Superstar Sleeze

CMLL World Lightweight Champion Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi - NJPW 1/24/16 According to the New Japan World Translation, Kamaitachi means "Cut by Whirlwind" which I love. I have seen Dragon Lee live this year at MSG for NJPW show. I thought he was one of the wrestlers that stood out to me. A possible heir to Rey Mysterio, obviously huge shoes to fill, but I enjoyed his triple threat match and he had real babyface charisma. Kamaitachi looks familiar but I dont think I have seen him wrestle. Some of have compared this to Rey vs Psicosis, but this falls way short of that for me. Ill start with negatives because I'd rather end on a high note. I thought Kamaitachi was not a very interesting rudo. Not much in the way of bumping. No clowning. He was not a very vicious rudo either. I liked his overhand chop. There was a really good one in the corner at one point. It really felt like he struck down Dragon Lee. His transitions to offense were not interesting. Working leg psychology in a match with a high flyer is risky to say the least. Honestly, I dont think Dragon Lee is at fault. He is trying to become a star. He should blow off this bullshit. Dont do fucking a dragon leg screw to me while trying to get myself over. This was Dragon Lee's first tour of Japan. Why hamstring him? I found myself zoning out down the stretch. A horrible time to zone out. I am writing this five minutes after finishing the match. I cant remember the finish. I know Kamaitachi won. Alright, I am going to go back and watch. Hold on a minute. Man, how did I forget the Powerbomb into the Canadian Destroyer. Oh because I saw it 8 million times in 2019 over Mania Weekend. Call it unfair, but that's why these matches dont hold up because if you are relying on moves the match tends to not stand the test of time. You know what spot I hate. That stupid Del Rio spot. Where he hits the double stomp in the corner from the top rope. It is so stupid. They did it twice here. Once to the outside, which was a little cooler, still dumb. So what did I like? I liked Dragon Lee a lot. He is a great pure technico. Two really sweet dives at the beginning. The rana from the apron was the one of the two best spots of the match. I really like Kamaitachi's Senton from the top to the floor to a standing Dragon Lee. Down the stretch, I thought Dragon Lee was the more interesting of the two wrestlers. That being said I dont think this was a balls to the wall spotfest. There were highspots but they were measured out and the shit in between was not very good quite frankly. Down the stretch, they were throwing out a ton of highspots and to me it didnt feel interesting. Not for me, I guess.

Stopped watching New Japan in 2016, but my interest has been renewed by attending a New Japan house show in Lowell this past weekend. Starting it off with two of my favorite stiffs! NEVER OPENWEIGHT Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 1/4/16 Going into this match, I expected this to go one of two ways. First, it could be an explosive, high energy asskicking contest. Alternatively, it could one of those macho pride dick waving contests, that is slowed down and more about showing fighting spirit than winning the match. Unfortunately, it was the latter. To make matters worse, the teased it being a uptempo, brutal strikefest at the beginning, before settling into fighting spirit spots. We are talking full on "let us alternate sitting down so each of us can kick the other in the back really hard". Once the match progressed, I enjoyed it for the sheer brutality. There were some absolutely wicked elbows and monster lariats. I could watch Shibata kick someone's arm all day. They kept teasing working the arm and I really wished they went there. Shibata was awesome at submission. I loved how he had him cinched in so deep. His abdominal stretch and then Octopus may be the best version I have ever seen of that move! Inoki would be marking out! I thought it terms of narrative it was lacking. There was symmetry of each doing the same thing to the other, but overall it was so overwrought that the offense started to feel inconsequential. As one reviewer did a great job pointing out, you become desensitize to the violence of the match because there is no real progression in the match. There was a lot of King's Road style double knockout spots, which got old. I thought the best sequence was Ishii catching the PK and hitting a wicked headbutt! But it didnt lead to a hot nearfall. That sequence happened two minutes before the end of the match and Ishii was jobbing. That should have been his nearfall to really build the drama. Instead they did nasty, nasty shoot headbutts to each other. Disgusting. Shibata hit the PK for the win. They absolutely smoked each other at some points, but if they were not hitting each other so hard this match would not be much. However, I like the style so I found it enjoyable, but I know it could have been much, much more. ***1/2

A lot of modern New Japan runs together in my mind, but this match has stood the test of time. I watched it one time from January 2015 and I can still remember a lot of it. Matches that have that type of stickiness are the matches I really value. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - G-1 Climax 2014 Day 8 As a straight up fighting spirit match, this is a ton of mindless, slobber knocking fun. But, unlike most fighting spirit matches, this has the cool hook that lovable loser, Honma is looking for his first victory in the G-1 Climax and the crowd is 100% behind him. I like the whole match is just built on Honma's straight ahead approach. There was no heat segment. Honma was going to live and die by his offense. For the most part, he actually overwhelmed the hard hitting Shibata. Shibata could rely on kicks and elbows to always quell any sustained offense, but he was no match for Honma's fast break offense. They built to Honma's falling Harley Race heabutt perfectly as he missed the first two and then when he hit on third try, crowd popped huge! The crowd went nuts for his leaping Zidane headbutt to Shibata's chest. I heard about Honma, but I had no attachment to him going into this. I am on Team Honma for sure now. Dude is pure relentless, positive energy! Shibata chops him in the fucking face at one point. Shibata goes for the penalty kick and Honma catches. Shibata slaps a bunch of times in the face hard. So Honma fucking slaps him into the next week. HOLY SHIT! Nothing stops Honma ok, maybe two boots to the head as he comes off the top rope for a headbutt. NOPE LARIAT~! Fuck, Shibata just hit a damn brick wall. Spinning back hand chop to the face and Shibata finally catches his breath. Sets him up for a G2S, but Honma struggles so Shibata backfists him in the face and then hits the G2S! Honma-Seeking Penalty Kick! Our underdog comes up short again. Awesome, hard-hitting sprint made way better by the great, energetic underdog, Honma who looked poise to score the upset. ****1/2

