Cactus's MOTYC 2016

[cactus]

Cactus's MOTYC 2016

★★★★★

★★★★¾

★★★★½
Shinsuke Nakamura vs AJ Styles (NJPW, 1/4/2016)
Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll (Rev Pro, 1/16/2016)

★★★★¼
Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar (WWE, 21/2/2016)

Kamaitachi vs Dragon Lee (CMLL, 3/4/2016)

★★★★
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 1/4/2016)
Kenny Omega vs Mark Haskins (4FW, 1/23/2016)
Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (NJPW, 1/24/2016)

Reviews:

Shinsuke Nakamura vs AJ Styles (NJPW, 1/4/2016)
It's Nakamura in a big match on the Dome show. Do you really need more motivation to check it out? They play up on AJ's recent back problems which result in a great spot where AJ plays possum. Near enough every near fall and submission felt like it could end the match, and even as the match approached the 25 minute mark, I still didn't want it to end. A total war.
★★★★½


Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 1/4/2016)
As much as I want to crap on this match for it's dull control segments and opening moments, they kept me entertained enough with spots early in the match like the springboard dropkick knocking Tanahashi outside in brutal fashion and the cross body over the guardrail. Once they hit the finishing stretch is when things get really great. I can even forgive some of the signature move reversal exchanges looking like a dance rather than a struggle for dominance. These guys know how to work an epic big match finishing stretch. This borrows a lot from the early 00's WWE main event style, as they end up using each others finishing move. They add enough new stuff here to make it stand out from their other battles. It's flawed, but the great stuff outweighs the bad.
★★★★

Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll (Rev Pro, 1/16/2016)
This reminded me of an early 2000's ROH epic. Ospreay isn't afraid to risk hurting himself when he bumps and it puts over Scrull's offense well. Ospreay is one of the few natural babyface wrestlers still about. He's insanely athletic, can bump well and can garner sympathy from any crowd. I'm not usually the biggest Scurll fan, but he was great in this. A total dick who enjoyed torturing Ospreay in a manner of ways. This match holds up on a rewatch. Did it go into overkill? Yeah, maybe. But when you'd start questioning if they should start wrapping things up, they throw a cool counter or move into the works and you are back into it. My only other gripe with this match is how quickly move on from that sickening finger bending spot. That spot was brutal and should of been an important part of the match, instead they quickly moved on to next sequence. I'll be shocked if this isn't my UK MOTY by the end of 2016.
★★★★½

Kenny Omega vs Mark Haskins (4FW, 1/23/2016)
So glad that these guys didn't hold because this was a small indy show. These guys go hard, from dishing out some brutal knees (Omega's knee attack might be one of my favorite moves in wrestling right now) and throwing themselves hard into the metal barriers, even breaking part of one. Great back-and-forth match that ended exactly when it needed to.
★★★★

Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (NJPW, 1/24/2016)
Man, sometimes I feel like I've seen every spot imaginable that can take place within the confides of a pro-wrestling match, then a match like this comes along and reminds me that I haven't seen shit yet. There's not too much I can say which hasn't already been said. I do feel like in the later parts of the match descended into the guys just getting their shit in because the crowd was buying it, but it was all high-drama action, so you can't hate on it too much. I still hate that C4 move though.
★★★★


Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar (WWE, 21/2/2016)
The only thing worth your time on one of the worst WWE PPVs in recent history. Shorter than your normal WWE PPV main event, there's no wasted time and jump straight into things. Ambrose's offense looked rather harmless and ineffective, but Ambrose sold Lesnar's suplexes like death and Lesnar didn't act like he was shot when Ambrose hit him with weak bombs, so it's all good. Some great spots in this, including Roman spearing Lesnar when he was about to hit the F5 and the German suplex/Samoa drop spot. Everything wrapped up way too prematurely and Roman no-selling the chair shots hindered the finish, which was the weakest part of this match. We all knew deep down who was winning this, but they managed to convince me that Ambrose had the slightest chance for the duration of this match. My WWE MOTY for the moment.

★★★★¼

Kamaitachi vs Dragon Lee (CMLL, 3/4/2016)

This felt more at home compared to the NJPW match from earlier this year, if that makes sense. They rush through the first two falls and go full-throttle into the deciding fall. These guys work so well of each other and they sold the fatigue of all the damage they take during the course if the match well. They reach a brilliant final stand-off that wraps things up nicely. The second rope Canadian Destroyer is a rare example of that move actually looking particularly legit and not a move that it's clear as day that the person taking is obviously helping out.

★★★★¼

 

[cactus]

Adding:

 

Kamaitachi vs Dragon Lee (CMLL, 3/4/2016)

This felt more at home compared to the NJPW match from earlier this year, if that makes sense. They rush through the first two falls and go full-throttle into the deciding fall. These guys work so well of each other and they sold the fatigue of all the damage they take during the course if the match well. They reach a brilliant final stand-off that wraps things up nicely. The second rope Canadian Destroyer is a rare example of that move actually looking particularly legit and not a move that it's clear as day that the person taking is obviously helping out.

★★★★¼

[Bierschwale]

The selling gave the match a really great sense of finality, which I love as storytelling with the Homenaje coming up, the anniversary of their first classic. SIX excellent big matches (mask vs. mask at Homenaje, the Puebla title match in July, the Arena MX title matches in August & December, Fantasticamania, and then Friday's) in one year. Can't do much more than that.