[2018-01-28-PROGRESS-Chapter 62: Fear No More, Come To Dust] WALTER vs Timothy Thatcher

[ShittyLittleBoots]

A brutal masterpiece between the two members of the best tag team in wrestling right now. Great feeling out process to start things off; the mat work & the way they battled over the control felt so natural & looked pretty gritty, which I obviously loved. Quickly after it's the WALTER show; he just mauls the shit out of Thatcher - I've said it many times before, but I'll say it again: Thatcher is quite possibly the best FIP in the biz, so of course it was a joy watching him sell his ass off for the brutal beatdown he received. He eventually gets the control by doing the classic "chopper-chops-the-ringpost" -bit, and after that it's Thatcher on the attack, super focused targeting that chopping hand of WALTER's. WALTER sells great & Thatcher rules on the attack - loved how the dynamic flipped from WALTER being the absolute grizzly bear just MAULING Thatcher to then being hurt & fighting like it shows; the hunter became the hunted, so to say. The last third of the match is more 50/50, with them fighting with a great sense of urgency - the way it escalates to the eventual finish is amazing. Ringkampf lads delivering a true classic against each other. Bless. Die Matte ist Heilig. ****3/4

[SmartMark15]

BIG LADS WRESTLING.

 

Oh boy was this wonderful. Just the level of violence these two got to with some ridiculously brutal strikes. WALTER'S chops, Thatcher's uppercuts, it all hit so well and both guys know how to sell it too. I'm a big mark for a missed chop into the ringpost spot so I loved everything happening around WALTER'S hand. And of course, how can I not mention WALTER just chopping his partner in the face. Lovely, lovely stuff.

 

****3/4

[Tetsujin]

Trully a great match, one of those hard hitting contests I really like, but I did't see anything special. Walter's hand being his debility is a good story, but I think Starr and ZSJ did a better job than Thatcher with it (and c'mon, it's Timothy Thatcher, we all know he can destroy that hand if he wants to). I fucking love Tim's resistance as always, he's one of the best at having believable nearfalls with 2'9999 kickouts. And WALTER being WALTER, with his fucking chops, big boots and aura in general, is always a pleasure. Yeah, great match, but just another day in the office for these two ring generals. ****.

[Cap]

This is pretty easily my second favorite match of the year so far. I loved this. its everything I want in my wrestling. Walter at his best as a mauling bear in there with someone he knows can take it. One of the most brutal lariats I have ever seen, that chop to the dome.... everything here is so believable. My favorite part is seeing Thatcher play underdog babyface. He is so good in the role here. His selling is excellent. I just really loved everything about it.

 

****3/4

[Childs]

This was my kind of match--two big ol' dudes just bucking for position and knocking the shit out of each other. They didn't milk the drama enough to distinguish it as a true classic, but I could see it standing up as one of my most rewatchable matches of the year. My only nitpick would be that Walter goes to the chop-the-post transition too often. He does a good job with it, but it's become a bit cliche.

[Edwin]

This was my type of match. Two big dudes just beating each other up. Not really much can be said that hasn't been said already. I can't see any match eclipsing this for my favorite match this year.

 

****3/4

[cactus]

WALTER has some of the most brutal chops I've ever seen. There's even a moment where WALTER gets a believable near fall from a single chest chop. This tells a simple story of WALTER controlling the match with his nasty chops and Thatcher trying to take out WALTER's arm, neutralizing the threat of that bastard chop and it's told so well. Add to that some uniquely compelling and brilliant commentary and PROGRESS's guerilla production and you've got yourself some brilliant pro wrestling.

 

★★★★½