SmartMark15

Just a glorious example of what Attitude Era WWF was all about. Red hot incredibly over characters, an ECW-esque arena brawl, sick bumps, blood, and the McMahons and the Stooges trying to wreck things and getting murdered for it. Everyone played their roles perfectly. Austin could do no wrong for this crowd, literally everything he did was over. Love made a good heel to bump for our hero. McMahon just far and away stole the show with his facial expressions and heel antics. And The Undertaker pulling off one of the most satisfying heel comeuppances in the history of wrestling just will not ever grow old. That finish is iconic and brilliant and this is just fantastic all around. ****1/2

Absolutely fantastic. Something like this really is the pinnacle of what I associate to be the WWF/E style and when it works, it really works. Having all the odds stacked against The Rock and having him knock them down with Austin's help, it really is electric. The crowd was red hot for The Rock as well as Austin and Triple H actually played a good rag doll for The Rock. Great stuff. ****1/2

What a hidden gem from the ROH archives this is. Recently released for free on this YouTube page, I rewatched it for the first time since I first saw it back when it first happened and this is MUCH better than I rememebered. They forget all the flippy frills of indy tag wrestling and just went with a classic Southern tag. The Briscoes, Jay in particular, are amazing at playing the brutish heels. Their heat segment on the bloodied Rhett was entirely convincing and served to get some actual heat from the crowd. Rhett meanwhile played a pretty much perfect face in peril. His bladejob looked great, his selling was on point, and these matches may be the best that The All Night Express have ever looked in their careers. King makes for an energetic hot tag and the finishing stretch really is some great stuff. Fast paced back and forth mixed in with some fantastic moments. The table spot was well timed, the flapjack into the ringpost was amazing, and Jay getting a late match bladejob and going toe to toe with Rhett was some of the best either guy has looked in ROH ever. They didn't push it with too many nearfalls either. A single finish from The Briscoes and it was done. This was absolutely fantastic. ****3/4

Will do! Thanks for the heads up.

So much YES to Lesnar/Strowman/Joe/Reigns. Car wreck in the best way, a real testament to how over and talented all four of these guys are. What a showing from Strowman. Standing by my statement that he's a real dark horse for wrestler of the year. What an amazing match.

Asuka's first great Takeover match if you ask me. She was insanely charismatic in this one and she really pushed this whole idea of her as a cocky heel champ sitting at the top of the roost. Ember Moon got some good shine early on especially with her bump to the outside. Asuka's arm work was very good but you can tell the crowd weren't quite buying into it. I do like that Moon was really consistent with selling that arm through the whole match though. Really went up another level once Asuka kicked out of the Eclipse. At that point, every single nearfall held a lot of tension and the crowd bought into everything. ****1/4

Anyone else feel like BRAUN'S been solidly building up a case to be Wrestler of the Year?

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN. Sheer spectacle. That's what this was and I loved it. I really did. Braun has been on a tear in 2017 and he just keeps making the absolute most of every single opportunity that he's been given. He went out there tonight and just showed why he is an absolute monster. The dominance of putting Brock through two tables and throwing an office chair in the faces of both Reigns and Joe. Add to that one of Lesnar's best sell jobs bumping like a nut for Braun and selling his ass off for Reigns. Sure, Joe was just a bit of an afterthought and that's a shame, but man when this match was on it was ON. I'm honestly unsure how to rate this right now. The first few moments with Braun killing everyone dead was five star material easily. Things do slow down once Lesnar comes back from his stretcher spot but even then you get great moments like Braun kicking out and shoving Reigns to his feet and Lesnar eating three Superman Punches.This is a shade under five for me, because the second half just doesn't maintain the momentum but what a showcase for these guys. ****3/4

Watching Randy Savage matches is probably one of the easiest things in the world. The guy is just so great. He bumps great, he throws hands great, he's a dastardly conniving bastard in a great way. The Liz stalling stuff always makes for fantastic heat then you get Tito getting in some really good babyface shine. The stuff around the chair was really good ending in a great payoff when Savage falls into the chair. Savage getting posted and bleeding like nuts was a great visual and it really brought the finishing stretch to another level. Gotta love how truly pissed you can get when watching heels win in 80s matches. The emotion of the crowd just takes you away. ****

This was probably Asuka's best title match to date (although I haven't seen the Last Woman Standing). So glad they got to have a proper finishing stretch.

