aaeo_

There were some good moments here but a lot of things took me out of this match. I mean, this has literally four different forearm exchanges. I'd still say Irie's performance on this is very good. He really sells the frustration of being unable to put HARASHIMA away. At one point, he single-handedly saves a strike exchange on the apron (lol). The referee was counting them out as they traded forearms, and Irie steps through the ropes, shoves the ref and goes back outside to give Hara a piledriver. That was a cool little moment. There are some good near-falls. I also really like HARASHIMA as the nigh-unbeatable ace, but he can have bad big matches (against Tanahashi, Irie, one of the Ibushi matches) where everything feels stilted. I'd call this a succesful match for what it was trying to do but it's not one I enjoyed overall.

A match for the trios title. The match goes outside the ring early on. Sasaki starts attacking people with a crutch. Takanashi sold the subsequent beatdown really well. KUDO and Sakaguchi are the nominally better wrestlers in Shuten Doji but the best in this match is really Takanashi. It's amazing how often you get the sense that he just narrowly escaped a pinfall by outsmarting DAMNATION. Mad Paulie is good in this too, he no sells everything (he always does, it's cool) but he's a good stooge for Takanashi in this. The finish is great because it's so surprising but it still makes sense for the people involved, as Takanashi rolls up Sasaki and the crowd loses it. I guess it worked so well that they ran it twice more (with the last match having Ishikawa in Paulie's place at Korakuen) in two weeks, to similar success.

There's some very weird cuts on the version on youtube but I think I got 90% of this. If I'm gonna watch a 60 minute draw, I'm happy with Dory and Inoki being in it since I can get into their grappling. There's certainly stalling but they do enough to keep it interesting through most of it. I really enjoyed how Inoki kept overpowering Dory to go back to the same holds. Inoki getting Dory on the boston crab was a great moment. It's when Dory turns to brawling and dumping Inoki out the ring that I start losing interest, but everything on the mat beforehand and afterwards was really effective for me. I really enjoy this style of JWA big match where every exchange is a struggle.

All the ones i can recall seeing (other than cubsfan) write in spanish, for example there's a really interesting wordpress blog about lucha libre in Guatemala and this one for stuff from emll and uwa.

Part of a round robin tournament between DDT's youngest wrestlers. The moment that really makes the match happens during Higuchi's entrance, when MAO lurks out behind him and dropkicks him on the stage. From then on, MAO tries to keep Higuchi down, stomping on him, trying to tap him out and going for a cartwheel. It's on the latter attempt that Higuchi catches him and reverses the tide by what I'd describe as beating the shit out of MAO. It would've been easy for this to overstay its welcome (although the forearm/chop exchange towards the end was pretty superfluous) but the match proper is like ten minutes long, which is just right.

Not as good as their classic a couple months ago but still a great hard-hitting fast-paced match. Yuu was nine months into her wrestling career at this point, which is really crazy. There's a couple awkward moments but they don't last long since they're working at such a fast pace, trading big strikes and submission attempts. I think Bati-bati is probably thrown around too much as a comparison but if it actually fits any matches in the last few years, this might be one of them. Despite a number of attempts throughout, Yuu can't get the armbar. She has to survive all of Yamashita's fancy strikes but ends up getting the win with a rear-naked choke. She does a great throw to prevent Yamashita from reaching the ropes and Yamashita eventually passes out.

This is a match for the AJPW junior title, which Takao won from Hikaru Sato at Sumo Hall. That match was good but Sato, as great he is, is a really awkward fit with Takao. I think I might've actually liked this match more. Hirata doesn't do the dancing, which is fun but I'd say would feel really out of place in a match for an AJPW title. I do think at the core of his shtick is a genuine connection to the crowd based on him being a good underdog, which really shines here in a more serious context. In that way Hirata is like older DDT comedy wrestlers like Honda or Takanashi. On the other hand, Takao is someone who can execute things very smoothly but is kind of bland overall, but since Hirata is such a clear underdog here, he can take Hirata's brief spurts of offense and then do a smooth counter and go back to dominating the match and it fits the story. Even the forearm exchange feels earned thanks to Hirata's selling during it and beforehand. The finish was alright, I really dislike Takao's finisher. Would've loved to see Hirata escape that and them going for even one more minute before Takao won, that might've really pushed this to another level since it felt like the crowd was getting really into it there. I still found this refreshingly good due to the "story", especially since aside from that this is the kind of match that can feel soulless sometimes.

