Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Jordan

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    152

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Jordan

  1. Jordan
    I hesitated making a thread on this but fuck it I enjoyed this way too much. Even if I don't think it rises above "fun." Basically Regins gives us an entertaining 2015 Kane match centered around his strikes and selling. It's mainly a slugfest but when you have Reigns making me buy Kane's offense as actually doing damage, you're doing something right. Thought him seeming to just be going on instinct on the finish was great, too.
  2. Jordan
    GOTNW mentioned this being better than 6/3/94 and it was the only match from that list I hadn’t seen so I decided to watch it. And holy shit this was nuts. Opening already had that sort of unpredictable vibe to it with how little care they had for each other with the wild strikes and then you have Aja teasing this turning into a LA Park/Joe vs. Necro type affair when she piledrives Hotta on a table and chucks some chairs at her. But instead we get an extended version of some of Battlarts’ most violent moments and some disgusting handwork. Yeah, quite the letdown. I’m an Aja Kong fan, but I love when a wrestler can turn in a performance that has me actually wanting to see them lose or get their comeuppance and not just praise their work or compliment the structure. And this is fully at play during that handwork segment with her just kicking the hand around and torturing it. You’re practically begging for Hotta to get in some backhands and kicks. Finish is brutal in that a person getting crushed on a counter after coming down off the top ropes in something this violent should carry that sort of match ending quality to it.
  3. Jordan
    ROH must’ve read my mind because Gabe & Jeff decide to leave the booth early in this match! I liked this a lot more, with us getting an early test run of ‘06 Danielson shit talking crowds and daring AJ to hit him harder. He really did sound like a dork though on some of the lines but we’ll let that slide. The dueling limbwork covers the middle of this match so you get them centering their strikes and sub attempts on the arm and leg and it feels more focused and purposeful. This match also had far more effort being made to actually counter, block and actually stop a person’s offense. Every big move actually felt earned and not just a moment for the crowd to clap to. The final Styles Clash sends this message home fairly well.
  4. Jordan
    This was fine. A physical match that was fairly grounded aside from some outside spots and some AJ stuff down the stretch. The “we are equal” work around the middle with the stalemate holds and the like is something I’ve seen too many times that even in a vacuum with two guys I like it just kinda has me cold. The work is brutal and violent and has that sort of attention to detail that you'd like sure, but you've seen guys like Regal or Finlay do it better. Bryan rising up and realizing blood was streaming down his face was a pretty neat moment though. Also unrelated but related to the match but god early ROH commentary is rough in between the calling of every other match on a show a Match of the Year candidate and the proto-TNA “we’re not sports entertainment!” talking points.
  5. Jordan

