Ditch
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Everything posted by Ditch
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I have this on the bubble, which is probably enough for it to be the Chono match of the decade. Not as much a cohesive tag clinic as something with lots of fun and highlights. Taue delivers probably his best performance of the decade to this point, which is crucial. And the finish is big enough to put an exclamation mark on things.
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RWTL '97 at first glance was kinda 'there', but over a long period we got more and more matches released in full that are really fun and (in a few instances) high-end.
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I don't see how any of them were in that "matches everyone is supposed to love" / MOTY level, though. Outside of possibly 'people who only watch WWE'.
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I feel pretty much the same way: good story, some great moments and runs, but too long to be at the top tier of the decade. Something like the 5/23/96 tag with Akiyama in the Shiga role went 27 minutes; this went 31. 4 minutes shaved off some of those control segments would have done a world of good. This is a lock for my ballot but almost certainly won't crack the top 50.
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I actually had this #3 for 2002, though a lot of that is because I think 2002's top cohort was pretty weak compared to 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The crowd is fun, the Liger vs NOAH dynamic works, and it ends when it should. Note that Kikuchi's finisher is in fact the Fireball Bomb... we just don't get to see it much.
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[2002-08-03-NJPW-G1 Climax] Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki
Ditch replied to Loss's topic in August 2002
The last time I went through 2002, I came in thinking this might have been a MOTYC. It isn't. However, it's got at least a 50/50 shot at making my ballot through the sheer force of brutality and overall efficiency. They don't go 20 minutes with 5 good minutes of slugfest interspersed. It's short, and thus predominantly slugfest, which is right in their wheelhouse. -
They do a lot right, and mostly work this smartly for the Tokyo Dome. At the same time, there are some disjointed aspects to it (per Sleeze), and they seem to be going for a vague mix of shoot-style and pro-style without totally nailing either. The result is a match that's on my bubble, but I don't think has a shot at my top 75.
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[2002-03-02-ZERO-ONE-Truth Century Creation] Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka
Ditch replied to Loss's topic in March 2002
I don't see it as a MOTYC, but it's on my bubble based on sheer ass-kicking. -
Need some clarification. I only recall the 10/96 match, which is nowhere near "a match you're supposed to love" level.
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This was 'bolded' based on doing well in the final catch-all vote. To compensate for the 'leftovers' not having any of the consensus MOTYCs as did the regular year-by-year votes, only 3 matches from that vote were bolded. No telling how Togo vs TM4 would have done in the 2002 vote. I suspect it wouldn't have cracked the top 10.
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I can understand not liking a match that is primarily based on punching, but damn, it's GREAT punching. I'll second 'I Quit'. On my end, it seemed really anticlimactic, wasn't great as a brawl, and wasn't as good technically as the Survivor Series bout.
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I don't see it, given how Beefcake and the Nasties getting beat up was treated like an afterthought.
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I give the case for it in its thread on the subforum. Short answer: not a MOTDC but real good.
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Good choices so far. Savage/Steamboat is begging for an epic comeback that never happens; Kobashi/Joe has the crowd willing it to be MOTY but it just isn't (though I think with less hype and smarkiness it's a good slugfest); Bret/Owen is a fine technical match with an upset finish that has no business being called 5* based on the work or story. There are a lot of flawed WON MOTYs that don't really fall into "you must love this!" status anymore, such as '83, '85, '91, '95. I'm struggling to come up with something that isn't lucha, which to me wouldn't be fair given my dislike of the style as a whole.
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RWTL '96 had fewer teams and was double round-robin.
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He was focused on MMA and didn't wrestle much.
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Big-match tag that delivers plenty of action while also having solid psychology. I had it #2 for 2002, and it seems a lock for the top 50. Everyone here brings something to the table, but it's primarily Kobashi who shines, balancing vulnerability and fighting spirit. Much more consistent than the 2007 Kobashi return (though 2007 has the better highlights).
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I like this more with every viewing, though having it #1 when I last went through 2002 might have been a touch high. Not sure this is top 10 for the decade; not even sure it's top 20 for that matter. But they do get a LOT right, there's hardly any flaws, it's instantly memorable, there's heat, a satisfying finish, and it set up a bunch of other cool stuff. That's plenty of notches for one belt.
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Pretty sure this is the only Mutoh match that will make my ballot. The deliberateness of the work keeps me from being gaga for it, but it's smart for the most part, has that big-match feel and layout, and has about as much action as one could ask for given their respective ages. I have no problem with people who praise this to the hilt, though MOTDC does seem a bit much.
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I pegged this as the best of 2001. Classic tag structure done right, a career match for Barton and Steele, and a hot finish with much better nearfalls than one would have expected coming in. Almost certainly not in my top 10 for the decade, though.
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Araya continued to be a solid midcarder, even beating Kojima during CC 2004, but floundered after that and got fat. He spent years as a comedy guy. This will probably be in the bottom half of my ballot. Wonderful story, everyone does their part, and it ends just how you'd want it to, though the work isn't quite strong enough to contend with matches that were top 5 in better years.
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I have this on the bubble. Kojima's career singles match to this point, but it's also a biiiiig step back from Kawada's top singles matches the year before. Much more good than bad. The question is whether it's good enough to top over 200 eligible matches...
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He doesn't commute to an office and sets his own hours. Granted, there is occasional travel to events, but not *that* much. That 120 hours includes a lot of what would be recreation to most people. Also, it wouldn't shock me if he's a high-functioning type who only needs 4 hours of sleep. edit: Also it might be closer to 100 hours on average with occasional bursts of 120.
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Meltzer on the MMA Hour casually mentioned that he puts in 120 hours a week and never takes a week off, ever. Between writing, reporting/interviewing, podcasts, and viewing content, that does not surprise me at all. Also, Wednesdays are his Saturday. A perfect example of 'do what you love', because anyone else would be fried ages ago.
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I have the original spreadsheet results for everything but 2006. Those will never be lost.