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Zenjo

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Everything posted by Zenjo

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  8. Zenjo
    What to use my 1K post on? I'll just write about possibly the greatest wrestling match of all time. In the aftermath there were 3 people laid out on the floor; Misawa, Akiyama and me! They'd both taken incredible beatings, I was just drained emotionally from experiencing this masterpiece. If there's a better match out there then it isn't by much. There were several times I wanted to pause it and regroup, so overwhelmed I was by it's splendour. Both teams came out the blocks fast with heavy duty early offence. The quick win was always going to be a long shot, so Akiyama was then worked over a bit. It wasn't one of those matches where the execution was perfect. It wasn't non-stop thrills from start to finish. Yet the end result was perfect in how everything came together. Kawada was such a stoic man that it meant so much whenever his anger boiled over. You could sense the rage at how he felt at the youngster Akiyama had embarrassed him during 1996. His jealousy and frustration with Misawa was almost tangible. He would gain no small measure of revenge on this night. The structure was the height of sophistication. Each man had two energy bars displayed on the screen; temporary and permanent. They went back and forth with momentum switches and 2 on 1 situations. Taue used to be the #2 in the team, but '96 was his year. He'd won the Carny, won the Triple Crown, and he was the man who'd beaten Misawa. Individually Kawada couldn't beat his nemesis, but with his brother by his side he could do anything. Both adversaries were obliterated at the finish with a brutal array of headbumps and powerbombs. Afterwards in the interview Kawada gave props to his partner. Admittedly their affection didn't extend beyond a terse handshake, but it was a beautiful bromance. And appreciation too must go to Akiyama & Misawa. They weren't the focal point, but both delivered amazing performances and were perfect in their roles. Was Jun ever better than at this time? The selling, and just about everything else from all four men was phenomenal.
  9. Zenjo
    Great looking list Chad. I haven't watched much of the '97 Yearbook so can't do any comparisons yet. Okay so you've completed 90,91,94 & 97. Which way now? As we've both put out 4 lists I'll race you to 10. It will be a very slow race.
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  11. Zenjo
    Kyoko's 8+ year journey comes to an end as she wins the WWWA Title on her 4th attempt. This was what the fans at Sumo Hall had come to see and it lived up to expectations. It was wonderful to see Kyoko achieve her dream as she was a very deserving champion. They'd met on many occasions so you probably know what to expect by now with fast paced, full on action. Just in general Japanese fans weren't hot during builds anymore. So naturally it peaked during the closing third. Toyota did an awesome Sunset Flip off the top to kick things off. Both survived all of their opponents offence so Kyoko had to invent a new move to prevail. The Victoria Driver aka Burning Hammer was born. In this instance the concept worked really well. They had better bouts but this was still really good, and the right way to finish the year. Unfortunately a look at the remainder of the card represented the company's decline during 1996.
  12. Zenjo
    This would've been a lot better in LLPW rather than FMW. Or in Tokyo, as the crowd were as dead as the proverbial donut. The bout was straight up wrestling, which didn't play to their strengths. Both women in singles benefitted from a hardcore element. The work was solid enough fare with Kandori aiming towards procuring an arm submission or sleeper. I'd have liked to see more of an underdog dynamic established by a beatdown phase.
  13. Zenjo
    That was bloody awful with no redeeming features! Toyota flat out sucked and Aja delivered a poor performance as well. Better best forgotten. This show was all about the terrific Takako Inoue vs Mariko Yoshida bout. Yoshida was the best performer in '96 AJW by some distance and Takako also found her top form here. They always had strong chemistry going back several years. It was a travesty that Yoshida never held one of the big titles in AJW.
  14. Zenjo
    This was so much better being held under WAR pro rules. I didn't think the UWFI bout worked at all. Dream match atmosfear. You don't remember the video board game? Anyway this was really good when they were laying in the strikes. Some meaty head kicks in particular. The submissions weren't so strong as this wasn't GenTen's area of expertise. A few pro moves too. Not blowaway but it certainly lived up to expectations. It was so great how Tenryu was able to instantly conjure up an intense rivalry against so many different opponents throughout the 90's.
  15. Zenjo
    It was basically a lesser version of the 10/10 classic. Back in the gymnasium, a bit shorter and less seminal. There was still plenty to enjoy because they'd perfected the formula.
  16. Zenjo
    The combination of clipping and terrible studio commentary meant I could never get into this. M-Pro was all about the 10 man tags. Only the Dick survives.
  17. Zenjo
    The final match of the UWFI promotion, and it was a worthy send-off. The Beast was younger and stronger than Takada, so looked like a credible threat. The fans were into it and there was some exciting stuff once they got motoring. The veteran was able to hold off the charge with a smart reversal. Most of the UWFI alumni would move onto the Kingdom promotion, which tanked and folded in no time at all. With the dawn of the MMA era shoot style would soon give way.
