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soup23

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Everything posted by soup23

  1. soup23
    Some contenders: Wrestle Kingdom: First half has the Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice tag which is good and then the second half at the very least has four compelling matches for the New Japan faithful and a majority of casual fans alike. EVOLVE 77: Really the last glory day of EVOLVE as one of the best promotions in the world IMO. A wonderful mix of styles from the Hero farewell to the Riddle/DUSTIN street fight. No match on this show was ranked less than ***1/4 for me. DDT Judgement: The biggest show in their history and they delivered an array of every facet that makes the promotion tick capping in the best match within the promotion in 2017 NXT Takeover: Wargames : Even though the Wargames match itself wasn't my cup of tea, it still was a big time spectacle and the card again had very little fat to it.
  2. soup23
    Im with Pete and El-P here. I thought Malenko did enough to build the crowd up in the nearfalls to keep the match going. ULtimo was spotty but didn't egregiously botch anything so that is a plus. The ending felt deflating to the crowd but helped in putting over Ultimo as a threat. One of the better cruiserweight matches of 1996 in my eyes. ****
  3. soup23
    The final match of the promotion and Takada ends things on top. In some ways this was an encapsulation of why the promotion failed as the match goes through phases of interesting grappling and Takada just filibustering on top. Takayama should some gains in his development and is now a great prospect to see where he evolves from this point forward. ***1/4
  4. soup23
    I dug this and thought Sakuraba looked good on the mat. The transitions were fast and the mat work and struggle was gritty. The finish did come out as a surprise but felt violent enough to be a fitting end to the fight overall. The aesthetics of this building also added to the atmosphere. ***3/4
  5. soup23
    A very good Bat Bat tag match. Usuda and Ono pushed the pace against Ishikawa and Otsuka was seen as one of the main pillars within the match. Ishikawa gave more to especially Usuda than I would have imagined. I didn't think this ever reached great levels but it was a good match to see the BattlARTS hierarchy at the time and the development of the underdogs within this match. ***1/2
  6. soup23
    Tremont matches rule. Want to see more of him outside of the scope of death match stuff in GCW ala vs Gresham and vs. Donst in AIW.
  7. soup23
    Cool enough seeing Funk in Europe but as much as the big FMW multi man was Funk in the 90's in a setting I like him, this was the opposite. Most of the action felt chaotic just to be chaotic without any rhyme or reason. Add to that the camera angle from the long shot and overall my mind drifted quite a bit during the duration of this. Referee was way too involved and terrible. A neat novelty but not a match I really enjoyed seeing. **1/2
  8. soup23
    I feel like I am being co-opted by Quentin but we have the same top 2 right now in that order. After that things get really hazy for me. I perhaps would give a shout to someone like Takeshita or maybe AJ but am uncertain. I kept hearing the narrative that Trevor Lee's 2017 wasn't up to snuff as his 2016 and while I agree that the Hero match from EPIC is the best match in the past two years outside of CWF, his CWF stuff from 2017 holds up nicely against the 2016 output IMO. I am still a big fan of the Day match even if it cooled slightly on my MOTY year end watch. The second half of the year he has really shined. Between the Aric Andrews, Richards, Otto Scwanz and Mecha defenses and then the masterful performance in the Rumble, he may have enough to snag my #3 spot currently.
  9. soup23
    My top 3: 1. DDT 2. CWF Mid Atlantic 3. NJPW DDT as my #1 is pretty easy. The comedy stuff with Dino landed for me more this year than in the past. I really appreciate that for a singular universe, their streaming service really gives a shit load of content with all of the DDT proper house shows being uploaded in addition to DNA, BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro etc. Takeshita took a step up from being exciting prospect to legitimate ace and I would put his 2017 up against the year Okada had in 2012-2013. A young group of exciting prospects as well. CWF carried over most of the good things that made 2016 such a great year for the company but I do think they started seeping in a few tendencies that knocked it down a peg. I understand the idea of getting the Hardys to come in but I didn't think they fit into the narrative of promotion. Chip Day and Logan Easton Leroux both had good/great matches within the promotion but they felt more like outsiders both in the Weaver Cup and getting the prominent spot in the Lee title defense on the Kernodle Cup show. In addition, some minor artistic choices like the CWF that was made in pop up video style didn't work for me. All of these a pretty minor points but the reasoning from why I think 2016 was an all time great year for a promotion for CWF and 2017 was just merely a really damn good year. My #3 spot was a toss up between NJPW and wXw. Both have some flaws. NJPW had a wide array of high end matches that even if I dont think 2/3 of the Omega vs Okada matches are some of the best matches I have ever seen, tons of people do and they are replaced for me by stuff like Tanahashi vs Naito which I do think was an amazing series. The reason NJPW falters a bit is three fold. 1. The BOSJ tournament wasn't near as good this year as 2016. 2. G1 was worst in 2017. 3 King of Pro Wrestling was a non factor show and came off the heels of a maligned Destruction September tour. wXw creates amazing weekend experiences with the tag league and 16 carat and beyond that they have a large output of quality stuff with their tour shows featuring generally something good with WALTER and Shotgun having a good episodic format. Really the emphasis of Rise and the insistence on shoving them down the viewers throat is why I ultimately give the nod to NJPW for the #3 spot. Shows like Broken Rules were just derailed by Rise as a unit and the main event was extremely unsatisfactory in a turn off the promotion kind of way.
