August 2017 Match of the Month: Discussion Thread

[Grimmas]

I think this is something that could be a lot of fun. I this thread, nominate any awesome matches you see (that took place in August 2017) with a little reason why. We can discuss the match, people can approve and disagree. Sometime later on, we will pull the top nominations and do a poll.

 

This is something that can keep going with a new thread every month.

 

Anyways, it's August, what is great?

 

I'll start it off with the only August match I have on my database, so far.

 

Nomination:

John Cena vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Smackdown, 8/1)

 

This gave a glimpse of what could be a great rivalry, as they chemistry is really good. The charisma really stood out here. Absolutely loved Nakamura's not seeing and then seeing Cena motions. It was a bomb fest sprint, as it was a TV match, but I thought it was super entertaining. **** for me, and an easy nomination.

[soup23]

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito 8/11/17

 

A great finale to the Block A G1. This played off of their previous matches in the prior year and had a good bit of a feeling out process with Tanahashi being aggressive and getting a lot of boos. The match revolves around dueling limbwork of the leg of Naito vs the arm of Tanahashi. They mixed this up really well and I thought each limb was sold appropriately by the respective competitor. The nadir of the match was Cloverleaf that Tana locks in that plays off their Dominion match wonderfully and was drained for maximum impact. The finishing run again had some spectacular sequences that never veered off into ridiculousness and the finish felt like a stamp for their trilogy of matches as a whole.

[Boss Rock]

Nomination: Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL 8/5/2017

 

After some "eh" performances in the G1, EVIL really stepped it up against Omega and Okada. Great back-and-forth match with EVIL gaining the advantage on the outside by launching a plastic chair at Okada and hitting Darkness Falls on a pile of chairs. Great escalation and Okada sold the threat of EVIL and the damage to his neck well. And just when it looked like Okada would pull victory out of the jaws of defeat yet again, EVIL counters and becomes the first man to beat the champ in a singles match in 2017.

 

Awesome match and really established EVIL as a legitimate threat and title contender. ****1/4.

[superkix]

Nomination: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/8/17)

 

Easily Suzuki's best performance since returning to New Japan.It's hard to pull off a flawless 30-minute draw without a little meandering here and there, but I thought they did a pretty damn good job of keeping things moving forward. What I loved about this match is that it played up Okada's weakness when it comes to his striking ability, with his elbows obviously puny compared to Suzuki's. They got the Suzuki-gun shenanigans out of the way early, which allowed Suzuki to really tap into that "baddest motherfucker around" mentality as he starts in on Okada's injured neck, ripping the protective tape off and ragdolling him into the guardrail. I thought Okada's selling was really some of his best to date, always reminding us that he's fighting through the pain. But the bread-and-butter of this match is Suzuki just wrecking the golden boy. I really liked the transitions through the facelock, with Suzuki trapping the arm and going into a crossface and then just using a lot of headscissor variations to bend and twist the neck. Awesome stuff.The crowd was way into Suzuki being a badass and the Gotch-style piledriver teases were well done, with the crowd eating them up. Suzuki countering the first Rainmaker attempt with the sleeper into the Saka Otoshi was awesome and while Okada's able to follow up with a weakened Rainmaker, Suzuki slapping the hand away on the third attempt and just bitch slapping him in the face was incredible. Toward the end, Okada sold the exhaustion and Suzuki's ruthlessness so well. A true testament of Okada's versatility on top. There wasn't a reliance on panty-soaking spots or over-the-top antics...I mean, the biggest move was probably Suzuki's Saka Otoshi. It was a terrific contrast of classic vs. modern, similar to what Suzuki did with Tanahashi in 2013, but with a new ace at the helm.

[Matt D]

I'm going to nominate something from August 1977 instead.

[Ricky Jackson]

Please do

[Matt D]

Please do

 

Is that the month with the Fuji vs Strongbow match? (kidding, but if so the best choice we probably have that people would have access to easily is Bruno vs Patera; I should have probably said August, 87).

