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Makai Club #1

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  1. Makai Club #1
    Giant Baba looks really big in this match. I know his name is Giant Baba but after not seeing him for ages, he looks so tall. Or maybe Kawada is just small. Anyway, its Baba’s time to shine against the current generation. Kawada threw a chop and Baba sold it in a way that was really funny but in a good way. I love facials when someone throws chops and he sells Kawada’s chops super well. The opening exchanges were fine, Baba has limitations and I’m fine to judge him within those limitations. He does a fine job, Misawa and Kawada bump well for the guy. Kobashi is a beast in this match with a big effort to help the load on Baba. Kobashi gets pinned, obviously but he puts up a hell of an effort as the fans were on his side. ***1/2
  2. Makai Club #1
    DDT Extreme Title Best Two Out Of Three Falls Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) vs Yuko Miyamoto First Fall: Great starting out point with Yuko Miyamoto dominating proccedings, making great use of the ladder at the start to gain the advantage, using it to attack the fingers, in which he'd then rip on them afterwards and backdropping Sasaki on his hip. Sasaki used the chairs to get some of the momentum back and hit some of his big moves and get the La Mistica Cross Facelock for the win Second Fall: Miyamoto went right back to the ladders to again get the advantage and hit some of that sick offence like his moonsault knees into the stomach. Sasaki tries some counters that helped him the last fall but he missed the elbow and Miyamoto kept hitting flash pins until he gets the win. Great short fall. Third Fall: I admired Daisuke Sasaki being willing to go all in on the brain truma and all the bumps he takes in this last fall. Miyamoto nailed Sasaki with a chair shot, he slammed his head into he stiff tables multiple times and takes a brutal Fire Thunder Driver through the same table. Sasaki stuck it out though and kept in it. Sasaki was "cheating" (choking is cheating in this context) the entire match but he channeled some great babyface charm with his selling and willingness to absorb as much as he does and keep on ticking. Miyamoto was great as well, alongside Sasaki. He puts his all into every big move and has great timing when cutting off Sasaki's hope spots. Great final peice to an overal great match. Over three falls, all different from each other, with great esclation from smart weapon use at the start into high level big bumps and offence for the final fall. Sasaki blanded his cheating antics with great babyface drive - he had great techinique, great selling and great hopespots. Miyamoto was very good as well. He didn't put a foot wrong in any regard. There was a few things that could've been devloped more like the finger work that lasts maybe 3 minutes, however, it wasn't needed a whole lot. Great outing. ****1/4
  3. Makai Club #1
    Big match Honda is something to see. If you don't watch DDT, you fully expect Honda, based on look and personality, to be a comedy guy, and he is but he is also so much more. He is also one of the best wrestlers in Japan when he turns into serious Honda. And he showed that in this match. The early work on Togo's arm/hand was really good. Constantly nagging at it with his nasty submission holds any chance he could get. Togo sells it really well as well. Even as Togo gain control, Honda still goes for the arm. Togo's cutoffs for Honda's offence was great. A nifty counter here, pure ruthlessness there. Not only that, I thought Togo, throughout the match, had some great facial expressions, particularly when dominating Honda. Great overall performance by Togo. The matchups in intensity as soon as Honda gets busted open, as Togo goes ham on the cut with his punches, splitting it up even more. The punching in the match is excellent. Honda's selling puts over Togo's punches tremendously well - very Lawler-esc, in my opinion. The punching combo from Honda's comeback was great and I liked how it allowed Honda to stay on offence for a much longer period of time than most comebacks too. Just a little extra touch that the match had. Another thing that was great about the match was its ability to create drama. Certain moves had to be earned for like the punch from the second rope or the octopus stretch. The finishing stretch was excellent and allowed everything in the match to build perfectly. I think there isn't many matches that can stick with you even after months since you last seen this match. *****
  4. Makai Club #1
