GOTNW
-
Posts
2006 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Everything posted by GOTNW
-
I understand why people are pissed but honestly no one from the main roster is going to be presented as relevant and an actual star. I don't really have much emotional connection or think much of most of the people they've acquired through the indy raid so I'll take a match they will actually build and present as important over Owens vs Zayn or whatever. Also it's come to a point where even if they did the same thing with 95% of the people they have on the roster I still wouldn't care. Also at this point Reigns is pretty much a midcarder more over than his push.
-
It's fresh, exciting and interesting which matters to me a lot more than how good the actual match will be.
-
Neat match. No wasted motion as the match pretty much starts as a finishing stretch with Shibata going after EVIL right out of the gate. Shibata's injured shoulder was handled perfectly-in modern New Japan you often get boring limbwork and walking around the ring to waste time. Here you also had limbwork and action outside the ring but it was handled as good as it could've been with EVIL just decimating Shibata's arm with devastating chairshots. A couple of years ago pretty much every Suzuki-gun match would have spots like that with weak, bad looking chairshots, luckily Shibata is a maniac who really lets EVIL nail him as strong as he can. Attempt move-get cut-off is such a staple of New Japan transitions but they avoided it here as much as possible, adding more counters to keep you guessing which one would finally land and smartly building the match around cut-offs-for instance EVIL attempted his Discuss Elbow twice only to finally hit it in the last minute. Ten minutes of exciting smashmouth action. ***1/2
-
Man an Elgin match has no business going 32 minutes. So much of this match was dull, uninspired and predictable time filling. A big problem was that Elgin was doing the stuff he does thirty minutes into the match three minutes into the match. He has no clue how to properly structure has a match. This wasn't Naito's best showing either. I did really enjoy the opening but it's very telling that the only character work Elgin can do is based on mocking someone else. Then came the long middle portion of the match where absolutely nothing of significance happened. The leagwork was meaningless and pointless-it didn't affect anything Elgin did whatsoever, Naito didn't take advantage of it in creating interesting cut-offs as well as he should've and Elgin's selling was as bland as ever. How many times can I see Naito run into an Elgin power spot before I stop caring about it when Elgin's power spots aren't really that impressive on their own? How many times do I need to see Naito dropkick Elgin's leg and hit Elgin with a running move once Elgin bounces off the ropes? For all the circle-jerking about 90s All Japan I truly wish people would steal everything they did inbetween the moves and look at how they kept their transitions fresh. The finishing stretch was fun, although as usual used questionable psychology (a big move doesn't hurt fifteen seconds later if you counter the next big move). **1/2
-
Aoyagi was almost a non factor here as the match is a total showcase for Kashin's shtick, and it's really good shtick. I cannotf help but love classic spots like the face falling for the heel's handshake and the heel pulling the face's hair to maintain control of a side headlock but Kashin also does really intruiging stuff like take a breather by sitting next to a fan before attacking the fan and pulling the ref into an Aoyagi crossbody. And he does a pretty Armbar. **3/4
-
This was a fine rookie punishment match. Nomura was ok but his comebacks were quite predictable and not nearly as interesting as Sai dominating him and cutting him off with brutal kicks. It's probably for the best his offence is limited to running forearms right now but it doesn't make for exciting viewing when they're pulled into the generic "rookie bounces off the ropes a couple of times before taking the veteran down" spots. **3/4
-
Your mileage may vary here depending on how much you like house show shenanigans as the entire match was built around the referee having double standards and Aoki and the crowd protesting about it as well as them screwing around with each other's merch. I found it fun, it didn't overstay its welcome and the finish was creative and fitting to what they established in the match earlier. **3/4
-
I heard this was a horrible trainwreck so I was hyped beyond words for this. But actually it was just a really good match. What I loathed about Suwama is his tendency to venture into dumb as fuck modern puro nonsense, his matches vs. Sekimoto a few years ago were some of the most disappointing pimped matches I've ever watched, they'd have like 15 yes votes on the DVDVR voting threads but weren't any good at all, just two guys standing in the middle of the ring making dumb faces, exchangis weak chops with some bad looking long boston crab spots thrown in there. Kashin kind of negates all of that and brings actual psychology into the match. Before the match even starts he's acting like the awesome goofy heel he is, offering handshakes to the ref, stealing and breaking Suwama's banner and so on. The match builds logically, starting with lock-ups and basic spots before Kashin picks apart Suwama's ankle/heel/whatever that he injured in January. Suwama's comebacks/hope spots/control segments are him overpowing Kashin with strikes and slams. Simple, logical, effective, and Kashin sells it well. Kashin does this really cool selling of Suwama's Ankle Lock where he he convincingly teases tapping and then looses his laces so his shoe would fall off next time Suwama tries an Ankle Lock. Kashin incorporates that spot into the match smartly and desperately attacks Suwama with cradles after catching him off guard. Suwama, being the stronger and better wrestler, survies that, cuts him off and goes over with the dreaded Ankle Lock after really letting the evil Kashin feel the pain. I don't get it. What's bad about this? Psychologically and philosophically it's pretty much a shorter and less ambitious version of Kobashi-Ogawa. Are modern puro fans incapable of enjoying matches that aren't worked evenly with twenty minutes of stupid strike exchanges and no selling German Suplexes? It was refreshing to see this type of match worked in Japan in 2016 and it's stuff like this that keeps me going back to japanese wrestling and wrestling in general. ***-***1/4
