Superstar Sleeze

Care it elaborate on why you ranked Shield/Evolution over Shield/Wyatt's? The Evolution match was the best possible version of a WWE tag with a main event finish run. The Wyatt's match you a level of grittiness and urgency rarely seen in WWE with the cool story arc of Wyatt's beating Shield at their own game.

Are you going to XWA, on the 17th, brutha? After listening to Dylan's thoughts on Tanahashi and Michaels on different podcasts, I just got to wonder how he felt about early Motley Crue and early Poison? Did the Look At What The Cat Dragged In Album Cover, really confuse you, my man? :P

Hey Chad, don't you hate when commercials run and run? Forget, Chad, I fucking do! My favorite commercial is the one dude that half-halfheartedly buries podcasts about older wrestling with Animotion's Obsession (badass song). That is too rich, but maybe that's joke. Does anybody the timing of how long the commercials take on these podcasts? I love Place to be Nation and it is a great distribution conduit for podcasts, but I don't think I can take it anymore. I am a positive guy so I'll add that something good came out of the commericlals: I will be heading to West Warwick to see my favorite wrestler of the past decade, AJ Styles and to see what all the hubbub is about Busick so I will check out Boneheads. I didn't watch Wrestle Kingdom, but listening to these guys talk about these guys is always very entertaining. I kept losing it on "Funky Weapon" when ever someone mentioned it. I have seen a Taguchi match where he is wearing the Funky Weapon tights and I never even blinked. Once I heard you guys say it out loud, I could not stop laughing at work. I hope to be caught up with New Japan from 2010-Now by the G-1 Climax this year so I can actually offer real feedback. Great show! I hope there are more throughout the year!

The sad thing was he had the perfect save and didn't use it. "I meant four sides. Sorry English is my FIFTH language."

I think I am in minority, but I love Ryback's delivery. He is just so matter of fact. There is no arguing. It is honest, earnest and powerful. I thought it was a little weird for Ryback to be giving the underdog who sacrificed everything promo, but hey Ryback bleeds too, brutha.

Damnit, I never finished that 1998 WCW main event in review. New Year's Resolution tie up loose strings! Staring the New Year off with a six part series looking back on the WWE 2014. The 25 matches come from me scouring the internet's top ten and top 25 such as Wrestling Culture's 2014 Year in Review (all three seemed to be unanimous that Shield/Wyatts from Elimination Chamber was the top WWE match of the year). I am starting the series off looking at the straw that stirs the drink, John Cena. In my opinion, I thought Cena has a bit of a down year. Only Cena could win the title and arguably have the two biggest matches of the year and have it feel like a down year. Seriously, I think Cena usually has more quality gems throughout his year. This year he had the Lesnar matches and the Cesaro TV match and everything sort of falls off a cliff quality wise. That being said I loved, loved the Brock matches. Here are the short match reviews and for the longer match reviews click the link. Match Listing: John Cena vs Cesaro w/Real Americans - RAW 2/17/14 ****1/4 Cesaro strength showcase, but Cena fights from underneath to give this a sense of struggle. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Payback 2014 Last Man Standing ***1/2 Fun summer blockbuster, but not enough hate and transitions too capricious, forgettable WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - WWE Summerslam 2014 Lopsided destruction. Amazing Brock heel performance, Cena's selling off the charts good WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena WWE Night of Champions 2014 ****1/2 Cena avoids early F-5 & just keeps coming. His unbreakable will carries him. Brock's reactions are perfect. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/01/do-you-see-what-i-see-john-cenas-2014.html

The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 I watched this match and RAW rematch back to back and came away so thrilled about the rematch's chaos that it actually overshadowed this match initially. I went back and rewatched this one and just absolutely loved it even more when paying attention to all the little details. To me, this is the match to beat for WWE match of the year. It is crazy to think that if they pulled the trigger on a Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt feud at this point, I would have lapped it up. By November, I was actively rejecting it as one of the worst things on TV. It tells you how cold the product has gotten and cooled off these two molten characters are now. Ambrose was just rocking it as the firebrand that was the trigger for the chaos. I loved when everyone was turning to go to their respective corners, Ambrose just jumped the Wyatts. The tag wrestling in this was better than in the rematch. I loved how strongly they emphasized getting their opponent into their corner. That's the Shield to exploit the numbers game, but they may have met their match in the Wyatts that will throw that strategy right in their face. Rollins opening with speed to get Rowan into the Shield corner was perfect with Rowan bowling him over to escape. It put over how much strategy mattered in this match. Roman Reigns versus Bray Wyatt felt huge during their showdown and I loved how Reigns fought through everything. Nothing was given, he had to go through the Wyatts. The beatdwon of Harper in the corner was just classic Shield. That's tag team wrestling baby! They do a great transition where Ambrose's temper gets the best of him as he takes a swipe at Bray on the apron and eats a Harper dropkick. What follows is just badass. Ambrose bites Rowan, Harper steps on Ambrose head and claws at his face. I love it, Michael! The swinging neckbreaker transition is super weak though. Rollins was a great house of fire with great speed moves and climaxing on an excellent suicide dive that got the crowd rocking. He gets the drive by knee, but whiffs on the Curb Stomp and eats a swinging powerslam. The Bray Wyatt senton on the outside looked nasty. My favorite spot of the match was Harper had Rollins by the hair just playing with his food and Rollins slaps him in defiance and Harper slaps the taste out of his mouth. That was powerful shit. People talk up Ambrose's fighting from underneath prowess, but Rollins should not be underestimated as he fights in the corner with great urgency only for nasty Bray headbutts to keep him at bay. This match utilized Bray better as the game changer for his team. I like the idea of him letting his heavies do the dirty work, but if ever gets out of hand, he is there to keep in check. Ambrose makes the save for Rollins and eats a hellacious big boot from Harper. Rollins hits an enziguiri to get Reigns in the match (I am not digging these transitions). Reigns is so great in these hot tag situations and not just the typical Reigns offense, there is a nasty back elbow to Rowan that keeps you on your feet. In an electric moment, Reigns is thrown outside and just runs around the ring to kick Rowan's head in. AMBROSE SWARM!!! KATIE BAR THE DOOR! There is a pier-six brawl a brewin'! Harper suicide dive and Rollins says two can play at that game. Ambrose and Wyatt tumble into the crowd and Rollins gets double chokeslammed through the table. Hey, come the monitors did not explode when they were ripper out of the announce table. After more than a year of The Shield picking their opponents off one by one, The Wyatts gave them a taste of their own medicine. Now Reigns was left alone surrounded by the Wyatts just as he surrounded so many others. Luke Harper serves a beaten Reigns to his master. I loved how Reigns blocked Sister Abigail and turned it into a test of strength. SUPERMAN PUNCH! Reigns goes for the spear on Bray, but Harper takes the bullet for his leader. In the chaos, Bray hits his wicked cross body and Sister Abigail to win. I loved the finish. The Shield's strategy was predicated on two tenets: create chaos and divide and conquer. The Wyatts took out two members of the Shield leaving Reigns alone and then in the chaos that ensued Bray Wyatt took advantage to win the match. The match weaknesses: the transitions were lame & uncreative and I would have liked more chippiness. They were too willing to just let one guy have his segment and that be that. The rematch thrives on that chaos and full court press by both teams. I think if you could combine the best parts of this match and the rematch, you would have all-time classic that really could rewrite how North American tag team wrestling is executed and presented. As is, it is still an incredible match from both an action and storytelling standpoint as the Shield essentially get beaten at their own game. ****3/4

This made me smile (sorry Bengals fans and I am no Colts fan either): http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24935591/watch-colts-sergio-brown-goes-full-on-ric-flair-after-playoff-win

