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Makai Club #1

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  1. Makai Club #1
    Oh Territory politics are at play. Bill Dundee is left alone for his title defence due to his Tommy Rich’s commitments in Georgia against Wayne Farris and Yamamoto, led by Jimmy Hart. Dundee is a level above both of these two but even he can’t overcome the 2 on 1 advantage. Although he puts in a hell of an effort. He batters Farris and Yamamoto to his credit but the disadvantage is just too much. Dundee is excellent in this match. Both when on offence and selling. He came off like a badass but vulnerable when he needed to be. Like a rat trapped in a corner. ***1/2
  2. Makai Club #1
    The young guns are sent out for 30 minutes to warm the crowd and set the tone. Does it go well? Quite. The pace the match in the exactly how you’d expect from a 30 minute draw. There is a lot of tentative stand-up initially with the occasional kick and shooting for the takedown for a good while. But they are always high in intensity. The holds are always snug and worked well from hold to hold. Miyato threws some wicked kicks to the head and then a low kick before trying to tap Nakano out with a head-trapped double wrist lock. I loved how Nakano began getting wise to the low kicks so began checking them more often, although Miyato’s persistence caught him out every now and again. Miyato seemed to favour the Single Leg Boston Crab heavily but Nakano fought for the ropes with all his might and somehow escaped. Nakano went he began throwing big strikes over his own like the overhand palm strike followed by kicks in the corner to a cowering Miyato. His suplexes were awesome as well. Including the one that sent him and Miyato tumbling over the top rope and onto the love which was insane. The finish wasn’t anything memorable. The referee just stopped the match for the time and that was that. It was a simple finish to a simple match. I really dug it and I don’t regret sitting through 30 minutes to two of the lesser guys in the promotion fight each other to a stalemate one bit. ***1/2
  3. Makai Club #1
    Choshu’s Super Cena finish aside, I don’t see much wrong with this. Almost every review and Dave’s DUD rating would suggest that this is a bad match. It’s not in any shape or form. Choshu is clearly still hurting from previous injuries but Fujiwara is so slick, so fluid and just a joy to watch that it didn’t matter. The quick takedowns and the toying was pretty fun to watch. They got the most out of very little and that’s what was so good about this. If you wanted a 5 star classic, watch something else but this was a super fun match that anyone *should* enjoy but I guess not. ***1/4
  4. Makai Club #1
    The whole tournament I've been slightly ragging on Ishii for constantly doing his endless elbow exchange matches but then Taichi and Ibushi totally knock my sock off with their match. Kinda hypocritical I know but :P. Plus Ishii had a totally different match the aforementioned style of match he usually does. Okada vs Ospreay was pretty wicked as well. Ospreay has definitely brushed up on his Marufuji tape watching. Oka (O-Kharn) returning to New Japan is exciting and I'm keen on seeing a fresh Ospreay. But the angle itself was a little flat. And oh, IBUSHI IN THE FINALS! All in all this was an awesome show.
