Superstar Sleeze

Charlotte vs Natayla - NXT Takeover 5/29/14 Vacant NXT Women's Championship I can understand why this match is being pointed to as what the women's division can be if probably promoted, why it is being lauded as the greatest women's match in WWE canon and a turning point for women being taken seriously under WWE umberella. This is not just a match that is being trumpeted by WWE.com as a means to canonize (thanks Charles) this as a great/historic match; it finished #20 in Voices of Wrestling poll for 2014. WWE took the women seriously and in turn so did the pundits. I think that is the strength of this match more than anything than they did in the ring. This is the first women's match since Trish/Mickie/Lita that felt like it had a big fight feel. You had the Nature Boy going crazy at ringside cheering on his daughter and the stoic Hitman coaching up his niece. The announcers treated the match seriously and the crowd was fully invested in the outcome. I was at the Royal Rumble during what I thought was a really good Bellas vs Nattie/Paige tag match where you could hear a pin drop and no one gave one fuck about the match. The crowd is crucial in developing that atmosphere they wanted for this match. Honestly, this match felt like an exhibition to me. I think the cool story for a while was Nattie's submission ability against Charlotte's length. Yes, Nattie could grab the holds, but Charlotte was too damn long for Nattie to be able to hold her in those holds. Still, the match lacked quality transitions. I am a huge fan of chain wrestling that gets chippy and we get that with some nice slaps and then Charlotte smoking her with a spinning back chop. RIC FLAIR IS HYPED! He is all over the fallen Nattie, Wooing in her face after he she had that audacity earlier in the match. Then Nattie is just running the ropes and taking control. This is my next problem with the match. Women need to accentuate their positives and hide their weaknesses like any other wrestler. So just because men run the ropes, does not mean you should. Nattie with her little legs looks ridiculous when she is trying to run the ropes and Charlotte has to wait for her. This is something I noticed about the Charlotte/Banks match is that Charlotte is so athletic that she is showing up her fellow women. She can run the ropes and do convoluted sequences and look badass. Making Banks do those sequences or making Nattie try to keep up by running the ropes exposes both competitors. I like the figure-4 headlock a lot and Nattie trying to escape only to have Charlotte roll through showed how Charlotte's natural length thwarted Nattie. Then you get bullshit like Charlotte hitting a dropkick only for Nattie to hit a butterfly suplex. I liked the Charlotte Flair Flip into Nattie blasting her off the apron with a forearm. Nattie should focus on strikes, submissions and throws and forget about running. Charlotte whips her off the apron in a nasty bump. Then Charlotte misses the moonsault and Flair losing his shit. Flair should be her full-time manager, he adds a lot to this match. Nattie applies the Sharpshooter, but Charlotte reverses into the Figure-4. This was the worst figure-4 sequence I have ever seen and actively detracted from the match for me. Charlotte applied it and just because Nattie rolled through onto her back does not mean she is applying pressure. From there, they just start no-selling it and look confused. Then they trash talk and it is like somebody needs to start selling because this looks ridiculous. I am surprised they did not have Nattie properly reverse the pressure because that is actually a Sharpshooter (is just a standing reverse figure-4) and it would have been a counter that got a big pop. Anyways, Charlotte hits Bow Down to the Queen a way better name than Natural Selection to win the match. I feel like Paige/Emma had way more intensity and Charlotte/Banks had more interesting character work. Both of those matches felt like struggles. This match just felt like they were showcasing what women's wrestling could be rather than looking to win a match. ***1/2

No sell is a bit strong. He sold it after the kicks. Having seen a lot of KENTA in late 2000s, that was not KENTA no selling. It was perfectly fine and he was fighting through the pain. I was waiting for to fly around the ring at a million mile per hour and he didn't so kudos. KENTA in a WWE ring has been one of the surreal things for me over the past year. I really like Breeze's character work. This is the first time, I thought he showed promise of being something more than just another pretty face. I hope he builds on it. The match was too abbreviated to be anything other than good, but it was a good showing for both.

