drew wardlaw

Burning Spirits #55: Brennan Solo Edition: Differ Cup Memorial 2017 With Kevin burning the midnight oil and Drew trying to escape literally burning, Brennan is the sole Burning Spirit, running a solo mission from a snowy Holiday Inn in Austin Texas to review the return of the multi-promotion Differ Cup Memorial 2017 tag team tournament. Listen as Brennan pontificates upon this ragtag tag team tournament, breaking down the matches and sharing his thoughts. He also provides some brief discussion on the upcoming New Year's Eve Tag Team Shuffle! https://audioboom.com/posts/6542456-burning-spirits-55-brennan-solo-edition-differ-cup-memorial-2017 http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2017/12/10/burning-spirits-55-brennan-solo-edition-differ-cup-memorial-2017/

Wow that switch was so good. Going in I was thinking this was the apuestas match but obviously it wasnt, but man I cant wait to see it.

Burning Spirits #54: God Bless DDT 2017 Brennan and Drew are Kevin-less yet again this week, but still somehow manage to deliver a solid top-to-bottom review of DDTs God Bless DDT 2017 Korakuen Hall show, headlined by two very strong title matches. In addition to breaking down every match, the boys also go over the D-King Grand Prix blocks and run through the potential winners and cover some booking scenarios in the process! http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2017/12/01/burning-spirits-54-god-bless-ddt-2017/ https://audioboom.com/posts/6529214-burning-spirits-54-god-bless-ddt-2017

This is hard match to judge right after watching Tajiri vs Super Crazy. Ive only seen this one other time, a few years ago, and remeber liking it, but something was really missing for me this time. Like I said though, that could be a mindset thing after the previous match. I thought the first portion including the crowd brawling really dragged and even the opening strike exchange didnt feel very heated, or heated enough. The match picked up when HHH started bleeding but overall it felt very meandering and I kept waiting for big spots and moments that never really came, until the finish that is. I thought the pedigree lockout was incredible and I jumped off the couch, and the following pedigree on the thumbtacks was great too.

In s match like this, what Im looking for is hatred, a feeling of chaos, blood, and crazy spots that are built to well. This delivered on all fronts as far as Im concerned. Tajiri comes off as sadistic with his kicks and mockig and like chad says, Joey Styles really puts over the progression of the feud. Its at the arena so obviously its feels wild. The crowd brawling leading up to the big moonsault was really well done, same with the Asai moonsault over the railing by Tajiri and the table spots in the ring. Super Crazy has a nice comeback that suffers from no-selling and doesnt feel fully earned but again, Im not really looking for that here.

Ive been thinking about this match today and I actually think Misawas lack of selling the elbow makes for a more compelling story. His elbow being neutralized and him having to fight back a different way is an easier story to tell, and one thats always effective for me, but his refusal to stop using the elbows tells a story of stubbornness and grit rather than resourcefulness, which I appreciate more.

Man I cant remember if its this match or one of the Thunder ones but at one point Scott Hudson says this is grim. 3 Count are hilarious and Shane Helms face when hes dancing is priceless, just looking down concentrating. Great act that was just a wrong place wrong time situation. I actually think something like this could get over huge nowadays if they nailed the fashion and attitude.

This is the first time I had seen this since sometime in 2000 when I rented the vhs tape. At the time I was so stoked to see Benoit get a title shot, and they really captured something here with the atmosphere and gravity this match had. This felt like a huge deal, probably the biggest title match since Goldberg bs Hogan for me. Anyway, I actually didnt like the match st all when I first watched it, but I really enjoyed it this time around. I didnt remember much about it, but I was surprised to see the structure here, with Benoit working on top most of the match. It really puts over the idea of him being the rabid wolverine. Sids facials, Hulk ups, and comebacks were amazing here, and the crowd was right with him. I loved it because he would start to make a comeback and get some energy, he would still sell his leg, making it feel like a burst of adrenaline rather than straight no-selling. Wonky finish but Ill take what I can get. Well see going through 2000-2001 but this is the best match I can remember from late wcw.

Im on the side where I see Misawa continuing to use his elbows as a way of showing desperation, since none of his other offense is working until the last few minutes of the match. I thought this was excellent. I can watch this type of match all day, where an opponent has to keep the stronger wrestler contained and forces them to work their style.

Some great setup work for the upcoming mask match between Villano and Atlantis. Ive never seen that match before but I know about its reputation, so this got me more stoked for it. The beatdown and mask stealing of Atlantis were great and I Villano shining his boots with the mask was sublime. I found the brawl/beatdown on the outside especially captivating, just to see how Atlantis was able to hide his face. Really excited about the big singles match.