Probably the best that I've ever seen Orton on offense. Crisp, clean, impactful. Really enjoyed this especially all those ridiculous face bumps that Rey was doing. Geez, bro. I do think it stays a little slow a little too long and Rey's comeback while fun isn't the explosive Rey aerial stuff that it could have been. But that being said, there was a lot of good here. I thought this was the most charismatic and focused Orton on offense might ever have been and Rey's babyface shtick is pretty much timeless. ***3/4

What a fantastic sprint. These two can just go at it for 6-10 minutes and produce some absolute masterpieces. As with all their stuff, this is worked at a blistering pace. Angle gets to show off a bit more dominance here than in the SummerSlam match and I thought he actually looked better on offense here than in the other match. Mysterio's comebacks are legendary. Flashy, exciting, gets the crowd rollicking. But my god, that finish. Brutal. As of now, I enjoy the SummerSlam match a bit more but this is easily in the same ballpark. ****1/4

25. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE SummerSlam 2003) https://youtu.be/YJ0cTEzU_gs Just really great simple stuff from both these guys but I think it's Lesnar's performance that really shines through. Angle brings crisp work and babyface fire for sure but Lesnar is crushing it here. He goes from dominating challenger brute to on the ropes selling heel so effortlessly that it's kind of crazy. His shoulder selling, his ankle selling, all of it top notch. I love how even in 2003, Vince gets supernova heat. His involvement was limited enough that it didn't hurt the match. ****

At least once. 11/2/98 on Nitro. He also beat him a couple of other times, one was a four-way for the CW title that I can't find out who pinned who, and another was a tag match, same thing. I think Psycosis pinned Rey in the tag match on the 1/4/99 Georgia Dome show. He pinned Blitzkrieg to win the title in the fourway. I can't say how frustrated I was they did not give Psic a month with the belt. I don't even know why they did it, unless Rey wanted Psicosis to get a chance. I'm watching different Rey vs Psicosis matches from WCW syndication and I'm impressed they manage to mix it up each time. I saw one that was mostly mat work, even had Rey doing a suplex or two. Is there a master list of Rey/Psicosis matches? From cagematch.net, their singles matches: https://www.cagematch.net/?id=91&nr=69&page=2&constellation=Singles

Agreed. The last two in particular being of particular note.

Oh boy, we've got a lot of ground to cover. My G1 Nominations aka How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Finishers NOMINATING: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 8/12) Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW 8/13) Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 8/14)

I don't know, guys. I think they broke me. Perhaps I just understand the "grammar" of this style more now or perhaps they really just have finally refined this main event NJPW style to something that I completely enjoy because I LOVED THIS. It starts off a little slow but without much of the meandering matwork that comes from matches earlier in the year. Here, they go right for the good juicy meaty stuff. Lots of mind games from both guys as expected and lots of personality. Both guys target the neck relentlessly and there are some pretty fantastic moments that surround it. Omega not being able to complete his usual kip up and springboard was MASTERFUL (5 star moment). Omega stayed fairly consistent with his neck selling all throughout the match too and god knows it played right into the finish as well. Naito meanwhile put in what might be one hell of a babyface performance. He looked amazing taking just a BRUTAL beating from Omega. I have so much love for Omega's repeated and deliberate V Triggers all building up to that glorious callback of Naito collapsing just as Omega went in for one more (5 star moment). It was a great spot at Dominion and it's a great spot here. Then you have that ridiculous top rope DDT into the ring post and a whole series of bumps that people really shouldn't be taking (face first into the turnbuckle off the top, top rope powerbomb countered into Rana, etc.). Loved the desperation of Naito at the finishing stretch trying to hit any variation of Destino possible to get a pinfall. He probably went for one too many but that is a minuscule nitpick to this match. Is this the MOTY? It just might be. It really just might be. While Okada-Omega III had the blistering pace and the down to earth story, this seemed to perfect the more theatrical elements that something like the Dominion match aspired for. Whoa, boy, what a G1. *****

Often cited as probably the best WWE PPV opener ever in contention with Bret vs. Owen (or maybe even HHH-Bryan for some), I actually preferred this to Bret vs. Owen. Old school mat wrestling and technique is all well and good, but this is just 10 minutes of RIDICULOUSLY good action. Mysterio flies around like it's WCW 1998 and Kurt Angle brings some brutal cut off spots and high intensity offense. Just a simple, all out match that's perfectly paced and perfectly timed. Just awesome. ****1/2

Promoted Okada-Omega III to my #2 of the year only behind Okada-Shibata.

