Superstar Sleeze

Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard - Impact Wrestling Rebellion 4/28/19 I have seen Tessa Blanchard once before at a SHIMMER event with PWO's own Jimmy Redman! For the entire card, Tessa was by far the stand out worker. Crisp, ferocious and engaging, she was the girl with It Factor. It seems like she can be her own worst enemy but AEW's anemic women's division could really use her. Also, Tessa vs Charlotte writes itself folks. Well they should really do Charlotte/Tessa as a tag team and then do the break-up angle for maximum effect. Anyways, I am not too surprised that she got pushed to the moon winning their Men's World Championship, she is a great wrestler. I enjoyed this match as a Greatest Hits/Nostalgia match for Gail Kim. You come away thinking Tessa Blanchard is a badass and you want to see more for her. The hook of the match is Gail Kim has come out of retirement specifically to wrestle the best of this generation, similar to the recent Trish vs Charlotte match. You get a lot of feel-good Gail Kim spots. There's a bit of miscommunication of the ringpost 619 but Gail looked great otherwise. Great movement and great execution. The shine where she overwhelms the hard-hitting, younger powerhouse Tessa was red hot. Good cutoff by Tessa in the corner and then hits a Codebreaker and this leads to the heat century. This is pretty 21st Century in the sense that they are just hitting spots (they look good) but nothing is all that consequential. They are just filling time, but whats the story? There is a little bit of scouting from Tessa that I liked where she was countering a lot of Gail's signature stuff. We do see the Figure-4 around the post and the Eat Defeat, which I never loved. The highspot of the match was Tessa throwing Gail off the stage in very insane fashion. Overly complicated and that looked dangerous. Gail Kim gets back in. Following All Japan logic, the finish is nigh. They treat as the playin field is level but Tessa should be in control. Tessa goes for the Slingshot Suplex, nice tribute to her father who is in attendance, but Gail knees the head in the suplex and Tessa Eats Defeat, well not really she kicks out you see. Tessa punches her while she climbs the ropes. Tessa bites Gail's arm and Tessa Press Slams off the top (didnt look as good as they wanted). Tessa hits Magnum which is a Jumping Codebreaker and when Kim kicks out, Tessa debuts a Boss Statement like finish. Tessa mean mugs in the ring and then immediately hugs her Dad and totally breaks down. Good for them. That seemed like a really nice Dad/Daughter moment. Tully tells her to shake Gail Kim's hand. Nice touch. I enjoyed the athleticism and the execution, but there was not much story to sink my teeth into. It did not have a strong hook other than the fact it was Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard. There was no real stickiness to the match. Enjoyable nonetheless. ***1/2

Impact Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs OGZ (Homicide & Hernandez) - Slammiversary 2018 Street Fight I have a new idea for a project so I will finally be reviewing post-2014 pro wrestling. Probably a weird place to start, but here we are. Basic gist is Konnan managed a hot new tag team, Santana & Ortiz, and continued using the name LAX. So the OGz (Homicide & Hernandez), an apt name, were pissed about it. It looks like Eddie Kingston maybe wanted a piece of the LAX action but got shut out by Konnan so he brought back the OGz. Unfortunately, this is a 21st Century Street Fight which means more Feng Shui furniture rearrangement than actual hate, oh well. I really liked the original incarnation of LAX back when I was a teenager and Hernandez still hit his big spots really well. I dont think Hernandez was a miss by TNA, but I would have liked to seen him have a better career, great combination of power & agility. Homicide has more aura than Santana & Ortiz. Honestly, I didnt get much out of Santana & Ortiz. It seems like Santana & Ortiz are the babyfaces. They clear the ring and the ones that shine with the dives to the outside. After that, they decided they didnt like the Feng Shui of the ring and thats when extended furniture rearrangement went down. OGZ beat them down by hitting him in the head with metal objects. HERNANDEZ DID HIS MASSIVE DIVE! Big Man still got it! Draino got involved but didnt go anywhere. They did a very boring overwrought middle section where nothing meaningful happens. So much choreography... The finish stretch was GANGBUSTERS! Really good, high octane shit. Hernandez hits that big Shoulder Tackle/Pounce like move of his. He is the Real MVP of this match. This knocks Santana out of the ring. Homicide hits his classic Somersault Tope Suicida wiping Santana out through a table. Homicide looks like he was shot through a canon! Ortiz Death Valley Drivers Homicide through a table. Hernandez retaliates with a Border Toss through a table! I love Hernandez! Hernandez eats a suprkick I cant believe thats the end of him. Santana (who based on my Beyond Wrestling attendance, Dynamite watching is the better of the two) ends up in a glorified fighting spirit contest with Homicide. Homicide goes for the Cop Killa but gets distracted by Konnan. Konnan goozles him and throws a bag of tacks to Homicide. Santana throws a fistful of tacks at Homicide! WOW! That was the first time this "street fight" got violent! Powerslam and Frogsplash 1-2-3! I LOVED THE EFFICIENCY! Too 21st Century for my tastes not enough hate and violent. Too much furniture rearrangement spot setup. Hernandez looked like a million bucks! I dont want to go long but he was the best part. The finish stretch was really well-done, simple, energetic and effective. ***1/2

TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe - TNA IMPACT 4/13/06 We start in medias res as the Impact program starts with Daniels tapping a gusher. As Daniels is writhing around like a bloody fish, they show some of Daniels shine and how he was able to use speed to keep Joe off balance until Joe was able to catch him on the outside and smash him into the ringpost and then hit an Ole Kick according to Tenay & West. Daniels is out of it in the ring. This is the episode where Sting had his first match on TV so they are really trying to goose a big rating. Daniels throws a body shot and Joe BITES THE CUT! He really went at it. Daniels is throwing desperate kicks and Joe continues to punch the cut. He digs his fingers into the cut. Samoa Joe is the Man! Daniels looks like a horror movie victim fighting for survival. Joe has so many aspects to him and is so versatile (heroic, stoic asskicker, cocky jock prick, workrate stud, violent monster). I love how Daniels looks totally out of it, but is still STRUGGLING. He is still alive. This creates a lot of opportunities for Joe to cut off and Joe is lightning quick. Joe pummels with Tenryu Punch/Chop combo in the corner. Joe has beaten him to a bloody pulp. FACEWASH! This is an epic beating. Everything is laser focused to the head and there's a gradualism to the selling. Just when Daniels looks most done after the first Facewash, he evades the second. BIG KNEE TO JOE'S HEAD! Got to go head-hunting! Lets Go Daniels! He goes in for another and URNAGE~! The Creature from The Black Lagoon rises again! Tremendous cutoff! Ad break. Joe Powerbomb/Submission combination. Watch how Joe tortures him in the submissions, grinding joints into Daniels' body. This has been all Joe without feeling like a squash because how they well they have done the layout. Enizguiris to the head ROCK JOE! Notice how Joe does not bump, he does a lot of weeble wobble selling. There's a gradualism. Daniels is getting closer, but Joe is building that tension. Daniels has to go up top rope and hurl his body off the top to knock the Big Man off his feet! Top Rope Frankensteiner! HUGE BUMP BY JOE! Joe goes back to cutoffs to let you know he is still there, BUT eats knees on the Senton. Joe Powerslam! Joe palm strikes to the Cut BUT Daniels WONT BE DENIED! This is a brawl BABY! They are throwing hands! Daniels STO! BEST MOONSAULT EVER! AWESOME NEARFALL! THEY BUILT TO A GREAT CRESCENDO! They tussle on the top rope. ISLAND DRIVER FROM THE TOP ROPE! Excellent match! Violent, competitive and tons of struggle. I love how they build up so much tension in the match. They never settled for a grinding, heat segment where they do a breakdown. Daniels never dies. He is always fighting back. Joe is just too much. I love how Daniels really has to earn that comeback. Joe is roaring back with an Urnage or a Powerslam. Then we get to the point where the Babyface is just so damn fired up and that he WILL NOT BE DENIED! The reason means so much because Daniels had tried so many times and had been thwarted. So it meant something when he did finally NO SELL the palm strikes to the cut and he just said FUCK IT I AM GOING TO KICK ASS! The Best Moonsault Ever was a great nearfall! Look at that efficiency! One COLOSSAL nearfall for the babyface. Daniels needs to go for something bigger like a superplex and they tussle on the top. Joe UNLEASHES A SUPER ISLAND DRIVER! 1-2-3! Perfect ending! Hands down best match in Impact History and one of the best in TNA History! ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarett vs Raven - NWA-TNA 4/30/2003 Man, Jeff Jarrett has no friends. So for those keep tracking at home, Jeff Jarrett is NWA 4 Life (Straight Outta Hendersonville) and a surprisingly good babyface. Raven & The Gathering (Julio Dinero & a young Mickie James) are SEX 4 LIFE (and so am I). In addition to the Gathering & SEX, there is also the ECW Nostalgia Stable of Sandman, Justin Credible, Saturn and New Jack. ECW nostalgia has probably earned more money than the actual ECW promotion. All Double J has is asskicking Dusty Rhodes, who wiped the floor with SEX back in January when Raven debuted in TNA. I enjoyed this way more than I expected. I like overbooking for the most part but that part fell flat for me. It didnt add to the drama. It just felt tedious. SEX/New Church brawl. ECW Nostalgia beats up a bloody, handcuffed Jarrett until the lights go out and Sabu saves. Sabu wipes out a fan when he makes his great escape. The worst moment was when the ref couldnt get the handcuffs off Jarrett so fucking Raven had to do it. Ugh. Then Jarrett hits the Stroke for the finish. The actual body of the match was really good. Jarrett is a great fired up babyface. He gave Raven a good ass-whupping and Raven fed and stooged for him well. Dinero/Alexis were a good distraction. I think they did the whole heel miscommunication chair shot too early and that busts Raven open. Jarrett dives on the Gathering and he pays for taking his eye off the ball when Raven does his out of control plancha. Really damn good Raven heat segment, busts Jarrett open on the steel steps. Million Dollar Kneelfit. Drop toehold on the chair. Lots of great Raven staples. Sleeper was a good climax as he was losing control and then Jarrett kicks ass. Great fired up comeback from Jarrett. Taking out the Gathering and hitting the Stroke, what a shitty move, for two. Raven comes back with the DDT for two. They tumble over the top on a Cactus Clothesline. Jarrett hits a Middle Rope Elbow Drop Through a Table! Nice highspot! Jarrett rolls him back in and DDT! Very 2003 to steal the finisher! 1-2-Gathering pulls the ref out! Ref throws them out. Jarrett runs into the ref to bump the ref. Raven whacks him in the balls and then is the lame finish run. Honestly, the body of the match was a really strong old school babyface vs heel match. Raven used his Gathering really well and worked a strong heat segment. Jarrett was a strong, fiery babyface. It is too bad the finish let them down, but this was still a very fun match to watch. ***1/2

Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Sabin - NWA-TNA 9/3/03 Super X Cup Juvy still had plenty of Juvy Juice left in 2003. I know he is a headcase, BUT of all the 90s workers I think I wished Juvytud had a much better run in the 21st Century. Besides the lame Mexicools run, where did he work? Lots of 90s workrate throughout that I mean a lot of symmetry dropdowns at the same time, dropkicks at the same time. The length cradle reversal segment is another hallmark of 90s workrate. Very interesting that Sabin was the clear heel at the start and he plays it up at times, but by the end, it is full workrate. They are working USA vs Mexico but with Juvy as the bigger star it is easy for him to be the babyface. Juvy has great chops, wicked, and is very crisp. They try to do the powerbomb into into a land on his feet but Sabin is kinda short and Juvy lands on his shoulder hard. They are working a little too fast. No strong control segments or highspots that really stick with you. It is just well-executed, total non-stop action. Juvy hits a dive to the outside. Really nice basement dropkick to the face by Juventud. Sabin has not shown me much outside of a couple standard heel spots, slap at the beginning, eyerake in the middle of the match. There is some 21st Century tropes that sneak in that I dont care for. Where they attempt the move but dont hit it. They just tease it and easily let it be reversed. Where's the struggle, bro? Also, lots of move trading down the stretch without missed moves or interesting counters. Just my turn, your turn. Juvy hits really cool Capture Electric Chair with bridge for two! That needs to be cribbed by someone! Love Juvy Chops! These reversal sequences are overwrought and there's no struggle. . All the kicks to the midsection show that the 90s were still very influential. The kick to the gut is one thing from the the 90s that I am glad died a death in the 21 century. GUNSHOT JUVY CHOPS! GANSO TIGER DRIVER~! HOLY SHIT! The Spot of the Match! How the hell did Sabin kick out? Sabin gets a counter DDT bad timing. Should have pressed on with more Juvy offense. Anti-Air Dropkick by Juvy to the mush as Sabin came off the top. So of course Sabin hits the next move which a Superplex. No one is selling shit. JUVY-DRIVER! 450 SPLASH! 1-2-NO! I bit on the finish! I wanted Juvy to win! Methinks his goose is cooked. Mike Tenay tells me I not breathing for not enjoying this. Sorry, bro. FutureShock DDT, it did look different than the Cradleshock DDT for win the for Sabin. This is definitely a good match and fun to watch even though I dont expect to remember anything about this besides Juvy is a Top 5 Chopper of all time and the Ganso Tiger Driver. Just a total non-stop action, mindless workrate-fest. ***

I know @Ricky Jackson is a massive Blair mark so there might be something to this Blair >>> Brunzell talking point. Kelly & Victory Sports Mag are just on a different level when they are analyzing pro wrestling than the rest of us.

Samoa Joe vs Christian Cage - TNA Bound For Glory 2007 WOW! This may be my favorite Samoa Joe individual performance ever! HE WAS ALIVE! I was just vibing off all his energy! It was charging me up! Dude felt like the biggest star in the world. His charisma was effusive and he just came in hyped, supercharged and was playing to the crowd so well. You got to watch it. He comes off like a total badass rockstar in this match. The Destination X match from earlier in the year for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship gets more hype but this match is way better and way more fun. There are so many great Joe moments but I think my favorite was he does his usual nonchalant walk-away but adds a Middle Finger and then does some flex thing that just came off as cool. Christian's timing was phenomenal. He gave Joe the lion's share of this match. As the heel who was losing, he could have taken a large heat segment, but he didnt. He would get short flurries almost like heel hope spots to let you know he was alive but more often than not he was thwarted. It felt like an extended shine. The shine is my favorite part of the match so I loved this. Also when Christian did get control it was always through an elusive evasion tactic. It demonstrated Joe was the bigger man but Christian could use his savvy to get one up on him. The best example of this is how Christian hit a cool DDT on the floor. Again, his control didnt last long because Joe was a force of nature who would not be denied in this match. Joe busted all his badass offense. Elbow Suicida AND the Corkscrew Plancha! I loved the Kawada Enziguiri as Christian went for a Springboard. They use the Christian Coalition (AJ Styles & Tomko) as a distraction to give Christian a ballshot and the Unprettier but no one is buying it. We all know Joe is taking this one. Joe beats the shit out of him. Musclebuster & Koquina Clutch for the win! Interesting tidbit is that Christian had been in TNA since like late 2005, definitely by January 2006 and he had never been pinned or submitted and it was October 2007. I feel like TNA does not get enough credit for how well they booked Angle, Christian and Sting their main eventers. Their main events follow a logical progression. Angle vs Sting was their biggest possible match they were smart to put that on here. Their third biggest star is Christian and Joe got a wicked clean, definitive win here. I know their next "big" PPV was in April at Lockdown and they did the smart thing and it was Joe vs Angle, but Joe was red hot here. I would have moved that timetable up to January and let Joe reign through 2008. This match is wicked fun and shows Joe still had the IT FACTOR well into 2007. I dont think he lost until he took that fucking stupid bump on the stairs against Sting was it in mid-2008. That was so dumb. Joe from 2002-2008 was The Man! ****

