dawho5

When I watched WCW I grew to hate the Goldberg push, I was one of those "internet smart fans" after all. That being said, Goldberg vs. DDP does more for me now than it did then.

Great stuff so far, but that's expected. For me, I have started a new policy of always watching a match without taking notes or really analytically thinking it through as I watch it. I find that taking notes tends to break up the rhythm of the match for me and that can take you out of a match just as easily as anything else. I believe it was mentioned earlier about watching a match and feeling it at a very basic level, then later going back mentally and trying to identify the things that inspired those feelings. To me that is the best way to go about it on first watch. If it's something I need notes on, I'll rewatch it and take notes. One thing I recall reading on here is a thread about how wrestling now is more physical than emotional. And since I was in the middle of the 2000s Japan wrestling grind that really hit home with me as a truth. At the time I was questioning whether or not taking notes during matches would help me during the project. But it really drove home that what wrestling ought to be about is the emotion the match inspires in the viewer. That's always been the point. If you can't inspire emotion, why is anyone going to pay to see it? And moreover I want emotion out of my wrestling matches. Sure two guys beating the shit out of each other/stretching each other is entertaining, but adding a compelling story to that makes for far more entertaining matches. So I think that while we may all look for different things in our wrestling, we all attach emotional value to whatever it is we look for. I understand that some of us have a harder time turning off that analytical side of ourselves than others. And I also understand the pitfalls of going into a match expecting one thing and getting another. I also understand having an almost blinding hatred for certain workers based on a few things they do that drive you nuts. I think that last one (and it's opposite) is actually a pretty common part of watching wrestling on an emotional level. Nothing you're going to do about it other than admit that it's there. Also, great idea for a thread Martin.

I'd say the bit about the Freebirds was a pretty intense argument as well for 3 guys who seem pretty high on the Freebirds.

Will's Triple H impression was great, regardless of Johnny's reaction.

My favorite Tanahashi match is his great 2004 bout with Kazayuki Fujita. He works underdog (by a long ways) throughout and plays the plucky-but-outgunned young lion so well. The thing that struck me about the match in general was the hit Inoki-ism took despite Fujita winning. The crowd is 100% behind Tanahashi even after he loses. That match also struck me as Tanahashi playing the role he was born to play with constant movement away from that as his career progressed.

One of the reasons I enjoy Tanahashi is how much he stands out from the rest of the NJPW guys. He brings something completely different to the table that creates a different feel to his matches than most of your Japanese wrestling. I think the lack of impact is usually worked into the way the match plays out with Tanahashi having to make up for his lack of overt physicality in other ways. That's where I find the enjoyable parts of the matches anyway.

Breaks vs. Faulkner is one of the best wrestling matches I have seen hands down. Faulkner is not his usual self at all, coming in angry due to Breaks baiting him into a punch that the ref saw and DQed Faulkner (to take away the title on the line in this match no less) in their previous match. Either that didn't make tape or it's not on youtube. Whichever one it is, that is just plain criminal. Off the charts awesome by both and if you like any WoS at all I'd say it's a match to see for sure.

I only started covering the in-between stuff around 94. I think I actually missed a few of the good 6-mans they aren't covering my first go round. Not that I won't make up for that in spades in the coming months, but still something I am missing myself.

Yeah I can point you at a match where Kawada gets Misawa riled up. Spoiler: it does not in any way go well for Kawada.

The 3rd was Jon Cortez. Also a really great wrestling match. Looking forward to Breaks wrestling Vic Faulkner also. Faulkner got scrappy against Woods, I would guess Breaks gets the same reaction. And Faulkner's cheeky comedy can't possibly help Jim Breaks' mood.

I'm waiting for the novel Parv writes about a hard-boiled detective who doesn't carry a gun but kicks people in the face really hard when they piss him off after a long night of drinking.

I actually had the Kobashi match from 03 slightly better than the Takayama match. Kobashi gets royally pissed at Ogawa for being such a little shit and the results are incredible. And surprising.

I always look at him as more with less due to who his peers were. Regardless of his prior qualifications, he was consistently on the level of Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi for over a decade. For a guy with the limitations that he did have, Taue did a pretty incredible job.

So I've seen 3 Breaks matches so far and I have to say that he's fast becoming a favorite. Jim Breaks working over an arm is glorious. Steve Grey trying over and over again to turn the Breaks special around on him is almost as good. I still favor the Street match for the great escalation throughout, but I have yet to watch the rematch with Grey.

I have one thing to say about all this talk of getting more out of less. Akira Taue will do very well on my list. Probably better than he does on most people's lists. So I would count myself among those who think that way. As far as people who may not make my list, depending on how much stuff I find that I really like going forward, I can see not having Samurai or Ohtani on my list despite how much I do love both of them. That's in no way a lock though.

I think I'll make some room for him though. He'll be on the low side, but I can't imagine he'll be missing.

I would argue that the recommendations are a boon more than anything. I've had far more positive experiences with stuff from the WoS or joshi threads than negative. Looking forward to looking at the multiple lucha threads on the site to find stuff on youtube. Not everything is going to be up my alley, even if it is high end stuff from whatever style.

Tanahashi very likely for me. I tend to like him in the setting of the 2000s wrestling, but when comparing him to other eras I'm not really that high on him. And it's not entirely on Tanahashi, but that's not really the point. I'd have a hard time putting somebody who may not be as impactful or quite as good within their particular style of wrestling as Tanahashi is behind Tanahashi if I really like said wrestling style. At a certain point objectiveness has to take a back seat to my own personal preference.