YES! YES! YES! My favorite podcast of the year because it tells me all the wrestling I needed to watch from the past year. Thanks in advance, guys.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper vs Dolph Ziggler - WWE TLC 2014 Ladder Match Luke Harper may look like Bruiser Brody, but he wrestles like Stan Hansen and the world is a better place for it. He had a total disregard for Ziggler and his own welfare. Having watched wrestling for seventeen years now, it takes a lot to make me cringe, but repeatedly I was wincing in pain with each punishing blow. It was so violent and I even questioned if it was all worth it. I hope it will be because I thought this be HBK/Mankind match for Ziggler. Shawn Michaels needed the match with Foley to establish that he dish out the pain as well as he could take it. It is similar to how in the 80s pretty boy tag teams would be positioned in brutal fights with gnarly heels to show they were tougher than they look and earn credibility with the audience. To keep the Shawn Michaels thread going, matches like The Rockers versus Rose & Somers bloodbath in the AWA come to mind. If exploited properly, this can be that very match. It is so difficult in this day and age to be an asskicker and not come across as a cool babyface. Harper was able to tap into such an uncomfortable violence that he was booed heavily. Yes, eventually there was the obligatory "This Is Awesome" chant, but for the vast majority of the match the people cheered Ziggler and booed Harper. It helped a lot they were in Ziggler's hometown of Cleveland, but regardless, to see such an outpouring of emotion to cheer for one wrestler was so refreshing in this day of "appreciating the match" and other such hogwash. On the rewatch, with a closer attention to detail, I realized how much Harper really destroyed Ziggler for the opening half of the match. It is a testament to Ziggler that when I was watching with my family that I really never felt like he was totally out of it and that he was always struggling. Too often he can rely on deadfish/pop-up selling, but here, I thought more often than not he kept it a competitive style of selling. Harper established the perfect pace for this brutal masterpiece. It never plodded, but they never rushed to the next spot. He was going to let that ladder just fall on Ziggler's head and then climb the ladder to retain his title. Those ladder timber spots were vicious especially the one that clipped Ziggler in the head. The most violent spot of the match was without a doubt the Harper suicide dive onto the ladder where he basically piledrove himself into a ladder. How he did not break his arms and/or be concussed was beyond me. I could barely watch. The Ziggler pop up and scramble up the ladder was perfect, because up until that point he had basically no offense and now the monster has basically impaled himself it was time to take advantage. It was great drama as the Creature from the Black Lagoon rose again and stopped him. Not to be topped Ziggler took some hellacious bumps like on a powerbomb onto a Ladder (the ladder did not break) and then being catapulted into the middle rope with the ladder around his head (concussion city and getting busted open). Ziggler breaking free of the doctors to stop Harper from climbing the ladder was an awesome moment. This should not be lost in the shuffle, but the effort they put into this and how much they were willing to risk made the Intercontinental Championship feel like a big deal for the first time in forever. As I survey the damage, Ziggler is bleeding from the face and fingers while Harper is bleeding from all sort of odd places on his body. You really felt like whoever wins this demolition derby deserves it. Ziggler makes his grand comeback, but what's great is that it is not just one move. He has to keep beating Harper back, first it is a facebuster onto the ladder, then it is DDT off the ladder, then dropkicking the ladder into his face and finally the superkick off the ladder that wins ZIggler the match. The fact that it was Ziggler had to earn every single step by constantly hitting Harper with big shots really you made it feel like he could earn it. Ziggler proved he could withstand the punishment doled out by one of WWE's most sadistic monsters. Harper made him earn this every step of the way delivering one of the most malevolent performances of the year. Harper gave as good as he got as proved by that suicide dive. For Ziggler, we see if the WWE exploits this newfound credibility as a tough, die hard son of a bitch. The negatives are slight. but apparent: Ziggler's punches still look like shit and they did lose a bit of steam towards the end as the spots got a bit more contrived. In terms of a violent spectacle, where the pretty boy babyface not just survived the monster, this match deserves to be ranked among the best ladder matches of all time. ****1/2

I agree with the sentiment that his gimmick is basically to entertain the crowd at best and at worst it is to delight the internet fans with workrate. Wrestling should be built around winning and losing. I hate when it devolves into who is more entertaining and who is more must see. Don't tell me you are must see, just be must see. I am a fan of Ziggler's look because its a throwback. I dig long hair (makes selling and bumping better) and bleach blond makes it all the better. He has a sort of a South Beach party vibe with the Don Johnson suits and the LMFAO-style shirts. He has a weird promo delivery, where everything sounds way too melodramatic, but in an insincere way, which hurts as a babyface. He has a pretty funny twitter so he seems like he is a funny guy, but it does not really come across too well. Stuff like the Harper match will help his credibility a lot. He is essentially a blowjob babyface that gets his ass handed to him and has a handful of moves to put together a finish stretch. Putting him against a big monster in a violent ladder match gets him across as a tough guy rather than just a pretty boy. These situations will build him as a full-fledged, three-dimensional character. I agree that while they are fleshing out the in-ring stuff (and he needs more tools and better punches), that more needs to be done outside the ring.

The reason I chose not to rewatch the lumberjack match is that I thought the beginning was a bit dry. I am a defender of them breaking through the lumberjacks. It is not like they just let them brawl through the arena. They had to physically work hard to break through, which was cool. It was not enough to sustain it as a great match. I thought it was good, but not great was all. If you are looking for great lumberjack matches, there is a Tito Santana vs Greg Valentine lumberjack match from MSG that is really good.