Review from January 2015...oddly low rating for two of my favorites...probably needs a revisit Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata - G-1 Climax Day 4 Pride can be the downfall of even the greatest champions. I have argued before that beauty of Tanahashi is not his magnificent mane, it is his offensive strategy. Tanahashi's game plan is to attack the knee, destroy his opponent's base and set himself up for a victory either via submission (Texas Cloverleaf) or suplexes/High Fly Flow. Tanahashi can not beat Shibata in straight up strike battle. What makes Tanahashi a champion is recognizing that, swallowing his pride and getting to work on his strategy. He is NOT Bob Backlund, who is going to beat his opponent at his own game. He is NOT John Cena that is going to bury his head down, circle the wagons and fight through his opponent. He is Tanahashi, he is going to avoid his opponent's best shot and set himself up for victory. I have never seen Shibata in this long of a match before especially one where he had to sell so much. He did an admirable job for someone who is better suited to shoot-style mayhem. Tanahashi put over Shibata as a killer early by avoiding the penalty kick and hurrying to the outside to regroup. He lures Shibata to the outside and hits a plancha to set himself up for some knee work. Tanahashi goes to work like usual except he decides to go for a running splash and crashes into the turnbuckle. Shibata is able to smoke Tanahashi with a kick to the head up against the railing. Shibata favors the leg, which is awfully nice of him because Tanahashi really had not gotten down to work on it yet. I have seen people no sell a lot worse and I would have not begrudged him not to sell it. Shibata seems more reserved than usual. He is hitting Tanahashi hard, but it is not as urgent or energetic as I would like it to be. Tanahashi is playing to the crowd way too much when he his flurries of offense and it is costing him. Tanahashi catches the Penalty Kick and Dragon Leg Screw! That's Tanahashi I know! Texas Cloverleaf, but can't secure the submission. I love when Tanahashi flips his opponent over before hitting High Fly Flow to avoid the knees. On his second High Fly Flow (I also like that he does High Fly Flow in pairs), Shibata gets his knees up. Then Tanahashi does something uncharacteristic he gets sucked into an elbow exchange. Shibata is able to obliterate his back with a spinning back chop. Tanahashi's sell is so awesome. Shibata has a bit of trouble with Go 2 Sleep, but is able to wrangle Tanahashi to hit it and the Penalty Kick for the win. Kayfabe, Tanahashi's head did not seem to be in the game. Playing to the crowd, not exploiting his knee work and then getting sucked into a strike exchange. Non-kayfabe, Tanahashi was crushing it selling for Shibata. Shibata came off as a total badass when Tanahashi was selling his ribs and then selling that last spinning back chop. In a lot of ways this was the story of Tanahashi dropping the ball and Shibata staying steady with game plan of strikes. It felt a bit cold and dry at times. I wanted more out of Shibata, who I know can get feisty, Maybe the story is that he is more concentrated because he respects Tanahashi's status and wanted to focus on winning. Either way it did not grip me even if it was an effective story. ***3/4

My interest in modern New Japan has been reinvigorated by attending a live show in Lowell last Friday. Here's what I had to write about Ishii and this match against Honma in February of 2015: I thought you'd be taller. Ishii reminds me of Arn Anderson or 1980's Bret Hart more than just about anyone else. In that, he is a midcarder who can have an entire match unto himself. He basically plugs his opponents into his formula and produces dramatic, hard-hitting classics. For Honma, he put over how close NJPW's miracle underdog could come close to winning a match by showing his vulnerability through his trademark neck/shoulder selling. For Naito, the struggling hot new upper midcard babyface badly needed credibility with the fans and by standing tot to toe with the stiff powerhouse Ishii he re-earned the fan's respect and his career while not fully rehabilitated is back on track. For Ibushi, he had a great heavyweight vs. junior heavyweight match where Ibushi showcased not only his high-flying offense, but his nastier side too. When I say formula, I don't mean every match is same, but rather Ishii uses his spots in the match how the context dictates to enhance his opponent and himself. You know there are going to be a lot of strike exchanges and that somehow Ishii will be dumped on his head. What separates Ishii from his contemporaries is his commitment to selling his neck/shoulder injuries to build drama in the late match strike exchanges and have you wondering how he will pull this one out. For all the great positive attributes, Ishii does represent the New Japan style moreso than probably any other wrestler. Having watched a lot of Japan 2008-2009 and reading what New Japan critics had to say, I was terrified that NJPW was just filled with strike exchanges and endless nearfalls. I have found that not to be the case at all. It is a minimum of one strike exchange, but usually no more than two and even more importantly, these are matches that build to a satisfying conclusion without a barrage of nearfalls watering down the finish. What I found interesting is that my nightmare New Japan was found in Ishii matches when Ishii seems to be the unifying force of all New Japan fans. It is easy to see why he is the big tent candidate when he combines great offense with selling. But calling a spade, a spade, he relies on strike exchanges way too much especially in the beginning of match are very boring. He is also the king of the nearfall and the one count. Don't get me wrong, I have been impressed with Ishii and I think he is the best midcard wrestler in the world. I just thought it was interesting that New Japan wrestler everyone loves is the most New Japan-y of all the wrestlers on the roster. NEVER Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3/14 I am a total sucker for the underdog Tomoaki Honma character. After he hit that crazy diving headbutt onto the floor and he gets into the ring and goes crazy, you just can't help but you root for a guy that wants to win so bad and is putting out such great positive energy. Ishii to his credit, he did a great job making Honma not just look like a credible challenger, but like someone that could really win the match. Early on, Ishii was in full control by using high chops and seemed to underestimate Honma with little kicks to the head. The turning point came early when Honma scored a DDT out of a lariat attempt. Until the end of the match, Ishii was digging himself out of the hole. Ishii did a great job modulating his selling. You knew the DDT hurt him, but it was not a blinding or insurmountable pain yet. He was able to recover with a backdrop driver. Then Honma hulks up after a lariat. I loved the urgency of this part of the match with each one following the other into ropes to cut the other other off with a strike. It really felt the match was going to be decided in that sequence and BANG! Honma nailed Ishii with a suplex that dumped on his head. Now that shoulder/neck pain just became excruciating and he powders. Honma presses his advantage with that crazy headbutt from the top rope to the floor where he bounces off the floor. God Bless Death Match Wrestlers! Honma is pumped, I am hyped and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy. He hits the top rope headbutt in the ring!!! Can he do it? One-Two-No! Ishii hits a desperation lariat, but clutches his shoulder and collapses. He can't take advantage. Two bulls ram into each other with Ishii winning. Ishii hits his powerbomb, but can't put the underdog away. Ishii goes for his Brainbuster finish, but the tenacious Honma will not be denied. One of the best suplex struggles ever (only to be topped by their one at G-1 Climax), Honma avoids the Brainbuster with a knee to the top of the head and hits one of his own! Honma Driver! C'mon ref! That was three, how much money do you have on this! Ishii is deadweight and collapses twice. Honma crashes and burns on the diving headbutt. Ruh Roh! Ishii drills him with a wicked Zidane headbutt to the head and a German suplex levels the playing field. During the strike exchange, it looks like Honma has Ishii on the ropes, but Ishii manages to hit an enziguiri, a sliding lariat and then his Brainbuster to quash the dreams of Honma and children everywhere. This was a superb performance by two great wrestlers that understood their characters. Ishii went a different route than the usual beat the underdog down and let him comeback. Instead, he got his ass handed to him and looked like he was dead to rites, but was able to fight through the pain to hang onto the title. Ishii never looked weak. It just so happened that the DDT and suplex injured him badly, but he kept fighting. The crowd was so excited for the possibility of Honma winning it never felt like Ishii babyfaced himself by fighting from underneath. I think I like the Shibata match a tad bit more, but this was tons of fun also. ****1/2

