El-P

So, that young punk Akiyama is backed up by New Japan new sensation, Nagata, who looks quite gangsta himself. Misawa is having none of this young punk bullshit this time around. Elbow flurries in yo face Akiyama. Yes, it is Misawa's match, as it should, the old lion isn't ready to lose another one, especially with his new title around his waist. To beat the man, mofo you gotta come get it. Misawa is amazing here, bringing the fight to Jun and pushing him around. Until Jun takes advantage of a mistake and going medieval on Misawa's ass outside. Loved how this match was built and how it escalated until the old lion showed himself too slow and taking too much risks at the end. Great match. MOTYC level.

The fact they are honoring Plum's memory to this day is way cool. I don't doubt it. Dynamite was one of my favourite from the mid-90's when JWP was the little promotion that could ! After her illness she was never the same and it was kinda sad to watch her in the early 00's already. Did anyone else from classic JWP showed up ?

Pretty crazy to think Dynamite was still active when she looked all but washed up in GAEA in 2000. All these women veterans' careers post mid-00s are a complete black hole that hasn't been talked about at all. Cool pics. Cuty still looking great at 47. Really cool to see her saluting her old tag partner. (is that a photo of Plum she's showing ?)

Probably the match that made Takayama into a single main event star. Slow start, with Misawa letting himself mauled. One could say Takayama kinda dropped the pace at one point with a sleeper hold that seemed needless, but after that point, it builds into a legit great match. Misawa, again, was a brillant worker as showed by what seeds he planted and how he attacked the big log and Takayama was excellent, bringing in the big spots and strong selling. Tons of credit to Misawa with NOAH because he sure wanted to go in another direction than the late AJPW excess at first, building Takayama, using Ogawa on top and only putting the belt on himself, da boss, to be able to drop it himself to someone else. And despite being banged up, he was still an amazing worker. That flurry of elbows at the end, just like the sudden counter of Takayama's big kick are wonderful to watch and made sense in the context of the match, not just as "spots". I had kinda forgotten about Misawa's greatness, honestly. And Takayama was a breath of fresh air in the early 00's.

Misawa just staying outside while both Otsuka and even more Hashimoto only wanted to deal with him was terrific psychology. Even at this point, Misawa was still a brillant worker. It's sad there's this idiotic stereotype about headropping, because it was such a small part of what made AJPW and Misawa. The strike exchange was great because it had intent and meaning, it was not an obligatory spot by every damn worker on the card. And the exchange had weight with every shot, there was a dynamic within itself. Ogawa was the standout though in term of carrying the workload of the match, getting killed by Hash but not giving up and being a sneaky bastard when needed. Every Misawa's intervention was done at the right moment. Hash still had some aura left after the Ogawa debacle, teasing a dream match with Misawa did him a lot of good here. Very good match and a terrific job of building anticipation.

It was the WWF version of hip and edgy. So... I liked the funky settings though. The bar shows was a way to make them look gritty and shit. Marlena flashing Backlund was so obviously them trying to be ECW. But of course, then again, you had Sunny being naughty with Elmo. In retrospect, who would have thought this would be her best sextape actually ? The matches were shit though, so it was all about the goofy settings and atmosphere. Still, it felt fresh and different.

Another case of Sean Oliver being way funnier than his guest. The guy looks totally jaded with this Youshoot stuff at this point. Honestly, they should do a Sean Oliver Youshoot hosted by whomever.

We're talking about MOTYC at least, right ? So : NO to Okada vs Omega. Overblown self-conscious epic with a top ropre Dragon Suplex headdroping meaning exactly zilch. The lesser match of the second half of the show, and both tag matches were better than this.

That's one of the big mainstream newspaper in France. Seriously people. Fucking Lemmy.

That Yoshida vs Fukawa match is still the best 10 minutes match I've ever seen. It was such a cult match in our little circle back then. Yeah, Candy was all obnoxious and shit at this point. I do wonder if her back injury that forced her to retire from JWP didn't come back to haunt her after her first year in ARSION where she worked extra hard though. Because she changed her style with more coasting and more bullshit and retired again in early 2001. I need to find a working VCR sometime… Really cool thread and see some ARSION love in 2016. (yeah, I'm repeating myself, but I'm old)

That's classy and selfless. Very nice, Jericho.

Absolutely second this. I third this. Naito is brillant. I already have a MOTYC for 2017.