The Shield vs Evolution - WWE Extreme Rules 2014 I really do miss The Shield. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns were just so much better as a package deal. All three members of the Shield came out looking like a million bucks in this. Rollins used to have such a great working punch, what the hell happened. I loved the use of a Rollins dive early to perk up the crowd. Ambrose has just been on fire in these matches. He wrestles with such a great urgency that it is irresistible. I know others have talked up his face in peril work, but really shined here. You can feel the anguish, but he was always fighting through it, always looking for that opening. Reigns is just perfect in those short hot tag bursts. Evolution were perfectly capable in their roles and each took turns showing a vicious side, but none of them could sustain high level of urgency like the Wyatts. The match overall resembled more closely a standard WWE tag match than a normal Shield match. It was a little too neat at time. Bless Dean Ambrose, he did his best to keep people on their toes, but overall it felt more normal. It was the best possible normal WWE tag match, but we did not get to see that typical havoc offense that Shield usually employs. The high point before the big finish run was without a doubt the Dean Ambrose segment. From the get go, he burst into the ring and swarmed Orton. He was hitting anything that moves and was going to apply a figure-4. Reigns tried to take advantage of the chaos, but speared the ringsteps. A good example of how this was standard WWE was that Ambrose was forced to sell a weak submission breakup for a considerable length of time so not to upstage Reigns. Typically, Ambrose would keep it moving and wait for the big move to start selling, but because of a misstep in the layout he was forced into WWE box rather than doing the organic thing. Ambrose rocked the face in peril segment. I loved HHH's punch combinations in the corner and how Ambrose was throwing wild swings like Terry Funk. Ambrose staggering into a spinebuster was awesome. Back drop on the Pedigree and a DDT afford Ambrose to tag out. Again, transitions like that just lack creativity and I think Shield is better than that frankly. The finish stretch is very exciting. Reigns rocks the hot tag as he usually does. Once the chaos kicks in, The Shield is really in the element. I am talking Rollins flying into TV screen from out of nowhere only to crash and burn or Ambrose jumping across two announce tables to swarm HHH and Orton. They actually cover pretty well for Batista and Reigns needing to sell for considerable amount of time while they arena brawled. Reigns took an RKO and Pedigree while Batista took the Triple Powerbomb. I am not thrilled about guys lying around and then popping up magically once Rollins hits his big dive. They at least tried to cover for it. Reigns and Batista work a short, fun sequence with a great Superman Punch and then Reigns channels the Ultimate Warrior's Gods to hit his spear. The Spear and Superman Punch should be his big transition moves. The powerbomb should be his finisher. Straight up, I thought Evolution slowed Shield down a touch and limited them. I am not calling for a street fight or anything. Rather a return to that full court press and making everybody earn their offense. Also, I did not sense an overarching story. The transitions to the two face in peril segments did not really weave a story. One started by a HHH clothesline on Rollins and the other because someone broke up an Ambrose figure-4. The Shield really did not make any mistakes. Evolution did not really cheat. It is not like Evolution really leveraged their experience advantage. The Shield won because once the match broke down that where they are dangerous, but that was just the last quarter. Ambrose and Reigns gave stellar performances and Rollins was able to shine in his big spots. I would say Evolution's performance was too safe to take this to the next level. I would say this is the best possible version of WWE's sterile style, but they need to either add more hate or a story to take it to the next level. **** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - WWE RAW 8/18/14 Falls Count Anywhere From my recollection, this was the best of the disappointing Ambrose vs Rollins feud. It should have been a slam dunk feud, but the WWE got in their own way and cooled this way down before the anticlimatic blowoff. I wanted to include something from the feud, but this is not a sympathy pick. Upon rewatch, I definitely think this holds up as one of the more better and more entertaining matches of 2014. It was not just a match filled with weapons and gimmicks. There was malice behind those shots from Rollins and hatred poured from Ambrose. Rollins turned his back on the Shield and screwed him out of the Money In The Bank contract and he was going to have to exact a modicum of revenge the only way it was afforded to him by beating the holy hell out of Rollins. Rollins' working punch was on fire early and I loved that sense of struggle to begin the match. The Rollins throat thrust to take over was killer. Rollins gets a little too cocky and Ambrose blows him away with a dropkick. Ambrose tags him back with a throat thrust. I love the tit for tat. Ambrose bodyslams Rollins and the chair together and chairdrop from the top rope. Ambrose is kicking ass, but in desperation Rollins sends Ambrose into the chair. We come back from commercial to see Rollins crossfacing Ambrose with a kendo stick, I love it. Rollins playfully taps Ambrose face with the kendo stick and that pelts him with shots. There is a tenedency in these matches to focus on the spots and forget to be a heel. Rollins did not give an all-star heel performance, but there were glimmers. it helps Ambrose was giving a great babyface performance fighting through pain and whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his out of control antics. The kendo stick catch and Ambrose hulk up only for Rollins to duck the lariat and hit a jumping high kick was perfect wrestling. They brought the crowd up and then cut them off. Really good shit. Maybe I have not been paying attention recently, but Rollins ought to bring back the roundhouse kick back. It is a great cutoff and he executes it so well. The double cross body block is killer and they really went all out on that collision. That's how you get a match over. I loved Rollins whacking Ambrose with a kendo stick to no avail to try to avoid being catapulted. They really kick it into high gear with Rollins powerbombing Ambrose through a pile of chairs and Ambrose superplexing Rollins through a table. Ambrose hits a wicked clothesline and Dirty Deeds (I am glad they changed that to a double arm DDT), but Kane interferes. Ambrose hits out of control suicide dive onto Kane and Rollins. He has Vegas rocking, BABY! Ambrose runs across the announce tables to SWARM Rollins and Kane. He is outgunned. Rollins hits a nasty curb stomp on the announce table and then one through the cinder blocks to send Ambrose to Hollywood. I thought the Curb Stomp on the table actually looked better than the gimmicked the cinder blocks. They overthink these things. The big negative is no doubt the selling. Being powerbombed on a pile of chairs and then superplexing someone through a table is a bit much. Ambrose did a relatively good job to fighting through pain unlike Rollins, whose selling was lacking. Also, I would have liked to see Rollins be more heelish. There were times when it was apparent, but that it became more about trading spots. What carries this is that you want to see Ambrose kick Rollins ass, but if Rollins is not reminding us he is a backstabbing chump then it takes a bit of wind out of the sails. The good definitely outweighs the bad. It was never a mindless brawl with you hit a move then I hit a move. Each move had weight and there was a great sense of urgency from both men in their movements. You definitely felt like both men hated each other and there was a reason for why they were inflicting so much pain. Rollins was trying to put Ambrose out so he can cash in Money in the Bank and Ambrose wanted to hurt Rollins for all he did. Both succeeded in beating the hell out of each other, but with a little help from his friend, Rollins got the upperhand. Definitely one of the better brawls of 2014. ****1/4

I miss The Shield. There was a time I really liked Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns and it seems so long ago. Let's wax nostalgic. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/believe-hype-shield-wwe-2012-2013.html [inception through September 2013. Gave their debut TLC match 5 stars] http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-shield-part-two.html [From September 2013 through December 2013. Battleground tag against Rhodes Brother ****1/2] The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE RAW 3/3/14 It was around the Harper double stomp to break up an Ambrose bridging FIgure-4 that I thought to myself if the WWE produced something better in 2014, I must have a really foggy memory. The sense of struggle and urgency in this match from all six combatants was unparalleled in the WWE this past year and was downright All Japan-ish in nature. Harper was the God King Prick of the match. With the chippy big boot to Reigns' face when he was on the apron, clawing Rollins' face and stepping all over Ambrose's face, Harper did everything he could to get under their skin and hurt his opponents. It was not about entertaining the fans, it was about inflicting pain and proving the Wyatts were the top faction in this turf war. His counterpart was the crazy, violent Dean Ambrose. It is amazing that in nine months, I find Ambrose to be this lame, moody, and sulky spaz. This Dean Ambrose in this match. He is the fucking man. The Ambrose Swarm is the greatest thing ever. He is just bowling people over with his boundless rage. Even the little shove he gave Bray had me and my brother marking out on initial watch because it is so atypical in the neat, orderly WWE matches. I want it rough around the edges, I want it RAW, goddamnit. Ambrose gave that performance. From the craziness that was Ambrose, there was the high flying excitement of Seth Rollins. I watched a lot of 2013 Shield matches at the beginning of 2014 and remembering being impressed by Rollins' ring awareness and movements in the tag settings. In this match as a babyface, he was finally set free and opened the match up with gangbusters, but unfortunately a skirmish between Ambrose and Bray caused him to lose his balance on the top rope. Ambrose losing his cool and Reigns being belted cost Rollins the ability to make a tag, but is finally able to tag Ambrose. Ambrose is just a burst of energy onto Rowan and does some quick, but effective leg work on Rowan to set up a figure-4, where he bridges on his head for more pressure!!! HARPER DOUBLE STOMPS AMBROSE!!! I LOVE THIS MATCH! Let's talk Rowan, dude was a beast dismantling Ambrose and keeping him contained. Harper is the firebrand like an Ambrose he is going to get shit started and be a jerk. Rowan is there as a heavy hitter that is going to pummel you. Crowd chants for CM Punk, fuck them! If you want pro wrestling, watch what is going on in front of you, numbskulls. Ambrose hits a JBL-Orgasm-Inducing clothesline, but Harper hangs on to tag in Bray Wyatt. Ambrose with a DDT. Wyatt comes in and wipes Reigns out. Ambrose hits a DDT on Wyatt. Rollins is all pissy and leaves Ambrose hanging because of what happened earlier. Fine be a bitch, I am going to go destroy everything. Roman Reigns is an amazing ring clearing presence. The Superman Punch is just fucking cool. He just goes to town on the Wyatts. Ambrose holding Harper down for the Reigns dropkick was awesome. The Spear onto Rowan was badass and Harper wipes Reigns out with a suicide dive then sends Reigns flying. Somewhere in there, Ambrose was just swarming muthafuckas with punches. Wyatt picks his spot and hits his wicked cross body block on Ambrose and hits Sister Abigail as Rollins watches. Finally, lets talk about Wyatt, who carefully waited in all the chaos with all the bodies piling up to attack Ambrose and swing the match in their favor. At Elimination Chamber, the Wyatts were able to out-Shield the Shield by taking out one at a time. Here, the Shield collapsed on itself and the Wyatts took advantage of the chaos to win the match. Rollins and Reigns were used perfectly to get the crowd hot as hell at the beginning and end. Ambrose anchored the middle and showed why he is an incredible face in peril. He can sell, but he is always fighting. It is always chippy. That's what made this match special was the constant struggle and urgency everyone displayed. This sounds shocking, but I thought this was a bit too short. I think they could have added more to the beginning and more to why Rollins was pissed to really drive home the point. Still if anything can top this I will shocked. Cena/Lesnar had the big match atmosphere and the Bryan Wrestlemania matches will have emotion, but I don't think they can top the chaotic and violent feel of this. ****1/4