Went to New Japan live on Friday in Lowell and had a blast! Now I am interested in modern New Japan again. I remember really loving this series. This review is from February of 2015. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - G-1 Climax 2014 Bring on the rematch BABY! I actually preferred the offensive layout in this match as opposed to the previous because they really built to the Honma offense well and it was a tighter match, but this match does not have the same level of world-class Ishii selling. Ishii sells in this one per usual, but the 5/3 match was something special. There is definitely a ***** match if you combine the two of these matches, but as it stands still a badass set of matches. Honma misses his falling headbutt early and Ishii pounces with headbutts and chops. I prefer that opening as opposed to boring opening strike exchange of the previous match. Then there is incredibly awesome suplex struggle. You really get the feeling that if Honma does win the suplex battle that it is fucking over for him and this is going to be a blowout. Honma gets some offense in, but again misses the falling headbutt. They go all Kobashi/Sasaki, but unlike those two it is not pure masturbation. Honma beats back Ishii, wins the exchange and finally hits the falling headbutt! A strike exchange that goes somewhere! YES! Ishii tries to salvage this with a back drop driver, but Honma comes roaring out of the corner with a lariat and then a piledriver. For somebody with no neck, Ishii's certainly gets hurt a lot. They repeat the urgent sequence from the last match where they are on top of each other, which seems weird after a piledriver. Honma hits his DDT and then Ishii goes into classic Ishii selling mode. I don't like Ishii using the delayed superplex in every match or at least how he sets it up. If it creatively happened by chance in each match that would be one thing, but to actually give your opponent the high ground is just stupid to me. Ishii is looking for his powerbomb, but Honma deadweights he gets it. Now is looking for his brainbuster, roll through by Honma 1->2->NO! We all went crazy for that. In all the discombobulation, Honam dumps Ishii on his head via suplex. Go Honma Go! Honma brainbuster gets two and he is looking for the Honma Driver! They have another great stand up exchange where they look like they are fighting through each other's shit, but again Honma falls prey to Ishii's enziguiri/lariat/brainbuster combination. Honma needs to scout that enziguiri. It has done him in twice. This is a fun little sprint which Honma gets in his hope spots to rile up the crowd, but ultimately falling short. Honma's offense is set up really well early on. Both wrestlers are so great at generating drama late and that standup exchange was awesome. One day Honma, one day! ****1/4

I cant believe I am going to see the Rock N Roll Express for the first time live tomorrow! 2019 in New Japan! Wow fucking bizarre! I am pretty pumped.

Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - WWE Extreme Rules 2013 Steel Cage Match When HHH smashed Brock's injured leg while he was climbing the cage and Brock just did this awesome sell, I became fully committed to "This match is fucking awesome, why does no one talk about this?" I know these two are not exactly darlings around here or on the internet in general, but this is a damn great match. I feel like PWO is generally above preconceived notions of pro wrestlers and rate with an open mind so I dont want to assert that the reason this match is not more highly regarded is simply because of the two wrestlers in the match. Therefore, I would love to hear complaints about his match because I thought this was an incredibly dramatic and interesting match. It also proves my point of Brock Lesnar being the best seller on the WWE roster since his return in 2012. Building a match around a heel selling a body part is a major risk in any era because either you run the risk of generating sympathy for the heel or undercutting the babyface's obstacle. I think the fact that this came off so well really makes this match unique. I think the situation that this idea is best suited for is a monster heel. A monster heel like an Andre in Japan or a Vader is naturally a mountain to climb so injuring them does not undercut the hero's vanquish the monster. In fact, it makes the match more credible because the hero needs an opening like this to exploit to win the match. In my mind, heel Andre and Vader are the two greats at "wounded bear" selling. After seeing Brock Lesnar in this current string of classics, I would say he has exceeded them as the GOAT at "wounded bear" selling. When an Andre, a Vader or a Brock start that hollering, that desperation selling it becomes so gripping because it is so shocking to see men so big, so tough to scream in agony. It is instantly compelling. That's the hook. Can the hero Triple H take advantage of this opening? Or will Lesnar find a way to win and in this case cheat his ass off to come out on top? I have said this before saying I love seeing men like Brock Lesnar cheat because there is something especially despicable about a strong, big man with shoot skills stooping to cheating. I really liked the opening to this match. Triple H jumped Brock during his entrance and threw him into the cage. He hauled off and knocked Heyman's lights out. It was all fists from HHH. This was a fight. It made sense that this is how Triple H would get his shine. He had to jump Brock from behind because Brock always manhandles his opponents at the bell. He throws Brock into the cage. He goes for the killshot early, Pedigree, but Brock backdrops him into the cage. Perfect transition. Now Brock has him trapped. Brock slams the back of HHH's head into the cage and slings him into the cage. Great show of strength from The Beast. I love sending Brock into the cage and then that quick High Knee from HHH. HHH's high knee is his best move. It is such a great explosive move from a wrestler who lacks explosion in all other aspects of in-ring repertoire. Brock snaps off a German to quell the rally. Perfect. Then Brock goes for his own high knee and EATS THE STEEL! It is just money from there. Also people often complain that people do not use cage anymore. You can't say that in this match! The cage was the most pivotal part of the match! There is great selling, great transition and just very sound psychology. My major complaint is that a sledgehammer gets involved. I hate the sledgehammer because it is unrealistic, but it is a staple of HHH matches and outside of that this is a really good match. The Brock/Paul interactions are so good. Brock's verbal selling is incredible. Brock fighting through the pain is so credible. I like how it takes a significant amount of time for HHH to take over. It is not that Brock injures his knee and HHH pounces. Brock has kicked HHH's ass and HHH still needs to dig himself out of the hole first. So we get Brock trying to end it quickly fighting through an F-5 or using a Kimura liberally because that does not use his legs. Of course since this is a cage match, Paul is like well just get out the door! That's when we see the chop blocks or Brock asking for a chair. All just great stuff to make up for his bum wheel. HHH is never going to win an award for best babyface, but I thought he was very solid on offense. He worked the leg really well. I really liked how he crashed down with his knee on Brock's injured leg in the corner. The crowning moment of selling was the one that I mentioned at the onset of this review. I also really liked the use of Figure-4 and Sharpshooter as HHH's big nearfalls surrounding the leg work. Heyman having to save Lesnar in the Sharpshooter was a great way to protect HHH and really piss you off. Brock kicking out of the Pedigree restored his monster cred. Heyman ballshotting HHH and Lesnar saying "That's my manager" was gold. Sledgehammer shot, summarily a F-5 and Brock gets his win back. The WrestleMania match is boring, but seems to be the match everyone remembers. I love the Summerslam match and I dug this one too. I agree the booking really did not necessitate HHH needing to beat Brock at Mania. I think Brock winning at Summerslam was enough and move on, but hey then we wouldnt have gotten this match and this match rules! Great exhibition of amazing "wounded bear" heel selling and a really psychologically sound wrestling match. ****1/4

