Matt D

Playing catch up: We received two Fantastics vs Gilbert/Sting matches. We got them out order. The earlier match is interesting. It's basically a very, very long heel-in-peril, primarily on Sting. You got the sense in this one that they were teaching him, that the purpose here was to get him a lot of ring time stooging and bumping for the Fantastics. They had an amazing rapport with the crowd, certainly, but the drama came too late in this one. It was fun for what it was, though, because you really did get to see Sting go to class and some of the lessons he was learning here probably paid off for his entire career as a babyface. The second match Pete covered. It was the 2/3 falls and it was really strong. I thought it benefited considerably from the 2/3 falls structure, which forced them to utilize transitions at appropriate times. You can't do a twenty minute heel-in-peril if you're going to do a fall ten-fifteen minutes in. The Fantastics were absolutely ahead of their time; some of the near-falls at the end of the first fall felt almost 90s AJPWish. Sting had come a long way by this point (even from a few weeks earlier you see improvement). There's an exasperation he portrayed as a heel that was very natural, a sort of "how the hell did I get into this situation?" mentality which was probably how he really felt to some degree. I wish the hot tags had been a little hotter/better timed and obviously the finish was an issue, but I thought this was strong and heated throughout. The Fantastics rousing the crowd with the object on the apron drumming between the second and the third fall was great stuff. In both matches, it's a testament to Gilbert and the Fantastics that they were able to go so long with someone so green. You have to envy these crowds. These matches were the undercard for the first two Doc vs Freebirds cage matches. I caught Dibiase/Link vs Tatum/Victory last night, It was a lot of fun. Odd couple babyface pairing with Dark Journey. The heels had Missy. Dibiase was slumming with these guys to a degree, but the heels (Especially Tatum) were happy to be in there with him and bumped and stooged all over. He was also super giving, with the majority of the match being Dibiase-in-peril. The comeback was definitive and really, this was all to set up the Freebirds coming out and assaulting Dibiase post-match. Pete would use the phrase umbrella storytelling here and he'd be right. The battle royal was enjoyable too. It's hard to keep track of everything, especially without commentary but some moments stood out. Taylor and Koko working together against OMG amused me for some reason. I loved Gang being in the ring with Tatum and co. at the end, and just mauling them when they wanted a heel-heel handshake. Duggan hitting Ring #2 and immediately charging at Gordy was awesome. I don't think we've seen much of them interacting. There was a moment when Duggan had his hand up to punch Taylor blindly, and when he realized who it was, he gave him the big thumbs up instead. The end of the match with Gordy/Buddy vs Chavo in Ring #2 and Dibiase coming out bandaged up after the earlier assault was awesome. That Dibiase/Doc vs Freebirds feud was something else. We have most of the pieces now I think. What a great, lost 80s feud. It was awesome to see Chavo, sort of at the end of his run as a star, get one last big win.

I just switched back to it and I'm amazed they're still going.

It's like a Mario kart race and the authors are the course.

They're working this like a DIY/Revival match with Giant Props. Authors of Pain are sort of like an obstacle course the two teams have to go through. It's kind of amazing, actually.

I like the Cena/Miz two man power trip idea more.

I'll concur that there are a some pretty good JYD performances on NWAonDemand. The Dynamic Duo vs Conway/Dog match is especially worth watching.

I'm going to watch this in bits and pieces over the next two weeks and probably be way happier than the rest of you because of it.

Was it Kevin Owens? Is that the joke?

That's more or less his gimmick though. I do think you have a point about the fact his colleagues got voted worst.

I will graciously give them credit for getting so much up so quickly.

I think there are plenty of entertainment things we wouldn't mind seeing, too. Mr. T or Mayweather added something special. Just having Mary Tyler Moore in the crowd was surreal. Steve Allen backstage with a piano was amazing. The muppets and WWE can be fun. Bob Barker can be even more than that. I think Al Roker ring announcing the mixed tag makes a lot of sense. I'm less enthused about random, non-wrestler related concert acts that are there just because. It's one thing for someone to play Bray Wyatt to the ring or for Snoop to do what he did last year. It's another for Flo Rida or Kid Rock or whoever to take up twenty minutes.

