Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Makai Club #1

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    900

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Makai Club #1

  1. 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
  2. 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. ****
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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*
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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. ****
  14. Makai Club #1
    Strong BJ really made great use of their size advantage whenever Ishii was in the ring. Ishii is an awesome wrestler but there wasn’t much he could do here with a big size difference. Strong BJ looked great working over the back of Ishii with Ishii selling really well and being a great counterpart for them. Irie being more similar to Okabayashi and Sekimoto’s size was able to take it to them. Irie brought tons of energy and charisma to his performance. Team Dream Futures got some great nearfalls against Strong BJ with the crowd firmly behind their DDT favourites against the Big Japan invaders. The closing stretch as a whole with Sekimoto and Ishii was just excellent. Ishii throwing wild spinning heel kicks with Sekimoto throwing suplexes left and right was a great ending for the match. ****1/4
  15. Makai Club #1
    DDT Extreme Title 60 Minute Iron Man Match: Akito (c) vs. Daisuke Sasaki - DDT Saitama Slam! Vol. 1 19/04/2015 Daisuke Sasaki has great strategy going into the match by going for the knee joint of Akito. Sasaki isn’t known for being a technical guy but he really steps up his work while picking a limb apart in this match. His submissions look tight and he is focused on it for the first quarter of the match. And I liked him trying to get a quick count out victory from it. Akito retaliates with leg work of his own and totally out-does Sasaki at it, which is great storytelling given Akito is an actual technical wrestler unlike Sasaki. Everything from that point on was Sasaki on the defence. It reminded me a bit like the way Bockwinkel vs Martel was worked with Bockwinkle, the heel, was selling and trying to fight from beneath the entire match. It’s not a type of match you see much nowadays but Sasaki’s selling and begging off skills made it work. Sasaki took some really brutal bumps on the turnbuckles more than once in this match. I really liked every fall in the match, whether it was Sasaki’s Hurricanrana, Akito catching Sasaki doing an elbow drop and locking on the Scorpion Armlock or the double count -- everything seemed to flow naturally together within the match. The urgency shown by both guys in the last ten minutes to get something from the match by both guys desperately scrambling for submissions was good. Akito was trying to pull out any creative submission move he could think of, Sasaki trying to defend against that while attempting tons of roll ups. It was a great book end for the match. And we got a little added bonus of over time which was also great. This was an excellent, gruelling 60 minute match with excellent selling and mat work by both men. The pacing was superb, allowing the match to be great for all 60 minutes, as well as the extra 6 for sudden death. Given the setting was basically a house show, it could’ve easily not worked for VOD watchers but it did. ****1/2
  16. Makai Club #1
    Similar to the Saitama match. They start on the ground with Ibushi using his speed and agility to not be overrun in the early goings before HARASHIMA targets the ribs. Then they transition into throwing big strikes and all their hits at each other. But I think this is much better paced than their last match. They pulled out some really awesome sequences, which are also received much better in front of the Kourkean Hall crowd. They even expended on the finishing stretch of their other match by adding some great counters with tons more struggle to pull off their finishers. The whole match was pretty good but it wasn’t without fault. The early parts of the match with HARASHIMA going for the ribs and Ibushi for the back were blown off rather quickly. If they cut that part out and kept the rest, this would've been a MOTYC for me. ***3/4
  17. Makai Club #1
    It was better than expected but it still fell short from being a good match imo. There was a ton going for it. A hot crowd, Cody getting cut open early on. But they didn't follow up on it at all. Cody gets cut open and Jericho works his usual pace. Goes for the cut once and never goes back to it. It's just his usual uncompelling routine which doesn't interest me at all. Cody is fine, I don't hate Cody but I never really connect with him either so that definitely took something away. One part of the match that I hated was Jericho hitting Cody with a title belt and not going for the cover immediately. Like, WTF? Instead of going for the cover that would've gotten him the pin, he plays dead for a second. Why? From that point, the match lost me. Then they went through a typical WWE closing stretch, a few nearfalls, Jericho and ref pushes each other for a cheap pop and finish. I preferred the heel turn by MJF after the match. **1/2
  18. Makai Club #1