  5. Makai Club #1
    Hashimoto in NOAH! The most famous match of his run given the reputation of it. It’s ungodly violent and stiff, especially with Hashimoto in the driving seat. I believe the story goes that it was even too much for Omori, who isn’t anyone to mess with in his own right and complained, thus ending his NOAH career. But this, Hashimoto is a god and comes off like one in the match. I’m not that aware of Omori’s matches but I love his blonde look. He looks so badass and sleazy. The story of the match is very simple and short. Omori fires off slaps and stiff palm strikes and Hashimoto returns with harder slaps and fucking brutal kicks to the chest/neck. Hashimoto dominates the match but Omori doesn’t go down without a fight. His little hope spot, which was a few lariats and a dragon suplex pin, gets a ton of heat. It was short but awesome. And the finish was just as violent. One big chop and a brutal brainbuster for the win. ***1/2
  6. Makai Club #1
    There are a few different edges to this match. One this is supposed to be Punk’s last match before going to WWE. A last hurrah. So Punk is very emotional for his entrance and the fans are itching for Punk to win the title (which looks unlikely since that’s not the usual thing). But the other side of that story is that it’s actually not the last match he’ll have in the company and would be a catalyst for one of the most famous storylines Ring Of Honor has ever done aka The Summer Of Punk. So much that they tried to recreate it in 2011 somewhat. So not only does this have a great story coming into it, it’s book ended by an even better story. Now it’s time for the match itself to deliver. I thought the match was good at times. A little too much with the kickouts at the end - which sort of make sense in the context of Punk desperate to win the title on his way out and the fans were biting on everything - and there were a few loose counter sequences that didn’t really work for me. But generally, this was really good. The grounded lock into the headstand escape spot was good as usual but what I loved about it was Punk quickly getting to his feet and drop-kicking Aries right in the next. Punk would spend the next 10 minutes attacking the neck as well. It was a great transition into one of the main plot threads of the match. They build up to the finish well tempo wise. I thought Aries was great at being the heel of the match, maximising Punk’s face heat and making it that much better when Punk wins the match. ***3/4
  7. Makai Club #1
    This started out like a house on fire with the two fighting in the sea of streamers both in and out of the ring. Joe beating up Homicide was fun. Joe is so compelling when dishing out offence - he has a great presence, great offence and just a kickass demanous. Homicide fighting from beneath was awesome too. But when he brings out the fork, this match gets better. Him digging it into Joe’s skin was nasty as hell as was the stabbing into the forehead. The match loses a bit of steam down the stretch once it gets a bit King Road Influence heavy. Just a bit long and some of the nearfall setups were very unnecessary. ***3/4
  8. Makai Club #1
    The match was built really well. I know this because I heard about it without watching it, that’s usually a good sign. I dug them taking their promos and heritage into the match as well. I loved how Jey Uso was basically mamed for the most part, only getting limited time to really shine and get some offence in. That hierarchy play is perfectly in tune with the Tribal talk. Roman’s swagger and dominance was very compelling. Jey was very sympathetic and every hope spot led me wanting more and more. BUT like most WWE matches, they trip over their own feet with some small but irritating things. It went too long. This could’ve done with some tightening up. Perhaps it was a matter of Roman dragging it out for respect reasons but you can cut it down and get the same story but better. I have to mention the talking. I get it and it kinda works in the feud but this is something that sounds better on paper than in reality. It was kinda embarrassing and way too cute at times. Roman himself looked awkward because it seems like he didn’t know where to look while he was doing his “I’m the Tribal Leader”. The finish again made sense but I don’t really care for the melodramatic finish with Jimmy coming down and throwing in the towel. These things just gnaw at me and gave me a rather cold feeling towards the match despite all of the good. But I do want to see more of this so job done I guess. ***1/4
  9. Makai Club #1
    This was only 2 minutes longer than the semi main event to this show but boy this felt much, much longer. Baba and Hansen winning means Kobashi and Misawa are crowned World Tag Team Champions! I thought this was good in parts but awkwardly paced. The bits with Baba weren’t very good at all. Kawada seemed scared to even touch him, throwing kicks that clearly don’t touch him by a mile. The difference between Hansen in the match and Baba in the match was staggering. Thankfully Kawada redeems himself with Hansen. ***
  10. Makai Club #1
