TonyPulis'Cap

Really enjoying the return to the 'original timeline' and these 2007 shows. For the rather obvious reason you will soon run into, 2007 was where I dropped out of a lot of wrestling watching so it will be great to hear about the shows post the summer. It struck me listening to this show, and it's something I've thought for a while, but that 2006-07 Cena title reign is probably my favourite run of his whole career. To me it was the closest they've ever got to replicating a Hogan run, where he was the clear ace of the company and fighting off a wide variety of different challengers each month - you think that he went from Edge, to Umaga, to HBK, to Khali, to Lashley up to Orton, and Cena is great in all of them, changing up his formula depending on the opponent. It also kept things fresh, something very different from how it would quickly move to where it was rematch after rematch until something like Cena vs Orton gets run into the ground as they did it 4 or 5 PPVs in a row. You guys were talking on the Backlash show about was it the right time to end the Cena title reign, but to me, if he hadn't got injured it should've at least made it to Mania 24 before you would consider him losing. I also think that, while he would get some mixed reactions when up against someone like Shawn, that during this time the fans were generally on his side as they recognised how awesome he was (although that also came him from being put up against heels like Khali that fans weren't going to cheer for). Anyway, sorry, bit of a ramble, but I think this Cena title reign is great, and I'm glad you are back chronicling it. I also agree 100% with you guys that this Hardys run is brilliant too - they are so good here. For me, adding up all their different runs, they come out as the best WWE tag team of all time, but that's another debate to be had! Keep up the great shows guys.

The Raven/Punk feud is pretty legendary, but one where it feels like the matches themselves could never quite live up to the storyline and promos around them - which is not to say they were bad, just that the promos were so good (such as the one Punk delivers before the match here). In saying that, this is a match that does deliver in-ring and I really enjoyed it. There's some great intensity from Raven early on, and as others have said, while that does maybe go a bit too long, it shows that in the hardcore/brawling environment Raven is in his element and he is able to dominate. Punk takes a great arse kicking and does a pretty nasty blade job. People's enjoyment of crowd brawling varies, but I thought here it added to the chaotic nature of the match and they did enough out there to keep you engaged. I also enjoyed how they were creative with the dog collar spots, meaning they worked the stipulation into the match rather than it just be window dressing to a more regular No DQ match. Punk was still finding himself as a worker at this stage, but in terms of a character he was on point, and I liked that a lot of his heel control was him talking on the mic and berating Raven rather than anything particularly physical - working to his strengths. The ending with Cabana getting involved feels like the right kind of gaga finish in the context of continuing the feud, and both guys end up coming out of it positively. The post match angle with Dreamer and the beer is also really effective in terms of highlighting the personal nature of the feud, and maybe I'm factoring that in slightly in my match rating, but I thought this was a great brawl. It has energy and intensity to it, and doesn't descend into furniture building and hardcore match tropes that end up taking away from the storyline as often happens today. (*** 3/4)

For me, irrespective of all the creative and onscreen issues - although there's probably a clear link - is just what an awful place WWE sounds like to work if you are a performer. I'm sure, to some extent its been forever thus, but when you read about all the bizarre things that go on, the pettyness, the fact that the corporate way the company operates sounds on the one hand so incredibly stifling, but on the other does nothing to protect employees from the whims of a senile sociopath and his inner cabal of yes men, how would it motivate you when you are at work? The fact you can just be seemingly hired and then fired a few months later irrespective of anything you've actually done must be soul destroying and basically means that working for WWE gives you all the job 'security' of working for Mike Ashley's Sports Direct on a zero hours contract. Like again, how does it create a positive working environment that is conducive to helping employees thrive when your whole world can be just thrown upside down at the snap of someone's fingers. I haven't watched WWE since the mania that ended with Brock vs Roman the second time (no idea of the year anymore) and NXT a few months later since they ran Gargano vs. Ciampa into the ground. It's not really anything to do with the wrestlers themselves, or match quality, I just cannot stand the presentation and all the forced directives and tropes that are so tired and eliminate every bit of spontaneity and creativity from the product. If you can still watch, or separate the odd 'good match' out and watch it in a vacuum then more power to you, but it is very much not for me Clive anymore.