Tanahashi vs Naito : MOTYC. Already. Great, great match. Everything great about pro-wrestling is right there. And it's really a pretty conservative match in term of spots. Sure, it's modern but it's not heavy on ridiculous stuff, it's pretty tight in how it's put together. And Naito is such a smart worker. Just terrific to watch, although he doesn't do that much outside of his formula, but he knows how to do the important detail things and do them well. Tanahashi still is a great worker. Sorry for those who can't see that. That guy saved New Japan after the disastrous early to mid 00's and the lost generation + the Inokism, he's obviously banged up and on the sliding slope of his career, yet on big occasions he still looks like hecan work circles around anyone. Fuck the haters, this may be the MOTY when all is said and done. It's close to perfect and never goes into excess unlike... Omega vs Okada : So, that's the infamous 6 stars match ? Okay, Let's pretend I didn't hear that. Well, it's a whole lot of wandering around for the first 20 minutes. Them throwing a DDT on the outside after 5 mn didn't sit well with me. Ok, work the back, work the neck. Nothing thrilling really. The match picks up after Omega's insane quebrada to the outside. Ok, that bump into the table is amazing. But they don't do that much with it. Really Okada, you can't even *try* a pinfall after this ? His insistance on applying the Rainmaker is a pretty sad sign that WWEMANIA style of main events made its way into New Japan. But Okada has that WWEism about him that I don't like. So, it's a bomb throwing match. Not that great, but good for what it is. But I checked out after the dragon suplex from the top. Ok, how isn't *THIS* the finish ? Seriously ? Again, that comes directly from ROH shitwork that never understood why AJPW used to be so great. Hint : it was not because they dropped themselves on their head a lot and then kicked out. So, after that point, I was out of the match. If at least Okada would have sold dead for ever until a comebac on the edge, well, yes, that would have worked for me. But this was just the usual deal of kicking out of shit doing more shit and kicking out of it. And that Rainmaker, ok, but when Okada does two devastating spots in a row, get for a fucking pin attempt already. Omega was bumping like a maniac, but grimacing way too much. Not as ridiculous as he could be, but nowhere near his best stuff from the G1. The ending was nice, I guess, but came way too late. I dunno. If you cut 20 minutes you get a very good bomb-throwing match with some ridiculous shit. As it is… Not even as good, as a whole, as the Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice, the Tag team fun cluster and easily the lesser match of the second half. I don't even get why this match would have some special aura at all, really. It was the same deal as usual. Yeah, that table bump is for the ages, but well… A true "Mania moment". Well, wait, the day Omega gets in the WWE, he'll be unbearable. Okada can still have a MOTYC match with the right opponent, as showed by his latest Marufuji match. Omega can also have a MOTYC, and even better than this, if he's reigned in, which wasn't the case here (setting didn't help as he was going for his epic, obviously). What I get from this night : Tetsuya Naito is still the best wrestler in the world today.

Clipping comes from com tapes format. ARSION had no TV until 2001 when they ended up with two hours a months on Samurai I believe.

JWP.

KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi : Never seen Takahashi before. Man, NJWP is really gimmicked up. Not sure I like that. Really impressed by KUSHIDA in this match. He brought the agression, viciousness, stiffness. Takahashi brought blown spots. Okay, that's rough, but he did blow one pretty badly. I liked the focus on the arm, although it's KUSHIDA's usual game. Really well done and paced, without going into overdrive, especially for a junior match. The ending stretch was great. This was excellent/great, although I'm not sold on Takahashi yet. KUSHIDA looked like a ring general. Shibata vs Goto : Big spectacle match which suits the Dome perfectly. Awazing stiffness and crispness from Shibata, who's gimmick is that he's a "wrestler". Which, in a way, is kinda sad for Japan. I haven't got through the thread since I avoided spoilers, but I guess this gets great feedback. I loved parts of this, but way too many no-selling shit for me to call this a great match. A great spectacle and an excellent match, yes. Shibata is gimmicky, but he's very fun to watch. But he's a bit gimmicky to me, which limits his appeal/talent to me. Goto looks like his best days from the G1. Still, none of these two are elite workers. Not that I need them to be to enjoy their matches. 6 title change. And two more on the way. There are WAY TOO MANY TITLES in this promotion. It's ridiculous. Cut it down already.