-
Bryan was way better as a worker. Zayn has had matches get plenty of time and his best has been mediocre. Bryan actually knew how to work matches that don't go at least 20 minutes (which Zayn doesn't, and judging by his matches that get the time he's forgotten how to work those as well). Bryan's stuff against Miz was top notch and he was always a really good TV worker as well, whether it be a six minute match vs Wade Barrett or a two minute match vs Great Khali on NXT. In terms of getting over......well honestly they should just burry Zayn and push the narrative he's being held down and all that jazz since that's the only way he'll get over. I don't buy for one second he can pul off the kind of heel run Bryan did in 2011/2012 and work the matches he did against Mark Henry and Big Show.
-
Pretty standard Jax squash, I liked her pushing Esposito by grabbing her by the jaw and viciously slamming her into the corner. The Esposito/Alicia Fox "hey we're friends" social media post might seem like an irrelevant tidbit but it does make me wonder when someone is going to start "working" more seriously and using the tools the current age offers to enrich the storylines with new media. So it is a far more belieavable tidbit than Alicia Fox going after Nia Jax for no reason the next week because she knew last week's jobber in high school or whatever.
-
Bo Dallas' pre-match speeches are the height of WWE comedy. Whenever there is conscious intent to create comedy in the fed it's usually cringeworthy but when you have these obviously scripted lines and the ridiculous delivery of a D-level actor in a minute long promo it can be quite brilliant. See also: genesis of mcgillicutty and other similar post-modern botchamania memes. Unfortunately usually those types of segments last 20 minutes and dissolve quickly. As for the match, well, Bo's knee drops weren't quite on the level of the rest of his offence but it was still a fun short squash.
-
Strowman, Jax, Emma and now Bo Dallas, I think we can safely say "become more aggressive and kill jobbers" is a winning formula. Bo hits a mean back elbow (which is an underrated move) and throws some nice punches and knees before taking care of business with a move that is essentially a Cross Rhodes and the argument against it being a Cross Rhodes would sound a lot like Bret Hart talking about how the Sharpshooter and the Scorpion Deatlock are different moves because they're wrapped around a different leg.
-
Strowman worked a little more vulnerable here too, and I'm not surprised to see him getting it as well, one of the first things that impressed me back when he just debuted was how good he was at selling without pretty much ever bumping and thus putting over his dominance, and the message here is clear-C level talent like Sin Cara and Alicia Fox may be superior to the random local guy they found but they're still not nearly good enough to pose a threat to Strowman and Jax. If that kind of booking continued consistently you'd actuallly get a sense of hierarchy in WWE. Enjoyed him barely selling the suicide dive before going over and the spot where Sin Cara tried some kind of jumping move and Strowman just pushed him down was amazing, also made me think you could counter about 80% of indy offence with it. Fun match.
-
[1998-09-11-AJPW-Summer Action Series II] Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue
GOTNW replied to Loss's topic in September 1998
I am just going to point out that the goal of commentary is to cover up the screw-ups and you can still interpret the action differently than how the shills want you to. Mind you that doesn't mean that there aren't good arguments for either thing, just that maybe we shouldn't jump and use "the commentary said" as an argument. -
[2016-09-25-WWE-Clash of the Champions] Nia Jax vs Alicia Fox
GOTNW posted a topic in September 2016
Interesting an enjoyable match, and the first time Jax worked a more "normal" WWE match. As much as I would love her to just squash everyone in her way that's just not going to happen so they're going to have to have her work as a vulnerable monster. And a vulnerable monster is monster that can reach the highest artistic peak in wrestling and a natural progression to what she's been doing. Outside of Jax eating a Jawbreaker on the ropes I thought all of Fox's attempted comebacks made sense and that Jax nailed the amount of selling needed for this type of match and she's already got the presence, cut-offs, offence etc. you'd want from someone in her role. **3/4 -
It's so cool to hear the crowd "ooooooooooh" and "oooooooooooow" in a way that carries shock and fear and not just "hey cool spot!". Jax looked great here, hitting and awesome Clothesline and throwing the jobber around, I particularly loved the spot where she was about to splash her in the corner and the jobber moved out of the way and she just casually stopped her own momentum. The new fireman's carry finisher looks badass as well. Thumbs up.
