Dylan Reviews Full Shows In This Thread

[rovert]

It is here if Dylan wants to debunk the 1st/2nd show of the year:

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2pn0t...1#video=x11aq35

[anarchistxx]

Can't believe Devitt went over Tanahashi.

[Dylan Waco]

It is here if Dylan wants to debunk the 1st/2nd show of the year:

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2pn0t...1#video=x11aq35

The only thing on this show that looks like it might appeal to me on any level is Ishii/Nak v. Suzuki/Benjamin and even that is hard to say because Benjamin is there. After watching this shit HoH show, no way in hell I have the stomach to sit through this entire thing right now

[rovert]

Can't believe Devitt went over Tanahashi.

Then you haven't being paying attention. Devitt has been solid gold since his heel turn. He has been getting the biggest of big pushes for a Junior Gaijin. He won the Best of Super Juniors in a clean sweep. He has become a heat machine in his current role. His interviews and Twitter are a riot. Calling out people from every major promotion in Japan and the US.

 

I am Irish and know Fergal decently but moreso his friends and trainees so I have to check myself for personal bias but everyday I see evidence of his and New Japan's fanbase growing in the West at least at a greatly increased rate than before his heel turn.

 

Devitt, Bryan and The Shield are the big wrestler/character stories of the year for me. With the three being real neck and neck.

 

It is here if Dylan wants to debunk the 1st/2nd show of the year:

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2pn0t...1#video=x11aq35

The only thing on this show that looks like it might appeal to me on any level is Ishii/Nak v. Suzuki/Benjamin and even that is hard to say because Benjamin is there. After watching this shit HoH show, no way in hell I have the stomach to sit through this entire thing right now

 

Not the stiff majesty of Goto vs Shibata? Meltzer had it at ****3/4 and some people say it is their match of the year.

 

Meltzer also seemed to have watched some matches off the show a second time just for recreation so to speak. He liked the show that much.

[Dylan Waco]

Well I don't agree with Meltzer on wrestling matches very often at this point. If anything the gap is widening.

 

I actually watched Goto v. Shibata already as a stand alone the other day. Pretty much the only thing it had going for it was stiffness. Goto is a really flat and uninteresting wrestler to me. New Japan badly needs Sak to return, which I believe is happening soon.

[Guest TheGreatPuma]

NJPW is a very enjoyable promotion and it's great to see so many fans enjoying the King of Sports these days. Devitt heel or face is a fav of mine. I heard the WWE has tried to get him but it feels and sounds like NJPW is best for him. I think of him as a total NJPW guy. He could get over big time in the WWE too.

[rovert]

NJPW is a very enjoyable promotion and it's great to see so many fans enjoying the King of Sports these days. Devitt heel or face is a fav of mine.

Likewise but he had a very dull 2012 as a babyface. A change was needed.

 

I heard the WWE has tried to get him but it feels and sounds like NJPW is best for him. I think of him as a total NJPW guy. He could get over big time in the WWE too.

Total "here we go again" subject for me. Personally I hate when people find out I like Wrestling and ask have seen Sheamus for a litany of reasons both before pre-WWE and WWE. Simply he is just really plastic and even on the Irish indies he modelled himself after what Americans wanted an Irish wrestler to be and not what an Irish person wants an Irish wrestler to be. He means a nth of what The British Bulldog meant to British people. I would much prefer Devitt in WWE just for that reason alone as he is more authentic. Although at times in WWE Sheamus can have some interesting matches in the interest of fairness.

 

But on Devitt and WWE as I've said on DVDR he at moment has an amazing work life balance given his super push and ability to spend half his time in his hometown - which is a really nice seaside town that people work their way to or retire to. I was never told a figure but it has been emphasised to me he is loaded relatively speaking. New Japan pays all his accommodation and travel too. Devitt's attempt at learning Japanese was a massive failure as he so he is probably aloof to all the usual Wrestling politics - if there is any with him that is as he is essentially a son of the promotion being only gaijin they hung onto during their absolute worst times and coming up from the Dojo.

 

So knowing what I've said WWE would have pay him enough to wretch him away from the paternal promotional of New Japan and make it worth his while to leave Ireland at the same time. I've been told Fergal doesn't like America all that much either. Also from my own experiences Fergal prefers to be anonymous in Ireland. Sheamus as an Irish indy Wrestler had a showbiz agent and that agent had him at every party in Dublin so he could get photographed by showbiz magazine. Devitt has never contacted his local paper for publicity. WWE would have to pay him a massive downside which I don't see happening. He isn't Mistico and the Irish American audience doesn't have the potential the Hispanic audience does for WWE. What does say an additional $100,000 a year mean when he now has to pay road and relocation expenses?

