Coffey

I have not finished Kenny Omega Vs. Okada yet but I did a write-up for Tanahashi/Naito: ===== Intercontinenal Championship: Tetsuya Naito© Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 (January 4, 2017) at the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo, Japan I have already said a lot of this on Twitter, where I was going insane like a lunatic after the match but Tanahashi/Naito was freaking incredible & I loved it. Plus, I don't have a lot of Twitter followers & I wanted to be able to express myself with more characters, so I'm going to write it out here. First of all, let me get it out there at the forefront: after thinking about it some more, after my initial first impressions wore off, I'm still giving the match a perfect ★★★★★ rating. Which I have not given a match that rating in a very long time. I don't even remember what the last match match I scored that highly was. I know that I liked The Revival Vs. #DIY at NXT Takeover a lot but I didn't think it was a 5-star affair. Mostly because 2-out-of-3 falls matches by the definition of the gimmick, don't have as much emotional involvement until the final fall because you know you have to get to a 1-1 tie first. Nevertheless, it was still a great match. Naito/Tanahashi to me is just everything that I love about professional wrestling. Right from the opening, even before the bell. The entrances & entrance attire were great, the ring attire was great. Naito's pre-match shenanigans were great. Throwing the belt, fucking with the ring announcer, giving the dab to the commentator. The body of the match was incredible. Naito playing the heel, Tanahashi taking no shit early by not taking a clean break with the gut punches & pulling the hair & showing Naito that he was willing to get down & dirty too. The ring apron Sling Blade was an awesome looking spot that Naito took a great bump on. The High-Fly Flow Crossbody to the outside of the ring, again, was an amazing spot & certainly a visual spectacle. I loved both the German Suplex from Naito & the Dragon Suplex from Tanahashi. I bought into the near falls & at one time screamed "shit!" with a smiled & a head shake at the television after Tanahashi kicked out because I definitely thought it was over. The match was mostly built around BOTH wrestlers working the leg, which I can't really recall seeing too many times before. I'm sure I have seen it before but I'm struggling to remember. I know that Dusty & Flair both did Figure-Four Leglocks but I've not watched that match in so long I don't remember the legwork from them. This match, they took something that I usually dislike about modern Puro, the dueling no-selling strikes in mid-match & added something new to it which made it more fun to me. Instead of just forearms or headbutts to the face, they started kicking each other in the knee. Something little but it added so much. Excluding AJ Styles because he does his off of a Springboard, which to me makes it an entirely different move altogether, Naito has the best Flying Forearm that I have ever seen. Even better than Tito Santana. I loved the Naito's running, jumping roll-up into a Kneebar, that Tanahashi not only fought through but turned into a High-Angle Texas Cloverleaf. What a spot! Plus, when Naito managed to get his knees up on the High-Fly Flow, it looked like death. Naito has a great finisher. Post-match, Naito kept up the heel character work, throwing the belt, acting non-chalant, dabbing Tanahashi's chest & taunting over his fallen body. Just really great professional wrestling from two really good if not great professional wrestlers. Naito might be my favorite wrestler in the world right now. The feeling that I had when the match was over was euphoric. It took me at least ten minutes to comeback down from the natural high that the match gave me. I have not had that much fun or felt that good after watching wrestling in a long time, if ever. It made me feel proud to be a fan again. This is what I want from professional wrestling & this is why I am a fan.

Braun is 6'8", 385lbs and moves about twice as fast as Kevin Owens, whom for some god awful reason is the champion. Last night, watching Owens during his match, I was audibly laughing at the TV every time he did any sort of run spot. My god, Akeem put in better effort. There was one spot where Owens has to run and fall over the top rope to the outside and it looked like he was stuck in molasses.

The best part to me was Heyman saying "there's only room for one Jew" and popping Rosen with it.

