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Ditch

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Everything posted by Ditch

  1. Ditch
    I wouldn't say it's great by Vader standards, but certainly by Hogan's. Much more 'epic' than we're used to, especially since it breaks out of the Hogan formula. Sadly the finish is just awful.
  2. Ditch
    Never heard of this one before! Details?
  3. Ditch
    Taue getting nothing for two years, *regardless of the reason*, was a de-push. I'd say that at this point Kobashi was ahead of him; maybe the fans felt otherwise but that's not the impression I got based on the reaction. Taue pouring it on got a babyface reaction, rather than making the crowd root for a Kobashi comeback. Based on the Japanese pro-underdog default that leads me to think they viewed Taue winning as an upset, even if a very mild one. Or maybe he just won them over. Either way this was the start of a big Taue push and he took full advantage.
  4. Ditch
    In the two years before CC '95, Kobashi had two TC shots to Taue's zero; he had important non-carny singles matches against Hansen, Kawada, Doc and Gordy while Taue had none; had a longer tag title reign. Kobashi hadn't beaten Taue in singles but he was a lot hotter. I also disagree with "Kobashi had stuff to get in". The way he was cutting Taue off and/or stuffing his offense was very unlike Flair or Kobashi, both of whom are known for eating a lot of offense and taking their share of bumps. Totally unlike how Kobashi wrestled other big singles matches at this stage in his career. I kept saying to myself "damn Kenta, let Taue get a turn". I have never thought that in any other Kobashi match.
  5. Ditch
    This was part of a comp that was my first joshi experience. It doesn't compare to the very best matches, but it's unique and FUN thanks to the stip. One might argue that they go a bit overboard with things getting kicked out of at 0, but that's almost all moves that aren't established finishers. For a workrate match this is a lot more coherent than your typical joshi spotfest.
  6. Ditch
    2007: "I think 9/10/95 feels more like the best possible non-epic Misawa title defense; this feels like the best Champions Carnival final, and it feels really epic. And it's Taue's best singles match. Taue is more focused, Misawa is more vulnerable, it's so great" I stand by that sentiment. I don't know what really could have been done to improve this, with the possible exception of one last big Taue comeback and Taue winning. Even that isn't a sure thing since the tiger suplex is a really satisfying finish.
  7. Ditch
    My take in '07: "this is my favorite of the CC broadways. It's everything good about the 1/95 broadway without the excessive downtime. It's got all the elements of great Kings Road matches and a top-notch '90s-level finish. This gets into the top three Kawada vs Kobashi bouts, and that's enough" I hope that the new, complete version of this was used for the set.
  8. Ditch
    For such a great tour, All Japan has one of the dumbest booking moves you'll ever see from a big promotion. Taue has a big new finisher that's laying guys out left and right, and so he faces Misawa and... Misawa kicks out. And makes a comeback after it. Oh and they have a rematch three days later. There are four good ways to book this: 1. Taue hits the Dynamic Bomb, bell rings before/during the pin count 2. Taue is going for the DB when the bell rings 3. Taue hits the DB, Misawa kicks out, Taue about to finish the job when the bell rings 4. Taue wins outright This is none of those. Match before that point is clearly behind their other two matches from the year, though still good.
  9. Ditch
    Bests it handily. As JDW says, they were better in '95 and accordingly had a better match.
  10. Ditch
    My thoughts from '07: "...right there with their 1/91 match. The exchanges, the sequences, the stiffness (stiff Taue lariats?!), the nearfalls (credible Taue regular powerbomb nearfall?!), the selling, the contunuity... it's alllll there. I especially like the way they show that Taue has grown from the past as he refuses to let Kawada make a comeback from the big spot of the match." This match has been slept on. Put it at Budokan, re-do it move-for-move, and it would have been a worthy final. For one tour, Taue was the best of the 'corners'.
  11. Ditch
    Other than Misawa wrestling with a broken orbital bone for ~28 minutes, this is one of the least matches of the series. Perhaps *the* least. Not flawed in big ways, but more in that they somewhat take it easy. Though Kawada does keep throwing those face kicks....