    They had Budokan Hall rocking for this match. And the way they laid the match out, that’s no surprise. There was very little downtime with the match going at a very hot fast tempo. All while putting Misawa and Kobashi in the vulnerable position. Ace and Williams were the dominant team for the whole match, working over Misawa for such a long time which set up the eventual comeback climb perfectly. And then the dramatic closing stretch with a ton nail-biting nearfalls for both sides. This was just a superbly worked tag team match. ****
  11. Makai Club #1
    With these two, you know what exact match you’re getting and this was definitely that but somehow a tad more vicious and violent this time around. There were a ton of forearm strikes and headbutt shots but I think the charm of the match was watching Suzuki clearly overtake Ishii in that regard and Ishii selling the results of that. I’m pretty sure Ishii was getting some serious swelling on his face thanks to Suzuki’s slaps. Ishii pulling out of the Air Raid was awesome as well. Very good G1 match. ***1/2
  12. Makai Club #1
    So naturally I was excited to witness this. The match doesn’t have a great reputation as the Misawa or Kobashi match, mostly because Doc’s strengths lie in his signature high-impact offence which also is All Japan’s bread and butter. This feels a more stripped down, methodical match that I can see coming off as dull and not as captivating to some as it was to me. It went a bit too long in parts and they could’ve gone home earlier but I enjoyed the ride they took us. I thought they did a tremendous job in teasing and building up their biggest hits that the match exploded when they finally went for them. Whether it was Kawada going for the kill shots at the end or Williams hitting the Stampede, Doctor Bomb and the Dangerous Backdrop for many great false finishes. Kawada’s strikes were timed perfectly as well. I don’t remember him hitting as many spinning backfists before to such great effect. They were the turning point for his eventual win. And I must point out how great Williams’s selling was towards the end. Even when he was blocking the kick attempts, he was staggering around, clearly out of his feet. Just great stuff. There were a few people in the front row crying when Kawada won the title. I felt that. Loved this wholeheartedly. ****1/4
  13. Makai Club #1
    The main event was fine imo. Some iffy execution and pacing issues aside, it was a good match, just not a flat out great match. Okada looked more motivated in the match and looked good according to the story they were telling.
  14. Makai Club #1
    The match worried me a bit with the really boring grappling portions of the match. It wasn’t the usual Muto lazy stuff, they were fairly snug and clearly tried to give the match a grand feeling and a big build. But it just failed to be interesting until they moved out of that. But the latter stages of the match more than made up for it with its drama and epic sequences with Muto invading Hashimoto’s dangerous kicks and strikes. The crowd once they woke up were rabid for this. It’s clear what they were going for but it only half worked. ***1/4
  15. Makai Club #1
    Isn’t this something? WCW, if they weren’t totally incompetent, could’ve looked back in their histroy at this for being a historically important match. A generational passing between the older guard to the next generation. How they didn’t build the next five years around Austin and Pilman, I do not know (Actually, I do. Thanks, Hogan). But alas this is still a really great match to have in your archive. This is Ric Flair’s first match back in WCW thanks to his contract with WWF stopping him from wrestling for the first few months. And the match is booked to accommodate Flair and Arn. The Blondes are excellent as chickenshit heels that get the snot kicked out of them so it works really well. The two straight falls is a bit too much and just a poor booking choice to go with though. As mentioned before, the Blondes are great in their role. Not only do they bump and selling superbly for the Horsemen, they do a fantastic job in control, cutting Flair off from Anderson with their great teamwork and individual skills. Austin had some great schtick. During one sequence in the match, Anderson moved out of the way of an Austin move in the ropes but Austin rode the momentum, landed on his feet and did the Hollywood Blondes “rolling” taunt. It led nicely into Anderson hitting a DDT but I thought that was a standout Austin moment even if it didn’t work out for him in the match. Anderson’s performance was excellent. His selling was outstanding and showcased why he’s touted as a great wrestler. Pilman’s clip of the leg just before the 2nd fall is really brushed off in the moment for a Flair hot tag but Anderson still sells the leg and threads it along into the 2nd fall and the rest of the match. Flair takes advantage of this being a Pro-Horsemen crowd and goes nuts. He is filled with fire and energy. Flair is visibly excited to be back in WCW and it’s infectious. I thought this was a great match, just incomplete with an odd finish and somewhat poor booking throughout the match. ****1/4
  16. Makai Club #1