 

Don't worry for me as I will get by authentic Irish jollies when Devitt's student and I guess ex-Wrestling prodigy given she is 26 now Rebecca Knox reports to NXT in the next week or so.

 

Sorry to takeover your thread, Dylan

[Dylan Waco]

No need to apologize. I could give a fuck about Devitt, but this is the longest post in rovert boarding history and I am proud to have it in my thread

[rovert]

No need to apologize. I could give a fuck about Devitt, but this is the longest post in rovert boarding history and I am proud to have it in my thread

 

Yay.

 

Also William Regal takes an interest in him like he does Danielson, Hero, Claudio etc. So you must accept Fergal in your heart, Dylan.

[Badlittlekitten]

Out of interest Dylan, do you have a favourite indie fed? I quite enjoyed that SAW link (apart from the berk on commentary), very old school feel about it. Like me you seem to dislike ROH/Dragon Gate stuff so is there any particular indie that you'd recommend to this Londoner?

[Dylan Waco]

Out of interest Dylan, do you have a favourite indie fed? I quite enjoyed that SAW link (apart from the berk on commentary), very old school feel about it. Like me you seem to dislike ROH/Dragon Gate stuff so is there any particular indie that you'd recommend to this Londoner?

As a rule I'm a big fan of Southern indies. Part of that is probably cultural bias - to the extent that I get to see indies that is what I see and much of what they do is closely related to the wrestling themes that I grew up on and enjoy(ed). But I also generally enjoy the style of work you see on Southern indies more than what you see in your "super indie" feds.

 

I really like DSCW a lot but they are very sporadic about putting their stuff on youtube. Earlier in the year before they got local tv they were putting up several matches from each card. Now you are lucky if one or two trickle out per show. I am also a really big fan of Empire, a very well run fed in Chattanooga metro area, that runs weekly most of the year and bi-weekly during the summer months. Perhaps not coincidentally DSCW and Empire have a lot of overlapping talent (Kyle Matthews, Shaun Tempers, Cyrus The Destroyer, et.).

 

I also enjoy Rampage Pro a good bit, and they have an actual weekly web show, though I tend to find them more hit and miss then DSCW or Empire. They have some really solid promos there and the fed being run by an eccentric money mark who advertises all over his own show is pretty great. The TV title scene is also consistently really good there. On the other hand as a whole I think the show has been getting weaker over the course of the last six or seven months and the stream from their site isn't always the best.

 

SAW has a very good talent roster and they bring in strong special attractions, but it may be the most overbooked promotion in the world at the moment. I've seen a bunch of solid SAW tv matches ruined by run-ins, ref bumps and other assorted bullshit and it's soured me some on the promotion, even as I acknowledge that many of my favorites have and/or are working their regularly (Vordell Walker, Damien Wayne, The Untouchables and others). That said their shows are uploaded with regularity to youtube, so they are easy to follow and when they have a good show it is usually really good. This weeks tv is a strong example as there were two really good tag matches on it, including the best Tracy Smothers match I've seen in several years.

 

Metro Pro has a web show (it may or may not be on "real" tv) that is often times really, really good and often times completely skippable. I'm a fan of Jeremy Wyatt, Mike Sydal, Bradley Charles, The Hooligans and ACH (who was a regular there for a while though I'm not sure that he still is as their taping cycle is broad) and more often than not one of these guys is on a show so that's a plus. They also have been known to give these guys a lot of time to work which is another plus and Wyatt has been working a bit this year where he is wrestling a cast of indie all-stars from elsewhere which is a cool idea in theory.

 

Traditional Championship Wrestling has a very well produced show and in a way feels more "big time" then almost any other indie fed you could name, but I'm not enamored with the talent roster. Still TCW has put on some good matches, including a Lance Hoyt v. Chris Masters match from a couple of weeks back that is one of the better U.S. indie matches I've seen this year. I could actually see an argument that their show may be the easiest to absorb because of the strength of the presentation which is more of a t.v. product than SAW (or for that matter DSCW or Empire who's matches almost always are just fancams though Empire in particular is very strong about using social media to promote shows and keep you up on the latest angles/storylines).

