Superstar Sleeze

Interesting reviews above. I agree that this was the best exhaustion "selling" of all time. I put "selling" in quotes because I think they have been shoot blown up. They wrestled forever. The finish sequence did not resonate with me as the exhaustion took some punch out of the kicks. In the beginning Those kicks had snap to them. GOTNW I totally agree how they were using submissions here and i didn't like it at all. No drama, undercut the holds. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki - UWF Starting Over 5/12/88 UWF is REBORN! This time it is Akira Maeda at the helm. He is probably my least favorite shoot stylist. Technically proficient but gives lifeless performances. There is no hook to him in a match. I guess his hook is that he is the boss and if he is not the boss he is prone to being a dick and shoot kicking people in the face. I like Yamazaki against Hashimoto a lot in the 90s. In the 80s he is fine but I wish he kick more and be on the mat less. This match is very technically proficient. The kicks are the best part. Yamazaki's kick land with a real snap. Maeda's counter kicks are brutal. The throws are excellent. Beautiful suplexes from both. The holds look tight. The problem is this is too pro-style. The match is way too long. Like 25 minutes and it really meanders. The submission holds are not used as finishers but as exhibition. The hold is too easy to apply, no selling in the hold or after and no drama in escape. It is like a Kurt Angle match. In shoot style the drama is in applying the hold. Can he get it? Instead of can he survive it? In shoot style long term selling should not exist so holds aren't used as a wear down. The survival aspect can be hot for one maybe two holds but every hold undercuts the match. We saw cinched in wristlocks, triangle chokes, armbars, single leg crab, knee bar and Crossface Chickenwing, cross armbreaker all executed and no long term impact. It was an exhibition. Yamazaki tenaciously went for single leg crabs getting 3 or 4 but they meant nothing. Maeda had a beautiful sequence where he threw kicks to get Yamazaki off balance to set up the butterfly Suplex takedown which in turn setup the double wrist lock side mount finish except nothing happened. Yamazaki escaped the march kept going. That's my rant about holds. The drama should be in the application of the hold not the survival. The stand up game was far better. Great kicks. There was a great one about 2/3rds the way on where Yamazaki is looking to tie up and Maeda catches him on the chin. I thought that was the finish playing off Maeda's penchant for shoot kicking people in the face. Instead, it kept going and going. This could be the greatest showcase of "selling" exhaustion but they could have been shoot blown up. As much as I liked the selling I thought it was to the detriment to how impactful the kicks looked but there was a lot of drama down the stretch. I actually bought Yamazaki had a chance based on the way he was pouring it on. I said to myself like Maeda would actually job in the debut show and then realized that meant I did believe for a split second. Maeda gets a rainbow kick and Crossface Chickenwing for the win. Great exhibition of catch wrestling but too long and feels too much like an exhibition. ***

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Hase vs Nobuhiko Takada - NJPW 3/11/88 Takada is scary over in this match. Like build a whole promotion around him over. That's exactly what happens in the 90s. We are two months away from the rebirth of the UWF in May of 1988. They do everything they can to protect Takada in this match. Hase goes full heel jumping him before the bell with a lariat. Second Lariat and Takada goes into oversell mode. Knocked loopy. Big Takada chants through the three sleepers. Takada is totally discombobulated and this looks to be a rout. Takada reverses an Irish Whip and chops Hase in the face. Belly to belly Suplex! He goes for a series of holds: Single Leg Crab, Armbar and cross armbreaker. The way they just lie in the cross armbreaker drives me nuts and to make even it worse Takada voluntarily releases the hold. The finish stretch is pretty exciting. Some really good Takada kicks. I liked the one that Hase catches and Takada turns into a wicked Enziguiri. Takada gets a ton of big nearfalls: Crossface Chickenwing, teased count out win and a Dragon Suplex (ref got wiped out so crowd got the visual three). The crowd was eating up Takada through all of this. Which is weird the Japanese usually cheer for whoever is selling. Scary over! To me they unconvincingly get Hase back on offense he wins with a Northern Lights Suplex but Takada kicks out right at three. Strong action throughout definitely the positive. Thought the match lacked personality common complaint for Takada but very strange for the charismatic Hase. Takada's strike and throw offense looked great and was exciting. I thought they poured it onto thick for him to lose. It undercut the finish. Takada was super over but on his way out so they were handcuffed. Good offense but don't expect a classic. ***1/2

Antonio Inoki/Riki Choshu/Kantaro Hoshino vs Dick Murdoch/Bob Orton/Scott Hall - NJPW 11/18/88 Elimination Important thing to note is that this contested under elimination rules. It was not until the second elimination that I knew what was going on. Scott Hall in New Japan is weird on paper but he actually fits in pretty good. Really good interactions with Hoshino (Hall looks like a giant) both manhandling the diminutive Hoshino and showing ass for the plucky spark plug. His elimination comes first and it is an awesome cross cross sequence with Choshu that really builds to the Lariat. They utilized Hoshino really well in the match. He is a great size mismatch for the Americans to exploit. But he desperately wants to contribute and comes in as a ball of energy to help even if that means he gets caught over his head. Eventually Orton & Murdoch double team him setting him up for the Murdoch brain buster and Hoshino elimination. In the beginning of the match it is established that Inoki & Choshu fucking hate Murdoch and want to kill him. The Americans try to cheat and double Team as much they can. Orton & Choshu pretty quickly do a spot that causes them both to tumble over the top rope. This sets up the grand finale of the two captains Inoki vs Murdoch. They went for a very epic, dramatic feel with extended spots and selling. There was a cute spot where Orton used his ass to prevent Murdoch from touching the floor. Inoki's big spot was a sleeper. Murdoch got an armbar and his knee surfboard spot as his big spots. Murdoch calls for Brainbuster. Inoki floats over and gets an abdominal stretch not an Octopus Stretch so Captain Redneck makes the ropes. The ref is distracted and Orton pulls Inoki over the top and the rest turns and calls for the bell. WOW! That's the best screw job ending I have seen in sometime. I love Inoki's pissed off reaction. Grabbing a chair from the audience and out for blood. Nothing super spectacular just the fundamentals executed at a high level. Hoshino size mismatch and the heat between Inoki/Choshu vs Murdoch. Loved that screwjob finish. ***3/4

