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Makai Club #1

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  1. Makai Club #1
    She single handily kept me watching Raw consistently. Even if it was through cherry picking. Whether it was small squashes against Dana Brooke or high profile PPV matches against Sasha Banks and Charlotte, she delivered and gave you value for your time. Ronda also got the best out of wrestlers that are pretty much disliked by a large majority of the audience. Her matches against Nia Jax were easily better than anything Jax had done prior or since. So Ronda worked well with great wrestlers and below average ones. Her most disappointing match was the WrestleMania match which was a mess unfortunately. But a 99% success rate isn't bad for someone who had a career not even reaching a full year (one day off). I don't think I'll include her unless she makes a return.
  2. Makai Club #1
    Likely the most controversial match out of Kazuchika Okada's title reign. And it’s either something that shows the brilliance of Kazuchika Okada (and Gedo as his aid) or his main flaw. And the arguments for the latter aren’t exactly wrong either, which is why the argument is so fascinating to me. Everyone knows the type of match Minoru Suzuki likes to do - Suzuki likes to focus on an arm or leg while highlighting his personality through taunting and baiting. Imagine that for 40+ minutes with it not paying off and the opponent hitting his signature moves that involve a huge vertical leap. So I understand why one would come off as disappointed or cold watching this. However, after watching the match, the things that could be a turn off was something that helped the match. The match’s story was Okada, the one on the defensive, overcoming his inferior skill and pain to make a comeback. This needed Okada’s selling to be great and when he was trapped in the holds Suzuki was throwing on him, he was excellent as milking the drama or the crowd to bite on, along with Gedo who was constantly on the verge of throwing in the towel. I thought Okada did a great job defending the holds themselves which made his lengthy time in them logical, as well as acting as a tease for the crowd who wanted Okada to make a comeback. Now the criticism of the match isn’t his selling in the holds, but rather outside of them. This is overstated imo. Okada’s offence was very limited. Okada hit a dropkick perfectly, yes. Okada didn’t hit the tombstone though, and Okada also only hit the Rainmaker in a last ditch effort after being under a barrage of slaps. It's not Okada making a comeback against Omega at Wrestle Kingdom. Okada overcame the odds to score the win by the skin of his teeth completing the match arc. I think it makes sense from a narrative point. The match isn’t a classic. It’s just a low-end MOTYC with a great story that’s done well. Suzuki’s performance alone - although I haven't mentioned anything about it - is worth watching. Okada’s is just a bonus. ****1/4
  3. Makai Club #1
    There has been a few solid contenders that will be/were probably not mentioned because they were in obscure promotions, even by PWO standards, or just are in promotions that have less than exciting reputations for serious pro wrestling, so exposing them as serious candidates is something that I would like to do (HARASHIMA, Konosuke Takeshita, Masaaki Mochizuki, etc).
  4. Makai Club #1
    This had everything. Incredible emotional drama with LCO, Aja Kong and Suzuka Minami helplessly watching as Kandori picks apart and destroys Hokuto, who isn't giving up the futile fight, insane violence that had purpose and hate behind it and great skill and selling. I think the match story can be summed up in some way by the opening bits. Kandori busted Hokuto’s mouth with her second punch of the match, planting Hokuto on the mat, during the opening exchanges. This reignites the hateful flair that made their first match so special as well as putting Hokuto immediately on the backfoot of which she isn't able to recover from. Kandori carries herself like a machine who toys with Hokuto initially, baiting Hokuto into a Fujiwara only to let it go because it was too easy but as the match carries on with Hokuto, 1, refusing to go down repeatedly, and two, had some pivotal moments such as hitting a Northern Lights suplex on the outside, which could've been the catalyst for a potential comeback. This meant Kandori got more malicious and violent towards the end in order to get her win back. Kandori is an absolute beast and had clear superiority over Hokuto but she also sold vulnerability perfectly when it was called on her to do so, making her performance complete. *****
  5. Makai Club #1
    There is nothing more crazy and volatile than New Japan politics in any era. So many coups in the 80s for New Japan I feel like.
  6. Makai Club #1
    It didn't leave much of an impression overall but I didn't think a few key wrestlers stood out well enough in it. Bryan had his shine spots with his injured knee which everyone targeted. His selling was good and his defensive work was solid enough to create hope for Jey Uso. Sami Zayn shone through with his loudmouth personality whether it was in the pod or getting his ass kicked out of it. Fun enough. **3/4
  7. Makai Club #1
    There is a 14 minute match between these two in the D-Ou Tournament last year that almost everyone agrees was the better match. While I liked this match as well as both of the Akiyama vs Takeshita matches, I'm not sure I'm totally loving these matches that much either. There is a little too much bloat in them and this is no different.