NXT Champion Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn - NXT Takeover REvolution 12/11/14 NXT crowds are far from perfect, but for this match they were undoubtedly perfect. This match goes from a normal MOVEZ~! match to a great match and a star-making performance for Sami Zayn because this crowd was totally invested in the Sami Zayn character. They also proved me wrong. The past couple of years my confidence had been shaken that babyfaces could exist in this cynical, jaded wrestling climate. When Sami Zayn had the chance to blast Neville with the championship belt, they all chanted "NO!" in unison throughout the segment. They cared about how Zayn won the match and that meant a lot to me. It restored my faith that real babyfaces can still exist in this world. The pop for his victory would have been the feel good moment of the year if not for the amazing Daniel Bryan story that began the year. The match also represented something that I personally fear the growing homogenization of American and Japanese wrestling. The match felt like a very good Pro Wrestling NOAH main event circa 2009, more than a big time WWE match. You had these moves alone: Split Leg Asai Moonsault, Kawada Kicks, a convoluted Blue Thunder Bomb, Koji Clutch (called by the announcer as that!), Dragonrana, Half Nelson Suplex, and Exploder into the turnbuckles. Of course, the most telling sign was the strike exchange. It was such a barrage of moves that I felt that the humanity of the match sometimes was stripped from it. The Zayn story was sometimes lost in getting to next spot. Kudos to the crowd for never faltering and always making this about Zayn with their constant exhorting of Zayn and Ole Chants. Besides the finish, I liked the beginning of the match the most because it exploited the more interesting parts of the story: Zayn's confidence and crowd dynamics. Neville was doing all the little things to mitigate Zayn's crowd advantage and stop him from getting out of the gates hot. The chain wrestling was very entertaining and a great way to bottle Zayn up. Then he would get into his heads with the front handsprings to show him up. Neville gets too cocky is caught with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Zayn goes on that early fast break run with a split leg Asai moonsault. There is a weak transition that allows Neville to get back on top. Again, Neville is bottling Zayn's excitement up with a reverse chinlock and kneedrops to the face. Again, Neville cocky hits some playful kicks to the face before the Kawada Kicks. Zayn hits a nice swandive to the outside. I liked how Zayn was not letting Neville breathe and forced his advantage. After this, it got a little move trade-y. The setup for the Powerbomb was lifting from Japanese in a very good way. I liked how Neville had to use a forearm sledge, withstand a Zayn counter, and kick him in the head to hit the powerbomb. That is pro wrestling at its best, having to earn that move. As much as I may be complaining, I marked out for the DRANGONRANA~! I just think it would have looked even cooler if it was not surrounded with other standard big spots. The ref bumps were perfect and returned the match back to the story. The crowd was on point telling Zayn to not worry about the ref only to eat a thrust kick and the Dragonrana. The crowd was so pumped for that kick out. Then again during the aforementioned "Should I blast him with the belt or not?". The crowd pleading with Zayn not to do it only for Neville to sneak in with the roll up. These were great false finishes. Zayn winning with the Yakuza Kick was a spectacular moment after not being able to win the big one during his career. He pulled out all the spots in this one and still held himself to his moral code. It was nice to see fellow Quebecois, Kevin Steen (now Kevin Owens) and Pat Patterson celebrate with him. Even Nevilled embraced Zayn. However, just as they were going off the air, supposed best friend Kevin Owens threw Zayn down on the back of his head on the ramp and then brutally powerbombed him on the apron (that's just Indy, ). I thought these NXT shows needed a big angle to hook you into the next show and this was perfect. ****1/4

Honestly, don't think I have seen this one. I think I have seen the Heat Wave match where they do the same go through the ramp spot, but Taz ends up the victor. I just remember a lot of arena brawling and it sucking. Apparently, I watched the wrong rendition. Hell in a Cell '98 is about two spots. I know people argue against that mindset, but for me it is about those spots and it is something people should see before they die. I love the use of elevated ramp in any promotion for all the reasons Charles mentioned. I loved to see more retired UFC fighters in pro wrestling. I know the reason against is because it makes WWE look like senior cricuit or amateur, but is it really different than football players that get injured or just cant make it. I think Chael Sonnen or others would be awesome as cocky shoot-style gimmick. I think WWE has proven that if you say it enough, you can get people to believe it see Edge or Shawn Michaels as the greatest wrestler ever. WWE can still work people if it seems true. Another match I have never watched. The Invasion actually killed my love of wrestling because of how much a WCW fan I was. It was only my Dad getting a cable scrambler in early 2003 and taping Wrestlemania XIX for me on our VCR. It totally rekindled my love of wrestling. I am not sure I would be here if for that. Thanks Dad! Love the Rey/Malenko series and the GAB '96 match is match of the series. I love the ground vs air hook of the match. Chad hits the nail on the head with how styles make fight. Have not seen it in a while, but I have always loved it. It is right with the Psicosis Bash at the Beach match as the best crusierweight match of 1996. I think the ground work allowed Rey to get over via selling once you start pulling for him and then he wows you it makes it all the better. I do think this match could have used a longer/better shine segment.

I have a pair of blogs continuing my look at 2014 pro wrestling centering on All Japan's recent resurgence in high-end match quality and Kazuchika Okada's run in 2014. In the 2014 All Japan, you get a bonus review and thoughts on the career of the smoking hot and very talented Charli XCX before I dive into some roster analysis and finally match analysis. Main conclusions: Akiyama is still freakishly awesome at wrestling, was the best offensive wrestler in the world last year and as long as everything is run through him they be no worse than good. I think Miyahara is a really bright young prospect maybe the best in all of Japan, but Go Shiozaki leaves a lot to be desired. Match Lisitng: Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori - AJPW 6/15/2014 Vacant Triple Crown Championship ***1/2 Kawada/Kojima II. Cant believe Akiyama choked. Akiyama offense great. Omori Jun Akiyama vs Kento Miyahara - AJPW 9/15/14 **** Superb finish. Great veteran vs rookie match. Too many momentum shifts Go Shiozaki vs Suwama - AJPW 9/15/14 Royal Road Tournament ****1/4 Best use of the sleeper. Suwama on point with cutoff and selling. Go Shiozaki needs to add emotion Wild Burning (Akiyama & Omori) vs. Xceed (Shiozaki & Miyahara) -AJPW 12/6/14 ****1/2 Akiyama/Miyahara story rules all. Feels like Jumbo/Misawa of this generation. Exciting AJPW Triple Crown Champion Joe Doering vs Go Shiozaki - AJPW 01/03/15 **** Doering's urgency engages while Shiozaki's disinterest hurts this. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/02/break-rules-jun-akiyama-go-shiozaki-all.html ------------------------------------------------------------- In It's Raining Dropkicks, Kazuchika Okada is bringing the dropkick back and really started to dig how he worked into matches like a more high-risk, but just as impactful version of the Misawa's elbow. I still think he needs to demonstrate that he is actually invested in the match outcome, but he is an enjoyable worker when he is making that connection and his actions seem urgent. He does have a tenedency to coast by on his natural athleticism and just let great workers be great around him rather than adding to the match. Match Listing: IWGP Champion Okada vs NEVER Champion Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 01/04/14 Tokyo Dome Boring. Dropkicks galore. Just does not seem to go anywhere. Avoid IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs IWGP Jr Hvywt Champion Kota Ibushi - NJPW 3/6/14 Ibushi the overachieving underdog up against the increasingly frustrated Okada. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - NJPW 5/3/14 Great AJ heel performance switching from outside interference to knee psychology. BULLET CLUB! IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada - G-1 Climax Day 1 2014 AJ as a awesome trash talking heel. Does Okada have a counter for Styles Clash? Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G-1 Climax 8/8/14 Minoru Suzuki rules the school, while Okada just doesn't meet him at that level. Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G-1 Climax Finals 8/10/14 Okada's dropkicks & heart vs. Nakamura's counterwrestling & knees. Epic War! http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/02/its-raining-dropkicks-kazuchika-okada.html

