Quentin Skinner

When I said fundamentals I'm more referring to your typical "feeling out" process things. The things a lot of people view as inconsequential to a wrestling match. The chain wrestling, running the ropes, grabbing a headlock, etc. To me he has super unique movements and his personality shines through so much that even doing those little things I think he keeps it very engaging. To answer your question of when he does a basic move, he goes for an elbow drop in the match, he misses, then Okada attempts a senton. The reason why I point that out is it isn't just an elbow drop, he does a Mutoh style elbow drop with the same snap and theatrics. Some may view it as cosplay but being able to imitate a Mutoh elbow so well when only Low Ki is the other one to be able to do so is impressive to me. He adds personality to what otherwise is a forgettable sequence. Outside of this particular match, in the last two nights of the most recent G1, he started doing a regular neckbreaker. Again, pretty basic stuff, but the added twist is he's doing the Rick Rude hip swivel before he drops the dude down. The reason why that's impressive is that other than Omega himself, Rick Rude is one of only two other North Americans to make it to a G1 final so that's a neat little nod.

Omega vs Okada was so brilliant to me for a lot of reasons. One is that Kenny Omega is out of this world. Coming in everyone knew Kenny was going to try and steal the show so all eyes were on him and he went out there and delivered a performance only he could give. I'll wholly concede that I'm definitely biased here because I love Omega and want to see him do well, but he confirmed what I've been saying to myself for a few years that at his best, I really dont think anyone is better than him. He somehow topped his performance in the Naito match. Minus the limb selling, he takes a lot of the aspects of what made that match something that special and turns it up even more for what is to this point the biggest match of his life. Big thing to me is that I dont think Omega gets enough credit for having great fundamentals and being able to add his own twist to basic things. I thought Omega single handedly made what people have pointed to as a meandering first half actually engaging. Kenny started the match firmly placed as the heel but as the match goes on you feel the crowd start to shift in Kenny's favor. There's something about that guy where even though he can be a cocky, disrespectful, prick, once he starts selling and his facial expressions convey such desperation and desire, that I want to see him win at the end. Its an easy comparison to go for since he had a Terminator themed entrance and gear, but this had a feel similar of that to the end of Terminator 2 where as Kenny is on his knees, mustering up weak shots, and Okada is looking down at him. A lot of people will be turned off by the melodrama like Omega being on his knees and on the verge of tears, but Im someone that loves that kind of stuff so not only does it not hurt the match for me, it takes it to another level. And I can't forget Okada here. Yes, Omega's performance was certainly the more memorable but Okada was great taking everything Omega threw at him, finding a new counter each time for the One Winged Angel, and I absolutely loved the change in demeanor Okada had once Kenny kicked out of the Rainmaker. His facial expressions and body language goes to a I'm really going to have to kill this guy level. The next thing is I thought it was an incredible thing for them to go 46 minutes and feel like a breeze watching it the two times I did. By the end of my first viewing I was blown away to find out it went above 30 minutes because in the moment I didn't feel it. Not only did it not feel as long as it actually was, it felt like they had even MORE in the tank and it's not because of the pointless first half. It's because they left a lot of stuff on the table and despite being an epically structured match with some of the craziest spots I can ever recall seeing, I still felt like there was more to give which I think is an amazing feat and that goes into my third point. This was a flawlessly booked match. My main concern heading into this is that on paper neither guy should lose. Okada just solidified himself as the top guy in the company last year and losing again at WK so fast would be odd. Kenny Omega in the span of a year went from being in the Jr division, to being a heavy, pinning Shinsuke Nakamura, kicking AJ Styles out Bullet Club, beating Tanahashi for the IC belt, and winning the G1, being the first North American to do so. That's a lot of stock put in to Omega and to not go all the way with that also felt wrong. Despite Omega losing, this guy was fucking made after this. The amount of Rainmakers he took, even kicking out of one. That puts him in rarified air in terms of how strong he was made to look in defeat. The fact that down the stretch he was the one playing up the sympathetic role, not Okada. You made Omega look like a star and that Okada had to use his finish 4 times to end him for good. Omega looked like a goddamn warrior coming out of this and the best part is, they made you believe in Omega despite the fact that he didn't even hit a single One Winged Angel the entire match. Granted, Omega has such a vast moveset that even though no One Winged Angel was hit, he has so many other tricks up his sleeves, but it leaves that thought in the viewers mind Well, what if Omega hit that move? Would he have won? And that lends itself perfectly to their eventual encounters in the future. I really think you couldn't have had a better end result if you tried. I've read people say this match had no story and while its not Okada/Tanahashi, its not a blood feud, and there was no clear limb focused story, theres still a story there for me and that comes from caring about Omega's path to get to this point. This is the biggest match of Omega's life. The road Omega took to stardom is far from a conventional one and the fact that he is even in the position he is in right now is pretty insane when you think about it. Hes facing Okada who for the last 5 years has been the most pushed commodity in the company. A win for Omega on this stage meant a win for the guy who bet on himself. The guy who carved his own niche. The guy who through sheer force of will made himself a star. It comes down to the fact that I have an emotional attachment to Omega. If you cant stand the guy, I get it. A lot of the shit he does infuriates people. But l'll always have an admiration for the guy that makes his own way. That's the key to caring about the match or story to me: How much do you care that Omega made it this far and how much do you care if he actually pulls off a career changing win? For my money this is something that'll be hard for any other NJPW main events in the future from this era to top. Tremendous pace and build, some nutty spots, callbacks, great dramatic action, a convincing finish, excellent booking, and both guys come out better because of this, with one poised to become a phenomenon in the industry. What more could I ask for in a wrestling match?