Really great match. After going back and forth for approximately one minute, the Black Pair get ahold of the injured Kayama and go on to savagely beat her up, targetting the injured knee. At one moment, they start choking Kayama with the tape on her knee, the ref starts a count but Aoyama runs in, so he stops counting the Black Pair and goes to count Aoyama to get off the ring. That's really peak heel shit. Aoyama eventually gets back in and she gets a comeback with big dropkicks and a suplex before she starts getting double-teamed. She's thrown to her corner and Kayama tags in. Aoyama tries to grab her and stop her but the evil Black Pair have already gotten a hold of her. That's a really great dramatic moment. Kayama can't even continue after the first fall, so Aoyama has to go out there and fend for herself while Kayama gets carried to the back. Aoyama also takes a beating. After managing to briefly turn the tide, she does a giant swing and throws one of the Black Pair outside but as she's going for a dive, she takes a chair shot to the head. And so the nefarious Black Pair win in straight falls. A valid criticism would be the ref just standing there and watching the Black Pair break every single rule, but this is exactly the type of tag match that I find insanely entertaining. The Black Pair were really great heel team and Kayama and Aoyama were both really sympathetic babyfaces in different ways.

Watching this era of AJW is wild, these crowds are loud as hell. Monster Ripper doesn't do much but she does all those things while trash-talking Sato (and the crowd) with an evil grin, which is great. Sato working all these holds while Ripper just throws her away was super effective. And then Ripper working on top by just crushing her hand is really surprisngly effective like Jetlag said. I liked Sato trying to steal a win with a roll-up. Sato's selling and bumping is also outstanding. Sato's comeback starts off weird with a strange tumble roll takedown but it gets good after that. She starts throwing Ripper around and wins with a backdrop. She gets the belt while Ripper yells in the background.

Good tag match in Sumo Hall. DAMNATION jump Togo and Bailey under a pile of streamers to start the match. All combinations get some time throughout but Sasaki and Togo mostly brawl against each other, while Bailey and Endo do more high spots. Sasaki and Togo's punches (and their selling of the other's punches) are a joy to watch. Togo is also still very entertaining at this point, there's a moment when he has a chinlock on Sasaki, so Endo comes in to break it up but Togo just keeps it on while Endo kicks him. Then there's a good stretch with Sasaki and Togo, which goes from Sasaki overwhelming Togo, to Togo overcoming Sasaki before Sasaki counters the senton by getting his knees up. I know they had a submission singles match which ended in a draw but I wish they'd had a big blow-off to this feud. Towards the end, Togo breaks up a pin by Endo on Bailey with a chair shot and he splits one of Bailey's eyebrows in half. Bailey goes through the rest of the match covered in blood but he does alright. He even takes another chairshot from Endo right before the finish.

This is a fluorescent light tube ippon match, which means that there's a singular light tube in the ring and whoever can get the opponent to break it gets an ippon and wins. It's a cool/interesting gimmick and the match is really fun and the right length for this at 8 minutes. There's two other matches with this gimmick on this show, as it was part of a tournament (turns out there's lots of ways in which you can narrowly avoid breaking a light tube) but this was the standout to me. There's a bunch of clever teases. Obviously for this to work, it has to be against the rules to just whack the opponent with the light tube but they both still try it after Miyamoto shoves the ref away. Akito wins after Miyamoto does a bridge over the light tube and he double stomps him onto it.