WWE Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett vs Dolph Ziggler - WWE RAW 6/23/14 Take a pair of semi-over midcarders and tack on a couple nearfalls and you get "This is Awesome". I remember watching this match and thinking this was one of the most egregious examples of the overexposure of the "This Is Awesome" chant. My beef with "This Is Awesome" chant is that it tends to be the MOVEZ~! that are over rather than the individual wrestlers. If Ziggler was so over. how come Ziggler was not being cheered? A lot of it has to do with how the match was presented and laid out. What did Barrett do that was particularly heelish? Really the only reason Barrett was the heel was because he is the bigger of the two and he would cut off Ziggler. It was a very neutral performance from Barrett and I have noticed over very neutral performances from midcard heels especially Cesaro. It is funny that all these old time great wrestling minds can't put their finger on why these wrestlers can't make it to the next level. I would start right there. Obviously, booking is critical, but if you are talking about things a wrestler can control, it is stronger heel performances. It seems the heels are too concerned with being considered "great" wrestlers, which in the modern context means MOVEZ~! I wanted to review this match because it made one list of top WWE matches of the year I read and I wanted to look at a Ziggler match from before his late year push. I remember ZIggler utilizing the babyface mid-90s Savage formula of taking heat, hitting one counter move and then going home. Of course, Savage would win his match with the big elbow, but most times Ziggler would lose. I think the match would have benefited from that formula. It would afford the opportunity for Barrett to look like a violent bully and for Ziggler to build sympathy for his big dropkick comeback. Instead, it was just I hit a move, you hit a move. There was no sense of struggle or real desire to win. Hell, you can't even claim they had good escalation: The Zig Zag was used as a throwaway transition, which built to a commercial and within one spot, Barrett was up and hitting the Cactus Elbow. Plus Barrett's natural size was totally undermined by the match. Ziggler was countering at will Barrett's offense and it was not like he was using great speed. The selling was generally not good and even when it happened like Ziggler not being able to capitalize the selling felt false (more like frustration) and did not feel warranted based on the limited punishment he took. The finish was pretty awesome with Ziggler going for the Stinger Splash and Barrett hits him with a KO elbow. I think Barrett and Ziggler have great potential, but have their limitations. Barrett really is not a good bumper or seller, which he does not have to be, but it will limit him. Ziggler has the worst punches in the business today and his deadfish/pop-up selling is annoying at best. However, I think even with those limitations, they can construct great matches against other people using Barrett's brute and Ziggler's bumping ability. Tag team wrestling could have taught both these guys a lot. Alas, it is a shame. The match was designed to impress the crowd. You work the audience. Don't let the audience work you. Disposable, mindless match that is fun to watch with your brother on Saturday morning, but not worthwhile on rewatch. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs Cesaro vs Tyson Kidd - WWE Smackdown! 11/14/14 First thing's first, the new Smackdown ring announcer is realest. I may just start watching Smackdown for her. Hot damn. This match is a great spotfest and besides the Money In The Bank Ladder match, I can't think of a better one this year. Spotfest is a loaded word after all wrestling matches are a collection of spots. It is your fireworks spectacle in lieu of a compelling story. I think there is very much a place for them on pro wrestling cards (no more than one a card). If you are going to have one, then commit to it. The reason I was so down on Barrett and Ziggler is they had a spotfest, but they were just hitting their stock moves on each other. These three came up with creative, fun, and eye-popping spots. Sometimes they got too smart for their own good like trying a more complicated Tower of Doom spot that looked like shit. However, fun stuff like Cesaro covering Ziggler while in the Sharpshooter or Kidd hitting a Blockbuster on Cesaro onto Ziggler's knees. I also have to say after watching all that 00s NOAH that Cesaro hitting a big boot to start a match and then an exploder is the most NOAH beginning to any WWE match ever. In fact, if NOAH ever had a junior heavyweight triple threat match, I would say it would look a lot like this only with more strike exchanges. I liked the opening part with quick pinfalls by each competitor really put over their desire to eliminate a wrestler and setup a one on one match for the title. They also managed not to fall into the triple threat trap of having one wrestler sell for long periods of time on the outside. They all just kept going at each other with vigor. I would say that is what would separate this match from a lot of other typical WWE matches is the urgency of the wrestlers. The finish stretch begins with a Kidd sharpshooter/Cesaro crossface combo on Ziggler. The storyline behind this was that Authority was setting Ziggler (then the only member of Team Cena) to lose his title because of the stacked odds. While Cesaro and Kidd never formally teamed up, these moments drove home that angle. In an idiotic moment, Kidd breaks the hold to attack Cesaro and gets the Giant Swing. Cesaro hotshotting Ziggler into a kick by Kid was sick. Kidd has some really good kicks in this match. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag, but Kidd being the gloryhound he is (remember the storyline with Nattie) he tosses Ziggler out so he can get the pinfall. I like the respect shown for the Zig Zag. Kidd had a really good string of offense on Ziggler and you really felt him press his advantage with nice kicks. He tries for the Sharpshooter, but it is reversed into a cradle and then ZIG ZAG! Ziggler survives with his championship reign intact. There was no great overarching story and the selling was nothing to write home about, but for a spotfest you could not ask for much more. There were a lot of fun spots that escalated to a satisfying conclusion. Plus Kidd got some time to shine, which is nice and showed some promise. Good shit. ****

I know Cena/Lesnar from Summerslam is getting all the MOTYC love. I understand why because it was so unique and a great heel performance from Brock. At the end of the day, it is a glorified squash and Cena basically no sold the match on the following RAW where he demolished the Wyatts. Now I know people are not enamored with the finish of the Night of the Champions rematch, but I am really alone in thinking that was the better overall match? I loved how Cena's unbreakable will finally penetrated the seemingly invincible Beast with a nasty back elbow. From there, Brock just reeks of desperation playing catch up ball with a Cena that just will not be denied. Cena gives a great heroic babyface performance. I do not think the finish is awful in fact I think it is pretty sound from logic standpoint if you think about it from Rollins' perspective he just did not execute properly because he should have really made sure he knocked Cena out. I currently have this as my WWE match of the year. I am more curious if I am the only one who thinks it is a better than the Summerslam match, even though I think the Summerslam match is the better spectacle/angle?

