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Microstatistics

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  1. Microstatistics
    Where the hell did this match come from? I thought Hashimoto was pretty much done in NJPW after 4/7/2000. First half is slow but very compelling as Fujinami uses his technique to keep Hashimoto in check while the latter wants to turn this into a violent slugfest. Obviously that's just a containment strategy rather than one of control and the match devolves into them exchanging nasty shots in extremely intense and heated sequences. Fujinami holds his own but you can guess how it ends. There seemed to be a really involved story going on as Fujinami goes at Hashimoto head on and treats him with what is almost disdain while Hashimoto is absolutely incensed the whole way throughout to the point of actually spitting at Fujinami (who shrugs it off dismissively). Hashimoto's mannerisms and body language in that context were amazing. Brutal finish and emotional postmatch with another classic Hashimoto moment. I doubt anyone else will like it this much but I thought this was low-end MOTYC level. ****
  2. Microstatistics
    SLB liked it too so I guess I'm not alone but I actually thought this was a great match, better than any of the Roman/Braun matches and even Brock/Joe. I'll admit the finish was anticlimatic and a little weak, this was one of the instances where 1-2 more finishers kickouts (by Braun) were needed. Still, awesome Brock performance ranging from his initial mannerisms that put Braun over as a serious threat to stuff like his back giving out due to the accumulated damage to him generally getting dominated. The corner arm bump and desperation kimura was a great transition to level the playing field so to speak. Braun's arm selling was pretty amazing, he sold it like it was preventing him executing his finisher properly and how it cost him precious seconds while he was going for the pin (which sort of accounts for the repeated kickouts of the finishers). So I thought, apart from the finish, Braun came out looking pretty strong. **** Edit: Superstar Sleeze liked this match as well so that makes 3.
  3. Microstatistics
    Huh? Do people agree with this assessment? Not only do I strongly disagree with all of this, I thought Brock was actually great in that match. Nice character work with him from trying to play it cool to actually looking concerned. Strong and selfless bumping and selling for a large chunk of the match. The kimura was actually a great desperation spot and turned the match on its head. He continued to sell deep into the postmatch. I guess I'm probably the only person who thought the main event was actually a great match. Good show overall. Unfortunately, Cena/Reigns was the usual boringness I have come to expect from a modern John Cena match (though I did enjoy his initial character work and stuff like him selling his hand while throwing punches)
  4. Microstatistics
    This is a really interesting match in that in happened in a Lucha promotion with lucha stipulations, in the US with WCW coverage but is worked like a Japanese juniors match. Anyways, when it comes to the heel/face dynamic, build, storytelling, drama, emotion and interesting twists and turns, this is as good as anything I've seen in pro wrestling. I liked how the pace slowed down in the 3rd fall and the teams trading stiff punts to the body. The Panther piledriver spot was utterly brilliant and got one of the loudest pops ever. Great finish as Santo was resilient enough to survive and smart enough to grab the win at the right time. It has a few botches but who cares? ****3/4
  5. Microstatistics
    Not as good as the WM 13 all time classic but this remains an excellent match. Very minimalist match, reminds of Choshu/Hashimoto in some ways. Austin was the key figure here as the aggressive in your face rising star attacking with great focus while Bret added lots of cool little veteran touches. An outstanding, really clever finish with Bret pulling a Fujiwara and using Austin's bullheadedness to beat Austin. **** 1/4
  6. Microstatistics
    Probably the best WWE match of the year at this point. Great armwork from Asuka, great and really consistent arm selling by Moon. As mentioned, I liked how Asuka went from cocky at the beginning to desperate at the end as the challenge mounted. Excellent, clever finish. ****
  7. Microstatistics
    A truly fantastic match. Super intense and gritty work here as there is struggle over everything. I liked how compact it was, really well paced and put together. It was built around some really interesting strategy from both and the finish was great. ****5/8
  8. Microstatistics
    How great is Fujiwara at pro wrestling? Having great matches at 68 vs. a guy relatively new to pro wrestling. Awesome match with some really nifty attention to detail matwork and an interesting experience vs. skill dynamic. I am unusually high on shoot style so I suspect not everyone is going to like it nearly as much as I did but I would definitely recommend it to fans of the style. ****
  9. Microstatistics
    Truly amazing Ohtani performance as the dismissive prick higher ranked junior vs. an indie nobody. Great offense, top notch facial expressions and acting ranging self-satisfied smirking to pure panic and worry as he almost gets caught out a bunch of times. Yasuraoka was good as the resilient underdog but this was the Ohtani show. Excellent stuff overall. ****
  10. Microstatistics
    A really good TV match. Nice bruiser vs. monster narrative with Finlay simply getting overwhelmed for the majority of the bout and, after an opening, violently attacking Henry's arm to get himself back into the match. Strong selling by Finlay and offensive work by Henry. Neat post match selling of the arm by Henry too. Probably the best Henry match (and performance) I seen outside of maybe the 2006 Rey ones. *** 3/4
  11. Microstatistics
    After an incredible 2016, Black Terry still just keeping on giving. Another great match against a youngster filled with excellent storytelling, slick matwork and intense exchanges.
  12. Microstatistics
    Ron Garvin - I just don't get the hype. Some strong offense but I just find him bland in every other respect. This is probably reductive but I don't really get the appeal beyond he hits very hard. Harley Race - Boring is probably a weird word to describe considering his bumping style but man are a lot of his matches boring. Chris Benoit - Has been involved in some good/great matches against great workers but the majority of his matches/style do not age well at all. Too much emphasis on workrate, too much working in a vacuum, no hook. Hell, I'd take Dean Malenko over him, atleast the no nonsense shooter approach was sort of cool and he was a good technician. Jon Cortez - Really dislike is a little extreme but he is by far the least of the top world of sport guys from what I've seen. Super Astro - Super graceful aerial stuff but his matches/performances leave me cold. Satanico dragged a borderline great match out of him but that's about it. Really dislike is too harsh though. Keiji Mutoh- Some really high highs but in between a ton of mediocre/bad stuff. Masa Chono - Same as Mutoh except with even less high end stuff
  13. Microstatistics
    Blading is banned but shoot headbutts busting a 72 year old non wrestler open hardway are ok? WWE is weird.
  14. Microstatistics
    Also they incorporated the ladder into their match instead of building it around ladder spots. The best description of the match I have read was that it is a match with a ladder rather than a ladder match.
  15. Microstatistics
    Very good match (*** 1/2 ish if you want to talk star rating wise) but almost entirely thanks to Murdoch.
  16. Microstatistics
    Bret vs. Davey Boy SS92 is my pick. Incredible Bret performance playing the subtle heel vs. the hometown boy. Bret vs. Savage SNME 87 is excellent too. Also agree with the comments that Bret/Owen > Shawn/Razor. Shawn vs. Razor is a great match but Bret vs. Owen is one of the best matches of all time and my #2 US match ever.
  17. Microstatistics