Really strong mainstream Wrestlemania-Timed Big Show Article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2700298-ballad-of-the-big-show-wrestlemania-33-is-the-climax-of-blood-shaq-and-tears?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

I'm double posting but I want the next Elliott and Stacey Journey podcast to a review of the 45 minute (I'm not making that up) video of Steph and Trips going through Axxess. I'm almost 100% sure it's the best part of Mania this year. https://www.facebook.com/pg/StephMcMahonWWE/videos/

I'll probably come in around 9 pm once I get the four year old to sleep, rewind back to the battle royal, watch that and then jump back to where you guys are to join the support group. I'll say this though: I am very much looking forward to the HOF this year though.

Yeah amazing. And not only that, but the Henka of Doom on Kotoshigiku ! HEEL HEAT !! Is Riki Choshu circa 93 booking sumo now ? (I've been watching too much pro-wrestling) The issue with Mania is that it reached the point of being a self-conscious epic event as a whole. From a bunch of Mania Moments ™ by the mid-00's (which was already annoying as fuck) to ManiaMoment ™. The fact that they can't build a compelling card with drive and purpose doesn't help matters.

I think Pete might even be underselling that match by around a half a star. I'll try to write more tomorrow. It was a big surprise to me and kind of makes me wish that we had another big heel Sting run at some point.

It puts them st about the same level as IWCCW when they randomly started airing mid south for a few weeks in the NYC market in the late 80s, but it's something?

To be fair, they did just post nine episodes of Mid-South, so they have that.

Good point. Best to watch the 3 years of Mid-South up on that channel asap in case WWE decides to take it down for the two months they have up now and for the next two months they might put up next year.

So in this case I guess the reason for uploading these is "just because." I'm all for it! Yeah, I just didn't want to be too optimistic! Whole bunch more right here if you want to be more optimistic about something right here and now: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKMa9zvx4rQn7-TPewu6zQ/videos

Some capsule thoughts: I'm with Pete on OMG vs Young. OMG was excellent at this point at knowing exactly how much to give. I shortchanged this match when I saw it on paper(despite liking Gang well enough) and that was a mistake. Young played up the local underdog favorite well, hyper-focused on a body part that would keep him in it. There was always the sense that Gang just needed one opportunity to crush him though. He showed me a lot here, milking moments to the crowd's dismay. It's not the craziest thing in the world to put the belt on him if he's the one main event on the roster not constantly going to Japan. Also with Pete on the AWA structure of the six man. Double heat. I thought the hot tags were lacking even if the heat was perfectly fine. I really like babyface Duncum in Houston for some reason. He plays that Blackjack Mulligan of towering cowboy (as opposed to the more technical cowboy in Casey) role well. Tully looks like such a star in these matches. I'm not saying he gets overshadowed by Gino in Duo tags but there's a lot less distinction than in these ones. The O'Connor match was great, less so for the match itself, which was a fine five minute snippet of a top wristlock battle, but because of the Boesch history lesson. He was just spouting information for five minutes straight and it left me wanting more of that (and it looks like they just posted another). I liked how he had to almost apologize for how singular the action was, commenting on the difference between late 60s wrestling and the wrestling of that day. I went back and watched Buddy Roberts vs Steve Williams in the cage too, because we got the promos that tied everything together. Right now we have the three cage matches (Doc vs Buddy, Doc vs Hayes, Dibiase vs Gordy/Hayes), some promos, at least one tag, and some scattered six mans with either Doc or Dibiase. It's a hell of a package. It feels like a chapter of one of the best forgotten feuds of the 80s. The 3 shows, 3 cage matches deal is such a great idea.

Thanks for the heads up! Those look like a lot of fun.

In this case it was all a big ad for KFC and they wanted it on YouTube for the general public.

Good for Toots.