 

NWA Anarchy is also uploaded regularly (and featured on their site) and of course is basically the heir to Wildside. Anarchy is nowhere near the level of Wildside in my view, but they have some of the same faces, it is a real show and there is some strong talent their. My experience with them over the last couple of years is that you get a lot of "pretty good" stuff, but very little that blows you away. That's still more than I could say for ROH tv though.

 

I really have enjoyed a lot of Wrestleforce stuff lately and they are semi-local so that is cool, but it's another fancam thing and you never know when or what will pop up. NWA Houston has also put on some stuff I've really loved in the last two years, but again it only sporadically pops up.

 

Anyhow this is a needlessly long response. My shorter summation/answer would be that Empire and DSCW are basically 1 and 1a. as far as being my current favorites, but they don't have "shows" in the tv sense (well DSCW does but I think but it's never uploaded). If you are looking for an indies with an actual show I think it's much harder to pick and all of the above have pros and cons.

[Badlittlekitten]

Wow, thanks for the super response and info . Been wanting to sink my teeth into another decent indie for a while and I'm always happy to go down south.

 

I'm off to youtube.

[Dylan Waco]

Let me know what you think/find from these feds. With each fed there are specific matches and wrestlers I would recommend highly if you want more details

[anarchistxx]

Then you haven't being paying attention. Devitt has been solid gold since his heel turn. He has been getting the biggest of big pushes for a Junior Gaijin. He won the Best of Super Juniors in a clean sweep. He has become a heat machine in his current role. His interviews and Twitter are a riot. Calling out people from every major promotion in Japan and the US.

Yeah, I haven't been watching the full shows especially. Just surprised me because the recent matches I have seen of Tanahashi he has been working these epic heavyweight main events and being pushed as 'the man', whereas my exposure to Devitt over the years has been of a talented midcard junior. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it.

[Dylan Waco]

PWG All Star Weekend Night One

 

Paul London v. Kevin Steen

 

Man alive does Steen look fat here. Honestly his obesity is almost distracting at points, you can almost see him morphing into modern equivalent of Mick Foley. London is doing his space man bit and the front end of this actually has some fun exchanges based around relevant themes of each character i.e. Steen as fat fuck/brickwall and London as fried stoner. Then London literally throws down the gauntlet and challenges Steen to a duel by slapping his face with a glove and from there this is pretty much what you expect. I will say the PWG live crowd really adds a lot to their shows, because I really didn't mind this match and could see loathing it in other settings, but even still I don't get matches like this. There are some huge bombs in this in between shitty Kevin Steen standup spots, but there isn't anything even close to a heat section or anything that feels dramatic. This makes it just seem absurd when Steen hits something like a sleeper suplex and has to act SHOCKED! that London is able to kick out. A lot of the stuff in this was good looking stuff and I thought the finishing combo was pretty neat, particularly the shooting star onto Steen as he tried to get to his feet. So while this was entirely watchable and on some level even fun, it really felt flat and it's the sort of wrestling that actually puzzles me.

 

The Young Bucks v. Johnny Gargano/Chuck Taylor

 

Fuck I can't believe I made it through this piece of shit. On the one hand I have to give them credit for at least establishing a face/heel dynamic and for actually having a heat section. On the other hand I'm not surge I can think of two less likable people in wrestling then Gargano/Taylor. I suppose if the reanimated corpse of Chris Benoit was teaming with Tom Zenk I could get behind Taylor/Gargano as babyfaces, but I can't think of any other scenario offhand. The first half of this was built around pretty good heel team getting heat on guys who I wanted to see be crippled, with the guy getting his ass kicked selling the Bucks offense in a horribly uninteresting way. Half the time Gargano looked annoyed, I assume because he wasn't on offense. Then the last million or so years of this was nothing but guys running through unbelievably phony looking choreographed spots. Not Alex Shelley v. Jay Lethal level choreographed, but not far off. Not even in the spirited PWG crowd could save this trash.