That's the thing for me. Time is an element of this and if three or four recommended matches for somebody make me want to not watch them again I have to start looking elsewhere. Especially if you look at a low end of something like 20 minutes on a match. For 7 matches that's over 2 hours. Time I could be spending on something like World of Sport (which I love) , lucha (which I haven't seen much of but I have liked the small sampling I have), 70s/80s territories stuff, 80s/early 90s NJPW heavies, etc. There's a lot of ground to cover and I don't watch hours of wrestling daily. I won't say Yokota has no redeeming qualities, but her style just turns me off so far. Nakano I haven't written off yet, she's got some things she did in that match I did watch that I really liked to go along with the stuff I didn't.

Oh how I wish there was a better way to put tone into messages on a board. I'll probably not be the low vote on Kobashi, as he'll very likely make my top 50 pretty easily. I was just having a bit of fun with the fact that somebody made the Kobashi comment before I got to it. As far as this topic goes, Michaels, RVD, Sabu, Dreamer and Angle will be somewhere on my 3-400 or 4-500 lists if I ever get around to making them. But that's not going to be a real outlier as far as most of the board regulars are concerned. Jaguar Yokota will definitely not be on my list after watching three matches. Bull Nakano is threatening to be the same way after one. I think a lot of joshi stuff is going to be hit or miss with me, so that may be an area where I don't include a lot of the big names.

That's a little bit of a different deal as far as Harley's repetitiveness, Parv. He almost had to be formulaic, much like Flair did before the advent of weekly wrestling on TV. He went to a territory for a little while, challenged the top contender in all of the towns and left for the next territory. The fans in those territories paid to see Harley Race do Harley Race spots. They paid to see him use those methods of showing ass to get their guy over while Harley hung onto the title. You have to look at the difference in the audience demands and the expectations of wrestlers as times have changed. Back then, you saw the NWA champ once or twice a year, so you wanted to see all the signature stuff. Now you see wrestlers weekly (or more often) so they have to come up with different ways of working to the same moves or it gets stale fast.

Bah, I can't imagine I won't be the low voter on Kobashi. I have such a hatred of his later career work (that I know is at least somewhat irrational). Get your own irrational hatreds that mar your judgement, damn you!

That 1991 6-man had the female fans in the audience looking very, very dismayed for Kobashi. You really didn't see the kind of visceral reactions Kobashi got from most Japanese crowds at the time. Kitchen sink was used a lot in WCW. I believe it came from the idea of "throwing everything at them except the kitchen sink." Taue was being a complete dick to Kawada in that 1991 match, but not so much to the other two. Great stuff so far, keep up the good work guys! Kikuchi was the "little guy" partner for Kobashi. Kobashi always played the big brother who saved Kikuchi from the bullies. He basically plays Kobashi for Kobashi in tag matches. Also, here's a link to a 1991 Hansen match for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acb3ZFdGF3I You get to see some very awesome character work from Hansen and a pissed off Misawa all in one.

Shibata is great, but he does have a lot of stuff that seems to creep up in every match that bothers me. It seems like he wrestles one out of two matches. Either he's up against a guy who is willing to bang and that's the match or he goes with the matwork on the less strike-oriented guys, then works into his big strikes.

Fujita vs. Tanahashi 6/5/04 Probably my favorite Tanahashi match as he plays a wonderful underdog against the big amateur wrestler/shootstyle Fujita. Tanahashi gets stomped, but shows a great ability to time hope spots and get the crowd behind him. Tanahashi vs. Nakamura 1/4/05 A chance to watch an early version of what would become a staple rivalry. Tanahashi vs. Nakamura 12/10/06 Improvement over the previous year's match. I had some quibbles with it, but it's still really good. Tanahashi vs. Kanemoto 2/18/07 Oddball match with Kanemoto somehow being equal or on top for most of it. Tanahashi vs. Nagata 4/13/07 This is where you really start to see Tanahashi start to develop into what he would. Nagata massacres him and he has to try and weather the storm and come up with a way to defeat an opponent with more weapons than he has (sounds vaguely familiar to most big Tanahashi matches). Tanahashi vs. Nagata 10/8/07 They tack on the standard nearfall-filled ending to a match that didn't support it here. Would have been an improvement with the right finish over the April bout if you ask me. Instead it's a what-if match, but worth watching for the first part. Tanahashi vs. Suwama 4/9/08 I really liked this match. Great matchup between rising stars in their respective promotions. Tanahashi vs. Nakamura 2/15/09 Nakamura's continued no-selling of the leg bothers me. The rest is pretty damn good. Tanahashi vs. Nakanishi 5/6/09 Nakanishi no-sells the leg also. That aside, surprisingly good match. Tanahashi vs. Nakanishi 6/20/09 Tanahashi is better in a worse match. Tanahashi vs. Masato Tanaka 8/15/09 Worst match on this list by far. Fuck Masato Tanaka. That's all from the Best of 2000s stuff I went through earlier this year. I thought Tanahashi was really well represented from early uber-underdog in 04 all the way to being ace in 09. His work with Nagata during the transition was a lot of fun. He even carries a stiff like Nakanishi to a watchable match in 2009, so that says something.