Thought I'd might as well say this here since I said it on Twitter as well. In March I'll be doing a Psychology is Dead on the Art of Lucha and the idea is to get together a bunch of segments from people who are fans of Lucha and hopefully some that aren't and talk to them about the genre. If anyone would be interested in being a part of this please feel free to hit me up so we can get something set up.

2016 was the year where I unintentionally gained a reputation as someone who watches "everything" so for year end list stuff it compelled me to do big lists like the Top 50 Wrestlers of the Year that just came out and the Top 100 Matches that'll be getting done sometime in January because I almost feel like I have to shine a light on as much stuff as I can from US indies, European indies, WWE, NJPW, Japanese indies, Lucha, etc so all these incredible things going on in all these scenes don't get overlooked.

December's Psychology is Dead is here and it's a year end special. Timothy and myself give our top 50 wrestlers of 2016. This is broken up in to three parts. 50-26, 25-11, and 10-1. http://placetobenation.com/psychology-is-dead-5-top-50-wrestlers-of-2016/

Absolutely loved this show. You both did a tremendous job talking about the micro and macro of the match and also even brought up things I didn't even think about when I first saw it. The character arch discussion about Sasha was fascinating as well. This show also may have inadvertently caused me to think about how I NEED to have Sasha/Charlotte ahead of Zayn/Nakamura for MOTY voting just based on how much more is there even if I think both matches are amazingly special. Great job and I really hope there's more.

Good morning all. With the big news of Psychology is Dead moving over to the PWO feed happening yesterday, I felt having a master thread of sorts would make sense. So the previous three episodes before the jump were on Wrestling With Words and featured guests such as Dylan Hales, Timothy from This Week In Wrestling and Lucha Undead, and Brock from Sports Entertainment Shrinks. I'd highly recommend listening those not just for the sake of my ego, but also because I feel they do a great job giving a feel for what I aim for the show to be every time I record. The debut episode on the PWO feed features Chad as we go over the art of storytelling in wrestling and examine 4 feuds very closely. Snowman vs Jerry Lawler Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa Riki Choshu vs AJPW All the episodes done so far can be found right here http://placetobenation.com/category/podcasts/psychology-is-dead/. Main reason why I made this thread is because it is a show that bounces from topic to topic so anyone that ever has suggestions for something to cover on the show, drop the ideas in here and if it's not already on my list of future topics it will for sure be added.

Different style of selling I'd say, but sometimes I think that gets exaggerated. Something like YAMATO vs Shingo from this year's Kobe World I thought had fantastic selling from both men. Even YAMATO vs Tozawa, which is a match I know I liked more than Case, I thought there was great selling in that too. EDIT: To give examples, Tozawa vs Kzy and Uhaa Nation vs BxB Hulk, both from about February 2015 I think, both have some selling I could see even non DG fans appreciating

Eddie Guerrero is the standout for something like this. Great slimy heel and could turn in to a sympathetic babyface on a dime. Could be a fantastic bully like in the Rey feuds and a top tier FIP facing JBL. Great tag worker. Great in mid card title matches. Great when they pushed him to the top of the card and I always thought Eddie was a very believable promo. I'd also throw in a Christian, Danielson, and maybe Hero for that last spot.

Cubsfan just uploaded Casas vs Hechicero https://youtu.be/VOe3N0M0U14 EDIT: Just finished the match. Well worth the wait and absolutely lived to my expectations. Really good stuff.

Glad Dylan mentioned how great Mustafa Ali is. He is absolutely fantastic. He's had a killer year having awesome matches with guys like Isaias Velazquez, Brubaker, Christian Rose, and even Ethan Page who I'm not the biggest fan of to put it mildly.