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Payback 2014 Last Man Standing I would say my favorite trend of 2014 was each PPV having an overbooked, entertaining clusterfuck on the show. It spices the show up and allows more intersection between different characters and ties the matches, angles and character motivations together better due to the booking to be very limited. Unlike the Attitude Era, these matches do not feel as overexposed and the wrestling surrounding the hijinx is better than in that era. That being said while I find these matches entertaining they fall more in the Summer Blockbuster category than Oscar-winning performances. A perfect example of this which is Cena vs Wyatt Last Man Standing, which has made multiple Top WWE Matches of 2014 list. To me this match begins and ends with Cena hurling those steel steps right into Wyatt's face. I mean he fucking nailed him. First time, I watched it, I was convinced that was the finish and when it was not, I knew they never could top it and the match would feel anticlimatic. Instead, Wyatt just hits Sister Abigail in the next spot. It is fun, but the spots and transitions are arbitrary and capricious. It is violent, but you do not feel the visceral hatred. The beginning of the match is a rushed version of their typical match. Cena feeds Wyatt a ton of great cutoff spots to show off his explosive transitions. They trade finishers and the Wyatts and Usos brawl for a bit. It all feels very perfunctory. This when that hatred would come in handy to really build interest instead they are resting on Cena's presence, which always ignites a thunderous reaction rather the story they are telling in the ring. Cena uses the chair and writes it off as it is legal so now Cena is not in a moral quandary. I was never buying all that anyways. This when the counters were flying and just hitting spots. The Usos and Wyatts have a really fun little street fight on the outside which ends up with everyone going through tables. They have one last holy shit bump which is Wyatt's cross body through the barricade, which was pretty cool. Cena then just walks over to the pyro area and FUs Wyatt's ass through a box and then tips over a heavy box to win. The steel steps should have been the finish. It is a fun Summer Blockbuster that I will forget tomorrow save for the steel steps. There was no real substance it was just instant gratification. I have no problem with that, but this is definitely overhyped in my opinion. On top of that, there was so much action movie violence rather than that gritty violence you would see in street fights of yore that really made this feel very much like exhibition. The best stuff to come out of a shitty feud, but not real worth going out of your way to see. ***1/2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - WWE Summerslam 2014 Brock Lesnar gave a heel performance for the ages in the biggest match of the year. It was the little touches like stepping on Cena's hand, the trash talk, and the desire to make Cena give up. He could have pinned him at pretty much any moment after about two minutes into the match, but he wanted to dominate and humiliate Cena. He wanted to force Cena to tell the referee he could not continue because Brock Lesnar beat him so senseless. Like any good villain, Lesnar's hubris almost cost him on two different occasions. The elbows into the FU was electric and the STFU brought people to their feet. Jerry Lawler was the perfect voice for all the children that did not want to believe their hero was going to be vanquished at the hands of the meanest schoolyard bully there ever was. Good conquers evil, right? Not when evil is Brock Fucking Lesnar. When he did the Zombie Sit-Up complete with a crazed look and maniacal laugh, it was the perfect horror movie image that the monster was not going to stay down. Sufficiently rattle though by STFU, Brock quit playing with his food and hit the F-5 to win the match in a similar vein to the Seahawks' complete annihilation of the Broncos in the 2014 Super Bowl. I am a Brock mark. As soon as he gets into the ring, I hang on every single explosive and impactful move. Immediately every match becomes bigger when Lesnar is involved and becomes a fight for survival. So many matches from this decade are struggle between being a choreographed exhibition against a predetermined sporting contest. When Lesnar walks down the aisle, all that is effaced from my mind. I know I am going to watch a fight. The opening 30 seconds of this match maybe my favorite opening 30 seconds from any match (with only Tenryu vs Mutoh from 2001 coming close). The amount of struggle in that opening moment. Cena meeting the Beast head on and trying to fight fire with fire. For Lesnar to snap off an F-5 so early was just an incredible climax. The only thing ballsier than the match they gave us would have been to end the match right there. Part of me thinks they should have. The beatdown was a merciless onslaught of unmitigated violence. I talked about Cena's selflessness in the Cesaro match, but on no stage was it more apparent. How many top babyfaces would have been so secure to allow them to essentially be squashed by the top heel on the second biggest PPV of the year? None come to mind. The only two matches that come close to how this one was booked were Vader vs Sting from Great American Bash '92 and Brock Lesnar versus The Rock at Summerslam '02. The difference was the Sting match was a little more competitive and Vader is always willing to bump for his opponent and in the Rock match he was leaving WWE for months. Cena got two flurries of offense and would be expected to show up within coming weeks and continue to compete. The match is carried by strong heel and babyface performances and unique circumstances, but because of its lopsided nature it is not something I consider a slam dunk Match of the Year Contender. It feels like a great first act in a play that hooks you immediately. I believe wrestling matches should be viewed in context, but ultimately need to be able to stand alone. i do not think this match can standalone and it is too tethered to its aftermath. That aftermath is very disappointing. Just when everyone says they have seen everything ever in wrestling WWE pulls off something that I am struggling to find a comparison point to. I would say this is something never been done before. Yet, they treat it like just another John Cena loss where he comes back with no injuries, dominates the entire Wyatt Family and is hungry as ever. He essentially no sold the match. Just like the spots in a match, which should have consequence on the next spot in a match, the match itself should have consequences in the storyline. If the WWE does not respect their own booking, then how can I? For that reason, it is why I am knocking this match down a peg, because its influence was not as strong as it should have been. ****1/4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar vs John Cena - WWE Night of Champions 2014 I have not seen this match on one single match of the year list yet, but currently this is my favorite to be my selection for WWE Match of the Year 2014. I imagine a lot of it has to do with the bad taste people have in their mouth in regards to the finish. I will try to defend the finish, but I understand why it is not for everyone. My initial slight quibble with the match is that John Cena did not discover something new to defeat Brock Lesnar. Then I realized how unwonted that would be. Cena defeats opponents not because of his MOVEZ~!, but because he has an unbreakable will. Even when it is stupid and dangerous, he is still going to march into the fire and not blink once. In this match, Cena did learn a couple things from the previous dreadful encounter. First, he could not afford to dig such a deep hole for himself early and just survive the onslaught. He needed to avoid being dropped on his head and he held onto the ropes with all his might. In mirror moment, he scored an early FU, but unlike the the early F5 at Summerslam this had little effect on Lesnar. I loved Lesnar's game plan early of using the Kimura to sap Cena's strength and control Cena. It was a perfect defense against Cena's fastbreak offense. Without the early F5, Lesnar never had the same dominant advantage. Instead, he used the Kimura to cut Cena off and keep Cena at bay. In doing so, he set Cena up for his big throw-based offense. We saw a variety of suplexes from Lesanr and a variety from which he could hit them from including as cutoffs to Cena. Like I said without the early F5, Cena was able to score some more headshots that rattled the Beast. I loved Cena's game plan, which was a mixture of survival, rope a dope and bomb throwing. That was the second thing Cena learned, once he survived, he needed headshots and kill blows. This was not the time for shoulderblocks and bullshit. He was going for hard uncharacteristic Cena elbows. That back elbow was fucking some Misawa-level shit. He just needed to survive long enough for them to take their toll. I loved Lesnar's reactions to Cena's spells of offense. He is content to play with his food, but he is scared, he does not fuck around. Cena rattles him with a wicked back elbow and goes for the FU, time to drop him on his head. Cena hits the FU and Lesnar right on it going for an F5, but Cena applies the STF. You can feel the desperation from the big bad bully and he goes back to the Kimura. Now control feels fleeting and the tension really is building. It is all because of how all Lesnar's reactions feel desperate and as a heel he is reacting to the babyface. That is perfect heel psychology. He is being forced to play catch up ball because Cena has finally rocked him. Even though Lesnar seems to regain control with the Kimura, it feels much more tenuous. The strength spot from Cena picking Brock up and ramming him in the turnbuckles is babyface wrestling at its finest. Cena will not be denied tonight. Cena quickly hits an FU, but has enough sense to know that is not enough so he locks in the STF to sap Brock's strength and energy. I love how before Brock gets to the ropes he is pulling him back and one time rips Brock from the ropes. It feels like a real struggle and fight. Cena also knows that STF like the Kimura is a setup to something bigger, the knockout blow: a fourth and fatal FU. Then Seth Rollins hits him with the Money In The Bank Briefcase. So before I defend the finish, let's wrap up the match proper. I thought this was really well-executed, high drama pro wrestling. It demonstrates how important that early F5 was. Cena was able to avoid thus Brock had to go into contain and attack mode. He was never able to hit the F5. He had his chances but he was caught playing with his food, he would go back to the contain (Kimura) and attack (suplexes). At the end of the day, he let Cena hang around too long and Cena made him pay with that wicked back elbow. After that back elbow, he had to play catch up ball. You give Cena an inch and he is going to take the mile. With renewed confidence, Cena was not going to denied on that and you can sense the desperation and fear in Lesnar. It was beautiful pro wrestling. if they ended it with the Cena victory, I would rate the match highly even if, I thought the booking was very myopic and stupid. In fact this is probably the layout I would have selected for the upcoming Royal Rumble match. What I envisioned does not discount the greatness of Cena's and Lesnar's performances in this match. Defending the finish, from Rollins's perspective if Cena wins outright, Cena will have gone through hell, but he will still be standing and will not be ripe for the pickings. Lesnar by all counts was down and out. So if Rollins could successfully knock Cena out with the briefcase then Rollins should be able to pin Lesnar easily to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champios. The two arguments I have heard why this was stupid was that Lesnar would just BROCK Rollins or Cena would attack Rollins (as happened). To the first, Lesnar was clearly portrayed as being out from the Fourth FU and the added curb stomp and how he was selling there was no way he would just steamroll Rollins. To the second point, well Rollins should have done a better job making sure Cena was knocked out. The plan was foolproof if he executed it properly, but in haste he did not finish the job on Cena so Cena was able to prevent him from cashing in out of anger (YOU FOOL!). I hold that booking was sound on the finish from a psychological point of view even if it was not what I would have chosen. The match never reached the transcendent levels of Brock/Cena Extreme Rules 2011 and with the overbooked finish, it has a tenuous claim to the match of the year at a ****1/2 rating.