IWGP Tag Team Champions Super Strong Machine & George Takano vs. Riki Choshu & Takyuki Iizuka - NJPW 7/13/89 Iizuka is a wrestler who always looks different every time I see him. The upstart Tag Team Champions defend against Riki Choshu but this time Choshu's partner is rookie Iizuka. Choshu is in the LeBron/Cristiano Ronaldo having to carry a nobody to a championship. Strategy early is simple keep Iizuka out of the ring unless Choshu earned an advantage. He wins the advantage against Takano and tags out to Iizuka. Takano tags out to SSM forcing Iizuka to tag out. Choshu gets SSM down on Mat and tags out. Before you know it SSM takes down Iizuka with a Suplex and Iizuka is in trouble. Iizuka shows some fire in a slap fest with Takano. Iizuka is able to take SSM down long enough to Tag Choshu who immediately goes for a cover. Trying to get the hell out of Dodge. SSM holds Choshu for Takano to hit his patented top rope spinning heel kick. Choshu is forced to Tag out. You know what the kid acquits himself pretty well. He comes out hot but eventually the champs overwhelm him. He tries slapping SSM but SSM just suplexes him. Takano stomps a mud hole in Iizuka. Iizuka gets a headbutt in the abdomen. Tag out to Choshu knee lift to abs. Takano spinning heel kick gets separation for a Tag out. I like all the quick tags it is refreshing from drawn out heat segments. Iizuka missile dropkick saves Choshu from Scorpion. The kid is earning his keep. Some really good leg bars from Iizuka. He is more useful than JR Smith, yeah I am still sour. SSM turns into his own leg bar that is real deep. I dig it. SSM Bridging German Suplex for two! Takano is Roaring. Wicked Brunzell-like dropkick. Choshu saves the pin. Top rope splash by Takano! Nonstop action. Choshu is saving all the time. Takano dropkicks SSM! Miscommunication in Japan! Choshu is a House On Fire! Small packages abound. Scorpion Deathlock Choshu tells Iizuka to block but Iizuka sucks and Takano dropkicks Choshu. The champs double teams Choshu! Iizuka saves! SSM Diving Headbutt for two as Iizuka saves. Takano/SSM are going to do the Hart Foundation Double Team Irish Whip. Iizuka TACKLES SSM out of nowhere. CHOSHU LARIAOTOOOOOOO! 1-2-No! Huge pop crowd loved it so did I! Choshu hits another Lariat to win as Iizuka held SSM at bay. New tag champs. Excellent story of Iizuka being a plucky rookie. He makes saves but also makes mistakes. Choshu was a badass muthafucka but eventually the numbers got to him and his rookie bailed him out long enough to hit two Choshu-sized Lariats to win. They combined this with nonstop action. Super Strong Machine & George Takano what a Tag Team! ****

IWGP Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs Super Strong Machine & George Takano - NJPW 3/16/89 Even with a very high finish (13/175) in the NJPW 80s Project this is not a match you hear about a lot. Choshu & Saito are two of the greatest pro wrestlers who ever lived. Top native heels battling the likes of Inoki & Fujinami throughout the 80s. While to be frank, Supet Strong Machine (Junji Hirata) & George Takano (fka Cobra) looks like the greatest 80s New Japan jobber team. I don't know enough about 80s NJPW booking but there definitely seems to be a large gap in stardom here. But what Takano & SSM lack in star power they make up for in piss & vinegar. The beginning of the match is to establish pecking order. Choshu & Saito beat Takano like a government mule, slams, strikes and sleepers. Takano drives Choshu into SSM to get the tag. SSM can hold his own with the heel superteam taking both Choshu & Saito on the mat and coming out ok. Saito frustrated starts to smack him. SSM powers up and holds him for a top rope spinning heel kick from Takano. We come to find out Takano only has one offensive move hurling his body at his opponent in the form of spinning heel kick. Takano is fired the fuck up. He is ready to prove himself. Saito Suplex quells the rally. They expose the turnbuckle and bust Takano wide open gushing blood. CHOSHU LARIAT! Saito stiffs the fuck out of him. Takano is a bloody mess. Choshu Scorpion Deathlock...SSM LARIAT! Akira bar the door It is breaking down in Yokohama! TAKANO DIVES FOR THE TAG! SSM is a house on fire lariats and dropkicks! Choshu takes a flat back to avoid the lariat and hits how own BIG Lariat. Windup Lariat...1-2...Bloody Takano dives for save. Saito Suplex on SSM for two. The heels are pouring it on. SSM makes Tag...SPINNING HEEL KICK! Go George Go! Another one! DROPKICKS! PLANCHA! Nobody is home! Lol! That was a great jobber moment. Saito beats the shit out of him. SSM comes flying in your screen onto Saito. The count is on. SSM dives from the top rope onto Saito CHAOS! Takano back in he beats the count! The jobbers win WAIT THEY WON THE TITLES!!! This one of the great badass heels vs lead face/plucky underdog matches. Takano takes a lickin but keeps on tickin. Bloody he is still fired up at the end of the match! A wild finish! Great upset victory! ****1/2