Nominations: Shuji Ishikawa vs Hideyoshi Kamitani: BJW 4/10 This match was a great "coming of age" for young Kamitani. Scratching and clawing his way to the finals (including a countout win over Hideki Suzuki that made even the most vehement Kamitani supporter view him as kind of a dick). He shows tremendous fire and goes for Shuji with all he has. All in all, he doesn't quite have enough to get the win, but in the end you're left pleading with him to stay down as he's getting annihilated. There's no Superman comeback. Kamitani fights as hard as he can, but it's not enough. Trevor Lee vs Roy Wilkins: CWF Mid Atlantic 3/9 Yes, the infamous 105 minute match. Before Zayn/Nakamura from Takeover Dallas came around, this was a lock to be my MOTY. Best 60+ minute match I've ever seen, hands down. Everything about this match is just fantastic. The build up, the callback spots, the tie-ins to other stories in the promotion, the three distinct "acts" of the match. First part is Lee outclassing Wilkins in a pure wrestling contest for 60 minutes, the next part is a big clusterfuck of interference because WIlkins and his team realize he can't get the job done by himself, the last part is drama filled with amazing kickouts and brutal spots. Everything is done as good as it could be done. I saw some people say they could've cut some time off and I just disagree. For what they wanted to accomplish here, I think they needed all of this time.

I don't get that at all, if it AIRS in 2016 why can't it be eligible? I think air date is the most important thing here with something like LU, not when the match took place.

Imposible vs Freelance - IWRG 4/27 https://youtu.be/gWd0eoo6lyE Enjoyed this a lot. Solid matwork in the first fall and the second and third falls get pretty crazy.

I get this point of view, but considering how Naito won the title and got where he is, it doesn't bother me at all. Ishii's persona is being one of the toughest, most stubborn motherfuckers in the company so even if he is a "midcarder", I don't think it defies logic.

Woke up late so I only caught the main of tonight's show, but god Memphisto/Dorada delivered big again.

Freelance Wrestling is streaming live this Friday. Freelance has quickly rose to being one of the most interesting indies in the Midwest and always have entertaining shows. The February show they did was killer.

So Volador Jr is in BOSJ. Saw some mixed reactions, but I'm looking forward to what he does.

Just watched the Rose/Martel title match from 5/17/80 and it's definitely a contender for MOTY in 1980 . Absolutely loved this match and probably the best thing I've watched so far from Portland. That first fall was such great wrestling. Rose impressed me just as much as he did in the Jay Youngblood match I mentioned in an earlier post.

You are not alone. I liked the match cause it was what it was supposed to be. I wasn't expecting limb work from these two. Granted Volador Jr is starting to annoy me in that he's doing a lot of the same stuff but I thought Dorada really brought it. UG is starting to be one of my favorites this year. Quentin, when is the next Sorpresa Lucha podcast coming? Had some mic problems and timing just hasn't worked out the last couple of weeks. I hope to have my new mic in a few days though so expect one Sunday at the earliest.

I usually watch at least two of the CMLL livestreams in real time. The Friday Arena Mexico shows for CMLL are kinda essential viewing because they've been on fire there this year. Only time I pay attention for certain wrestlers is when there's a kick ass tecnicos team that I know will just do insane stuff. For example say Mistico, Dragon Lee, and Mascara Dorada on the same team. I watch Elite every Friday when they air it. That's just my favorite company in all of wrestling to follow right now and the shows are such an easy watch.

Has anyone else seen Dr Wagner Jr vs Psycho Clown from Rey De Reyes yet? I haven't seen a lot of thoughts it. Just want to see if I'm on an island thinking that was a great match.

I'll guess I'll be in the minority saying I liked Volador/Dorada Favorite lucha matches so far this year Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi: CMLL 3/4 Kamaitachi vs Maximo: CMLL 1/1 Volador Jr vs Caristico: Elite 4/6 Rey Horus vs Dragon Lee: Lucha Memes 3/6 Dr Wagner Jr vs Psycho Clown: AAA Rey de Reyes Mascara Dorada vs Memphisto: CMLL 2/19 Mascara Dorada vs Barbaro Cavenario: CMLL 3/28 El Desmiasado and Los Kamikazes vs Freelance, Suicida, Super Mega, and Septimo Rayo: Lucha Memes 12/25 Rush vs Maximo: CMLL 3/18 Mascara Dorada has probably been my favorite worker in Mexico so far this year and his resume just keeps piling up. He's a very underrated guy, but I think he's having a Most Outstanding candidate kind of year. Can't wait for his upcoming match with Memphisto since I really liked their previous title match. Any news on the Negro Casas/Hechicero match surfacing? Is it up anywhere yet?

I know he's the top heel, but would it be fair to say that Buddy himself is a "joke" sometimes so it's okay for him to bump for Skip Young the way he would for Martel or Piper? I mean from his promo style, the way he storms out of the ring, and the way he tries to avoid people, he's all in on being that guy. It all fits in to who he is. He doesn't have the same dignity Flair did. From everything I've seen the last few days, he's exactly what people said he was, the quintessential stooging heel so I'm not really expecting him to act like a typical top guy would facing people lower on the totem pole. Now I know he can flip the switch and get serious, but from what I've seen this has been my prevailing thought.

In agreement with Childs here. Barry's career could be viewed as a disappointment, but he was having good-great matches as early as '83 facing Harley Race and Ron Bass. He has a sneaky great output level.