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soup23

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Everything posted by soup23

  1. soup23
    Foley and Rock’s promo was awesome. When Foley does the “It doesn’t matter” catchphrase, the crowd popped huge and so did I. It looks like Shane is getting a little push and he cuts a good promo before being thrusted into the main event against Rock tonight. Before the match starts, Shane makes a plea for Rock to join him and he has a compelling argument but gets punched for his trouble. Benoit comes in with a steel chair and beats him up with Shane’s encouragement. It looks like we have a #1 contender and the crowd is pretty pumped for this overall. ¼*
  2. soup23
    We see clips of the first concharto giving to Kane. I have hated this feud and this wasn’t much better. BOD beat up E&C and it looks like they are going to win the tag titles in a measley 3 minutes until Angle runs in and hits Taker’s leg with his scepter. This sets up the next big match at Fully Loaded and at least E&C can keep their belts. ¾*
  3. soup23
    This was a fun setup of DX thinking they have a handicap match until Foley comes out an announces APA as the partners of Jericho. I thought it was smart that as APA made their entrance, DX got in the shots they could right away. A fun 4 minute affair with the crowd still really behind Jericho and a good way to advance HHH vs Jericho without them actually touching. Bradshaw hits a huge clothesline from hell and Jericho gets the win with the lionsault. Backstage, the guacamole goes flying as HHH is pissed off. *1/2
  4. soup23
    A strong main event to end a great day of action. I can see some being slightly disappointed in this but I thought it did a strong job in reigning in the excess we have seen plague a few of the matches in the tournament so far. Naito really focused on the neck of Ishii and did a ton of strong stuff on top to get the action moving but it was his own neck that failed him with the suplex and brainbuster combo of Ishii. The Destino being devolved into a throwaway nearfall continues to be disappointing. This didn't have as egregious pop up selling from Ishii that annoys me from time to time too. A slightly restrained and refreshing effort from these two. ****
  5. soup23
    Another very good match for this show. This was a mis match from a star standpoint but YH did do a good job here timing his hope spots and selling the damage from Tanahashi. I was hoping we would get full blown heel Tana here and he only went around halfway doing the air guitar and some other cocky stuff. The double knees to the face and the swantom were the best bit of hope spots for YH before Tana makes his comeback and wins with the High Fly Flow. This was worked in a big main event style and did a good job of diversifying itself on the card overall. ***1/4
  6. soup23
    This was a lot different from the Sakura Genesis match these two had. That was a wizard mat performance by ZSJ until he realized that wasn’t going to work and Suzuki Gun intervened. This was more revolved around strikes and ZSJ finding combos and pinning combinations that could end the match at any point. It was effective in that regard in keeping both men strong and displaying the crafty nature of ZSJ in general. The finish was strong with Goto winning on the first GTR and showing that he was the stronger power worker of the two. ***1/2
  7. soup23
    Sort of a tale of two matches. The beginning with the leg work done by Fale was fine but felt like his ho hum stuff throughout the tournament. Then the action spills to the outside and the ante is upped around 5 notches. Ibushi does essentially blow off the leg stuff here but it wasn’t a huge focal point so I wasn’t too bothered by it. He proceeds to moonsault off of the second level of seats in a great spot after riling up the crowd. Back inside the ring, Ibushi bumps like a freak off of the lariat of Fale. Ibushi is showing some great underneath babyface fire and even lfits Fale up in a seated position for a piledriver in a great show of strength. Eventually the size of Fale is too much and he brutalizes Kota some more before putting him away with the Bad Luck Fall. The most surprising great match of the tournament so far. ****
  8. soup23
    This match overachieved based on Nagata’s overall performance and his emotional story of this being his last G1. He sold his shoulder well and Makabe did pin point that with great efficiency. Makabe overall hasn’t been near as offensive in this tournament as in years past. I still don’t think he has been great by any stretch and some of the other reviews for his matches are a bit baffling having them at MOTYC level, but it is an improvement. He for example does the King Kong knee to the shoulder in this match which is a nice bit of storyline. The highpoint of the match was Nagata reeling on the turnbuckle and just getting chopped down ending his G1 chances for good. It will be interesting to see how Nagata matches move forward toward the final night now that he is mathematically eliminated. ***1/4
  9. soup23
    Will miss this podcast guys.
  10. soup23
    I believe it was the 2nd as at the beginning of the clip, there is a "2" graphic.
  11. soup23
    Really basic 1970's/early 80's style action but it was enjoyable from the clips that we saw. The focal point was an armbar that was utilized against Irwin. Irwin has always been a complex worker to me in that he has a ton of energy at points but not much substance. He did well here keeping things interesting and the action moving along. Tenryu is insanely skinny and I am real interested to see in the 80's when he starts to come into his own. He had some potential on what we saw here but certainly not an all timer vibe. Robinson was good as the senior member of the team and a grinder with some weird looking bumps off of double team moves from the native team. Irwin ends up getting beat with a back suplex in I believe two straight falls. NR.