This is a spot on description, highlighted in her series of matches against Awesome Kong - she is a great seller, generating sympathy and getting over her opponent as a monster, however at the same time she shows constant fire, keeping herself over by not feeling like a jobber that has no chance and timing her comebacks beautifully. Those matches have a real Sting vs. Vader quality to them and they absolutely hold up. It can feel overstated, but I think as others above have said, she was a real trailblazer for the women's wrestling scene we currently have. She suffered initially from being put on TV in WWE when she was still green and with the matrix character that meant she was doing moves which she probably wasn't capable of at that point, but by the end of her first WWE run she had turned into a more than solid worker (there's a really fun tag at Unforgiven 2003 with her and Molly Holly against Trish and Lita that is worth checking out). When she goes to TNA they don't actually have a women's division, although from everything you hear she was the one that fought for it, and she was also great in her role as the bitchy heel valet for AMW. As discussed above, she then helps put the Knockouts Division on the map with the series against Kong and then is the real glue in that division having good matches against a variety of opponents. When she went back to WWE I was hoping she would get the Christian run of showing what he could do in TNA and then being pushed more than if he had just stayed, but ultimately she just wasn't the right fit at that time and it never worked out. Ultimately, it was in TNA where she got the opportunity to showcase what she could do. Gail also had that ability to carry less polished opponents to compelling matches - the Taryn Terrell is a great example. I remember at the time thinking, holy s**t, how has she just had this amazing and brutal last woman standing match with the former Tiffany who was the general manager of ECW?? I have no idea how much of it is down to the agent, but that's a fantastically structured match and Gail is a real ring general in it, connecting the more explosive spots together. For me, she has a definite lull in the TNA down years when they were bouncing around worse and worse TV networks, but then it was hard for anyone to shine at that time. I think part of that was booking - she got a bit exposed and stale by being constantly pushed on top - and while trying to separate that from the matches she was having, I seem to recall her matches at that time while solid, being on the dull side. But her ability, and how much of a great wrestler she could be can be shown by the match against Tessa in 2019 which is an easy **** match in my books, and where she gives a great performance as veteran trying to hang in with young upstart that has called her out.

These two have lots of history, having a great feud in CZW prior to this, and that chemistry is on show here, even though this is a short TV match. That history between the two is hinted at here, or implied without ever being made explicit on commentary, but helps the atmosphere for the match given we are in the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and many in the crowd probably knew it. This is a hard hitting sprint, and given their previous rivalry they go straight at it from the opening bell. Early on Hero strikes just the right balance in backing away from Kingston's onslaught but not being a full on cowardly heel. Both guys lay in their strikes and in their brawling on the floor. There's one great spot where Kingston is distracted by Sara Del Ray on the outside and Hero takes him out with a brutal looking baseball slide dropkick from his blindside. As we know now from his rise to prominence in AEW, Kingston is a really sympathetic seller, bringing real emotion into his matches (even a short TV match like this one) and that rallies the crowd to his side, when Hero's antics at this point often got him cheered despite being the heel. Unfortunately it ends in a rather lame DQ when Kingston wont break in the corner, but he does make up for it by hitting ref Todd Sinclair with a nasty snap punch which gets a pop from the ROH crowd who always used to get on poor old Todd's case. Even those this has a crappy ending, and is only 5/6 mins long, it's a really fun sprint where they pack a lot in. (***)

