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Microstatistics

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  1. Microstatistics
    I thought of some matches that could be used to indicate the different kinds of limb work and selling and/or their roles in matches : Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/1989): A match that revolves around limb work and subsequent traditional selling of the limb. This is of course the famous Liger's injured arm performance where he sells the pain and damage from start to finish, barely uses the arm and even alters his gameplan and offensive approach as a result. Mick Foley vs. HBK (9/22/1996) & El Dandy vs. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (12/6/1996): Matches where limb work and selling are a segment of match and play a part in the narrative but aren't the main focus. Their opponents destroy their legs for a while and they sell the damage terrifically for a short period after but they stop after a while as that plot point fades away as the match progresses. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (1/20/1997) and Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/2/1998): Examples of fighting through the pain selling. Kobashi kills Misawa's arm and Yamazaki kill's Hashimoto leg but the two aces insist on repeatedly using those limbs for offense but express that it hurts everytime they do. This kind of selling is usually tricky to do properly and it depends a lot on the wrestler doing it and the perception of the viewer (biases play a role here). El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (9/19/1997): An example of what I feel is poor limb selling. Rewatched this recently and while still think it is a classic, Santo's leg selling disappointed me greatly. Casas works on the knee a bit including a violent looking splash but Santo pops up immediately throwing kicks with that leg and running around with no problem, displaying no ill effect. The lack of short term selling or no/very minimal acknowledgment of the pain renders the limbwork pointless and that part of the match as filler. That is when "blowing off limbwork" bothers me. In essence, there are multiple ways to "correctly" sell a limb. It depends on the narrative of the match and the wrestlers involved.
  2. Microstatistics
    The PG era technically began on July 28, 2008 (the Raw where Adamle became GM), though it started earlier than that (Jericho smashing HBK's face in the Jeritron a month earlier didn't leave him bleeding for example, as well as Hornswoggle having his own storylines rather than being Finlay's sidekick). How I'd define the eras: . This seems right. From my memory watching live at the time, it was sometime between The Bash 2008 and Summerslam 2008 and I base this on the presence/absence of blood . The Shawn-Jericho match at the Bash actually had a ton of blood as Jericho worked over Shawn's Jeritron induced injury after Shawn did a huge bladejob. But then the next month the Edge-Taker HIAC magically got no blood which was unheard of for the HIAC gimmick at the time.
  3. Microstatistics
    From what I have read, UWFi pushed the idea that Takada's cross armbreaker legitimately broke Vader's arm. They probably took advantage of that post-match selling to convincingly sell the idea.
  4. Microstatistics
    I would rate this as very good even though it was a little disappointing. It was Tamura vs. immobile broomstick for large parts which prevents it from being great. A strong conclusive finish to the rivalry as Tamura gets the Maeda monkey off his back. My favorite part was Maeda throwing the knees to the faces he threw in 89 that injured Tamura but it's 8 years later and Tamura can turn the tables. Also liked that Tamura toned down his arrogance and ego which had cost him their March match and was much more focused. Great finish with Tamura's determination and Maeda's desperation. *** 1/2
  5. Microstatistics
    yeah, a typical self-conscious epic with counters/finisher kick-out spamming. Which bores me to death. They lost me long before the actual ending. The obvious fact is that the booking and crowd heat is 50% of why it's so memorable. For once, they got it right (although the announcing was quite horrid, including Lawler saying that CM Punk leaving with the belt would make him simply "unemployed"), but of course knowing how the whole thing would end up (Kevin Nash, Punk jobbing to HHH) doesn't help the match at all in retrospect. So yeah, probably a "you had to be there" match. As it is, it's just nothing special and falls into the traps of every big WWE match the era. Yeah I guess the heat and booking leading up to the match set it apart a little bit. But yeah the meat of the match is no different from the stuff people hate WWE or Modern New Japan for so it's baffling to me that the people can hate Shawn Michaels WM or Hiroshi Tanahashi matches and yet love this.
  6. Microstatistics
    Hashimoto vs. Kawada, 2004. It was still really good and I know it has some big advocates but a 1994 version sounds more compelling.