[superkix]

Jumbo vs. Mil Mascaras!

[Ricky Jackson]

Everyone should watch Bruno vs Graham from 8/1/77 MSG, a glorious bloodbath with Monsoon as ref. Maybe it will dispel some negative stereotypes about both men, for those unenlightened

[Lust Hogan]

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata 8/1/17

 

Great match with Ishii disrespecting the legend and then paying the price when Nagata laid in the kicks. Lots of good strike exchanges and selling from both guys. Both men also had awesome facials at the right times during the match. The last 3rd of the match had both men trying to survive their opponent's bombs.

 

LOVED IT!!

[Tim Evans]

Gunner Miller vs Matt Riddle 8/5

 

Out of all the matches from SCI weekend, this was my favorite. You got Gunner Miller who's this big dude that is over huge in Chattanooga after winning the tournament last year. Enter Matt Riddle who went to the finals last year and was basically in the tournament this year for Tank's last match. This was just a terrific sprint of a match. I wouldn't call it a spotfest but that's basically what it was without the highspots. Both guys gave it all and the crowd was going nuts for it. I can't put it into words you'll just have to watch it on Powerbomb.TV when it goes up. A star making performance for Gunner and another notch in the belt for Riddle.

[Grimmas]

For those who have seen the NJPW matches, are they all worth the nominations?

 

I've read on twitter there has been at least three five star matches the last three nights.

[soup23]

Tanahashi/Naito, Okada/Omega and Omega/Naito are all worth nominating. I think all three are great matches.

[SmartMark15]

Tanahashi/Naito, Okada/Omega and Omega/Naito are all worth nominating. I think all three are great matches.

 

Agreed. The last two in particular being of particular note.

[Jetlag]

 

Please do

 

Is that the month with the Fuji vs Strongbow match? (kidding, but if so the best choice we probably have that people would have access to easily is Bruno vs Patera; I should have probably said August, 87).

 

 

FWIW Claude Roca/Walter Bordes vs. Albert Sanniez/Pierre Bernaert (France 8/29) was pretty rad

[Boss Rock]

 

Tanahashi/Naito, Okada/Omega and Omega/Naito are all worth nominating. I think all three are great matches.

 

Agreed. The last two in particular being of particular note.

 

 

Will co-sign on this as well. Tanahashi-Naito was great but about on the level of their last two. Okada-Omega and Omega-Naito are legitimate MOTYC's though.

[superkix]

Preferred both semi-finals (and Okada/Suzuki) to the final itself.

[Lust Hogan]

Late to the party but I just watched Okada vs. Omega from the G-1 and while I thought it was pretty decent I didn't understand all the love. I thought the match was ALL Okada and he sold brilliantly. I understood the story of the match but my biggest problem was Omega. He's in great shape and moves very fluidly in the ring however (And I haven't watched a ton of Kenny, BTW) I just thought he was TOO MUCH! He was over animated and constantly pointing to the crowd, overselling ( Seemed like the only expression he knows is "bug eyed"), and not staying in the moment. I found him to be setting up the NEXT move far more than him selling the impact of the current action.

 

Maybe I'm just missing it but that's how I saw things. I thought Okada drew the fans in with his selling and psychology far more than anything Omega did.

[World's Worst Man]

For those who have seen the NJPW matches, are they all worth the nominations?

 

I've read on twitter there has been at least three five star matches the last three nights.

 

Omega/Okada, Tanahashi/Naito, Okada/Suzuki are all great in my opinion, with Tanahashi/Naito being the best of the bunch, and the best of the tournament. Not that any of them were *****. Tanahashi/Ishii, Okada/Evil, and Nagata/Ishii were all excellent too albeit a step below the first three I thought.

 

The final was the March 2003 Kobashi/Misawa match with worse pacing, selling and missing 10 years of story/build.