Chorros3

The Benoit episodes didn’t offer anything ground breaking, both were more factual than editorial on the tragedy itself. What made them great is that they invested a great deal of time on the families left behind and their feelings 13 years after, even taking Vickie into consideration. Dean Malenko trying to focus only on the professional side is really telling of where his mindset is on the whole situation. I truly feel for David Benoit and hope he finds peace, no one deserves to go trough as much heartache as he did; Nancy’s sister calling him “my nephew” was my glimmer of hope of the whole episode, I think their hearts are in the right place.

What else can be said about this match? Barbarian specially looked like a monster, both teams manage to cram down so much in a meaningful way in an amazing TV match. Not sure how to phrase this, but this was both a sprint and a no-nonsense match at the same time. Everyone played their part to perfection to craft a total under the radar gem. Shame we never got this matchup given a little more time. ***3/4

Motivated Duggan proving that he could go in late 94. Vader made him look a million bucks, leading the way trough his bumping to a solid match. Glimpses of what made Hacksaw a leading baby face in Mid-South, specially when Vader gave him so much early on. Fun match. ***1/4

Great! A late 60s lightweight match! The ancestral face high flyer vs. salty heel base dynamic done right, Saulnier is trying to ground the Prince while he tries to use his high flying. Pure athleticism while also working the headlock tightly. Also a little shtick thrown in for good measure. This is just state of the art for the time, the pace of this probably took a good 25 years to be matched. Finish was a bit confusing but as Jetlag said above they clearly turned up the volume a little first; if this led to a bigger match I sure hope it’s available. Don’t miss out on this. Keeping in mind all the French footage is somewhat hard to rate, I’d say about ****1/4.

I've been a wrestling forum lurker for the better part of the last 17 years and lifelong fan for 25+ years. The laid back, interesting (French catch anyone?) and knowledgeable atmosphere has inspired me to write my first match reviews since everyone has lots of free time this days. I always tought reviewing would detract from my overall enjoyment, mainly from bad experiences somewhere else (I distincly remember explaining how I genrally didn't like The Briscoes right after their awesome match with Kotaro & Ricky Marvin, and a quickly escalating argument ensuing) but it's been the complete opposite. I can honestly say that this place refreshed my interest in pro wres in most of it's forms.

This felt like a struggle and an even matchup from the beginning with big strike exchanges and quick tags, the Starr and WALTER interactions being a highlight, as well as Starr’s subtle competitive nature (taggin Simmons with his leg while having his opponent in a choke). After 20+ minutes of non-stop competitive wrestling, Thatcher survives a spike piledriver and catches Starr off guard with a deep rear naked choke for the submission win. This never dragged or felt like overkill. ****1/2

Namajague starts off attacking Cometa on his way to the ring and takes a very short primera after a sitout powerbomb. Segunda stars with Namajague in control but Cometa turns the tide on a moonsault off the stage, and submits him quickly to a lucha style kimura. Tercera starts with a chop exchange, and after a tope con hilo Namajague becomes a total prick for a few minutes. Amazing tornillo off the second rope to the outside by Cometa. This two have great chemistry together. After a double count out tease, Namajague tries to win by putting his feet on the ropes. Both men miss dives to lifted knees for nearfalls. Cometa gets the pin after a standing Spanish Fly and a 450° Splash. Not the best of the feud, but definitely a good match, shame NJ doesn’t seem willing to give El Desperado a chance in a very crowded Jr. division this days. ***1/2

Kofi defends the U.S. title against Cesaro. The basic story here is Cesaro grounding Kofi and whenever he finds an opening to use his high flying, Cesaro relies on his freakish strength to cut him off and grind on him again. Eventually he places multiple single leg crabs and just punishes the leg for the whole second half of the match. After reversing a Neutalizer attempt, Kofi finds an opening and hits the TPI to the back of the head for the pin. Good TV match that got enough time, felt like a modern version of a JCP title defense on TV. Man, Kofi was over, what took them so long to push him? But really, this is another feather in Cesaro’s cap, making it compelling all the way trough and showcasing his rival’s strengths ***3/4

