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SmartMark15

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  1. SmartMark15
    Haven't seen this match in full since I first watched it and followed the story in 2006 when I was entering my wrestling fandom. Rewatching it now, and wow, it's really really good. It was great. Also, way stiffer than I remembered. Holy crap, these two were really going at it. Mickie on offense against Trish's knee was fantastic. Then you had Trish putting on a selling performance that was nearly impeccable. By the finishing stretch, they had the crowd fully in the palm of their hands. You have the strange finish and the weak Chick Kick, yes, that's all there. But, in the end, you have an incredibly solid match that really holds up. ****
  2. SmartMark15
    Shinsuke Nakamura's "Rising Sun" mixed with the lighting and tron effects make the perfect atmosphere to show that this guy is a big deal. Unlike Roode, this theme always seemed to enhance Nakamura rather than defining him.
  3. SmartMark15
    While I don't think New Japan has "perfected" the style, I certainly see that far more of New Japan is utilizing a layout reminiscent of All Japan in the 90s. For me personally, it's always been far more accessible than New Japan classic strong style which is why I'm able to enjoy more New Japan than I used to. I do find the tweet about Baba's finisher philosophy quite fascinating though.
  4. SmartMark15
    Was rewatching this recently and didn't enjoy it as much as my initial in-the-moment viewing. I might need to go back to it again given all the love it's been shown here although I do find that my initial sentiments matched most of what is here. Another viewing might clear some things up for me.
  5. SmartMark15
    Does the match slow to a crawl when Bryan isn't involved? YES. Is it a work of pure storytelling to tell the ultimate underdog story? YES. Are there spectacular spots that build the tension and are visually impressive? YES. (That table spot was nuts). Was the finish earned, inspiring, and cathartic? YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Do the positives outweigh the negatives? For me, YES. ****
  6. SmartMark15
    It's one of the greatest matches of all time, that much is clear. All the elements come together to make this work perfectly. The intensity of the opening brawl and stiffness of the shots and bumps that they were taking.Then you had Bret's amazing heat segment on Austin's leg which Austin just sells to perfection. Then you start to escalate the violence with the chair shots to help Austin transition back into control. When Austin gets busted open, things just go up another notch. Love that both Austin and Bret had the same idea of how to escape the Sharpshooter. Just rake the eyes, boys, works every time. The finish is iconic and there's little else to say about that here. I thought this was fantastic and the performance of a lifetime from Austin. *****
  7. SmartMark15
    Never knew this match existed til I saw it actually. I had been under the impression that their meeting at Mania was the first. Either way, this was a wonderful little bout to help put both guys over. Austin was great as the rough housing hard hitter while Shawn played a good rag doll bump monkey for Austin. Seriously, the speed that these two moved at during the match was so refreshing to see and a real testament to both guys' talent before their big career injuries. Austin's aura is just so strong here that he quickly becomes the star of the match even though Shawn puts in a hell of a performance as a bumping babyface. A funny finish that might have pissed off some at the time but I kinda dug watching it now. It's a real testament to the pacing of this match that the biggest pops I felt personally came right at them hitting their finishers. That's a lost art these days. A fun match. ***3/4
  8. SmartMark15
    A good spotfest. Short story of Lynch breaking away with Sasha. There's still some of that sloppiness that mars a lot of these women's WWE matches. Otherwise they took some good bumps and put together some fun spots. Otherwise this doesn't live up to the hype of the time. ***3/4
  9. SmartMark15
    A fun little match made to show off the champ Hogan thrashing the dirty heel Funk. It's fun seeing Funk play rag doll for Hogan and he never fails to bring his charismatic charm to any match that he's in. He sells like a million bucks for Hogan. Hogan on his part is the cool and charismatic champion, sitting at the top of the roost. Not much to this match other than a fun showing from both guys. ***
  10. SmartMark15
    What's there to say about a match like this or something like Flair vs. Steamboat? It's crisp, it's clean, it's fast, it's just...seamless. Textbook classic wrestling from two of the greats. Windham's the heavy handed brawler who can take it to Flair on the mat and Flair's the wily champion trying to get any advantage that he can to retain the championship. They just go at it for 30 minutes of just beautiful action. It's almost too clean for it's own good. The only thing keeping this from the full monty is the lack of a 5 star moment. Otherwise, these guys just simply did nothing wrong. ****3/4