  7. Microstatistics
    Negro Navarro and the Traumas
  8. Microstatistics
    Would love to see a full version of this but the clipped version is still pretty damn fantastic. Super violent of course with great pacing and build with some truly amazing, imaginative and unique transitions. I liked Ozaki working from underneath against Kudo who had more experience in this sort of setting. Some of the selling was iffy but the attention to detail made up for it. **** 1/4
  9. Microstatistics
    One of the best matches in Bryan's career. Terrific story of the injured champion trying to the survive the unbeaten challenger who has run through everybody. KENTA brought the smugness and stiffness while Bryan brought the vulnerability, the desperation and the use of different strategies. With regards to the arm, Bryan was great at both the orthodox selling and fighting through the pain selling, the latter was most clearly evident in the finishing stretch. The no selling was probably excessive but like in the big NOAH matches, they justified it well enough. **** 1/2
  10. Microstatistics
    Easily the best UWFi match ever and the best men's match of 1993. Incredible matwork, great incorporation of classic pro wrestling throws, Anjoh heeling it up and Sano underdog work are perfect and the build to the finish and the finish itself are terrific. **** 3/4
  11. Microstatistics
    I enjoyed the initial matwork, it wasn't RINGS or the best of lucha or anything but it was intense and purposeful. Really great match with Hase bringing the urgency and Hashimoto bringing the brutality and expressive body language. The rib work and closing drama are great. I wouldn't consider it the Hashimoto classic or anything since he has had better singles matches but it is a really nice addition to his (and Hase's) resume. **** 1/4
  12. Microstatistics
    This might even be marginally better than Sano vs. Shamrock. Wilkins gets needlessly aggressive and violent early on and pays for it dearly. The sportsmanship vanishes and Fujiwara's sadistic and arrogant side is revealed as he begins to take Wilkins to school. Brutal strikes, character work and classic storytelling.
  13. Microstatistics
    For me, as long as a Wrestler A acknowledges the pain or numbness or whatever of the limb for the short period after Wrestler B has it worked over, that is usually good enough for me. If they want to use that limb to throw strikes (something that is pretty common in Japan), as long as they can illustrate the action hurts, it is usually fine. Of course if Wrestler B keeps going back to the limb, then they need to sell it more. Long term selling is very rare and is usually a bonus when done. Something like Liger selling the arm the whole match and even modifying his offense to accommodate his limp arm is definitely not the norm. What I dislike is a Wrestler getting their limb worked over but on the comeback, it is like it never happened. Because then it is filler and meaningless.
  14. Microstatistics
    This is hurt by the spotty feel and lack of selling at times which prevent it from being a strong MOTYC but the overall product is still sensational. Everyone has already said it but Eddie was outrageously great here, one of the finest heel performances ever. Loved all the hate and animosity and intensity of attacks from both teams. Sasuke's bump at the end is insane while Ohtani's post match selling is something special. **** 1/4
  15. Microstatistics
    I am not a fan of either guy so I was skeptical but this was really good. I liked the story of the dominant champion running into something bigger and more dangerous. Show's offense is actually pretty weak looking but his size compensates for it I guess. His character work was great though. Sheamus's selling was strong. The two major nearfalls were really well done and treated with importance, which was nice to see. Show in the postmatch put over the importance of the win well. *** 1/2
  16. Microstatistics
    Toyota gets way too much flak for her selling. It might have been lacking during a few spotfests in her career but she can be really great at it in other situations. In fact, her selling held together Hotta's control segment here. She was awesome here: making Hotta look badass while working really well from underneath. The nearfalls near the end were really well done and convincing (though they did 1-2 too many I feel). Really good/borderline great match. *** 3/4
  17. Microstatistics
    What a find. The Pirates are more than solid wrestlers but would rather cheat and use nefarious tactics to maintain the advantage. This doesn't sit well with Sasuke and specifically Ishikawa, who gets more and more pissed off as the match goes on. Ishikawa brings the violence by trying to maim limbs while Sasuke brings stiff kicks and crazy dives. You get great comedy like the Pirates non-wrestler manager randomly putting Sasuke in a bear hug while the commentator starts laughing. Nice finish with Ishikawa refusing to let go of the cross armbreaker to illustrate how angry he was at the cheating and interference. I thought this was a legitimately fantastic match, a great mix of everything. **** 1/4
