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Microstatistics

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  1. Microstatistics
    Meh, this doesn't hold a candle to 10/10/1985 when it comes to storytelling. Not to mention chaos and psychology. Still good though, even as I recant my exorbitant praise. ***1/4
  2. Microstatistics
    Ok, they make some sense. The opening ambush and initial violence were decent, but I've come around to the side that considers this to largely be an empty spotfest. And Hokuto was just as guilty as Toyota, if not more. Forgettable performances from both wrestlers. **1/2
  3. Microstatistics
    I sort of hated this upon rewatch. It started off alright but degraded into the typical John Cena back-and-forth kickout fest with minimal selling and boring transitions. I have no idea why they decided to abandon the neck psychology, especially after that killer DDT. What a letdown. **1/4
  4. Microstatistics
    Such lies. The Benoit match is clearly better despite not being great. Also, I feel Eddie Guerrero was the best Kurt Angle opponent. This is still good stuff though. ***1/4
  5. Microstatistics
    This didn't quite hold up for me. Honestly, I can't really disagree with a lot of what I said here but this felt more like a collection of cool moments and neat touches than a cohesively great match. It just lacked that connective tissue and flow necessary to reach the highest level. ***3/4
  6. Microstatistics
    Yeah, this is a difficult year to gauge. Putting heavy emphasis on high-end performances, my Top 3 would be as follows. 1. Jushin Liger 2. Vader 3. Ricky Steamboat Volk Han, Bret Hart, Kenta Kobashi, Scott Steiner (as a tag wrestler), Mayumi Ozaki had a strong year as well.
  7. Microstatistics
    El Hijo del Santo and Naoki Sano would be my Top 2.
  8. Microstatistics
    1. Samoa Joe 2. AJ Styles 3. Kenta Kobashi 4. Edge maybe? (The Matt Hardy cage match is great; he also had a really good TV street fight vs. HBK)
  9. Microstatistics
    Great thread cactus. Whose bright idea was it to inject an over the hill Chono into a Lesnar vs. Fujita dream clash? Surely, there was some other way to ensure the title change while protecting Fujita?
  10. Microstatistics
    Danielson probably takes it but Nagata provides some stiff competition. The Makabe bloodbath (my MOTY), strong bouts vs. Tanahashi, Suzuki etc. I'll go with Randy Orton as the dark-horse pick. Multiple great heel performances in a solid number of really good-great matches (e.g., NYR tag, Cena Summerslam, HBK Survivor Series etc.)
  11. Microstatistics
    Majority will probably go Flair and that's a fair enough pick but this was an intensely competitive year. Fujiwara, Satanico, Tenryu had top-tier years as well.
  12. Microstatistics
    Yep, Steve Austin easily. El Satanico had a strong year too.
  13. Microstatistics
    One of the most competitive years in wrestling history. The top 4 had all-time great individual years. 1. Eddie Guerrero 2. Kenta Kobashi 3. Samoa Joe 4. Kiyoshi Tamura 5. Kazuyuki Fujita? (struggling for names here)
  14. Microstatistics
    1. Kiyoshi Tamura 2. Kenta Kobashi 3. El Hijo del Santo 4. Koji Kanemoto 5. Mick Foley
  15. Microstatistics
    1. Volk Han 2. Shinya Hashimoto 3. Genichiro Tenryu 4. Shinjiro Ohtani 5. Shawn Michaels 6. Eddie Guerrero 7. El Hijo del Santo 8. Nobuhiko Takada 9. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka 10. Mick Foley
  16. Microstatistics
    From the top contenders: El Satanico, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, Terry Funk, Bryan Danielson, Tetsuya Naito, AJ Styles, Jushin Liger, Steve Austin, Daisuke Ikeda, Ric Flair, The Destroyer From the middle contenders: Koji Kanemoto, Hiroshi Hase, Sgt. Slaughter, Buddy Rose From the lower-end contenders: Kurt Angle, Yumiko Hotta, El Samurai
  17. Microstatistics
    Other contenders not mentioned yet (in no particular order). I would probably go with Tamura as WOTY at this stage though. Kiyoshi Tamura, Jushin Liger, Megumi Kudo, Jaguar Yokota, Eddy Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, Daisuke Ikeda, Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Volk Han, Shinjiro Ohtani
  18. Microstatistics
    A well done, aggressive sprint with the ferocious striking prowess of Murakami vs. the pro wrestling smarts and skill of Ohtani. Ohtani momentarily deviating from his pro-style game plan near the end cost him dearly as it opened the door for the KO. ***1/2
  19. Microstatistics
    Is this the correct date? It's listed as 12/21/1996 on Tabe's Tamura set. Anyway, this might be the most gruesome shoot-style match I've seen. The reviewers above bring up an interesting narrative regarding Yamamoto's frustration at his lackluster transition to be the top native talent in RINGS and his anger at a seemingly new golden boy in Kiyoshi Tamura. The standup had an aura of reckless violence and while the matwork was a little stagnant, it was quite ferocious and led to Tamura pouring hardway blood and almost getting his face rearranged. He nearly spiked himself setting up the finish too. ***3/4
  20. Microstatistics
    I think this is easily the best match of its kind from this era. A few narrative points I picked up on that I feel are enough to label this as more than just a mindless stuntfest. - The Dudleyz were too fixated on their beloved tables, which caused them to waste time and lose the initiative (Jerry Lawler made a similar point on commentary) - The Hardyz (in particular Jeff) were needlessly enamored with daredevil maneuvers and so when one didn't pan out, they would crash and burn badly - Edge & Christian, on the other hand, were the most pragmatic and cunning. soup23 mentioned Edge taking the weakest bumps but I think that's a positive in the context of the story. These two did only what they needed to do to win and that seems to be the recipe for success since they had this match won twice (once prior to Lita's interference) and why they won WM2000 and TLC II as well. Anyway, the biggest strengths of this match are the non-stop action (with reasonable selling and transitions), the violent bumps, and the escalation. D-Von's bump near the end is particularly underrated and always makes me wince. ****1/4
  21. Microstatistics
    What a difference four years make. I was more impressed with Inoki than Brisco this time around. Brisco was still world-class with his aggression and attentive selling but Inoki's wrestling skill and composure allowed him to shine. 1971 MOTY. ****1/4
  22. Microstatistics
    I'll likely have these two at x and x+1 in my Top 10. As people have alluded to, their case (i.e., ungodly peaks but stop-and-start careers) is remarkably similar. I'll go Eddie by the finest of margins for his versatility.
  23. Microstatistics