A-Fucking-Men brutha! Dream Match for sure!

Disagree but it is all speculation. If I had to guess Heymam fed him the line. Reeks of Heyman trying to desperately push the envelope.

A top 5 entrance theme for sure! The silver lining of Heyman’s worst go-to angle (overt sexualization of wrestling).

There is only one thing WWE is consistently great at and that is video packages. It is not shocking to me in the slightest that WWE did such a great job with AOP. This is their bread and butter. I think it was this year's MLK day celebration (may have been last year's) but it was the best video package on the subject I have ever seen. Honestly, instead of films, that is what WWE should branch out into.

William Regal vs Dean Ambrose - FCW 11/6/11 I am always hesitant to call any match a carryjob but I think I would classify this as Regal carrying Dean Ambrose to a very good match. The match is supposed to be heel vs heel but this match puts Ambrose in his best position to succeed and that's a babyface selling his ass off. I always thought selling was what Ambrose was best at. I feel like he should be in a tag team permanently and in the Ricky Morton role. I figure others probably disagree with me but I dont think Ambrose is very good at all on top. Ambrose at this time was doing an impersonation of Dick Slater. with a hint of Dick Murdoch. His selling is not always for me, but it is definitely not bland so I will give him that. On top of that, he does a great job selling his arm when he is on offense. He basically wrestles the match as if he was the drummer from Def Leppard. However, this match was Regal's through and through. He takes the bulk of the match and on top of that it is his spots that are the most memorable. Regal is the one forcing the action and basically leading Ambrose by the hand through the match. I love how Regal adds little bits of struggle throughout the match. One good example of this is Ambrose tries to target the arm early, but Regal claws at his nose. This forces Ambrose to FIGHT THROUGH it and EARN the wristlock. Damn good shit! That's on Regal for fighting back and not taking it lying down. Ambrose takes a nasty spill on the apron when Regal does a single leg pick up right before the break. Ambrose comes out favoring his arm and Regal just tortures him. I would not say this is quite on the level of some of the great Dick Murdoch arm work matches, but it was fun. I really liked the turnbuckle and stairs spot. I thought Ambrose's comeback was pretty weak. The selling of the dangling arm was great, but otherwise it left me cold and uninspired. Watch Regal sell the back elbow as Ambrose escapes the Regal Stretch. What a great fucking sell! Regal destroys the kid with Exploders and a Running Knee. I was not expecting such a decisive win. This was pretty much a shellacking, but it was great to watch Regal kick ass and be a ring general. ***1/2

FCW Jack Brisco 15 Champion Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose - FCW 9/18/11 The FCW Jack Brisco 15 Championship is Ironman Rules for 15 minutes, which I think is a cool concept. I like the idea of shaking the rules up like this. It creates a new division that rewards endurance without being something ambiguous like the X Division. I will say the one thing that has always bugged me about Ironman matches is that a DQ in a fall should end the match immediately. Heels should not be able to game the system like that. That would be one change I would make as a booker. Going into this match, they have had two prior Ironman matches that both ended in scoreless ties, one for 15 minutes then one for 20 minutes. So they are giving them 30 minutes to see if they can break the dead heat! First Ten Minutes: The chain wrestling at the beginning was dry, but did establish Rollins as the better wrestler. I would liked to seen more energy and fire out of him so I knew he was the face. The match picked up once Ambrose started stooging for Rollins in the corner on his chops. I was surprised how fun these two could be. I dont usually associate fun with either one but this felt like an 80s Southern match with Ambrose doing some Arn stooging. Ambrose feels the match is getting out of control so he ballshots Rollins. He loses the fall, but wins the war so to speak by picking up two falls in short order. I hate that because heels didnt really break the rules, they used a flaw in the system to game it. Is it underhanded? Yes and should be booed, but it can be rationalized. If they make the DQ an auto finish of the match, then when Ambrose cheats behind the ref's back and doesnt get caught. All the heat is on the heel, not on the rules. Second Ten Minutes: I want to commend them for not doing so many speed walking spots that plague today's wrestling. That being said this is very bland wrestling. Ambrose's heat segment not much happens and Rollins is not lighting the world on fire with his selling. Ambrose gets caught playing with his food and Rollins scores a sunset flip to tie it up. Rollins' comeback happens now. It just feels like it happens all of a sudden no transition. The somersault plancha popped me, great highspot. I loved Ambrose's Terry Funk impression on how he bumped and sold the clothesline from Rollins, good shit. The suplex from the ring to floor is always a crazy highspot. Didnt have much connective tissue, but the last two minutes of this stretch was more exciting. Overall very mediocre match. Third Ten Minutes: Holy Melodrama! Will Rollins turn over to cover Amborse? Hand in the air for all eternity, oh my god yes, he draped it over Ambrose! 1-2-NO! Ambrose bumblin, stumblin can he cover Seth? Oh my God, he collapsed on him! 1-2-NO! Japanese Fighting Spirit! Kawada Kicks! Curb Stomps! Missed Phoenix Splashes! Finisher Steals! Rollins hits his finish and Ambrose kicks out before the time limit expires! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH The whole point of that spot is to protect the finish! Lol he kicked out of the finish and it goes to a draw. This fall sucked! There will be a sudden death period, I will watch for completeness. I hope Ambrose vs Regal is better than this. Sudden Death: I actually liked this because they ditched the terrible melodramatic selling and just went balls to the wall. Rollins' Suicide Dive was fucking sick. That was the best move. Kickout of Ambrose's finish is par for the course. Rollins needs Bucklebomb and two of his finisher kicks to the head to win because this match and feud is so DAMN EPIC~! There were good spots sprinkled in here, but for the most part it ranged from dull to being way too overdramatic. That's kind of WWE's problem right now and it all started in developmental.

