corwo

Everyone should check out Mio Momono vs. Ai Houzan from yesterday's Marvelous show. Insane five-minute spectacle.

I released my year-end awards for 2025. For the uninitiated, I cover my top 100 matches of the year, top 20 wrestlers of the year, top 10 matches under 10 minutes, and much more. I'd greatly appreciate it if you gave it a read. https://spinningwheelkick.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/corwos-2025-year-end-awards/

Not to toot my own horn, but I've been creating a bunch of playlists recently based on feuds, highlighting certain wrestlers/matches from the past few years, etc. I'm up to 125 at this point. Here's my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@corwo/playlists I also made a database of every playlist so you don't have to scroll too long to find what you're looking for, which can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12Rv_S5XeKvBKVgNxk9NDNbFl4_ilIszLgh-3QlXXCCo/edit?usp=sharing

This is a thread for all of my bigger projects on Spinning Wheel Kick. Year-End Awards, deep-dives, and things of that nature. Kicking off with a review of every match in the NJPW vs. Seishin Kaikan feud of 1992. https://spinningwheelkick.wordpress.com/2025/08/02/the-njpw-vs-seishin-kaikan-feud/

Being that this is an elimination match, they play a little fast and loose with the rules. But it's in the interpersonal dynamics that this truly shines, whether it's Race cartoonishly bumping and selling for the babyfaces to the delight of the crowd, Piper seething on the apron as he yearns to get his hands on Adonis by any means necessary, or Steamboat constantly getting one over on Savage. We get some earnest moments of celebration from the babyface trio as well, particularly Steamboat. His egging the crowd on in their chants of "JYD" early on adds a feeling of camaraderie among our heroes. Each of them takes pot shots at Savage and, to further put over the latter's cowardice, he immediately bails to his corner. Piper gets this crazed look in his eyes when he finally gets his hands on Adonis, and amidst the chaos of everyone getting involved, the villains take Piper down with a double suplex. JYD misses a shoulder tackle, and all six get involved in a brawl on the floor. That sets up the first two eliminations, with JYD and Adonis getting counted out during the commotion. It's also clever booking, as it means we're robbed of Piper getting his hands on Adonis. And, as we'll see in the second and third acts, he'll have to work twice as hard to give the heels their retribution. Piper's facial expressions are phenomenal, from his desperate kickouts to his fiery comebacks. He gets this wild, crazed look in his eyes every time, and it only makes the crowd love him more. A miscommunication from Savage and Race leads to Randy getting hung up in the ropes, after which Piper fights off a suplex from Harley. What follows is a delightful hot tag from Steamboat, full of energy and vigor. As Piper tries to prevent Race from interrupting a small package, Savage takes advantage of the chaos and reverses the pin to eliminate Steamboat. The final act is a tale as old as time: Piper has to fight valiantly against two of his adversaries. It's during this part of the match where we get a lot of great hope spots from Piper, namely his dodging the chair shot from Savage with one hand and punching him in the gut with the other. Frustration begins to set in for the wrongdoers, as Piper's resolve shines through. A classic misfire off an ax handle means Piper gets Savage one-on-one. Race attempts to get on the apron, but Piper sends Savage careening into him. Even something as simple as Race's frustration at the plan not working and his slapping the apron as he left ringside provides so much character to a match like this. Likewise, for Savage begging off in the corner, only to have Piper bite his hand. A wild-eyed Piper bonks heads with Savage, sending Randy spilling to the outside. Confused, Savage goes up for an elbow drop, but Piper plays possum and takes the win with a small package. This match is an example of taking a bunch of established characters with varying levels of hatred, and all the ingredients mixing to create something unique and special. Everything leading up to the Piper and Savage fall was tremendous, and while that match-up may not have met expectations, it was short enough that I didn't feel robbed of anything. The babyfaces getting one up on the heels was effectively the narrative thread that held this together, and they capitalized on it perfectly with the finish. * * * 3/4

Yaguchi is a sleazy brawler whose sole objective is to wreak as much havoc as possible, whereas Ni Hao is the new hotness, a Kitahara protege poised for bigger and better things. Yaguchi recklessly throws knee lifts and headbutts, forcing Ni Hao to outstrike and outwrestle him. But kicks, no matter how hard they are, are only so effective when the man across the ring is willing to sacrifice his noggin' for the pure love of the game. This is a match of momentum shifts. Yaguchi's backing of Ni Hao into the barricade and the latter's subsequent triumph in knocking him down a peg is a moment of pure elation. The frenetic and unpredictable nature of Yaguchi rears its head, though, and he goads Ni Hao into brief firefights. Bloodied and battered, Ni Hao again manages to dump Yaguchi on his head, which only angers the man more. The finish, which sees Yaguchi headbutt Ni Hao so hard that he spills into the crowd and the referee calls off the match, is simultaneously anticlimactic and poetic. While I'd have liked Ni Hao to have one final rally, the referee having to save him from himself so he could live to fight another day was apropos.

