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tcg91

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Everything posted by tcg91

  1. tcg91
    Compared to the Fujiwara match from a few days earlier, this already had a more defined "UWF style" mindset, but also quite a few flaws. The kicks were fun and a clear upgrade from the average level of the rest of the scene in 1984; the mat stuff was okay, but they both quickly stopped selling, as the limb work never affected their abilities to put on a submission or kick the other. I felt like Tiger was trying too hard to change the perception of fans, with silly acts like non-selling a suplex that deserved a nearfall or locking a wristlock after a moonsault, just because "he's a shooter now" **1/2
  2. tcg91
    This was fun. Macho looked like a star and got some huge pops, him and Lawler looked like a pair that could do no wrong in Memphis. I was expecting a longer heat segment, while we only got a few minutes of that; it might have been for the better, as both Rude and Bundy were not ready to dictate the pace in 1984. So yeah, plenty of Memphis stalling instead, before things got actually interested. I liked the non-finish too, both babyfaces got to look good and the Lawler/Bundy exchanges were quite effective too ***
  3. tcg91
    This was a really good bout, a fascinating mix between a New Japan match and what the standard UWF style will eventually become. So, while it was a bit 'strange' and slower to adapt at times (thankfully, without inheriting all the worst Mask/Dynamite spots), this had very good mat exchanges, snug strikes and a more realistic pace. Fujiwara was good at controlling the pace, while this was a true non-nonsense breakout performance for Tiger, he sold the arm and his offense looked realistic. I liked how the german suplex was teased a few times and how Tiger's kicked helped him with the finish, even though it felt a bit rushed after a match that maybe went a bit too long ***1/2
  4. tcg91
    This was the real finish of the Freebirds vs von Erich feuds, but unfortunately 1984 wasn't as exciting as 1983 for them. It was a fun brawl, even though it got a bit confusing at times, it was a bunch of blonde dudes in jeans beating each others with cowboy boots. Kevin was 3 vs 1 at one point and played a good babyface in perils, it was smart of them to limit Mike's contribution like they did. The finish wasn't great, but quite clever and original, so I'll give it a pass ***1/4
  5. tcg91
    If I had to judge this by crowd reaction alone, it would be one of the best matches ever as the Colosseum was ridiculously loud here. However, it was "just" a good bout (the crowd was a bonus point) and it looked like the teams took it a bit easy, after all it was a non-title match to advance their program. The best part was the heat segment on Rogers, which led to an incredible pop for the hot tag, but honestly both the heat and finishing stretch felt rushed, especially if compared to the Memphis-like stall they had at the beginning ***1/2
  6. tcg91
    Fun 10/15 minutes title match, between a somewhat underdog champion and a veteran heel. This did wonders for Martel's credibility, because he still relatively a new champion and going toe to toe on the mat with Bock put him over big time. Martel was good at selling and at keeping the buzz in the match, nice backwork by Bock on the champion here. The corner flip finish was still quite fresh and original for its time, the controversy was needed to hype more rematches without beating Bock that easily ***
  7. tcg91
    This felt like a huge deal and it was pretty great. The slow start set the tone for the rest of the bout, I liked the constant struggle on the mat and some subtle details, like Choshu covering his face during a hold, knowing that Inoki would try to punch him to set himself free. Amazing Choshu performance, in terms of being a mean heel and working very well on Inoki's leg, which the Ace sold with rare generosity. This was not an all time great match because they had a lazy resthold sequence towards the end (and why would Choshu target anything but Inoki's leg?), which was quite bizarre, but the end was very well done ***3/4
  8. tcg91
    This felt like the Japanese version of the Hogan/Rock match, as the action was "good", but the crowd and their charisma made this so much better. This featured a nice struggle sequence on the mat, they both were very eager to sell here and Hansen was fun in the bully role, despite Baba's offence looking very weak. It made sense for Baba to desperately go after Hansen's arm, to stop the lariat and it led to the short-arm lariat not being as effective. Good pop for the clean title change, this was much so better than it had any right to be ***1/2