    I watched this the other day while the NXT Iron man match was happening, just to see the comparison, and I actually hated it. I put it on being really tired (it was 1-2 am at the time for me) so it didn't think much of it. But upon reflection, the flaws stick out just as much. There are some great aspects of the match that I like. Brock's peformance is magnificant from bell-to-bell. He combines great wrestling with great character work throughout the match. When he's sneaky, he does that excellently - facials, mannerisms, actions, everything. When he's dastardly, he's just that. If there is one reason to watch the match, it's Brock. I liked how some of the falls were played out. The early DQ to get the advantage in the long run is played out in 2020 but not in 2003 and the execution of it is great. Again thanks to Brock's selling of it. But I found myself getting more and more fustrated by all the rest that this match had to offer. Kurt Angle is essentially a robot. Nothing he does inspires sympathy to capitalize on what Brock does. His wrestling is so unengaging and uninteresting. The endless suplexes are repetitive and benal. Angle's selling is very basic and doesn't inspire anything from me. How am I supposed to care for a 60 minute match when one of the wrestlers is so off the pace? I previously mentioned how some of the falls were very good but there were a few falls that came out of nowhere. No struggle, no build, no real tension in Angle's comeback. The match is very disjointed in quality. Some parts are good, most parts are bad. And I'm left with a terrible taste in my mouth. Godbless Brock Lesnar but there is far too much that I hate to about this match. **1/4
  17. Makai Club #1
    This may just be the Chono mark in me but I love his finishing stretches. The constant barrage of Yakuza kicks either climaxes with an emphatic finish or a great transition. It works every time for me and when Muto caught that dropkick on the Kick attempt, the match felt over instantly. The rest of the match was brilliant. Muto and Hase worked great as a team both in the match and in general. Muto was always ready to make the save while Hase was in danger but Hase’s selling gave the match some epic drama. Hashimoto was great when matched with Hase. He beat the heck out of Hase with kicks and knees but he took some ridiculous bumps like the Shawn Michaels-esc bump over the top rope for a missed spin kick. Great match. ****1/4
  18. Makai Club #1
    The match took awhile to invest me fully into the match, if I’m being honest with my criticism. That’s not usually something I need to deal with but there was just something that wasn’t sticking for a bit. Then the match hooked me suddenly, and from that point forth, the match was great. Naturally with two of the most stiff wrestlers of the era, this was super snug and stiff with the strikes and submissions being displayed. Hansen would throw downward slaps that looked so brutal and he hit a killer dive that had so much force behind it. It was awesome just watching the two beat the heck out of each other. Kawada himself brought the heavy strikes with the big slaps he threw and Gamengiris. Kawada’s selling at the big moments was huge. Loved the lariat that was hit with so much speed that Hansen fell out of the ring, saving Kawada a few more minutes. Great match barring a few moments of indifference. ****1/4
  19. Makai Club #1
    This struggled to connect with me. I’m not sure if it was Muto not being the most interesting of guys on the roster as far as I’m concerned or Hase’s work on the leg but I found this kinda boring. Hase’s work on the leg was decent and consistent throughout. I dug Hase’s different version of the Muta Lock with the arm hooks. Muto, to his credit, was able to milk the drama and create a great atmosphere to work off. I liked his brief comebacks, including a wicked judo throw but his selling of the leg was missing. There is a ton to like but I wasn’t fully into it. **1/2
  20. Makai Club #1
    Hase continues his strong form from the Summer against his fellow contender for WOTY, Genichiro Tenryu. These two have a truly great match together apart from the finish which came off weird with Tenryu hitting a bunch of enziguris which Hase sells by staggering followed up by a powerbomb. Another day, this would’ve come off very dramatic but it was flat in this instance. The rest of the match brought it though. Hase’s timing and selling was excellent as well as his fire which Tenryu matched of course. This was violent with hard strikes and great submission attempts. ****
  21. Makai Club #1
    The first meeting of the two as fully formed wrestlers and it was tremendous. The atmosphere alone gave me goose bumps. A bit of a slaw start with the tag partners trying to feel each other but Kawada than starts to get the better of Misawa, pissing Misawa off. Kawada working on the arm and head of Misawa, before trying to put him away. Misawa than gets the crowd on hsis side and the match picks up the pace and the all japan bomb fest begins. They lay into each other with their biggest moves and brutal strikes. The finish was good, even if it wasn't clean. ****1/2
  22. Makai Club #1
    B Block is good but I don't see much magic there besides Juice and Tanahashi. A Block looks tremendous. It has the worst two guys in the G1 but the top matches have the potential to be outstanding, blow-away matches.
