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SmartMark15

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  1. SmartMark15
    That came to mind as well. I didn't put it simply because I haven't personally seen much of it. But just in terms of opponents faced and iconic matches (Punk trilogy, vs. Bryan, vs. Briscoe), it's certainly up there.
  2. SmartMark15
    Forgive me if this thread exists elsewhere on the board. Feel free to point me in the right direction. I was hoping to start a discussion on what you might consider some of the greatest individual championship reigns in the history of wrestling. Feel free to use any criteria you see fit (matches, hot angles, drawing power, etc.). You can point it any championship as well: tags, women's, etc. Allow me to start things off by naming some off the top of my head: Bryan Danielson - ROH World Championship '06 John Cena - WWE Championship '07 Mitsuharu Misawa - Triple Crown '92-'94
  3. SmartMark15
    I'm guilty of doing this as my main justification for not like Tanahashi is how he jumps over the top freaking rope every time to hit the High Fly Flow even when his opponent spends AGES working over his abdomen. Then again, there isn't much to him from what I've seen that interests me otherwise. This doesn't mean I'm incapable of enjoying his matches though, his bout vs. Suzuki from 2012 is one of my favorite matches of all time but even in that one, Suzuki's leg selling is what put it over the top for me. It's not even something I even forgive some workers I LOVE for. Nakamura spent months in NXT no-selling his knees and I was definitely disappointed by that. But yes, I have let it go at points. I've recently highly rated several joshi matches recently that are notorious for dropping selling. I think for me, it becomes a problem when it draws attention to itself. With the joshi matches, it became clear fairly instantly that that wasn't what they were going for. But something like Tana vs Nakamura at WK8 for example sees Nakamura selling his knee like crazy while Tanahashi just goes through the motions.
  4. SmartMark15
    NOMINATING: Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss - WWE 4/30
  5. SmartMark15
    This was really great! If it weren't for Roman's beastly great performance in the main event, this would have been my favorite match of the night. Hot damn, Alexa Bliss has got to be one of the most improved workers of the past year. Not to mention that her character as a heel is absolutely on point. Great progression of the match. The sunset flip bomb was a great spot, the elbow looked fantastic, and the ringpost spot was creative and unexpected! Wonderful stuff here, glad to see Bliss go over like this. ***3/4
  6. SmartMark15
    Saw this for the first time today. Great stuff! They kept up a frantic pace and that was fun but for the second time in a row (for me), Mayumi Ozaki takes it to the next level. Her trashing Kyoko off the top then diving out onto her really set into motion the first big FIP segment of the match which led into those great double stomps off the top. Ozaki is just so great at being the worst that it's hard not to enjoy her stuff. Particularly liked her catching Kyoko off the middle rope for a German when Cuty held her in place. Incredibly fun match! ****
  7. SmartMark15
    El-P SCREAMS generic indy geek to me in this match. I'm sorry, but that's just how he came across especially by doing Joe's Ole kick. Like, honestly, come on. Kyle O'Reilly is on another level, probably one of the most underrated workers today and one of my favorite guys to come out of ROH in the last five years. I thought the finishing stretch had some decent intensity to it but the first half was just kind of there. Nothing much to write home about. Depending on how much I see this year, this might squeak into a Top 50 so I'll hold off on voting in the MOTY thread for now because it's neither here nor there yet. ***1/2
  8. SmartMark15
    This was pretty fun! I enjoyed pretty much all the action and I liked that it slowed down and got down on the mat. Aja selling the knee when coming back into the ring is forgotten a little later on but this is joshi so I'm willing to forgive it. Enjoyed all the little touches like Bull struggling to lock in a camel clutch or even her tossing Aja's trash can off the apron as she's climbing the turnbuckle. Loved the finishing stretch. Those leg drops were sick and seeing Aja pull one out to end it made for a great impact. The walk and brawl did seem a tad tedious to me so there's that. I have a feeling this would be rated higher for me given some context so I'll be sure to revisit this some time in the future. ****
  9. SmartMark15