William Regal vs Kassius Ohno - WWE NXT 4/10/13 What is amazing to me is Regal had his career match in the last year of his career, but on his terms. Regal could have went out there with Hero and done a 2010s epic and had all the stars showered upon him, but they didn't. They stayed true to William Regal and had the best William Regal match they could. That's what really impresses me about this match. It is a match that is built around grit, struggle, violence and of course awesome facial expressions. The build is basic. Young gun calling the veteran not just washed up but a "never was" and now it is time for Regal to show his mettle. As with most Regal matches, the devil is in the details. By "devil" I mean the way he dishes out the pain and punishment. The opening chain wrestling has a sneer and grit to it that most wrestlers forget. Of course, there are the cute moments like the mule kicks in the corner while the ref admonishes. "O my heavens, what do you mean, my good sir Im not mule kicking him in the testicles." It is a good spot in the shine because it is entertaining as it is violent. That's the match it is gritty. It is head shots, finger manipulation and chokes, not much in the way of highspots, but much in the way of high drama. The story of the match develops into Hero trying to disrupt Regal's equilibrium by kicking him in the ear a lot versus Regal trying to break every single one of Hero's finger. It is a brutal masterpiece of violence that is right up Regal's alley. Things that stood out to me. I loved how Regal got out of the full nelson...check that out. Hero is double jointed in one of his fingers and it is fucking gross. The only time they got me real bad was there. The number one thing stood out to me was Regal's glassy eyed look. It was so perfect. If I didnt know any better I really thought he was stone cold out. The finish run is great capper to the body of this match. Hero cant apply his cravat finish because his fingers are mangled. It becomes a stand up Knockout battle. Hero desperately tries to KO Regal gets one nearfall, but when he goes for the elbow, Regal pulls the trigger first and wipes him out. Regal Running Knee KO's KO! Regal has had brutally violent matches with Finlay and Benoit. He has had scientific classics with Larry Z and Arn. This match combines the science with the brutality to create his ultimate masterpiece and one that truly is Regal in every sense of the word. ****1/2

Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk - Summerslam 2013 No DQ If someone wants to declare Brock Lesnar the GOAT, I would not bat an eye. He is like Volk Han to me, the only real knock against him is that he does not have the volume that other wrestlers possess. In terms of a per match basis, it is hard to argue against The Beast. His rare combination of size, power, speed, offense, selling, bumping and most importantly a high pro wrestling IQ make him a once in a lifetime wrestler that I am so glad I have seen multiple times live. He is imposing and without lifting a finger is inherently a mountain for a babyface in this case CM Punk to climb. His power is awe-inspiring as he hurls these men around or he just shoulder tackles the ring steps. How many times did he catch CM Punk and just chuck him across the ring or sling him over the announce table. His speed well the woman in the front row said it all when he was peeling around the corner to blast Punk, "Oh Shit!". I have said before and I will say it again I have seen LeBron James live about 10 times in my life and I am not sure he is the greatest athlete I have ever seen...that's how crazy Brock is. Brock's offense is brutal and engrossing. Watching him three vertical suplexes in a row...I dont think I have ever seen a vertical suplex look so violent and so impressive. His selling is his bread and butter. It is the thing that no one talks about, but it is the lynchpin that makes everything else work. No one is better at making the babyface look they have a chance than Brock Lesnar. He did a great job for CM Punk throughout this match. That was the thread of this match was that CM Punk had come up with a strategy to defeat Brock Lesnar. That strategy is a combination of head shots and an aerial assault. The strategy only works if Lesnar sells it. Lesnar was committed to getting Punk over as worthy challenger. Up until this point, the babyface shine against Lesnar did NOT exist. Punk was the first to get one against Lesnar. It makes sense, Punk was the smallest Lesnar opponent to date (he is not that small, but compared to Cena and HHH I am saying). The babyface shine exists to excite the crowd AND to invest the crowd in the belief that the babyface can win. America loves an underdog, but the caveat is that underdog has to have a chance. You don't need to establish that Cena and HHH have a chance they are who they are. You do need for Punk. This was not Punk running through his standard moveset. This is Punk with a clear game plan: hit Brock Lesnar in the head and hurl his body at Brock. Brock did Brock things at the beginning, but that existed so that Punk had to EARN his shine. I love that. Punk comes in with flying knees to the head. There is no one who does knocked loopy better than Brock. Watch how he registers it by going down to one knee but he is clearly discombobulated. Then Punk comes flying in with another one. Brock is the best big man bumper in history. Watch how he falls through those ropes. Then Punk comes flying out of the ring to pulverize Brock. Another example is Punk shoves Brock into the ring post to evade destruction and then comes flying off the top rope with a clothesline. Punk is smaller than Brock. He needs to use the top rope, speed and jumping to create enough momentum to hurt Brock and that's what I love about this match is how much sense it makes. Punk does a great job using the head-rocking strikes to set this all up. The issue with Punk's strategy is that he can get distracted. The crux of this match is NOT Punk vs Brock. It is Punk vs Heyman and that's so crucial to understand this match. Brock is simply Heyman's mercenary, his proxy in battle. Punk's real beef is with Heyman, his supposed friend that betrayed him at Money in the Bank. I think they should do more matches like this to keep the Brock character fresh and to give Heyman a different angle to promote Brock matches. Punk does get distracted by Heyman and it costs him. Brock wrecks him and throws him around like a ragdoll. I love the spot where Brock double stomps the announce table guard and splits it over Punk. It probably didnt hurt Punk at all, but it looked cool. Brock works the bearhug and lower back. I love how scrappy Punk is. Again he sticks to the mantra of constantly hitting Brock in the head and then trying to jump off something high onto Brock, but Brock keeps catching him and throwing him. The drama was just great. I want to put over Brock a lot because in my opinion I don't think he gets enough credit for being a phenomenal wrestler, but Punk is great in this because he does NOT sell too much. He does NOT die. There is a tendency in pro wrestling today to sell what too much in the moment and then blow it off. He keeps a very consistent register. I am in fucking pain but I am fighting through it to win the match. That's selling I can get behind! Now Punk adds a new dimension to his strategy, survival. After being caught and thrown across the entirety of the ring, Punk realizes he is not in there with a man, he is in there with The Beast. So now he is not too proud to bite the ear, punch him in the balls or use a steel chair. The name of the game is survival. He is using those tactics to still set up the head-rocking shots (tons of knees to the head) and his aerial assault. Those tactics become incorporated out of desperation. The knees to head after the ear biting especially the flying knee from the top rope were incredible! The best part was how Brock sold them. Like I said no one does discombobulation better than Brock. The roundhouse kick to the head that preceded the flying elbow POPPED me and the crowd HUGE! This is one of the few WWE matches of the 2010s where I felt like the crowd was fully invested in the match and the pro wrestlers. That they werent there to have fun or chant "This is Awesome". They were Ooooh and Aaaahing and were invested in Punk winning. They forgot they were supposed to be aware they were watching wrestling and they were just watching pro wrestling and going on this thrill ride. After the elbow drop, normally Punk would go for the G2S. Now this 100% deviates from the strategy, BUT Punk does need a killshot to slay the Beast. He ultimately decides this is the best route to go even if it makes him every vulnerable to Brock. Brock ends up putting him in the Double Wristlock. Punk counters into an attempted cross armbreaker and then a Triangle. This was a great way to introduce some submission wrestling and give the fans a change of pace. Punk shows he can go on the mat but ultimately succumbs to Lesnar's inhuman power. He did survive the first slam, but the second full on Running Ligerbomb by Lesnar was too much. Thats when Lesnar hit those three vicious vertical suplex slams. At this point, Lesnar's pride has been wounded. The knees/kicks to head, almost tapping to the Triangle was too much for The Beast to bear and so he went to get a chair to annihilate Punk. Punk comes flying into our screen from the top rope onto floor wiping out Brock, chair and all. What a moment! What a hope spot and comeback! Punk slams the chair into Brock and the crowd goes wild. Punk uses the low blow to set up more chair shots. Chair Shot from the Heavens! It fits so well with the rest of the match! Great nearfall! Now Heyman is worried and starts interfering. GO 2 SLEEP! The best part is Heyman breaks it up. I love it! I love it! I love it! You dont know would Punk have won, would Brock have kicked out, Heyman robbed us of that, but the fact that Heyman interfered means he was worried. His anxiety tells the story that the every fan should believe that Punk would have won the match right then. Terrific booking! They do it all over again. Punk chases Heyman and Brock lies in wait. Brock thinks he has Punk in the F-5, but Punk does the Eddie Guerrero and DDTs him. Again, a head-rocking shot that sets up a nearfall and then the Anaconda Vice. This is Punk's other finish and again Heyman is worried so he interferes. He robs us of that conclusion, but we know from his anxiety that Brock had nowhere to go and was on the verge of tapping. The finish is excellent! Punk hauls off and PUNCHES HEYMAN RIGHT IN THE FACE! YES! YES! YES! Anaconda Vice on Heyman! So blinded by his rage for Heyman and Brock SMASHES THE CHAIR INTO PUNK! F-5! 1-2-3! FUCKING PERFECT! Genius match! I have already wrote a ton of words about it so I don't think I can summarize it really. CM Punk's best match ever and in Brock's Top 5. *****

