Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Proposal for 2018: Match Review Trades


Matt D

Recommended Posts

Thank God I just checked that thread again, just saw that I was paired with topropepodcast so here it is:

 

For you, topropepodcast I chose the wXw 2008 24 Karat Gold Semi-Final Match between Chris Hero and Bryan Danielson. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

 

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v117723872qYTpcZNx

Thats a good one

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 758
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Dory Funk Jr./Terry Funk vs. The Sheik/Abdullah the Butcher, AJPW Open Tag League 12/15/77

 

We immediately start with Dory and Terry attacking the opposition, the highlights of which include Terry showing that violent streak he's become legendary for by choking the heel manager (can't tell if it's Grand Wizard or Eddie Creatchman) with his own scarf. What makes this extra special is how Terry shoves his feet against the bottom rope to really wrench it back, and this is followed quickly by Dory stomping a bloodied Abby (surprise!) and dropping elbows, stopping only when Sheik (who's taken a worse beating and sells the hell out of it) kicks him in the ribs.

 

The pace crawls for a bit as the heels get their shine, but it picks up in no time when Sheik spikes Terry's arm and shoulder as Joe Higuchi just sorta lets it happen. That's one of my few complaints that don't involve Dory's aversion to charisma.

 

Terry gets taken out and Dory gets double teamed for a bit. Again, Higuchi ignoring the in-plain-view spike is annoying, but all is saved by Terry making his triumphant return. Bandaged, bloodied, but he'll bring the fires of hell if they think they're treating big brother Dory the way they treated him.

 

The finish comes when Sheik spikes Higuchi in the throat, bringing a DQ. While not a satisfying ending by any stretch, knowing that the feud goes on for a few more years alleviates my issues. Post-match brawl, the heels leave, and the Funks are presented their trophy.

 

PRO:

-There's a match featuring three of the godfathers of hardcore and it's as bloody as the time period allowed.

-Seriously, Terry Funk is incredible.

-The pacing is nigh perfect, to the point where I completely lost track of time and didn't check until, unbeknownst to me at the time, the finishing stretch was about to kick in. This is something missing from most matches I've seen in the last 5 years.

-BELIEVABLE SELLING. These 4 men are presented as either fantastic athletes or just all-around tough SOBs, and seeing Dory jump right to a sell mid-kick was beautiful. Sheik deserves a ton of love here, too, as he took that early beating and staggered back for more.

-TERRY. FUNK.

 

CON:

-Higuchi ignoring Sheik's blatant use of a foreign object.

-While the finish may work in the context of the feud overall, I hate screwy finishes to tournaments. Always have, always will.

-Too much Dory, not enough Terry (even if Terry's role was utilized perfectly).

-HIGUCHI IGNORING THE GODDAMN SPIKE.

 

Overall, this was a blast. It's so odd to hear a Japanese crowd unglued for an entire match instead of key dramatic moments, and the heat definitely added to it. This is exactly the type of wrestling I love the most, Richey, and I'm glad you sent it to me.

 

FINAL VERDICT:

7.5/10, ***3/4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[Terry showing that violent streak he's become legendary for by choking the heel manager (can't tell if it's Grand Wizard or Eddie Creatchman) with his own scarf. What makes this extra special is how Terry shoves his feet against the bottom rope to really wrench it back, and this is followed quickly by Dory stomping a bloodied Abby (surprise!) and dropping elbows, stopping only when Sheik (who's taken a worse beating and sells the hell out of it) kicks him in the ribs.

 

 

I think it would have been wizard as, he was sheiks manager for years in Detroit.

 

Glad you really liked the match, and on the finish it is ajpw around this time and up to a decade after it is nearly all das or countouts or some other infuriating finish.

 

I really enjoyed the match that you gifted, do you know of any other death squad matches that you would recommend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They had a few solid brawls with the London Riots for both Progress and Southside, a few available on YouTube. My exposure to them is mostly via YouTube searches since the bulk of their work is in WXW, which I don't have a sub to. It seems like they started to get more bookings right around when Tommy End started getting eyed by WWE, and I want to say Michael Dante (really underrated indie hoss, just tons of fun, almost like Samoa Joe through a sloppy-as-hell ECW filter) had either a knee or shoulder injury.

