GOTNW

Sure, I'm in. I hope at least the roll out will be on PWO due to the visibility and whatnot.

Two highly skilled judokas work a Battlarts match and it rules. I’m not usually a fan of 90s joshi pacing, but a five minute sprint is much more digestible than a half an hour one, especially when it serves as a showcase of legit techniques and not missile dropkicks and half nelson chickenwing suplexes. Kazunina makes me a fan by doing a beautiful O-goshi five seconds into a match, and not that I wouldn’t have liked this if this were just a million hip throws-but they really do a fantastic job of structuring things in such a way that always keeps you guessing by also utilizing hand techniques, sacrifice throws, Kosen/BJJ-like sweeps, creating neat grappling sequences around fighting for chokes and armbars by using legit counters as well as fluently entering into them from standing. Kandori hitting a Seoi Nage could be “just a thing that happened”, but after teasing it and having her be the one thrown a bunch in such a short time the contrast makes it a gigantic, momentum shifting turning point, even if the actuality of the match being a five minute sprint worked in the vein it was forces them to be exchanging maneuvers and not truly be one sided for a longer period of time, that it cons you into feeling like that regardless is a testament to the power of pro wrestling. ****1/4

The first ever Openweight Judo Olympic Champion faces off against Gorilla Monsoon in a special “judo jacket” rules match. In practice this essentially means they have to wear a judogi and pins last 20 seconds instead of 3, otherwise it’s the standard 2/3 falls formula of the times. I think this was well structured-Geesink carried the first half of the match which looked more like proper judo with him trying uchi mata, ouchi gari etc. but being stopped by Monsoon’s sheer size. Monsoon didn’t really do much there outside of his antics about his belt untying, but really took over in the second fall by going back to the pro-wres playbook and using chops and punches. There were some nice counters built around Monsoon going for the Fireman’s Carry and the irish whip Bearhug towards the end, with the finish being about what you’d expect for 1974. Nothing spectacular, but good fun for those interested in this particular niche of prowres. ***1/4

It's Pancrase so no.

I don't see how it's the MDA's fault the rest of the board has nothing new to offer. And the rest of the board has nothing new to offer (other than occasional random BTB projects or whatever) because pretty much any single argument which could provoke a bigger number of poster to engage in it has already been beaten to death-it's just the nature of things when there's only so many posters watching only so much wrestling and they've crossed paths a million times. If you're unhappy with how the MDA's affected the board think of cool projects or thought provoking ideas which could generate hype and discussion. For my money, by far the most interesting stuff on the board happens in the MDA-whether it be unearthing new/not well known matches or just a general creation of a consensus and a variety of opinions for certain matches for which you can't find something like that well organized and archived anywhere else on the internet. I vastly prefer the current state to the post-GWE state where basically nothing happened outside current WWE discussion, even if my dwindling enthusiastic for prowres doesn't really show it.

Fujiwara looks like such a badass here. This is a match built as a battle of Saito’s striking and kicking and Fujiwara’s submissions, and Fujiwara just overwhelms Saito with his badassery. Early on as they’re making their first moves he checks Saito’s kicks and then just explodes with brutal chokes, making great use of Saito’s gi and surely making whoever his judo coach was proud with sweet collar chokes. Saito takes the gi off but Fujiwara then just uses the belt to choke him even more violently, really the whole match is just a sweet Fujiwara showcase, Saito has really nice kicks and body blows, and he busts Fujiwara open with punches to the forehead, which just results in Fujiwara rising up like a vampire and headbutting the hell out of him, as well as often just brushing off Saito’s kicks. Fujiwara also basically no-sells Saito when he goes to argue with his second instead of paying attention to Saito and totally super rekts him when he fakes being stunned by body shots to lure Saito in, and Saito takes the bait like a faithless fool. A little bit too one sided to reach “greatness” but a great time to be had watching it. What are ratings anyway? ***3/4

I know very little about TJP but Yuu was brough to my attention as someone who uses judo offence so when her matches come on I pay more attention. Yamashita seems like a total slob, more concerned with doing fancy moves than anything, just getting in as many leg based moves and spins as she can. Yuu has nice chops, I liked how she used the knee on back/belly for control and ragdolled Yamashita towards the end with nice slams. Maybe Yuu will produce something noteworthy if she somehow crosses paths with Chihiro, Satomura or Aja, but until then she's probably going to be facing punks like Yamashita and doing stupid strike exchanges. This match at least had some edge to it due to the intensity she brought, so, like, three stars.