Matsumoto is a former Pancrase fighter. This is billed as a gi jiu-jitsu exhibition, but it's a very pro wrestling match. At one point, Sato takes his purple belt off and starts whipping Matsumoto with it like he's LA Park, which is just wonderful. It's a short match but Sato is really good on this. Matsumoto (a brown belt) outclasses him on the ground and so Sato rolls out of the ring after a pinfall attempt, then he tries to do an Irish whip and fails, and then just starts throwing strikes. Sato gets the win by choking Matsumoto with his belt.

I'd definitely say people who don't watch their shit can be critical of these Saudi shows because I've done that in this very thread. But I may be missing the point here. I've never followed WWE and they do seem morally like a horrible company to me, but I think it's understandable that a lot of people would have an emotional attachment to them even with the cognitive dissonance that it seems like it engenders.

The opening of this is awkward. It's just standard opening matwork, but technical wrestling isn't either's strength. Match gets better after Takeshita hits Endo on a break but weirldy, it is Endo who starts dominating the match afterwards. That seems like stalling because eventually Takeshita starts working Endo's arm. Takeshita has a neat transition into a kimura and Endo's selling is good as per usual. The match is better when Takeshita is in control, but they go back-and-forth. One of the best moments is Takeshita no-selling Endo's chops in a strike exchange and Endo building up to a comeback before getting cut off by a lariat. I think it's a disappointing match, the bright spots are Endo's fire and the finishing stretch, which is about as good as you'd expect. The post-match turn is damn good. Endo joins Daisuke Sasaki and Damnation. Sasaki also brawled with Dick Togo after Togo's match earlier in this show.

Wouldn't the people who actually watch their shows have more reason to be critical? I understand they ran pro-saudi propangada video packages but i don't know how often. Either way, to me if you sat through those just because you actually like their programming (for whatever misguided reason), I feel like you definitely have the right to criticize them even if you plan on continuing watching.

BASARA rules because they have like three wrestlers whose gimmick is "likes heavy metal"

I like that Sasaki sticks out a pseudo-jab whenever he faces Sakaguchi. It could be easily construed as silly, but I appreciate that he usually has little touches like that in his matches, depending on the opponent/the gimmick/etc. Besides, Sakaguchi does kick his arm out and then throws a great flying knee so it's not like simply extending your arm while standing up is presented as this great technique. I felt the middle of the match was a bit rote and slow. It feels like they're taking turns to go on offense, which is something I never like, even if every sequence and move is good on its own as it is here. The last-third is more mat-based, and I thought it was good for as long as that lasted. Sakaguchi does a lovely cobra choke in this match, and Sasaki can actually trade submission holds with him. There's some good struggle spots in this match. Eventually, Sasaki starts cheating out of desperation and he wins after kicking Sakaguchi in the nuts. I actually liked that, Sasaki is great as a piece of shit heel.

I remember Karim Zidan wrote about the Saudi regime when the first show happened. The lack of women working the show was really a symptom of the larger problem of running a propaganda show for them. At least that's how I think you would have to typify it. I frankly don't think the WWE care at all, in the same way that the American government has never cared about Saudi human right abuses and crimes.

The twentyseventh generation copy VHS rip on Youtube has terrible video quality but this is wonderful. All the matwork in the first ten minutes was very good. Funk isn't a cheating heel but he still riles up the crowd. When Sakaguchi takes the first fall, they go nuts. Funk comes back by being a vicious asshole, throwing a series of strikes and tossing Sakaguchi out of the ring. The last two falls are very quick, much heavier on nearfalls than other stuff from the era I've watched. Funk ties it with a backdrop. Sakaguchi's seconds are mad at the ref from counting the second fall too quickly. They refuse to leave the ring so Funk just goes over to the corner and starts savagely kneeing Sakaguchi. It looks like they kind of shoot on each other a bit, there's kickouts at 1 and no-selling and Funk's knees are barely worked. It makes for an entertaining watch but it probably would've been a better match if the third fall went smoothly. Funk takes the win with his underhook suplex. Especially in its last ten minutes, this match feels oddly ahead of its time. I also watched Inoki vs. Dory Funk this morning and I really get a kick out of Inoki and Sakaguchi running JWA's very loose ropes.