Samoa Joe vs Chris Sabin - TNA No Surrender 2005 If only all pro wrestling was so simple and elegant! Samoa Joe's first PPV for TNA after going an undefeated streak the month prior on Impact and this is his biggest test so far. Sabin to me the ultimate average, generic X-Division wrestler, but he does great in this match. Tenay says Samoa Joe is 6' 8". Dont have Tenay write your dating profiles, fellas, the girls will be very disappointed when they see you. Joe is on fire during this period of his career. So explosive and powerful. He snatches and gobbles Sabin up. He throws him around with authority. Sabin makes Joe look like a million bucks. You fucking believe Joe is 6' 8'" and the biggest person in the world the way Sabin was bumping and selling for him. Great power vs speed match. Don West for all his idiosyncrasies does a great job expounding on Sabin's strategy. Sabin does not have enough mass so he has to compensate by either combining his mass with speed or with height to create more energy to bowl Joe over. Sabin's first big offensive flurry is a three MASSIVE dropkick all aerial from the ropes or apron. He SMASHES Joe with him and Joe takes him like a champ. His next big flurry climaxed with a Tornado DDT, he used speed and the leverage of the ropes to make that happen. His BIG nearfall was the Powerbomb off the top when Joe took too long on the Musclebuster. One reason I avoided this match is I expected it to be a glorified squash but it was NOT at all. Sabin got a lot of well-timed hope spots. The offense just made Joe look more of a beast because there was such desperation in Sabin's movements. You knew he needed a fluke home run to win. It made Joe look all the more badass. Another AWESOME wrinkle that I am a total sucker for. All three times Sabin lost control of the advantage after going on offense was because he went for his finisher, the Cradle Shock, which involves him trying to hoist up the big man on his shoulders! What a neat nugget! Sabin knows his advantage is tenuous at best and wants to make the most of it by going for his killshot BUT he cant execute because Joe's size. Another neat nugget is each attempt he does get closer and closer! I am very surprised that Sabin's performance is what stood out to me. Joe was excellent. Joe was just running a clinic. In terms of execution, he never looked better everything was snug and with power. Great throws and strikes. LOVED the finish. Joe SWEEPING the leg while Sabin was on the top rope had me marking out! Musclebuster and Koquina Clutch and that's all she wrote. Dont be like me and sleep on this match just because you think it will be a glorified squash this is an excellent power vs speed match! ****1/4

Gail Kim vs Taryn Terrell - TNA Slammiversary 2013 Last Woman Standing A while ago, Soup (aka Chad) asked on Twitter the best match you have seen live and the correct answer for me is this match! I had stopped watching TNA for a good year or two and the only reason I went to this show because I really wanted to see AJ Styles wrestle live. This match easily stole the show. I went in with zero expectation and by the end I was going absolutely bonkers! Over seven years later, I still remember every major highspot. That Gail Kim charge into the steel chair was GNARLY! Not to be outdone Taryn just HURLS herself and eats a belly flop on the ramp way. The single leg pick up on the ramp was such a nasty THUD in the ring. OW! Then the fucking ACE CRUSHER OFF THE RAMP TO THE FLOOR! I SHOT UP OUT OF MY CHAIR! Gail Kim was smooth as silk in this match and it is a damn shame that she was so ahead of her time. Kim vs Horsewomen, Asuka, Nia or Shayna would be money! I watched the video package and I didnt realize Kim was injuring women using Bret Hart's Figure-4 around the post so it was a big deal when Taryn turned it around on her and gave her a taste of her own medicine. So that enhanced the match for me! Taryn was definitely unpolished but sometimes that works in your favor. She came off so raw and organic. She was just throwing herself into everything with reckless abandon and I was digging it. This is definitely in the running for best US Women's Match pre-2014! Still holds up 7 years later as an awesome bout! ****1/4