Lesnar is a 6'3 guy with an athletic build who did shooting star presses in his prime. Marking him as some sort of example on which you're going to base your crusade for super heavyweights is utterly ridiculous, especially when you're talking about someone who's (with good reason) more concerned about contract negotiations and having to do as little as possible than he is any sort of faux artistic nonsense. The word carried isn't used in its literal sense, which you, as a native speaker of the english language and long time pro wrestling fan, should know. The historical precedent of your example is set on the presumption larger wrestlers are less mobile and need to be fed for by the smaller wrestlers who in turn do more actual work. Many of us here at PWO have rightly recognized this has steered into a silly direction among workrate fetishists who don't recognize the tools larger wrestlers bring. But to use Brock Lesnar, who's literally portrayed as being faster than people like Seth Rollins, as a stereotype of that is beyond stupid.

He's irish.

Fujiwara is, at worst, an absolute no brainer hall of famer trainer. None of the random New Japan guys you're coming up with match his case in any way-work, influence or training.

That main event was a monumental achievement for wrestling as an artistic form. I still can't believe they managed to make a match feel like a bad trip.

This match was dumb. By far the most interesting about it coming in was how they were going to reconcile protecting Braun with the likely result of him not winning the title, and they ended up with a solution that accomplished nothing. Braun overpowered Lesnar early on, which was his one advantage over Lesnar (as is over everyone), but we've seen Lesnar in that position a bunch of times already. As soon as Lesnar grabbed the arm on the Double Wristlock and started spamming Germans the idea Strowman was just another challenge for him to overcome started clearing up, and that's exactly what happened. Lesnar's back being "injured" was dumb-an attempt to put over Strowman as causing damage only made the match look more ridiculous, as an injured Lesnar suplexed Strowman numerous times after not being able to do so forever, then did the same thing with the F5 (which he also couldn't hit earlier on). Strowman got his finisher efficency ruined and lost clean in a match where the most memorable thing was Lesnar taking a bump to the outside through the ropes. Blarh. The exhaustion selling after the match is analogous to a cheating spuse promising change-"See! He's tired! Look what it took for him to beat him! We know what we're doing! This is fine! Wait to see where it leads to! It will get better!" **1/2

This was a weird match. The beginning was worth like they were building a proper match with a narrative and proper control segments, with Reigns just dominating Cena, working at a slower pace while Cena was too focused on playing to the crowd and got cut off over and over again. Eventually it just turned into a WWE workrate wankfest, as predictable as ever. If you’ve seen Cena matches like this before you could basically call half the spots, the Diving Legdrop into the Powerbomb, the Five Knuckle Shuffle cut-off followed by a proper one later in the match where Cena does a Fist Drop straight away instead of running the ropes and a billion finishers. To met these Cena matches are in the same vein as the Omega/Okada matches that have been getting a bunch of buzz-I don’t really think the *wrestling* in them is very good, but they do offer something in the flash, big spots and buzz they generate. I did like the executions of many of the spots like the Shoulder Tackle>Punch counter and Reigns was really good at convincing you he was gonna hit a Clothesline, punch or whatever and was not just setting up for an AA or whatever. And I loved the finish, Reigns just hitting a quick 1-2 combo was masterful. Still, for a workrate match like this to be anything more than an itsy bitsy fun watch while you grab a snack you’d want it to not just be spamming big moves and sequences in predictable fashion (is there anyone who didn’t see Reigns hitting a Spear once Cena cleared both tables? or the AA counter to the Spear? or the last ten matches where the same “Big Match” structure has been beaten to death so much), that’s sub-1998 All Japan guys sleepwalking through a Korauken 6 man tag effort. ***

This match was an interesting caricature of shoot style, which doesn't seem like a style that ever fully developed or was often used anywhere (I'm having trouble recalling similar matches outside of maybe Super Porky vs Rey Escorpion, and even that was a different subgenre). Not a case of shoot style implementing pro-style elements for flash of vice versa, just a shooty style done more elaborately. The kicker-wrestler dynamic was a logical way to start things off-I loved how Severn would roll through with Tajiri once he got his back but them just exchanging top positions didn't really fit in. Tajiri countering a leglock by a slap rush was awesome and a somewhat fascinating spot for a 1995 New Jersey show. Severn killing off Tajiri ruled too-ragdolling Tajiri into the ropes, setting up suplexes by getting control on the ground and then lifting him or bouncing off the ropes while already holding him for momentum, swell stuff all around. ***1/4