  9. tcg91
    Great great crowd. This was better than their AWA match, as Japanese fans cared about Martel, while the Americans didn't react much to Jumbo in May. I liked the limb work, especially by Jumbo, but then Martel worked on his legs for a bit and it went nowhere, Tsuruta forgot about it soon after and that was very disappointing. Huge nearfall on the reverse crossbody, this became really good towards the end. I didn't mind the non-finish, it made sense to protect Jumbo, but doing an airplane spin is dumb, unless Martel was outside the ring already and was aiming for a double countout ***1/2
  10. tcg91
    This had its moments, but I didn't love it. I liked the idea of a double turn scenario, that led to Shiro showing his true "invader" colours, but it was a bit strange as Satanico worked the whole match as a rudo, with his usual (good) relentless attacks and getting the opponent to bleed. Those were the best moments of the match, as the initial matwork was passable and it didn't lead to anything noteworthy later on. The last caida was fun, especially the nearfalls, but the finish was quite silly and incredibly disappointing ***
  11. tcg91
    I believe this was their first match ever and, boy, it went well. Classic southern tag formula, but they were also smart at not giving too many spots away, they were surely aiming to save most of them for other bouts. It's always easy to praise Eaton, but Condrey was so great here with his cheating spots and dictating the pace of the MNX isolating poor Rogers. Good hot tag for Fulton, with a fun flashy finish to boot and a nice crowd response. This was a completely satisfying first time ever, which managed to enhance their feud and also setting the tone for their future bouts ***1/4
  12. tcg91
    This was a nice match, that served its purpose, as it hyped both the Tiger/Maeda and the Takada/Fujiwara issues, with a solid bout that felt more like a 80s New Japan skirmish match, rather than a UWF contest. It was more mat focused, as the strikes were under control, but it never dragged anyway. Takada took a lot of punishment, as Tiger looked dominant most of the time he was involved, but Fujiwara was easily the best here; not only he dished a lot of punishment, but he took a lot too and that did wonders for young Takada. The finish was alright, but a bit flat ***1/2
  13. tcg91
    This was amazing and the best of their bouts so far. DiBiase did wonders when working on Mangum's back in such a clean and rough way, plus Magnum's selling ruled, he's always been way underrated in that regard, when it comes to face expressions, slow movements, fighting from underneath etc. Like their previous Tulsa match, once it gets tricky DiBiase took the match to the outside and bloodied Magnum, trying to stop all his comeback attempts with a vicious focus on the forehead cut. They even improvised well when the turnbuckle broke and the belly to belly finish was so natural and organic, minus the referee spot that looked quite silly ***3/4
  14. tcg91
    A colder feud, Mike replaces David, 8 minutes only on the clock and a dirty finish: due to all of these elements, the bout is not the classic that von Erich and Freebirds had the year before, but it was still a good one. Very chaotic brawl, with no downtime and a receptive crowd. I liked how they used the boots has a weapon, as this helped the street fight vibes, but the reduced bell time really makes this a bit incomplete to my eyes ***
  15. tcg91
    This was a fun, you could tell that having a AWA Title defence was a big deal for AGPW, there was a lot of focus around the presentation of the match. The bout was extremely clipped, it was a 60 minutes draw but only half of them made air, which was a shame. Solid match nonetheless, I haven't seen much of Burke, but he was very intense with his holds, simple spots like a headlock or abdominal stretch looked like major threats. Good Martel selling, he gave Burke a lot of offense but manage to keep the title thanks to the draw ***1/4
  16. tcg91
    Easily one of the best sub 10 minutes matches that I have ever seen. The beginning wasn't great or anything, but it quickly picked up and Magnum sold his forehead so well that the female teenagers sitting front row were horrified by the scene. Great work on the cut by DiBiase and a very hot crowd in this, including a cool way for Magnum to set up the belly to belly. I really wish this had a tighter start and maybe a few more minutes down the end, as things were going really well at one point ***1/2 I think this is from 5/27 indeed, though!
