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cactus

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  1. cactus
    I've never been a fan of the escape-only cage matches, but I'd make an exception for this! Slaughter and Backlund are pros at milking the escape teases. Backlund had Slaughter's leg hanging on by a thread as he tried to leave via the door and you could cut the tension with a knife! The pace of this never let down and the crowd was nuclear-hot the entire 15 minutes that this bloodbath lasted. Nobody takes a turnbuckle bump as well as Slaughter does and that whip reversal he takes face-first into the cage also served as a great transition for Backlund to begin his ass-kicking segment. Slaughter's not here to fight and just wants to escape the cage and win the match. I love him using his last bit of strength to lunge himself to the door as Backlund was pounding on his bloody head. I can't name you a cage match that I've enjoyed more than this one! ★★★★★
  2. cactus
    This was all matwork, but the matwork is excellent, so I can hardly complain! Ricky Morton looks like a baby here as he takes on the grizzled Sonny King. This was a young upstart versus the salty veteran. The tension builds up as the match goes and no wrestler is able to score an advantage. King does a great job of showing his frustration as the match goes on. This had a proto-shoot-style vibe to it. It's all grappling! The ten-minute time limit ends up expiring just as Morton had King rolled up in a sunset flip. The ten minutes just flew by and I didn't even mind this going to a non-finish. ★★★¼
  3. cactus
    This was textbook tag team wrestling. They are given plenty of time here. The Harts start the match by stalling around, with Bret complaining that his hair is being pulled during every lock-up. Dynamite uses one of the Hart's old stampede tricks against them by escaping a wristlock by throwing them to the outside. The Hart Foundation eventually get their hands on Dynamite and works him over. Dynamite is a great face-in-peril. We get all the usual tag spots here, such as the referee missing the face tags and the heels double-teaming. Gorilla Monsoon straight-up buries the referee here. I love the finish, which saw the faces using the heel's own tricks against them. ★★★★¼
  4. cactus
    The crowd is intrigued by the FMW team and they want to see them hit their high-flying stuff that they've heard so much about. The Holy Demon Army keeps cutting them off and this pisses off the crowd. Kawada and Taue are salty as hell that the fans could be so fickle and cheer for these flippy outsiders when they've been busting their asses for them for over a decade. Hayabusa is isolated and he's worked over and it gave this match a very Southern flavor. Shinzaki looks like he might have a chance of besting Kawada after he kicks out of a brutal flurry, but one Soulful Powerbomb later and he's sent packing. This was looked interesting on paper and it more than delivered and it's one of the better matches AJPW put out during the later part of the 90's. ★★★★¾
  5. cactus
    People seem to forget that Jim Neidhart was just as good as Bret when they were a tag unit. This was babyface Hart Foundation by the numbers and it's predictably good stuff. Bret gets worked over and Neidhart gets the tag and clears house. Judging by the crowd reaction Neidhart got during this, you would think he would be the one to be the breakout megastar of his team. The Hart Foundation get some convincing nearfalls from some innovative double-team moves, including one where Bret slingshotted Anvil from the inside the ring to outside onto his opponent. Fun match, with a good finish which sees Jimmy Hart using his megaphone to score the victory for his team. ★★★¼
  6. cactus
    The first round is dominated by one arm lock and they somehow keep things exciting for the entire five minutes. Grey has to find ways to escape Saint's hold, but Saint isn't going to give up his hold without a fight. Both guys are faces, but Saint works this one as the more seasoned quasi-heel and Grey is fighting from underneath for the most part. Grey beat Saint before and wants to prove that match was no fluke. On top of all the sublime story-telling, this had great limbwork, crafty counters, and a constant barrage of excitement. ★★★★¾
  7. cactus
    This was a fantastic display of technical wizardry and one-upmanship, with some tasteful comedy moments too. These guys paced this match well, and they threw the crowd a lightning-quick exchange before going back to the mat game. Clive Myers is agile as a cat and I love his delayed enziguri. The final round is incredibly tense. You never got the impression that these two hated each other during this and it just feels like two pros having a competitive bout to see who is the better man and it makes for a wholesome 20 minutes of wrestling. ★★★★★
  8. cactus
    This was a great showcase of high-spots. Myers continues to impress me as a high-flying babyface and Grey looked good here too. I love Grey handstanding his way out of a headlock. The pace was quick here, with things really going up to 11 during the third round. ★★★¾
  9. cactus
    This was a classic heel vs babyface bout, with Myers being the athletic baby and Cooper being the no-nonsense heel. Myers impressed me early on with his shine segment, but Cooper won me over as a classic heel. He knows he's here to get under the audience's skin, so he keeps all his stuff simple and leaves the flashy stuff for the babyface. He would jaw-jack with the audience and refer to Myers as a 'black boy' whilst working him over. Christ. This match really gets going once Myers gets his ankle caught in the ropes in a brutal spot and Cooper works it over. The referee comes close to disqualifying Cooper due to excessive force. Myers initially sold his injury well by limping all over the place, but he would brush the injury off during the final minutes so that he could make his comeback. Minor gripe aside, this was a great match. ★★★★