  12. soup23
    It feels poetic that our 80's footage starts with Hogan and 00's with Danielson. I don't know what that says about the 90's and We are Dynamite. This was a squash but Hulk looked huge and gave a nice suplex. I liked Curtis sell of the Full Nelson break and his astonishment at the power of Hulk. The crowd was quiet during the squash but cheers a lot when Hulk acknowledges them at the end of the clip. 1/2*
  13. soup23
    I guess I am officially out on the Omega big match formula right now. This had a lot of pomp and circumstance, explosive moves, and big bombs in the final stanza culminating in Big Mike getting the win off of the burning hammer. What it lacked was the heart of the previous match. I liken it to the Ishii vs Omega USA match which I also felt cold on. Eventually, I need a reason for why I should care all of this stuff is happening and Omega isn’t giving me one right now throughout these matches. It is just big move, big move, finisher, etc. Disappointing. ***
  14. soup23
    I loved this match. Heel Okada was awesome just being a prick between the clapping and going after Tenzan. This allowed Kojima to turn in a wonderful babyface performance full of sympathy and admiration from the crowd. The early neck work helped lay the groundwork for the final portion of the match and Kojima got in some great nearfalls thinking the upset was near. Okada has been great in the G1 so far and still has plenty of high profile matches left. ****
  15. soup23
    The interference actually worked here as we got the big faction battle between Suzuki Gun and LIJ and actual hate was felt between the two factions. Couple that with EVIL possibly picking up the biggest win of his entire career and this became a memorable match even if it wasn’t a technically great one. Suzuki still has the goods when it comes to going after a submission and EVIL performed his role well as the young powerhouse that had a lot to prove coming in. ***1/4
  16. soup23
    Yano is back at the hijinks again. This was base level for him and enjoyment although the finish was clever with the SANADA tie up leading to a count out. **1/2
  17. soup23
    Suzuki seems to have a set formula for this tournament. Decent crowd brawling, some annoying interference, some nifty submissions. That really has a ceiling as far as great matches go. This was another good match that could have probably been great if worked differently. The roll out of the SANADA tie up spot was the only really memorable and unique thing of the entire match. Good but forgettable. ***1/ 4
  18. soup23
    A good match but one where the credibility of both men's strikes hurts things. Makabe based off his accuracy and Ibushi off of his size. This was a back and forth affair but there was little meaning to what each man was doing. ***
  19. soup23
    Juice is positioning himself to be one of the MVP’s of the overall tournament. He had some great wrestling throughout this match in making Tonga interesting. I love how he mixes in different holds like the cobra clutch and once the focal point shifted to his injured leg, he did another great sell job. Tonga looked motivated here to be fair and he provided a good attack on Juice that helped generate sympathy. This way overachieved in my mind and was one of my favorite matches of the tournament so far. ***3/4
  20. soup23
    A good main event but these two together have never been my favorite pairing of this generation of NJPW stars. The best aspect of this match was when Goto went after the arm of Tana. That led essentially to the ending run where Tana makes his superman comeback and wins with the High Fly Flow. I think we have entered the dog days of the G1 as nothing tonight felt like it hit the extra gear. ***1/4
  21. soup23
    There is something real refreshing about two young hungry guys going out in a tournament setting and killing it. Juice is favoring his neck from the prior night and EVIl does all he can to expose that weakened body part. Juice is able to draw such sympathy from the Korakuen crowd and is splendid at timing his comebacks where everything felt believable and impactful. EVIL eventually wins going after that weakened neck but Juice had an excellent showing for himself. ****
  22. soup23
    A really good match but one that at times aspired to be great and never quite reached that mark. The opening with Naito making fun of Nagata’s salute was fun. The match really went into a stretch of big bombs and an extended finishing stretch with most of the transitions and execution compelling. I am saddened by the way the Destino has been treated as one never gets the victory for Naito anymore. Overall, another good Nagata performance and Naito seems to be back on track for the tourney. ***1/2
  23. soup23
    This was a pretty fun cat and mouse match. Fale was pretty clumsy but seeing ZSJ try to put him into a variety of submissions and end up rolling him up for the finish was entertaining. ZSJ has good attention to detail such as his strikes to the leg of Fale right as he is able to roll him up from the leg buckling. I think with a more spirited and athletic Fale performance, this could have entered the very good stage but it was enjoyable to watch. ***
  24. soup23
    Here is where my credibility issues throughout the tournament come to a head. YH got WAY too much offense in throughout this match and actually felt like the dominant competitor for most of it which was so wonky from a psychology standpoint. To make matters worse, while it would be a stretch if he was focused on a body part or some other factor that causes him to take this much of a match, I could accept that. Instead, YH goes 50/50 on most strike exchanges and uses some pretty pitiful looking forearms and Kawada kicks throughout this one. The finishing stretch was more about YH being able to survive the onslaught from Ishii which is an improvement but he still got in too many spots including his submission which gets drug out forever and some fluke lariats. Ishii is able to win with a brainbuster but this was the most frustrating G1 match so far. **1/2
  25. soup23
    Yano had a fun match vs Okada but that streak ends at 1. This wasn’t entertaining to me at all and just kept going and going. A waste of time. **
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