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Zenjo

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Everything posted by Zenjo

  1. Zenjo
    I should point out that not every pre-match hype video or PPV introduction in the history of WCW was complete shit. Some were average. Nash becomes champion. Oh joy.
  2. Zenjo
    I feel bad for thinking about Johnny Ace whilst watching this.
  3. Zenjo
    I don't follow the WWE closely, but general problems with the Divas division are: - It's very hard to tell who the heels and faces are. Someone cuts a bitchy promo, so I think they're a heel. Then they seem to be wrestling babyface during the match. The audience don't seem sure how to react either, so it's no wonder there isn't much heat. Don't tell me that heels and faces don't matter in 2015 either. It's a fundamental component of all wrestling outside of Japan. - The characters all seem to be derived from a template of jealous, mentally unstable, catty chicks who despise all other females. The way they act on the shows is so far removed from real women it's ridiculous. If they actually had their own personalities and motivations then the audience would relate to them and care what happens. - The wrestling quality. They work the same style as the men with less proficiency. Obviously the roster could be improved. Or if they were allowed to work a different style that would immediately make things more interesting. - Lack of good matches. They've either short, very short or medium length. They aren't given the opportunity to produce memorable matches.
  4. Zenjo
    The 'crowd's investment' is mainly between the sounds of the bells so I don't get what you mean there. I personally believe that matches should be rated at the final bell. Post-match scenes can certainly add to the experience and the memory, but I wouldn't alter a rating because of it. It's also pretty easy to ignore the commentary to a large extent when it's in a language you don't understand. Many a commentator has made me wish I could switch off my understanding of English. But I don't totally disagree with you. Pre-match can be very important for setting the mood and thoughts of the viewer going in. At times on the Yearbooks you can miss out on context. As the viewer you're piecing things together with every chapter. Most people who watch them know a lot about pro wrestling and its history over the last 25 years. So can come up with their own interpretations even without the specific knowledge.
  5. Zenjo

    Kana Signs With WWE?

