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Calvin

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Everything posted by Calvin

  1. Calvin
    I loved how graceful and colorful this was -- in the unique way that only lucha libre can seemingly achieve on a consistent basis. It's fast, action-packed, and everyone plays their role with gusto. ***1/2
  2. Calvin
    This is another Waltman masterclass as he's again the sole reason these matches are any good. **3/4
  3. Calvin
    This is for Arn's WCW Television Championship, and apparently it's a fifteen minute time limit for the title .... but the match can continue regularly as a non-title bout afterwards? Utter dogshit stipulation. This felt like two absolute pros feeling each other out and trying to establish a chemistry without doing too much, but they're still able to engage the crowd in a sustained manner throughout the match. **3/4
  4. Calvin
    I loved the garbage can punch transition with Foley juicing his own hand, but there wasn't enough moments in the match like that to grab my complete attention. Frankly, there was a lot of walking around outside of the ring in an attempt to make the most out of the stipulation, and they didn't do much to stray from your average plunder match. **1/2
  5. Calvin
    I'm glad Meltzer decided this was worth rating otherwise this would've fallen completely under my radar. Aside from some selling inconsistences in the finishing run, this is a really strong match from front to back with tons of action and a propulsive narrative. Yagi is presented as the clear weak link, but getting to her means going through the hulking obstacle that is Dynamite Kansai. I thought Fukuoka was incredible here -- just bumping around manically for Kansai, and making her look like an absolute killer. ***3/4
  6. Calvin
    Taped on January 14, 1995 in Davie FL. Aired on ECW TV 1/24/95 Benoit is on the heels of becoming The Crippler after injuring Rocco Rock in kayfabe and breaking Sabu's neck for realsies, so Scorpio clapping back at him with aggression and fearlessness made for a fun watch. ***
  7. Calvin
    This is for 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly's WWF Tag Team Championship. I don't think this needed twenty minutes, but whatever. Kid looks amazing, as usual, and the Gunns were better than expected. **3/4
  8. Calvin
    I used to love these as a kid, but now they make for decent background matches. Dick Murdoch appearance was a sole bright spot in a match that had next to none. **
  9. Calvin
    Waltman and Bigelow steal the show here, and Holly and Tatanka are here for the ride. (Maybe the best Tatanka match ... ever?) I hated the finish, though - not conceptually, but the actual execution of it was horribly awkward. ***
  10. Calvin
    These two have a good chemistry, and this is just a structurally sound, well worked match. I could do without the momentum-killing false finish where Jarrett goads Hall into a restart after the match ends on a count-out, but they managed to salvage it. ***
  11. Calvin
    There's not a world where this deserved almost thirty minutes, but Bret gracefully toeing the babyface/heel line made this a worthwhile watch. Diesel was good enough here to be carried, which is all you could really ask for. **3/4
  12. Calvin
    This is for Kawada's Triple Crown Championship. Incredibly ambitious match that is *mostly* executed at an elite-level and is punctuated with the requisite nuance to make a 60-minute match feel compelling and rich instead of hopeless and interminable. My biggest grievance here is this is Kawada's first TCC title defense of his career, and despite the result being a draw, he ends up the spiritual loser of the match as a champion who struggles to finish an opponent that has largely been underneath him up to this point. I understand the circumstances behind Baba's booking here, and this should be viewed somewhat in isolation as a non-canon match given what we know, but it's a bitter pill to swallow. I'm usually not someone who gets emotionally swept up in booking and internal politics of the wrestling world, but this match felt so much like a microcosm of where Kawada was in the pecking order and how he was always going to be a pinch-hitter at the top instead of a true star that management rallied behind. ****1/4
  13. Calvin
    There's an aimlessness and lack of urgency here that left me a bit restless despite how high-level the grappling execution was. I didn't hate this, but I couldn't get into it as much as I would've liked. **3/4
  14. Calvin
    This fucking ruled, man. Slick, competitive grappling in the beginning, and Tamura slips a kick into an opening and blows the match completely open. Lydick starts panic wrestling, and he manages to keep himself afloat for a minute, but Tamura submits him with relative ease. ***1/2
  15. Calvin
    All the best sub-five minute matches feel like actualized encounters with a beginning, middle, and end. This one feels like it just missed the mark. At just a hair under two minutes, the ending is a bit too abrupt for my taste. Give this one or two more minutes and I think they could've done something great here. ***1/4
  16. Calvin
    This is for Vader's Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. Japan sure loved their miniature titles. First time match-up, and it's mostly them battling for positioning and holds instead of stiffing the shit out of each other, but I guess the super-heavies aren't exempt from adhering to the promotional house style. It's not a bad match at all - there are glimpses of a really good match here, but it never really comes together. **3/4
  17. Calvin
    Bret returns to the ring after a brief hiatus post losing the WWF Championship to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series, and he's paired against a histrionic Jarrett - who bumps hard, sells, and uses Bret's aggression against him in a compelling manner (with assistance from the Roadie, of course). These two have really good physical chemistry, and it's kind of a shame that this wasn't longer. ***
  18. Calvin
    This is for Razon Ramon's WWF Intercontinental Championship. This is used to set-up the No Holds Barred match between Owen and Bret on 1/10 (I can't find any available footage, sadly), so we get a non-finish, but it's also good TV match in and of itself with Hall making good use of his power and Owen using his athleticism to close the gap.
  19. Calvin
    Fun match! Kid pinballs around for Bigelow with gusto and makes him look like a total killer. ***
  20. Calvin
    It's fitting that this takes place in what looks to be the seediest warehouse in Japan. There's already a sense of danger inherent in the ambience even before you transplant two unhinged Americans into a ring with barbed wire for ropes. I thought this was incredible up until the finish. It's difficult to have plunder matches flow organically from spot to spot as well as this one did, but these two are absolute masters of the genre for good reason. ***3/4
  21. Calvin
    This is for Las Cacchoras Orientales' JWP Tag Team Championship. It's rare for me to not have a complaint about the pacing of any given Joshi match, but I have none here. There's forward momentum from beginning to end with little to no filler, and the finishing run felt earned without being mired in excess. LCO's bully bitch routine being thrown back into their faces by an even badder bitch in Mayumi Ozaki was brilliantly executed. ****
  22. Calvin
    This is for Honaga's IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. This isn't dissimilar to the match that precedes it (Otani vs. El Samurai), flaws and all, but it's worked tighter with a stronger face/heel dynamic. **3/4
  23. Calvin
    Well-worked match, mechanically sound, but the crowd is disengaged during the shoot-style portions and there's clearly a person in the front row full-on asleep. I'm sensing a trend with this Tokyo Dome crowd. **1/2
  24. Calvin
    This is for Muto and Hase's IWGP Tag Team Championship. There's some charm to this in the beginning with the crowd interactions and taunting between the two teams, but it severely plods in the middle when the Steiners are in full control and grabbing holds. **1/4
  25. Calvin
    This is for Hashimoto’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship. I never knew Sasaki was hotshotted into a Tokyo Dome main event this early into his career. He’s visibly lost at certain points in this match, but Hashimoto is able to guide him to a battle of attrition worth watching. ***1/4
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