Two weeks previously they had wrestled to a time limit draw, so this is the rematch, but with higher stakes as it's a No. 1 contenders match for the ROH Title. As with the previous bout, they start with grappling and Danielson is really snug and tight in everything he does, making sure that Black has to earn his way out of every hold. Dragon is lazeer focused and serious early on, with the implication he'd potentially underestimated Black first time round, whereas now he knows he's a threat he's making sure to not give up any cheap openings. Both men are cautious early on, not wanting to make a mistake given the increased stakes of a title shot being on the line. While it stays technical Danielson is able to keep control. Black in contrast tries to up the pace to try and get the advantage but that opens himself up and I loved when he got caught with a big dropkick from Dragon. Danielson controls the match for long periods as reflecting his position as the ace of the company, while Black is good at selling and being on the defensive, trying to hang in there and look for openings when he can. Black spills to the outside, but potentially frustrated by Black's resilience after a series of pin attempts and not yet putting him away (and mindful of the time limit draw last time) Dragon misses a dive to the outside allowing Black to hit one of his own. This creates the separation that Black has been looking for, and now he's able to start getting on the offence and turning the match into his type of contest. The offensive flurry however almost snaps Dragon back into focus and single leg crab gets him back in control and now he's much more vicious with his kicks and strikes. He knows he's in a fight. Just as the intensity was really building, I was taken out of it a bit by a rolling pinfall spot which felt a bit goofy and which didn't really fit into the vibe of the match at that point, but they get in the groove quickly, and at this point have gone past the 20 min mark which was the time limit of the previous contest. With both men starting to get more desperate, Black goes to the top but gets thrown over the barricade and Danielson follows him with a crazy dive from the top rope and into the crowd. Given the punishment both men struggle to make the count, Black almost gets in at 19, but knowing he can't win by getting in himself, Danielson makes sure not to lose and pulls Black out for the double count out and another draw. I thought this was great and loved how it built on the previous match between the two. (****)

Match has the backstory coming in of them being former Generation Next stablemates, and tag team champion partners. They had feuded in the past as part of ROH's rather ill-fated 'stable wars' period, but that felt pretty underwhelming from my memory. At that stage it was Aries who was the face and Strong as the heel, but that's reversed here. On commentary they say Strong is returning from a tour of NOAH and he feels a bit directionless in comparison to Aries who was being pushed back into the ROH Title picture. There's lots of cautiousness and feeling out early on, which makes sense given their history and knowing each other so well. Unfortunately, the match then never really progresses to where you think it could do, although this was a TV match rather than a bigger ROH show where they may have cut loose more. There are fun moments, but it gets pretty dull in the middle and meanders at times. Aries is wrestling in his heel persona, meaning he's not at his more fluid, while Strong - especially at this time - despite being a very good wrestler still wasn't that charismatic. He doesn't show the emotion and fire you would want from going up against your former partner. I did like the story of Aries constantly being able to dodge Strong's chops (although they don't do it as well as the 2005 match between Strong and Punk (Escape from New York?) which tells that story masterly) but by doing so he leaves himself vulnerable to other offence. It's probably a very niche reference but it reminded me of when Stoke City first got promoted to the Premier League in the late 2000s and teams were so psychologically terrified of giving away thrown ins due to Rory Delap's long throws they would concede in other ways. Probably just me thinking that though... While a good match, this feels like the two guys are doing it a bit paint by numbers. Maybe its the setting (being from a TV taping), maybe it's Aries still working in his new heel wrestling style or maybe it's Strong not having much going on in the company, but while I enjoyed it, it did feel disappointing given what both guys are capable of. (*** 1/4)

Gresham has been one of my favourite wrestlers over the past few years, and I am absolutely willing to consider him for the top few slots in my list. It will be interesting to see where he lands with all the talk of ROH shutting down, given he had really found a home there, but I think he is a way more versatile performer than just being a great technical wrestler. I remember watching him live at a Rev Pro show here at the UK when part of CCK and he was absolutely tremendous playing a chickenshit heel but without it being over the top and becoming a parody - just walked that line beautifully. A few years ago my criticism would've been one you can often make of 'technical wrestlers' in that you thought sometimes he was going through holds without much emotion, but that was blown out of the water for me back in 2018 when he had my favourite match of that year - his 30 min Iron Man Match for the ROH Title against Jay Lethal. This was my review of that match I've copied from the thread in the match archive section of the site: I absolutely loved this match, one of my favourites of the year. Had such an old school NWA vibe to it, and in my opinion, miles better than the Rollins/Ziggler match, without the multiple falls for falls sake and a match that had very few dangerous 'movez' and head drops. It was just fantastic storytelling. I could see the criticism that the first 10 mins or so was a little bland, but I enjoyed that they were establishing parity and that with it going a guaranteed 30 mins, they didn't want to expend energy too quickly. I know a lot of people are down on Lethal, and while he may not be the most compelling wrestler in 2018, he's a had a damn good year in terms of his match quality. As SmartMark said, he came across as the ace of the company in this match, totally confident in his abilities and not rushing in. Gresham in turn is just so super smooth with his technical wrestling and the way he was trying to keep Lethal off balance with his unorthodox approach. This times a million. Gresham's face when he gets the tap is one of the best moments in wrestling I've seen in years. Managing to convey so much: knowing that he has just 3 or 4 mins to hold on to become champion and trying to keep composed when he just wants to let out his emotions. It all feels so fucking real, like a football (soccer) team going 1-0 up against the bigger team with just a few minutes on the clock. On a personal level it reminded me as a Crystal Palace fan going 1-0 up in the FA Cup Final in 2016 with just around 10 mins to go against Manchester United, the heavy favourites. You got that sense, hang on, this could happen! Alas as it was for Palace, Gresham suffered that late heartbreak and again as we did in 2016 in the Cup final losing in extra time, Gresham is pinned in the sudden death period. Maybe that's why the match resonated so much for me - it felt like a genuine sporting emotion that I've had myself. The way Gresham tried to hang on in the figure 4, knowing he had just 120 seconds to do so to become champion, but then it being just too painful. Echoing Wahoos Leg on the commentary - I thought it was tremendous - an amazing call by Ian and Colt, for my money the best commentary team out there at the moment. Absolutely tremendous stuff - **** 3/4. Too high? Maybe, but I loved it.