    Zenjo replied to GOTNW's topic in WWE

    Kana seems to have a feisty personality. So she'll probably get fired before long. I've been watching a few of her Shimmer matches from 2012 recently. If she wasn't the best women's wrestler in the world at that point then she can't have been far off. Unless she's physically declined then that should still be the case now. She shouldn't have any real problems adapting to the wrestling style. Apart from certain Divas complaining it's too stiff. They'd probably be jealous of her ability as well so would try to undermine her. Then there's all the writers and other assorted morons backstage to put up with. This just ain't working out.
  6. Zenjo
    At the decades end my AJ top 100 list will probably have bouts like this near the bottom. Which is a ringing endorsement! Jun targeted the arm early on but had little success. It was a far wiser course of action to go after the visibly bad knees, and that he did from about 10m in. I guess he chose not to go there straight away as Kobashi is his tag partner. But business is business. Overall Akiyama had more volume of offense whilst Kenta landed the more damaging blows. Orange Crush was now starting to look like the wrestler we'd see in the second half of his career. Making up for his reduced athletisism with extreme firepower. The head bumps felt a bit cheap and throwaway here. The pace quickened near the end. Not all that ambitious actually, as they wanted to hold something in reserve.
  7. Zenjo
    The Rudos had enlisted the services of a fortune teller. That worked out about as well as you might expect. As an aside, it's a blessing those two guys aren't broadcast in HD. The Salvaje and Scorpio combo dominated the primera and busted open both fan favourites. The comeback in the segunda was perfectly timed and the crowd was raucous in their approval. Exciting tornado action. Bestia tried to steal one but got caught and DQ'd. I loved the way they did that with the two refs. The final fall actually featured some tagging. Not to mention excellent dives and close near falls. The arena exploided when they won it and (being a hopeless mark) I was out my seat as well. At 18m it was long enough, just. There was some peril for the tecnico loss, yet one thing would've put it over the top as an all time classic. Just imagine if Santo had been pinned in the tercera and had to rely on his greatest rival to come back and save his mask? That would've been insanely brilliant. Casas could've needled him for years about that. Even the other way around would've been really good. Regardless, this is the best match of the year so far and should finish top 5.
  8. Zenjo
    I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. Which is doubly surprising given it went north of the 30m mark. For the first half they dispensed with the usual trashiness and took things to the mat. Both Shinzaki and Tanaka impressed me with their fundamental skills, keeping the action focused whilst displaying sound technique. Hayabusa was mainly kept on the receiving end early on before being allowed to break free. A smart plan. Kuroda's inexperience was largely made up for by youthful exuberance. The 2nd half was a continual sequence of big moves and near falls with no respite and little selling. It became numbing and I'd have little time for it in a microcosm. Here they had such a strong grounding that I'll let a lot go. Good match overall. See, I do like at least one FMW bout not involving Onita or Kudo!
  9. Zenjo
    If Benoit and Malenko were midgets then what does that make the opposition? It seemed like it was going to be a standard quick match worked in the rushed TV style (Which I hate BTW, but won't go on about it). Instead they took it longer with a FIP segment. 10m shown plus the break. Action was good. With a clean finish this goes on my top matches of the year list. With a HSF it misses out. Guess which happened?
  10. Zenjo
    Yes, well that was... minimalist? Very little actually happens here. Kanehara isn't about to take the lead and Tamura fancied an easy night. Nothing was actively bad, just a little on the dull side.
  11. Zenjo
    This is borderline as to whether it warrants inclusion. By no means essential, but I'd recommend a watch. In general it was good quality. They went straight for each other and there was little downtime. Taue was big enough to go toe to toe with the Mastodon. Keeping it shortish was a positive. Unfortunately there was a minute in the middle where everything fell to pieces temporarily. That hurt the overall impression.
  12. Zenjo
    I loved the opening. Really lively and engaging. The challengers possessed good chemistry as a unit. They were both busting out moves that their partner had taught them in training, or at least that's how it came off to me. After the initial promise it stuttered briefly with a series of rest holds. Your punches still suck Ratboy. He then took a decent FIP segment. After 20m we hit the finishing run. Exciting action and the fans were enthusiastically supporting the underdog. I like him a whole lot better in the tag environment. Despite a game effort Ogawa fell just short. Excellent bout that stands out a lot more in 99 than it would in earlier years. All Japan this year is raging against the fading of the light. Definitely the top promotion thus far.
  13. Zenjo
    I did not appreciate the finisher to start. After that was over with they began to find a nice rhythm on the deck. Yoshida had found someone to hang with her. The opening half was smooth in it's execution. The chain wrestling didn't have that much direction, yet was easy on the eye and fun to watch. The 2nd half kicked into top gear once Mariko's arm was targeted and injured. The submissions lasted longer and the selling was excellent. The fans sensed the peril and got into it, believing Hirouuuumi might spring an upset. Strong finish as the Queen of Arsion retains. I wouldn't have it down as a classic match but it was pretty boss.
  14. Zenjo
    The opening fall was short and quite poor. The second was just short. Scorpio did not impress me at all in this one. Business picked up a fair bit down the stretch before a cheap finish. Is this what passes for title matches in 99? I miss the traditional format. Overall it's solid enough buildup to the Apuestas.
  15. Zenjo
    We've reached the point in time where describing a match as being old fashioned is usually a compliment. This was outdated and really boring however. Aside from the Flair match in 98 and the Benoit one later this year you can write off Bret in WCW for me.
  16. Zenjo