NWA World Tag Team Champions Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) vs America's Most Wanted - TNA Final Resolution 2005 Damn look how young James Storm looks! Look at Roode trying to grow out his hair! Bunch of babyfaces in that ring wow! Meltzer gave this match ****1/2, which is a monster rating all things considered. I was putting it off, putting it off. I said what the hell tonight and never in my wildest imagination did I think these four could live up to the hype, but this match ROCKED! Roode & Young were the best 80s stooge heels of the 21st Century. This was terrific old school Southern-Fried wrestling to start. They jumpstart the match with a terrific, upbeat, energetic brawl for a couple minutes outside the ring where AMW tools on them. Young ends up with a huge Goose Egg on his forehead. Then they have an awesome shine in the ring. Hey babyface shines, you remember right? You remember when pro wrestling was actually fun?!? This was fun as fuck! Young was bumping around everywhere. They threw Young into Roode and Roode into Young. It was gangbusters. Team Canada does the Hart Foundation sliding knee and they work such a beautiful old school heat segment on James Storm. Great heeling, great hope spots, good pummeling without giving too much away. There's an excellent moment where. Storm hits a pair of Enziguiris as a hope spot. Roode does a Flair Flop. Young does his Flair Flop off the apron, I popped huge. Here's the kicker, Roode stopped Storm from making the tag. Extending the heat segment! I love it. They get a good heel nearfall off a Young Elbow Drop. Roode ends up missing a charge and tag out to Harris. I am not saying Harris should have been a huge star but I am surprised he did not have a bigger run. He was a fucking great hot tag in this. Roode and Young were bumping and feeding like champs. The finish was just awesome old school chicken soup for the Pro Wrestling Fan soul. Handcuffing D'Amore to the post. Team Canada member Johnny Devine getting involved. I was biting on nearfalls left, center and right. I thought the Hockey Stick to the back was for sure the win for Team Canada and then AMW would win the belts back the next month in a gimmick match. Nope kick out! Then AMW hit one of their double team finishes! 1-2-NO! The Impact Zone and me are fucking rocking! They have whipped this crowd into a frenzy and I am on the edge of my seat. There is a tussle over the chair. Roode hits the Northern Lariat such that Harris lands head first on the chair! They telegraphed that false finish a little much with the camera angle on a smug Devine, but it was a great spot nonetheless. Devine accidentally smokes Young with the Chair and AMW Rollup! 1-2-3! MASSIVE POP! I can tell Team Canada were old school cheating heels and they were foiled by their own machinations so it was very fitting victory. I loved this! If you love old school, Southern style, babyface vs heel wrestling, you owe it to yourself to check this out! ****1/2

Hahaha I am glad you took it well. I do think he has improved as Moxley compared to Ambrose. I do think WWE is a nearly impossible environment to truly thrive in BUT there have been some promos in AEW that really showed WWE was NOT the total problem. There was one promo in a desert where he was making Dean Ambrose-esque shitty jokes. There was another promo in a garage I wanna say in advance of Brian Cage Title Defense where he couldnt make up his damn mind who he is. Is he a reverent Bret Hart babyface champion? Is he a zany Terry Funk champion? Is he a moody, brooding loner champion? I think that's my issue. I dont really know who Jon Moxley is. I dont think he knows who he is either. Part of it is who I am as a person. I just dont connect with the moody, brooding loner types. However, even if I dont connect with it, I can usually tell when that archetype is done well and I dont think he does it well because he will add a dash of Terry Funk or Bret Hart when it was not warranted. I hope that make sense.

Jon Moxley is trash and I don't get people who like him. (I am being serious).

Sabu vs Rhino vs Abyss vs Jeff Hardy - TNA Bound For Glory 2005 Monster's Ball "This Is Awesome" has been around since 2005? Jesus that makes me feel old. That being said, this was indeed fucking awesome! It was something I skipped over because it seemed non-essential but a couple good reviews and the allure of Sabu swayed me. This was one of the best garbage matches I have ever seen. The Jeff Hardy Highspot is UNREAL! Fucking Insane! I LOVE Sabu no matter what but he was the definite MVP of this and he was hitting everything clean as whistle. I think the TNA ropes were way better than the ECW ropes and this helped him. He was selling the best, bumping the best and hitting most of the highspots. He was just flying everywhere. Rhino seemed to be his main target. He was demolishing tables and wiping people out. Abyss and Rhino were better than Jeff Hardy but Sabu was the standout. The finish was great. Abyss throwing Sabu down belly first through the table. Abyss getting all cocky with the thumbtacks only to eat the GORE! GORE! GORE! through a table of course. Then Rhino DESTROYS Jeff Hardy with a middle rope piledriver. Super fun, quick garbage match that did not overstay its welcome! ****

Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett - TNA Slammiversary 2011 Kurt Angle is the anti-Tito Santana. Tito Santana wrestles every match like it is a blood feud. Kurt Angle wrestles every match like a cold, passionless workrate robot. Jeff is shacking up with you ex-wife, raising your kids and being a total jackass prick about it for six months and you just do your standard finisher trader match. Ugh. Angle works headlocks early like this is their first encounter for a heavyweight title. Oh, the number one contendership and Angle's Gold Medal are on the line. I think this should have been Loser Leaves Town. Jarrett back drops him over the top rope and Angle lands hard on the outside. A great heel transition to heat if this was an 80s Championship match, not a blood feud. Jarrett rams him into a metal object ok thats more like it. Then they do the double crossbody spot. Yep back to 80s Championship Match. Jarrett grabs a desperation sleeper but once Angle breaks on that. Angle goes on a fast break with throws and strikes. Angle catches a nice Powerbomb into an Anklelock. They work their minor finishers. Olympic Slam, missed moonsault -> Stroke. The Stroke is a shitty move. They do a Tombstone Reversal spot! That was pretty cool! Ref bump. Jarrett ballshot and Guitar shot and waves on a ref. This was comically bad and heatless spot. Angle fires up, but Jarrett ends up hitting the Super Stroke. Tries to steal the Olympic Slam but steals the Anklelock. What happened to the Figure-4?!? Angle reverses into his own and wins. Everyone and their mother knew Angle would win. So make it enjoyable have him beat Jarrett to a bloody pulp or embarrass Jarrett. This felt like a basic first match in the series. Outside the ring, this feud was one of TNA's best, inside the ring just totally devoid of heat.