  11. SmartMark15
    Pretty good TV match here with Flair bringing some intensity and urgency to his match where usually we see him at a more controlled pace when he's working as a champion. Kerry looked great here as the new champ solidifying his spot against the former. Loved all the snug tight brawling these two did, trading punches and chops. Thought that Kerry bumped nicely when Flair tossed him out of the ring. I personally marked out for when Kerry got The Claw in to counter the Figure Four. Really enjoyed Flair's leg work towards the end too. There was an urgency to it that added to the quick pace of everything. Great stuff. Also, plus points for the world's daintiest ref. ****
  12. SmartMark15
    I'm going to disagree with the leg selling. For me, Ibushi no selling the leg actively took away from the match for me. I've never been a huge fan of Tanahashi but this (along with his ZSJ match) was one of the most focused performances I've ever seen out of him. He came in like an arrogant swaggering Ace trying to put down Ibushi while Ibushi made his comebacks. He actually got the crowd booing and seemed to be able to put some decent babyface sympathy on Ibushi if Ibushi had just chosen to sell a bit more. Ibushi is a spectacular bumper though, I can't take that away from him. The guy can take a simple move like a kick or a Sling Blade and just make it look like death. Unfortunately this didn't have the same spectacle and awe that the Naito match did to prop it up and Ibushi's weaknesses as a worker are getting more and more exposed. ****
  13. SmartMark15
    A classic Flair title defense match. Wahoo makes for a great larger man with heavy hands to combat Flair. Their strikes looked great and they told simple great stories for each fall. First fall almost entirely as Wahoo's shine and setting up the efficiency of the Sleeper as his finisher. Second fall was all about Flair cheating his way back on top by using the ringposts and the ropes. The final fall was short and sweet, a classic Flair dirty win to end a very fun and engaging 50 minutes or so of action. I really enjoyed this. ****1/4
  14. SmartMark15
    I thought there were four or five really great minutes in this thing surrounded on all sides by incredibly boring and unimpressive move trading. Elgin is a supremely uninteresting worker. Never really liked any of what I've seen from him. Good moments for sure but a whole lot of nothing otherwise. ***1/2
  15. SmartMark15
    Nuts, absolutely nuts. Does Ibushi realize he doesn't need to die just to entertain us? What a crazy match. Both guys just wailing on each other's necks in this much. For me, this match was pretty much mostly Naito. Him on offense and even selling was just completely compelling. Ibushi's offense looks great but the guy enjoys his comebacks a little too much. Him counting along with the ref got annoying after a while. Spot of the match for me was Ibushi countering a Destino into a lawndart throw right into the turnbuckles. I thought this was absolutely amazing and it really got me wincing a couple of times throughout. A lack of a 5 star moment and Ibushi's overzealous comebacks keep this shy of a full five snowflakes though. ****3/4
  16. SmartMark15
    As wonderful as Koko was as an underdog babyface, I thought Flair absolutely ruled this match. His heel mannerisms, the little tactics he'd use to grab even the smallest openings, all of it made for just a wonderful performance. Some good babyface shine with Koko's punches, and then Flair having to cheat to get the advantage back made for some classic heel-babyface drama. The finishing stretch with the Figure Fours and leading into Koko's big dropkicks was definitely the best part of the match and that finish got me legitimately pissed which is how you know it's a great finish. ****1/4
  17. SmartMark15
    Performance of a lifetime from both ladies. Sasha in particular absolutely nails her performance as just a really despicable heel and is even able to work the notoriously smarky Full Sail crowd into genuine heel heat. Poking Bayley's eyes to get the first fall, trash talking Izzy and stealing her headband. You wanna talk genuine heel heat? A little girl CRIED. Meanwhile, Bayley puts in one of the best babyface comeback stretches, putting money in the bank with Sasha's hand and paying it off beautifully at the finish of the match. Prefer this to their first match and I find it strange that general consensus seems to disagree. Probably the best women's match in WWE history. *****
  18. SmartMark15
