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Childs

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Everything posted by Childs

  1. Childs
    The staking of Sasuke's back was fucked up. Why would you let someone mutilate you in that particular way? It really is amazing that guy seems reasonably healthy 20 years down the line. Anyway, I enjoyed the match a lot. Goto is a fucking bull, and he was awesome again here, just wrecking Pogo and Toi in the early going. Actually, they fit all the weirdness into a pretty traditional tag structure. Like Graham Crackers, I found it highly amusing that the ref was a stickler about tag rules but completely cool with a broken stick being ground into an open wound along a man's spine. Glad this made the set.
  2. Childs
    I love Togo, so it was good to see him in a big singles match from early in his career. There was a lot of really cool looking stuff, highlighted by Togo's dive where he jumped to the turnbuckle in one motion and then flew waaay out onto the floor. The chubby athleticism was in full effect. That said, despite Delphin's dickishness, this suffered from the lack of emotion that renders Japanese wager matches disappointing compared to their Mexican peers.
  3. Childs
    A second Joshi match I liked from the same show. Yikes, it's becoming a trend. Seriously though, this style appeals to me a lot more than the more lauded tag match from later in the show, which I eventually found numbing. Kudo brought great focus to her strategy, and Aja put it over by selling it all as a real threat. They really made the nearfalls count instead of reeling off one after another. When Aja finally nailed the backfist at the end, it felt like she had punched herself out of real danger.
  4. Childs
    This pretty well defines the big match feel, from the crowd to Lou Thesz to the way they worked it. I actually do think Takada is one of Vader's best few opponents. I know Vader working shootstyle isn't very shoot-like, but I liked the way he used his size here, pinning his weight on Takada's chest and popping him in the head with palm strikes. I also really liked the way he sold Takada's leg kicks. Takada was very good in his own right, giving Vader plenty of space to be the bear but making his counterattacks look sharp. He felt like the underdog, yet his victory seemed a reasonable product of the things he did well in the match. Their '94 match is even better, but this was great main event wrestling.
  5. Childs
    I was curious about the emotion from the other wrestlers on the outside. Was it simply a reaction to Hokuto pushing her body like that when she didn't have much left? It was certainly dramatic but seemed to come a bit out of nowhere the way they incorporated it in the broadcast. Anyway, this was an easy match to appreciate, even for a Joshi skeptic. The opening punch exchange was so direct and brutal. And I loved Kandori teasing the attack on Hokuto's arm, as if to say, "Hey, I always have this nuclear bomb in my pocket." Hokuto was great as usual, conveying just how much she was giving to pull off this spectacle.
  6. Childs
    Will mentioned this thread to me on the phone, so I went back to watch the match, which I liked a lot on first viewing. And it still worked for me. The Rockers had been feuding with these guys for months, and they were tired of being nice guys. They had Buddy and Doug in the cage and they weren't going to pass up this opportunity to unleash hell, to the point where their blood lust got the better of their senses. And here's the key thing for me: They paid a price for abandoning their normal character. Michaels took a terrible, bloody beating. If you want to tell me the initial section of Rockers offense went on too long, okay maybe, though Buddy broke it up with some teased momentum changes. But I don't see some fundamental flaw in the structure or spirit of the match. I've told Matt this before: I appreciate that he watches wrestling with a point of view and articulates his arguments well. But I feel like this match, where the blood and moment-to-moment intensity were the keys to the spectacle, fell into a kind of blind spot for him because he couldn't get past the structure. All of that said, I also love the second cage match and haven't decided which one I'll rank higher on my final tally. They'll both be top 20.
  7. Childs
    This was great, probably the best "late Baba" match. Hansen worked his ass off, handling 90 percent of the offense and the selling for his side. I loved this one sequence where Baba whipped Kobashi into a would-be lariat only for Kobashi to drill Hansen with a dropkick. Kobashi being Kobashi, he tried to take the fight to Hansen instead of tagging out. He got cut off with a nasty shot to the back of the head for his hubris. I also liked that Misawa didn't hesitate to blast Baba with an elbow if that's what the moment retired. Finally, it was neat how everyone gave it their all, and Baba was left as the freshest guy in the match when the bell rang. Was this the best tag league ever? Had to be right there.
  8. Childs
    Now this here absolutely ruled with the Infernales doing to one another what they've done to so many others. This had all the blood and fire you'd want from a wager match. But as Loss alluded to, these guys took it to another level with the little touches -- Pirata worrying about his positioning on the figure four, Satanico slipping in kidney punches whenever he had an opening on the ground. Every moment felt like a struggle. One of the best lucha brawls of the decade.
  9. Childs
    One of my favorite matches of the year, if not one of the best. You had these four behemoths, seemingly hanging onto Cold War animosities, and the whole match felt a knife's edge away from all-out mayhem. I loved Hashimikov's throws and fire on the New Japan set, and he never disappoints me when he resurfaces. Really, I'm just a total sucker for Russians in shootsyle scenarios.
  10. Childs
    I realized I never went through the last few disks of this yearbook. This was even better than I remembered. I just finished 1991, so what really struck me was Bossman's superiority to Gordy in a similar setting. I loved all of his uppercut variations, and he also bumped like a motherfucker. The work on Kawada's leg was excellent, and he did a great job balancing his selling with a really gutty effort to give Taue the space he needed to get the win. They had the crowd hanging on every move in the finishing stretch.