John Cena vs Cesaro w/Real Americans - RAW 2/17/14 Much like the Bryan/Cesaro RAW match from 2013, I thought this match was overhyped initially by the commentary I was reading. The difference here was that upon rewatch, Cena and Cesaro lived up to the hype of being one of the best matches on free TV for the year of 2014. It is true testament to both competitors that even though the match was a showcase for Cesaro's strength spots, it never descended into an exhibition. On the surface level, many would attribute that Cesaro's creativity in setting up his own strength spots such as: 1. Using a Cena leapfrog (very typical Cena spot) to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Almost never see Cena's leapfrog countered and an excellent transition to Cesaro controlling the match. 2. Catching a Cena cross body block into an incredible fallaway slam. 3. Reversing the STF into a deadlift gutwrench 4. Using an uppercut to block Cena's top rope legdrop to setup his middle rope suplex from the apron. Cesaro really does come off as the Swiss Superman in this match and this is not against Rey Misterio, but against John Cena. It is not just Cena's presence that makes it all that more incredible, but how Cena sets Cesaro up to look amazing. Cena is purposefully wrestling smaller to make Cesaro look larger than life. He tried to match strength and power with Cesaro early, but two mistakes (leapfrog and crashing & burning over the top rope) put him in a bad position as Cesaro is content to lean on him with chinlocks. Cena tries to pull unexpected tricks like the hurricanrana and the cross body block in doing so he magnifies Cesaro's strength. Of course, Cena's most important role in this is to maintain that this is a sporting contest not an exhibition for Cesaro, which could have very easily devolved into with a more mindless performance. Cena was always on Cesaro fighting from underneath and making Cesaro earn every inch. I enjoyed the Giant Swing teases because it gets a rise out of the crowd, but also I see the move as the ultimate grandstanding, hot dog move. He could win with the Neutralizer, but the Giant Swing shows off Cesaro's strength and humiliates Cena. You see that Cesaro's hubris almost costs him twice: STF and a DDT. He finally takes Cena on the Merry Go-Round, but that does not get it done and now it is time for the Neutralizer. This is of course the perfect position for the FU, wait, Cesaro lands on his feet. Wicked Cesaro big boot and WHATTA CLOTHESLINE, MICHAEL, BY CENA! Cena fireman's roll through into a FU for the victory. Great ending because at the end of the day, Cena can beat Cesaro at his own game because he is still John Cena and power is his game. Cesaro pushed Cena hard, but came up short because he became obsessed with the Giant Swing and not just winning but proving he is The Man. I really liked the champion veteran against hungry up and comer dynamic throughout the match and how Cena was so selfless throughout the match. Selflessness is something I like to see in my heel because it is his job to shine up the heel. Cena walked the perfect tight rope to make Cesaro look like a million bucks, but he himself never lost his luster. Say what you will about Cena the promo or Cena the character (and I have my issues), but inside those ropes, he knows what he is doing. My slight qualms with this match. This match could have benefitted from body part psychology because Cesaro would go for chinlocks, which is fine, but the match could have used a little more spice. Even thought, I liked the ending, Cena did to readily get into the FU position from the Neutralizer. If you look at his selling and body language during his standard comeback (shoulderblocks), you see a man fighting through pain and exhaustion to win. The Cena at the end was a little too fresh. Regardless of these qualms, on the surface, the match showcases Cesaro as a Swiss Superman on the cusp of main event stardom, but if you look closely you see why John Cena is The Man and has been The Man for all these years. ****1/4

As for Big Fight feel, I disagree even though WWE was pretty cold overall this year. I thought Lesnar/Cena had a HUGE fight feel on both occasions. Daniel Bryan's Wrestlemania run was crazy and felt momentous. I think WWE quality was down from a crazy awesome 2013, but WWE still got me heavily invested in three PPVs main events and won me over with the wild ride at Survivor Series. They can still build to a fever pitch when it counts, but overall quality is down.

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA - NOAH 10/03/09 The Holy Demon Army reunites to pay tribute to their great rival and compatriot, Mitsuharu Misawa. Unfortunately, Kenta Kobashi is unable to compete and KENTA has been selected to take his place as Akiyama's partner. Unlike the emotion of the Kobashi return match in 2007, the mood is very somber and it is hard to fist pump at the action like in that match. Still, it is very enjoyable to see Kawada and Taue return face off against Akiyama and KENTA. The match is wrestled closer to the classic All Japan tag style with KENTA in the asshole heel role and playing it perfectly. Kawada/KENTA would have actually been a great match they could built to in 2010 and actually would have been a nice retirement feud for him. KENTA throws out any notion this may face vs face when he slaps Kawada in the ropes and pulls his head down to hit Kawada Kicks on the man who made them famous. This draws Oooooooooooos from the crowd and wild, stiff slaps from Kawada. KENTA is not going to shy from the moment and Kawada is not going to let him away with such a slight. A really good opening. I thought the Akiyama strike exchange that they lost a little bit. Taue gets a deep, deep ab stretch and I love how Kawada follows that by grabbing KENTA's leg while he is in the ab stretch to apply his signature single half crab. There was no way he was going to let KENTA slip through his fingers. My major hang up in this match is that KENTA was sort of treated like he was Kobashi. He was shooting Taue in the ropes, deadweighting him on a powerbomb and backdropping out of it. Respect size differences and be creative and work around them, Akiyama hits an exploder on Taue and this turns the match in favor of Akiyama & KENTA. I love this sequence and it is just so All Japan. Kawada breaks up a pretty snug chinlock by Akiyama on Taue. In a normal tag match, no harm, no foul. KENTA comes in and his misdirection big boot right in Kawada's face. He blasts him off the apron and then keeps attacking him. KENTA returns and figure-4s Taue head. Now Kawada is hot and kneedrops KENTA in the face. I love the perpetuation of violence. Kawada tagged in and KENTA goes to cut him off at the pass and Kawada just overwhelms him with wicked chops and kicks even Kawada Kicks! STRETCH PLUM!!! Akiyama senses end might be near and hits Kawada with an exploder and Kawada is double teamed. He hits a couple knee lifts and collapses into a Taue tag. I like how KENTA uses his high flying offense to keep Taue off balance and set up his quick big boots. It was a creative, credible way to get Taue vulnerable and leverage KENTA's fast paced offense in logical fashion. KENTA hits his exploding knee to get a nearfall on Taue. Kawada comes in to block a Go 2 Sleep and he wipes him out with a wicked jumping head kick. It was awesome. NODOWA~! to Akiyama. KENTA is left for the pickings. Taue hits a Tiger Driver in honor of Misawa and just like MIsawa he only gets a two count. Kawada/Taue Backdrop Driver/Nodowa on KENTA gets a nearfall and then Taue hits the backdrop driver Nodowa solo version for the win, This is a really great tribute match to the All Japan 90s style where there is great struggle between teams for the victory. KENTA really made this something special with his energy and being a prick. Unfortunately, I felt like Akiyama was just there to hit Exploders to cause turning points. Taue was a fun feel good wrestler, whose Nodowa was the counterpoint to Akiyama's exploder. It was Kawada that really took the match to the next level because he was going to kick this punk kid's ass and teach him some respect. That is at the cornerstone of so many early 90s All Japan tags. It is a fun sprint feel and especially with the great compact finish run. It is a MOTYC for 2009, but just the next rung down. ****1/4