I got to see Scott Norton Vs. Goldberg live at a Thunder taping, which was pretty cool. I was also the high vote on Scott Norton in the GWE voting & people thought I was crazy... but I've always been a mark for him. I have always been a fan of the big bruiser style. It's part of why I like Braun & Rusev nowadays. Scott Norton is one of those guys where he might not have the best match but if he comes out, I'm not changing the dial until whatever he is doing is over. He was so ox strong it was sick & everything he did looked like death. Shoulder-Breaker, Powerslam, Powerbomb... even his chops. Dude is a beast. Also when I was in high school lifting weights (which seems many years and many pounds ago for sure) Scott Norton looked like what I aspired to look like. His chest is just ridiculously massive. He was also a legit arm wrestler. I think my favorite kind of pro-wrestling match is when it's a big bruiser against a wrestler that has to try to outwit or outmaneuver him. Eddie Guerrero Vs. Brock Lesnar being a good example. In those matches, my favorite part generally tends to be when the monster cuts the plucky wrestler off & finally gets his hands on him. The Giant was pretty good at it too but Norton had this aura about him, where when he finally got his hands on someone, you felt like it might just be over. I remember genuinely feeling bad for The Cat when Norton chopped his chest & busted all of those blood vessels. Norton has some pretty good matches too. I mean, he's no Big Van Vader but I don't think the distance between him & guys like Bam Bam Bigelow, John Tenta or Big Boss Man is that vast. He's also decent in tags where he's the guy the babyfaces don't wanna see get tagged in.

Stro, I would be interested in this thread to read you compare Ric Flair to Nick Bockwinkle. I've often wondered if part of the appeal of Ric Flair was because so much of his career was readily available on tape - mostly in good condition too. Also, it's hard to remove yourself from an era. Watching Ric Flair growing up and in the moment is different for me than going back and re-watching him with 2016 eyes.

Dave Meltzer's opinion of matches or styles is not something I ever think about before, during or after a match. In fact, the only time I ever remember he even exists is when I go on forums & see people mention him. Then I get curious. Meltzer and I rarely see eye-to-eye on... well, almost anything. He seems to love shitty spotfest gimmick matches & he loves The Young Bucks, in example. It's weird to me that in this thread people are using Meltzer as like a way to knock what other fans are into.

I feel like my biggest disconnect in Lucha Libre is actually the referees. The emotion of a match is very important, especially if you are going to be drawn into a match or care about any of the participants. Even today, WWE occasionally will draw me into a match & I find myself marking out. It just happened in NXT in the match between The Revival Vs. Gargano/Ciampa. I can't get that in Lucha Libre because of the damn referees. I can't buy into any pinfall attempt or near falls or finishes because it takes the ref like ten seconds to count to three. It just kills all the drama & suspension of disbelief for me. I love the heritage & the stories behind the masks & all of that. I've tried to get into Lucha Libre but the matches just don't do it for me. Even the pimped bloody brawls - there's just a big disconnect for me. With Puroresu, even if I was not familiar with the participant, a good match could make me a fan. The first Puro I ever saw in my life was Super J Cup 1994 or 1995 (I believe) & I didn't get it. A lot of it was sloppy. The biggest thing I took away from it was the match where Great Sasuke blew the finish. Later on though, I got some Comps. from Goodhelmet & I got to watch guys like Misawa, Kawada, Akiyama, Kobashi, Taue, etc. I'm still not a fan of Taue but those other guys were doing a ton of great things. The matches, despite their length (or maybe even because of it), were entertaining the hell out of me. It was like watching a movie in one match. There was a beginning, a middle & an end. I didn't know what the finish was ever going to be, who was ever going to win or what I was going to see. I bought into the near falls & was continually saying things like "holy shit!" I've seen a lot of bad Japanese wrestling too, especially the deathmatch stuff, but I've seen great Puro. I've never seen great Lucha unless it was Americanized.

I just thought of another big one for me: Johnny Nitro/Mundo. I really loathe his offense. I don't know if I've ever seen him connect flush with his awful finisher ever.

WWE is in this weird state where whenever they do finally decide to pull the trigger on someone & push them into the main event, I completely lose interest or feel like they chose the wrong person. I think this is a problem with me though & not WWE. I wanted Roman to be a top guy & the crowds have seemingly rejected him. I thought Cena was a good top guy & the crowds treat him the same way they treat Reigns - even still on a part-time schedule. I don't feel like Owens, Ambrose, Ziggler or Rollins work at all. I like Styles but the stuff with Ambrose & Ellsworth is just confusing to me. I want to see Rusev at the top for awhile & he's pulling pre-show duty against Big Cass, whom I see literal zero potential in. Before his injury, although I like him, I felt Finn Bàlor was on top way too soon. The roster feels thinner than ever because of the brand split & the main events just feel "meh" because to me it feels like they constantly feature all the wrong people.