  18. Zenjo
    Certainly a good match, but there were a few minor errors that held it back. The structure was pretty good with a mixture of ground and aerial work. They both concentrated on body part attacks, Dragon should've sold the leg better. The fans got hot for the near falls yet the finish wasn't well done. Frustrating.
  19. Zenjo
    A quite reasonable encounter, but for a dream match it was a letdown. Never clicked into high gear.
  20. Zenjo
    This was a good demonstration of the problem with live TV matches. The commercial break takes a large chunk out of it and either disrupts the flow, or in this case left me in the dark as to why the crowd were so excited. The commentary was beyond atrocious. Regal wasn't suited to bumping for Psicosis offence, but they did combine better than I expected overall.
  21. Zenjo
    I don't agree with that generalization at all. Look up Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono and you'll see 4 minute match that still manages to be very engaging with a clear beginning, control segments, and even some big nearfalls. It may actually be my 2010 MOTY regardless of length. I'll admit you're not going to see that quality on throwaway TV matches, though. What control segments and big nearfalls? I disagree with what you're saying, but it was an entertaining way to spend 5m. So thanks for that. It was too short BTW. For shoot style matches the desirable duration can be a lot shorter than any other style because of the intensity. I would say the BME rules are also less of an issue because of the unpredictability in length.
  22. Zenjo
    The Santo rudo story continues. He had this awesome new entrance. It started off as triple threat nominally, or a handicap match in reality. Santo quickly fell. Negro then beat Dandy in a quick one faller. He left both opponents laying and having the rest of the night off was a major prize. This was all hot action and strong storytelling. Given what was to follow I might have preferred the two El's straight up. Or maybe it was better this way? Hijo began with an advantage which increased further once Dandy did an absolute monster blade job. Not only was he a gushing mess, Santo's white outfit was stained red, the ring was covered in it and probably the floor too. Not a drop was wasted though. Santo fought as a rudo by stripping down his moveset. Any high flying was rare so had added meaning. The fight escalated into an absolute war, totally gripping and involving. The image of the beaten and bloodied El Dandy fighting for his life was so powerful. Even a little detail at the end was perfect with Santo applying the Camel Clutch over the bleeding wound rather than under the chin. It was an outstanding performance by Santo to play against type. Yet for me this had to be the pinnacle of Dandy's career. He had many high points but surely nothing can top what he did here? Before reading the comments here I had no idea how strongly the fans had gone one way. My general impression was that they were supporting both men and that rudo/tecnico had ceased to matter towards the end. I've noticed in general that I place a lot less stock in crowd reaction than most posters. When I'm totally zoned into the story they're telling me it's only background noise. Dandy completely drew me into a bubble as he gave a magical performance in a seemingly impossible role. Given that it's my three favourite Luchadors of all time fighting one another it had to be a classic. If this had happened recently it would be the match of the decade so far. On 12/6/96? It's not even the match of the day.
  23. Zenjo
    From the one-off Inoki Fest, with a rather excitable commentator. That M-Pro ref is one squat fatboy. You know the score with these multi-mens by now. The 10m of good stuff then almost like clockwork it's twitchy finger time. Fortunately they soon went to stretch and kept the whole thing quite short. Some funky movez being thrown out there. Taka was the star performer and like other people have said Pan was a pleasant surprise. He's got a bit of the Kikuchi about him, I really want to see him get his ass kicked. Good stuff overall.
  24. Zenjo
    I'm enjoyed watching CMLL '96 and look forward to the following year. The promotion was in a good place. Modernising without yet whoring itself out, both in terms of presentation and ringwork. The combatants kept up a lively pace with more of an action emphasis than prolonged matwork. The structure and length were right, with plenty enough time for Lucha dramatica. There was one unfortunate instance when they got their legs tangled, which temporarily stopped the flow. Black Warrior wearing an orange mask bugged me a little. It would never have worked with Black Tiger. Warrior was upper midcard, but absolutely not main event level in stature or ability. Dandy on the other hand delivered a world class performance, he was superb. His ring presence dwarfed the opponent and all the highlights were from one man. A high quality match, but going 50/50 when one guy was so much better wasn't ideal.
  25. Zenjo
    A WWF MOTDC for sure. It had a really strong buildup with a big match feel. The action nearly all took place in the heart of the ring with a technical emphasis. It was executed with aggressive intent and purpose. The action went back and forth, flowing organically. For 27m they had my undivided attention. I liked how they did what they wanted and didn't pander to the whims of the crowd. Strong performers know what the fans want better than they do. The famous finish was cerebral, as indeed was the whole bout. Bret's win didn't feel at all conclusive. The only real downside was that there weren't enough mark out moments. It was high quality and fulfilling, just not thrilling. Top end WWF style, but the best bouts in Mexico and Japan at the time had unlocked higher plains of enlightenment.
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