  10. cactus
    Street's gay panic gimmick might not have aged well, but he's at least presented as a legitimate wrestler who just happens to be very flamboyant. The exchanges we get here all are very rough and ready. I love Breaks countering Street's flying body scissors by flipping him over into a Boston Crab. I used to have an issue getting into World Of Sport as I found that the round system stopped the action from flowing well, but I thought they made great use of it here. Breaks would constantly get close to locking on his Jim Breaks' Special, but the round would expire before he could fully lock it on and he'd have to break the hold. They built up the tension well, with things getting more aggressive and violent as the match went on and as they got more and more frustrated with each other. Breaks is a great visual seller, loudly groaning in agony whenever Street would get a hold locked in. For those who find World Of Sport not gritty or violent enough for their tastes, I urge you to give this a watch. ★★★★¾
  11. cactus
    For years I've only known Les Kellet as the guy who had a huge influence on Colt Cabana and I can see why after watching this match. His comedic timing is impeccable and the referee and Czeslaw are great at playing the straight men. Czeslaw and Kellet missing out on their first rest period because they were tangled up was a genuinely hilarious moment. For a man in his late 50's, that bump to the outside that Kellet took looked super painful. This match was a total joy to watch! ★★★★
  12. cactus
    The next time I see someone complain about old matches being slow, I'm going to show them this incredible match. It's amazing how a fantastic match can suck you in, even when you have no idea who the wrestlers are. This goes just over thirty minutes and there's ZERO downtime! The action is quick and a lot of exchanges feel like they were ripped right out of a World Of Sport match, only with some insane aerobics thrown in! This isn't just a spotfest though. The guys in the darker trunks are the heels and they get more and more frustrated as the faces out-shine them. They eventually show their vicious side by laying in some snug strikes and by the third fall, this is an all-out brawl. I love how the heels bumped in a comedic way. I could watch the face bridge and backflip their way out of trouble all day. My favourite moment of this match is when a heel strikes his own partner after being confused after being put in a Big Swing! Watch this match! ★★★★★
  13. cactus
    Reigns is hated by this crowd and he leans right into this. He might be WWE's ace, but he's happy to look at the WWE fans who can't stand him with absolute disdain. Reigns' power spots all look fantastic and Styles does a sublime job of realistically taking control of Reigns. That Phenomenal Forearm through the announce table spot went off without a hitch and I also didn't see it coming. The count-out/disqualification tease false finish are so passe and you can see them coming from a mile away. I was fine with the interference, but I can't stand those dive spots where everyone stands around waiting to catch the wrestler, and this match had two of those said spots. Both Styles and Reigns put in incredible performances here, but the main thing stopping this from getting the full five-star treatment from me is the horrendous booking. ★★★★½
  14. cactus
    The story of this match is the same as most of Vader's UWFi matches. His opponents out-class him when it comes to things like striking and mat-wrestling, but Vader's so damn powerful that it doesn't make much of a difference. Vader's palm strikes are enough to neutralize most fighters, and you are dead as fuck if he's able to slam you. Vader's coming off his first UWFi loss and he's pissed off and Tamura slapping him across the face at the start of the match doesn't help things. Tamura's strikes are deadly, but he's going to have a hard time trying to lay them in as all it takes is one swing from Vader and this one could be over. Tamura gets in some decent hope spots in and Vader sells Tamura's strikes like a wounded lion. Vader's able to get in two hard throws and that's this one over. Vader is rehabilitated after his high-profile loss, but Tamura also looks like a million bucks after putting in a fearless effort trying to take down the Mastadon. ★★★★¼
  15. cactus
    I remember when I first saw this. I was bored out of my mind and I hated it. Now that I'm older and have grown more of an appreciation for shoot-style, I enjoyed this a lot more, but it's still not without its flaws. The main issue I had with this is that it goes way too long. Most of the work here was good, but I did find myself start to get bored at times. This felt like two young American kids doing a worthy tribute to Battlarts. The mat work is aggressive and the strikes are stiff. They did a great job incorporating more pro-style moves during the second half without it looking hokey. This wasn't either man's best ROH match, but it's still an impressive bout when you factor in how young these guys were at this point. ★★★¾
  16. cactus
    The opening matwork was decent, with both men trying their hardest to not have to give up a rope break. Tamura catching Barnett with that knee was nasty stuff and it kicked the match into second gear, with Barnett becoming enraged and he starts throwing Tamura around like a sack of shit. Barnett has more size on Tamura and this is worked as a big man vs little man match. Barnett heavily panting during the second half put over how physically draining these matches can be. Tamura is nearly beaten by a nasty capture suplex, but Barnett makes the fatal mistake of trying the move again. Tamura counters the move and is able to land a submission for the victory. ★★★★¼
