El-P

DAY Fifteeeeeeeeen. ABLOCK This stuff is officially running way too looooong. Kokugikan already. Marufuji vs Tonga Maru is awfully nice to Tonga. Maybe he fears him like he's his father. No stiff chops. Nice running around action. Quickness and shit, that was smart on Fuji's part, as it's Tama's strong point. Falls apart at the end though with some blown spots. Pretty good overall. Ishii vs SANADA Maybe SANADA is just miscasted as a heel. Ishii seems motivated again, which puts some fire under SANADA's. Bull vs dickhead. Although SANADA isn't enough of a dickhead. Nice work. Looks painfull. Some no-selling, fighting spirit style. Ok, this is very good and spirited, with SANADA pulling a nice upset. Tanahashi vs Tenzan Holy shit, Tanahashi is being a prick to Tenzan and actually gets booed. This guy really is the master, although he looks banged up on offense at points. Something his kinda lost with Tenzan at this point, although it's a good match, but there's no way Tenzan was winning. Well, ride in the sunset already, bull man. Okada vs Fale Ok, so Okada knows how to work with Fale. Builds to the good old bodyslam, like it's WWF in 1987, and it's really good. Damn, Okada is pretty giving to Fale, working a legit false finish and WHAT THE ??? Now this is one upset I could live without, as it kinda stains the huge Ishii win to me. Fale is a pretty good big man, but the IWGP champ, really ? Still, good match, efficiently worked. Goto vs Makabe Goto the young samurai warrior is making old scared up brawler Makabe the underdog. Interesting. Work is stiff and crowd pushes Makabe. This is Makabe's best match of the G1, and Goto's effort strongly indicates he's going far. Yep, this was impressive on both part, with some huge bombs. I still love the Spider Suplex. Very very good. Well, not bad for the last non-Kokugikan show of the A-Block. Tenzan should have received more though, and Fale got way too much for my taste. You could feel Goto's momentum in the main, which was nice.

Oh for fuck's sake. A losing streek. The "If I don't win this one I retire". The babyface getting the very last chance at getting the title against a heel that screwed him before. Title in line. Have you seen Rocky ? Plus, I'm not even saying this as a criticism, it would have made no sense whatsoever to have Dolph lose. Well, of course personally I'd rather have the Miz keep the title, but that's beside the point. It was obvious because it's the oldest story in pro-wrestling. That's why it also worked like a charm and stole the show. Well, there was no competition, but it was legit very good.

I guess no one watched that PPV anyway. Not a big loss apparently. That Triple Threat match was the usual clusterfucky business with cutesy spots galore. Waste of time. Tag team match was just there. The heel Usos are losing steam already. What the fuck was that outfit ? Mis vs Dolph was really good, but they did lost me at the very end, with the boot spot followed by the fucking Spirit Squad. And one finisher kick out too much too. This was lame, as was the finish, but the again most of Ziggler's offense looks like sloppy shit anyway. Overbooked finish aside, this was building into a very good and super heated match, with Miz clearly directing traffic again. Maryse reminded me again that being a valet is a lost art, she barely does anything except her two token spots, so she's just a body that's just there. And it's not like they do eye candy cam shots either, so. Did anyone really think Dolph was gonna, gasp, lose ? I mean really ? Of course he was winning that one. That's the most basic pro-wrestling story. The last match looked awful indeed, but I am not wasting my time with Orton & Bray, two black hole against each other. The women matches, well… Becky Lynch was missed. And Carmella was at her best doing goofy stuff with Enzo & Cass. One match show.

Basically they finally figured out that their future was the indies. But yeah, seems pretty unreal to be honest.

That's what Twitter does to one.

A Block B Block MOTYC Ishii vs. Okada ****+ as they say Marufuji vs. Tanahashi Elgin vs. Naito Naito vs. Shibata Honma vs. Naito Naito vs. Nakajima Quite excellent SANADA vs. Tanahashi Nakajima vs. Shibata Okada vs. Marufuji Nakajima vs. Nagata SANADA vs. Okada Shibata vs. Omega Tenzan vs. Marufuji Ishii vs. Marufuji Tanahashi vs Goto Ishii vs. Tanahashi Damn fine Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma Ishii vs. Goto YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma Fale vs. Marufuji Omega vs. Yano Goto vs. Okada YOSHI-HASHI vs. Nagata Fale vs. Tanahashi EVIL vs. Nakajima Tenzan vs Okada EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI Tenzan vs. Goto Nakajima vs. YOSHI-HASHI YOSHI-HASHI vs. Elgin Nakajima vs. Honma EVIL vs. Naito Good it is indeed Makabe vs. Tenzan Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI Tonga vs Ishii Elgin vs. EVIL Makabe vs Marufuji Honma vs. Omega Naomichi Marufuji vs. SANADA Shibata vs. Elgin Okada vs. Makabe Omega vs. Elgin Tonga vs. SANADA Omega vs. EVIL Fale vs. Makabe Honma vs. EVIL Shibata vs. YOSHI-HASHI Nagata vs. Omega Unoffensive Makabe vs. Tanahashi Yano vs. Nakajima Ishii vs. Fale EVIL vs. Nagata SANADA vs. Makabe Naito vs. Yano Tonga vs. Tanahashi Honma vs. Yano SANADA vs. Goto Shibata vs. Yano Okada vs. Tonga Yano vs. Nagata Tonga vs. Goto Yano vs. Elgin Not good Makabe vs. Tonga Nagata vs. Elgin Tenzan vs Tonga SANADA vs Fale Fale vs. Tenzan