  10. soup23
    I wanted to give this a rewatch since some of the people I am really aligned with usually were much higher on it live than me. Early portion starts with Jinder having the power advantage. AJ goes after the leg making Jinder bail. I appreciated AJ chasing after him and delivering more punishment. Jinder is looking to outpower AJ and he catches him in a throw across the ropes to injure the ribs. Outside, Jinder tosses AJ ribs first into the guardrail and over into the timekeeper area. Back inside we get a few kicks from Jinder still showing effects of the early leg work AJ did in a nice touch. AJ then takes that gnarly bump on the outside to the table and the ribs are now going to be the focal point of attack for Jinder. Jinder hits a chinlock but does put the knee into the back for added emphasis. JInder does a good job of utilizing the crosshooks when thing start to wonder a bit. Bodyscissors are applied next and it was not a strong point of the match. Nothing really interesting dealing with the hold and the escape from AJ was an afterthought. AJ goes after the leg a bit more and Jinder sends him abdomen first into the corner and then locks on the ab stretch. Jinder then hits the karate chop, which I think is awful. No impact on the move and it makes Jinder look foolish putting that much torque on his worked over leg. He goes for the move again and AJ is able to hit a dropkick. AJ’s strikes are much more impactful than Jinders as he is making his comeback. Jinder thwarts phenomial Forearm and once again, Styles crashes ribs first against the ropes. Gutbuster by Jinder, which is a good impact move for him to use given the strategy. Crowd is not electric during this sequence with Jinder gaining confidence. Again JInder gets caught going above his head and AJ hits an Electric Chair to give him some moments to breathe. AJ has a flurry of strikes but in a nice move, he fails to lift Jinder up on the first attempt to show the damage. JInder gets another nearfall just sending AJ up in the air and crashing ribs first to the mat. JInder’s character work is weaker here with him kind of alternating frantically between selling, frustration and him gaining confidence throughout the match. The counter on the forearm with the legs of Jinder looked pretty weak and he hits a fisherman buster which looked good mechanically for a nearfall. JInder is back frustrated now but it is brief as he is psyching himself back up. Styles hits the Pele kick but Jinder is right back and shrugs AJ off of a tornado DDT. Big kick from Jinder gets a nearfall that the crowd doesn’t bite on even though it was Jinders best strike of the match. Jinder goes for the Khallas on the ropes which again sees him going to the well for a big move too often. AJ again regains the advantage and the match has built to the springboard 450 on the ribs that AJ hits. After some hesitation, the cover is applied but the Singh Brothers break up the pin. Styles Clash on the outside neturalizes the Singh Brothers. Knee to the back after the Phenomenal Forearm doesn’t look great but Jinder this the Kallas. In a great move for both, AJ starts rolling to the ropes and I was ready for a leg on the rope to break the count. Jinder rolls him back to the inside and he gets a 2.9 count that was timed wonderfully by AJ and did have the crowd and myself buying that it could have been the finish. JInder for the last time goes for a flashy move in a Styles Clash and we get a roll through on the Calf Slicer. Jinder gives up a battle but ends up tapping. Good callback to that early leg work although there could have been some more teases in the back half of the match. Overall, I liked this better on second watch but maintain that it is carried on the back of a smart structure and AJ’s performance. This would have been a great match with a more compelling component but settles for being a good match for now. ***1/4
  11. soup23
    Brets promo is great and he feels justified in what he is saying even if it comes across as whiny. This sets the table for 1997. There is someone behind Bret wearing an amazing Olympic style 1996 Mark Henry T Shirt that I want printed again. Vince is already sucking up to Shawn by saying he isn't really responsible for Bret losing last night. Bret is also great in still having a go at Lawler. Beyond that, the match is pretty awesome with some heavy shots all around. Between this and Psic/Regal on Nitro, this may be the best in ring night of 1996 for the Big Two. Austin gets sent to the outside and Bret takes the opportunity to pounce by putting him in a Sharpshooter. Bret is certainly showing more of an edge and as a rarity for 1996, Raw seems like it was the better show overall on this night. ***
  12. soup23
    Really a nothing match before the big run in. Yeah, this is a mis step for sure. Bischoff and Co. saying that NWO contracts are open for 30 days sounds neat in concept but things got too saturated and guys like Norton and Chono joining up with NWO really didn't make a ton of sense based on what their initial mission statement was. Horsemen and Sting in fighting is also dumb. I loved Nitro from the week before this but overall this show had a good many mis steps heading to Starrcade.
