SmartMark15 Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 Really great championship match that evoked old school NWA World Title matches that you might have seen on TV. Thought these two really brought it to each other with Jay Lethal just looking like an absolutely imposing ace against Gresham. Loved Jay Lethal's control segment and Gresham firing back with chops and arm work to sneak the first fall late in the match. Lethal sold the arm really well and there were some great spots like Gresham kicking out Lethal's arm as he went for the Lethal Injection. Nice moment too when Lethal agrees to the five minute overtime. If I have a complaint, it's that Gresham just wasn't particularly expressive as a babyface so it was a little hard to get behind him. Otherwise, I thought this was a great and well-paced 30 minutes with a hot finish that made both guys look great. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nivvad Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 Lethal and Gresham have had several underrated matches just this year alone, but this was their best outing yet. The first half is a little bland as nothing much happens, but the drama really starts kicking up when Gresham starts working Lethal's arm. You could really feel the tension increase dramatically once Gresham got that first fall, but Lethal wasn't going to let that loss affect him too much. I loved the storytelling with the Figure Four as the foreshadowing of the move eventually became the dealbreaker of the match. The 5 minute overtime was also a great way to finish the match in the best way possible. Gresham is a vastly underrated talent in the wrestling world, so I hope this match is the one to catapult him into bigger opportunities, ****1/2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Badger Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Technically, this is from the July 21st tapings in Atlanta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoos Leg Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 This match made me believe. The reaction after Gresham got the tapout -- both by the crowd and Gresham's shocked reaction -- might be one of my favorite moments in wrestling of the entire year. The commentary from Riccaboni and Colt really sold it as a potential title change, even though I already knew the outcome., Jay Lethal bores me as a top guy a lot of the time but he was damn fine here as the hard-hitting champion. Gresham is a jewel. I've seen a fairly wide variety of his matches this year, from an assortment of companies, and every time he brings something unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyPulis'Cap Posted October 3, 2018 Report Share Posted October 3, 2018 I absolutely loved this match, one of my favourites of the year. Had such an old school NWA vibe to it, and in my opinion, miles better than the Rollins/Ziggler match, without the multiple falls for falls sake and a match that had very few dangerous 'movez' and head drops. It was just fantastic storytelling. I could see the criticism that the first 10 mins or so was a little bland, but I enjoyed that they were establishing parity and that with it going a guaranteed 30 mins, they didn't want to expend energy too quickly. I know a lot of people are down on Lethal, and while he may not be the most compelling wrestler in 2018, he's a had a damn good year in terms of his match quality. As SmartMark said, he came across as the ace of the company in this match, totally confident in his abilities and not rushing in. Gresham in turn is just so super smooth with his technical wrestling and the way he was trying to keep Lethal off balance with his unorthodox approach. On 9/30/2018 at 5:03 AM, Wahoos Leg said: This match made me believe. The reaction after Gresham got the tapout -- both by the crowd and Gresham's shocked reaction -- might be one of my favorite moments in wrestling of the entire year. The commentary from Riccaboni and Colt really sold it as a potential title change, even though I already knew the outcome., Jay Lethal bores me as a top guy a lot of the time but he was damn fine here as the hard-hitting champion. Gresham is a jewel. I've seen a fairly wide variety of his matches this year, from an assortment of companies, and every time he brings something unique. This times a million. Gresham's face when he gets the tap is one of the best moments in wrestling I've seen in years. Managing to convey so much: knowing that he has just 3 or 4 mins to hold on to become champion and trying to keep composed when he just wants to let out his emotions. It all feels so fucking real, like a football (soccer) team going 1-0 up against the bigger team with just a few minutes on the clock. On a personal level it reminded me as a Crystal Palace fan going 1-0 up in the FA Cup Final in 2016 with just around 10 mins to go against Manchester United, the heavy favourites. You got that sense, hang on, this could happen! Alas as it was for Palace, Gresham suffered that late heartbreak and again as we did in 2016 in the Cup final losing in extra time, Gresham is pinned in the sudden death period. Maybe that's why the match resonated so much for me - it felt like a genuine sporting emotion that I've had myself. The way Gresham tried to hang on in the figure 4, knowing he had just 120 seconds to do so to become champion, but then it being just too painful. Echoing Wahoos Leg on the commentary - I thought it was tremendous - an amazing call by Ian and Colt, for my money the best commentary team out there at the moment. Absolutely tremendous stuff - **** 3/4. Too high? Maybe, but I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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