  8. Makai Club #1
    This was something short and sweet to put over Drew McIntyre via an over the hill Goldberg. **
  9. Makai Club #1
    It’s quite magnificent, really. El Satanico is not only one of the greatest rudos in history (this includes outside of Mexico, too) but he also showed that he is tremendous in the tecnico role as well. Obviously it’s easy to come across as a great ace if the booking allows it - and I’d certainly say that allowing your partner to escape when you had the chance, taking the responsibility of potentially losing your hair is definitely one of those things - but the drama and emotion that he emits really adds conviction to the booking angles in the match and the overall storytelling. The match plays wonderfully. Los Guerreros del Infierno attacked early on, using the 4 on 3 advantage to overwhelm their opponents and control the bout. Their teamwork is great and allows for a really hot start. Los Infernales makes a comeback but it is always knocked back down to the defensive. However, the rudos are scumbags at heart. The first chance they get, they descend into selfish actions with Tarzan Boy and Rey Bucanero deciding to flee and escape the cage, all while leaving their teammates to a 3 on 2 disadvantage. Then comes the other pivotal moment in the match where Satanico is making his escape before looking back at Averno and seeing him struggle to hold Magica, who is climbing the cage, then deciding to help Averno out and taking responsibility. Thus we have the final two in the Apuestas match - Mascara Magica and El Satánico. This is where Satanico shined with his performance. It felt like a really important moment in his long career and one last gasp on keeping that. And the crowd pop that erupted from Arena Mexico when he got the 3 off the figure four pin was just amazing. ****1/2
  10. Makai Club #1
    From what I could tell, that's pretty much the same thing to Bret.
  11. Makai Club #1
    The finish to this match was awesome. Abe, without breaking motion, was able to reverse Iwamoto’s Kokou no Geijutsu attempt and lock in a crucifix cradle for the three count. Exactly the type of thing you'd expect from this match - lots of nifty counters out of dangerous predicaments. The Astronauts showed good tag chemistry, stringing together a few good double team offensive moves. There was a running bit where they'd do a double team move and end it with either Nomura or Abe kicking Hidaka, who is left flat footed, off the apron. Hidaka at 48 is still as fast as ever, being able to keep up and evade Abe’s attempts early in the match. He is truly blessed with eternal youth. We got some good exchanges from Iwamoto and Nomura as well. Nomura was trying to be his usual dismissive self but Iwamoto wasn't having it and laid in a few hard elbows for good measure. Good match. The eventual Abe/Iwamoto sounds promising. I'll definitely seek that out. ***1/4
  12. Makai Club #1
    Bryan is indeed talented and an excellent wrestler. Extremely consistent for almost all of his active years whether it's making the best out of Gabe's fascination with NWA World Title matches or WWE's "we don't want to actually push you to this point but we have to". But his matches don't ever give me the feeling of the investment that Bret Hart matches can. And I say this a someone who grew up watching Daniel Bryan (I was like 10 when I first knew who Daniel Bryan was). And investment is always going to top out for me. There is no real argument against either though. Both are quality wrestlers and it simply comes down to who do you prefer. And to me, Bret is the one I prefer.
  13. Makai Club #1
    There is nothing better than when two Sambo experts face off against each other. This was filled with tremendous grappling exchanges that almost always came off in a stalemate due to how well matched they are. Han would have the striking advantage but he’s not a killer striker so it’s not a massive edge, although it does earn Han a few Downs. My favourite part of the match was when Kopylov and Han were tangled in each other’s legs in the middle of the ring, leading the ref to call for the break causing an outbreak of applause and chuckles. Kopylov getting the submission win was very surprising, too. Great victory. ****
  14. Makai Club #1
    Out of all their matches, this gets forgotten about (despite the back injury that HBK occurs early on) but it's a very good edition. It's better than the Ground Zero match for sure. Shawn Michaels looks fairly strong in this being the aggressive and most controlling out of the two. I suspect it was a decision to make Michaels look like a resilient, worthy champion for Austin to the new influx of fans that are tuning because its usually the opposite. But he did a fine job. He kept his offence to hard punches to the head and stomach while using the aerial moves sparingly. And when Taker gained back control, Michaels pin-ball’d himself around the ring. Sometimes it was over the top but it was reserved mostly. Then the finish with Kane attacking Taker after initially helping him from goons (The New Age Outlaws & Los Boricuas) and then setting the casket on fire. Super good main event with a strong finishing angle. ***1/2
  15. Makai Club #1
    While short of much depth and star power, this turned out to be a fun and pretty memorable Rumble. Terry Funk delivers a very underrated Rumble performance with his evasive ways of staying in the match, plus a strong opening stretch with Foley and Rock who have great showings of their own. The later story of Stone Cold attacks everyone was interesting and made Austin look like the biggest star of the match (he was). Exciting Rumble. Such a blast. ***1/2
  16. Makai Club #1
    A fine opening match. There was a lot of decent wrestling. Goldust has some decent evasive offence to avoid Vader trying to clatter into him so there was a lot of urgency. The crowd was hot for the action as well. Luna’s interference was minimal and made for a tremendous finish where she got on Vader’s back when he hit the VaderBomb. **1/2
  17. Makai Club #1
    I didn't really get the hype around this. It was a Fiend match that wasn't the worst match of the year so it was better than expected but I don't see a quality match in this other than that. The match was essentially a boring beatdown followed up a fun comeback. And I think the Survivor Series match followed that formula much better than this. There isn't much flaws to pick out as it's not a terrible match, rather an unexciting one. Bryan getting a slightly average match out of a terrible wrestler is cause for praise but the match itself doesn't warrant it, imo.