  23. Makai Club #1
    The first main event of Mutoh Era All Japan Pro Wrestling. But that's not really the hook of the match. Tenryu maliciously going after Kojima and Hayashi is the real charm of the match. He outright hates Hayashi, pumping him with some of his more violent strikes. Tenryu tries to past Hayashi's face by flinging a chair at him but thankfully it misses the first time but gets him later. Compare Tenryu to Hirai, and its no contest. Hirai's strikes are more standard in their intent. Hayashi is very stubborn though and tries to fight back in the way he can. Kojima gets his fair share of asskicking too but he fairs better and eventually scores the win over Hirai. ***1/2
  24. Makai Club #1
    Voodoo Murders (Minoru, Rene Dupree, TARU & Toshizo) vs. F4 (Hiroshi Yamato, KAI, Satoshi Kojima & Zodiac) - AJPW Excite Series 2010 - Day 2 07/02/2010 What a gem this was. I love parachuting in to a promotion, not knowing what’s happening and finding magic. And Mutoh Era All Japan is perfect for that. This is a Losing Stable Disbands match between F4 and Voodoo Murders. I believe this is Captain Falls rules so if either TARU or Kojima are pinned, it’s over immediately. Nice idea in theory but it was always going to end up with Kojima and TARU at the end. And that was actually pretty great. TARU was really good the entire match. I’m not sure if TARU is actually good - TARU is definitely the popular guy in the match - or just well protected for this match but everything he did seemed to gel really well with everything else in the match. Whether it was being the subtle chickenshit being on the sidelines while his boys did most of the work or taking it to Kojima at the end who was a supergod the whole match. But everything before that was really good wrestling too. Voodoo Murders were a blend of cheating heels and faces depending on the moment in the match while F4 were the clean faces but it all combined together to make a compelling match. F4 were on the backfoot the whole match which allowed Hiroshi Yamato and KAI to shine as sympathetic faces. Yamato more so than KAI though, thanks to his fiery comebacks and his selling. Minoru was great on the VM side as well. His technical offence and team work with TARU at the end was pretty awesome. Everyone played their role superbly in the match. Well worth seeking out. ****1/4
  25. Makai Club #1
    This was a brilliant match and a brilliant Dr Death performance to conclude Misawa’s first Triple Crown Title reign. Almost everything Williams did in this match looked great. So much fire and prowess in his offence whether it be strikes, slams or mat-work. It’s definitely a great example of his growth as a wrestler over the past two years, previously being one of the more boring wrestlers on the roster and now being very exciting. He was excellent on offence as well. Everything Williams pulled out was to target the neck of Misawa, which was injured throughout the year, and was used to maximise his signature moves even further. Misawa can sometimes get overshadowed in his matches, for whatever reason, but he delivers an immense performance complimenting Williams perfectly with his selling and how his comebacks feed into Williams regaining control and eventually the win. The struggle and fight for the Backdrop Driver was gripping for everyone. Misawa is trying his best to get out of any attempts, at one point even thwarting the momentum of Williams mid-flight using the ropes, hitting many close elbows but Williams continued to ride through them all to hit the Backdrop Driver. Loved the finish with Williams yanking Misawa’s arm into the Backdrop Driver position while Misawa was throwing elbows as well. Misawa was using the elbows to defend the whole match but it failed to work in the end. ****1/4
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