This was too bizarre for me not to love. Carson wrestles like a prototypical 1990s american heavyweight, doing worked kickstomps and shoulder blocks. There's a section where he just stands there and lets Kitahara kicks him for a while, and then kinda brushes it off. Finish sees Kitahara hit a brutal knee followed by a Reverse WAR Special which looks more like a forgotten nasty shoulder/neck lock from on old instructional than what you'd expect a Reverse WAR Special to look (a dumb double underhook), after which he swears at Carson and they both act as it had been a shoot. Magnificently weird. **3/4

Fun little wrestler vs karateka match. Kobayashi didn't particularly impress here but Hirai looked amazing, really carried the match with his selling (which made Kobayashi's offence seem three times better than it did) and timing of comebacks and takedowns, as well as neat suplexes. ***

Ah, the joy of Kitao Pro and a handshake refusal leading to a slap to the face and a match turning into a brawl five seconds in. Kurisu may just be the most straightforwardly brutal wrestler ever. When you think about it pro wrestling rules are incredibly lenient, really the closest thing to a street fight it gets in a "sporting" contest. Kurisu fights like someone who could rob you, but also as an experienced veteran who will use the tricks he's learned in the ring to beat the crap out of a young karateka. Okamura has nice kicks and throws lots of them, and the only moments of him putting Kurisu in peril come when they land on the head. Kurisu showcases amazing futuristic selling-a head kick landing is not a guarantee he will sell it, but it landing is a necessity for him to sell it-and the seemingly random selling correlates well with the fact the flashiest kicks are not always the one that cause the most damage. Kurisu expertly utilizes the ropes to trap Okumura and violently violate him-unloading with slaps and brutal headbutts is a given, but he stomps the poor guy on the back of the head and at one point even starts busting out Jon Jones elbows from the clinch. Okamura runs away from him and tries to avoid groundfigting as much as he can, but it is to no avail, as Kurisu eventually gets a hold of him and continues the destruction. ****

There is a lot to process here-the match is basically three minute thunderstorm. It seemed a little messy at first, but I instantly gave it a rewatch and I concluded it's more the good kind of wild chaotic than the messy kind you find in many modern spotfests and brawls. You have a clear focus on Mochizuki kicking the hell out of Yasuraoka, but it is a very action packed match with more focus on content than form, and it works because every transition perfectly fulfiils its role. Mochizuki's kicks looked cool, but the grounded kicks and knees he used to escape the guard and the WAR special felt like the most important ones just because of how rare something so logical and useful it is in most matches. Yasuraoka's big slap was almost shockingly cinematic-could've easily become a legendary visual had it been done by famous workers on a big show, and his classic WAR lumpy style contemplated Mochizuki's karate combos nicely. Lovely and creative finish with Mochizuki headkicking Yasuraoka who managed to block kicks to which Mochizuki reacts by making him drop his guard with a low kick and then almost kicking through his head. ***1/2

I didn't have any expectations coming into this but it was such a weird match-up I just had to watch it. I'm sure everyone remembers the well known story of Kobashi coming into ROH expecting nobody to know him and being ready to play a generic stereotypical heel-that's kinda what happened with Kojima here. Some of his offence really did look more suited for lucha than traditional jwres-some of it due to the lack of stiffness, some of due to how cartoony his mannerisms were. Kojima did manage to get heat for whatever that's worth, but watching him cosplay Dr.Wagner Jr. in playing to the crowd more than doing anything wasn't interesting. Structurally the match wasn't much-Kojima's control segments consisted of doing stomps, yelling and occasionally doing a move, Hechicero would get on offence and do a couple of cool moves before a generic transition into more Kojima stuff, and this match really was a stark reminder of how bad a lot of Kojima's stuff looks. Weak chops, generic stomps, lazy attempts of legwork, weak lariats, he may have the weakest rolling elbow of all time.....I mean it's not like he's bad or there haven't been instances where he's worked through it but he's not exactly a guy whose lazier performances you'd crave for. I'm way bigger on Hechicero's pain by the numbers stuff but he was not in a mood for a carry job. **1/2

Really cool lightning match noteworthy for Hechicero clowning Titan. It all starts with Titan going for his headstand spot where Hechicero just shoves him off and kicks him in the arm, which starts a very good armwork segment where Hechicero got a chance to use some really cool offence, in particular he did a kneedrop using the guardrail on the ramp that came out of the blue. Titan got to get his dives in and they looked good, but really you want to see this for Titan going for one his flip-flops and Hechicero just leveling him with a chest slap. Not being to able to lock an armbar properly is more than I expected from Titan's selling, which was otherwise limited to holding his injured arm inbetween spots. ***1/4