    WWE TV 12/12-12/18

    Jordan posted a topic in WWE

    Braun squashes thankfully return
  6. Jordan
    Funny how you can get answers to your thoughts on a match from watching something in a similar vein. This was the case for me after I returned to this after watching Bryan/Reigns and the two Styles/Reigns matches. I had always thought this was great, but something about the finish always felt jarring, and I’m somebody who enjoys NJPW’s “it can happen at anytime” philosophy that followed a lot of matches in this era. The match has all this incredible build towards Liger finding some way to get off offense that when he finally has that major breakthrough it’s HUGE and the crowd is going crazy for it. But then Hash doesn’t shrug it off or no sell it, more so he finds a counter chance with that judo throw and then completely crushes Liger with kicks before the brainbuster. Now, I used to think that was anti-climactic considering where the match had progressed to but this time it clicked: Hash in those final few minutes was wrestling with this “wait a minute, I might actually lose” urgency that makes his assault all that more potent that you realize he doesn’t really need an extended run of DDTs and spin kicks when he’s the heavyweight anyway. Liger was the one trying to chop down the tree, or climb a mountain here, not Hash. But yeah, with my thoughts on this now set, Hashimoto's '94 looks insane. You have this, the Tenryu blowoff (which was just a week prior to this!!!), the Fujiwara match and the December Hase match on his resume. What a year.
  7. Jordan
    This was incredible, and probably my MOTY. The point about pacing is spot on especially early on when you’ve got these moments of actual tension and intrigue about what’s about to happen and when it turns into a violent clothesline from Reigns or a counter by AJ it feels all the more special. The work from the opening up to the insane phenomenal forearm spot was perfect and I oddly have to give the crowd credit for turning in a Cena/Punk MITB ‘11 performance here with how into this they were. The overbooking stuff doesn’t bother me and in between we still get some awesome stuff like Roman getting crushed by a diving kneedrop from AJ and those back to back Superman punches that had this sort of authoritative and hierarchy-defining attitude behind them that you want an ace to showcase when he’s put in one of these “away game” type situations. "Phenomenal" match (as was the ER one) and you really wish these guys meet up again down the line.
  8. Jordan
    Man I watched this a few years ago but wanted to see it again before I gave it a thread and I still can't believe how much Henry made me care about a Lashley comeback. I watched Goldberg/Henry from 2003 before this and although you could see glimpses of what Henry would become he's on another level here. The trash talk and the mileage he gets out of simple shoves early on is unreal. Plus keeping score as he beat down Lashley ("Three for me! Zero for you!") is something I can't believe hasn't been used more often. This makes every Lashley hope spot feel important and when he explodes out of the corner for that clothesline I lost it. This leads to yet another Henry cutoff centered around rib kicks and jaw jacking before Lashley finally is able to get in a sustained period of offense which the crowd eats up. Finish is fine to me considering the positioning of the two at the time and how hard it was for Lashley to actually create offense and you get a post-match Henry beatdown anyway.
  9. Jordan
    Agreed on this being the best thing on the show. Botch is ugly but as had been said worked for the match anyway and it seemed working on the back was the plan anyway. I actually enjoy that their matches, even outside of the botches have this sort of uncooperative and reckless nature to them from strikes to how they set up stuff and on execution. Some of that is probably them being overambitious with their ideas but it at least makes it seem like they actually dislike each other. Street fight was the same way.
  10. Jordan
    This got uploaded onto WWE's youtube page so I gave it a watch. Pretty badass big man/little man match. Really picks up after the liver kick spot that ruled. Bryan filling his work in between the finisher/sub teases around primarily strikes and chopping down Reigns was great and the counter to this late being Reigns trying to demolish Bryan with forearms was awesome. The knee finally getting kicked out of had this "you know what's coming next" vibe to it but it still felt engaging to see how it would wrap up and I liked that the match didn't go into some over the top finishing run after that but stayed closer to a fight. Don't think this is as good as the Styles/Reigns Payback match but still feels like a 2015 MOTYC as I try to fill in the blanks for that year and Reigns was obviously the best Shield member and deserving of his spot at this point.
  11. Jordan
    Ditto what PeteF3 said about this being an extremely strong match but Kawada might as well have defected to NJPW at this point. What I felt made it strong was that it actually did feel more like a NJPW match than what you'd expect from AJPW at this point. You had Kawada breaking out judo throws, looking for armbars and wristlocks and making a clear effort to get a sub win. And even after that his backup wasn't the usual powerbomb, it was far more about finding an opening and landing a major strike. This isn't full shootstyle or something but it definitely has the feel of a Hash match where you don't know if he'll win with the brainbuster or slap on a triangle and get a sub win. '97-'99 Kawada is such a weird misfire when it comes to AJPW because he clearly had some desire to inject more submission based work into his matches but AJPW had no interest in going that way and letting him earn some finishes. The fans clearly bought it and were on the edge of their seats for the threat of a submission (the same way they were going crazy for Kawada/Albright) and I think you'd create something huge if Kawada submits Kobashi here to put over that sort of threat. Probably raises Takayama and Albright's stock even more in the process.
