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Woof

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Great, great pro-wrestling show. Every single match was good. Main event was off the charts. Gargano is a next-level babyface. Good luck following that, Royal Rumble. So much drama. It felt so old school. Just fun pro-wrestling.

 

Johnny Wrestling has that Ricky Steamboat sympathy. You can't teach that. His facial expression are incredible. He dies so well.

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I only watched the main event tonight, but im glad I did. A lot of modern matches just feel like 2 guys doing a bunch of moves or spots until the finish, especially in WWE. But in this main event, it really felt to me like each was trying to win. It helped I think that the crowd seemed really behind Gargano. It felt like we weren't just hoping the bookers had picked Gargano, but like the outcome was actually being fought over in the middle of the ring. I like the bit with the women as well. And then the post match angle really made me excited to see what happens next, so good job NXT.

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I'm not 100% sold on the main yet (I just need to digest it. I just finished it), but I do think what made it work so well were three things:

 

1.) The counter stuff/athleticism felt next level at times, and so many things were built up and paid off.

2.) But it was always grounded in the characters and who they were. Even when it got a tiny bit too dancey or slightly too pop-uppy, it was always Gargano as the arch-babyface and Almas wrestling like a rudo (which isn't necessarily the same thing as a heel). The roles mattered and they drove the match.

3.) They gave it both highs and lows. They had time to make things breathe and to build and build and build and payoff.

 

If there's a four, it's Gargano's quasi-concussed dead-eyed facial sell.It's almost uncomfortable to watch him sell, and that's just artistry. He can take that to the bank.

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The terms are a bit more deconstructible than the American face/heel dynamic. Tecnicos try to stay true to the traditions/rules of "pure" lucha libre through their athleticism and grace - generally this curries favour with the crowds. Rudos disregard this approach and rather focus on brawling or power moves to win. Yes, they can and generally do bend (!) rules in their favour but they don't necessarily need to break them. These run from direct breaches (Satanico faking fouls to win hair matches) right down to a guy like Pentagon Jr who doesn't necessarily bend the rules but typically acts like a badass mugger. So, perhaps Almas became more violent/cocky in his approach?

 

I've not seen the match, yet, so I'm unsure of the differentiation Matt D is trying to make specifically. Just my 2c on the difference, in general, though.

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Yeah the main event, from the beginning with Almas coming out with the mariachi band to the end with Gargano being attacked, was as great of a presention of professional wrestling I've ever seen in my entire life. The match might be the best WWE match I've ever seen, with drama and moments as good as any I've seen from Houston and Memphis wrestling during the 1970s and 1980s. Just master-level performances from both Gargano and Almas.

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*I also reserve the right to go back on what I said after a second watch because I was posting after mid-night with an unhappy baby in my arms. I'll revisit soon. There were a few things that stood out at the time though. Almas is an Ingobernable too which isn't 100% the same.

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