Two things from Makai review: 1. You nailed it, the time length was perfect. Given how vicious the head attack was, they couldnt go long or they would have undermined the story. 2. I disagree the live crowd took it. This was Chicago at peak Smarkdom (2011-2013) when they were CM Punk sheeple. I think they already liked Ziggler because he was a smark darling, but I dont think they even noticed he was getting his ass kicked extra hard. They liked chanting RVD and enjoying the entertainment, but they werent invested in the character development story. World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio - Payback 2013 I would not have watched this in a million years if it was not for Jimmy Redman and her Top 100 2013 WWE Matches. So shoutout to her! I figured it out watching this match Dolph Ziggler was not meant to Mr. Perfect v2.0, he should have been the Ricky Morton of his generation. He should have been dying for our sins in tremendous face in perils then hit a dropkick out of nowhere and tag in his partner for a ferocious hot tag! I think Fantasy Dolph Ziggler will make my top 100 wrestler of all time. Anyways, real life Dolph Ziggler did pull off one helluva a babyface selling performance in this match centered around Ziggler's concussion from five weeks previous. Del Rio was the babyface coming into this match coming off that Swagger/Colter feud. Ziggler was the heel with AJ and Big E, which is such a classic heel stable that I remember wanting it to be the greatest thing ever, but alas it was not to be. Probably because Ziggler has been miscast as a heel his whole life! They waste no time getting to the meat of the match when Del Rio headbutts Ziggler and it is off to the races. That's a pretty dick move, but at first you are like all is fair in love and war, but after a couple minutes you realize this goes beyond just trying to win that Del Rio is trying to maim. As Michael Cole says he is being "vicious & malicious" there is your double turn. Ziggler is the valiant babyface that is doing a great job acting concussed and he uses his great bumping skills to enhance the match. It is such a simple match, but it is so violent and elegant that everyone will love it. The hope spots for Ziggler are timed so perfectly like the perfect amount of salt & pepper on the steak of Del Rio trying to kick Ziggler's head off. The cutoffs are even more brutal and depressing. One thing that can be easily overlooked is that Del Rio was nursing his own injury which was a kayfabe leg injury from the Swagger feud, which Ziggler uses a couple times to setup his scant, but impactful offense. It is such a simple story that I dont feel like I need to write much more to explain why this match is absolutely awesome. So that brings me to my last point is that this match went the perfect amount of time. Any longer and they would have undermined their own story because it was such a vicious attack to Ziggler's head that if he kept kicking out or getting more offense it would have undercut all the brutality. So kudos for them for being efficient! Don't let the names in this match make you overlook this one...it is a gem from an absolutely amazing time in the WWE! ****1/4