 

They also backed Mikey Whiplash as the muscle in Legion, which is probably my favorite ICW (Scot) angle to date. If the video package for the NAK feud blow off doesn't make you want to see it then check your pulse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AstroBoy assigned me Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tanahashi from NJPW G1 Climax on 07/17/17.

 

He admitted to digging into my posting history, where I've been very vocal about my dislike of Zack Sabre Jr. based on what I saw of him in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. :)

 

If this match was given to me with the intention of changing my mind about ZSJ, it mostly succeeded.

 

First, the things I still don't like about ZSJ: His offense still looks way too "light" at times, and he's clearly still very young and green in places. At this point, all he does is wrestle - there's very little in the way of character work, facial expressions, or crowd interactions.

 

With that said, I walked away from the match thinking he's one of the most creative wrestlers I've ever seen. His submission game is masterful to watch. Not everything looked impactful, but when he was bending Tanahashi's fingers, etc., you better believe I was wincing. He's doing things in ways no one else is, and I have to tip my hat to him for that. It's great fun to watch all of the different locks and traps he devises. One particular spot I liked was Sabre turning a Tanahashi legdrop into a submission.

 

With a few more years of experience and seasoning, ZSJ has the potential to become something really special. Some would argue he's already there, and in some ways, that's true. But he's still very young yet and still needs seasoning in certain areas.

 

For example, Tanahashi had an injured arm, which Zack didn't really focus on too much until the end (or least he didn't make that focus obvious to me). Still, I'm glad it at least played a role in the finish. ZSJ removing Tanahashi's arm cast and unwrapping his bandages was a nice touch.

 

I went into this match completely cold, knowing very little about ZSJ outside of what I saw in the CWC, and even less about Tanahashi other than the raves I've read online. I had no idea where this was situated in the G1 Climax, what title Tanahashi was holding, or if ZSJ walked away with said title because he won. None of that really matters though.

 

I was expecting to be blown away by Tanahashi, and...well, I wasn't. The fans seemed quite taken with him, but he came across to me like Terry Taylor wearing a colorful costume. No matter what Taylor wore, he was still going to be one of the least interesting and least charismatic wrestlers on the card (outside of his Taylor Made Man run with Alexandra York and tag team with Greg Valentine - those ruled!). Tanahashi struck me the same way.

 

I don't know if it was a clash of styles, or Tanahashi purposely slowing down and looking weak to sell his injury (or if it was a legit injury), but he didn't really show me much. This was The Zack Sabre Jr. Show all the way, to my surprise.

 

Now that I've said all of that, I'm sure I've opened myself up to being assigned a Tanahashi match in the next round. :P

 

Everything written above was also posted here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/38860-hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-zack-sabre-jr-njpw-g1-climax-071717/&do=findComment&comment=5827078

 

(Note: I purposely avoided reading any of the posts in that thread ahead of time because I didn't want my own initial impressions and opinions influenced in any way.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind that Hiroshi Tanahashi is currently really banged up (and I mean REALLY banged up, even at the time of this match) so don't take that match from Tanahashi to build your opinion on his work. You might want to check some of his stuff from 2014 for instance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Rah, the Rhodes Brothers vs Real Americans was a real delight. My full review is here, but this is my final thoughts:

 

I expected a fun little tag, instead I got a decent length awesome AWA style tag team match. So many highlights in this one, from the double dive by the Rhodes Brothers, to the awesome heat segment on Goldust with two great hope spot teases on the hot tag. Although Goldust was pulling out insane offense and was hugely sympathetic, The Americans had great tandem offense to more than hold up their end of the bargain. The finish was pretty hot too.

 

Really go out of your way to see this one!

 

Rating: *** 3/4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you enjoyed the match C.S.

 

I feel like Sabre has really turned up the nastiness this past year and works with a much greater degree of focus and tenacity than he used to. It's at least helped bridge the gap into making him a more believable threat, especially in a setting like the G-1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you enjoyed the match C.S.