Big Van Vader vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 4/24/89 IWGP Tournament Finals On a night of fantastic matches, this wins match of the night for me, just two of the greatest asskickers of all time going shot for shot. Hashimoto knows the strategy against Vader never deviates from the opening bell attack the left arm, attack the left arm, attack the left arm. Vader plays keeps away early but Hashimoto wrenches it and Vader screams in pain. Vader gets the ropes. He baits Hashimoto by dangling his bad arm and then hits a wicked spinning back fist to rock the young upstart. Vader smothers Hashimoto on the ropes and then on the mat. Hashimoto fights to his feet but Vader hits him with a straight right and then a lariat that sends Hashimoto out of the ring. Hashimoto is able to collect himself and when he gets back in the ring starts kicking the bad arm. Double wrist lock and Vader is hollering out with painful screams. Hashimoto gets a two count back on their feet Hashimoto tees off with kicks. Vader's selling here reminds me of Brock. Vader flaying wildly in pain and then just hits that wild swinging bear paw to quash the rally. Hashimoto rolls to outside while Vader collapses on the ropes and his second Rheingains massages the injured arm. Great pro wrestling! You can always tell when Vader is really injured by how quickly he goes for covers. Once they square up again straight front kick, Irish Whip, Vader Splash in corner for two. Boom! Safe, economical. Use his weight gets a quick cover. Goes right back to it this time Hashimoto moves and drives left arm to buckle. INSANE HEAT for Hashimoto doing the over the shoulder armbreaker. Vader body slams out of the double wrist lock. Then VADER HITS THE MOTHER OF ALL DROPKICKS! The Big Man has got ups! Vader deviates from his safe, economical to go up top and is caught by a HUGE SPINNING HEEL KICK! Crowd goes wild! Can the kid do it? CROSS-ARMBREAKER!!! Vader powers out. Hashimoto rifles Vader's arm with kicks. BANG! Vader KNOCKS Hashimoto the fuck out with a right. Two monster lariats (it is a little anti-climatic and Thesz fucks up the count if they just went to the pin after the KO right I think that would have been better) and the Man They Call Vader wins his first IWGP Championship. Man if you watch this with no backstory you never know this was Hashimoto's first big chance at the main event. Had the poise of veteran. Great offense from him never relented on the arm. He built some big time heat for himself. That cross armbreaker had me believing. But his selling ruled that sell of that KO right wow! Vader rules! Busting out shit like that spinning back fist and dropkick shows his variety! Here not feeding and bumping but focusing on selling that arm and kicking ass. Boy did he kick some serious ass! Match of the year contender in a fucking loaded year. These two rule! ****3/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs Victor Zangiev - NJPW 4/24/89 Big night for Soviet Shooters as the main event of this Dome show, sees a tall Georgian Judoka beat Inoki clean for the WWF Martial Arts Championship. A very tall Judoka getting the mega-push to main eventing a Dome show, Inoki I think you got a type. :p Ive seen this before and all I got to say is believe the hype. Definitely in contention for best sub-ten minute match ever. Soviet shooters rule and we need Fedor to go pro. Zangiev is the actual Russian Bear and his coach has one helluva unibrow. It is really to Hashimoto's credit that he never gets exposed by these shooters. He takes his licks but he never looks lost or unworthy of being in the ring. Zangiev takes him down at will. The overhead belly to belly into the side mount double wrist lock is positively RINGS. Hashimoto's sell is pitched perfectly. Besides catching Zangiev on the jaw with a kick this is all Zangiev with big throws like the Fisherman Suplex and Hashimoto avoiding the submission. Zangiev fun escape from a headscissors draws a big pop from the Japanese faithful. Hashimoto spits at Zangiev which on the surface seems like a bad idea. Zangiev is pissed and rips off another overhead belly to belly, but Hashimoto absorbs and rattles Zangiev in the corner to set up SPIN HEEL KICK. Zangiev is out and the Figure-4 leg lock gets a submission victory for young Hashimoto. While Muta is getting over in America, Hashimoto made it to the finals of this Dome tournament going over Choshu and this Soviet badass. Not too bad for a kid. Amazing RINGS-style match, big win for Hashimoto! ****1/4