NXT Women's Champion Charlotte vs Sasha Banks -NXT Takeover REvolution 12/11/14 It was love at first sight for me and The Boss. I could just tell from her mannerisms that she would be a Sleeze Favorite, then she called Charlotte, "generically basic" and I knew she could do no wrong. However, this Lady (She ain't ratchet!) from Titletown, USA (Home of Winners such as the New England Patriots, John Cena, and Myself, the First Ever Winner of the First Ever Pro Wrestling Trivia Internet Podcast, Brainbuster), is no slouch in the ring and most importantly is not afraid to heel it up. Whether it was getting into Charlotte's face like who ya think ya are or taunting Charlotte with Woos making me laugh like heidy heidy ha, Sasha Banks was wrestling this match like a Flair. Hell, she even had the Flair transition of using the outside and corner to your advantage. Ric Flair is perhaps the greatest corner wrestler of the time. It was in the ropes that Flair was at his most dangerous because that is a break in the steady-sate action of wrestling and he was used these transients to get one-up on his opponents. Here, we see Sasha bait Charlotte to the outside, yank hair from the corner (never turned you back on an opponent, Charlotte, love how Sasha made her pay for the lapse in focus), or the the drop toehold in the corner. The announcers were on point noting these elements of Sasha's game plans, kudos. What they missed and this where Bobby Heenan really would have shined is that Sasha Banks was not just taunting Charlotte by using the chop and the figure-4 headlock, she taught Charlotte those moves! That was one of the cruxes of the video package. Heenan would have been right on top of that and BANG! We would have gotten the will you stop from Gorilla. One last thing, I dug from Banks early on, when Charlotte looked to regain the advantage, we saw Sasha tackle her into the corner and deliver double knees in the corner. it showed a desperation and violence mixed together. It was a wrestler that knew their grasp was tenuous at best. I liked Charlotte using her natural strength to overcome Sasha. Charlotte is an interesting case. I don't if she would be better suited as a heel or face. I liked her as a heel in the Bayley match a lot, but I feel like her natural gifts and moveset would make her a babyface. I think starting off as a heel and maturing into the face is always the safest route, but I could see her going either way. Towards the match got all move trade-y and athletic and stuff. I have seen it all folks, a strike exchange in a WWE-sponsored women's match. That damn fucking sequence is going to follow me to my grave. I thought I was safe, but they went and pulled it out. Admittedly, I liked Charlotte shortening the ring up on the tackle to end the exchange. Charlotte's moonsault into a somersault senton was very, very impressive. There were a couple other spots, but I was disappointed they abandoned a great narrative to hit MOVEZ~! Certain people would say that would be the most Flair thing to do. That being said it does play into the fact that in an athletic match Charlotte would smoke Sasha so once Charlotte could set her pace and implement her gameplan it was over for The Boss, but constant move trading took away from any sort of hot crescendo. Anyways, first half of this match Sasha Banks wrestled this match Like A Boss and the best pure heel performance in a WWE ring since Stephanie McMahon at Summerslam. The second half is not bad, but it is forgettable, but the story hook is eschewed for moves. ***1/2

Love the finish of that one so much. Hansen is enraged, Gordy is running interference desperately and Doc trying to kill Spivey while he still had a chance before Hansen got his hands on him. Dramatic and exciting finish!

Slacking again. I write these posts, but if no one reads them what is the point? Well I do play to that Audience of One! The winner of the first ever pro wrestling internet podcast trivia challenger, BRAINBUSTER!, presents the following two blogs: In Owner of the Biggest Heart, I like at Daniel Bryan's unfortunately abbreviated 2014 campaign and just how emotionally moving I found it. It is an incredible story of hope that is inspiring and it is tough to think of anything that emotionally moving as the moment of Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania since Eddie won at No Way Out 2004. Match Listing: Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - Royal Rumble 2014 **** Great Bray Wyatt performance. Action-packed. Lacking interesting story or hook. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan vs Cesaro vs Sheamus vs Christian - WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 **** Great beginning and work by the mid-carders especially Christian. Finish stretch was pretty lame. Daniel Bryan vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon - Wrestlemania XXX ***** Ultimate feel-good story. Both of them made each other work for every inch. Flawless. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan Wrestlemania XXX **** The Happy Ending. Fun Attitude Era style brawl with great crazy hijinx. Awesome finish. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/01/owner-of-biggest-heart-daniel-bryan-wwe.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In Rabbit Fighter: A Look At The State of Japanese Junior Heavyweights in 2007, I begin with in depth review of my experience at Beyond Wrestling in Providence, RI featuring Chris Hero/JT Dunn against BIff Busick/Drew Gulak on top. Believe the hype! Biff Busick is the real deal! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! BIFF! Match Listing: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champions Briscoes vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin - NOAH 1/21/07 Worst Japanese match of the decade and one of the worst matches I have ever seen. All Japan Jr. Hvywt Champion Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - AJPW 2/17/07 ****1/2 #48 out of 100 - Must Watch Incredible strategical wrestling. Nakajima attacks arm, but injures his neck. Switches gears to use headshots to stay in the match. Kondo is the best junior powerhouse of the decade. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW 07/06/07 ***1/4 Minoru Tanaka is a great arrogant heel. The Funky Weapon is pretty bland. They drop arm psychology. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Ibushi - Budokan 7/15/07 **** #91 out of 100 Great juniors spotfest. Better than most Dragon Gate/Toryumon matches. Great eye-candy Bryan Danielson vs Go Shiozaki - ROH In Tokyo 7/16/07 ***1/2 Exhibition of what makes Danielson great offensively. Shiozaki is bland in this contest. Great Sasuke vs Ultimo Dragon - M-Pro 8/30/07 ***3/4 Sasuke wrestling at a high level, but Dragon is too spotty in this great junior bout. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/02/rabbit-fighter-shuji-kondo-katsuhiko.html

Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G-1 Climax Finals 8/10/14 The dream match that NJPW booking has wisely put off since Okada burst onto the scene in the beginning of 2012 pits two stablemates from CHAOS against each other for the G-1 Climax Championship and pretty much a mortal lock to headline the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. Okada has reminded me a lot of old Nakamura. From a technical execution standpoint, Okada is a great wrestler, but he seems disinterested in the outcome of a match and just is not showing passion. In this match being challenged by one of the other two top natives in NJPW, he seems hungry to assert himself as the premiere pro wrestler in the world. I want see more of that from Okada. Nakamura has been great in the matches I have seen in 2014. His new oddball persona of wearing Michael Jackson-inspired jackets and dancing like MJ is entertaining outside the ring and inside he is the last of the Strong Style workers which means a heavy emphasis on counter submission wrestling and strikes especially blows to the head. It is not fancy, but it is going to get the job and it may get it done quickly. Okada does not really have a flash submission or knockout in his arsenal so he is susceptible in his long setup times to a wrestler like Nakamura. Nakamura is what made this match dynamic. He forced Okada out of his comfort zone and to react to how he was wrestling, which made it more compelling than the Okada-style which can be mechanical at times. Early on, it was all about posturing and bravado. Psyching each other out in a macho pissing contest, Okada does his cocky clean break so Nakamura responds with stare at the belly button. Because these two have never faced off, Nakamura feels like the favorite because of his experience in big time matches. So when Nakamura is fucking around during this break, Okada immediately clamps on his a DDT. Right there, I know Okada came to play. Okada is still a cocky punk so he can't resist putting his one foot on Nakamura's chest and hitting the Rainmaker pose. We get the first strike exchange and of course the King of Strong Style wins with a knee lift. Okada has to avoid those exchanges because that is an area that Nakamura will crush him in. Nakamura just lays waste to Okada in pretty much every conceivable fashion of using a barrage of knee lifts. Now it is Nakamura's turn to get cocky and does little playful kicks to Okada. What is going to be Okada's strategy? When Tanahashi feels overwhelmed, he neutralizes his opponent by attacking the knee. What does Okada have in his arsenal to set up the Rainmaker? The answer is of course, his dropkick. Nakamura goes for a running knee one too many times and Okada is able to counter by setting him up top hitting a dropkick causing him to tumble all the way to floor. Okada presses his advantage on the outside with a Hangsman DDT. Normally, Okada would let this run for a countout, but he is not fucking around in this match and he is not going to give Nakamura a second to breathe. Big Elbow Drop! Okada really has a case for best elbow drop ever. It is fucking pretty. RAINMAKER POSE~! GEDO IS JAAAAAACCCCCKKKKEEEDDDDD! Now this is where Nakamura shines, his counterwrestling game. First it is a lungblower to buy himself time. Then when Okada goes for a submission, he walks right into the trap. Nakamura gets a rear naked choke and is looking for a cross armbreaker, but settles for a Triangle. As Okada stands to reach for the rope, Nakamura uses his long legs to force him over into a cross-armbreaker. Gedo is freaking out as Okada writhes and flops around looking for the rope. Perfect way to respect the cross-armbreaker. Nakamura buries knees deep into Okada and is looking for the Boma Ye. Okada counters with the White Noise into the Knee (not my favorite move). Okada successfully avoids Nakamura's wild roundhouse kicks and uses dropkicks to set up the Tombstone. Now it is time to Make It Rain in Seibu, FLYING CROSS ARMBREAKER OUT OF THE RAINMAKER~! Holy shit! Definitely one of the best spots of 2014! Nakamura the counterwrestler strikes again. Okada steps on his face to force the release. BOMA YE~! to the back of the head. This is treated like it levels the playing field, but i felt like Nakamura was in the driver's seat. Strike exchange ends with an Okada dropkick. Nakamura pulls one out of the Suzuki game plan and baits him into hitting dropkick again. He collapses on a rope running spot and Okada goes for the dropkick again, but Nakamura was playing possum so Okada crashes and burns and BOMA YE~! KICK OUT! Okada will not be denied tonight. Nakamura gets a running start but as we saw in the Shibata match if you can guard against that it is his downfall. Okada hits with a dropkick on the button. Nakamura blocks The Rainmaker with a knee and looks for Boma Ye, but Okada closes the gap by running towards it and grabbing the leg. Love that! Nakamura uncorks two closed fist to set up Landslide, but Okada reverses out with a backslide. When Nakamura kicks out, Okada hangs on to hit not one, not two, but three Rainmakers to win the G-1 Climax. That was the story of this match Okada was not fucking around and he was taking no chances. I loved that there were no kickouts. It was Okada ensuring his victory. Okada looked like a boss here using the dropkick liberally like a Misawa would with his elbow to set up his offense. We saw with Shibata how you can defend against Nakamura's Boma Ye and Okada executing that strategy perfectly. He survived Nakamura's counterwrestling and the Flying Cross Armbreaker out of the Rainmaker was an awesome spot. Kicking out of Boma Ye was definitely a big star-making move! You really felt like Okada wanted it more on that night. I distilled action down to its best parts but there was some fluff and overkill late paired with a lukewarm beginning that I think this is behind Styles/Suzuki and Nakamura/Tanahashi, but I would peg this no worse than a top 5 NJPW Match of the Year and Top Ten Match of the Year overall. Nakamura's counterwrestling/strikes versus Okada's dropkick & heart made for one epic story on this night. ****1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi - NJPW 3/6/14 Ibushi would need to be having one of the best nights of his career just to hang with Okada, but to beat him he was going to need that rare A+ performance. That is the story of this match, this is not a junior heavyweight underdog hanging on by a thread against the Man. This is the underdog totally overachieving and beating the champion for the majority of the game. Ibushi came to play and Okada clearly underestimated him. Early on, you see Ibushi beating Okada to a dropkick and having Okada's dropkick scouted. Okada because he is the champ did eventually get things under control with the dropkick his preferred momentum-changer. The Hangsman DDT off the railing put him in a strong position and again he starts to gloat. It is the one foot cover and the crowd is booing. Okada is taking his time between moves and fixing his kneepads. He is going to take care of his light work when it suits him. Next thing you know, he is thrown to the outside by an Ibushi hurricanarana and then is taking a moonsault press on the floor. Sleep on Ibushi and he will make you pay. Okada has the double jump moonsault scouted with knees. For the first time watching Okada in 2014, I get that feeling of desperation. The pressure is on him as Heavyweight Champion to win the match. Ibushi is one with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Okada hits his pretty big elbow drop and the prelude for the Rainmaker. When you got nothing to lose, you can take big chances and that's what Ibushi did in the match. He smacks Okada in the face with a Pele kick. Okada roars back with a massive sitout dropkick. He is getting frustrated. I like this, Okada. Ibushi has all of Okada's moves scouted the Tombstone and The Rainmaker even hitting his own version of the Rainmaker. Okada desperately tries to climb to the top rope to hit a bomb and Ibushi nails him with a backhandspring mule kick, which was fucking awesome! The crowd seemed behind Ibushi most of the way, but Okada fans have become more vocal as it seems that their boy may actually be out of it. Ibushi is feeling it and he goes for the home run. The Phoenix Splash and he crashes and burns. It was an excellent run, but you can feel that it is over for Ibushi. Unfortunately, they do go a little longer than necessary with a strike exchange and Okada hitting a couple counters. Finally a dropkick to the head, a nice stacked up German and The Rainmaker wins it. All the build was to the Phoenix Splash, once you hit that payoff, there is no real reason to delay inevitable. I would have had Ibushi struggle for a bit then go with dropkick, stacked up German and Rainmaker. Best Okada performance yet, where you feel like he actually cares about the outcome of the match. He is cool and cocky early, but as thing get out of head he becomes frustrated and desperate. Ibushi was great as overachieving underdog. He left it all in the ring and he pulled the trigger on his best shot. It missed, but he can at least say he tried. Very well-done heavyweight vs junior heavyweight match that stayed true to both characters. ****1/4