I stayed away from the hype. Although I know about the infamous 6 stars, of course. Not that it influence my viewing whatsoever. Not sure if it's a good sign though. Tiger vs Tiger : cool little anime spotfest. Those masks are pretty swank. Lucha Underground needs some japanese guys. Or that ACH dude under a cool mask. Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice : I did a 180° on the Bucks in the last six months. I thought this was really good. Tons of cool, funny shit. The Bucks sure know how to get over and do a whole lot more than just gymnastics. I do feel like they toned down their act a bit too, I mean the spotty aspect of it. Great tights too, as usual. Liked that quite a bit. And then we get into a long stretch of nothingness... Bullet Club vs Kojima/Ospreay/Finlay vs LIJ : Takahashi is such a useless worker than he get even get really hot strippers in Tokyo (well, ok, except the masked one). Pretty sad. Yeah, the Bullet Club looks like NWO B-Team indeed. Time to wrap up this deal, it's old as fuck. Finlay si going for worse look currently in the entire pro-wrestling scene with this sloppy hair, beard and this hideous tights right out of Saved By the Bell colour scheme and font. A WWF jobber in 1994 would not have worn that. Kojima is doing his requisite four spots, which includes the über annoying machnegun chops in the corner, while OSpreay is the most ridiculous wrestler ever. A mix of RVD/Amazing Red on coke with Randy Orton-like "acting". It's so obvious he's a complete mark for his own spots, it's embarrassing, he's not even trying to be a pro-wrestler. Ricochet on the other hand, he's the same kind of worker, only good. How long before he gets signed by NXT ? LIJ are cool and kinda save this cluster, but not really. Cody vs Juice Robinson : And then, there's Juice actually taking the cake for poor choice of tights and color scheme. Those dreadlocks have to go to. He's ok. Cody is soooo WWE-00's-like. Why would anyone in Japan care about this guy ? Fast forward material. Speaking of which, Adam Cole vs KOR was complete "let's cosplay strong-style at the dome", which confirms, if need be, that I won't watch ROH anytime soon, or ever. GOD vs CHAOS vs GHB : El Hijos del Haku have never looked better. Ishii fucking up everyone was fun. Yano did his bit, which I always get into. Makabe was fine palying old power man. Yeah, this was good, best match on the show thus far. This undercard underlines the lack of depth in native talent. Way too much gaijins, including gajins I don't give a fuck about. The back to back US matches were dreadful. Cody is just not very good at pro-wrestling. I have no idea why I should care about Adam Cole, although as a third man on a 6-men tag team match he'd be fine. KOR vs Shibata was really fucking good, but Shibata working pure ROHism wasn't. The Bullet Club guys are just there (and Takahashi can go to, his intro with average looking hoes is still the best minute from his matches). Ospreay is a parody. Where are the japanese guys anyway ? Well. Well. Ok.

E6 over-delivered. Son of Havoc & Mascarita Sagrada vs Dr. Wagner Jr. & Famous B is exactly the kind of bullshit I like in LU if done right, and this was exactly it. Brenda does the best Dawn Marie airhead act too. I want more of this and less of Texano vs Cage spotfests. I've never liked Sexy Star and the character much, but since they did that Pentagon match, I must admit they do the best job imaginable with her, as the Jack Evans match was again well worked beyond what I'd expect, with Star looking quite badass in the process. I've heard the worst things about this whole push to the title, but thus far, I must say I have nothing bad to say about it. They've gone completely into Kill Bill mode and why not. I like little details like Melissa Santos clapping for Star during the match. Involvement ! She's so great. And then, although I usually don't care for triple threat matches to begin with, Rey Rey, Chavito and Pentagon Dark manage to have a good one. With a cool post-match that got tons of heat (yeah, heat, although I suspect maybe some of it was added in post-prod, but who knows) for Chavo. Enjoyed that episode a lot.

E5. Ok, I'm not getting into this Cage vs Texano deal (too indieriffic), but Puma vs Matanza was quite the good main event, with the great Mil run-in at the end. Damn, Catrina's look this season... Ivelisse & her new annoying boyfriend vs that creep Marty the Moth & Cheerleader Mariposa I can get into, especially Ivelisse slapping the fuck out of Marty, who's been consistently entertaining. I can feel the Sexy Star stuff coming and I don't look forward to, although her match against Pentagon was way better than it had the right to. I didn't notice the "I'm kind of a big deal" stuff in Dario's office. I want the same one.