Danielson just feels like the man here - so sure and confident in himself, both in a kayfabe and non-kayfabe way. He felt like the man in the promotion even though he is a few years removed now from being the champion. Match has a simple story early on - Dragon dominates on the mat, while Black is looking to up the pace and stick and move. There's a really good struggle to what they are trying to do, not just loosely exchanging holds lazily. Bryan is so good at making everything, every little movement mean something. He is also really vicious in all his stomps, kicks and matwork, which is effective in getting sympathy for Black and getting the crowd on his side despite their instincts to want to cheer for Dragon. This allows Black to be good at what he does well, which is to be a sympathetic seller and firing up for bursts of dynamic offence. Danielson works the leg for a couple of extended periods which does show one of Black's weaknesses which he continues to show in some matches in the WWE now whereby he is spotty on the limb selling, but that's nitpicking and there are some great nearfalls for both guys as they get into the closing stretch. This is face vs. face going in, but as mentioned Dragon's viciousness helps to get sympathy and the crowd rallying behind Black which just shows the masterful way Bryan is able to work the crowd. The match ends in a 20 min time limit draw, which leads to the predictable "5 more mins" chant, but the result is a hard fought draw with the storyline aim of showing Black as the future of the company that can hang with the Ace. (*** 3/4)

This is for the NWA Title in the pre-Corgan NWA era, and Colt Cabana is the special referee. Colt vs. Pearce was the main storyline they were heading in for the title at this point. It is a very young Willie Mack, but you can already see his charisma and in his mannerisms that he can get the crowd behind him. They are clearly going for a Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes vibe here, even down to the early flip flop and fly elbow from Mack and there’s lots of babyface shine from the challenger early on. Pearce is very good as the old school stooging, stalling heel, but if we are all honest, pretty boring on offence. I do appreciate the way he carries himself in his 80s throwback style, but he was never the most thrilling or dynamic of wrestlers. The match is therefore at its best when Pearce is selling for Mack’s explosive offence, and given his limited experience, Mack is very good here. Cabana threatens to award the title to Mack when Pearce is threatening to get counted out but ends up getting taken out when on the outside. He manages to recover to stop Pearce using the title and gives Mack a nearfall, before he then accidentally takes Willie out when going for Pearce. From there the match breaks down into more of an angle for a Pearce vs. Cabana match, but I guess a schmoz ending is a fitting tribute to an 80s style title match. I enjoyed the old school presentation – something I’m a sucker for, and before the ending we were trending to (***) but settled on (** ¾)

This is for Peter Avalon’s Hollywood Heritage Title, and in contrast to the current AEW version of Avalon, he is the hometown babyface champion. I like that Myers – as the ex WWE superstar – goes in over cocky and underestimating Avalon, so we get lots of fun underdog babyface shine at the beginning, before Myers has to cheat to get the advantage. Classic wrestling storytelling 101. Myers offence is basic and there’s a few too many chinlocks, but its good for building heat in a ‘small room’ environment and this is not a setting where a crowd are begging for a super workrate PWG style match. Avalon has good fire, and I like that as he is outgunned, his nearfalls come from sequences of moves making it more believable on his bigger, more experienced opponent. Thought the finish came out of nowhere and that a better option would’ve been a pin off Myers missing a spear for more of a pop. Myers is far from the most exciting or dynamic performer, but he’s a decent pro (as his current gimmick in Impact says) who does the basics well. The match told a simple storyline of the plucky face and the cocky, over-confident heel that gets caught out, which is all that wrestling needs to be sometimes. (***)