Last night, we had a break through between me and The Rainmaker. Between the Ibushi and Nakamura match, I got a much better feel for him as a wrestler and character. Now, granted, he is decidedly fourth on my depth chart of the New Japan Big Four, but I do not think he outright sucks or is boring. He reminds me of a disinterested Barry Windham, a cooler Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura circa 2008 all wrapped into one. Where he is just so graceful and fluid in the ring, his dropkick and that elbow drop are two of the best looking moves in wrestling. Yes, the Tombstone and Rainmaker could have some more impact, but overall he knows his way around the ring. However, much like Orton there is no connection for me until finisher time whether that be the RKO or The Rainmaker. Okada's offense, while pretty, seems like a random mish-mash of moves thrown together willy-nilly because they look cool. There is no real natural connection between moves. I do love that he uses the dropkick like Misawa would use an elbow. It is a high risk elbow and it shows when he misses it at least once a match. The other Orton comparison is he moves so slow in the ring, which I get is supposed to be his thing because he is the cool, cocky punk. He is way cooler than Orton. I love the nickname and the entrance, dude looks like a fucking boss. So I dig that. The problem is much like Nakamura circa 2008, he just is not selling to me that winning the match he is in makes a difference to him. There is no sense of urgency, struggle or desperation. It has just been going through the motions while others are being awesome around him. Now because he is so naturally gifted, he has not gotten in the way of Styles or Suzuki having a great match, but he has not contributed either. I think last night I finally saw two matches where he started to contribute. I have gotten past other people have wonky movesets, but if I am going to invest in Okada he needs to make me believe that winning the match I watch him in means the world to him. That's all I am asking.