 

I feel like Sabre has really turned up the nastiness this past year and works with a much greater degree of focus and tenacity than he used to. It's at least helped bridge the gap into making him a more believable threat, especially in a setting like the G-1.

 

I completely forgot to mention that I think being a heel really helps Sabre. I can envision him being a Bret Hart-style babyface down the road, once he gets more experience and seasoning - but for right now, being a heel suits his style more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watched and reviewed Jetlags match for me, really enjoyed it despite it being a Motegi match!

 

Shinichi Nakano vs Masayoshi Motegi 06 10 97

 

http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/38438-shinichi-nakano-vs-masayoshi-motegi-wdf-610/?p=5827206&do=findComment&comment=5827206

 

I was given a really fun grappling heavy studio TV match between Sonny King and a young Ricky Morton. Review is here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/23843-ricky-morton-vs-sonny-king-memphis-tv-042680/&do=findComment&comment=5826946

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Week 2: I think everyone's come through and it went well. People seemed to enjoy it. I'm glad. If you haven't had a chance to hit your match yet, that's ok. You're just generating a backlog for yourself. In the meantime, come up with one for your new partner for the week so that they can keep rolling. I took a quick glance and it doesn't look like anyone's matched up with the same person again.


CapitalTTruth

PeteF3


SPS

Rah


topropepodcast

WingedEagle


SirEdgar

Matt Franklin


Matt D

Jmare007


Grimmas

AstroBoy


C.S.

Wahoo's Leg


Laz

soup23


dawho5


Jetlag



Nintendo Logic

Tim Evans


Beast

Richeyedwards


I'll try to have a match for jmare later in the day.


Thanks for participating.



dawho5

Jetlag

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PeteF3... it looks like you have one to catch up on as is, but I'll add one to your back log for this week. Not sure if you are a CWF fan, but here is a pretty fun one. Trevor Lee vs Brad Attitude for the CWF Mid Atlantic Championship (Champ can lose the belt on a DQ, Challenger can't be DQed) It is the second match on the link, starts around the 26 minute mark

 

 

If you have seen it let me know and I will shoot something else your way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More people can join up, certainly. It's a bit tricky with an odd number, but we'll work that out.

 

I'm open to watching two matches this week if Jetlag is.

 

Oops. That's because I had to run the random things twice because I missed the two latecomers the first time. I won't fix it or else I'll kill your joke.

 

ANYWAY,

 

I think I know what I want jmare to watch.

 

The #5 result in the DVDVR AWA 80s set.

 

05/31/86 AWA World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Curt Hennig.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rah, since I don't know what services you have I've plucked a match from online. I don't know you well at all and I see you like Lucha, but since I know little about it I'm giving you Dan Severn vs Tarzan Goto for the NWA title at IWA KOTDM 08/20/1995.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More people can join up, certainly. It's a bit tricky with an odd number, but we'll work that out.

 

I'm open to watching two matches this week if Jetlag is.

 

Oops. That's because I had to run the random things twice because I missed the two latecomers the first time. I won't fix it or else I'll kill your joke.

 

ANYWAY,

 

I think I know what I want jmare to watch.

 

The #5 result in the DVDVR AWA 80s set.

 

05/31/86 AWA World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Curt Hennig.

 

 

Awesome, specially because I thought I had seen it but got it mixed up with another match.

 

http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/32515-awa-world-heavyweight-champion-stan-hansen-vs-curt-hennig-awa-tv-53186/

 

 

I rewatched this last week and was as great as I remembered. Hopefully you have fun watching SUWA being a fucking asshole.

 

KENTA vs SUWA 9/18/05 for the GHC Jr Title

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2fmp5g

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally sat down to watch Beast's rec of Hogan vs. Savage from Detroit in 1986. Added my thoughts to the MDA at the link below, but this was a fun look at what both were doing at the time before their program heated up years later.

 

http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/39971-wwf-world-heavyweight-champion-hulk-hogan-vs-randy-savage-wwf-detroit-042686/

 

Really like the idea of this as it very much breaks me out of my usual viewing habits to watch something that's not on the agenda.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...