  12. Ditch
    This is remembered as "the one where Taue destroys Kobashi" but that's only the last ~5 minutes. In the rest of it Kobashi is really stubborn, way more than usual for him. He makes Taue earn it, and based on the crowd reaction it actually gets Taue over as an underdog (?!). Oddly enough, even though Kobashi had never beaten Taue, at this point he was higher ranked in the fans' eyes by virtue of more big-time singles matches and several big tag wins. So, Taue winning means a lot, and not just because he debuted a new finisher.
  13. Ditch
    There's a strong case for this match being the best hour broadway since Steamboat vs Flair (Clash '89), and maybe even further back. My 4-year-old review: To clarify, I was comparing this to the best AJ tags of the decade, not to wrestling in general. I'd put this in the best 50 matches ever.
  14. Ditch
    Isn't there no limit to the number of names people can choose? Same with WON HOF.
  15. Ditch
    I'm not familiar with the song. According to Wikipedia it's about... self-esteem?!
  16. Ditch
    Literally the only complaint I've seen about this is "_____ All Japan match was better". And the ____ is 6/3/94 or 12/6/96 about nine times out of ten. This has everything you could ask for; good pacing, continuity with the past, action, drama, moments of brilliance, and plenty of bombs. It's been my favorite match for about ten years now and I doubt that will change any time soon. Will be interesting to see if it lives up to the staggering amount of hype for anyone new to it.
  17. Ditch
    This might just be the best RVD match ever, since Kroffat is a hell of a lot better at structure than 99.9% of RVD opponents. Kroffat is fun as the overconfident champ, RVD is fun as the athletic underdog, and they piece together a fine juniors match. Maybe the best AJ junior match of the decade, while we're at it.
  18. Ditch
    The last really great AJ 6-man, at least from what we get. We can hope this will eventually air on classics in full, because I doubt they were just chinlocking for ten minutes. Gotta be the best match Asako was ever in, and it's the first time Honda looked worthwhile. That plus continuation of the Best Match Ever makes this a gem.
  19. Ditch
    Shows where the Triple Crown was a semi-main under Baba: -3/6/90, Hansen/Tenryu vs MVC over Jumbo vs Windham (a good choice) -6/8/90, Jumbo vs Misawa over Gordy vs Hansen (ditto) -9/1/90, Jumbo vs Misawa over Hansen vs Willians (ditto) -3/4/92, MVC vs Jumbo/Taue over Hansen vs Misawa (questionable) -6/5/92, Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kobashi over Hansen vs Kawada (leaning 'good choice') This should have been the main event, even though it was long past the point where Misawa had elevated the title to legendary status. Kawada vs Hansen was plodding and served as a step back. This match, while somewhat of a rehash of the RWTL '94 iteration, leaves everyone in it looking better than they did going in; Kawada looked like crap in how he lost IMO. Plus, it would have served to further set up the 6/9/95 tag title as deserving of being on top of a de facto one-show card. That said, this isn't a near-flawless chunk of tag wrestling such that it's a crime to have it as the semi-main. It meanders at times, and for all the bombs tossed by the gaijin squad they only get like one good nearfall. But it's VERY GOOD, with lots of top-notch action and exchanges and cool moments. I rate this a hair below the more famous June '96 tag with Akiyama in Kobashi's place.
  20. Ditch
    THIS is an hour broadway I can get behind. I have it ranked 5th out of the iterations of this match, but considering that it's my favorite matchup that's still a compliment. Still waiting on JDW's re-watch to see if he takes back what he said about Taue not being good. Granted he's not as good as he was later in the year but he's still GOOD. Here's the blow-by-blow from when I watched it four years ago:
  21. Ditch
    I think this is solidly behind their '96 draw, and the '95 tag draws. That said, I'll take it over Jumbo vs Choshu from ten years earlier. First 40-50 minutes are quality. Last ten... it sorta breaks down.
  22. Ditch
    '92 Rumble absolutely holds up in my view. A variety of subplots, lots of star power leading to pairings we don't normally see, and a below-average amount of deadwood. In general they aren't high-end matches, but in terms of being interesting to watch live and a PPV draw it's one of the best gimmicks.
  23. Ditch
    TANAHASHI is eligible?! Wow. Also, anyone else thinks this means we finally get a Williams bio?
  24. Ditch
    The 'axe bomber' match caused a riot?! Wow.
  25. Ditch
    "It's expected to be Inoki vs. Hogan on 6/13, and given their history together everyone is advised to get tickets early and wear protective clothing." ?????
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