They edited out a midget match and Muraco vs Santana even though they refer to the latter in the show description. However Tony Garea vs Jose Luis Rivera was left there in its entirety. That was an odd edit. There's some other show where one of the devices (Android, I think) mentions a Mil Mascaras vs Moondog King match that isn't there either. Not a big deal but it looks like they are recycling descriptions from 24/7 or something. Editing out that Tito/Muraco match for the best. What a borefest. Only Muraco could extinguish Tito's eternal flame

They edited out a midget match and Muraco vs Santana even though they refer to the latter in the show description. However Tony Garea vs Jose Luis Rivera was left there in its entirety. That was an odd edit. There's some other show where one of the devices (Android, I think) mentions a Mil Mascaras vs Moondog King match that isn't there either. Not a big deal but it looks like they are recycling descriptions from 24/7 or something. Editing out that Tito/Muraco match for the best. What a borefest. Only Muraco could extinguish Tito's eternal flame

AA's career ended in January of 1997 and Waltman came in September of 96. It is a short window, but possible! The heat would have been nuclear if Arn Anderson came out of retirement to face him after the Four Horsemen "Spot" parody promo.

I loved this match! Awesome fundamentals-based match with Horner looking great in the shine and Hawk being a straight up boss during the heat. Nice find.

I really want to watch Waltman vs AA now.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs NEVER Champion Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 01/04/14 Tokyo Dome SHOW SOME FUCKING EMOTION! That felt good. This was one of the most boring matches I have watched in quite some time. It just seems like they are going through the motions for over 30 minutes and there was no discernible narrative. My only enjoyment came from ridiculous amount of dropkicks hit in this match. The first fifteen minutes was particularly dry. Naito wins the first exchange with a dropkick and gets a painful looking arm submission. Naito gets a little too cute and Okada dropkicks him off the apron. Okada does a weird submission on the ramp, which strikes me as an odd thing to do, but then does the normal thing a running dropkick on the ramp. Okada is so damn slow in the ring. Even the Japanese announcers are bored and they start talking you about Tanahashi/Nakamura coming up. I shit you not, I was so bored I tried understand as much Japanese commentary as I could. Naito hits that cute dropkick and now more dropkicks. This is when I was like damn there has been a lot of dropkicks. Finally some heat when Naito won't let Okada up in the corner by putting his boot on the throat this draws boos! Naito hits a springboard dropkick and goes for his Koji Clutch. Naito is just not following up his work. Okada starts goading him and Naito gets wild with headbutts. Ok, here we go, Naito goes up top. Okada counters with a dropkick, of course and Naito wrenches his knee on the way down. That might be a cool hook, here we go. Okada hits his hangsman DDT and I am liking his aggression. They milk the count and Naito makes it back in. Okada hits the big elbow drop and Rainmaker Pose! Naito counters the Rainmaker into the DDT. Okada misses the dropkick. NAITO HAS IT SCOUTED! Naito runs through his shit: Koji Clutch, enziguiri, German Suplex looking for Stardust Press, but Okada breaks it up. Okada hits a flapjack and DDT. There is some nice struggle over the Tombstone and Naito hits a big forearm. I like Naito's staggered selling after scoring that big forearm and is best selling of the match, which has not had much. Naito hits more offense, but crashes and burns on Stardust Press. Rainmaker is reversed into the rollup and then exactly what this match needed a strike exchange. OKADA DROPKICK! WHAT ELSE! Rainmaker->reverse->Dropkick BABY! I would have rather Okada won with a dropkick, but we get a pair of Tombstones and the Rainmaker to win. Blame the Dome maybe, but there was no heat for this. One of the better things about Okada is using the crowd loves him, but he does not have the Dome presence that a Choshu, Hashimoto or a Kobashi does. There were flashes of aggression, but it sure felt perfunctory until the end. I would say Naito two runs to Stardust Press, which did not feel like much to me at least had some sort of direction. I have to say the Rainmaker reversals are fun and the best part of Okada matches. Okada looking more and more like Orton for me. C'mon brutha, lets pull this one out of a tailspin.

Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G-1 Climax 8/8/14 This match takes place from the last night of the round robin portion of 2014's G-1 Climax. If Suzuki wins the match, then Okada will not go to the finals and Styles would enter the finals. For these high pressure stakes, I don't think Okada is wrestling like this at all like anything special. Minoru Suzuki is wrestling at a very high level throughout match and really carries the day. Okada disrespects early with the cocky clean break. Suzuki takes exception and takes him down with an armbar. Okada lunges for the ropes. Suzuki is relentless on the arm using the Tarantula and his big kick on the apron. Suzuki has worked the arm pretty well and Okada just blows it off with some elbows. He hits his big elbow drop early so he calls for the Rainmaker. Suzuki goes right for that arm and when Okada misses the dropkick. Suzuki rifles the arm with a kick. There is a nice progression in the armwork now with Suzuki using submission moves that could lead to a submission: Fujiwara Armbar & Cross Armbreaker. In an absolutely awesome moment, Suzuki plays possum by not being able to run the ropes so Okada looks foolish on a leapfrog and when Okada turns his back Suzuki drills him with a dropkick. Suzuki is so fucking good. Suzuki applies a sleeper and is looking for the piledriver to win, but Okada escapes with the White Noise on the Knee. We finally get the strike exchange which Okada wins with a pretty dropkick. Okada hits the weakest Tombstone ever. Suzuki blocks the Rainmaker and BIG CLOSED FIST! GO SUZUKI GO! Okada hits a pretty dropkick and the Rainmaker to win! I don't know about this Okada guy. He is just there in these matches. He is pretty, adequate at everything and has a really pretty dropkick, is he the Randy Orton of New Japan? It is just a small sampling size so we shall see. Okada could have sold more and had more emotion in this finish stretch, but still he was fine. Suzuki is so awesome in this match and is just a great showcase for him. ****

The Lord Byron namecheck is for the "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" either that or Mr. Hughes fought for Greek rights in the 1990s against the Turks. I wonder if Northern Cyprus bothers Hughes to this day. WINNIE THE POOHING WITH POORIDGE was hilarious! Reading the note that Parv accidentally reviewed the wrong AA/Windham match has me rolling laughing after all his high praise. God that's so funny!