    The two famous rivals were enjoying a rare outbreak of peace in 1999. The quality of the action was above average, yet below the standard I'd have expected given the participants. The tercera was cut short as well when the rudos got involved in a brawl with Perro Aguayo, who happened to be seated in the front row. Lame booking as they cop out of a finish.
  17. Zenjo
    I used to have to go to the travel agent to get some US$. Then stuff it in an envelope and post it to America. If I was lucky then I'd get a tape or two the following month. Often with one match I wanted to see per show. Those were the days... Kawada did indeed break his arm part way through, not that he worried about it until afterwards. This didn't have the narrative of their other TC battles. They'd resolved the holy grail storyline and weren't quite onto legends match territory. It was simply an excellent wrestling match. They fought so many times, but were always able to spice things up and avoid that repetitive feeling. They didn't remain tentative for long at the start, unloading all manner of brutally stiff offense. At times there was an element of 'your turn, my turn'. A couple of odd bits of selling too. Everything came together down the stretch. Dangerous K absolutely murdered him with a brainbuster and the Ganso Bomb. Quite rightly Misawa didn't come back from that. It would prove to be a bittersweet victory for Tosh as his injury forced him to forfeit the belts. That first victorious title defence would have to wait for another reign.
  18. Zenjo
    This was the weirdest bout to watch. Shinzaki bled a disgusting amount in producing a truly valiant performance. Honda gave a terrific showing, the peak of his time in AJ. I remember in 2003 when he turned into the best wrestler in the world for two matches, then went straight back to the midcard like nothing had ever happened. Hayabusa was also at his best. Delivering spectacular offense whilst others took care of most of the construction. Given all this, why isn't this a low end MOTYC at the minimum? Oh yeah, there's someone else involved. There's good reason why Izu spent his career in the lower reaches of the card. A desperately limited worker with a bad image and an extremely repetitive moveset. How many headbutts? I just wanted him laid out on the floor so the others could do their thing. Despite the handicap this was a rare AJ gem not involving any of the big guns.
  19. Zenjo
    It was a well structured bout. Ka-ki kicked Ogawa's ass early doors before the champion caught a lucky break. He worked over the injured leg to complete a good build. Now here's where my problems with this start. Ogawa's high end moveset, or total lack thereof. If I didn't know to the contrary I'd swear he was a gaijin. He's got the most Americanised offence I've ever seen from an AJ native. If he was working for an alternate promotion it would be different, but low impact blows and sneaky flash pin attempts just isn't what I want to see from 90's Zen Nihon. I don't mind the guy in a tag environment I should point out as assets can be harnessed and deficiencies can be covered.
  20. Zenjo
    There isn't much Joshi included on the late 90's Yearbooks, but what's shown has certainly been beneficial to Toshie Uematsu. I guess that perceptions of the GAEA trueborns back in the day would be: 1) Satomura 2) Nagashima 3) Kato 4) Satoh 5) Uematsu 6) Hirota. Nobody else could stick it out through the Chigusa hazing. I'd have to switch Sucre and Toshie if ranking them now. This bout was surprisingly grounded in the early going. They went on to display a wide variety of skills. Aerial moves, strikes, submissions and high impact manoeuvers. Competitive throughout, yet Meiko had a slight edge and always looked the likely victor. Some of the sequences were overchoreographed and it didn't all click together. Good stuff tho.
  21. Zenjo
    An action packed encounter that involved changes of pace and plenty of variety. I like how the GAEA girls are trained in both the submissions and the high flying. They were very well drilled and highly familiar with facing one another. Some nice move sequences that looked competitive rather than choreographed. The DVD being countered into a standing scissored armbar would've been an instant 5* had it been the finish. Not everything that they went for came off quite as beautifully as that. Nagashima's strikes are weak due to her thin frame. Also it wasn't long enough to merit the exhaustion selling. Areas for improvement, but plenty to admire in this one.
  22. Zenjo
    BattleArts is a promotion I feel a definite disconnect toward for reasons I've discussed elsewhere. However by the end this had begrudgingly won me over. I'm not convinced that the tag format is ideal for this style, although it works way better than in fully fledged shoot style promotions. Never short on stiffness and of course anger. Everyone is angry in BattleArts. All the time. Going 25m at the level of intensity that they did was quite a physical effort. Plenty of bomb throwing with many 10 count spots as they don't have pins. That aspect felt like a drawback on occasion. The finish was particularly strong.
  23. Zenjo
    This was my leading MOTY contender for a week. Went 26m and the opening third was JIP. Annoying as ever. I'd say I was 90% into it rather than 100%. As there's incomplete information I don't know if that was a fault of the match itself or the clipping. The action was strong however with plenty of fun moments and multiple FIP segments. Kobashi's head getting worked over was good for the viewer, though not the participant. They went for it down the stretch as well. I'm looking forward to the final complete year of the Kings Road.
  24. Zenjo
    I'm sure there are some FMW matches I like that don't involve either Onita or Kudo. The first 10m here is low key shoot style grappling. Nothing to set the world alight but a decent way to pass the time. Oya's haircut is so bad I found it quite distracting. Then literally out of nowhere it's garbage time. WTF? There was no lead to it, no transition, no reason why it should happen. Just instantly going from pure wrestling to someone getting kicked in the nuts and the blood feud is on. I found it so jarring that it totally took me out of the match.
  25. Zenjo
    In the early stages they exchanged body part attack segments. Instantly blown off in both cases. Then to the outside as this is FMW. No countouts in this one. Putting chairs on your opponent and then moonsaulting them is illogical, dumb and dangerous. Then back into the ring for the intended thrills and spills. I was beyond caring by that point. A bad junior match with the FMW touch.
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