THANKS FOR THE ANSWER !!! Well, it had all the aura of a huge win. D14. BBlock Yano vs. Elgin Elgin apparently knows how to work the ga-ga too. Which is fun. There's something unsettling about Yano's demeanor. This guy is more creepy than funny. Or maybe he's freepny. He's an odd cat, but he can work comedy around anyone, with some good actual serious work, and it makes his character a spoiler of sorts. I like the fact his bullshits get him wins. Upper tier of Yanoism. Shibata vs. YOSHI-HASHI They go straight into sprint mode. Nice work, kinda auto-pilot though, not much in term of dynamic established here, and YH doesn't work as an underdog. If anything, it's Shibata who looks banged up. Good stuff. Small town match. Nakajima vs. Honma Small town or not, Hona is fucking over everywhere. Nakajima really grew into a dick more and more as the G1 progressed, and it shwoed a bit here too. Good, stiff back and forth action, the kind that doesn't dive too deep but sure delivers in term of building an exciting match. Very good. Nagata vs. Omega Omega is kinda Dick Muroch. He's half masterworker, half goof-on-coke. Nagata looks kinda old at points here. Shaky selling, by that he barely shakes his worked-on legs while on offense. Enjoying the fact Omega is going for the Nagata lock on Nagata, that's a true dick move. Finishing stretch had some goofy no-selling, not surprising considering those two, but it was still quite a good match overall, despite the kinda thrown together structure. EVIL vs. Naito Another stable member vs aniki match. They don't care about that fact apparently, busting each other without remorse. Naito makes the usually always true heel EVIL look like an underdog here, with the crowd behind him. Hell, EVIL comes close to pack it up I'd argue they played a bit too much equal by the end, Naito should have won easier than this, but it sure made EVIL look strong in the end. Very good match, probably EVIL's best. Small town show with some routine work, but enough good stuff.

I'm gonna finish this if that's the last thing I do here. Day 13 A-Block Tonga vs. SANADA What the hell happened here ? This is actually a good match ! And Tama is more than game. Finally he puts together something playing into his strenghts (the fakes and quick counters). SANADA was also on fire. In a way, Tama is totally ready for WWE. But then again, since he's using the RKO, not really. Fale vs. Makabe Doesn't work on paper. Works in actuality. Two big, lumbering bull charging into each others until one finally falls on the ground. Rather stiff, big man wrestling. Fale's finisher is still lame though. Good stuff again when it shouldn't have been. Tenzan vs. Goto So, Goto effectively killed Tenzan's G1. And it felt like it too. Great sense of a very last ride from Tenzan, and what is probably his best match of the G1. This was the most purposefull Goto ever looked too. Very very good stuff. Ishii vs. Okada MOTYC. MOTY maybe. Ishii pulling out all the stops, right from the get-go, to upset his boss and IWGP champion. Both are great here, but Ishii was the best. The chop during Okada's little Rockyesque routine was so cool. Well, he did got up a bit early after that outside DDT, but still, his selling and facials made it believable. Terrific work. Is that Ishii's biggest victory ever ? (I know, no one is gonna answer me) Marufuji vs. Tanahashi They had no chance of following the previous match at the same pace, so they didn't even try. Smart approach. And they still built into a great match. Maru really went from a running around high flyer to a guy who's chopping his opponent's chests into raw meat. Must be a pain to take those chops, some of the most brutal ever, really. Tana is still the Ace, it's obvious. Damn. That show. Two matches that overdelivered, the best Tenzan match of the tournament with an emotional response, and two great matches. The A Block was getting murdered by the B Block until then, but this changes the balance. Right pairings in the final two matches helped a lot I guess.

So, Mania already looks dreadful with all those dream/nightmare matches. Hey, if they do Sasha vs Bailey, they should steal the show at least.

And it's really too bad, because it's obvious Gordon would be more than willing to tell the rest of the story. A terrific edition, easily one of the best with the 97 Cornette one. So many cool stories.