NXT Champion Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd vs Tyler Breeze - NXT Takeover 9/14 Overall, I tend to like NXT crowds they remind me of ECW crowds where they are smart and play along. I think the best representation of this was the double chant of "Nattie's Better!" "That's a fact!". That might be the most creative and appropriate chant ever. I love chants that exist to get under the heel's skin like Paula and are sorely missing in today's current product. The NXT crowd really nailed it with that one. While they did chant "CM Punk!" "999" and then "This Is Awesome" during the finish, they can't do any wrong in my eyes after the awesome double chant. So talking about the crowd as the opening may seem pretty damning for the content of the match, but I thought this was a pretty good fatal 4-way. Everyone plays their character really well, the spots were fun and the finish was great and really sets up the next show. Before we get there, lets talk about the match. Early on the best spot is Zayn getting one up on Breeze and then taking a selfie, which is a fun early spot. Kidd/Breeze take out Neville and Zayn with double suplexes on the entrance ramp. I like Kidd's selling on those suplexes let's you know how much damage is really dished out. The best part of the match up until the finish was Kidd playing King of the Mountain on Neville. He was relentless keeping Neville out of the ring and I loved it. Breeze standing on Zayn's head is something we need to see more out of him. Kidd vacillated between being awesome and boring. The slap exchange with Zayn was great, but then he would lock on a chinlock. There is the right time for a chinlock and a wrong time. It really feels like he is squandering his isolation advantage (loved that term from either Byron or Tom). Finally, Neville breaks into the match and it does not get nearly the reaction it should have based on the King of the Mountain earlier. The announcers let us know that Neville and Zayn are friends. Neville steals Zayn's thunder doing top rope Asai Moonsault onto the two heels. We get the Zayn/Neville teaser that the crowd eats up. I really like Kidd shooting Zayn like a dart up onto Neville who was on the top rope and it is a nasty bump. I liked that spot a lot. Zayn is looking for a Yakuza Kick, but is intercepted by a Beauty Shot from Breeze. Breeze was slotted in the Rollins opportunist role and did a fine job, but nothing spectacular. He can't get the pin and that leads to Tower of Doom. Renee asks "What do you call that? Have you ever seen that before?" "Tower of Doom and Yes I have in every multi-man match featuring midcarders post-2002". Now Zayn cant get the pin. Zayn eats a foot from Neville and takes a Shooting Star Press. Breeze throws Neville out and looks for pin, but cant get it. He takes an eternity to follow it up. He squanders his opportunity and Kidd applies the Sharpshooter. Neville stops Breeze's hand from tapping and Zayn breaks it up. Zayn goes for his big tear. Neville takes a HUGE bump to the outside, Zayn dives through the post onto Breeze, YAKUZA KICK TO KIDD! HE IS GOING TO DO IT! 1-2-NEVILLE PULLS OUT THE REF! Gold is a powerful force. Zayn is in shock and Neville cant seem to believe he did it himself. Zayn eats a superkick and Neville hits the Red Arrow on Kidd to win. Breeze was mostly a non-factor and had some decent moments as the opportunist. They showcased Kidd early as the main heel and he demonstrated some violent tendencies and loved King of the Mountain. Then he is sort of disappears and eats the pin. Neville and Zayn were the stars and did great in their roles. Zayn as the underdog babyface just does all the right things, he pops the crowd early with the Breeze selfie, then selling with Kidd and that absolute tear that just has everyone rocking. Neville was the frustrated champion. He was constantly undermined at first with the King of the Mountain, then Zayn being catapulted into him, Breeze stealing the Shooting Star Press. I would be frustrated too that I am the champion and I just can't get anything going. Here I am about to lose my damn title, but I never really got a chance to kick ass and I would just lash out and grab the ref. Great build up to that moment and him snapping. He really sells it like "I can't believe I just did that." I have been liking these NXT shows, but I think what has been missing is the hook for the next show and now i am just itching for Neville/Zayn. The match content was fun, but that finish really makes the match for me. ***1/2

My question is do we know if Hashimoto, Tenryu, Misawa etc... would work hard on shows such as there? I think the one distinct advantage with Japanese wrestlers is I am more likely only sampling from the above average of the distribution because they made sure to turn it on for TV. With New Japan now televising house shows it is exposing Tanahashi & Co. or just the systemic Japanese model of delivering fun house shows, but leaving the great wrestling for the bigger shows? As for New Japan booking, I think Nakamura is the way to go and build to Styles/Nakamura at either 5/3 Fukokua show or later in October since Nakamura/Tanahashi is done to death. Then Okada/Nakamura at the Dome. I like how New Japan has clearly established a top 4, but as All Japan from 90s has shown you really need two more pieces to have a great roster for the year. I would like them to elevate one current member of the roster and bring in one outsider. I really think if you get two more pieces, New Japan would be really unstoppable.

IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - NJPW 5/3/14 AJ Styles proves that he has more tricks up his sleeve in his first match as a full-time New Japan wrestler and competing for Okada. The hallmark for AJ matches in 2014 was the struggle to the Styles Clash and combining his move combinations to successfully pull the trigger on the most devastating move of 2014. In this match, he goes a different route and looks to set up his Calf Killer, which won him his match against Chris Hero in ROH. AJ Styles working over Okada's leg shows that he is just as adept at limb work as he is at heeling and offensive escalation and furthermore how versatile he was in 2014. I freely admit that the Fukuoka did not seem to give one single fuck about AJ and while it was a great performance, it did take the G-1 Climax for AJ Styles to firmly cement himself among New Japan's big four. I am glad that Gedo & Jado had the faith in AJ Styles to get himself over all while carrying the strap. In contrast, Okada is super over with the live crowds and I have found that to be best quality is how much the crowd loves him. I have only watched three Okada matches, but he has not set my world on fire. He is very solid and there is nothing wrong with him. He just is not connecting with me. I love his entrance, but in the ring he is just seems plain good. There is nothing extraordinary. I hope to look back on these sentences and eat them, but these are my feelings now. Okada controls AJ early with a side headlock and AJ just seems overwhelmed with the moment and can't get anything going. Okada hits the Rainmaker poses to mock all the Bullet Club posturing early. Styles desperate lunges with a double thrust to the throat and hits a snap suplex into the turnbuckles to finally swing the momentum in his favor. Styles makes use of the Bullet Club tossing Okada to the outside as they attack Okada. I like the ref not willing to count because he knew there were shenanigans going on even if AJ had obstructed his view. Okada wipes the entire Bullet Club and AJ out with a nice dive over the top, cool moment. My major malfunction with Okada is that his offense seems aimless. He is just going through the motions and while I know that Rainmaker is the end goal there seems to be no destination in mind. AJ Styles catches Okada's foot swings him around and rifles him in the leg with a kick. AJ's leg work to set up the Calf Killer was excellent everything looked like it hurt and he was great being smug while working on top. Okada did not really sell, so that sucks. Again, once Okada battles back there is a string of pedestrian moves. AJ with an eye gouge and a tremendous springboard forearm. AJ is cheating and has a game plan and is laying everything in. It is hard to argue he is not the better wrestler in this match. Okada catches AJ up top with a dropkick and now a kip up. AJ does not jump over the railing and eats a big boot for it. Hanging DDT and tease a double countout, but Okada throws him back in. Okada hits his big elbow drop the set-up for the Rainmaker. Rainmaker reversed into the Calf-Killer was the spot of the match (hey Okada sold) until the AJ Styles strike combo->Rainmaker tease-> PELE KICK! Finish run has picked this match up quite a bit. The first Styles Clash attempt is reversed into White Noise and they go into big move trading with the most surprising thing being that Styles misses Spiral Tap. The only time I have seen him attempt it in 2014. Bullet Club runs in and Yujiro turns on Okada and becomes the first native Japanese member of the Bullet Club. The Styles Clash wins AJ Styles the IWGP Championship in his first match. AJ have an awesome performance early as a big bumping heel and using his friend. Then he switched gears to go after the knee from there they had some great spots late. They went for two or three spots too many before the Bullet Club run in. I think if the Bullet Club ran in aftter White Noise they would have been better off. Okada is over, but he gave a pretty lifeless performance and could have used at least more selling and purpose to his offense. Still there is plenty of AJ goodness in this match to make it a worthwhile. ***1/2

Can someone shed some light on what I should expect from Okada? I am not really connecting with him. Sometimes, it helps me to read about what I should look for. I don't feel like his offense really builds to the Rainmaker and I just don't feel the urgency. Tanahashi is one of the best strategists of all time. I understand his intentions in every match and how he believes it will lead him to victory. Okada just seems to hit the same offensive stretch towards the end. He is perfectly fine at everything he does. I just wondering what is that special something I should be looking for. The one big positive I have picked up on is that he is super over with the live crowd even moreso than Tanahashi and Nakamura. They get behind Okada whether he is winning or losing. Tanahashi and Nakamura have no qualms heeling it up and it feels that while they are huge stars the crowd is not always 100% behind and sometime rather root for their opponent. I like that unifying presence Okada has.

Thanks I thought they were saying Hoover Kick at first and then the "All Over" Kick like since he was all over the world as an indy worker. I will queue those recommendations. Thank you all. Keep em coming!

x2 The Elbow Drop was executed fine, but there was no struggle prior to make me care about the spot and the spot itself didn't look impressive. You talk about his body being mangled and distorted and how it was a "last ditch effort that would hurt him". That narrative could be applied but I didn't find Wyatt's offence to be so astonishingly brutal it would make Ambrose half-dead and Ambrose's big desperation spot just looked weak. He leaped from a pretty mild elevation. As for Ambrose's leg selling, well, it just didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He was doing Nigel's contrived rebound lariats anyway and they looked even more preposterous with him trying to fit quasi leg selling in there. He crawled and made more silly faces then he'd usually but outside of that I didn't get the sense that it affected the match much. Converting enjoyment into numbers is stupid anyway . If you enjoyed it that much then great-I didn't and I gave my reasoning for it. Brutha, what I meant by my last comment was that I am a bit foggy on certain things. Like you said "no struggle" and I am thinking "There was a lot of struggle". This aint like being in a helicopter and being shot at or not. I wanted to make sure you knew that I was viewing this from the context of a month ago and that I did not believe my opinion was immutable or the authority on the subject matter. I waffle back and forth between star ratings. They were wicked useful for Best of Japan in 00s project and I like to think of lists in tiers anyways. I got used to them over time and they are a helpful organizational tool. So I have started tacking snowflakes on the end of stuff. But arguing over star ratings is the most pretentious and boring thing any two wrestling fans can do, no doubt.