Cosmo☆Soldier has been uploading some of his old matches to YouTube. Lots of hidden gems. https://www.youtube.com/@cx9080

1980s: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW, 7/23/1989): 5 Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW, 12/16/1988): 4.75 MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (EMLL, 9/23/1983): 4.75 1990s: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (WWF, 3/23/1997): 5 2000s: Atlantis vs. Villano III (CMLL, 3/17/2000): 5 Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe (IWA Mid-South, 6/11/2005): 5 Akira Hokuto vs. Meiko Satomura (GAEA, 4/29/2001): 5 Blue Panther vs. Villano V (CMLL, 9/19/2008): 4.75 2010s: Dick Togo vs. Antonio Honda (DDT, 1/30/2011): 5

Admittedly, I watched this in a vacuum, so I can't speak to the inaccuracies. That said, I thought it was quite fun. Simple stuff like Dog's dropkick fakeout and Arn taking a cheap shot at Eaton, only to immediately pay for it and pinball around for the babyfaces made this quite an effective little TV match. ***

Yeah, this was a blast. Dustin's comebacks were all terrific, but especially the one where he got his arm up just as the bell rung. ***

He's still quite good when he actually gets the chance to stretch his legs, which sort of makes the HoT thing even more baffling. For his most recent strong performances, I'd point to these matches: vs. Yasu Urano (YMZ, 2/22/2023): Great w/ Black Buffalo & Magnitude Kishiwada vs. Shigehiro Irie, Takeshi Masada & Yuto Kikuchi (DDT, 7/2/2023): Fun

The match-opening mat work often feels like a lost art these days, so seeing two competitors I’d never heard of until now immediately set the tone for the match by having Negoshi target the leg drew me in. Ichimotsu, in turn, goes after Negoshi’s arm. Ichimotsu’s offense is basic but effective, largely consisting of brutal stomps, and he does everything in his power to lock in a Fujiwara armbar. Negoshi works well in his role here, but Ichimotsu is the star of the show. His selling is believable and realistic. Every bit of offense in this match is intentionally and meticulously crafted to further the narrative. Negoshi doesn’t do anything outwardly heelish, but he’s the clear aggressor as Ichimotsu fights from underneath. Negoshi’s Dragon Screw Legwhip in the ropes looked nasty, and he wasted no time in following that up with a figure four. Ichimotsu frantically tries to punch away at Negoshi’s leg while he’s trapped in the hold, to no avail. The early arm work comes back into play when Negoshi attempts a bodyslam, and Ichimotsu rolls through into a Fujiwara armbar. At one point, Dekai tries to apply a reverse Clover Leaf and, in a nice but subtle touch, collapses due to his bad wheel. The finish fits the story they were telling perfectly. Ichimotsu attempts a body slam, and Negoshi reverses it into a roll-up, hooking the leg to keep him down for a three count. I love a good limb-focused match that feels like everything is done with a purpose, and this paid off in spades. Beyond the in-ring work, there’s a charming, small-room quality to this that you don’t get from bouts in bigger venues. The match almost feels like a window into a bygone era wherein clinical limb work was commonplace. Well worth seeking out.

Is there such thing as objective greatness in a subjective art form? Selling doesn't just look like garnering sympathy or limb work rendering bad wheels useless. For me, delayed selling can be just as bad. I saw Ospreay pop up from a turnbuckle brainbuster within seconds in the recent Takeshita match, and that's just one example among countless egregious no-sells he's done over the years. I also want to push back on the progression aspect of this. Ospreay wrestles minute one like minute thirty. He doesn't convey exhaustion, or weightfulness in any regard.

Arisa Nakajima announced at today's SEAdLINNNG show that she's retiring in August. Her final opponent will be Hiroyo Matsumoto. It's great that she's going out on her own terms, but I'd be lying if I said this didn't sting a little. Nakajima's one of the best wrestlers of the 2010s/2020s and someone who made every card she was on better. https://twitter.com/elduderino112/status/1781908871000543567

Don't sleep on Fuminori Abe vs. Yu Iizuka. Iizuka can be a little rough around the edges, but he's one of the better UWF-style workers GLEAT has. I'd recommend checking out his match with Takuya Nomura to get a taste of what he's capable of.