Kensuke Office (Sasaki, Nakajima, Okita, Miyahara) vs Burning (Kobashi, KENTA, Aoki, Ito) - KO 8/17/08 The long running Kobashi/Sasaki feud finally comes to a head in an elimination gauntlet match which sees two members of each team start in a tag match and a one member replacing the fallen member of their team. Going into this match, Kobashi/KENTA went to a 30 minute draw with Sasaki and Nakajima. Now each side takes two young lions under its wings and we see if Burning or Kensuke Office is better. Kensuke Office sends out its two weakest wrestlers. Okita and Miyahara. I believe Miyahara has had a quite year for himself this year in All Japan taking on Akiyama, but this being a rookie year I was not expecting much. Okita I think has an American football gimmick as he is built like Sasaki, but does a lot of shoulder tackles. Miyahara's offense was pretty basic and his selling was good, but in the role of rookie getting his ass beat and making a comeback I have seen better. KENTA and Aoki start for Burning and they are awesome as the heel prick tag team. I really enjoyed this opening 15 minute contest. KENTA was a violent bully and a Aoki cocky asshole who normally would get his ass beat, but has confidence bolstered by KENTA's presence. I was worried about the hot tag, but Okita was great with all his shoulder tackles. KENTA sticks up his knee and Okita runs into it, which was a good spot. Aoki gets a double wristlock on him, but they go with an extended finish with Miyahara trying to prove himself, but his offense is pretty basic and it is not the same as the awesome Miyahara or Shiga performances. Aoki forces the submission with an armbar. I liked this opening a good deal and would have given it. ***1/2 just for that. Kensuke Office elects to send out its heavy hitter Kensuke Sasaki to stop the bleeding. The KENTA/Sasaki showdown with Kensuke repeatedly throwing down Aoki was fucking awesome and the best part of the match. Sasaki destroys KENTA with a lariat. Sasaki applies a Boston Crab to Aoki to force a submission. Just like that it is not only tied, but I would say Kensuke Office has a slight lead. Ito, who I have never heard of, comes in and becomes tangled in the streams drawing audible laughter from me and the crowd. Kensuke bowls him over to eliminate him, which means Burning is down to its last two. However, Sasaki looks gassed and needs Okita to come in, but here comes Kobashi. Okita try as he might with an early double takedown was no match for the Almighty Kobashi. Kobashi eliminates with a sleeper. Going into the final match, we have KENTA spent, but basically just had a ten minute respite. Sasaki a bit worn, but in overall good health. Kobashi expended little to no energy and Nakajima is fresh as a daisy. Guess what that first 25 minutes barely has any bearing on this match. Which begs the question why didn't they just do this tag match instead of having the jabronis? Surprisingly even though this was 5 minutes longer than the previous tag match, I liked this one better because of KENTA's selling and the general urgency of the wrestlers in trying to win the match. The beginning is the usual establishing that these two teams are very very equal. The victory will come in how the heavyweight vs junior heavyweight contests go. Kobashi forces Nakajima to come in, but Nakajima being relatively fresh weathers the storm and forces Kobashi into the Kobashi corner to tag in KENTA. I would say that is a considerable victory for Kensuke Office. Nakajima and KENTA fire off some wicked stiff slaps and I actually get pretty into it. Nakajima wins and tags Sasaki in. That's the turning point, Sasaki consolidates it by mauling KENTA and now Kensuke Office looks fully in command. Already, the match feels more important with each segment having consequence. Plus Nakajima seems really motivated. I really liked this beatdown on KENTA and constant attacks on Kobashi on the apron. It was not as good as a BatBat tag, but it felt like a full court press. KENTA wins a suplex struggle by hanging Nakajima out to dry and Kobashi holds him as he hits his kneedrop. I liked that transition and a fresh Kobashi kicks Nakajima's ass on the outside. I thought the Nakajima heat segment went on too long, but KENTA was selling so psychologically sound that I was so pumped. Whenever he did not want to be tagged in he would drop to the floor, but he sensed Kobashi was getting tired he would tag in and hit the chinlock so as to keep Nakajima under control and regain his own energy. Then he would tag back out. That was really superb shit. Kobashi worked strong with some tight submission holds, but lacked the urgency of the others. I think more Nakajima hope spots could have saved this. KENTA finally feels ready to hit some big moves to take Nakajima out, but Nakajima sweeps the leg and tags in Sasaki. SASAKI DESTROYS KENTA~! Again, Nakajima weathering the storm sets Sasaki up to maul KENTA and put Kensuke Office in control. However, KENTA snaps off a powerslam and we get the dreaded Kobashi/Sasaki matchup. Once the Kobashi/Sasaki is over, KENTA and Nakajima just trade highspots with each other. It is fast and frantic, but the moves lack consequence because no long term selling. I loved Nakajima's Germans and his rainbow kick looked great. Nakajima PINS KENTA!!!!!! WAHOO~! The match just ends even though Kobashi was never eliminated. They could not do a Sasaki/Kobashi double countout so KENTA and Nakajima could take the main spot. It really feels like a major deal for Nakajima and should have kicked off the best Junior Matches of the Decade, but those turned out to be disappointing. I hate how the first 25 minutes really had no bearing on the last 35 minutes, but the first 15 minutes was pretty good. Also this tag match was definitely the better version than one from the previous month. All the wrestlers besides Kobashi seemed urgent in their actions and each segment of the match seemed important. Still for 35 minutes, it was not that compelling. There was no real hook to the match. The Nakajima segment while psychologically sound, dragged. The finish run did not really build off anything else they just started going home. Given that it was an hour total, it needed to be a lot better to make my list. Watch this once if you like the participants, but does not warrant a rewatch. ****