JoJo is currently the ring announcer. The lady on the pre/post-show and doing backstage interviews is Charly Caruso. I think she's really good at it and the best they've found since Renee Young. I hope she sticks https://www.instagram.com/p/BNHaGioBv5A/?taken-by=charlycarusowwe&hl=en I meant Bayley and JoJo. I know who is who. I feel like, because she's the ring announcer, people forget about JoJo a lot but she always looks great.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?

I liked the New Day tag match. I liked that Rusev didn't lose to Big Cass. I liked that Neville was added into 205 Live/Cruiserweights stuff. I thought Sam Roberts was pretty good on the pre-show. Bayley & JoJo looked great. Looks like Reigns/Owens is going on last, not Sasha/Charlotte.

Wait, what ? Tonight ? Charlotte vs Sasha ? Yeah. Last PPV was two weeks ago. I didn't know it was tonight either. I went to WWE.com today because I don't have the Network bookmarked, so I had to go there to click the Network logo and it was the first thing on the page.

There's another WWE PPV tonight. 30-minute ironman women's match.

I just watched, on Facebook of all places, a 1988 Wrestlefest cage match between André the Giant & Hulk Hogan. André, at that point in his career, at that size, climbing up the cage was one of the biggest spectacles I have ever watched. Holy crap!

According to the Twitter machine, the tournament shows sold out in less than twenty-four hours. So that's pretty cool.

lol... passive-aggressive goc returns. We just don't "get it." You're so much smarter than the rest of us. That Virginia education.

That's easily the best looking title WWE has had in many, many years.

What is a guy like Randy Orton gonna teach a guy like A.J. Styles? How not to get fired after constantly failing wellness or getting suspended?

This is the best RAW I've watched in quite some time. Even the stuff I'm not overly interested in they have kept short or it has had a bigger purpose. I've genuinely enjoyed the show tonight. First time in a long time that RAW opened with a match too. That Sami Zayn/Mick Foley segment got me fired up!

OK. But you're familiar with his work. What's the first thing a WWE RAW fan that doesn't know who he is is going to think when they see him for the first time? Also, I never fat-shamed him or cared what his body weight was or anything of the sort. I simply asked if WWE were going to cover him up as they've been known to do such things. You, YOU GRIMMAS, have blown this WAY the fuck out of proportion.

Again with this bullshit? Heidi gets signed. Will she be in a mask? Hero gets signed. Will he get a bodysuit? What is wrong with you people? What do you mean by you people? TRIGGERED! Are we denying that WWE doesn't have a history of hating against people for petty reasons now? Is that where we're at? I know your new kick is being anti-fat shaming now, but really? Think if you're getting upset over comments like that, it's time to turn your internet off. I must have dreamed all the Piggy James stuff. Whoops! They literally fired him for not losing weight. This is why I'm curious if they call him Kassius Ohno again because that's what they were going for the first time. He even had a KO shirt.

Can't deny he's a helluva worker. Will WWE put him in some sort of body suit? Will they try to call him Kassius Ohno again?

Stephanie McMahon is probably my most hated character. The McMahons are frequently the worst part about their own company & I find her the worst. Always hated Alex Wright. Captain New Japan is...I don't get the joke. Can't stand Kevin Owens. Loathe the Young Bucks. Rich Swann is pretty bad. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka are excruciatingly bad. I really hated Sonjay Dutt. Remember him? Trying to think of older guys that never interested me when watching shows: Dory Funk Jr, Carlos Colón, Junkyard Dog, Dino Bravo, Bruno Sammartino, any of the Von Erich family but especially Kevin, Baron Von Raschke, Dick the Bruiser, Mike Graham, Killer Kowalski, George "The Animal" Steele - holy shit, Abdullah the Butcher, The Sheik, The Boogie Woogie Man lol... I have disliked a lot of wrestlers over the years.

Also, I was thinking, Sean Waltman is definitely going to go into the WWE Hall of Fame, just so Shawn Michaels & Triple H can talk/brag about how all of The Kilq are hall of famers. Big Show is going in too (when he's finished) and really deserves it. I was thinking about his career so far. He won the title from Hogan in his debut match in WCW, right? He was pretty over for awhile against the nWo too. Won the WCW title, the WWE title, ECW title, tag titles. Had that match with Mayweather. Going to have the match with Shaq. He's done a lot, really. Won the Andre Battle Royal. The fact he's done all he has, for as long as he has, with that size of a body is pretty incredible. Only thing he's not really done is win the Royal Rumble.