    I'm not the biggest joshi fan so I approached this with a little hesitation. However, I did enjoy the moments when the match would slow down. Toyota makes for a pretty decent face in peril and Yamada does as well. Long term selling is not a thing in this match and when I decided to accept that and just give in to the positives (of which there are many), then things just absolutely clicked for me. So many things about this match to love. Kansai as a brutal ass kicker is amazing. Yamada taking Kansai to Suplex City to even things up in the second fall was great. I loved how the suplexes started looking worse and worse as Kansai progressively turned into deadweight. The third fall had a whole string of totally believable false finishes that really surprised me. Toyota and Ozaki made for great ragdolls and bump like ridiculous. And of course, my favorite part of the match: Ozaki's heel tactics. I marked out for EVERY SINGLE moment that she did her best to fuck with one of the faces' rope breaks. Just...AH YES. So much love for those spots. It made me remember Sasha Banks kicking at Bayley's bad hand during Takeover: Brooklyn. But Ozaki just takes it to a whole other level. That simple tactic pretty much took this match up to another level for me, I'm not even kidding. ****3/4
  10. SmartMark15
    I can't help but find it ironic that the one thing that will redeem Roman in the eyes of most fans is a heel turn. It plays into this whole new level of meta-booking that the WWE has been experimenting (intentionally or otherwise) with for about a whole decade now. The same logic goes for Cena back when the hatred for him was a palpable thing instead of just a part of his act (which is starting to become the case for Roman). If you have a top ace who is over with a significant section of the crowd as a face as well as drawing huge boo reactions, why would you turn that person heel if they're already receiving heel receptions. The change might only serve to change the reaction he receives. It was one of the great things about Cena that he could put in these fantastic babyface performances then turn right around and play the best heel for the indy darlings (Punk, Bryan, Styles) coming up without ever changing his character but still getting the reaction necessary to put his opponent over. Same goes for Roman except his opponents don't just go over with the crowd in builds but also in the ring as Roman bumps and sells his ass off for pretty much all his opponents.
  11. SmartMark15
    From the MOTY thread: Odds are that rating goes up with time.
  12. SmartMark15
    Reigns has proved month after month, big match after big match, that he definitely deserves the kind of push that he's getting. And now, these arguments that "there's someone better" just don't hold anymore. I might have believed you in a time when Daniel Bryan was still on the roster, but now? Even with the boos, and heck maybe even because of the boos, Reigns fits into almost any role that a top WWE guy would need to fill. He's an insurmountable threat to be conquered (vs. AJ Styles), a believably vulnerable underdog (vs. Brock and Braun), a cocky ace ready to defend his spot (vs. Bryan). What is it these people aren't seeing? Ridiculous.
  13. SmartMark15
    Saw that moment in the match and just started clapping. The guy just gets pro wrestling and I legitimately feel bad for him considering all this hate he gets. Someone of this talent deserves far more respect than he gets. Truly one of the best in-ring storytellers of our time and he has years to only get better.
  14. SmartMark15
    NOMINATING: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns - WWE 4/30 Braun makes his offense look great and his intensity and facial expressions are always wonderful but this is the Roman Reigns show. The guy OWNS this match. Sold his ass off and put in a performance for a B pay-per-view that could be all time greats from other workers. The match is just smart. Roman fights from underneath, Braun SMASH. ***3/4
  15. SmartMark15

    WWE Payback

    SmartMark15 replied to Ricky Jackson's topic in WWE

    How huge would that main event have been in 80s WWF. People would have been weeping for Reigns then.
  16. SmartMark15
    It's almost unfair how great this match is. Save some snowflakes for the other boys now. I've watched this maybe four or five times since I first saw it and it only ever got getter. The stiff strike exchanges, the big apron tension, Kawada basically getting sick and tired of young boy Akiyama messing with his match. Misawa being a historically fantastic hot tag. Taue being Taue in all the best ways. Just so much goodness in this match. *****
  17. SmartMark15
    Reorganized my list by promotion and added dates for all matches.
