Loss Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 One of the very first videotapes I got my hands on when I discovered that bootlegging was a thing was a Best of Tiger Mask commercial release that included this. I REALLY loved it at the time, but I'm curious how I'll see it now. Steven Wright is incredible. I want to see hundreds and hundreds of Steven Wright matches. I like how he's outclassing Sayama both in his ground game and in flash. The flips working in and out of the cravate are just awesome. There's so much to love about his style, and they take a great approach to this in putting Wright over so convincingly because that gets the match over. The repeated theme is that standard counters just don't work against Wright because he's such a skillful wrestler and is prepared for everything. They also use the referee well. I always like it as a way to get over leg submissions when they are so tangled that the ref has to help them break the hold. Wright's abdominal stretch is the most legitimately painful looking version of that hold I have ever seen. If you like eccentric matwork, then this is the match for you. I don't think it's much more than that, which keeps it just shy of being great to me. But it's the best Tiger Mask match so far. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El McKell Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Wright gives Tiger basically nothing in the match, dominates the whole thing, kills the Tiger Mask aura by outshining Tiger, doing cartwheels and shit to get out of holds and even gets out of the way on the outside so Tiger can't do a dive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superkix Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Steve Wright, father of Das Wunderkind, is a swanky dad on the mat, with his visually-slick matwork and constant fluidity. What he lacks in charisma, Steve makes up for in style. I love his shoot shoulderblocks and his dropkick, and while the submissions were meaningless, they were cool to watch as he wrenches on an abdominal stretch or hanging stretch muffler. I thought Tiger kept up for the most part, his strikes looked great and he had a rad side suplex counter off the ropes. A slick little junior exhibition and a good introduction to Wright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaeo_ Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 Wright blocking Tiger Mask's backdrop suplexes was very neat. Submissions look stiff as hell and both wrestlers really lay it in with their strikes. There's a lot of very casual no selling and early kickouts but everything else is executed great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Badger Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 I'm in agreement with Loss but, would probably rate this a little bit higher. It was a great match in the very least however, this won't be most modern fans' cup of tea. The mention of no selling and early kickouts is kinda a more recent trend or phenomenon. The way they sell for instance is much more subtle. I think because wrestling was more about working the holds and finding a way out. You just couldn't sell everything as it crippled you otherwise, you wouldn't have a match. BUT, you could sell that a move hurt or slowed you down then, you're selling the story and you're making it look good/real. So, the holds weren't necessarily meaningless but, they just didn't finish the guy off. So, I consider the match to be much more than an exhibition. In fact, this along with Gran Hamada & Blackman, is Tiger's toughest challenge yet. The fact that Wright controls the match isn't so much destroying the Tiger aura as it challenges the common perception that Tiger was without peer (other than Dynamite). It shows that Tiger was very much a vulnerable competitor but, could find away to dig down deep and win. He's a super hero but, like Liger later, its a story of guts, heart, skill, smarts, and that good stuff. Its a very Inoki strong style type story especially here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makai Club #1 Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 I remember William Regal telling a short story about this match; how Wright totally steamrolled over Tiger Mask, leaving him very little while shining on his own. And that's exactly what this was. Wright schooled Tiger Mask is almost every regard - fluidity in movement, submissions, strikes, everything. Tiger Mask is more than skilled in grappling to still look somewhat strong but Wright still ripped him apart with snug submission holds. Awesome little match. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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