Christian Cage vs Kaz - TNA Genesis 2007 Ladder Match A very WCW moment happens when Christian had his hand on the contract and Kaz wipes out the ladder causing Christian to take a nasty fall and the contract to fall, but not the clipboard. So they end up fighting over a blank clipboard which is pathetically hilarious. Oh TNA. This match had a bit of buzz at the time and I am surprised I have never seen this before maybe it was not available during my original TNA rewatch project. This was supposed to be Kaz's breakout match but he was looking like a One Hit Wonder until he hooked up with Daniels in 2012. I didnt see anything special out of Kaz that say a Chris Sabin could not have done. Christian was the glue holding this match together. Great selling and bumping. Good timing too. There is a nasty bump right at the beginning with Kaz reverse crossbodying Christian while he was holding the ladder leading to Christian getting busted open hardway on his left eye. Nasty cut. The Christian splash on Kaz on the ladder and Don West put over these were real metal ladders. Had WWE transitioned to fiberglass ladders? I hate stupid spots and Kaz setting up the ladder and being like "Oh fuck I am too far away" was so fucking dumb. No shit, numbuts. Then he misses the legdrop and just nails the ladder. The dropkick that blows away the ladder and Christian bump was the best spot of the match. The contract coming down was unfortunate but funny. I forgot Christian Coalition! I loved that stable! I dont care what anyone says AJ was a great comedy character! His promo skills improved leaps and bound that year. Him and Tomko come out but Christian gets distracted and ends up falling on them from the ladder in the ring out to the floor. Ok the finish is pretty cool, Kaz lands with one foot on the top rope and he pushed off and re-sets up the ladder and gets the empty clipboard for the win! I didnt see anything special in Kaz. Just looked like your average Create-A-X-Division-Wrestler. Decent ladder match. ***

Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett - TNA Lockdown 2011 Ultra Male Rules I have always had a soft spot for Jeff Jarrett, must be because I am a sucker for blondes. That being said, Karen Jarrett was a smokeshow and sadly she has been tossed from ringside. I was pretty much done with TNA at this point, one of the last things I remember before I stopped watching was the Double J Double M A Exhibition gimmick that was excellent. The Jarrett Wedding Angle is one of the most criminally underappreciated angles in wrestling history, such good camp, Big Daddy Jeff! I need to track that down again. I will say I have found Angle/Jarrett disappointing in the ring even though I find the angles usually pretty entertaining. First Fall Submission: Ultra Male Rules is code for Three Stages of Hell and because this is Lockdown it is contested in a Cage. First Fall is Submission. Second pinfall only and third fall if necessary is Escape Cage. I liked the first fall just fine. I liked Jarrett using the ref break to sucker punch Angle, but that doesnt lead to much. Jarrett busts out the Figure-4, in a very WCW move the ref counts Angle's shoulder down repeatedly making Mike Tenay look like a fool. Sleeper by Jarrett and cross armbreaker. Show that Double J is truly an MMA master. Angle counters into a Anklelock for the finish. Super basic like all their matches. Wish there was more Double J heel shenanigans. Second Fall Pinfall: Yeah this match is pretty boring again. Damnit. I bit on the quick nearfall from Double J. Throw Angle into the cage and Stroke. It is customary that Second Fall is short so I bit. Then they did a Top Rope Crossbody Reverse spot in an "Ultra Male Rules" match. Isnt this supposed to be the most personal match in TNA history? Pretty basic Angle suplex throwing layout. Jarrett hits a ballshot and that doesnt go anywhere. Heel work needs to be sold to mean something! Ugh. Angle gets an Olympic Slam and a big Fireman's Throw off the top as nearfalls. Jarrett gets the tights on a cradle on Olympic Slam. This match has zero heat. Third Fall Escape Cage: Deathwish Angle was in full effect. He attempts a Misawa-Rana From the Top of the Cage and either Jarrett didnt know or was like I aint fucking taking that and chumped out, regardless Angle came inches from breaking his freakin' neck again. That was insane. Then he did a moonsault off the top of the cage and totally belly flopped but he was supposed to hit. I thought the heat was ratcheted up. More cage shots and Jarrett blading, Angle raking his bloodied face in the cage. Then Karen came out for some great heeling. Hairspray in eyes, Guitar shot, then Cage Door in face to give Jarrett to win. Big upgrade from the first two falls, but still I am waiting for these two to really bring it. ***