Big Van Vader vs Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW 4/24/89 Vader had been in New Japan less than two years at this point but what a veteran performance from the Mastodon. As I mentioned in their match from February, which Vader won, Fujinami vacated the IWGP Championship ahead of this Tokyo Dome tournament. This is a semi-final match and to my understanding the personal series is 1-1. Absolute classic Vader performance the domination but the feeding for Fujinami to keep the match balanced. The amazing verbal selling. This is peak Vader. He is in there with a man argue as the GOAT but you can take your eyes off Vader. Vader smokes Fujinami early with a back Suplex on a headlock attempt by the Dragon. Fujinami sells well. Vader is using his mass to dominate Fujinami just big shots and muscling him around. He is talking so much shit. It is glorious. But he feeds Fujinami too: a vertical Suplex and a dropkick that Vader takes a back flip over the top rope. Vader is such selfless wrestler. Back in test of strength, Fujinami uses two hands on Vader's one. Vader gets a Drop toehold and a beautiful one at that. Vader rules! Vader is just dominating and Fujinami looks out of options. Vader just clobbers Fujinami in the corner. Fujinami fires up with big strikes of his own just as he gets the Mastodon reeling he goes after the injured left arm. I have seen this match before and liked but seeing Vader vs Inoki III really enhanced this viewing. You can still see the scar from Vader vs Inoki III on his arm. It shows how important context is. Vader gives a masterful performance. Hollering in pain immediately as Fujinami wrenches into a cross armbreaker. The way he immediately goes into offense like a wounded bear is great only to feed Fujinami a Suplex. 1-2-Vader powers out and out to the floor. He chose flight that time in fight or flight. Back in the ring, Fujinami goes right for the left arm. Top wrist lock and Vader bellows "Goddamnit". Vader with a nasty, powerful arm drag takeover. Mack Truck Lariat! Watch Fujinami's sell so damn good. It is Vaders power vs Fujinami attack on arm. He gets more kicks in but as he falls back on a cross armbreaker he triggers a rope break. Vader is able to smash him. HUGE VADER BODY SPLASH IN THE CORNER! Vader goes for a second misses. Armdrag! Dropkick! Bodyslam! Fujinami up top. Vader catches him hotshot. Vader looks to go for the kill but lariats the steel post with HIS BAD ARM! Fujinami throws Vaders bad wing into every steel object he can find. Back in he is fist pumping as the Dome roars. Fujiwara Armbar! You can actually buy this nearfall for Fujinami but Vader muscles out. Fujinami makes the boneheaded decision to sunset flip Vader. Dumb dumb dumb. Vader squashes him. Fujinami sells the hell out of it. Vader splash 1-2-3. Vader ruled in this. He is at his best when he plays Wounded Grizzly Bear. Vulnerable but incredibly dangerous. The arm was super effective in creating drama. You can see Vader desperately trying to end the match as soon as the arm psychology kicks in but can never string enough moves together. You really bite on that armbar. As soon as Vader squashes Fujinami he hits a splash and collects his win. Awesome pro wrestling really enhanced once you know the story behind the arm psychology. This is Vader 101 should be seen to understand why he is one of the all-time greats.****1/2

My post got eaten fuck! Nia/Rousey fucking ruled! Rousey is an awesome pro wrestler! Nia embraced her monster and went full Vader! Awesome match and match of the night easily. That was the gist of my post.

Becky is so much more over than her push! Huge fan and really hope that push starts to reflect her popularity

Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather - WrestleMania XXIV It is too bad that Mayweather does not do wrestling full time. He would be an amazing heel, which may be the most obvious thing ever said. He has great facial expressions. He does a great job vacillating between concerned and confident in the beginning. The size differential is staggering. Mayweather's confidence grows as he gets in some body shots and then a couple head shots. It is funny seeing Mayweather have to reach so high up to punch Big Show in the face. Mayweather drinks from a chalice. Big Show is pissed. He takes out one of Mayweather's goons. The fear is re-instilled in Mayweather. When Big Show stomps the hand of Money Mayweather, the selling from Mayweather is awesome. It was such a smart first offensive spot from Big Show. Mayweather TOOK THE OVERHEAD SLAP! WOW! Mayweather is writhing in pain. I have not watched this match since it happened ten years ago. Show Stands on him. Mayweather takes a side slam! WOW! Show big elbow drop. The crowd is super into this. Mayweather's entourage pulls him out and wants to walk out. Show chases and trucks an entourage member. Now Show brings Mayweather back in. Show drops another goon with a chokeslam, but that goon brought in a chair. Mayweather goes to town with the chair and cracks him in the head twice unprotected. Then he gets some brass knuckled and KO shot drops the Big Show. Great way to put over the heel celebrity but protect Big Show. People loved seeing Mayweather gets his ass kicked because we never see that in his shoot matches. It was cathartic. Great finish, awesome action movie spectacle. ****

Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXIV I'm sorry; I love this match. I'm a huge Ric Flair fan and this is the Greatest Hits of Ric Flair. Who has a better Greatest Hits than Flair? I was marking out for the Butterfly Suplex and Standing Vertical Suplex like it was 1986 baby! WOOOOOOOOO! I remember wanting to see this match so badly that I figured out how to illegally stream it on Michigan's computers. First time I had ever done anything like that. I would do for every subsequent WrestleMania until 2012 when I went in person. Flair's retirement was a huge deal to me at the time. I remember really liking the match and I still do. A very worthy match for the Greatest of All Time to go out on. Michaels slapping Flair after Flair gets in his face over Old Yeller is such a great moment. So many great leathery chops in this match. I love the sound of flesh on flesh. These two ripped into each other. Flair was busting out his signature spots, but he could not bump anymore so Michaels picked up the slack bumping for two, Flair Flip and that Asai Moonsault on the table WOW! That had to hurt! Flair looked great in the front half. Had his wind and cardio. I think the match was a little long. They should have done the bridge spot earlier and he was clearly blowed up by that time. The first Sweet Chin Music was great and the pop for the kick out was huge. I love Flair cheating like muthafucka for the rest of the match. Chop block and Figure-4. How can you not smile at Vintage Flair? Did I miss the Flair Flop? Was there no Flair Flop in his last match? After all the cheating, Flair is finally downed by Sweet Chin Music. He comes up with his fists clenched, but clearly can take no more. "Im sorry; I love you." ****