    I don't blame Taker for the finish, I blame Shawn Michaels for not DQ'ing Rock after Taker chokeslams HHH, waiting for the Tombstone. That judgement call messed up the finish. Shawn Michaels ruining matches as ref continues to be a trope for the ages. The match overall isn't hurt because it's still pretty incredible. It's suprbly paced, putting the vastly overrated Hart/Shawn Ironman match to shame. It's always exciting and engaging to sit through. The big struggle at the start looked great, something I always love in my matches but made perfect sense for this match both psychology wise and for pacing reasons. They esclate the match superbly well with a deliberate pace into hot and heavy brawlling with great selling, great face and heel work and an extremly hot crowd. Every fall except the first one, because when does a normal main event end in 10 minutes, was great and felt earned. HHH was great in these. It's hard to wrestle a strategic match to the point but he does it so well with his offence, mannarisms and desperation. The commentary was on-point as well. Excellent match, the 60 minutes was practically a breeze ****1/2
  5. Makai Club #1
    This was excellent. Not a big fan of Batista, at all, but he and Triple H just clicked in this match. It had everything a great Hell In A Cell match should have. Huge levels of violence, tons of hatred between the opponents, great storytelling and blood. Lots of it. Triple H shone big time as the desperate scumbag that was trying everything in his power to win back a title that's been his for near 3 years at this point. Loved how his cheating antics always came back to haunt him with the barbed wire chair being used, the steel steps, the chain whipping (ouch!). His selling was great - he really made Batista look like a beast and deserved champion. Great finish as well. ****3/4
  6. Makai Club #1
    Oh yeah, this was incredible. It started out in a bad way with Wolfe getting KO'd, and given the match suited his strengths more than the others, it could've ended badly but it didn't. Everyone in the match stepped up in effort. WALTER turned into a machine, leading from the front and taking on all challengers until he took out in an awesome table spot. The Undisputed Era did a super job of getting WALTER even more over as well with how they bumped from his chops like they were getting slapped by elite Sumo Guys. That ruled. I've been championing Barthel for years and this was his break out performance for me. Him working from beneath, bumping big and selling super well for the Undisputed Era. Aichner had some incredible dived as well. He impressed as well. Loved the escalation this match had - from systematic tag work mixed in with spurts of offence, which was where Era shined the most (Roddy and Kyle O'Reilly), to hot action with bombs being thrown and drama in the closing stretch. Cole was a clear step down from everyone in the match and it showed so much given how great everyone else was. I love it. The match was awesome from immediately after the injury to Wolfe which was scary. I loved it so much. Got sucked into the wrestling and it gave me a satisfying conclusion. Still buzzing about it. ****1/2
  7. Makai Club #1
    Otani goes super hard for Samurai’s ankle joints early on, ripping at the leg which El Samurai replied by working on the neck. The work from Otani is super basic but tight. Samurai hits some nasty moves like a really vicious neckbreaker. The crowd is quiet though, mostly sitting on their hands until Samurai hits a sweet tope. The match soon turned into a basic back and forth match with some big moves and nearfall. Otani has some great snap to his offence like his dragon suplex finish and, of course, his dropkick but there is a flatness to it that was rather disappointing. **3/4
  8. Makai Club #1
    Damn, these two just can't have a less than good match, can't they? Well, except for the WrestleMania 21 match, that's not very good. Other than that though, top quality. Eddie getting super frustrated with Rey and getting more and more angry with him not giving up to his brutal arm submissions made for a great story. Eddie is peak face Eddie but he blends that line with Rey super well. Rey’s hope spots was timed perfectly, as is his selling. The mat work by Eddie was great. Vicious and creative, aka his hammerlock variation of the glory bomb. Loved how it paid off with the leverage pin with Rey just crumbling under the weight of his useless arm and Eddie's weight. Great match. ****1/4
  9. Makai Club #1
    Sadly, this is just yet another Miracle Violence Connection match that doesn't live up to snuff. Kobashi being the focus was neat, especially coming off a Misawa title win. There just wasn't much to gravitate to. The crowd heat was tepid, really and it's like the MVC felt it and matched it for quality. Fine but disappointing. **3/4
  10. Makai Club #1
    Oof, I didn't like much, relatively. Two of the best teams of all time, great rivalry but this was just fine. They hit their notes, attacking the arm of Kobashi. Kawada catching Misawa trying to come in. Taue throwing people left and right. It had its moments but ultimately, I was left flat. ***
  11. Makai Club #1
    Over a year later and my mind feels more soft towards this match, at least the finishing stretch. Everything prior was a chore.