World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio - Smackdown 1/11/13 Last Man Standing Match Where the hell has this Alberto Del Rio and where did he go? I have always thought Del Rio was mercurial. One week, he would be intense, passionate and urgent. Now the next week, he would look listless, bored, going through the motions and looking he would rather be anywhere else in the world. I thought he squandered a surefire amazing heel gimmick as the Mexican Million Dollar Man mixed with a little of Randy Orton's Legacy/Destiny gimmick based on Del Rio being second generation. Here he looked like an amazing babyface. His selling was off the charts great, definitely his strong point in this match. I really liked how scrappy and plucky he was in this. He was always peppering in shots. His performance dripped with effort against impossible odds. Now it is time to introduce what really made this match a classic in my eyes and that was Big Show's performance. Del Rio's performance was enhanced so much by how fucking great Big Show was in this. Big Show looked like The Giant he should have always been. He was Mount Everest in this match. He was registering pain. He was not selling. He was never bumping. He was just going down to one knee if he must and that was after wicked chairshot after wicked chair shot. He was pulverizing Del Rio. Swatting him like an annoying gnat. He was imposing his will with ease. So all the work Del Rio was putting in was magnified by how well Big Show played the Giant role. I really liked how they built the hope spots. They went from wild strikes to chairshots to Del Rio trying to rip Big Show's arm off (Big Show's howling was almost Vader levels of awesome). I liked how Big Show dropped Del Rio hard on the apron and then Del Rio just let himself bounce onto the floor. It was Del Rio that had to take the count. I liked how many Pyrrhic victories there were for Del Rio. It made you believe the situation was hopeless. From this hope spot, we get the big one when Del Rio hits a desperation dropkick and Big Show falls through a table and now Big Show is finally counted down, but gets up. I LOVED the part where Del Rio is trying to desperately to fell the Giant Redwood with clothesline only for BIG SHOW TO CHOKESLAM HIM! YES! Big Show does not bump for shit! Yes! They do a great job now escalating the "nearfalls" for Big Show. Big Show PLOWS Del Rio through the barricade. Great sell job by Del Rio how he goes limp and his upper is right up against chair exposing his teeth. He gets up and then Big Show hits his KO Punch and Del Rio is fucking out. Then in clever spot he slides out of the ring and lands on his feet! He is up! I dig. Now it is time for the grand finale. Big Show charges at him with the stairs but knocks himself silly with the stairs against the steel ringpost when Del Rio ducks. Del Rio RAMS Big Show multiple time with the Steel Stairs selling through the pain the whole time and then topples the announce table on Big Show! I cant say enough about this match. I thought the character work was superb! Amazing babyface performance from Del Rio and an even better Giant Heel performance from Big Show. I thought the plot of this match was flawless, just perfect escalation. Dont sleep on this match! ****1/2

Paige vs Emma - NXT 7/24/13 NXT Women's Championship To crown the inaugural NXT Women's Champion, in a lot of ways this is the start of the Women's Revolution as this championship is what made WWE fans take women seriously and this was the launching pad to get Paige on the main roster after WrestleMania. I thought this was a good match, serviceable, but not very memorable. I really liked their February 2014 NXT Takeover match. I remember it being physical and gritty. I re-read my review and it sounded like a banger of a match. I had forgotten how good Paige was at working the midsection. We see that here at times like right after the DilEmma Paige hits that side kick to the midsection or towards the end of the match. I just didnt feel like there was enough connective tissue. I thought Emma was the on delivering the highspots like Emmaite Sammich and the Superplex. I felt like the match meandered a lot and here's an odd complaint. I thought there were too many pinfalls attempted. Theoretically, I shouldnt really complain because pinning is the point of winning, BUT it came across more like they had run out of things to do so they might as go for a fall to kill time. I thought we saw flickers of Paige's intensity, but it would wax and wane. I could see the potential in both of them, but it didnt really materialize into anything great. ***

Emma & Santino Marella vs Fandango & Summer Rae - NXT 10/2/13 This match has intrigued me for years as Jimmy Redman placed it in her Top 10 out of 100 WWE Matches of 2013 (a very loaded year for the WWE). I really liked the original Emma gimmick and her liked her match with Paige on the first NXT Takeover. This is the Rockers vs Rougeaus of the Modern Era except it stays comedy throughout. I am not going to review every comedy spot because my words won't do it justice. The pre-match is pretty hilarious and there are some really funny spots in the match and one that did really get me. I think what holds this back for me is just how useless and bland Fandango is. I have always thought he could so much more with the gimmick. I grew up on dancing gimmicks like Alex Wright, Disco Inferno and La Parka. You really need just one signature move and you would be good. I never felt he went full bore with the comedy of the gimmick. The Fashion Police he became more entertaining as a character, but still left something to be desired in the ring. I will forever remember him coining the term "Aerogigantic" which still cracks me up. I dont think I have gotten to say my piece on Fandango. Emma and Santino ruled with better heels, I thought this could have been really special, definitely still worth checking out. I wish Emma got a better break. I can see that the gimmick has a shelf life, but weird palmless gloves and blue lipstick were not the solution. ***1/2

WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs Sheamus - Main Event 5/29/13 This has to be Wade Barrett’s career match right? Holy flying fuck this was awesome! I really need to re-watch Sheamus vs Cesaro from Main Event because I think this maybe even better. Hard-hitting, stiff brutal contest with a bomb-trading finish run and an insane finish. I loved Sheamus taking everything Barrett and hitting him twofold so he has to powder. Most impactful back heel trip ever by Sheamus. Look at those knee lifts by Sheamus in order to hit a Suplex. I love knee lifts. So manny great kneelifts. Barrett bum rushes Sheamus on a criss Cross sending him over the top rope and Sheamus whacks his funny bone. Sheamus sells like a champ. Barrett spends the entire middle third trying to knock Sheamus’ head off in unique and brutal ways. Sheamus is is peppering in hard, stiff hope spots and Barrett is snuffing every rally almost immediately with wicked shots of his own. Everything is so urgent! This is pro wrestling! Sheamus just says fuck it and basically hits Barrett so fucking hard he can’t cut him off. This is match that got over on stiffness and struggle. Not nearfalls! They actually chanted “This Is Awesome”. Insane. Then they traded Bombs but everything was convincing and made sense. These two have deep Arsenals. White Noise, Battering Ram, Cloverleaf, Beats of the Balrog, Irish Curse Backbreaker vs Mule Kick, Blackhole Slam, and Wasteland. The way they did the finish with both men charging and who could pull the trigger on the killshot was fucking epic! Loved this to death! Sleeper pick for WWE MOTY for 2013 watch it and weep manly tears of joy! ****1/2 P.S. Redman Report WWE MOTY 2013 Countdown is the greatest list ever Made.