This is from a tour of Australia by the Bob Trobich/Dave Marquez run version of the NWA. The opening exchanges are full of respectful mat wrestling, but that quickly morphs into Danielson’s cocky tweener ‘Best in the World’ persona that was a mainstay of his ROH World Title run the year before this – the one where he’s damned good, and he knows it. X-Pac matches up well by being a good sympathetic seller, and Danielson is on top for a lot of the match. In reality Waltman probably couldn’t really hang anymore with Dragon if he was going full tilt, which makes a good kayfabe storyline for the match. As a case in point – whether by accident or design - Danielson’s offence is just much harder hitting, and X-Pac looks like a guy struggling to keep pace. I like that it’s not ‘your turn/my turn’ to play into that story, but Waltman times his comebacks well to keep the crowd invested – loved the flurry of spinning heel kicks midway through. The finish is a bit abrupt, but still plays into the storyline – X-Pac reverses a belly to black suplerplex into a cross body and gets an almost flash pin on a dazed Dragon rather than it be ‘decisive’. It also shows the wily old pro still has a few tricks in his back pocket. He was ultimately outmatched when Dragon was full speed ahead, but Danielson got cocky taking him to the top rope when it arguably wasn’t needed and that’s cost him. Nothing earth shattering – but logical, and I enjoyed this (*** ¼)

Still remember getting my first ROH tapes back in late 2002 - the Round Robin Challenge and Road to the Title I think - and that got me absolutely hooked on them as a promotion. Have got virtually every DVD between 2004 and 2007/08 when I was so invested in what they were doing, just a fantastic product during that time. Who knows where the footage from that period ends up, so glad I've still got all those DVDs squirreled away somewhere, feeling nostalgic to dig a few of them out now with the dual purpose of them being good research materials for GWE watching

Would definitely agree with this - the TV shows on HDNET, while *in theory* meant to be pushing the same storylines as the other shows never synced up, so it became really confusing in terms of the timelines and you almost had parallel products going on, which actually, is something they never ever rectified in the decade since. I stopped watching ROH just prior to the pandemic and they STILL couldn't sync up the timeline of their TV with their PPVs and other shows. That was also around the time Marty Scurll got named in Speaking Out, when there had actually seemed to be a bit of a positive buzz around the direction of the product and who they were signing since he had become booker. It probably wouldn't have been enough to steer them on a course to something more positive than where we are now mind given Sinclair were never much interested in them as anything other than cheap content, but you never know. While they deserve praise for being one of the few wrestling companies to behave responsibly during Covid and support the wrestlers in that time despite not running shows that was after years of awful HR practices by the sound of things, and creatively, they have been a zombie promotion for a little while now.

XPW really was the scuzziest of the scuzziest in pro-wrestling, and that covers a lot of ground - an ECW rip-off that substituted any attempt at storytelling for increased/mindless violence and a sprinkling of porn stars. I guess given the owner and his outlook when it came to his primary career, it was never going to be anything but the product it turned out like - I'm pretty sure there was a whole series of their TV show that had no wrestling whatsoever and only skits - but there was that brief period, which wasn't touched on in the episode where it was booked by Shane Douglas (who in standard wrestling booker style made himself the champion) and was something more resembling an actual wrestling company. I understand why it wasn't covered, given time, but it would've been interesting to get something on that period where they moved to the East Coast and we had the Philly wrestling wars when they got exclusivity on the ECW Arena. From the interviews with the people involved, you could sense they were trying to get across that ECW vibe of being 'a family' all working for a cause, but from the outside it just seemed like it was a place that took all the worst elements from two seedy industries and created a perverted mess.