Between this and the Vader match later Akiyama is really showing how well he can work against big monster opponents. Akiyama comes off like a total badass here, even though hes smaller, standing up to Takayama and really cranking some legwork. When Takayama eventually takes over after working Aliyamas arm, Akiyama resorts to kicks to chop down the big man. I didnt expect Akiyama to win here either so this was a total surprise.

I agree with Brennan and Chad, post-senton brings the match down but up until then I was really enjoying it. Even afterward I enjoyed it, but still. Nice work by Togo grounding the high flyer, and Delphin earned his highspots well I thought. I love when a heel will roll out of the ring after getting showed up by the babyface and tease something with a weapon, its a great character trope that always works for me.

This one of the best representations of what pro wrestling is to me. Wild, chaotic, sketchy, weird, a spectacle, all of it. Ive always seen this as like New Japans version of Memphis. A red hot brawl with internal psychology, but with much more going on outside of the in-ring action. I think Iizuka might be my favorite performance here, although everyone is so great its hard to pick a favorite. Him as the underdog who fights and scraps to get an armbar on murakami, and later a leglock. He even gets some strikes in and eventually he picks up the win! Iizuka has a fascinating career with his high end tag matches, between this, Wrestlewar, and the AJPW vs NJPW tag.

A strange. It incredibly stiff match, essentially a squash. I actually liked this better than the Dragon and Sasuke Dome matches, but just continues thy faithful narrative of poor junior title matches at the Dome.

Tenryu really knows how to work the Dome. I love his big performances, and this one fits right in with what I want to see here. Big, hard hitting moves, some holds to slow things down, tons of great facials, and two guys going at it, slowly wearing each other down over the course of the match. Good stuff.

MAN Brody is dragging down this AJPW footage. Ive never been a fan really but he seems especially crummy here. However, Im endlessly intrigued by Angelo Mosca in All Japan, and I think hes doing a decent job as a foreign heel.

So according to Boesch Gran Markus turned babyface last week after being attacked by Gino and is now feuding with him and Killer Brooks and I thought that was conveyed nicely here, with Markus being really fired up and energetic with his punches. So far Houston seems like a real nuts and bolts promotion, nothing super high end, but just very solid and logical. Im really enjoying it so far.

I LOST it at the boomerang spot. Im really enjoying Boeschs commentary, as I think Ive pointed out before, and he always does a good job of putting over the psychology of the match. These two are emerging as really nice midcard wrestlers in Houston, Im excited to see where they go from here.

I really enjoyed the headlock segment of this match. I can sit and watch two guys actually work a hold all day and this was a good example I thought, especially when Billy finally gets out of it and turns it into a full nelson, if I remember correctly. It got a big pop from the crowd too. I agree this was not on the level of the 70s matches, but still enjoyable.

Ive heard people say this is the best BJW match ever up to this point. Im not sure I would agree just because of the sheer madness and spectacle of some of the earlier stuff with Mr. Danger and company kind of goes beyond match quality imo, but Yamakawa and Honma definitely represented the new generation of death match fighters and would help transition the company into the new millennium. Faster paced, more based in wrestling, more thoughtful if I could use that term. As well see this is all confounded by the CZW relationship but thats a whole separate deal.

Cool, easy to watch trios match. The standouts yo me were Mr. Mexico and I really enjoyed the flurry of offense from Pantera leading up to the dives. Mr. Mexico botched his dive badly as well, it was very funny.

Going from 1991 where I am in my lucha watching to this is a pretty stark contrast. This is much more accessible. I really enjoyed Tarzan Boy here as a long haired pretty boy with Rey Bucanero being a face-painted heel, and they played up the characters very well. The first two falls worked really well, Bucanero getting the jump on Boy and beating him down for the first fall, Boy struggling to and finally shifting the momentum with the rollup and carried that through into the third fall. Really hot match, dry cool.

The attitude of these two, and it was put over on commentary, of just going out and going all out for 9 minutes. Unfortunately I think this mindset becomes very pervasive over the next decade and is detrimental, but well see how it goes, Im trying to keep an open mind going forward.

This was awesome! Some highlights include Brody no-selling all of Babas offense as usual, Wild Bill totally whiffing on a stage dive during the weird spot where everyone is ramming someone (I couldnt tell who) in the corner. It was a great idea but right when he jumped, very hilarious. Another highlight is Billy Robinson working Babas back with headbutts setting up his elimination. The psychology here is really cool, with all the remaining participants piling on whoever takes a big move to eliminate them. Its something that they stick with to the end of the match. Tenryu wins, which isnt surprising, but Dutch Mantell being in the final two was surprising.