    9. CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE Money in the Bank 2011) Just rewatched this sentimental favorite with my girlfriend (who is not a wrestling fan) and her insight actually helped illuminate some things. For example, Cena by far outworks Punk in this match. Punk is sloppy and Cena is crisp and clean. In some ways, this hurts the match, in others it adds to it. The disparate levels of skill adds to the disparate levels of crowd sympathy. Cena just ended up looking like more of an obstacle to overcome. I find that the second half of the match still holds up incredibly well. The tension on the nearfalls is still incredibly strong as this was before the Cena formula (which I feel came into full being after this match) had been seen so many different times. Even the finish shenanigans with Vince helped aid the tension of things and added to Cena's character work. Speaking of, character is where Punk SHINES in this match. The strikes are okay, the submissions kind of lose, but CM Punk's intensity is palpable. His emotion is etched on his face all throughout and paired against Cena's Ace-like stoicism, only served to cement his place as god-like Chicago babyface. This may not be the best Punk performance but it certainly explains a lot of how over he got at the time. My rating is tinged with a lot of sentiment and nostalgia so take this one with a hefty pinch of salt. *****
  19. SmartMark15
    A personal favorite of mine and still holds up quite a bit today. For my money, this is probably Orton's finest performance. He is just a textbook smarmy, cowardly heel in this match. Seeing him bump and sell and bleed for Jack in this match is still incredibly satisfying after all these years. In fact, he probably puts in a better performance than Jack here. Jack puts in all the big spots and bumps of course but it's Orton's selling that really makes Jack shine. Credits to Jack though for taking some seriously nasty bumps even this late into his career. I think this match might be the strongest case Orton has though to display his ring work. ****1/2
  20. SmartMark15
    A lot of Memphis matches I watch with an appreciative eye more than anything but this just completely sucked me in. Holy crap, that was absolutely amazing. You start hot with the two going at it and Dundee immediately taking Lawler down with the punches. Lawler is broken down and beaten up especially with the injury to the eye. Lawler just completely sells his ass off here. Dundee baiting in Lawler and taking advantage of his blind spot might just be one the greatest things I've ever seen in a wrestling match ever (and easily counting as a five star moment). Then, you have that visually spectacular spot of Lawler taking a tumble over the railing of the bleachers. I never in a million years expected that spot and it looked great and legitimately dangerous. Follow that up with a glorious Lawler comeback and a dirty finish and you have what is a classic of Memphis wrestling. Based on the announcing, about 7 minutes has been clipped and as much as I'd love to give this the full snowflakes, I just can't. 7 minutes is a lot of time to do something that might muck the match up. Still, with what we have, this is just amazing. ****3/4
  21. SmartMark15
    This match made me smile. Sorry, out of all the critical objective things I can say about it, that's the top thing that came to mind. But let's get critical, that's what we're here for. Loved the early ambush, you could feel the heat, and I was personally offended at the crown stomping myself. Lawler sells like a maniac for the first two minutes or so with Bundy maintaining a pretty consistent beatdown on him. Things change when Lawler starts fucking around on the outside, just stalling time and man, that just warmed my heart for some reason. It didn't come off as time wasting or slow or tedious, it just made perfect sense: the longer Lawler's in the match, the more money he makes. Add in the Rude interference at the end and you've got a great "story" match with some fun spots behind it. ***1/2
  22. SmartMark15
    From my PTBN GWWE daily match thread: 7. Big Show vs. Sheamus (WWE Hell in a Cell 2012) Really strong case for both guys. Show was having the run of his life at this time and was talking trash and kicking ass in the ring. Meanwhile, heavyweight Sheamus shows us that he can put in an incredibly compelling babyface performance--bumping around and selling like crazy for the bigger man. They paced it perfectly with a strong spot in the middle (toss into the table) and a hot set of nearfalls at the end (not overdone either). Fantastic heavyweight hoss battle. ****1/2
  23. SmartMark15
    Orndorff goes in hot, ambushing Hogan to kick off the match. From there, they work a very tight, very close brawl leading to Orndorff getting an extended heat segment on Hogan. Hogan puts on a masterclass of sympathetic babyface selling. When he's down, he's down. This show was worked in front of 70,000 people and Hogan, more than Orndorff, understands this. You can see the way he begs for crowd support, how every bump and sell if just a little bigger than usual. My only gripe was the poor timing and execution of the comeback. Hogan just decides to pop right back up. There's usually a little more build to his comebacks than that. But once it gets going, it's hard not to get engrossed by it. A screwy finish to keep the feud going but this was a pretty good Hogan-formula match. ***1/2
  24. SmartMark15
    NOMINATING: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 7/17
  25. SmartMark15
    NOMINATING: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 7/17
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