Microstatistics

Asuka vs. Becky Lynch I wish more people incorporated struggle into their matches like Asuka does. One thing I don't like about Becky generally is that her offense is weak but she turned it on here with some vicious stuff. Great finish. Good title bout. ***1/4

Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey My most anticipated match of the night, which turned out to be really good but not great. This might be an unpopular opinion but I think this and the Charlotte match have exposed Ronda, she was easily outclassed in both matches. This was a borderline Sasha carry job in all honestly with aggressive, creative arm attacks and great pseudo-heel character work. Ronda sold the arm well but was pretty much along for the ride. I liked the role reversal start and the finish ending with a pin rather than a submission (something the commentators also pointed out). Intense and competitive. ***1/2

1930s: Bronko Nagurski vs. Jim Londos (Philadelphia, 11/18/1938) 1940s: TBD 1950s: Lou Thesz vs. Buddy Rogers (Chicago, 6/21/1950) 1960s: Jesse James vs. Al Costello (LA , 6/8/1960) 1970s: Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street (Joint Promotions, 2/12/1972) 1980s: El Satanico vs. Sangre Chicana (EMLL, 5/26/1989) 1990s: Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (AJPW, 6/9/1995) 2000s: Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue (NOAH, 4/23/2006) 2010s: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/29/2015)

Oh man this started off so promisingly. The animosity, intensity and struggle and Omega's attacks on the back and heel antics were really good. The table stuff was good storytelling. But then it degraded into generic main event back and forth with poor transitions and selling. Bad Tanahashi performance. Just by the numbers stuff with minimal selling. Completely no sold all the initial backwork too so one of the better segments of the match ended up being filler. Kenny was alright but his knee selling was wildly inconsistent and uncompelling by the end. Poor crowd too. **1/4

Really enjoyable match. Felt like a collection of great moments than a great match though. Lost a bit of steam in the middle as they threatened to venture into standard match territory but they balanced the hateful plunder brawl aspect well enough.Naito's baseball spots and Jericho throwing a chair at Naito while he was climbing (rather than coming off the top rope) were standouts. Also liked how decisive the finish was, something very rare these days. Fun postmatch antics. ***1/2

Same. I'm not sure extending it would actually help matters but it's up to the admins.

Anyone know the exact date of the 1987 Juarez Santo/Eddie vs. Casas/Panther match that was unearthed last year? I'm assuming it's during the second half of the year (after the 7/18/87 Santo vs. Casas match) since Casas has a shaved head.

@Matt D Akira Hokuto vs. Kaoru (GAEA, 4/12/1997) For this match I'd be particularly interested in Matt's thoughts on the opening sequence and the role (negative or positive) no-selling can play. I think this will be my final participation with regards to Secret Santo, for now atleast. With the GME project and other things, I am finding it difficult to keep up with stuff.

Crazy spectacle with almost nonstop violence and urgency. The selling wasn't really that good which takes it out of great contention. Cool finish that was both in continuity with the past and logical. ***1/2

This is really overrated, IMO. A fun match and a good debut for Ronda but this is mostly a smoke and mirrors type deal with no real substance at all. Probably the weakest Ronda match of the year. **1/4

Most disappointing match this year. On paper which sounds great: hard hitting clash of styles with a character dynamic and narrative. But godawful transitions and selling diminish any good moments it had. Not terrible but barely decent. **3/4

I'd go Show over Styles and Kawada over Jericho if it was just influential. I guess influential and well known sort of go hand in hand, more popular is more likely to inspire other wrestlers and new styles and decisions. I went Jericho for positive influence because of the jack of all trades type deal he has done over the years. Different roles, different positions on the card, different promotions. I guess he got across the importance of adaptability. Kawada and the four corners have, in some ways, shaped modern wrestling IMO and not necessarily in a good way.

WALTER and Ronda have been pretty good. The old folks like Jun Akiyama, Negro Casas and Aja Kong have also been impressive.

End of the year bump. Not sure if the WM35 deadline is still on because the board has been relatively dead, aside from a few posts and updates here and there. Some thoughts on the process so far: I guess comparing matches at the highest levels is not necessarily the most enjoyable way of watching wrestling because you are looking at every aspect analytically and nitpicking a lot to distinguish what is #26 and what is #42. Having said that, it is interesting to see which matches hold up as the best of the best and generally build a collection. I also liked looking at what others have compiled so far like Sleeze's minilists and boss rock and Elliot's rough drafts.

Yeah, historically important in a positive way is the key here. For example, I am a huge Shawn Michaels fan and love him or hate him, he was incredibly influential. But I think his "steal the show" and "give your best performance" stuff, has been terrible for wrestling. He had the skills and smarts to pull it off but all the imitators simply don't. Not to mention, everyone has started doing shitty superkicks. That's why I voted Styles over Show. Show is more well known and influential per se but the way he was portrayed as a dumb big guy or whatever rather than a monster didn't exactly help the perception of superheavyweights.

That's debatable and I would consider Kobashi all time Top 5. The influence and longevity points are spot on though.

Unless Kawada is wrestling Gary Albright, Kobashi smokes him when it comes to great matches, selling, attention to detail, consistency, versatility etc. IMO Styles over Tanahashi quite easily. More varied career, more high end stuff. Small sample size but Tanahashi winning right now on a PWO poll is not what I expected. Okada over Omega. Has more great matches. Interestingly I think the least acclaimed match between the two is the best NJPW match since probably 1996. Bryan vs. Akiyama is awfully difficult. I gave the edge to Bryan for versatility but it could easily be the other way around. Taue over Nagata. I like Nagata, probably more than others but no contest here.

joe g: Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu (NJPW, 1/4/1997)

boss rock: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Megumi Kudo (FMW, 4/18/1997) Still working on reviews for matches from NintendoLogic and NotJayTubb

Charlotte verbally selling like her father

Oh no I agree for sure. The match was pretty pedestrian but the stuff after the fist bump offer was neat.

I'd take that over Cena/indie style endless finisher kickouts anyday. I dug the Rollins-Ambrose finish to be honest. Ambrose had the nerve to pull that shit and Rollins finally lost his cool and, in the end, it cost him dearly. Though as usual that match lacked the hateful brawling you expect from a blood feud.

For all the strengths of NXT, I don't think they understand payoffs or how to stop once a feud reaches its fitting conclusion. Gargano vs. Ciampa should have logically ended in April given the story they were telling. Same with Gargano vs. Black last month. But they negate the impact of previous endings by tagging on follow up matches and sort of run it into the ground.

It might take me some time to get the review out for the match NL assigned me but in the mean time: Jetlag: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (WWE GAB, 7/20/2008)

Yes, I've already seen this. Great match (**** or so). But I guess if you could provide an alternative (not sure what the rules are actually about previously watched matches, maybe I can just review this one)