 

Jay Lethal v. Eddie Edwards

 

There is a hammerlock exchange at the beginning of this that might be the worst thing I've ever seen in wrestling. It literally looked like they were engaging in some strange square dancing technique I've never seen before. At one point it looked like Edwards was trying to cue Lethal to promenade around the hall, but Jay flubbed it which made this even worse. If you are going to do Godwins spots at least do them right. They run through a bunch of shit super fast and then the match starts to get tolerable when Lethal slows things down and starts working a control segment. And then the new worst thing I've ever seen in wrestling happens as Lethal asks for fan help to whip him into Edwards (I guess?) and they whip him into the ring apron on accident! Except it's obviously not something that could occur accidentally. Probably the single most "hey wrestling is fake, lol laugh with us!" spot in the history of wrestling, vastly worse than anything I've seen from Chikara. To make it worse this is followed up by a bunch of "high impact" style stuff that doesn't have a particularly high degree of impact. In fact some of it has virtually no impact. Edwards knee based offense is especially laughable. And of course this just goes on forever and ever or at least seemed to. Then just as I'm about to shoot my computer, they do this spot where Edwards misses a kick to Lethal's face and Lethal sells it anyway, but worse yet he sells it by pumping his fist. What the fuck is that? When the fuck did Jay Lethal become so terrible? I know Edwards is awful but is it possible that he's this bad an influence? Anyhow, completely terrible match, among the worst I can recall seeing in recent memory. In some ways this was almost a caricature of the 2.9, MOVEZ, interpretative dance style of wrestling.

 

AR Fox/Samuray Del Sol v. Rich Swann/Ricochet

 

This isn't necessarily my thing, but man this was miles better than the last two matches. Yeah there is a ton of your spotty stuff in this, but it's well placed and at least it actually looks special/athletic. So what you want about the Ricochet/Del Sol segment at the jump of this but it's visually impressive and it was done as part of a feeling each other out/shine portion of a match. Richochet is such a shit eating prick that even with all the cute stuff, he comes across as a real heel here which also helps. I very much enjoyed the isolation segment and spots on Del Sol and while the heat wasn't built for a super long period of time, the selling was pretty sustained, to the point that Del Sol's big dive felt like a huge moment instead of just another spot, on a night filled with them. The back end of this actually worked too as you had another meaningful dive from Ricochet, followed by a flurry from AR Fox that came across as a guy taking his shot while he had it and then a really nice finishing sequence, which saw a kill shot, Swann sacrificing himself and a 630 finish. This is how matches like this should be worked.

 

Roderick Strong v. Trent Beretta

 

Is there any indie guy half as bland as Strong? I guess Eddie Edwards qualifies, but Strong has been around so much longer. This match actually gives me real hope for Beretta as an indie guy, because it was well paced and had some degree of build and structure. This was not a perfect match and had it's fair share of shit I didn't like, but I did genuinely enjoy chunks of it. Liked the way the strikes were used, like the Beretta rope counter being used against him, liked him mocking the PWG big move cultural, liked his big dive and how it was set up. I mean yeah the roll up sequence on the back end of this was comically stupid, but what can you do? I also thought this had a pretty sick finish as far as cartoony finishes go. Not really a good match, but I didn't hate it.

 

Michael Elgin/Brian Cage v. Adam Cole/Kyle O'Reilly

 

On paper this looks wildly unappealing to me. I like Brian Cage for what he is and Elgin is good when he works as a power guy, but I hate rope running Elgin and the other team is a pair of guys I couldn't possibly care less about. So I was surprised that this was not completely boring. Honestly I don't know what to think of this because I think they had some good ideas, it's just hard for them to come off in this environment where so much is invested in getting the "Holy Shit!" spots in. This had a pretty good shine with the suplex power spot being really impressive and I thought the transition to Cole/O'Reilly offense being a chair shot was really smart. They even managed to showcase Elgin's power spots in relevant ways as bridges for hot tags and hope spots. But the need to do a bunch of "stuff" is such a prevailing part of PWG culture I just don't think it's possible to put on a a match I'm really going to love. Just way too much of the "this will look cool, so let's do it" wrestling for me to ever give a fuck and a pretty awful finishing run that killed the solid build on the front end. Another one for the garbage heap.