  12. Jordan
    Mesias looked like a missile on that tope. Somebody said that Park really makes his opponent's dives look as violent and destructive as possible and that's absolutely true. What a violent affair.
  13. Jordan
    Really liked this. Compact, physical sprint that makes you wish they could have had an extended match. I mean, Cena breaking out headscissors and slaps? Corner beatdowns with a hint of nastiness behind them? Come on now. Cena really is a great base for high flyers. Maybe not at Cesaro's level, but you've got stuff like this and that MOTYC against Mysterio in 2011 that shows that this is usually a winning combination. This did a good job reminding you that Cena's top dog while making Gabriel look like more of a threat and also continuing the Nexus program.
  14. Jordan
    Liked Cena opening with cradle pins and you almost wish he'd throw body shots more often as they looked great here. Seeing him fill a match with his comeback sequence + a few other moves and selling feels kinda jarring with how he's worked the last few years. Hell people ate up his bulldog here, plus reacted to the nearfall to it, and that was early in the match. I've always felt that whenever Orton tried to seem evil or devious it'd be too hokey but he's pretty dickish here and I liked him teasing an attack on Cena's surgically repaired pec. Plus I liked his "fuck this" DQ slap after trying to feign injury. Pretty good, not as great as their Summerslam match but this felt like a feud continuation so that's fine. I have to also say that although I said in the Cena/Hart thread that I thought WWE tried to force this feud's importance or whatever it's undeniable that this felt big. And it felt big back at the Summerslam 2007 show. It's interesting to hear Cena get uniform "CENA! CENA!" chants at times plus dueling chants that feel more organic and less "it's tradition" about how they come about.
  15. Jordan
    Yeah, it was. Think it was the first appearance of the Cenacanrana as well. Thanks for the matches, I'll get on them when I can.
  16. Jordan
    Man, this was awesome. The blocked attempts at even a simple drop toehold, Regal's palm strikes, Hashimoto egging him on to crank the intensity up even more. Just so much to love, like how they make even "basic" moves or counters seem the utmost impactful and damaging. Like when Hashimoto gets a nearfall that the crowd completely eats up off just a well placed elbow drop to the face. Hell he does it again later by simply powering out of a double underhook suplex attempt. Just incredible stuff. Hash promised Regal last year that they'd go to war again in the future and they absolutely did. Makes you wish Finlay vs. Hashimoto could have happened.
  17. Jordan
    Misawa's strategy to switch it up and try more subs and mat stuff in his Takayama matches is always great. I think this one progresses a bit more "cleanly" than the 02 match and just like that match it has a pretty phenomenal final stretch. The crowd seemed kinda confused by the Fujiwara armbar attempt but when Misawa dragged Takayama back into the middle for that reverse armbar the crowd ate it up. Misawa with the blood streaming down his chin and chest is quite the visual. Truly great match, not sure what I like more from 2001 that I've seen.
  18. Jordan
    Man, Misawa and Takayama had some great chemistry. The opening stretch with TKO teases and grounded Misawa ruled. Plus the elbow suicida Misawa hits in this looks like it's threatening to cut Takayama in half. There's definitely a section where they start moving at a bit of an awkward pace (Misawa has a elbow smash spot where it looks like he's going in slow motion), but I think they do manage to get a second wind for the final stretch. And I feel like the strike exchanges in that portion of the match were incredible, like a wrestling version of Hunt/Bigfoot with Misawa finally getting the win. Great match, although I feel like I'm leaning towards their first GHC match being better.
  19. Jordan
    This is definitely a brutal and violent match but as this thread has mentioned, you realize how story-driven and how much mat-based work is involved on repeat viewings. Incredible match, definitely one of the best of 2005. Also, is this really any more violent than the late-90s Misawa/Kawada Triple Crown matches that were double or triple its length? I don't think so.
  20. Jordan
    Saw some gifs on my twitter timeline of Braun throwing Ambrose around from a year ago and I checked that out but saw this in related vids and found it more interesting. Think the biggest growth from Strowman since this time has been how he emits his presence/aura and what to do when he's in control during his beatdowns. Compare this to the Zayn demolition from this Monday and it's night and day with how he moves and how he lays in his shots. I think Reigns' selling is the best part of this along with how he tries to figure out how to get on offense. Strowman taking Reigns' head off on the second apron dropkick ruled, though. Hope they have a program down the line.
  21. Jordan
    I really liked their two PPV matches a few years ago so no surprise I liked this as well. Agreed about Rusev's knee to stuff Big E's dive attempt, that was probably the highlight of the match for me. Both these guys probably would've been great in WAR.
  22. Jordan
    Loved this. Brock trying to laugh off Goldberg's shove and turning right around into a spear was perfect.
  23. Jordan
    This match popped into my head for some reason after watching the Survivor Series main (even though this match is nearly five times as long ) so I decided to give it a rewatch and this was great. That they fit in huge move teases along with struggles for control and still manage to have a greatly structured match in under five minutes is awesome. I like how you can think of this as a nice little post-credits scene to the whole Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue feud from 1996 with Akiyama getting the huge singles win.
  24. Jordan
    LOL
  25. Jordan
    He hit Kendrick first, to be fair
×
×
  • Create New...