  13. soup23
    Quick interview of the Outsiders challenging Faces of Fear to keep the fans around for the second hour. Not much substance here.
  14. soup23
    I guess I could see if NWO STing was the in the rafters, Tony and Bobby could be a bit confused but yeah with both in the ring and them questioning who is who felt more tone deaf than JJ the next year not realizing which match Sting wants. Sting vs Fake Sting didn't get a great reaction in the ring at first until Sting does the Scorpion Death Drop. This probably should have stopped the impostor Sting angle for good.
  15. soup23
    Fun little slugfest and Arn physique wise looks the same as ever. He plays to Sullivan's strengths and the match has a hate filled vibe for the three minutes it lasts. Bubba is able to interject and give Sullivan the assist in victory. **
  16. soup23
    This match really surprised and was pretty downright awesome. Regal ran the gambit from selling his ass off to controlling the action in compelling fashion. Psicosis was fine to me and the biggest dive of the match to the outside, he hit impressively. Ted and Bischoff on commentary and taking over the booth veered between talking about the match and putting them over to advancing the NWO storyline from a meta standpoint. ***1/2
  17. soup23
    The best spotfest match of all time. Just one flawless sequence after another with a nuclear crowd popping and cheering hard for the right people. I will see as I complete the 2000's if a Dragon Gate or Toryumon multiman reaches this level but that crowd reaction is why something like the ROH Dragon Gate 6 man can't be ***** for me no matter how good the execution is. The people in those matches are invested in seeing a great match first and foremost. I am guilty of that as a fan as well. The crowd here definitely wanted the face side to win and exploded on all nearfalls and the final pin by Hamada. I have no idea who my MVP is of this match but it is just 25 minutes of nonstop flawless action that also tells a compelling story. *****
  18. soup23
    Sid went from looking like the coolest guy in the world at Survivor Series to a bumbling clutz here. Bret didn't seem in much of a mood to have a classic either. Add to that HBK who is a complete TRAINWRECK on commentary and maybe at one of his lowest points period and you have a mess all around. This looked like a really poor PPV all around with not much juice being injected and everyone seemingly waiting for Royal Rumble build.
  19. soup23
    Hate Flash gimmick. Continue to think he is pretty spotty at points and in the same Sabu mold for every groundbreaking thing he does in these matches that look awesome, he generally has a shaky moment as well. This match had a few of those and Snow also should carry some blame for being out of position. This was a match that was presented with a lot of flash but ended up looking pretty dated with some nice finishing kicks from Funk. **3/4
  20. soup23
    Randy Hales in the Nation is such a WTF. Wolfie's continued heat with Dundee is a fun thread for 1996 and the beatdown was well done. JC admitting he is the son of Bill but still backing up his boys is a neat wrinkle too. Lawler after fighting Dundee earlier now comes out to the parking to help run off the NOD.
  21. soup23
    Really fun tv match and a good bite sized version of everything these two can do well. They work the stip, they have great strikes and the angles are already advanced. The piledriver spot to me was the best thing within this match as a great nod to the people that watch week to week. This is the type of match that makes USWA don't feel as floundering as it was at this point. ***1/4
  22. soup23
    This is neck and neck with the UWFi match for me. It felt like a big heavyweight fight with two sluggers that weren't going down without unloading everything in their arsenal. Both knew what their strengths and advantages were but each was so strong as a defensive wrestler and had such overpowering offense at points that they were able to have sustained moments of feeling like the match was in their grasp. Tenryu in particular was just majestic firing away with chop after chop leading the match to a dramatic climax. ****
  23. soup23
    Another good match but yeah certainly not one of their best and pretty exhibitionary. It felt like everything was a slight bit off due to the timing. Add to that a pretty abrupt ending and this was disappointing and not something that will stay with me over of the weeks to come. ***
  24. soup23
    Something about the spectacle of all of this really resonated with me. Perhaps it is that I think the 2000 stuff involving Onita has been too brief and full of mostly no names guys in his camp. This match featured a lot heavy hitters between the Headhunters, Funk, Tanaka etc. The visual of Funk grinding into Onita on the ropes won't lose my mind anytime soon and provided a gritty backdrop for the array of violence. Onita returning for "one night only" is as carny as they come but it felt like a big deal and the heat was off the charts. **** (7.8)
  25. soup23
    This was a struggle for me and that is disappointing as when I saw who was wrestling based on the entrances, I was really excited. The Kandori matwork at the beginning was fine but it just felt like the match never really evolved beyond that and it had a weird flow throughout. **3/4
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