  12. Makai Club #1
    John Cena defends the WWE Heavyweight Title I'm starting to think that there is some revisionist history (damn, I hate that phrase, but it's apt here) going on here. For years, the story was that the fans turned on Cena because of his new cookie cutter army gimmick but here he is, still in his Chain Gang gimmick. They even call Cena's fans the chain gang. Its the same schtick that he had months prior to big plaudits. So that's not true, at least not here, who knows weekly because I was like super young to remember this era of wrestling. Anyway, this was pretty neat. And I attribute it to Cena's great showing here. He was explosive and showed tons of urgency in his opening barrage of offence. Cena isn't the most varied wrestler, offensively, but he could get the most out of what he can. His short running clothesline was used greatly as a momentum changer, he had some..not stiff but impactful back-elbows which did a ton of damage. Loved his selling too. He made Jericho look really good here, slowing down whenever Jericho hit his big spots in the match, the struggle he had for getting out of the simplistic of holds went a long way. Jericho was perfectly functional as an opponent, as he usually was, and was good, albeit a bit unremarkable in that sense. He didn't stand out above Cena, he just was the foil for Cena's comebacks, which isn't a bad spot to be in. Reminds me of 80s WWF title challengers. The crowd was super into this match. People may say "they were anti Cena", they weren't. It was very 50/50. No boos for Cena, nor Jericho. It was loud let's go Cena chants, let's Go Jericho chants. Shout out to the finish as well. That was so good. Quick and perfect. ***1/2
  13. Makai Club #1
    This is a decent introduction for the feud’s first match. This is still a battle between two friends, two WWE Tag Team champions in fact. After Chavo Guerrero planted some resentment in the mind of Eddie towards Rey Mysterio, as well as some miscommunication leading to Eddie lose against Doug Basham or Rey to take victories away from Eddie inadvertently in tag matches, they are full force into the feud. They started the match like you'd expect these two to start. Mysterio trying to move fast and hit an aerial move with Eddie keeping Rey close via a knuckle lock or taking him to the ground. Both Guerrero and Mysterio took big bumps early on, Rey landing big on the back body drop to the outside floor and Eddie went flying across the ring on a monkey flip. There was a nice sounding thud to the bump as well. Eddie Guerrero spent a ton of this match on top. He hit some lovely tiltawhirl backbreakers but mostly it was Guerrero wasting time aimlessly locking on holds - one of which was a really bad looking STF with Eddie not even attempting to squeeze on the head with it. Although, I liked Tazz’s call here with him saying that the move could just be a base for him to do anything he wanted, not just the STF. The match had its magic moments when Rey was on offence and they were going back and forth. The seated senton attempt into the powerbomb is always an awesome spot and it was in this match as well. Everything else was just kinda empty. The last time I watched this match, I wasn't really into it that much because of the reasons stated here but the big moments were still fun and it told the story well. However, it was more of a story suited to Smackdown not WrestleMania. I can take comfort in that they have more matches than this. **1/2
  14. Makai Club #1
    This is for the Interim KO-D Openweight Title after Dick Togo was unable to defend the official title or something. I dug this a ton. Honda especially has developed into one of my favourite wrestlers, even without the Togo match and he brings a ton to this match with his babyface performance and driving determination. His punches were awesome. There was a real scrappyness to them. Some missed, some caught him but it was all intentional in Honda's style of punching. I've never seen GENTARO before but I've heard good things. He was pretty smooth. His offence felt very Dick Togo-ish almost lol. I liked it but there was a lack of something big. No real spark to his offence despite everything looking good and being perfectly functional. That's maybe the only thing that hurts this matches quality. Awesome post match scenes though. Just shame Honda's win was for the Interim title and not the proper. ****
  15. Makai Club #1