Chris Jericho vs CM Punk - RAW 12/22/08 Chris Jericho had a molten 2008 easily his career year while this was CM Punk's breakout WWE Year winning the Money In The Bank and World Championship. This is a random RAW midcard match that is a part of tournament to crown a number one contender for John Cena. This is the definition of a good match. There is nothing wrong with it, but nothing outstanding. CM Punk is an expert martial artist according to Michael Cole, which makes me laugh in 2018. Punk does have good kicks. Solid back and forth affair. I didn't like Jericho's counter from the G2S to Boston Crab at all. Punk gets a couple KO blows with a knee and a roundhouse kick to the head to make it look like he could win. Jericho hits a Codebreaker as Punk springboards in the air. I forget who hyped this match to me, but feel free to skip. It is good but nothing more, nothing less. ***

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Shawn Michaels - RAW 2/11/08 Physicality. When you think of these two you don't think of physicality, but they delivered a very physical match on a random RAW main event, non-title before No Way Out 2008. Shawn set the tone early with a fist bump then a knife-edge chop into a cover. He was not here to play nice with fellow babyface, Hardy, he was here to win. Michaels slaps Hardy on the outside and Hardy gives as good as he gets. Now both competitors that both mean business. The spot of the match is when Michaels does the Flair Flip and Hardy comes charging from behind to give him a hard shove that almost slams Michaels into the top of the post. It was raw and dangerous, but exciting. Michaels followed up with a THUNDEROUS Lariat that cut Hardy's lip. These two were going for broke. Michaels really became a great control wrestler in the latter stages of his career. I really like how he play on that conventional spot where you eat a boot from the middle rope. He stops short, grabs the leg and turns it into a single leg crab. Hardy made a good comeback based off a missed Top Rope Elbow Drop. Again watch how Hardy spears Michaels into the corner. It is not conventional. It is rough and tumble. I dig it. Hardy runs through his set up moves. Michaels interrupts before Twist of Fate to get in his sequence. Michaels wants to tune up the band Hardy blocks, but Michaels gets that cool inverted Figure-4 he used late in his career. It actually got a lot of heat. People bought into it. Hardy made the ropes. Twist of Fate->Swanton->1-2-3! Michaels does a clean job to Hardy. I mean they gotta make a bigger deal out of that shit. Great physical contest, solid compact finish run. One of those great random RAW main events that everybody has now forgotten. ***1/2

I got to see Sonya vs Asuka at a Boston House Show right before Mania. I'm a lucky, lucky man. I'm glad others are jumping aboard the Sonya Deville bandwagon. I've been a fan since she murdered Sasha Banks with that clothesline on a RAW last year.

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXVI So I did something interesting I watched this match without having watched XXV in many years. I have not watched this one in many years. I wanted to see how well this stands on its own. I would say very, very well indeed. These are not two legends coasting on their reputations, WrestleMania, and the fact this is a retirement. They built a classic from the ground up using the fundamentals of what makes pro wrestling great. Two men struggling to win a contest. I LOVED the urgency at the beginning of this match. Both men were 45, but they were explosive at the outset. I think they did a great job explaining why each slowed down. For Michaels it was the constant shots to the head and for Undertaker is the unfortunate jamming of his knee on Old School. The urgency at the beginning was refreshing and really felt like two of the best vying to win a crucial match. What I loved about the next portion is that it took about five minutes for Shawn to really injure Taker's leg. He had to EARN that advantage. Taker kept him at bay with his reach using those big jabs to keep Michaels at a distance or his size to bully Michaels around. Michaels for his part was as pugnacious as a bulldog and was going for the leg at every opportunity. Michaels sealed that deal with a figure-4 and then heel hook. Now you believe the match is anyone's ballgame. It will be the big bombs of Taker vs Michaels' attack on the leg. I thought they did a magnificent job down the stretch with each nearfall. It would be easy to fall prey to "My Turn, Your Turn", excessive nearfalls or way too much down time. They paced it perfectly. The Tombstone on the outside was awesome. A big moment, but since it happened on the outside something that Michaels can come back from. The Last Ride into a facebuster due to the bum wheel was great. That first Sweet Chin Music, holy shit, did everyone in attendance bite on that or what! The crowd went nuts for that. The Sweet Chin Music/Moonsault through the table combo was a great Holy Shit spot to send Michaels out on a high note. A sort of salute to the great career he had. Then it was time one more Sweet Chin Music to get that one last nearfall for the Heartbreak Kid. He has nothing left to do but try it again, but this time it is the Chokeslam. We all know the story from there. The Tombstone kickout, the cinematic ending with the defiant Michaels pulling up on Taker and slashing his throat and then Taker giving him the BIGGEST TOMBSTONE EVER! First half was great. Lots of energy early they came with good in-match storyline reasons why it slowed down. The finishing stretch was perfectly paced. They were some nitpicks here and there about transitions especially in holds that keep it up from the full monty, but this is easily the 2010 WWE Match of the Year. I have one last critically acclaimed FUTEN tag team match to watch before I decide if this was 2010 match of the year, but definitely has a good shot. It will be interesting to see if this makes by Top 100 matches. Stellar WrestleMania Main Event, hard to ask for a better one. ****3/4

I'm All In! Excited beyond words at the prospect of this. Good luck!