Might be on something of an island here, but I really enjoy watching whole shows - and that's not just the matches and angles, but the way a wrestling TV show is formatted, the way the announcers link from one segment to the next, the promo packages etc. - I just really enjoy seeing how a wrestling show flows together and the way it's presented. This sums things up nicely for me - I find there's stuff to enjoy in a squash match, or a sprint, or an angle advancement match, if they have a clear point to them. It's also a good way of exploring new people you would enjoy, but that aren't always in a position to have 5* epics and turn up on match recommendation lists. I also love context in my wrestling. I find it hard some times to just enjoy a match 'cold' knowing nothing about why the people in the match are wrestling - I want to be able to build that emotional connection. Sometimes when I see people hyping up a big match, I've got no doubt it's good, but I sometimes find just dropping in without knowing the storyline or the history like watching a big action set piece from the end of a film, but without seeing the buildup I've got no reason to be invested in the potential jeopardy for the characters involved in that scene. Given I'm trying to watch stuff for the GWE project the above approach does makes things challenging, not least because it takes up a lot of time!!

This is (in)famously the first real match that TNA built up that had some significant buzz to it. 'Big fight feel' is a term that gets overused, but even in the less than salubrious setting of the Fairgrounds in Nashville this has that vibe to it. I really liked the opening exchanges, where the talk is about the contrasting styles and that both guys will be looking to make the other wrestle 'their kind of match', however once Raven starts to get the advantage in some technical exchanges you have Jarrett start with the brawling to counter. However after a good opening, they start with the gaga and the interference way too early, given the match was just starting to settle in. Both guys are very soon bleeding, which feels too much too soon. When they are allowed to just wrestle, it's good - Raven is in excellent shape here post WWE and I've always believed that Jarrett is much better suited in-ring to being a fired up babyface than the rather bland heel when he's forced to carry the bulk of a match. But the match structure that's been set up isn't trusted to keep people's interest and while all the outside the ring stuff and the run ins are entertaining it just overwhelms the match. We get run ins from S.E.X and the New Church, although it's not evident whose side anyone is on or why the runs in are coming, and then we get the 'Extreme Revolution' (Sandman, New Jack, Perry Saturn and Justin Credible) who at least with the ECW past it's clear are here to help Raven, before Sabu (not actually aligned with the ECW guys) comes in to take them all out. At this stage, as you can maybe tell, there is just too much going on! Jarrett is good as the bloody babyface fighting against thee odds, but then starts to stretch things by becoming superman with the odds he is fighting to overcome, surviving handcuffs, group beatdowns and chair shots. At the time, the talk was that Raven should've won, and even watching this back many years since, that still feels a missed opportunity given how fresh and big a deal Raven seemed, but ultimately, given all the odds being stacked in his favour, you have to see him not winning here as a choke moment. The match itself is good when it's mainly just down to Jarrett vs Raven, and there is tons going on, which is entertaining in one sense, but it's just TOO DAMNED MUCH and ultimately all the extracurricular stuff swamps the match and prevents it from reaching its potential. (*** 1/4)

This is part of the aborted Jarrett vs. Hulk Hogan feud that TNA began with the aim of it headlining their first attempt at a 3 hour Sunday PPV (what was meant to be the first Bound for Glory). That match never happens, although the company do get full value form endlessly replaying the clip of Jarrett hitting Hogan with a guitar at the Tokyo Dome. This is essentially the payoff with Sting parachuted in. At this stage Sting had done one tag match for TNA and little in wrestling other than handful of matches for touring company the WWA since the end of WCW, so that at least brings some interest. Early on there is lots of stooging and stalling from Jarrett as was his way at this point. Sting has good fire and still looks good physically, but the match just has no substance to it whatsoever. It feels very late era WCW, with weak crowd brawling and run ins to compensate for a lack of action. Jarrett gets a sleeper as his only real offence – it’s like why his Chosen One character could never get over as main eventer in WCW, he just gets beat up for most of his matches and has such weak offence. There are tons of run ins here, including from Don Callis as a TNA Management Consultant, Jimmy Hart – who had basically been Hogan’s proxy in the storyline when they thought the match would happen – red shirt security, AJ Styles, Raven, Abyss and the match completely falls apart under all that strain to end in a rubbish DQ, given they clearly didn’t want Sting to lose, nor did they want to change the title. There is a big pop for the brawl after the bell and Sting stopping a guitar shot with his baseball bat, but other than that this is pretty useless. (* ½)