 

Sami Callihan v. Drake Younger - Guerilla Warfare Match

 

For your car crash, CZW style, matches this was actually good. Again it's not really my favorite thing in wrestling and I could have lived without the opening minute or so, but the Passion of Drake Younger was actually a very effective way to book this. You could argue that Younger's comebacks were too quick, but it's not like he wasn't going right back to sustaining punishment and getting destroyed in some novel way as soon as the surge of energy ran out. Lots of crazy shit in this, including the bump onto the trashcan, the big Mike Awesome style razor's edge over the ropes onto the chairs and just the sheer loss of blood and nastiness of Drake's cut. For my money the best spots were Sami throwing tacks into Younger's face and the staple gun used to cut off the sunset flip which I thought was pretty brilliant even if it was heavily telegraphed. This won't appeal to everyone and in all honesty this is not the sort of Sami match I really want to see at this point, but I did like it and thought it was pretty easily the best match on the show.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

There are a couple of ways to look at this. On the one hand there were some things that pleasantly surprised me or worked enough around the flaws inherent in this style of wrestling that I was really able to enjoy them. On the other hand I really have trouble getting through shows like this and the bad stuff on this show was among the worst stuff I've seen in the last ten years. Two matches I loathed, two matches I liked, another couple that I thought were watchable but didn't grab me and one that was working okay and then crashed down the stretch straight into a pile of shit Biff Tannen style. No way I could recommend this show to anyone who wasn't totally in love with the "go, go, go, go, go!!!" style of wrestling, but I didn't hate it as much as a whole as you might think based on the worst two matches.

[Hollinger.]

Uh oh, I am about to put that one on myself. Going in with lowered expectations, even knowing that I enjoy some of this stuff more than you do.

[Dylan Waco]

I actually have trouble seeing how anyone could like Edwards v. Lethal. It's just...I mean...I don't have words for how bad it is

[Hollinger.]

I can't stand Lethal. I like Eddie more than you, but I'm not expecting anything watchable.

[soup23]

Gargano has really become perplexing to me because I have pretty much hated his whole run in DGUSA and Chikara/PWG alongside team FIST but I have watched a good bit of AIW the past couple of days and have really liked him. He toned down the goofiness and ton and was a perfectly acceptable spunky babyface. Taylor on the other hand is a lost cause as he was still doing the same lame ass comedy and even brought out the Swamp Monster for his match.

[Log]

This makes it just seem absurd when Steen hits something like a sleeper suplex and has to act SHOCKED! that London is able to kick out.

I cannot stand it when dudes hit a move they have never, ever won a match with, then just can't see how it didn't get the pin.

[rovert]

Uh oh, I am about to put that one on myself. Going in with lowered expectations, even knowing that I enjoy some of this stuff more than you do.

I enjoyed the show. Not the best PWG show but well above average.

 

I actually have trouble seeing how anyone could like Edwards v. Lethal. It's just...I mean...I don't have words for how bad it is

I either skip, zone out or do something else during their matches. I genuinely didn't watch that one closely.

 

PWPonderings is a great, comprehensive site for Indy wrestling. Jeremy Cusson in great contrast to Dylan wrote:

 

Shockingly, Jay Lethal had never been in PWG before this weekend. He took on a fellow ROH wrestler in Eddie Edwards. What a fantastic back and forth match. One thing I can’t complain about is everyone got time both nights to tell their stories and be the main event even if they were only the third match on the card. Lethal was in Black Machismo mode, so his charisma level was a +5 in this match. All I can say is if these two had half the charisma of someone like CM Punk or Kevin Steen, they would be in WWE developmental right now. I would honestly place these two in the top 20 in-ring workers in North America and probably in the top 10% of wrestlers around the world. I’m not sure why I was shocked at this match being so great, but at the end of the 21 minutes, I wanted to go back and watch this again. Edwards won clean in a great battle. Everything from the hammerlock exchange in the beginning to the Megapowers handshake to some of the chain wrestling throughout. Great wrestling match.

http://www.pwponderings.com/2013/05/07/pwg...t-1-dvd-review/

 

Most PWG fans hated the Drake-Sami hardcore stuff some went as far to say they were are repulsed. Can't say I am a massive fan either to be honest.

[concrete1992]

I don't get how Cusson enjoyed that match. To think it was great sorta baffles me. To each his own I suppose. You can tell what wrestling he watches by him thinking they are both top 20 wrestlers in North America.

 

Trent Barretta is a guy I think is gonna do just fine on the indies though Twitter has upset me with their approach to him. People saying he has to "adapt to the indy style" where I think him working his way can only be beneficial for some of the people he is going to work with on the indies.

[Badlittlekitten]

Poor Tom Zenk

[goodhelmet]

What happened to Tom Zenk?

[goodhelmet]

Nevermind, read the review from Dylan where he teams Zenk with the corpse of Benoit.