Always loved glamour in pro-wrestling. Or sleezyness in certain context (ECW, becaus it fit the atmosphere). Yeah, Sherry was probably my first adolescent fantasy. She just had the attitude of being sexy, which works much better than soulless T&A bimbos that came later in the Attitude Eras and later. To me Liz was nothing special until she hit 35 and got all milfy in WCW. She was hitting her peak during those days. So, no. One word : Woman. So 80's in WCW, then simply drop dead sexy and evil in ECW with the Sandman. The sad things is that being a valet is basically a lost art, as showed by Lana, who's a good performer but who isn't doing anything really until that one stop usually, whereas Sherry, Woman, Francine (especially with Douglas, who always knew how to integrate a valet in his act), all those girls were integral part of a match like a Cornette or Heenan could be, in different ways. Nobody to teach them I guess.

Good analogy. Let me add my voice to the "Why should anyone give a fuck" crowd. (Oh, yeah, because the late 90's is the last time pro-wrestling was relevant in the grand scheme of things, and no one has been a real star since then, and HHH is a legend). Plus they had one of the worst match ever already. But hey, you get the dream match you deserve. I'll add "good for Goldy" though, who's supposedly a good guy and heard he really wanted his child see him wrestle once. More power to him if he tricks those WWE idiots into throwing more money into a useless nostalgia match. I do want Sable on my WWE TV at some point. She was a fucking draw too in 1999. Make it happen. (but, uh, yeah, this beats Lesnar vs Shane by a million stars)

The first story being Sandman banned from the venue (a sports bar) before even the very first show makes it worthwhile already. This is glorious.

It's really telling that this is the guy they want to be the #1 babyface and his segment consisted of bullying a woman, Come on, don't diss the "Stop bullying" campaign and other feminist accomplishment by Stephy.

You obviously don't see the wink in japanese pro-wrestling I guess. BTW, Ric Flair was also cheered whether he was a heel or a face after a while. Atsushi Onita : greatest babyface ever switched to a guy his own audience couldn't stand.

Ah, the idea that there are no legit heels in Japan is hilarious. LCO beatdowns make the Horsemen look like pussies (to use a very 80's vernacular, pardon me people). As for the Rushmore of "can do it all on all front", here we go : _Terry Funk _Jushin Liger _Akira Hokuto _Barry Windham All pretty much clear as cristal.

Is that a new thing ? Stabbing pro-wrestlers ? I mean, Jamie Knoble got a pretty bad deal this week-end, now this ?

A Block B Block ****+ as they say Elgin vs. Naito Naito vs. Shibata Honma vs. Naito Naito vs. Nakajima Quite excellent SANADA vs. Tanahashi Nakajima vs. Shibata Okada vs. Marufuji Nakajima vs. Nagata SANADA vs. Okada Shibata vs. Omega Tenzan vs. Marufuji Ishii vs. Marufuji Tanahashi vs Goto Ishii vs. Tanahashi Damn fine Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma Ishii vs. Goto YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma Fale vs. Marufuji Omega vs. Yano Goto vs. Okada YOSHI-HASHI vs. Nagata Fale vs. Tanahashi EVIL vs. Nakajima Tenzan vs Okada EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI Nakajima vs. YOSHI-HASHI YOSHI-HASHI vs. Elgin Good it is indeed Makabe vs. Tenzan Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI Tonga vs Ishii Elgin vs. EVIL Makabe vs Marufuji Honma vs. Omega Naomichi Marufuji vs. SANADA Shibata vs. Elgin Okada vs. Makabe Omega vs. Elgin Omega vs. EVIL Honma vs. EVIL Unoffensive Makabe vs. Tanahashi Yano vs. Nakajima Ishii vs. Fale EVIL vs. Nagata SANADA vs. Makabe Naito vs. Yano Tonga vs. Tanahashi Honma vs. Yano SANADA vs. Goto Shibata vs. Yano Okada vs. Tonga Yano vs. Nagata Tonga vs. Goto Not good Makabe vs. Tonga Nagata vs. Elgin Tenzan vs Tonga SANADA vs Fale Fale vs. Tenzan