    This sounded really appealing on pap. Otsuka is a name I've seen little of but enough to know I like him. Ishikawa speaks for himself and Yone I love from NOAH. This was good. It's always wild seeing these types of matches being done in tag form and sometimes they work and sometimes they can be awkward but this was the former. They utilizes the tags well and did some great saves (which replaces pin saves). Greco and Ishikawa had some cracking exchanges on the mat, like where Greco was on top with Ishikawa leathering him with slaps. Yone showed some great fire even when taking the brunt of the offence. Otsuka offered his spunky offence as well. ***3/4
  19. Makai Club #1
    Kinda long but I dug it for the most part. The battle at the final few minutes was great. The striking and mat work was good, Sano still had some great strikes and Tanaka brought the determination and speed to the mix. ***1/4
  20. Makai Club #1
    Tricky match to gather thoughts on because the work is pretty good. The wrestling is stiff and violent, as expected. There was some good selling overall. The pacing didn't allow it to drag a whole lot despite being over 25 minutes. And there is a ton of history, not just in SEdLINNNG, but in Joshi in general. But ultimately, I was left cold by this. There was violence but it never sucked me into the match. The drama and emotion just simply wasn't there to carry the weight of the stipulation. At the end, I felt very little towards the match or the significance of what the result means, and I'm a fan of both women. The match was really good but it just didn't live up to what it was trying to achieve, imo. In a vacuum, as a normal match, this would've worked better (it has worked much better) - the early brawling was good, the strikes looked good, there was some nice escalation towards the end, etc - but when the match doesn't hook you whole hardheartedly, does that matter? I like aspects of the match, I just didn't love it overall. ***
  21. Makai Club #1
    This was high octane stuff. There was some great mat wrestling exchanges between Chono and Hase early on with the two struggle for holds. Add Muto to the mix as well, even if he isn’t known as a particularly great mat wrestler, he was pretty good here. Sasaki was excellent as the rabid dog that got unleashed every time he got in the ring. Even when Chono would school him with the STF, he still brought that scrappiness to the match. The back stretch of the match was superb. Very heated. Tons of nearfalls that were impossible not to get sucked into. Loved the brief heel psychology in the match with Muto attacking Hase, while illegal, when he had a scorpion deathlock on. A total breezy ride. ****1/2
  22. Makai Club #1
    Excellent stuff. The Great Muta gimmick can be hit and miss with me here but Muta was in full swing with his mannerisms, the difference in style and offence he did compared to his Keiji Muto matches. All was a big hit with me. Him kicking Hase’s ass, causing Hase to bleed heavily. Him throwing some great offence like his chops and back fists was great to see. Hase was a great contrast to Muta. Very straight laced, super babyface here - he great at rallying the crowd behind him, mounting fiery comebacks, along with the face soaked look he had half the match. Hase even was selling when on offence, occasionally stumbling around and upping the urgency of his offence to end the match. Muta getting DQ’d at the end was a perfectly fine finish as well. Protects both guys at this stage. ****1/2
  23. Makai Club #1
    A mega disappointment. Morishima was good on offence as he usually is but with the added interference disrupting the match and lowering Morihima’s performance, he can only do so much. And it doesn’t help that Nagata, who is normally a bright shining light of charisma, is virtually a robot in this. Didn’t make me care, he didn’t look like he cared himself and he is winning the title ffs. Bad match. **
  24. Makai Club #1
    Takeshi Morishima is a beast on top. Love Morishima because he offers something different offensively compared to the rest of the roster. His clubbing shots were great, he uses his weight and size very well. At one point he was able to turn a simple slam (as a counter to a KENTA move) and make it into an impactful game changing move. I like KENTA but he really didn’t do much to make me root for him. This is where he lacks compared to Marufuji. He is superb offensively but he doesn’t connect emotionally for me and he didn’t here either. With that being said, the finishing stretch was pretty nuts. A better KENTA performance and this would’ve been better. Morishima was excellent though. He brought it big for his title win. ***3/4
  25. Makai Club #1
    HARASHIMA defends the KO-D Openweight Title Another MOTYC from DDT Sweet Dreams 2014. This is just slightly lesser than their Peter Pan match because the match has a more forgettable start but I think the finishing stretch is in some ways superior. HARASHIMA being busted open by an Irie headbutt then Irie pounding the daylights out of HARASHIMA before HARASHIMA found an escape by kicking Irie in the face was a great end to the match. The first few minutes are unmemorable but the rest of the match is more than adequate. ****1/4
×
×
  • Create New...