This is the first time the Knockouts main evented an episode of Impact, and it’s well deserved given this is a great rivalry, that really put the division and title on the map shortly after inception. Kong at this point had a mystique to her and came across as a real special attraction - someone that could’ve been a big star for the company. She definitely seemed ahead of her time in terms of North American women’s wrestling. It’s being Captain Obvious, but these two have fantastic chemistry, and give off a real Vader vs Sting vibe in their exchanges. Gail is great at selling the beating she is getting, but is constantly fighting and scrapping whenever she can, which keeps the crowd invested and makes her seem like a credible champion without taking anything away from Kong’s aura. They both lay everything in, and all the sequences have intensity to them. This is a sprint compared to their longer PPV matches, but its all action with lots packed in to a short time and some great bumps. (***)

This match, which was something of a ‘dream match’ at the time, sadly brings with it its usual level of TNA baggage and overthought storyline – that being that AJ was rumoured to be having an affair with Karen Angle. In a vacuum I enjoyed the grappling at the beginning, although as happens in a lot of Angle matches, it feels all a bit of window dressing for show and they move on quickly without it meaning much for the rest of the match. The problem, as others have pointed out is that it was meant to be a grudge/blood feud going in, but it’s wrestled too much like a highspots match at times. I do love AJ’s fire and intensity in what he does do though – everything has impact and purpose, and there’s a great example here of how you can work in a dive to the outside without it looking convoluted with a long set up. Angle sells for most of the early portions of the match, but when he does take control I liked how he is aggressive, just keeping things simple and grinding AJ down, so you think we are getting a nice logical storyline of the mat wrestler trying to ground the high flyer, however as the match progresses it turns into a too much ‘your turn, my turn’ leaving you usually emotionally disconnected, other than one great one roll up out of the ankle lock nearfall. Ultimately, you get the sports entertainment finish of Karen helping AJ to win, which I don’t necessarily have any issues with per se, but given I don’t think that storyline went anywhere just makes the ending very unsatisfying. (*** ¼ )

This is meant to be Team 3D vs. The Steiners, but due to an injury, Animal steps in as a surprise replacement. The challengers are way past their prime here, but it’s cool them being teamed up in a ‘veteran super team’ sort of way. The match is kept very basic due to the limitations of the challengers, basically playing the hits, but the crowd are buying into the ‘legends’ and the ‘dream tag team’ storyline for the match. Rick looks a bit all over the place at times, but the Dudley’s do a great job of bumping all over the place to help put the challengers over as threats. Unfortunately it’s a pretty flat ending, but the crowd were invested throughout and they got as much out of Steiner and Animal as you could possibly expect in 2007. (** ½)

This is a fantastic match that is a hybrid of the best elements of old school tag wrestling, with the early 2000s all action Indie style. We know AJ and Daniels are great opponents, and that chemistry makes them great partners as well and they mesh fantastically with AMW, who are great early on as stooging heals before building lots of heat on the babyfaces. Because Chris Harris became a punchline, people forget how good they were as a team. The timing on the spots in this match is spot on, getting the crowd biting on nearfalls and bringing them along for the ride. AJ is so smooth, but also impactful, while Daniels is more wily and cerebral, recognising when to step aside to let AJ get the pops with his big moves. At this point in 2006 AMW were like a classic 80s team transplanted into the 21st Century but who can still go. This is also, before TNA started their Knockouts Division where Gail Kim was the hot evil valet on the outside, and she was also super underrated in that role – she’s great here with the timing of her interventions and interference. Yes, there’s lots of gaga – ref bumps, false finishes, beer bottles – but that all makes sense in terms of the storyline and that AMW had been escaping with their titles through cheap endings for months before this. Just a great match and a great moment when the faces finally get the win and the titles. (**** ¼)