TNA World Tag Team Champions American Wolves vs Team 3-D vs The Hardyz - TNA Impact 9/16/14 Full Metal Mayhem Full Metal Mayhmem is TNA's name for TLC and you do have to pull down the belts using a ladder to win the match. I remember this getting quite a bit of buzz back in 2014 and I thought I'd check it out. Having four of the original six TLC combatants helped this match from a framework and escalation perspective. One thing I liked about the original TLC is how they used the big highspots to effectively eliminate people in the match. We see that in this match. D-Von tumbles hard from the top rope through two tables. The "big" highspot is Jeff Hardy being shoved off the ladder in the ring and then splashing Bully Ray through tables ringside. I did not think this was as crazy as the Mania X-7 wipeout where Bubba Ray really demolished those tables with Matt I believe. Matt Hardy was eliminated when Eddie Edwards powerbombed him off the ladder through a table and Richards won. It was interesting to see Richards take two "elimination' spots a powerbomb on a guardrail and a Matt Hardy legdrop from a ladder through a table, but he survived. This put him over. Edwards also took a ladder bump from ring to floor even though I would have been scared shitless didnt look that cool. The coolest highspot in my opinion was Jeff Hardy doing a legdrop through a table flipped upside down!?!? Those legs could have collapsed into his head/neck. That was my big oh shit highspot. Everybody looked a half-step slower and the Wolves didnt pick up the slack. The beginning of the match was kinda pointless, no real interesting connective tissue. Followed the same TLC Elimination formula, but not as good and not as chaotic or insane. Surprised this was highly praised. Just very good because they followed a great formula. ***1/2

Just finished my 2020 version of Top 100 Greatest Pro Wrestling Matches Ever had to drop 20 matches from last year 2 accommodate the great matches I watched this year. Excoriating, harrowing & gut-wrenching. I love all 20 matches that got cut. Dont know how I'll do this next year. I am going to sleep on this list and submit tomorrow.

Best of Puroresu 2010-2014 Part 2 At the risk of hyperbole, Hiroshi Tanahashi saved the Japanese Pro Wrestling Industry. There are very few instances of a single wrestler taking a company back from the brink of bankruptcy and not just survive, but thrive and make pro wrestling popular in Japan again. He did this with a very small support structure with no stars from the 80s or 90s to help him. Furthermore, the largest Japanese company, Pro Wrestling NOAH completely fell off the rails due to the tragic in-ring death of Mitsuharu Misawa and retirement of Kenta Kobashi. Tanahashi was able to turn New Japan around and stop the bleeding until 2012. In 2012, he finally found his archrival, Kazuchika Okada and over the course of the next couple years, business exploded for New Japan Pro Wrestling for the first time since the 90s. Tanahashi was not just popular, he is a fantastic pro wrestler where sound psychology underpins all the action in his matches. He claims four of the top five spots with four different opponents for best wrestling matches in Japan between 2010-2014, which is just utter singular domination. Very few wrestlers combine box office attraction and critical acclaim like 'The Ace of The Universe". I am so lucky to say I have seen him three times in person here in the United States and each time it has been a huge thrill! Pro Wrestling Love vol. 65 is dedicated to Hiroshi Tanahashi, a man who I know truly loves Pro Wrestling! Check out all his matches and the two non-Tanahashi matches to make the Top 6 by clicking the link below! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/08/pro-wrestling-love-vol-65-best-of.html

Austin Aries vs Low-Ki vs Jack Evans vs Zema Ion - TNA Destination X 2011 I was expecting an all-time great spotfest but was disappointed. There are some great highspots but this is as balls out as I wanted it to be. WWE has gotten so good at these multi-man matches that are devoid of thought but provide plenty of sensory stimulation. I think Jack Evans won this on style points but history shows that they made the right call putting Austin Aries over as he eventually got a World Title Run and was a main event player. I would say the pinfall break ups were really good Ki hit a double stomp at one point and Evans hits a crazy somersault while Ki was bridging. Evans had some great kicks and just loads of charisma. They clearly treated Aries and Ki as the stars. I am shocked Ki did the job but he took the 450 from Ion, 630 on his knees from Evans and then Aries dropkick/Brainbuster combo. I have seen Ion a couple times when I would flick on Impact over the years. He didnt do much to stand out. This was fine. Definitely overrated. There are better spotfests out there if you are looking for something mindless but visually stimulating. ***

Brutha, I really appreciate that, man. I am happy that I can entertain you or help you find great pro wrestling! Keep spreading the Pro Wrestling Love! Best of Puroresu 2010-2014 Part 1 I have compiled another volume of Pro Wrestling Love focusing on the very best pro wrestling to take place in Japan between 2010-2014. It is not quite as New Japan heavy as the experts would have you think! Yes the New Japan resurgence with rise of Kazuchika Okada to rival the "Ace of the Universe" Hiroshi Tanahashi starting in 2012 contributed a lot to this list, BUT All Japan had its own mini-resurgence with defection of Jun Akiyama and others from NOAH and the signing of ex-Pancrase fighter Masakatsu Funaki. The 2010s were also the last gasp of the 90s as Kenta Kobashi retired and had his last great matches, Kensuke Sasaki kept NOAH afloat until his retirement and Jun Akiyama gave a spark back to All Japan in the twilight of his career. NOAH, once the dominant force in high quality matches throughout the first decade of the 21st Century became a desolate desert bereft of spoils of workrate, was able to use veterans like Sasaki, Akiyama and Yoshihiro Takayama to face off against their young guns like KENTA, Takahasi Sugiura and Takeshi Morishima, but once they retired or defected, it was slim pickings. KENTA as the clear Ace did the best he could having great matches with Sugiura and Nakajima in 2013, but it was not enough and even he defected to WWE in 2014. In addition, the last gasp of shoot-style (FUTEN), Dick Togo's crazy 2010-2011 run and Fujita Jr Hayato's campaigns in Michinoku Pro are covered. This is a jam-packed edition of Pro Wrestling Love you dont wanna miss! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2020/08/pro-wrestling-love-vol-64-best-of.html