Man, those mid-2000s Arena Mexico crowds give me chills; I remember watching this whole period live, it was something to behold. Primera starts off with some brawling and Wagner mannerisms (back when they added to the match and weren’t such a bad habit). Cool Mistico bump from a hip toss from the ring to the ramp, followed by a spear trough the ropes. Crowd is rabidly behind Wagner who gets the first fall after a pinning powerbomb after a couple of minutes. Wagner teasing some female fans at ringside by taking their Mistico mask away makes me miss Arena Mexico without barricades. Segunda starts with a Mistico dive off the stage that caught the Dr. off guard since Mistico went to the back for a new mask after having the first one completely ripped. Great visual of Mistico with a bloody spot on the forehead of his new all withe mask that doesn’t take long to get ripped. Mistico sells like he’s dead but refuses to go down and eventually takes the second fall after moving out of the way of an attack, hitting a 619 to audible boos and a Manami Roll for the pin. Tercera stars off with some revenge mask ripping and a super loud corner posing contest. I love Mistico, he’s the Bruce Springsteen of lucha; trough physical charisma, the crowd always bites that he’s on his last legs and doesn’t stand a chance. After taking a cool springboard plancha Wagner turns the tide inside the ring with a dragon screw and a tapatía. A splash from Wagner for a nearfall, but gets caught with a superplex after going to the top again. Really well built tope suicida from Mistico and the crowd’s going nuts. A powerbomb from Wagner for a hot nearfall. After taking some big moves and surviving the crowd is solidly behind Mistico, who hits a dive to the outside but proceeds to miss an Asai Moonsault and gets powerbombe outside the ring. While the referee and ringside doctor are checking on him, Último Guerrero interferes and hits a distracted Wagner with the Guerrero Special. Mistico pins him after hitting a splash off the top rope. Crowd solidly behind Wagner while UG cuts a heel promo on him, blaming him for their recent Tag Title lost and telling him it’s an eye for an eye after last weeks interference on his part. Pull apart brawl to finish the segment. I’m not crazy on interference finishes in matches billed as big but this definitely made sense; this match just flew by, I might need to revisit the whole rise of Mistico years. ****1/4

JIP, starts with the High Flyers working on Blakcwell’s arm. Heat segment starts when Blackwell misses a splash on Gagne and tags Studd in. Great visual of Studd mauling Greg even if his mannerisms when selling can be a little goofy, no doubt he gathers great sympathy from the crowd. The heels focus on Greg’s midsection and there’s a great spot when he manages to hip-toss Studd only to fall to the mat in pain afterwards. Brunzell gets the hot tag and cleans house taking out the heels alone. The faces miss the double head bang spot, and after some back an forth, Studd misses a punch that hits his partner causing them to lose the match. A short but effective heel beat down follows. Fun stuff and good use of the size difference all around. ***1/2

Hennig substitutes an injured Crusher Blackwell in a 10 minute challenge. Before the match Hansen attacks the injured Blackwell during an in ring promo which causes Curt to bust out of the locker room making the save and starting the match hot. The match has a sense of desperation from the start, with a back and forth between a Hansen beating and Curt’s super simple but effective hope spots. Hansen is amazing here, selling great and knowing exactly how much and when to give to young Curt. After reversing a pilderiver and hitting a monkey flip, the last few minutes are about Hansen surviving Hennig’s big spots and being saved by the bell. Great match enhanced by bumping on both men’s parts, sustained heat and a clearcut heel/face dynamic. ****1/4

After starting perfectly fine as a white meat babyface, Eddie Gilbert had an uninspired run in the New Fabulous Ones ..... until "Hot Stuff" came along

I think Shayna retains next, her reigns deserves a one on one title switch. EDIT: Preferably to Io

In no particular order: 1.- Bandido 2.- Timothy Thatcher 3.- Marcel Barthel 4.- Becky Lynch 5.- NGD