    Volk Han

    Microstatistics replied to Grimmas's topic in Nominees

    Top 10 contender. Other-worldly mat-worker who was pretty much world-class from day one. His ability to conjure gorgeous, limb-maiming submissions out of thin air was truly special but he was also a great striker and seller. He was THE star of 1992-1996 RINGS, gelling well with everyone, from the native talent to the other Russians. He didn't reach the heights of Tamura or Fujiwara, which is why I won't rank him as high as the other two. But on a per match basis, he is hard to beat.
  24. Microstatistics
    Casas was #4 for me in 2016 and, looking back, that was way too high. A charismatic, skilled, versatile wrestler with incredible longevity but I'm having trouble finding truly great Casas matches that don't involve Santo in some way, particularly singles bouts. I still need to check out some of the trios KB8 has listed above and re-watch some other stuff (like the Hechicero match from 4/2016) but the lack of non-Santo output could limit the ceiling.
  25. Microstatistics
    I was the co-high vote on Satanico at #2 in 2016 and am proud of it. There is a decent chance he'll again end up somewhere around there. At the very least, he's a Top 10 lock. Footage limitations could make the difference when I have to split hairs. Anyway, healthy number of great matches, best brawler ever, maybe the best punches ever, effective rudo and technico, world-class mat-worker, great seller etc. He is also a guy I'm struggling to find valid criticisms for. I've pointed out weaknesses of my other Top 10 guys, be it Kobashi or Santo or HBK, or even Fujiwara and Tamura (albeit to a lesser extent), but Satanico seems to have all bases covered. Maybe a stronger aerial game (though I've seen him bust out impressive dives) or more high impact offense?
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