    Hansen is all over Kawada’s leg and works it over good. Hansen at one point locked in an STF and because he is so big, he engulfed Kawada’s entire body. Kawada’s selling is usually his strong suit and he does an excellent job here. The little skips and hops he does to keep pressure on the leg to a minimum goes a long way in the early parts of the match, getting progressively more severe as the match progressed. Hasen bullied Kawada with some real violent offense outside of the work of the leg. The knees he’d threw would catch the side of Kawada’s eye socket -- it was pretty gruesome at times. Kawada was great on offense. When you’re on the defensive, it’s hard to really shine when it’s not the finish stretch, but the kicks he’d throw to keep Hansen at bay and the use of the stretch plum was awesome. It gained a BIG reaction from the crowd who was pro-Kawada the entire time. It didn’t have the big pomp and circumstance finishing stretch which I get because it’s the semi main event match but it was just as effective. Hansen shut down Kawada despite all the fight he gave and that was that. This was voted for the Best Bout of 1992 for the Tokyo Sports Awards. I’m not sure it was but I can see why it was voted as such. The crowd was SUPER invested in the match and while it wasn’t the right place for it, they were begging for Kawada to be champion. So it has it's merits. ****1/2
  16. Makai Club #1
    You know a match is good when you root against one wrestler at the start of the match and slowly turn for him as the match progressed. That’s pretty much what happened here. I was ready for Okada to win and enjoy Naito losing but Naito brought a BIG effort with his crazy moves and counters. Okada playing up his heel side only increased that. Some of the limb work was disregarded but in the grand scheme of things, the match played out very well. The finishing stretch was full of twists and turns (literally in Naito’s case). Okada’s timings of the cut offs were great, allowing more and more anticipation for the eventual pay off which...actually came. Great match. ****1/4
  17. Makai Club #1
    This had to deliver. Ospreay’s dominance all lead to Hiromu Takahashi returning from his neck break and challenging him for this show. You can only have high expectations for it. And it delivered on that. Ospreay going for Hiromu’s neck is scary. He’s been cleared so the neck is healed but it still sends shivers down my spine. Every kick, every submission, every piece of offence Ospreay used on the offence made that feeling a little worse. The hidden blade being in Ospreay’s pocket as well definitely increased the drama tenfold. Hiromu’s selling of the neck was perfect for this type of match. Hiromu was excellent as the underdog. His offence is pitch perfect his counter style approach to the match as were the nearfalls he got out of that style. Hiromu and Ospreay had some incredible counter exchanges as well. Mainly the Sasuke Special counter sequence which was incredible. Hiromu moving out of the way of the 1st Sasuke Special to hit the German which in turn got countered, Ospreay somehow ending back in the ring and finally hits the Sasuke Special. It came together perfectly as well. The finishing stretch with tons of counters, tons of big nearfalls and the crowd going crazy made for the perfect peak. Hiromu picks up where he left off and Ospreay continues his great form. Fantastic match that came together excellently from every angle, except the Hidden Blade got brushed off after it being teased a killer move and Hiromu having the perfect injury to maximise that effect. ****1/2
  18. Makai Club #1
    This was dripped in uncertainty. Either could've won in this match, no one would be shocked. It's a rare thing to feel from an Okada title defence - a danger of him losing the title. This big stakes match and both had a real x-factor to show for it. Ibushi really brought an aggressive intensity to his game in this match, more so than you usually see from him even when he's angry. Ibushi's kicks are normally quite stiff but his were brutal at the worst of times. There was one kick early in the match that caught Okada right beneath the ribs that made a nasty THUD sound. You can hear everyone wince at the same time, too. Ha. Okada was more cocky and arrogant, sporting a new look with short trunks instead of the knee length ones he usually wears. Okada spent some time in the match trying to egg Ibushi on to take more risks, show that cold spirit that he brings out rarely. And it all backfiring on him was just amazing stuff when Ibushi changed. Ibushi laid all he had into Okada with palm strikes and kicks while showing no vulnerability in return. Okada's selling of that moment was excellent as well. All Okada could do as a defence was keep grinding away on the neck of Ibushi, hitting gnarly dropkicks and tombstones. The last 10 minutes was gripping wrestling. Type of wrestling that you can get totally lost in. The counters at pivotal moments, the way they let things breathe, the nearfalls, the sells of exhaustion. 5*
  19. Makai Club #1
    The whole first 15 minutes was Okada egging Ibushi on with the strikes he threw, asking for more aggression from Ibushi. Not to mention Okada being that dominant figure for Ibushi to overcome which was needed for Ibushi's cold killer mode to be that more fulfilling. Him doing it with little adversary makes that spot empty. It's hardly useless. You can't start at 10 straight away, you need things that make it the natural story. It's them setting the ground work for later on when work on the neck is a big focus as well as Ibushi finally snapping on Okada. And it pays off big.