    WWE TV 8/28-9/4

    Microstatistics replied to sek69's topic in WWE

    Which will get shit on. Again. And Cena will remain the Man in the company, no matter what. I mean it is likely he is eventually going to leave permanently like the Rock did in 03/04. They are going to have to do the changing of the guard type match at some point. Maybe not at No Mercy but eventually.
  18. Microstatistics

    WWE TV 8/28-9/4

    Microstatistics replied to sek69's topic in WWE

    Glad they booked Lesnar vs. Braun. That is an actual dream match and could be the best singles match in the company since Brock/Reigns. Cena vs. Roman also sounds interesting. I'm guessing they will work it as a passing of the torch type deal where Cena gets overwhelmed and realizes his time as the ace is officially up.
  19. Microstatistics
    I thought it was really intense, well constructed and had a very interesting dynamic . Murdoch was the bull, adding cool heelish touches and throwing amazing strikes and just trying to pulverize Fujinami. Fujinami tried to control him with holds and technique but was more than willing to fight back with fire. Even the finish and post match were super intense. The match had a lot of energy. I have it around **** - **** 1/4. Probably wouldn't be a MOTYC in most years but I thought 1982 was kind of a weak year in general so it was good enough. I updated 1982 to Lawler vs. Mantell 3/29 by the way.
  20. Microstatistics
    This was the only part of the match that was a little iffy for me. Hokuto shrugged that high impact offense off a little too easily. But atleast it was at the start of the match and was basically like a "fuck this, I'm taking over" moment so it wasn't too egregious. The rest was amazing though, to the point that I thought this was one of the best matches of the year (which is really really saying something given the quality of 1997). Great narrative with Hokuto the arrogant bully champion getting more and more desperate and barely pulling through in the end. Stuff like the viciousness of strikes, the hair pulling, the biting, the competitive drive and the general action were all top notch. Excluding the start, Hokuto's selling was the rest of the match was pretty outstanding. Kaoru grabbed an armbar at some point in the middle of the match and torqued it in nasty fashion and Hokuto continued to sell the arm till the end of the match (even though Kaoru never went back to it). Super overall performance. Kaoru was great as the never say die fiery underdog as well. Underrated classic. **** 1/2
  21. Microstatistics
    Maybe this explains why I didn't like it, even though Cena is way better at selling than Hogan. I agree with this assessment.
  22. Microstatistics
    Fair enough.
  23. Microstatistics
    I thought Trevor Lee vs. Chip Day seemed to perfectly fit the self-conscious epic definition described on the first page. It had a really strong start, a solid middle but in the finishing stretch, they just went on and on and on with a ton of manufactured drama and a real "we are trying make this feel like one for the ages" vibe which killed the match for me. If you have to force the epic feel, then it's not epic. Which directly relates to authenticity point. Atleast in something like Okada vs. Omega II, regardless of whether you thought it was dramatic/epic or not, everything felt genuine and real. That's where I disagree about applying the term self-conscious epic to modern NJPW (or 90s AJPW for that matter). I get disliking the style and the matches but atleast they don't have that overt "we are trying to create an all time classic/have a 5 star match" feel unlike certain US indies or some WWE matches. Part of that is the difference in crowds I feel.
  24. Microstatistics
    All big matches from 2009-2012 Futen are must see, the 10/24/2010 tag especially.
  25. Microstatistics
    Would you say it's a quality or personal taste thing? There are a lot of times where I can sit there and say that was a good match but it really didn't do much for me. I guess quality wise. What hurts Cena for me is a lack of great matches. Plenty of good (even very good) matches over the years but very few truly high end ones.
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