  18. Microstatistics
    This is a match that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. I could see people who are not high on joshi hating this. Some of the selling and transitions are pretty awful at times. But the violence, drama and hate are all on point. You get cool character based touches and the neat story of Takako trying to match Ozaki in her ideal environment. A match where the flaws hold it back from being MOTYC level but the good is good enough for the whole thing to be considered great. ****
  19. Microstatistics
    I honestly though the 3rd fall was the best. Casas spitting on Santo between the 2nd and 3rd falls kicked the match up a notch. Third fall had Santo bringing the aggression and violent looking strikes, great rudoing from Panther and Warrior with great fightbacks from Atlantis and Niebla, big bumps and drama. First 2 falls had beautiful matwork and build. MOTYC. **** 1/4
  20. Microstatistics
    Stone cold classic. The determined underdog puts the dominant and arrogant champion in serious peril through her perseverance and skill. Yoshida is rattled and is forced to adjust and dig deep. Matwork of the highest order, super dramatic transitions and a gripping finishing stretch. **** 5/8
  21. Microstatistics
    This. Crying about "those idiots WWE fans" and "indy darlings" and "Meltz and his NJ fetish" is the new MOVEZ !! annoying niche meme today. Boring and repetitive as fuck by this point. While I would agree with this in certain cases, I think in Roman's case it is justified mainly because he has proven himself to be a very good reliable and consistent worker, one of, if not the best in the company since 2015. It's the fans dogmatic refusal to reject him at all costs just based on his initial push and not on his talent, selling, matches etc. is the reason that point keeping getting brought up.
  22. Microstatistics
    That's another thing I don't get. Roman has been booked and presented to be FAR more vulnerable and giving than any of the other top faces. Unlike 10 years of Cena cutting joke promos that tell the audience how much his opponent sucks and kills their gimmick before smashing them 3 months straight usually ending in beating them at their own signature match, Roman puts over his opponents during promos even if they're jokey, and he usually puts them over again the Raw after a PPV saying how tough it was. And he actually eats clean falls. Roman spent the past 3 months getting demolished by Braun every week and just lost clean to a fucking powerslam in 2017. That's a good point, the constant complaints about how Wrestler X and Wrestler Y are being sacrificed to make Roman look strong don't really hold up considering those wrestlers actually end up looking better than they did before they feuded with him. People just can't get over the fact that his initial 2014/15 push was a bit too rapid for their taste and at the "expense" of Daniel Bryan and that mindset of "Undeserving Roman is being pushed to the top at all costs" has just stuck and nothing that has happened or he has done since can apparently change that.
  23. Microstatistics
    I put Roman over Styles for the sole reason that Roman does not have anything as shitty as the Cena trilogy on his resume. I think the best in the world hype from some is a little much but he is the best male worker in the company at this point. With each performance, it's becoming harder and harder to deny the fact that the dude is obviously a very good pro wrestler. But people are so blinded by their hatred of how he has been booked and presented that, outside of this circle, he is just never going to get the praise for his work that he deserves.
  24. Microstatistics
    I am actually with you that there is a double standard, but I tend to be more fair. Seth DID show better selling in this match - look at my previous post -, even if I do have my dislikes about those sorts of kicks with the bad limb. There were some matches were Hashimoto got worked for a ridiculous ammount of time and it had absolute zero consequence, it really didn't sit well with me just as much as it didn't here. That's fair, I wasn't calling you out specifically by the way, it's a general thing. I have noticed quite a lot of times here, people hate on something a wrestler does but when their favorite does the same thing, it's not a problem anymore or suddenly it even becomes great and smart.
  25. Microstatistics
    I am not exactly a Rollins fan but that is bullshit and feels like a double standard. You rarely see people criticizing Kawada or Hashimoto for throwing kicks despite having their kicking leg damaged by their opponent or Misawa for throwing elbows with his injured arm or Fujiwara for busting out his headbutts even after he has been badly cut. If the greats do it and get a free pass, why should a mediocre wrestler be put down for the same thing?
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