  18. SmartMark15
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMYEUhageJ8 Chris Panzer vs. Miguel Rosales - PWR Terminus 12/19/15 This was decent! Significantly fewer blown spots (that dropped fallaway slam is egregious though) and some pretty good selling from Panzer. The strikes are still soft but but some of them don't actually look half bad in here. Yeah, Rosales is just cosplaying Goldberg and Lesnar but the Germans were decent and safe at the very least. Panzer sold the beating well and he fought from underneath well enough. Nothing to set the world on fire, but a fun little match here. ***
  19. SmartMark15
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN1H_a3Yskg&t=498s PWR Champion Ralph Imabayashi vs. The Apocalypse - PWR Road to Vendetta 1/31/16 Yay! A real ring! Right off the bat, we can see how green The Apocalypse is. Even hitting his own finisher, it comes off awkward and not that impactful. Imabayashi's strikes seem real soft in this match as well. There's an attempt at armwork at the start that seems to promise a potentially good match but Imabayashi kind of forgets to sell it. Announcers try to compensate and say that Imabayashi's failed Sonic Crushers are due to the arm but it just doesn't feel right. Apocalypse's Taker/Kane/Abyss gimmick doesn't come off that great when his strikes are so soft and he has some of the ugliest side slams in the biz. **
  20. SmartMark15
    So much better than it had any right to be. Oney Lorcan just went in and delivered a level of intensity that surpassed what this match was probably meant to be--a simple showcase for Drew McIntyre upon his return. But yeah, he took it to Drew. Stiff strikes, big bumps, and that slap exchange at the end was just brutal. Escalated and peaked at just the perfect time. ***1/2
  21. SmartMark15
    Mid 00s ROH where dudes hit each other real hard? Yes please. Ki hits insane kicks and strikes and batters the shit out of KENTA. KENTA actually did an incredibly great job selling the first big heat segment where he just takes all of Ki's shit. As soon as they start going toe-to-toe though, things really amp up. They don't let go of selling in the second half of the match either. You can see the wear and tear that the brutality puts on them. Insanity. Ki pulled off what may be one of the finest GTS sells there's ever been. Crazy good match. ****1/2
  22. SmartMark15
    It's so wonderful remembering just why it is that I absolutely loved ROH 2006 despite only discovering it in retrospect. This is the first time I've watched this match and the line up doesn't disappoint. Danielson is absolutely world class (duh) but Joe and KENTA are the highlight reel of this match. All their interactions are intense, heated, and stiff as all hell. Marufuji kinda lags behind everyone else here especially in the selling department. I know that wasn't a big theme in the match but Joe and Dragon worked over his leg for a good while and then he comes in just kicking everybody and running the ropes like it's all fine. Easy enough to forgive when the belter of a finishing stretch comes along but still noteworthy. I loved how Dragon was still able to work as the only heel in the match while also playing FIP for the Japanese team near the end. Just showed the attention to detail and commitment to performance that he always had. Great intensity, great speed, and everything you might expect of a tag match between these four. The post-match promo is funny too. ****1/2
  23. SmartMark15
    NOMINATING: Trevor Lee vs. Chip Day - CWF Mid-Atlantic 3/25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtAoeHVyutE&t=1299s
  24. SmartMark15
    Talk about being just absolutely perfectly paced. This is how you structure a wrestling match. You had that fun pretty good looking mat work to start off to show just how equal these two guys are against each other. Then you go into the wonderful shine with Chip Day just lighting up the champ and really putting him on the ropes. Lee's selling in this match was just so on point. He made everything Chip hit him with look absolutely amazing and the intensity with which he fought from underneath only served to make Day look even better as a credible champion. Then, just an absolute belter of a finishing stretch. A ridiculously compelling comeback followed by a brutal string of offense to put away the challenger. Perfect way to stoke the crowd into an absolute frenzy and end the match at exactly the right time. 5 stars? Maybe down the road. I'm still a little hesitant given the high watermarks of the year (Revival-#DIY-AoP/Okada-Shibata) but, man, was this great. ****3/4 (pending review)
  25. SmartMark15
    Really enjoyed this! This is just a proper ROH-style main event that they did so well in the mid-00s. The strikes looked and sounded great, of course. KENTA's kicks are legendary. There was a great sense of heat from both guys too even though there was no real storyline going into this (that I'm aware of). Just the way the action had to escalate and both guys really had to bring it. Just really great stuff that was paced nicely and executed crisply. ****1/4
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