Steenalized

Smackdown has very clearly been a secondary show for a long, long time. It has some really good matches and continuations of B stories (C stories?) but you can never watch it and be 99% up to date with the WWE.

Brief clips are probably fine. Have them lead into stills for dramatic effect. But the strong majority of people who watch Raw every Monday don't have the network, why give it away for free?

Myths become reality to people when the joke gets passed on to second, third, and fourth hand reports. I definitely knew of the Bret Hart "five moves of doom" as a serious complaint when I started talking wrestling online.

Rough and tumble, tons of stiffness. Other than that, not a ton to this match. I'm not crapping on it like some of you are. If it was on a random card I was watching I'd be pretty happy if it wasn't the main event. Acceptable midcard/upper midcard showdown. One of Akiyama'as weaker performances, not that he was bad. ***.

Nishimura doesn't look like a pro wrestler. He's not muscular at all, he's tall but lean yet kinda has a belly. He looks like a guy off the street who maybe hits the gym sometimes. Takayama looks like an offensive lineman with his monster thighs. But this isn't a slugfest. Nishimura pops Takayama with a stiff forearm early, he's not going to be afraid, but he's working Takayama on the mat. He shows some impressive strength to bridge up off the mat and push Takayama down into a bridge. it's an impressive feat but I actually more hate the spot. It's a pure strength show for that, why would Takayama overpower him, suddenly lose that, then regain the power edge? Nishimura grabs a standing headlock, tosses Takayama to the mat, then gets put into headscissors. Him escaping only to casually slap Takayama's thighs is a great little moment. Takayama's face was bracing for a big smack or kick, but nope, Nishimura is a class act. Nishimura can get the crowd to pop for his repeated escapes. Elusiveness is rarely so popular. His offense is stellar, not aesthetically but in a logical sense. Nishimura could never trade blows, throws, or suplexes with big ol' Takayama, so it's a constant battle for leverage. He tries to pull Takayama into a cross armbreaker, Takayama clutches his fingers in desperation. So how does Takayama escape? With a dazzling mat display of his own? Nah, screw that, he brute forces his way through it, lifting Nishimura up and sits him down on the turnbuckle. Big kicks to the chest drop Nishimura. Nishimura finally fires back with more forearms, rocking Takayama. He even comes off the top with a knee then locks Takayama in a figure four. Takayama does a good job selling the agony. The ref counts the pin when Takayama's shoulders are down. Put me in the camp of people who think that's the right call. Not calling it a pin is wrong. Takayama gets a moment of respite by grabbing the ropes. Nishimura says that this train has no breaks, you're getting another figure four, this time in the middle of the ring.Big ass Takayama rolls over onto his stomach while Nishimura clutches onto the hold, forcing Takayama back onto his... back. Normally Takayama's selling comes from taking big offense from Kobashi or Misawa. I'm enjoying the hell out of him being worked in submissions. Nishimura kicks away at Takayama's knee. You're just making him angry! Takayama SLAPS the hell out of Nishimura. Big mist of sweat flies everywhere. Nishimura putting on a sleeper gets another big pop. Takayama tosses Nishimura over and kicks him square in the back. Foolish old looking man, when will you learn? Nishimura drops out of a suplex and counters with an abdominal stretch, then like an octopus. Whatever the hell he's doing, it's putting Takayama in agony. Again Takayama has to tank his way through it. Nishimura's countering Takayama like a matador dodging a bull. It's all for naught when Takayama finally gets him from behind. One massive German suplex plants Nishimura on his head and Takayama gets the three. ****1/2. Loved it, so very different than the rest of Takayama's stuff or the main events you see in NJPW/AJPW/NOAH. This wasn't fighting spirit, this was wily little Nishimura doing everything he could to bring down the monster. He almost did it too.

Lawler's beautiful locks are reason alone to watch old Memphis.

Thanks Alan, luckily I've powered through basically all the bolded matches of '00 and '01, with '02 and '03 in sight tomorrow.