Well. It's about goddamn time. As has been discussed and speculated since the announcement, the 30 minute time limit finally cut all the indulgent and dragging bullshit from their second (and first) match and we're left with the juicy, juicy, tasty lovely wonderful meat of the matches. From the frantic 100mph pace that opened the match with the finisher attempts playing into the rumors/speculation that this might end incredibly quick all the way to that brutal floor Reverse Rana that Okada sold LIKE DEATH. Props to Okada for really upping his selling game for the G1 because this may be the most consistent he's ever sold a body part in his entire career. In the past week alone, Okada's put in his two best ever performances in my opinion (vs. Suzuki and now vs. Omega). That Reverse Rana and the subsequent Dragon Suplex on the apron FINALLY added some real stakes to these matches they've been doing. For the first time, someone in these matches seemed legitimately vulnerable instead of two guys just trading a bunch of moves. Can I just say that Okada's German Suplexes are some of the grittiest most violent versions of the move I've ever seen? They're fantastic. Follow that up with a blistering hot finishing stretch with Okada's undoing being his compulsion to do sixty million Rainmakers in one match (same thing happened to Tanahashi the night before with his High Fly Flows) and Omega is finally able to get his elusive victory over the new Ace. YOU FINALLY DID IT, BOYS. I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU. *****

So Minoru Suzuki is a boss. Was there anyone here who didn't know that yet? This was pure and simple a story of the two guys trying to one-up each other and basically beat the shit out of each other. Probably my favorite Okada performance to date, he's able to subtly play heel against Minoru who was performing in front of his hometown crowd. Especially love Okada's face after he hit the Gotch Tombstone, the cheeky bastard. Loved Minoru tying up Okada into knots on the ground, thought that was really entertaining. Then the slaps. OH GLORY the slaps. Just violent and entirely compelling and the trade offs between Piledrivers and Rainmakers worked incredibly well too. Fantastic match, right up there with Ibushi-Naito. ****3/4

YES to: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW 8/8) So Minoru Suzuki is a boss. Was there anyone here who didn't know that yet? This was pure and simple a story of the two guys trying to one-up each other and basically beat the shit out of each other. Probably my favorite Okada performance to date, he's able to subtly play heel against Minoru who was performing in front of his hometown crowd. Especially love Okada's face after he hit the Gotch Tombstone, the cheeky bastard. Loved Minoru tying up Okada into knots on the ground, thought that was really entertaining. Then the slaps. OH GLORY the slaps. Just violent and entirely compelling and the trade offs between Piledrivers and Rainmakers worked incredibly well too. Fantastic match, right up there with Ibushi-Naito. ****3/4

This was just awesome. Absolutely loved the dueling limbwork from both guys and the way they kept returning to it in order to facilitate the momentum shifts in the match. This is the best I've ever seen Tanahashi performing at because his arm selling has been through the roof throughout this G1. Naito, on the other hand, just exudes so much charisma and charm that everything he does feels urgent and exciting. His stalling tactics are crazy levels of entertaining and trolling. The finishing stretch following the Texas Cloverleaf was great. Loved that Tanahashi was undone by his ridiculous need to go for another High Fly Flow. Great match. ****1/2

For the time, they were given this was a wonderful sprint of just great action and even some good storytelling here. Some missed timing aside, I find that Trish and Lita really brought a lot of impact and crispness to their action here. One of the main problems that some womens matches have is that there's just not enough weight behind the moves they're pulling. That was no such problem here. Everything was snug and impactful. The finishing stretch was fiery hot with a lot of decent nearfalls and a great pay off for what is really a very strong womens match. ***3/4

I thought this was fantastic. The two of them just went in there and absolutely tried to maul each other. Triple H's Ric Flair cosplay finally meant something and Flair put on one of the most compelling babyface performances of his career. This is the babyface Flair that I grew up with when I first started watching wrestling and this may just be the peak of his powers as a babyface--entirely bloodied up but always trying to get back in there with a lot of fight and a lot of shortcuts. They just played their characters excellently. The blood, oh the blood. I hate to be one of those guys, but the blood really did add so much to this match. Made everything feel more real and more urgent. I'm glad they didn't overdo escape attempts through the door and that the attempts made added to the story as a whole especially with Flair dragging the chair in. Great feel good moment to see Flair retain against Triple H. ****1/2