Sheamus vs Cesaro - Smackdown 6/14/13 Isnt 2013 WWE TV wrestling just the best? Isn’t Sheamus vs Cesaro just the best? Isn’t big, meaty hoss battles just the best? This is the meatiest meaty matchup ever. Bill Watts would have creamed himself every time. This is such a change of pace from these zombie speed walkthrough matches we have now. They break the pace by actually showing fire and caring about the match. Watch how pissed Sheamus gets at the beginning after Cesaro slaps and crowds him in the corner. The crowd comes alive because it is a real, organic response to what happened. They just alternate between beating the shit out of each other and doing insane strength spots on each other. Sheamus doing a fall away slam to the barricade was great. The Irish Curse Backbreaker over the top rope was eye-popping. The finish was perfect. Each had gotten reasonable nearfalls. Nothing too excessive. Cesaro shoves Sheamus in a corner. Nobody puts Sheamus in a corner! BANG! BROGUE KICK! 1-2-3! Big mistake never give your opponent separation. I love how he pays for it. I love the sell by Cesaro. I love out of nowhere KO in a big time stand and bang slugfest. It was the fucking perfect finish on so many levels for this match. I remember loving the MAin Event match when I watched it in 2014. Now I couldn’t tell which is better but who cares you should watch both your life will be better for it. **** P.S. Thanks to Stacey (Jimmy Redman) for pimping this

WWE Champion The Rock vs John Cena -WrestleMania XXIX I don’t really remember much from this match because well there is not much that’s memorable. I think this match really hurts Cena’s legacy that he put on such a pedestrian main event on the biggest show of the year and arguably his career. You can blame Rock’s freak intercostal injury all you want but they does not excuse Cena’s soulless performance. These two looked like they were walking through rehearsal out there. The first ten minutes are a total waste. Once Cena goes for his trademark shouldertackles the match at least attempts to tell a story. The story is they both remember everything about the other from last year. So every move gets countered. There’s two problems. First, after two or three times, fans pick up on the pattern and there’s no surprise to the counter because everything gets countered. It becomes routine. Second to compound the problem there’s no struggle. These two fall into each other’s counter. I can’t believe how many shitty counters to FU and Rock Bottom there were. Oh hey Rock, you want to get down from my shoulders, Why sure buddy let me place you down. John is my arm wrapped around your upper torso? Let The Rock turn The People’s Side to you so you can hoist me up on your shoulders you big strapping lad. Yes pro wrestling is a work but Jesus there has to be some semblance of a shoot. Anyways all the usual moves are hit. They play off the 28 finish with Rock going for 5 Knuckle Shuffle and Cena is trying to lure Rock into an FU with a People’s Elbow attempt. The former should have been the finish. Instead it was some lame-ass do-see-do FU that had zero heat. I can’t believe two men so charismatic could have such a bland match.

Brock Lesnar vs Triple H - WrestleMania XXIX No Holds Barred What I remember from being at this match live was zero crowd heat like you could hear a pin drop. This was to the glee of the HHHaters at the time. I was disappointed because I absolutely loved their Summerslam 2012 match (still do! See my review). Looking back now the match is very good, but it is nowhere near the level of their overlooked Summerslam classic. i actually really liked the very, very beginning of the match. It was a good brawl mixed with some great Brock bumping. I loved the HHH High Knee that intercepted that chair shot. How fucking cool was that. Brock caught HHH with a belly to belly Suplex on the floor and then hit a tremendous Suplex slam through the announce table. After this match ground to a halt. It was Suplex City Brock with a bland babyface. It was a ragdolling. No hope spots. No seeds of hope. The Summerslam match HHH just kept chipping away at the abdomen until it paid dividends. All of HHH’s openings came from HBK distractions which is lame for a face. It climaxes with Brock hitting an F-5 over HBK but HHH hits a Pedigree. HHH goes for the sledgehammer and Brock hits an F-5. Again, the match grinds to a halt. I usually like Brock on top but there’s not much going on. Brock tries to break HHH’s arm with the Double Wristlock which had been totally forgotten yo until this point. The match kicks up here once HHH breaks free and decides he wants to return the favor by breaking Brock’s arm which I am a mark for that story. It is a great badass breaking down of the arm and Brock does a tremendous job selling and fighting back in HHH’s Kimora. The DDT on the stairs, sledgehammer, Pedigree on Stairs was a great finish combo. There’s more greatness to this than people want to give credit to but I rather spend my time beating the drum for the far superior Summerslam match. ***1/4

CM Punk vs The Undertaker - WrestleMania XXIX This was the second WrestleMania I attended and I have much better memories from this because I had much better seats. I was sitting in the lower bowl about halfway down directly into side of the ring. No obstruction. It was a great time and I remember this being our (my brother & mine) favorite match. It has been six years. The only thing I remember crystal clear was Punk’s elbow drop to the Taker on the announce table. Totally forgot the build, WWE video packages are the best. It is really what they are good at and they do useful five years or so after the fact. Punk was so great as irreverent well punk mocking Paul Bearer’s death and doing everything he could to get in Taker’s head. This theme of disrespect would be a consistent thread throughout the match. This match was very stripped down compared to the epics of the HBK & HHH Matches. This made for much more consumable viewing. Punk slaps Taker at the bell and it is on. For the most part there is a great vigor to this match. Punk really unleashes the strikes only for Taker to go on a tear. Taker had to earn his shine and he kicked Punk’s punk ass on the floor. He goes for Old School but Punk drags him down. Then in a sign of disrespect Punk hits old school! Oh shit! I had forgotten that but as soon as I saw it the memory came back. I liked the brief flurries to break up the Punk Control segments. It made it feel more competitive. Punk runs out of ideas apparently...tries Old School again, but he lands on his balls. Big punch by Taker. Taker wants the five but Paul E. Makes himself useful as a human shield. Punk hits a flying clothesline and his elbow drop. This is when Match picks up into a rousing home stretch. We get G2S attempt into a MASSIVE CHOKESLAM! That memory came rushing back. Great strike exchanges follow. I could watch these two stand and bang. There is a longer exchange toward the end of the match but the short stuff ahead of that was great. Taker goes for The Last Ride through the table but Punk evades and hits a tremendous roundhouse kick. Then comes that famous elbow drop from the the top rope and it doesn’t break! I forgot that! They milk the countout as part of the story Punk said a DQ or countout Counts as a loss. Different from the HBK and HHH that wanted clean wins. So this was a good nearfall. They do the submission exchange. Hell’s Gate -> Anaconda Vice. Best part of this was Taker did his Zombie Sit-up and CM Punk damn near crapped his pants. Now that’s something I totally missed by being In the stands. That’s my new favorite moment. I thought everything after that is gold. G2S into Tombstone was molten hot. They stood and banged in a great strike exchange, good stuff shots. I loved the red bump and Punk hits Taker with the urn to Avoid the Last Ride! What a great heel nearfall! Punk does the throat slash wants the G2S but it is a Tombstone! Great finish! The first half was solid but the second half was red hot. A really great stadium style Match with lots of highspots and drama. ****1/4