I had a good length write up done on this, but continuing my streak of idiot things to do in re the 2000s Japan project, I lost it. That said, I loved this match even more than my first watch. It feels like a clash of titans, more so than any other match so far, including Akiyama-Misawa. Part of it is Takayama's gargantuan frame. It actually makes Kobashi seem vulnerable. Kobashi's offense is top notch as ever. Takayama's high, arching German is a thing of beauty. 4.5* in my book. Great match, but not the highest tier.

I said on twitter while watching this match that Kea is "just there." That's actually really unfair to him, he puts in a good, energetic performance. Hansen gets one last great match, Tenryu gets to be his ornery self, and Kawada looks like the big dog for All Japan. I don't know what was different, but it sounded like all the guys were mic'd up for the match, especially Hansen. The audible grunts added a little bit extra to the match. Even stiff-legged, saw dust knees Hansen is a guy I wouldn't want to tangle with. Kea getting up after Kawada's big backdrop driver is how it should be done. Yeah he popped up, but his legs are shot and the ropes help him. Could've used more Tenryu-Hansen brawling, but that's all I want in life. Sick powerbomb to end it. ****1/4.

Yeah, even 1979 is like 40% of the year for weekly TV, presuming it aired every week. It's enough to get a good feel but there are notable gaps.

Kobashi chopping Omori in the forehead and crown of the head then Omori selling it like a big deal bothered me to no end. Such a dumb little spot, just hit him in the neck, chest, or other soft tissue, not where you're going to break your hand. Otherwise, a really strong match. Omori showing tons of heart in his effort to dethrone Kobashi. Omori's offense lacks the stiffness that Kobashi's has a lot of the time. Other than my previous gripe, the stuff he's unloading on Omori looks excellent. Three and three quarters. Kobashi was awesome, Omori didn't quite hold up his end.

That's when I started, plus it seems about impossible to find anything earlier, at least on youtube, except for one or two shows.

Challenging the company ace, Starts quickly yet rises in pace, Akiyama steps up, He's not just a pup, An all time great has stated his case. *****. Akiyama is so damn good.

Ohtani's jacket really is something special. Put it high on the list of bedazzled pro wrestling jackets and robes. Polite handshakes start the match but the niceties don't last long. Tanaka shows off a few kicks before Takaiwa absolutely lays into him with chops. Ohtani joins the stiffing party and brings a big bowl of punch. Kanemoto tries to take this to the mat with a cross armbreaker but Ohtani isn't having it. More hard punches once he backs Kanemoto into his corner. Takaiwa works a single leg crab, maybe he's tired of chopping the hel lotu of everyone, but Kanemoto reverse that into a heel hook. Tanaka fish hooks or face rakes Takaiwa only for the veteran to return the favor. Ohtani lays on some brutally hard slaps to Tanaka's jaw. Tanaka gets down and dirty, returning the hard slaps while Kanemoto keeps trying to actually wrestle. That doesn't go so well. He's better off slapping the shit out of everyone. Takaiwa eats the brunt of Kanemoto and Tanaka's offense. He gets to show his power by hoisting Kanemoto up for a powerbomb into the ropes while Kanemoto tries another arm bar. Ohtani taunts Tanaka while the ref keeps him out. Kanemoto puts Ohtani in the tree of woe while Tanaka and him hit a couple of dropkicks, echoing the pain Kanemoto dealt with moments before when he was in the same spot. Ohtani CRUSHES poor Tanaka with face washes. Stiff, stiff stuff, you'd think his face is going to rip off. Just as Ohtani gets going, Tanaka cuts him off with a trip. Tanaka's getting cocky as he stands up to Ohtani and Takaiwa. he lands on his feet after Ohtani dodges a moonsault. Let the high spots begin! Lariats, dropkicks, belly to bellies, the pace explodes from where it's been all match until only Tanaka is standing. Tanaka tries a super frankensteiner and I'm not sure if he botched it or if Ohtani shoved him off. Either way, Ohtani acts like he shoved him off, so good cover. The crowd goes nuts when Takiwa hits a death valley driver. Tanaka bounces back with a dragon screw and a moonsault, makes the cover, and Ohtani is in like a flash to make the save. That's some serious hustle, journalists everywhere take note. Kanemoto and Ohtani tag in. It's a dazzling sequence of dodges and counters til Kanemoto pulls Ohtani into an ankle lock. Ohtani desperately grabs the ropes. Kanemoto lays in kicks until Ohtani cuts him off with a simple leg sweep trip. Him and Takaiwa try to finish Kanemoto off, but Kanemoto evades his doom yet again. Slippery bastard. Ohtani blocks a spinning heel kick from kanemoto and lays him out with a hard powerbomb. Tanaka tries to make the save and eats one himself. Ohtani covers Kanemoto but it's been too long and he only gets a nearfall. Kanemoto and Tanaka clean house. Kanemoto dragon suplexes Ohtani to end the madness. Ohtani kicks out; Kanemoto rolls him straight into an armlock and Ohtani has to tap. Interesting tale of two matches. Early on it's all stiffness, mostly while Ohtani and Takaiwa try to kill Tanaka with chops. Tanaka and Kanemoto try to wrestle but have to say screw it, we're fighting back. The last third tones down the stiffness, at least in quantity, but accelerates into bigger spots and lots of counters. Good counters, not choreographed two-steps. **** match.

