved him dickishly breaking up a pin by kicking Sasuke in the eye Tenryu style, but he is still consistently the least guy in almost every match I see him in. I think folks will enjoy this, but I wanted it to be better.
  16. Phil Schneider
    Have you watched the Terry v. Che matches? Feels like they stylistically fit in that list
  17. Phil Schneider
    Aries has a pretty good tope.
  18. Phil Schneider
    Which still doesn't explain why he kept sucking and never learned how to do this shit correctly. It's not like he didn't have the opportunity, he was still working with a shitload of great talent in WCW. Here is a quote from my Vampiro piece which might explain why he wasn't diligently working on his craft. "The promoters wouldn’t let me stop working,.. I couldn’t go out at night without being high, I could go to bed without being high.. I had to get shot with synthetic morphine just to go into the ring.. and when I get out I have to take 20 Halcions just to fall asleep and I have to get up in the morning to do a radio interview and catch a plane and I had to be speeded up for that. I had at least 8 drug overdoses...my heart stopped in the ring.”
  19. Phil Schneider
    This year has been a pretty great year for lucha. I think the top 5 matches from 2012 would be a good place for folks to start. Negro Casas vs. La Sombra, CMLL 2/20 Angel Blanco Jr./El Hijo del Solitario vs. El Hijo Del Santo/Villano IV, TXT 2/25 Blue Panther vs. Negro Casas, CMLL 3/2 Black Terry vs. Chico Che, IWRG 1/22 Black Terry vs. Chico Che, IWRG 1/29 You get a classic title match, three bloody brawls and a hybrid title match and apuestas. There hasn't been any great trios matches yet this year which is a style unrepresented in this list, but I would think that anyone could find something in these matches to enjoy.
  20. Phil Schneider
    How about we break the post up into two posts, one talking more about match recommendations and stylistic questions, one about history stuff. Then the thread wouldn't get derailed? Hell I wrote a Vampiro history piece for Fighting Spirit Magazine, I'll go ahead and try to answer some Vampiro questions, I just think the interesting stuff that OJ was doing got dragged off the rails.
  21. Phil Schneider
    Can we keep this on topic? Who gives a fuck about Vampiro?
  22. Phil Schneider
    Didn't Mid-South at least talk up Randy Savage, if not show footage?
  23. Phil Schneider
    Racist
  24. Phil Schneider
    Current Stro as poor mans Bobby Jaggers is awesome
  25. Phil Schneider
    If you wanna say that she couldn't compete against the top professional male fighters, that's one thing and I don't have a great argument against it. But it's ridiculous to claim that every man would beat her. I still vividly remember attending a jiujitsu class where this tiny little teenage girl was their best fighter, easily running circles around all the guys in the session. MMA isn't just about physical strength; if it was, then the stronger dude would win in every single fight and that's obviously not the case. Remember those early UFCs where Royce was usually the smallest guy in the entire tournament? He still had little problem in beating a ton of guys who were much larger and stronger than him. EDIT: back to the topic at hand, a common complaint I hear about joshi is that people dislike all the screaming. Women tend to have higher and thus more piercing voices than men; and for whatever reason, this trend seems unusually pronounced among Japanese women. So if they simply get an earache every time they try to watch Manami screeching her head off, I do understand that part. Kinda like how I often find Chono's weird muttering during his matches to be rather distracting. Give me one example where a female athlete has been able to compete with a professional male athlete at the same sport at any level. Much less a combat sport where the natural advantages of strength and flexibility would be exacerbated. It doesn't happen in something like cycling which is no contact at all, I can't even believe you are arguing this seriously, it is like trying to argue with someone who doesn't believe in evolution
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