A 30 minute iron man match between two champions. Sasaki has the title from Chilean promotion MAX (I assume the connection there was Togo), and Takanashi has a title from Singaporean promotion SPW, from when he was doing Gatoh Move shows. The initial matwork was cool. Takanashi does the tapatia once again and Sasaki teases his finisher a couple of times. Sasaki fits really well in iron man matches, he gets a lot of time to grapple and he can also heel it up. He always ends up doing little interesting things, such as multiple pin attempts right after the first fall here or dumping Takanashi on the hallway and climbing into the ring for the count out late in the match. Takanashi is more of an underdog in this match, which he can be very good at but usually against bigger wrestlers than Sasaki. The small crowd was fairly quiet until Sasaki gets his second straight fall and later on when Takanashi started coming back, so I suppose Masa did get enough sympathy. I think Takanashi's good at a lot of things but some of his offense can be very goofy. The tide starts turning when Sasaki misses an elbow drop but he still kind of dominates the match afterwards, which is probably for the better. He does his tope, which is really nice. Takanashi still ties it up 2-2 with two cradles. The match ends in a draw, and they both keep their obscure international belts.

I'm having trouble finding much from 70s NJ online but I'm two matches in with Sakaguchi and I really like this dude. Sakaguchi does this thing where he almost gasses himself out with the head scissors as he desperately tries to submit Andre. I appreciate seeing stuff that hints at that type of thing on something that's even a decade pre-UWF. Andre comes across as a monster but he's overwhelmed by the faster, more technical Sakaguchi. Andre going out the ring after getting chopped is great. Generally, having Sakaguchi work on top rather than get beat down by the giant feels very smart. Andre taking the count out loss while the manager slaps Sakaguchi is that pure uncut old school wrestling shit. Pure fun.

Cormier got a broken finger against Miocic 3 months ago, obviously it varies how quickly people heal but he should be good. he's still gonna get a 3 week training camp though. the rumour i read was that he took this in exchange for the UFC not stripping Nurmagomedov. Lewis definitely shouldn't fight, but this is his big payday. This is on par with Bisping fighting 3 weeks after losing to GSP, which was horrible. You could still be suffering symptoms from a concussion on that timeframe.

I was surprised at how fast the opening was but they soon settle into a more methodical rhythm. I had never seen Sakaguchi but he's very good in this, he has a very pro style interspersed with some great throws, as you'd expect from his past. Sakaguchi comes across as stronger and faster, but Inoki bests him in most exchanges. Something like a body triangle being this incredibly painful hold for Sakaguchi is a hard sell, but for the most part I was able to buy into the struggle. Sakaguchi has to submit to a figure four after Inoki decides he's not doing rope breaks. Very good match.

i don't think this is a work, everyone involved (khabib, mcgregor, danis, etc.) is enough of an asshole to be involved in this.

Between his brilliant single matches with Hino and Sekimoto and random matches where he's good like here, I've grown to like Takanashi a lot. He's one of the best wrestlers in DDT personality-wise too. And this match is weirdly, a Masa Takanashi showcase. He spends a lot of time grappling with Urano and being the underdog getting beat up, but he also does a tapatia! Even though their name is Smile Squash, HARASHIMA, Akito and Urano are almost like lucha rudos in this match. Sakaguchi and HARASHIMA are barely in but everyone else is very good. I've always found Urano kind of lame but he's good here, he gets to play off a size difference (even though he's really small himself) against Masa and has a couple cool spots working on top, he almost does a handstand in the top rope before a senton. I don't know if that has a name but more people should do it. Umeda is amazing all the time. Masa pinning HARASHIMA is a good finish just because of how unexpected it is. The crowd loves him, someone ringside hands him a bottle of wine, his whole team starts drinking. It's wonderful.