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corwo

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  1. Being that this is an elimination match, they play a little fast and loose with the rules. For example, there are occasionally minor issues with the legality. 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
  2. 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.
  3. Cosmo☆Soldier has been uploading some of his old matches to YouTube. Lots of hidden gems. https://www.youtube.com/@cx9080
  4. 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
  5. After many delays, the awards are finally here! Thanks for sticking with me, folks. https://spinningwheelkick.wordpress.com/2025/02/03/corwos-2024-year-end-awards/
  6. I'll share my 2024 Wrestling Year-End Awards here soon. In the meantime, you can check out my previous iterations here. I'll be covering the top 100 matches of the year, top 20 wrestlers of the year, and much more. I've also uploaded a teaser trailer for this year's awards.
  7. 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. ***
  8. 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. ***
  9. corwo

    Dick Togo

    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
  10. 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.
  11. corwo

    Will Ospreay

    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.
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. Early on, HARASHIMA played the crafty grappler to Higuchi’s towering behemoth. Higuchi powered HARASHIMA up for a Bear Hug, but HARASHIMA slipped out and took him to the mat. This more methodical approach from HARASHIMA would become the basis of the contest. HARASHIMA’s game plan was cold and calculated: take away Higuchi’s power and neutralize the Brain Claw Slam by honing in his arm. The big man paid a great deal of attention to the injury, keeping his bum wheel close to his body and making HARASHIMA struggle for control. HARASHIMA, for his part, was ruthless, delivering shotgun-blast-like kicks to the arm and bending it at unsightly angles. Of course, it wouldn’t be a HARASHIMA/Higuchi singles match if they didn’t chop and kick the daylights out of each other. But crucially, the strike exchange felt like two embittered rivals not wanting to give the other an inch. Higuchi battered HARASHIMA with a lariat, which made a gross-sounding thud when it hit the latter’s throat. It was a small touch, but attention to detail like Higuchi being unable to make a proper pin attempt due to his bad arm adds so much to a match like this. That led to a satisfying series of counters that built upon each other. HARASHIMA seemed to have won the bout with a nasty Somato but briefly turned his back on Higuchi, who landed a Brain Claw Slam for the win. This was virtually everything I love about professional wrestling wrapped up in a tight thirteen-minute package. The pacing was excellent, and these two accomplished more in that short amount of time than most wrestlers will in bouts that are twice as long. Higuchi’s pained selling and HARASHIMA’s targeted attack on the arm also set it apart from their usual matches. Go out of your way to seek this one out. ****1/4
  15. Dempsey dominates the early going, with the champion not being able to string together much offense. Nakajima realizes he can’t out-grapple Dempsey, so he resorts to striking and goads him into a skirmish on the outside. Dempsey’s work is smooth yet rugged. His European uppercuts have a little more oomph behind them, and he nearly bent Nakajima in half with a Boston Crab. Regaining control, Dempsey adjusted his game plan of gradually wearing down Nakajima for a more direct approach, going after his opponent’s leg. Dempsey’s dragonscrew leg whips are gorgeous, as he almost bridges backward with Nakajima’s leg while holding onto it. Dempsey hit a rolling Cattle Mutilation at one point, a neat variation on that spot I can’t recall seeing before. He also seamlessly transitioned from that into a gorgeous Fujiwara armbar. I also dug Nakajima baiting Dempsey in by going for a move with his bad leg, only to catch him with an Enziguri. Dempsey provided a little more focus than Nakajima’s recent matches have had, but I don’t love the showtime spot where Katsuhiko poses in the corner. It just feels unnecessary. Nakajima and Dempsey throw heaters, so the late elbow exchange didn’t bother me too much. Dempsey’s brief comeback was also a standout, with his late bridging backslide and Regal Plex dazzling. Nakajima eventually retained with a Northern Lights Bomb. While there’s still work to be done, working with a younger wrestler who hasn’t had time to pick up bad habits did wonders to rein in Nakajima’s worst instincts. Only time will tell if Dempsey will continue to develop steadily, given the wasteland that is NXT, but if he does, he could be something special. As is, this was a quality match to kick off the new year.
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