  18. Makai Club #1
    Adrian Street is known for having a rather effeminate gimmick designed to get a rise out of his opponent (or sometimes the crowd depending on where he was). And that character was on display for sure. The 1700s dress, the prancing/skipping around and the glamorous way Street let the ref touch him down for weapons, extending his legs in an exaggerated way. Breaks would bite at his antics by screaming at him in his typical cry-baby ways, and it was always great when that happened. Street would get a kick out of the rise himself which would make it better. The match wasn’t just Street getting his gimmick over however. The match was focused around serious grappling that was both rough and snug. There were a lot of violent holds that could’ve easily snapped a hand if they weren’t careful. Breaks is no-nonsense unlike Street so most of that was initiated from him but Street was a match for him technique wise and was able to rough it up just as much. Any time Breaks would look to break Street’s wrist, Street would reverse it and lock on a bone crunching hold in return. Breaks was the de facto face, I think, but he was still a real cunt, snapping at Street’s arm after one of the rounds had ended. Street would get some revenge in the next round by ripping at Breaks’ mouth and nose whilst he had Breaks in a side headlock. The match was full of little things like that. I loved Jim Breaks getting a submission (British rules needs two sub wins to win the match or one pin overall) off a Jim Breaks special (lifts opponent by the wrist) and then says to Street “If you can’t carry on, get out!”. It’s so awesome. The final round was tremendous too. Street needed to win that round to cause a draw, so he increases the intensity and urgency of his wrestling, overwhelms Breaks and stomps on his arm while he’s on the floor. One great final flurry from Street before he got the submission win via the Double-Arm Chicken Wing. The match is declared a draw but what a great match it was. Terrific bout. ****1/2
  19. Makai Club #1
    Outstanding match. I admittedly have gotten a little jaded from Misawa in the past few months in this timeline but this was a tremendous effort that quickly reminded me how fantastic Misawa is and what he brings to the table. And it’s not just an incredible comeback - which this match has (And oh boy, does it have it!) - it’s the ability to create an intense, epic atmosphere, drawing everyone in to what he (and what his opponent) is doing. This is Taue’s finest hour as a singles wrestler (maybe not, I’ll see down the line) but Misawa smoked him in performance despite bringing what is also a great performance. Taue kicked Misawa’s ass with all his new, excellently built up new moves while trying to avoid Misawa’s deadly elbows as much as he could. I loved the opening sequence with Misawa blocking the Snake Eyes attempt, returning with an elbow which Taue blocked. 10 seconds of wrestling that set up the match story superbly. The match’s drama was superbly built until the crowd was rocking (along with the hard camera). The reaction for Taue hitting Nodowa was insane. Any attempt by Taue was met with a rise in the crowd and it was only matched by Misawa’s attempts to escape that fate until it inevitably came. Taue’s selling for Misawa’s epic comeback surge was tremendous. The more Misawa popped off his elbow strikes, the more devastating the effect they’d get. First just rocking Tuae. Then Taue would fall to his knee before Misawa floored him and essentially won the match for himself with a wicked elbow strike that included a pin-point rolling elbow. Well deserving of its reputation. ****3/4
  20. Makai Club #1
    This was awesome. Yamazaki was very game for all the strike exchanges. He put so much fire and energy in his offence that it was easy to rally behind him as the underdog. Takada was calm and cool as usual, zeroing in on Yamazaki’s leg, kicking the absolute shit out of the thigh before shooting in for various submission holds. Yamazaki’s selling is excellent as well. His audible screams are perfect for the setting and he made a big effort to escape the holds, further putting the danger of them over. Yamazaki even sells well when he makes his big comeback to win the match by selling his exhaustion and pain after hitting his moves. The struggle for the German suplex was just superb with Yamazaki headbutting Takada in the back of the head while he was fighting to break the grip before launching him. And the final headkick before the pin was just sick. Awesome win for Yamazaki. ****
  21. Makai Club #1
    These two go at each other once again after previously going to a 30 minute draw at the Starting Over Vol.2 event. There is more of the same again - careful, deliberate, both waiting for openings and defending nicely on the mat. Nakano uses his weight brilliantly to add more pressure to Miyato when he takes the back and Miyato is light on his feet to gain some ground of his own. The little spurts where they go back and forth with kicks and slaps is great and adds a little more excitement to the bouts mixed in with the grappling. They escalate nicely as the 15 minute time lapses over, throwing in more dynamic sequences and more big throws. Miyato threw a killer spinning sole kick to the hips of Nakano, almost drawing a 10 count which Nakano then followed it up with a capture suplex once he recovered. One of my favourite moments of the match was Miyato catching Nakano with a high kick and going for a belly to bell but Nakano counted with a nasty headbutt that split Miyato wide open at the eye. Gruesome. Miyato was able to recover and cinched in a deep single leg, getting the victory. Awesome follow up to their other match. ***3/4