-
I have to have watched this match like ten times already. Great Antonio is this giant fat guy, he no-sells everything Inoki does and slaps his stomach to showcase dominance, then if that wasn't enough starts stiffing Inoki with brutal clobbing shots to the neck which infuriates Inoki and results in one of the most famous and brutal wrestling shoots of all time. An absolute spectacle, I love battles of carnies and you can't go much better than this match in that area. The strongest image is probably the one that comes after the match as a bloody and likely concussed Antonio contemplates where he is and what happened to his greatness.
-
About what you'd expect from a three minute exhibition match between those two, some nice grappling, a little awkward at times due to Renzo not being familiar with working but nothing significant overall. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the shenanigans surrounding the match. It was interesting to hear Renzo's post-match interview and how he saw the whole thing as well.
-
Fun match, hard to rate it due how clipped the only footage of it I could find is. You could make a case for post-modernism in japanese pro wrestling being present as early as those 70s All Japan tags but here it goes even further as it's even more clear this is nothing more than a freak show for laughs while PRIDe is the real deal. Sakuraba uses a few of his trademark spots like the mongolian punches in the full mount and spinning someone when he gets in their guard, but the way he milked the double wristlock escape and his punches remind you what a lost talent he was. Top rope wristlock as a finish was cool and I appreciated them building up to it instead of just altering the stuff before it in a manner to get it in regardless of whether it made sense or not.
-
This is all about the crowd heat as the crowd explodes when Kashin shows up to challenge for the IWGP Jr. Title unmasked. Match is fine-Naruse hits Kashin with a couple of solid shots where he visibly held back, Kashin catches him in a Flying Armbar for the flash finish and that's all she wrote. Might not sound like much on paper but it is a very enjoyable and unique experience to watch one of these weird matches only Inoki could book, and also to see someone like Kendo Kashin better reactions than most of today's heavyweights ever will.
-
We live in a time where there is more content than ever, and watching every match of a wrestler that's made tape is only possible if that wrestler has wrestled a lot less frequently than an average one does, had a short career or there isn't much tape of him. At what point do you become more entrenched in your opinion? And, once you've seen what the best matches and performances of a wrestler look like as well as his worst and have firm grip on what he stands for does watching another match that confirms what you've already concluded really matter that much? What point is there in watching more of the same if you've already assessed its worth? If this sounds like an argument for peak match quality and performances over quantity, well, that's pretty much what it is. If I've only got so much time dedicated to watching wrestling, look at it philosophically and constantly re-evaluate my own taste I don't see having fewer matches as an inherent negative. 100 matches is A LOT-if you wrestle that much over a period of 8/9 years quite frankly I don't need *more* to figure out what I think about a worker. More footage of a worker over a longer period of time does inform us, but saying more matches/years as a good worker=better feels pretty, ahem.........reductive.
-
I don't remember the last time I laughed so much while watching a wrestling match, watching Strowman overwhelm a random goof and throw him around was so much fun. Also enjoy the pre-match interviews they do with the jobbers.
-
Watched to see whether "let's go jobber" chants were really a thing now (they are-but aren't nearly as funny as one would hope. the chant inflation has made it hard for something to them to be funny as a novelty, let alone as a staple of a character). I was actually impressed with Bo in this match, and I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've liked anything he's done. Simple, snug work, good looking body shots, knee strikes and slams/gutbusters, it made for a fine squash match. Not sure exactly what the hell his new character is supposed to be and I doubt it'll get over but we shall see.
-
Kazunari Murakami is the objectively correct answer here. El Terrible and Luke Gallows pack a good one too.
-
Man you are on an island with this one. Conscensus was that it was good in a three+ starish way. I also have some pretty peculiar opinions so I won't attack you or anything, your rating intrigues me and makes me want to revisit the match