Devastated that my old computer died and I, like an idiot, forgot to include my spreadsheet in my backups/dropbox. I'm going to have to work at an insane pace to meet the year's end. Wish me luck.

I don't doubt that Cena will keep being the WWE's top guy for the foreseeable future, even as they try to shift the spotlight to others. I just think that having Cena even go toe-to-toe with Brock next month is such a massively stupid and nonsensical idea after that squash that even the WWE won't do it. EDIT: I can also see what goc said in the above post, albeit more featured.

Thanks for the podmass, Joe! I'd hoped someone would do this.

Pro wrestling is fake combat, but it's pretty obvious to anyone who's ever been in a fight or trained in boxing/wrestling/etc. that it isn't a facsimile of a real fight. Shoot style tries to replicate it and I know personally that I just can't get into it. At that point I'd rather just watch the real thing.

And by all reports, he's an outdoorsman, isn't he? I think as farmer as well.

Dave undoubtedly has a soft spot for Orton. He consistently refers to him as a great worker in the podcasts.

I don't get the idea of anything other than Brock beating Cena cleanly and decisively again. It can last a little longer, sure. Cena tries more cat and mouse tactics instead of standing up to Brock. But Brock needing interference to win makes no sense after demolishing Cena.

Dave says in the latest Observer that the Cena-Lesnar matches have been more reminiscent of Japanese matches than WWE work. While I agree that this one was very much not a traditional WWE match, I'm not exactly buying that either.

Both were very enjoyable and entertaining. Let's see how long this trend keeps up.

Every few months it seems like there's a new potential Lawler match up. Like him vs. the Shield when they tried to ambush him back when they were heels.

I'll bite. Guilty pleasure - Battle royals. Everyone craps on them. They're a bad/wasteful use of the roster, it's just 10 minutes of sloppy brawling and a few big spots, etc. etc. I can't really explain why, but ever since I was a kid I've always been a sucker for battle royals and I'm still genuinely excited when I see one. Guess I'm a few decades late on that train. I love the imagery of a dozen or more people brawling at once. Guilty displeasure - Misawa and Kobashi. They're great, they're all time greats, I just don't enjoy them. i don't even think it's their fault, per se, more of the match style of All Japan and NOAH. I don't care for the overlong matches that border on the "self-conscious epic" label as they moved into the 2000s. I have a hard time labeling this displeasure, actually. It's not just those two, though they were who came to mind first. Saying "AJPW and NOAH" was way too broad, but maybe "AJPW/NOAH main event style from the late 90s to mid 00s" is more accurate.