Micro, interesting take! I remember all Cena vs Punk matches very fondly. Will be rewatching them soon (before the end of the year hopefully lol). Ill let you know. WWE Champion Rey Mysterio vs John Cena - RAW 7/25/11 Ahhhhh the Summer of 2011, the last time RAW was actually must-see. The Summer of Punk had me on the edge on my seat and it was he only time in recent memory I felt the need to watch RAW in real-time. It is too bad they could not sustain that momentum. If you are like me, you may misremember the details around this match. This is NOT the finals to crown a new WWE Champion. Rey Mysterio had already defeated The Miz earlier in the night for that distinction, but John Cena was oddly not included in the tournament. So the former champion is challenging the new Champion for the title on the very night he won it. Excellent babyface vs babyface match. Lawler made a great point on commentary that no punches were thrown in this match. That speaks to the respect these two men have for each other. Kudos to the King. Excellent Power vs Speed dynamic. No one is going to confuse John Cena and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, but work with me here. I just happened to watch a Fujiwara match last night. I thought Cena was wrestling a lot like Fujiwara in the sense of great defense. John Cena knew he can absorb more of Rey's blows than Rey can withstand his power moves. So Cena waited for Rey to take chances before he would shoulder tackle him or clothesline him or powerslam him hard on a 619 attempt. Cena never made himself vulnerable, but Rey has to make himself vulnerable and that's when Cena pounced. Great job, John! That powerslam I mentioned was the turning point. Cena made a point to drive the offense. At some point, he needed to win the match and after taking Rey's shots and getting in his own, he went on offense. Now Rey is a great defensive wrestler in his own right and that's normally his game. Keeping his opponents off balance with speed & agility. Rey kept thwarting at every pass of his standard Cena comeback. The highwater mark of this was when Rey reversed into an STF. Cena sold well and even when got free couldn't do the FU because his bum wheel. His injured leg caused him to end up in the ropes. 6-1-9! Rey went for the splash that won him the title earlier in the night, but ate knees, but Cena has injured knees. Everyone is hurt! Rey goes for 619 again and Cena hits the FU for the win! CM Punk returns and this sets up the Title vs Title Showdown at Summerslam. Awesome dream match here. Neither one heeled it up. This shows how you can have an exciting respectful babyface vs babyface title match. Cena looked awesome in this, great power and selling. Really made Rey look like a million bucks. Rey was on point flying when he was supposed and eating power when necessary. Strong finish run even if the finish itself felt very conventional. In a company that puts offense first, these two put defense first and respected the differences of each other style to culminate in an excellent bout for the WWE Championship. ****1/4

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio - Over The Limit 2010 Hair vs SXE Pledge After lopsided wager matches, this is the culmination with each putting up the thing they put up in the previous matches. I don't like this style of building to a finale, but I get it. I also wish Rey was putting up his mask instead, but I need to let that go. By far and away, this is their best match together and they really put together a WWE classic here. Watching the first two matches, you got the sense that two great workers were putting on good matches, but they weren't finding that the next gear to really push it. Well if you gonna save it, best save it for the grand finale. Rey's shine is pretty good early on as he drives Punk into the barricade off a rana. That becomes an important plot point, but lets table that for now. Rey Rey goes for the 619 but Punk cuts him off. Rey goes for his classic bellyflop bump. Only one problem there is a fucking barber's chair there. HOLY SHIT! My eyes got so wide and I audibly gasped. Rey went head first hard into the barber chair. Great Holy Shit bump. Meanwhile, Punk cant capitalize. Why? He is bleeding and because this is 2010 the medical trainer has to come in. I was really racking my brain where that could have happened. Plus this is 2010 the height of when blood was taboo. So I was trying to think of where it could have happened. The announcers think it was the barricade. Yep, Punk bladed. I am like 99% sure, no way that could cut you and where it was in the hairline. Classic bladejob. Good for them to add some color. Also given Punk's Jesus look the blood trickling down and pooling in this eyes was an awesome visual. Rey finally returns to the ring and PUNK EXPLODES! Great intensity from Punk here. Putting an absolute whuppin' on Rey Rey. This was the intensity that was missing from their previous matches. Great spot with Barber chair, Punk bleeding and intensity this is what they needed to get over. The finish stretch I thought was a great melding of their moves with lots of drama coming down the stretch. I really thought Rey brought the excitement. CM Punk brought the edge and attitude. CM Punk cutting off the 619 with WELCOME TO CHICAGO MUTHAFUCKER Backbreaker was great. Just a emphatic quashing of Rey's high speed rally. Punk goes for the Go 2 Sleep which he can never seen to hit. When Rey tries to counter, he powerbombs Rey into the buckles and hits a wicked kick to the head of Mysterio. Cole does a great job reminding us that Rey may suffered a head injury running into the barber chair. Good for Cole that was an important plot point and adds to the nearfall. Punk really wants the G2S, but again Rey shimmies out of it. 619! Drop a Dime? No instead he bellyflops on nuthin but canvas. Punk thinks he has this won. Sloppy cover...Rey rolls him into an Oklahoma Side Roll 1-2-3! Punk is aghast! Great facial expression there. Here comes the SES. Kane saves. This was during the time when Kane was consumed with eating Rey Mysterio. The details are foggy but I distinctly remember a promo after this where Kane intimates that he ate Rey Mysterio. Rey handcuffs Punk. This may go down as the greatest shaving ever. You got Punk bleeding, writhing in shame and Rey giving him one of the worst, patchy hair cuts ever with all the black hair everywhere. Great satisfying ending. To me the post- match puts this over the top. Punk does a great job being ashamed and humiliated. The blood helps a lot too. The match itself had big time spots that are memorable, great character work from Punk (intensity, arrogance and shame) and a finish run that keeps you on your toes. Right up there with the Jericho match as a Rey match that shows the WWE midcard could have great matches. ****1/2

Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - UWF 2/27/90 Their last meeting was in October of 1989 were Takada won by TKO. The following month, the UWF ran a $3 million show at the Tokyo Dome drawing 50k. Not too shabby. Fujiwara defeated Dick Vrij on the show and Takada defeated Duane Koslowski. The UWF returned to action in the new year with Takada defeating the Ace Superstar, Akira Maeda and Fujiwara defeating Nakano. On the last show before this, Maeda defeated Fujiwara and Takada defeated Yamazaki. Takada is on a four match win streak with wins over the three biggest names in 80s shoot style while Fujiwara comes into the match 2-2, but those two losses are to his main event peers. First Half of the Match: You would never know that Takada was the one on the hot streak at the outset of this match. Lots of struggles and flesh on flesh as they feel each other out locking up. Fujiwara is wrestling with confidence. Takada has his head down. He seems tentative. Takada takes Fujiwara down three times and all three times loses control on the mat to Fujiwara, which is pretty unacceptable. He needs a rope break to break a toehold. He has to scurry out of a potential wristlock. You see Takada throw "check" kicks but nothing like the violent kicks he is known for. On the leg scissors takedown, he loses control again, but regains it with good figure-4 technique that safeguards his feet from being toeholded. Fujiwara does a great job verbally selling. Now Takada's demeanor changes. His chin is up and he is throwing hard kicks. Fujiwara is backpedalling and is favoring his bad leg. Takada goes for the home run two wild kicks to the head. Both miss. They are not as pretty as Super Tiger's but Takada is a lot bigger so they look they would hurt. Fujiwara catches a kick and takes him down. He holds on and looks to turn it into a single leg crab. Great verbal selling with the grunting and the crowd is reacting. Takada makes a ropes and for some reason this awards a point to Fujiwara. I don't get that. Overall, lots of struggle and I like how their demeanors are reflecting the action. Second Half of the Match: Takada utilizes the kicks more frequently as his main offensive tool. This has proven successful for Super Tiger in the past and it was clear from the first half of the match, that he would be outclassed on the mat. Takada's downfall was that he kept trying to the finish the match on the mat. At one point, he goes for a cross-armbreaker and falls prey to a toehold. It is incredible that Takada is so bad at defense. Fujiwara is wrestling the ultimate defensive wrestling match. At one point, it looks like Fujiwara gets knocked loopy and then he has this incredible second wind. The crowd loves it. This is where Fujiwara's charisma really shines. He KNOCKS TAKADA OUT with a wicked headbutt, but Takada is up at 8. Fujiwara hurls him with a German. Takada returns the favor with his own German and this time forces Fujiwara to the ropes. Takada really had a winning strategy with the kicks. He was making significant in-roads. Again he drops down to the mat with a legbar. Again it is reversed into a wicked Fujiwara toehold and this time Takada has no choice but to tap out. First off congratulations to Fujiwara for wrestling a smart, patient match. Very rarely is defense an important aspect of pro wrestling, but this was an excellent example of defensive pro wrestling. Takada should be ashamed of himself. He can contest Fujiwara in a stand up contest, but had no prayer on the mat. I get trying and seeing if you have "it" tonight, but it was clear he didn't. Time and time again, Fujiwara reversed it into his favor. So it serves Takada right that when he had the match won that he drops down into a legbar only to have it reversed and lose. Better yet, I hate his fucking legbar. I like Takada, but his legbar sucks. There is no wrenching. It looks like he is hugging a man's leg. So I am happy after the fifth boring ass legbar by him in this match he lost on that! So yes, the drawback on this match is there are a lot of heatless Takada legbars. I thought Takada rocked in the stand-up. As far as individual performances go, Fujiwara ruled, great defensive wrestling on the mat, greta verbal selling, great stand up (body shots and headbutts) and great charisma. ****1/4

Woah, I don't think I have ever disagreed more with Loss. Absolutely love those style uppercuts. Dustin Rhodes and Roman both throw a great punch. Roman is a fantastic puncher. European Uppercuts rule the school whether it is Dory Funk Junior or Cesaro I love them. Yes more elbows too! How can you not love AJ Styles or Chris Hero's elbows?