Day 12 - B-Block Yano vs. Nagata If I were Nagata, I'd be pissed at the ref too. Gotta love that total "What the fuck was that supposed to be ?" look when he got counted out. Yano is always entertaining. Fun little tricky match. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Elgin Well, these two brought the best in each other. Short but intense, with strong sense of purpose (fuck up that shoulder, YOSHI) and selling (really good job by Elgin). Elgin's power spots fought through the pain and YH's quick, stiff offense countering the massive log worked wonders. Very good match and the proof that Elgin can be that good when he doesn't get ROHgoofy. Honma vs. EVIL Good standart EVIL match, in which Homna played his usual underdog-but-not-so-quite role efficiently. So, the headrropping is something that happens a lot in New Japan I guess, but this led to a finish so no complaint. EVIL has revealed himself as a solid worker through this tournament. Shibata vs. Omega Holy shit. So, when Omega tons his cooked up shit down, he can be a fucking great worker. Maybe the fact he was trying to upstage shoot-style Shibata played a part, but this is the best he has ever looked to me. Brutal and focused work, beat up each other's injuries until something breaks, superb execution, no stupid no-selling. Damn, this was excellent, bordering on great. Naito vs. Nakajima Naito's stalling is state of the art, and with stoic hiding a hot temper Nakajima, it works wonder. Great leg work as usual which was followed through, Nakajima still kicking the shit out of Naito once he gets on top. The finishing stretch with counters and shit was pretty wonderful. Great match. Ok, so B Block delivers the goods again in a big way, with Elgin & Omega looking at their best, which was nice to see.

It seems I'll never get through this thingy… Day ELEVEN. A-Block. Fale vs. Tenzan These two are not meant to meat each other and have a good match. This is sluggish and slow and sweaty and not good. Fale can be really fun to watch when he's in with the right guy. Tenzan ain't that guy. Tenzan usually gets a good match with everyone. This isn't working. Tonga vs. Goto Tonga is a jobber who gets way to much from the other guys. Which make every match of his kind of a chore to watch, as he's not very good and most probably will lose anyway. Goto does a good job though, and the finishing running around sequence works again, with RKO teases and tries. Decent stuff, but Tonga is mostly a waste of time, he should mostly be squashed. Naomichi Marufuji vs. SANADA SANADA tries to hit harder than Marufuji. He fails. So he tries to run faster than Marufuji. Nice attempts. But fails too. SANADA shows some spunk against stiffy & tricky veteran though and it makes for a good match, although SANADA clearly lacks something on his own, it's pretty clear at this point. Ishii vs. Tanahashi This had some goofiness elements at some point, and Tanahashi's execution at the end was not as good as it usually is, but what a terrific match for the most part. A bit heavy and strike exchanges, but the slapping part where Tana drops down Ishii was really good thanks to Ishii's selling. Okay, so I guess dragon suplexe are meant to be not sold, but not in an ugly Omega-match way. Tanahashi rising up as the ace that has to be overcomed was really good. Excellent, maybe great match. Okada vs. Makabe Sometimes, Okada is too much Rockyesque for me in his maneurisms. Good Makabe match though. Nothing special, but Okada does a good job making the old brawler look fine. Not exactly an epic main event though. Apart from the Ishii vs Tana match, this was pretty so-so. The A-Block clearly has some weakness which only appear even more with the wrong combinations. Is this thing ever gonna end anyway ?

Indeed. Todd is God...

I'm not really sure any revisionism needs to be done. It's not like TNA posed a true threat at any point. What would WWE really need to retcon about TNA's history? Exactly. What are they gonna do, create a narrative that makes TNA look like it ever mattered? Considering AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode were perceived like stars by the WWE audience as soon as they passed the door, TNA did matter a little bit more than people give it credit for. So there's always room for revisionism. But it would mostly be terrible for the guys looking for jobs. (whatever happened with GWF anyway ? Ponzi scheme ?)

If this is true, then more revisionism incoming and one place less for workers to go (which means less space for developping talents too). Job well done Dixie.

I still fail to see how Roman Reigns is considered by some as some kind of special worker. He sure didn't brought much special to the table in the Rusev match, it was all Rusev keeping things together and feeding for Roman usual dull superman punches comebacks. Plus he's not a great seller or bumper, so Rusev beating on him was nothing special. He's a decent power guy with a bad spear. He doesn't do anything that remotely sparks my interest. Rusev & Lana should be in the main event scene yesterday. Didn't watch the entire thing (I guess I missed something with Cesaro vs Sheamus, but Sheamus I have no time for). Really, that tag match needed fast forward, the New Day have jumped the shark a long tile ago and Doc & Anderson aren't anything special. The female trio match booking was odd. Charlotte basically beat up the two babyfaces clean. I like the Sasha/Sabu comparison someone made. Good match, but clusterfucky as every thriple way are. Jericho vs Zayn was cool. Sleazy old Jericho works for me. At some point during this match Philippe Chereau cracked me up so bad. The french announcing is a show saver sometimes. TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick was good, but I'm not too fond of some Perkins indieriffic spots, with odd body placements and useless bumping-on-offense kinda spots. I don't think this cruiserweight division is going anywhere, but the purple lightning was a nice touch in term of presentation.

I said they were gonna be the New Age Outlaws redux (with a bit of Kid Kash & Dallas because of the characters and sizes) the very first time I saw them. Enzo is an awful worker to boot, and Cass is just another Test clone. No depth whatsoever and their match aren't good.