Katsuhiko Nakajima & GHC Tag Champions Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima vs Genichiro Tenryu, Yoshinari Ogawa, Kotaro Suzuki - NOAH 9/27/09 From the get go, the heels were totally overwhelmed by the power of the babyfaces, but this did not stop it from being a fun popcorn match. It is ironic that Misawa, perhaps the greatest Ace in puroresu history, hung out with two of the bigger chickenshit scuzzballs of NOAH (Ogawa & Suzuki) and thus it was Suzuki who was selected to pay tribute to him even though he plays a chickenshit early. The early goofing around with Morishima is awesome. Ogawa and Suzuki are both outmatched by the even bigger looking Morishima and bail. When Ogawa's shoulder tackles go nowhere, he calmly tags Tenryu. Tenryu try as he might, he gets nowhere either and when he rolls to his corner to tag out he realizes "Oh fuck". Tenryu gets frustrated because he can't win a chop battle with Sasaki and chops Nakajima out of frustration. I like that sore sport moment. Nakajima gets hot when he is tagged and that leaves him prone for a Rat Boy dragon leg screw. The Nakajima heat segment is decent with the usual trappings, double teams and Tenryu punches. The transition is pretty weak as he hits a little dropkick to tag in Sasaki. Sasaki kills Ogawa and when Tenryu breaks up an armbar with punches. He decks the both of them with lariats in a fun spot. Tenryu and Sasaki pay tribute to Kobashi with a long chop battle where both men find themselves tuckered out. Tenryu is so much better at these than anyone else because he sells so well during them and he outs over how much pain he is in. Suzuki goes off on a Misawa tribute run with a diving elbow to outside, a facelock, and elbow combinations. He even goes for a Tiger Driver on Morishima. Morishima decks him with a lariat and a back drop driver to win the match. It is a fun match, but nothing to go out of your way to see. *** This match is a part of the Misawa tribute tour that was a consequence of his tragic in ring death in the middle of 2009.I was expecting more emotion from the wrestlers, the crowd and especially myself. I found myself very moved by Kobashi's return from cancer match. I expected a similar emotional outbreak for this from me. I think I will get that from Kawada & Taue vs. Akiyama & KENTA, which I specifically saved for the very last match I will watch from this decade.

Burning (Kenta Kobashi & KENTA) vs Kensuke Office (Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima) - NOAH 6/14/08 The end of the decade NOAH matches definitely wear on you. Taking a break from the style definitely helps digest these "epics". As I enjoyed this match more on a second go around then the first time when I could not even bring myself to write a review. I actually thought this was superbly laid out and well-timed up until the finish. Everytime, I thought this needs a hope spot or a transition, it was there for me. I thought the Nakajima transition to the Sasaki hot tag was perfect. Nakajima had been getting his ass handed to him and selling really, but they were on the verge of going too long and they worked this great struggle where Nakajima had to three counters to finally get the hot tag. What a hot tag it was! The best part of the match was just Sasaki exploding out of the gate and destroying KENTA. It was the only time the match really felt like it had a sense of urgency, which is crazy since the match went to a draw so you would think that at least the last two minutes would be urgent. Coming off the amazing New Japan vs All Japan 2000 tag, that was a match where those two teams earned a time limit draw. This was the type of time limit draw where you roll your eyes. Too much of the match just felt mechanical and like they were going through the motions. I love Kobashi, but he just did not bring it here at all. He was trying to fire up, but he could not get to the level of emotion that he can achieve. He wrestled so well in the earlier tags of his comebacks, but it was not here for him on this night. I thought Sasaki was really good against KENTA, but Kobashi/Sasaki was pretty brutal anytime they were paired up. KENTA/Nakajima had a pretty fun finish run that featured a lot of cool mirror spots to put over how equal they were to build to their series of singles matches that really should have been the Junior's Matches of the Decade, but they were disappointing. Again, it was fun stuff, but there was not enough struggle or that will to win. It is funny, it felt like a long 30 minutes, but going over my notes, it does not feel like a whole lot happened. It was pretty entertaining because I enjoy Sasaki's offense and Nakajima as a total package. The layout was there to have a great match, but not enough heat and Kobashi looking rundown killed it for them. Sasaki destroying KENTA was the highlight, but nothing to watch again. ***1/2

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Sycho Sid - RAW 9/11/95 The main event of the first RAW of the Monday Night Wars and that dirty, low-down, egg-sucking Eric Bischoff gives a way the result?!?!?!!? This really is a war! Shawn beating the big guy with three superkicks is a bit reductionist because Sid actually gave a pretty good performance for the big lug. His punches looked way better and he was moving around really well (especially since he usually seems so awkward). Hell, I thought he looked good against HOG at the PPV working on his back and ultimately beating him with a powerbomb. It was a decent power match. Something was in the water for Sid in September of 1995. I thought this was very reminiscent of Shawn working Demolition or Powers of Pain. Not quite at that level, but one of Shawn's biggest strengths is getting good matches out of stiffs like Sid. He knows how to work a smart shine to get himself over and in turn still not undercutting the monster heel, which only gets him more over. That is the ticket folks by making Sid an obstacle, Shawn only has more to gain. Why did he switch to a left handed jab when his right hand cross is way better? Shawn's selling and bumping for two make the normally boring Sid control segments look great. The finish was a unique way for Shawn to use Sweet Chin Music to win. I thought he needed three in succession instead he used two kicks to set up for the grand finale, which was really smart. This is definitely a strong Shawn performance. *** The striptease is something else. I am actually partial to all the zebra print, mirrors, sparkles and dancing on the entrance. I think color and fun are a very important part of wrestling. In 1995, Shawn Michaels looked like he was from 1987 so he was a little behind the curve, but hey I think it was a cool aspect of the character and it was clearly over with a segment of the fanbase. The striptease to end this show goes a little too far. This is not the Attitude Era and there are a lot of kids in attendance. Overall, I am pro Shawn Michaels entrance. I think it is fun and campy. An actual striptease would clearly be too much.

Bret Hart vs Jean-Pierre Lafitte - In Your House III 9/24/95 I have watched this match three times and everytime I watch it my thoughts initially are always "why did I like this match so much again?". Oh yeah because the finish stretch is so badass. I have no idea what got into Bret, but he was out to prove something in this match. It was probably all the months since Royal Rumble 95 being condemned to midcard hell. This is my favorite Bret Hart match of that period between Rumble '95 and Survivor Series '95. He was throwing himself into bumps and he was keeping everything moving. I liked his constant attempts for victory. Basically he was pissed off at the beginning of the match, he got his jacket back and then he just wanted to get the victory. This was not Bret's greatest long term selling performance and the match was more structured around Bret trying to win the match with veteran tactics and Jean Pierre's bumps. I liked Jean Pierre's look. I just don't think you should have called him a pirate. On the RAW before this PPV, Bret Hart basically undercut the entire gimmick when he said he did not know pirates still existed. It is a cool look, but no reason to say he is out and out a pirate. As for being underpushed, I am not buying it. Besides Pierre's bumps, this was the Bret Hart show. Pierre looked lost when he was working a control segment and Bret was carrying it via selling and feeding smart cutoffs. The initial arm posting by Bret and then the consequent quick succession of whips was so well-done to cement Pierre, but Pierre then ran out of things to do. Underutilized, I would buy as I loved the Quebecers and I think Pierre in a tag team where he can be the big bumper and hide his weaknesses in a heel tag team would be perfect. Pierre gets up top and hits a legdrop instead of the Cannonball well that was not too bright. CANNONBALLLLLL!!! MISSES!!! Bret goes for the Sharpshooter because he is angling for a quick victory. The spot of the match is Pierre doing a somersault plancha to the outside floor with no protection because Bret moved. Bret takes over and looks great mixing his Five Moves and his pinnning combinations. Pierre catches him on a crucifix and plants him with a somersault. Folks, I think we have established that Pierre can indeed do a somersault. Pierre looks pretty strong, but whiffs on a top rope splash should have went CANNONBALLLLLL!!! and Bret gets the Sharpshooter from on the mat. This is an incredible finish stretch especially in 1995. There is not a ton of really classic selling, but it is not mindless either because there is a real sense of struggle to win the match. Bret is going for pinning combinations and his Sharpshooter. Pierre is going for his big knockout blow. It just that Bret is getting countered and Pierre is whiffing. It comes down to if Pierre hits a big move he will win, but what toll are these misses taking on him and eventually if he keeps missing Bret will take advantage with a pinning combination or Sharpshooter. I would not call this a spotfest even though the match is totally structured around spots and bumps and not selling, but there is still a psychology of winning behind it where each man has his own strategy and the other wrestler is responding to that strategy, which is lacking in today's product. ****