Good call by Shitty Little Boots to pimp this match. It is way better than I remembered. CM Punk vs Randy Ortron - WrestleMania XXVII It is interesting how in this day and age matches like this can overlooked. I don't know if there is too much wrestling or too much good wrestling or maybe the feuds lack stickiness or maybe WWE does not do a good job canonizing matches anymore. Whatever the case maybe there is no excuse for a WrestleMania match this good to be overlooked and underdiscussed. Orton had been put in a position to get over the new heels in 2010 working main event WWE Championship feuds on RAW with Sheamus, Wade Barrett & The Miz. CM Punk had been floundering since the Straight Edge Society had been dissolved. With Cena literally burying Wade Barrett at TLC, CM Punk was given a new cult, New Nexus. He targeted Orton for punting him in the skull back in 2008. Better late than never. Orton proceeded to punt every single member of New Nexus back to FCW. Punk turned the tables and injured Orton's leg so that he could not punt him. Honestly in terms of storyline progression week-to-week this actually sounds like one of the best feuds in WWE in the past ten years. Great match. Loved how aggressive Orton was in this. The opening Euro Uppercut and clothesline were massive. You could feel his anger. I love the cheap way Punk attacks the injured leg. He kicks the steel steps into Orton when Orton was stalking him. What a cowardly and dick move. Punk mocks his injury now he is full command. Great leg work by Punk. I liked Orton's hope spot of RKO and Punk hitting a roundhouse head kick to stymie that. Superplex was another good Orton hope spot. Punk is relentless on the leg. Figure-4 around the ringpost is always a goodie. Strong Orton comeback! Orton looked great both selling and offense. His character is terribly boring and his promos are dreadful, but the dude can wrestle. His leg gives out on the Punk. Punk's master strategy pays off. Punk looks to collect his victim for the G2S but the coiled viper explodes for an RKO, but Punk retreats in a nick of time. Great spot. Punk goes for his Springboard Clothesline to further weaken Orton, but this allows Orton to hit an RKO out of the air. Excellent compact match with great performances by both wrestlers. ****

ECW Champion Christian vs William Regal - WWECW 1/19/10 Always a joy to watch these two together, but they have shifted the focus off Regal and put it on his charge, Ezekiel Jackson (remember him?). WWECW was coming to end within a month and they decided to use this as a chance to push Jackson putting him over Christian and making him the last ECW Champion. It is too bad. Christian was the Ace of ECW in 2009 and would have been nice for him to go out as champion. Christian and Regal dominated ECW in late 2009, but this match is more ho hum. Typical great Regal matwork early. Typical great Christian shine with the baseball slide, reverse crossbody and clapping. Regal roughly shoves Christian into the ropes and locks in a full nelson when Christian goes for a backslide. Regal kicks the calf and obliterates him in the back of the head with a stiff elbow. Oh yeah, BYRON SAXTON is on commentary. Damn he has been around for awhile. Definitely unpolished and even worse than now. Regal had a good heat segment mixing holds and big shots. Christian had a his good comeback Tornado DDT, missile dropkick, misses the second. Regal misses the knee. Christian goes for the Unprettier and Jackson interferes triggering the DQ. Heel beatdown to get some heat on Jackson. Not as great as their other matches, but still good. ***

ECW Champion Christian vs William Regal - Breaking Point 2009 Awesome WWE midcard match! This is during a time period where the midcard was pretty dire and matches this good were a rare treat. Hard-hitting & claustrophobic. You except big shots out of Regal, but Christian gave as good as he got with some big open hand slaps to the face and body that Regal sold like million bucks. I love how much body contact there was in this match. It was not a track meet. They were engaging each other and staying engaged. Look how solid that collar-and-elbow tieup. Or how Christian hangs onto the wrists to create hold. They are almost always in contact with each other going from spot to spot by working through holds. That's wrestling. Regal looked ferocious in this. Just amazing strikes, snug holds and great throws. That cradle suplex was INSANE! That should be stolen and be made into a finisher pronto. I have never seen anything like that before and I loved it. It was a great highspot to be a nearfall for Regal. I thought they could have come up with a better transition to Christian's comeback. They timed it right as that is exactly when Christian was supposed to start, but he just started off right hands and dropkicks, but I think Regal should have made a mistake first to set it up. Good finish with each countering the other's finish Killswitch vs Running with Christian flipping The Switch first, yep pun fully intended. Great old school pro wrestling, lots of body on body on contact, flesh smacking flesh and builds to a fever pitch! ****

Christian vs Alberto Del Rio - Extreme Rules 2011 Vacant World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match Wow! What a snoozefest! Edge had to retire and instead of putting the strap on Del Rio, they let Edge retire with it. They were always wicked nice to Edge. Christian is doing it for his best friend and in addition Del Rio is the one who put him on the shelf for six months so there is history there. Del Rio is definitely someone they were always high on. He was pushed three years straight. He had a great gimmick, Mexican Million Dollar Man meets Randy Orton's multi-generational destiny gimmick. I remember him being pretty hit and miss in the ring. When he was a miss, boy was he dreadfully dull. Del Rio just has no oomph. No energy. There was nothing. Like everything was stomp and no anything. Then he would do stuff like fishhook Christian in an armbar and I would be like that's badass. We need more of that. It was all execution no charisma. Christian clearly was trying and you could tell he was the creative force behind the match. He came up with some neat spots going under the ring to set up his baseball slide into the ladder or jumping off the buckles onto a ladder onto a crossbody. Even Christian was not as engaging as usual. It was just a really boring ladder match where not much happened. There was some decent arm psychology and playing off Christian's injury at the hands of Del Rio. Of course they set up the ladder across the apron to the announce table. Del Rio takes a very tentative bump onto it. You know he had no desire to take that bump. Brodus Clay comes out pre-Funkasaurus. He does look like a Human Egg and his face looks like one of the Dinosaurs from the TV Show, Dinosaurs. He stops Christian from getting the belt. Clay takes a bump then Christian. Then Edge distracts Del Rio and Christian wins. What the fuck ever...watching grass grow is more eventful than this. Skip.