It's less an issue of nearfalls and what moves are used to produce them. It's an issue of false finishes. Nowadays, you usually have a thousand nearfalls but zero false finish. Back during AJPW's glory days, you actually had false finishes. Raven, of all people, used to produce legit false finishes with his dog & poney show. The indierrific styles just as the WWE self-consicous Mania epic style have zero false finish, it's all about nearfalls for the sake of it, often with the thought that kicking out of a finisher means it's shocking and exciting, when in fact it's not unless it's being bought as the actual finish. Which doesn't happen since everyone kicks out of finishers all the time, and only one finisher can end the match anyway. (well of course you can argue people are going crazy for it, but I'm speaking for myself of course) The infamous Taker loss was the perfect illustration. No one bought the finish because people actually thought it was gonna be an usual near-fall via finisher kick-out. It's like the whole thought-process had been reversed. If people bought it as a true potential finisher and it ended up being the finish, then it would have been awesome because "Shit, Taker is done ! SHIT HE IS DONE !!!" But it flopped because people were like "Wait, why wasn't this a near-fall ? Did Taker actually lost ?" Build to one false-finish, and then you get a fucking moment where you buy what's happening. The move itself doesn't matter, it can even be cheap spot or a run-in, it's what it leads to that matters. It's the build to the idea that it is it. The use of near-falls for the sake of near-falls, with kicking out of finishers galore, is bad because they don't actually produce any false finish. Because the idea is that just the number of near-falls is what makes a match great. Which is wrong, of course.

From memory it was one of Fukuoka's last matches. She had a neck injury and retired not too long after that. It was a part of her retirement tour, so she'd work with her old friend Candy, who herself retired once (an amazing thing to see BTW, Candy's retirement in JWP) before coming back in ARSION. SO if it felt like an exhibition of moves, it's because that's basically what it was, as a way to say goodbye. Fukuoka had the sickest finisher ever, the insane moonsault footstomp. I really enjoyed that girl. And yeah, Candy was getting a bit annoying at that point. Fujita never developped into a complete worker from what I remember, but she sure had a look to her. Liked her too. Ah, that Yoshida vs Futagami match was a MOTYC to me back then.

You just defined GAEA post 1998. This is pretty much the main criticism we (as in : me and a bunch of joshi fans at the time) used to make back then. Pretty much words for words. Really frustrating for the Oz fans. (although in all honesty, Hokuto was pretty washed up by then, Lioness was not that great and KAORU... well, she was KAORU, make of that what you want. )

Hilarious bullshit first fall via DQ by the heel ref, then Ano 2000 takes a chance and bashes Perro's head's in with brass knucks. Then goes the bloody brawl, with matwork to boot and footstomps in the gut. Blood everywhere, it looks like Mascara has changed mask when infact he's just bleeding buckets. Only in lucha libre I guess at this point. Excellent use of the seconds, specially the heel one (whom I don't know because I'm just a lucha beginner) and the finish is glorious. I have no idea what the consensus is in the lucha libre community, but I thought it was terrific. Such a gritty, old-school feel. MOTYC level for 93 I'd say.

Damn, La Parka's entrance to Thriller. This guy had so many charisma already. Crazy to think no one in WCW even thought about pushing him, with the bonus size to work in front of the US crowd. Anyway, this is really good for a while, then they kinda lose the pace and exchange way too many two-falls kick-outs without much rythme or reason. The controversial pin should have worked. Then the restart was more of the same, kinda paceless near-falls. Too bad because it was really damn good for a while and kinda fell apart in the third part. La Parka looked great though.

After two decades of hearing how awful and historic this match was, I found it actually disappointing in that's in rather a nothing match with a completely bullshit finish. And a stip that wasn't enforced. So ok, Konnan was already an horrid worker in 1993. He's wearing a Warrior-circa 92 singlet, or is it a proto-RVD singlet ? Anyway, he's awful as he's always been it seems. Cien Caras looks at least solid at points. First pinfall looks like shit because Konnan can't even execute his own spot. Second fall is idiotic. Third fall... count-out ? Really ? Were the people horrified because Konnan lost or because the match ended on a complete bullshit finish ? I have no earthly idea what the mexican audience saw in Konnan. None. At least I've learned why he's called Konnan. El Barbario. Ooooooh. So that's where this goofy name came from. I had no idea. Ok. Jake Roberts makes faces. Not exactly thrilling, although he looks devious like Bray Wyatt wishes he could look. It's crazy to think this drew almost 50..000 people (or what that the terrific Perro Aguayo vs Mascara Annos 2000 bloody brawl that came before ?) while WWF and WCW drew flies in the US at the same point. So I guess that's true, Konnan was a big star in Mexico. Why ? Again, I have no idea. At least Vamp looked cool and freaky. Konnan was basically a gringo from Puerto Rico with goofy hair and zero ability. Also, if he lost a career match in April of 1993, why were we subjected to more than a decade of awful matches, stupid videos and calling for his dawgs (where they at anyway ?) ?