Gentlemen, if you'd permit me to submit a third reading of the match. First and foremost, my interest was stoked because of your severe difference in opinion. You are two of my favorite voices in reviewing, analyzing and comparing this fine art that we all appreciate. I'd like to admit a few caveats before I begin. The first is that I come in completely ignorant of these two wrestlers and of JWP in this time period, and frankly, do not have the strongest background in joshi in general. The second is that I have a tendency to read far too much into matches to the point of having a reputation as such, but in this match felt the need, due to my ignorance and the fact that I did come in wanting to like it, to go even further. I assure you that I did not fabricate any dots, merely connecting what I saw, but I worry that I drifted past my own overly robust internal logic deep into the realm known as Johnny logic. Now then, let me lay out the narrative as I see it. Misae Genki is a bully. She is bigger and stronger than Ran Yu Yu. She is also far, far less skilled. Ran Yu Yu is much more of a technician and while not nearly as strong, has a deep and intense fighting spirit, a never say die attitude, and is a warrior who will stand up for the little guy. From the get go, Genki tries to bully her way through the match, immediately staging an ambush where she slaps and kicks Ran Yu Yu in the most humiliaiting way possible. Ran Yu Yu, as she will do throughout, fights back and then enraged forces the lockup that Loss was so keen on. I can understand how one moment such as this, so rare and so primal can color an entire match for a viewer and even Jetlag admitted to there being above average moments. The story stays consistent. The lock up ends with another underhanded attempt by Genki. Ran Yu Yu fires back. She then calls for a test of strength but Genki uses her power to turn it into a double knucklelock instead. She then starts employing full on bully tactics, stomping and ragdolling Ran around. There's an extra element of "shoving her into a locker" with every slam and throw. She ultimately settles in to work on the back, but grows complacent and bored with playing with her prey (who refuses to give up) and tosses her against the ropes for something more enjoyable and dynamic. This is a mistake that she'll repeat through the match and it allows Ran to fire back with aerial offense (more on the transitions later). This is a huge blemish on the match, of course. Ran has a tendency to really throw herself into her offense. It's one thing to drop the selling after a transition. It's another to land so hard on her own worked-over back after her moves and not sell it in the least. I can't forgive that. Now, though, Ran is in control and she keeps that control by getting a few revenge holds. It's interesting to watch this as it fits into the broader story of this part of the match. Genki is stronger and meaner but her execution is lacking. She doesn't have the skill to get the most out of her strength. Ran is quicker and far more technically sound, but she's not strong enough to really lock in her holds and hit her moves as effectively as she needs to. When you factor in Ran's never-say-die attitude and Genki's strength and toughness, it means that neither can put the other away. In this, I fully admit that I may be turning obvious failings in the match's execution (Genki being sloppy and Ran just not being strong enough to make her stuff look good) into features. This plays into the transitions as well. Ran's firmly in charge when she's hitting moves or locking in holds, but when she tries to whip Genki into the corner, she's almost always reversed. When Genki does get offense back, it's hugely bully like. She hits a massive atomic drop. She tosses Ran into all of the railings on the outside. She utilizes a long airplane spin. All of this is hugely enhanced by Ran's truly singular ability to throw herself into her bumps. Then, as before, she gets complacent as a bully is want to do, allowing for Genki to recover and get her share of revenge back on the floor, including a revenge airplane spin which might be my favorite single moment of the match. From here on in we go towards an extended finishing stretch. I would not say there is "Your turn, my turn" so much as smaller transitions based around Ran trying whips or Genki allowing for distance to be created. The action is generally consistent. Neither can put the other away. Ran hits a lot of moves but they're lacking in impact. She's just barely hitting them. She can just barely lock her holds (like the dragon sleeper in). She's not big enough to hold Genki down. Genki hits a lot of moves but the technique is lacking. She's clumsy and Ran just has too much fire within her. Ran does her best when she's leaning on finesse, but even then, she can't quite hook what she wants. This builds towards the forearm exchanges and the finish, and here, I buy how many it takes because Ran just doesn't have the mass here. The match, the playing to the crowd, the reactions of the wrestlers present Ran's forearm as a killer but when she finally loads it up and hits it how she wants, Genki just laughs it off as a bully would. What does Ran do then? She takes the ridicule, goes back to the well and fires once more. Maybe it's a kill shot. Maybe it's a lucky shot. Maybe it's David throwing the sling. Whatever it is, it works. So there's my reading. The selling was suspect throughout the match. I thought the transitions were mostly believable, but if they were logical, they were my logic. I know nothing about these two. Maybe I'm completely wrong on the fact that there was supposed to be a size difference. I do think Genki definitely wrestled like a bully and that Ran was presented as more savvy and technical. The extent of the difference between the two, though? That was me reading into what I saw. That they presented me something I could see so much in made this a very fun match for me. Can you do this with any match? No. The points need to be there. Can you stretch potential (probably, I admit) flaws into features? Only if they're this consistent, which I imagine is rare. I never want to see either of these two again because to do so would almost certainly break the illusion I created here. It was a fun trick, but it's one I can only manage once.