  17. tcg91
    This was great stuff. Such a simple, but hard fought and exciting brawl, the struggle was engaging in every segment and the MSG crowd got definitely into this. Once again, Slaughter was amazing as a babyface in perils when he started bleeding and grasping for help, while this was easily Sheik's best match ever (he was so good that fans started throw garbage at him). They put lots of effort on the loaded boot gimmick, which was an easy but meaningful way to get more heat on the finish. Great drama and crowd gasping towards the end, when Slaughters finally got revenge and got to use the boot on Sheik ****1/4
  18. tcg91
    Good match, it is so easy to get some solid stuff done when the heel knows how to control a bout and the babyface is a great seller. I liked the struggle part at the beginning, as Santana was fighting from underneath and the MSG crowd was very responsive to this. Unfortunately, Valentine was a bit volatile during the heat segment and then Santana forgot to sell his arms towards the end. Nice fire with his punches for the comeback, the non-finish was well done but makes the heel challenger a bit silly ***
  19. tcg91
    This was a blast. The usual great R&R/MNX stuff was good and Duggan was also fun to watch, as he "got" the match very quickly, while Ladd didn't really look that great despite Morton selling big time for him. It stalled a bit at the beginning, but the rest of the bout was very enjoyable. Really clever and unexpected finish, especially after a blind tag spot. I think this was a textbook skirmish match, as it was good by itself and it also made sure fans were hyped to see more of R&R vs MNX ***1/2
  20. tcg91
    This was good, but my dislike for Death Matches kind of affected my enjoyment for the whole thing. I liked the slow and constant progression towards a more violent bout, as they started slowly, but then 10 minutes in they were both bleeding. Then there were several 3 counts during the middle part and I lost a lot of interest, especially when the double KO was just teased and nothing came out of that. Fun dirty finish anyway, but this wasn't bad by any means despite not being my cup of tea ***
  21. tcg91
    Easily one of the best sub 10 minutes matches that I have ever seen. The beginning wasn't great or anything, but it quickly picked up and Magnum sold his forehead so well that the female teenagers sitting front row were horrified by the scene. Great work on the cut by DiBiase and a very hot crowd in this, including a cool way for Magnum to set up the belly to belly. I really wish this had a tighter start and maybe a few more minutes down the end, as things were going really well at one point ***1/2
  22. tcg91
    Fine title match, but a letdown, considering their skills and their proved chemistry. This didn't work because Flair couldn't work as a "full heel" (as Kerry was not over enough in Japan), but Kerry also sucked as a heel, so it was a half ass deal. Solid stuff anyway, even going through the motions it was still these two, but this didn't feel special or anything due to the lack of crowd support. Fine Flair legwork in the second half, while the claw selling was also good thanks to Jumbo putting it over 2 days earlier. Not a fan of the finish, it was a very anticlimatic title switch ***
  23. tcg91
    What an absolutely amazing match. Jumbo was extra motivated, while Kerry (who in All Japan was always a letdown to me), clicked big time with Jumbo's fire, as the champion worked as a babyface against the aggressive native challenger (who was going to get cheers anyway). The first fall was as good as any "clean" match can be, Jumbo felt above the champion and was hitting him hard enough to bust him open. Long and dramatic tease of the claw, as Kerry finally managed to apply it to win the second fall, while Tsuruta sold the move as complete threat. Jumbo wanted to avoid another claw and started destroying Kerry's hand with the same hate he would reserve for Misawa in the later years, which was amazing. Non-finishes are a pity, especially when the contest was so great, but this one was well done thanks to the claw counter outside the ring ****1/2
  24. tcg91
    This was a good match, but it didn't blow my mind. I thought Flair looked really good here and did all he could to help Race, who seemed a bit off at times, probably not in great shape. Flair worked as the heel, dictating the pace of the bout, but the selling wasn't great all around and there wasn't major heat on the match, despite the good crowd support. It went better once Flair worked on the leg. The finishing stretch was fun and the clean finish was a pleasant surprise, especially because Race didn't look like a threat at that point ***
  25. tcg91
    This was very similar to the match they had on May 19th, but much better than that one, thanks to a roaring MSG, good work by the announcers and Slaughter's fine selling. This time Sheik controlled the bout thanks to a loaded boot, which was a fun concept and made Slaughter bleed heavily from his forehead. Slaughter was great at selling his desperation and lack of control, while carrying rage and a bit of vulnerability in his comebacks. They repeated the silly referee non-finish, but this was leading to a proper blowoff and so it was that it was I guess ***1/2
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