  22. Makai Club #1
    I would definitely agree with the sentiments that this is more of a New Japan style match. Which makes sense since they have to reform the in-house style early one. What works, what doesn’t, what has to go, etc. But a great match is a great match so the fans adore it anyway. I loved how both men came across. Akira Maeda felt like the ace, and was presented as the ace. Maeda was the boss. He is no longer the young man that got put in the spotlight after Inoki didn’t join in the first UWF, he is the guy. His assertiveness in the match was great. Takada was super good as the opponent but he was just a step below Maeda and had to constantly follow his lead to keep up. Maeda threw in some great counters and suplexes like his beautiful capture suplex counter to a Takada bodykick. Takada is one of the better shoot-style underdogs there ever is and he’s pretty much that in this match. Like I said already, Maeda was the top dog so Takada was the weak link, who made the best of it. Takada made his moments on top count and hit some super suplexes and strikes that put Maeda in danger. Loved the drama of the match and how it built as the match progressed. The fans surging the ring after Maeda won with the chicken wing was awesome too. ****1/2
  23. Makai Club #1
    “My Eye”. Bloody hell, this was a very gross match by the end. Lawler bloodies Funk’s eye up badly and Funk’s panicked squealing made the finish very uncomfortable and disturbing to watch. Funk desperately calling for the Doctor and Lance Russell (aw) was horrifying but the perfect finish to an incredible match. I never realised just how big the Mid-South Coliseum was until the lights go on and you see a sea of seats. And they made great use of the space, brawling in the crowd seats, using the empty chairs to their advantage. I loved the contrasted tempo of emotions from the two. Funk starts off the match with Lance Russel blowing his lid, itching to face Lawler who came out calm and focused. And the match was the same. The brawling was erratic and aggressive but Lawler was able to calm the storm and use that to win the match. Funk’s trash talking was awesome (yet another good use of the empty arena setting). ****1/2
  24. Makai Club #1
    A cool Dory Funk Jr match outside of his known element. I think Dory Funk Jr, I think St Louis or Tokyo. Not Memphis but it's neat to see a legend out of his comfortable setting. He rocks at it as well. Dory Funk is straight laced at first, using his superior technical skills to control Lawler and run rings around him but Dory gets more and more underhanded with the tables on the outside and even a chain that Jimmy Hart, who is suspended above the ring because it’s Memphis, threw down. Lawler wrestles Dory’s match but even though he’s not as good on the mat, he sells super well and makes the best out of his offence. I really loved how most of Lawler’s offence was him getting Dory back for the cheating also using the chain. Lawler’s fists are hammers most of the time but add a chain to them and it’s deadly. The crowd, of course, are all in on the match. The match is called off for the DQ (in Lawler’s favour) and Lawler beats Jimmy Hart up after the match. Awesome ending. ****
  25. Makai Club #1
    Jerry Lawler coming out to ‘Gonna Fly Now’ with loud trumpets was an incredible entrance. If he went all out for his entrance like this regularly, you can see why Lawler was indeed the King Of Memphis for the next decade. The match gets quite a rep for being the first ever 5* rated match. Not by Dave Meltzer, but Norm Dooly (and Jim Cornette). But as well, this is quite a famous match although not as famous as their Empty Arena match. I loved this match the last time I saw it and re-watching it was just as rewarding. This was a classic memphis bloody brawl, at its finest. Incredible heat. Both roles were executed at a very high quality and we just got enough for a rematch. The match started off heated with Funk initially running from Lawler and getting bounced into the corner and ropes. But Funk catches Lawler with some offence before unleashing some immaculate punches. Lawler then replied with punches of his own and busted Funk open by slamming him into the table. Funk’s bumping and selling for so great. Lawler was just as excellent at the selling. Lawler also got the aid of the blood soaking his white attire - it was visually gross, yet it added to the match greatly. Lawler brought tremendous babyface fire with his fired-up comebacks and his decimation of Funk’s knee with the steel chair. The crowd was unglued when Lawler brought the straps down and they were able to keep that heat for the remainder of the match until the match called for a count-out win for Lawler. ****1/2
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