  17. cactus
    I had no idea that Kawada turned up in U-STYLE! Ilyukhin is your bog-standard Russian shooter. He's the kind of guy that would have turned up in NJPW during 1989. Great on the mat, but dryer than a Steven Wright stand-up. Kawada knocks him on his arse early and to Ilyukhin's credit, he sells the urgency of the situation well and he jumps right back up to his feet in a successful effort to not lose a point. The story of this one is seeing if Kawada can adapt to U-STYLE's ...style. He throws an elbow and this causes the referee to yellow card him. Kawada's no spring chicken at this point in his career and his opponent is able to score a few submissions that cause Kawada to use up some of his rope breaks. The mat-work here wasn't anything to write home about, but the story here was interesting enough and they pull everything off well. Kawada secures a victory after landing a Backdrop Driver and locking on a submission hold in just over four minutes. This was a fun match that had the potential to be great if they fleshed out the story some more and gave them some more time to work with. ★★★¼
  18. cactus
    Tamura is the ace of the promotion and Ito is the scrappy underdog who puts in the fight of his life. This match is quite story-driven, with Ito getting the better of Tamura and scoring two rope breaks early on. The fans are shocked and start to think that Ito might actually have a fighting chance and Tamura sells his disappointment well and his disappointment soon turns to anger as he starts slapping the piss out of poor Ito's mouth. Probably the best match under the U-Style banner. ★★★★¾
  19. cactus
    This sounds like my kind of match! Is this available to watch anywhere? @Jetlag
  20. cactus
    I didn't even think I was much of a matwork guy until I watched this. Carl Greco is everything Kurt Angle thinks he is. He's more of an MMA-style grappler than Ishikawa is, who could be described as a Battlarts traditionalist. This was built entirely around the ground game and they kept it gripping for 15 whole minutes. This was two half-naked lads going at it in front of barely 200 people and they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, with my jaw firmly on the ground the entire time. Every transition opened the door for more possibilities. Not a single strike was thrown here and only one suplex was landed. Both guys volunteering to give up their final rope break was a badass move. My favourite Battlarts match! ★★★★★
  21. cactus
    The Kilq working together to make each other look good created one of the best WWF tags ever. The crowd is molten-hot throughout and everyone plays their role to perfection. Despite being the much bigger man of his team, Ramon does a sublime job at being the face in peril and Kid is the rocket-fuelled fresh man. HBK puts in a top chickenshit heel performance and he sells Ramon's punches well. Diesel didn't stink up this match at all, but I'm wasn't a fan of him being knocked out for minutes on end after a single Sweet Chin Music. At least it put the move over as deadly, at least. ★★★★¾
  22. cactus
    This kicked all kinds of ass. Super Dragon is incredibly violent here and he's also surprisingly expressive considering his face is completely covered. This was rather sloppy, but it only added to the match's charm. Dragon takes out Butcher's hand and he has to find other ways to beat Dragon instead of relying on his trusty punches, which sees Necro freakin' Butcher of all people hit a Frankensteiner and an O'Connor Roll! Parts of this match had me cringing because of how brutal they were. This was an amazing violent spectacle, up there with some of the best matches that PWG have ever put out. ★★★★¾
  23. cactus
    The first few minutes of this are rather weak, but this picks up once Mad Dog gets pissed and starts busting Kimura open. Everyone bleeds, even the referee. Not only does the ref get juice, he also ends up getting Piledriven onto the floor! The referee calls for the bell once Mad Dog attacks him, but decides to carry one once order is restored. Mad Dog has a great-looking piledriver. The brawling here isn't exactly Funk Vs Lawler, but they bring the intensity and it results in a great little spectacle. ★★★¼
  24. cactus
    Jumbo might be the champion, but he isn't as experienced as Robinson. I could watch Robinson try and weasel his way out of holds all day. He's super engaging and compelling and he can make even a simple headlock or Boston Crab interesting. If you want a good match to get yourself acquainted with the style of old-school puroresu instead of going straight to the heavy hitters like Baba/Robinson and Funk/Tsuruta, I'd say give this a watch to ease your way in. It doesn't go too long, has everything you can expect from this time period and it's rather workrate-heavy. That final fall felt like a sprint! ★★★★
  25. cactus
    This was very similar to their 1973 match, only with even better matwork! The general pace of the first fall, but every hold felt like it had a purpose and it felt like you were watching a game of chess play out in the ring. Give this match the attention it demands from you and you will have a hell of a time with it. Every near-fall feels like it could end the fall. You know your move is over when the crowd shriek in horror when you execute it, as was the case when Destroyer finally got Mascaras in the Figure Four during the final fall. I'm used to non-finishes during this era, but I wasn't a fan of the finish. Mascaras can't continue because of the damage done to his leg and the referee calls this one off. This felt like a cop-out. If you could trim the final few minutes of their 1973 match with the body of this match, then I'd be hard-pressed not to give it the full five stars! ★★★★½
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