Jarrett has always been a bit of a guilty of pleasure of mine, and while I like him more than many, there just isn't the case for him being a top 100 level performer. This sums things up nicely - his case actually suffers from being pushed as a main eventer in WCW and TNA. If he had just been kept at that IC Title level, he's probably regarded as a decent worker worker that didn't get the recognition, but alas for him, he was given, or indeed gave himself the push (I'm sure his bank balance appreciated it though). His run in WCW is a great illustration, when he comes into the company he puts on some decent matches, like the ladder match against Benoit at Starrcade 99, but when required to be the No. 1 heel in the company, he just doesn't have the ability to lead a match - his offence is so weak, and full of shortcuts and cheap heat. Yes some of that's down to the timeframe and Russo's ADHD booking, but it particularly shows on the PPVs when he gets more time and just cant make the matches compelling. But then, come the end of 2000 and into 2001, as he goes down to that secondary level again, he starts to put on decent/enjoyable matches. It's the same in WWF. In 1998/99, when match quality is pretty low in the Attitude era, he's one of the more consistent performers, but that's as a midcard/tag wrestler. It's pure speculation, but I wonder how much of his TNA run on top, full of all the smoke and mirrors is because he knew, or the bookers knew, that the shortcuts were needed otherwise there was no way he would be able to make his matches 'main event worthy' on his own. Another way in which his presentation actively works against him, was through mainly being pushed as a heel on top, when he was actually a much better in ring babyface. If you want a clear illustration of that, watch his match with Kurt Angle at Genesis 2009. That to me is a legit **** + match and it's where Jarrett plays plucky underdog babyface, utilising his selling, and the timing and instincts for wrestling, which he clearly has, without having to really have much offense. If we'd have got more of that Jarrett, or if he hadn't been pushed above his station, I think he could well have had a sniff at a list like this, but in the real life we've got, not much of a chance.

Having just watched the Battle Riot, I can definitely see why anyone would see it as a bit of a mess at times, but I think by sheer force of the amount of 'stuff' going on, and the hard work of the guys involved I found it enjoyable, and ultimately it got to the end point they had been building to with the story line going in. It suffered from the through line of having no eliminations early. This differentiated it from recent Royal Rumbles, when people seem to come in for 2 mins, run through their moves and then get eliminated, but ultimately, there was just too many guys in there at times. There also wasn't a lot of heat early on, but as the match progressed the crowd got into it, and it felt (you never can tell how much has been 'sweetened' in non live shows) like they were really into the winner, so again job done. I feel like I'm often the big MLW defender here, and while I can often see, and acknowledge the criticisms others have, for whatever reason, it just seems to grab me. Some of the new names they introduced should help give what was previously a very small roster a shot in the arm with some potentially interesting programs coming out of the match, although given Migs feedback above from being there, maybe I'll try not to get too carried away! The most interesting point to me from the match, was how in the end it centered around a story line rather than just coming down to 'cool wrestler A vs cool wrestler B' to get a "this is awesome chant". Now whether that story line is a compelling one to you, that of course is open to debate, but to me, I appreciate that they had set up a story for the match going in and paid it off rather than worrying about a 'swerve' or surprise ending.

Have been watching a lot of early 2000s indies, and while I have always liked Red - both at the time and now - I think I've been underrating just how good he was/is. From the period say 2002 - 04, he is an elite level high flyer, managing to do spotfests with meaning, timing his comebacks and big moves to create a compelling storyline, rather than them just being thrown out one after another. His selling is great too - yes, he is small, and so in many matches, his opponent can throw him around, but he is able to elicit real fan reaction, again from the way he takes the moves and his timing. I also love the sequences of offensive moves he puts together - if you watch his nearfalls, they are often after hitting two or three moves in a combination, which makes it believable to be taking on beating guys that are bigger than him. The way they are timed as well, just brings the crowd to a crescendo like the beats of a great song. Unlike a lot of high fliers he wasn't a one trick pony - I'd seriously underrated his strikes and kicks, they are just spot on, and again give him weapons that bring believability to him going toe to toe with guys. I've watched him across ROH, TNA, MLW, CZW, JAPW and across a variety of opponents he always delivers, and for a guy hitting big moves and intricate sequences, he rarely botches or screws up - he is super smooth. There's an undeniable Rey Mysterio vibe to him - especially young Rey - and while he's not at that level (few are!) or has that level of longevity, as the posts above from the 2016 discussion highlight he was a real pioneer in that early 2000s post WCW/ECW indie boom. I need to dig into his later years more, when the knee injuries took their tool to see how he adapted, but from seeing matches like the Ospreay one in New Japan and being their live when he faced PAC in Rev Pro, but genuinely considering him around the 90-100 spots as I start to put some initial thinking together.