  11. Childs
    Territories, probably in small-batch sets, NWA/WCW, Joshi in theory.
  12. Childs
    How is Showtime helping boxing get its shit together? Showtime is a major contributor to the blood-feud schism between Golden Boy and Top Rank that makes countless attractive match-ups impossible. Don't get me wrong; I'm fine with Showtime stepping up as a stronger player. But boxing is as fucked up as ever.
  13. Childs
    Viewed as just a Hogan-Flair house-show sprint, this was good. Flair's signature bumps actually fit really well with Hogan. Ric could've seemed a little tougher in his control segments, but that probably wasn't in the cards no matter where they matched up. Of course, it's hard to ignore the broader context of this not seeming as big as it should and of them diminishing Flair as a threat out of the gate. It's a shame, because they clearly had a memorable Wrestlemania match in them.
  14. Childs
    I haven't watched the SuperBrawl match recently enough to make a good comparison. But this was an excellent showcase for Liger, who couldn't have asked for a better U.S. opponent than Pillman. I always have trouble getting past the Jersey smark commentary. I suppose that's small-minded of me.
  15. Childs
    This was actually pretty fun to watch, because Berbick was so animated as the guy getting double-crossed. I don't agree with those saying he came off as a bitch. Takada was the clear asshole in this scenario. At least his veneer of legit toughness would eventually be shattered.
  16. Childs
    Watching Portland wrestling from 1981 and just saw a promo by a fresh-faced Bourne and a pre-insane Buzz Sawyer. Depressing.
  17. Childs
    Excellent match. Hogan really upped the quality of his offense in response to Tenryu's stiffness, and the whole thing had the Clash of the Titans feel you'd want. This was my favorite Hogan match of the year and quite possibly Tenryu's best as well.
  18. Childs
    I really dug this as well, Pete. Norton's strongman spots looked very cool, and Hase did a great job in general eating punishment and bouncing around for the big guys. Typically hot finishing stretch for a Muto-Hase tag, with the crowd going apeshit. I'm not sure the NJ tags have been better than the AJ tags this year, but it was certainly still a valid debate at this point.
  19. Childs
    This blew away the Thundercats -Trio Fantasia match in terms of building drama. I was glad I had read Bix's post before watching, because I would have found the rules confusing. But knowing the set-up, I loved the way Black Shadow staged his run at Santito's mask. I'm a sucker for Santito bleeding through his mask, and this was one of the more dramatic examples I've seen. All the brawling outside came off as really intense and crazy, and both guys showed great fight through the nearfalls. This might be my lucha MOTY. I had never heard of it before and really loved it.
  20. Childs
    Sugar rush ... Andre-Hansen, Lawler-Dutch barbed wire, Gordy-Khan, Funk-Flair GAB, Kobashi/KIkuchi vs. Kroffat/Furnas 5/25/92, Hash vs. Tenryu 8/1/98, MPro multi-man 12/16/96, Eddy-Brock title change, Danielson-Morishima 8/25/07, Sting-Vader strap match, 9/12/88 NJ 10-man.
  21. Childs
    Needless to say, I'm curious about this latest New Japan "best show ever" without having any intention of watching it myself. Work your magic Dylan.
  22. Childs
    From the '80s sets I've worked on, New Japan was strong in 1983 and first half of 1984 with Choshu's assault on the establishment. And again in 1986 and 1987 with the UWF guys and Choshu coming back in. All Japan was incredible in 1989 with the culmination of Jumbo vs. Tenryu and a lot of fun supporting stuff. From the yearbooks, EMLL had a great 1990, led by Dandy, Satanico, Azteca, etc. All Japan had a great 1993-1994 (really through 6/95), highlighted by Misawa-Kawada heating up and Hansen having his last transcendent run. New Japan did a great job of building its next generation in 1991. From the 2000s, I'd agree on 2007 WWE -- great year for Cena. Thinking back on ROH, I guess 2006 was probably the peak with the CZW feud and Danielson's title reign. IWA-MS was consistently fun to watch in 2002-2003. I don't know about overall years for puro, but I really liked the New Japan vs. All Japan stuff with Kawada in 2000 and the Liger vs. Kikuchi stuff from NOAH in 2002-2003. I guess NOAH was a pretty strong promotion overall during Kobashi's last big run in 2004-2005. IWRG had that great year a couple years back -- what was it, 2011?
  23. Childs
    This didn't do much for me, which was a real surprise given the praise from Loss and Pete. There wasn't much to the first two falls. And though the third fall featured plenty of blood and chaos, they didn't build to the decisive moments in any compelling way. It was like they went through the motions of doing a wild, hate-filled mask match without establishing the underlying sense of competition. I don't know; just didn't connect with me. Maybe it would be different if I knew the wrestlers better? I'll rewatch at some point, but I don't think it would make my lucha top 10 for the year much less my overall top 10.
  24. Childs
    However, fans are welcome here. Right. I just wanted him to be aware that he might get more enthusiastic recommendations on other forums. Wasn't trying to be dickish.
  25. Childs
    This probably isn't your greatest haven for Dragon Gate fans.
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