These kinds of matches are really WWE's forte, the indy workers they bring in to have watered down 2010 ROH matches but with more wear and tear on their body resulting in less actually impressive athletic spots, less room for creativity (for better or worse) and the same stupidity in match building and transitioning as well as shitty basics (Phil Schneider should have his reviewing license revoken for praising Seth Rollins' punches). They've struck gold by not having heavyweight title contenders under 250lbs. Unfortunately much of what makes matches like this work is what also limits how good they can be. It is said "matches like this are great because you can hit finishers but have saves instead of kick-outs!". But what happens then is that you have a million finishers done, and that's just not that interesting. You start feeling the repetition, and by the time Strowman hits the sixth Powerslam and Roman hits the fifeenth Superman Punch, the crowd reacts less than they did to a Joe Senton. And feeling the crowd is important in a match that is essentially built on star power and glamour. Joe may have been my favourite performer in this-for years I've thought he was just never going to hit his stride again, let alone reach his previous heigths, and I'm not going to expect him put on performances like he did in 2003 since he just doesn't have the athleticism to do so anymore, but his cunning character has given him new life. Picking his spots, making sure the timing is right (the roll-up, flash chokes and elbow suicida were all based on this) and, you know, not doing the same move fifty times-I appreciated it. Strowman's amazing feats of strength made the match feel special, but they could've done a better job with the rest of the match. The stretches spot has been used so much it's basically a waste of time, and Heyman's terrible acting really just hammered the whole thing in. It's not that against them being cartoony, but I think they're undermining the intelligence of their audience a bit with assuming they are going to forget Lesnar got Powerslammed through two tables and got another one thrown on top of him if they don't do a stretcher job. Offensively Lesnar didn't offer much, but he was pretty great at pinballing for Braun, and a direction with more selling should provide more quality from him. ***3/4

I urge everyone to post as much information about a match as they can. This is the format I use for the first post (I'm gonna include this in next years first post and maybe edit it in this year's too): promotion/region/category wrestler 1 vs wrestler 2 (promotion/show name (depending on whether a promotion has its own category) date in american style (year is redundant) wrestler 1 is the higher ranked one before the match, don't let your subconsciousness take over and make you post the winner of the match first wrestler 2 is consequently the lower ranked one I'm not going to be a dick and pretend I'm dumb enough not to know to cagematch a match and find the date, but I'd be nice of you to save me some time since I update everything. Thank you in advance.

Cross-posting my review from the Miscroscope thread: Last time I saw these two square off Hashimoto gave Fujinami his worst beating since the infamous Maeda match. Fujinami is getting older I'm not sure he can take one more. They start off with some nice matwork as you'd expect until Hashimoto out of nowhere counters a Headlock with a brutal DDT. Then we move onto Hashimoto kicking Fujinami's legs really hard and I'm thinking that is an acceptable substitute in case Fujinami is getting too old for this shit. They do a great callback spot to their 1994 title switch and tease Fujinami countering Hashimoto's kicks a couple of times but never go through with it. This builds to Fujinami snapping and slapping the daylights out of Hashimoto which in turn makes Hashimoto lose it and THE BEATDOWN now properly begins. They do a great job utilizing their signature moves and maximizing their value and when Fujinami finally manages to counter Hashimoto's kick it's a big deal. It's also really well done because he just viciously threw Hashimoto's leg on the ground instead of doing a Dragon Screw as Hashimoto would expect so when he goes for the Dragon Screw Hashimoto's leg is already weakened but not enough for him not to fight back and you have this amazing struggle over whether or not the move is going to go through. Another thing I love about Hashimoto is how well he uses his weight, he did this amazing counter to Fujinami's Dragon Sleeper where he just threw himself backwards and knocked Fujinami off his feet and the finish was a very smart play on that. Hashimoto's glassy-eyed selling at the end is picture perfect. ****1/2

We've had some shitty gimmick posters and people who were too weird to tell whether they were working or not but this one takes the cake.

An improvement over their september match which retains pretty much all of its strengths and sees its flaws subside. The matwork is better, as the holds are more varied and there is a bigger focus on acquiring positioning, properly defending and adjusting instead of just going "let's grab an armbar again and we'll work from there". Here Maeda doesn't just do nice slams, but actively tries to counter Sayama's kicks and drag him to the ground. The sequences in which they're desperately trying to get on top rule. The stand up sequences are even more violent than before, with nasty slaps, soccer kicks and elbow drops (which I don't remember seeing look this good outside of a Johnny Valentine match JIP) added to the mix. Really, if there was just a bigger sense of danger on the mat, this could've been so much more than a great match. But you'd have something amazing happen and the follow up would be a crowd killing half crab, and so on it went. ****