  20. Makai Club #1
    I, too, didn't like this match a whole lot. It felt like they were going through the motions, not really trying to put on a great match despite it being one of the bigger matches of the Block. The headlock driver spot looked nasty but nothing really stood out in this match. Maybe Naito didn't know how to work a match with Moxley and vice versa. It just didn't work for me. **1/2
  21. Makai Club #1
    I've never watched these two before but I have heard good things about both luchadores. This had a great start with hard overhand chops on the apron and then in the ring which transitioned into a crowd brawl. Hijo de Fishman had some heavy offence like a fireman's carry into the chairs that gave a big thud. His clubbing blows looked great. Sagrada's mask got ripped and the blood came soon after - . He took some mega punishment here and the crowds rallied behind him. Loved him begging Fishman to hit him with his own belt after he did it a few times. The sound the belt gave was sickening. Sagrada was awesome on offence. He popped Fishman with a punch to the jaw and then unloading with punches to a grounded Fishman, who was also covered in blood. Fishman had some great lucha holds that he'd lock on from random moves. He'd turn a fireman's carry into an arm-trapped single leg boston crab. The back and forth struggle was really good. There was a great sense of rivalry and hate shown in their struggle rather than it being a 50/50 your turn, my turn type of match. It just works on most levels for me. The only bad thing about the match is the finish. A skinnier Sagrada comes out and takes on Fishman's second and we got a foul kick for a finish. I didn't really care for it. Every match had it's downsides and this was it for this match. Awesome lucha brawl met with a great rudo performance by Hijo de Fishman and a good technico performance by Sagrada Jr. ****1/2
  22. Makai Club #1
    Really liked the match mostly. Ishikawa had some awesome work on the back such as his mean slams and elbows to the spine. Kamitani is a bit bland but he really came off as a fiery up face in the finishing stretch. Him fighting out of the prison lock looked great. I'm a sucker for those spots. However it begs the question why that was even there when the match was previously focused on the back. The finish rocked. Iffy middle though. ***3/4
  23. Makai Club #1
    Losing Unit Disbands 12 Man Three Way Tag Team Elimination Match: Dia.HEARTS (Big R Shimizu, Dragon Kid, Kzy & Masaaki Mochizuki) vs. Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino, Syachihoko BOY & T-Hawk) vs. VerserK (Kotoka, Naruki Doi, Shingo Takagi & YAMATO) - Dragon Gate Truth Gate 2016 - Day 2 04/02/2016 A Dragon Gate special. 12 men all in the ring, interchanging at a frantic pace, tons of storytelling in the ring, big stakes involved, incredible wrestling. It could be very easy to be lost in this match but this had tons of memorable spots, even without taking notes. The 1 v 1 v1 exchanges early on was amazing, Doi being a chickenshit and not wanting to do his part was great character work and then we got a brief Speed Muscle reunion. Akira Tozawa lighting up Korakuen Hall with his exchanges with Mochizuki and Kzy, showing tons of charisma and superb wrestling ability. Syachihoko BOY being the underdog of the match, fighting against everyone despite the size difference, even eliminating Shingo Takagi, the Open The Dream Gate champion. Kzy fighting for Dia.HEARTS as the last man standing, putting in a top performance for his team, selling really well for all the match and doing Kzy things. VerserK, or more specifically YAMADoi, showing their amazing chemistry as a team, dominating the match whenever they were involved, double teaming against Kzy for the finish. And I can’t NOT talk about Kotoka going BLAH. Poor guy getting eliminated 5 minutes in though. There is tons to love about this match. Great drama from start to finish. Excellent match. Top 5 2016 match for sure. ****3/4
  24. Makai Club #1
    There was a real intensity to this match - from Chono’s kicks to Fujinami’s rough mat work. Loved how both guys would throw hard slaps, whether it was Fujinami at the start of the match or Chono while on top of Fujinami, which lead to a lovely slap exchange on the ground. Fujinami in particular was awesome in this. Loved his selling , the way he sold execution was really effective. Chono as well. Fujinami looked really back to his best offence wise with him hitting a brutal tope and a pinpoint dropkick right on Chono’s jaw. The finish was a great battle of the Dragon Sleeper vs the STF with each time both wrestlers wriggling out of their respective holds. Great match. ****1/4
  25. Makai Club #1
    I think the pacing could've been better in certain areas. The match dragged a little and it made the match feel a little bloated. But the work was really, really great. Akito did some great, creative work on Irie's knee, who sold it excellently. I loved his selling which got progressively more severe as the match went on. I thought they used the count out system really effectively to create drama, down the stretch. A little trimming in the middle of the match would? ve allowed the match to feel easier to watch. ****
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