Great Sasuke & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Fujita Jr Hayato & Kenou - Michinoku Pro 11/4/13 I believe this was for Michinoku Pro's 20th Anniversary. Sasuke shirtless and in capris is definitely a jarring site at first. I love most of the guys in this match especially Hayato but I gotta admit the first 15 minutes has been a letdown. There is not really much that happened. The veterans jumpstarted the match. Shinzaki busted out his ropewalk on both and then tagged out. Sasuke was being really weird. He was selling his left side or left knee and moving into an Unorthodox stance to keep Hayato away but I am not sure why. Maybe it was a pre-existing condition or maybe Sasuke decided to start selling you never know. They do some nice groundwork that Sasuke ultimately wins. It is a pretty dry, pedestrian control segment on Hayato. He sells well, but they are just working holds. I always love when someone busts out the Butterfly Lock that was my go to hold against my brother when we were kids and that hold is no joke. There is a just bizarre transition. Sasuke just watches as Hayato crawls to tag out. Kenou does not urge him or extend his hand. I dont know if this is because Hayato and Kenou are usually rivals or just because Sasuke is strange. Kenou is able to hit the left side of Sasuke who crumples and then he works a heel hook. Sasuke sends him to the floor and he hits an Asai Moonsault. The first big highspot. Lucha rules so Hayato & Shinzaki are legal now. They do a New Japan style strike exchange but Hayato knocks him down and dropkick to the mush. It looks like business is about to pick up but yeah not as exciting or interesting as I was expecting. This match was just bizarre for me. It didnt click at all. It just felt flat. No struggle, no urgency. Sasuke is not even watching the match from the apron, he is watching from the floor. He only gets involved two more times. Hayato disappears for long stretches also. Shinzaki catches a knee and Hayato applies a Guillotine Choke, Sasuke needs to two attempts but successfully interferes. Shinzaki dumps out Hayato. This is just Shinzaki vs Kenou. It is not whirlwind action with Hayato or Sasuke keep the other at bay, they kind just watch the match. They trade some powerbombs. The best highspot is Shinzaki hits a Top Rope Chokeslam. They then struggle over powerbombs for a while. All of sudden Shinzaki is selling death even though he is really not taken that much damage. Kenou starts blasting him with kicks and is trying to hit a Dragon Suplex. Hayato starts help out. The Dragon Suplex is a nearfall. They pelt Shinzaki with kicks to the head. Shinzaki goozles Kenou once to show life but Kenou just kicks him in the head again. Shinzaki does the whole Kobashi stumble around the ring dazed and another high kick to the head wins. The offense was not the problem but the connective tissue was not there nor was the emotion/fire/passion. No urgency. Was Sasuke legitimately injured? I am very disappointed because I love Hayato and really wanted to see another great Hayato match, but this was not it at all. Maybe I will give this another chance down the line, but this was not very good.

"Your balls are big again" "Youre a family man, I love that for you." Punching yourself until you bleed. Ric Flair unleashed in TNA is still one of the greatest things people dont talk about enough. Mick Foley is trying to keep this car on track, but you can tell he knows he is watching pro wrestling gold and is just letting Flair go. I remember watching this at college on my TV where the TV Stand was a cardboard box and I was in shock at just how amazing, organic, intense, psychotic this promo was. This is pro wrestling. Flair and Foley each show the best aspects of pro wrestling. Foley is always brains, weaving this coherent, intricate story together while Flair is all heart, primal & emotional. Both appeal to me and I need both in my life and in my wrestling. Between this and the Jay Lethal stuff, I bet if you watch enough of Flair in TNA, you could make a case for this being the best promo year of the 2010s for anyone. I know I must have watched the Last Man Standing match, but I dont remember it, but I want to now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbn2-Ku0oQ0

Just rewatched this and this is still fucking hilarious. I think this is the greatest thing TNA ever did.

TNA World Heavyweight Jeff Hardy vs Austin Aries - TNA Turning Point 2012 Total car wreck match. I was really excited for Austin Aries' 2012 campaign, but besides the excellent Samoa Joe sprint, he was really hamstrung by lame opponents. Hardy takes about four really gnarly bumps. The splash into the hinges of the ladder was wicked. The worst one was the way he fell off the ladder. You know the standard tipover spot well Aries didnt gently tip it over, he steamrolled it and Hardy collapsed into a heap. It was wicked. Aries dropkicked him off the ladder. My favorite was when Aries setup the ladder so that he dropkicked it into his throat on that high intensity dropkick into the corner he does. Aries took some bumps too but none like Hardy. Aries hit the Brainbuster, but Hardy made his comeback Twist of Fate off the ladder, SWANTON! Not enough, Aries raises the belts. Dastardly. They do this convoluted setup which ends with Hardy hitting the Twist of Fate on the ladder on the top turnbuckle. I am not even that averse to spotfests, but this was a not good one. Things like the WrestleMania ladder match from this year is way better than this. I cant believe this is generally considered one of TNA's best matches. They have had loads better.