Matches From 2007

[Loss]

Azumi Hyuga & Meiko Satomura v Misae Genki & Nanae Takahashi (NEO, 02/18, Kawasaki, Japan)

 

What's shown of the match is really good, but it's clipped to pieces and no finish is on the download I watched unfortunately. Satomura especially looked great. Hopefully this will come out in full at some point, but even clipped, it was still a really good tag team match.

[Guest djhaigh]

Adam Pearce v Nelson Creed - NWA Pro in Las Vegas, unsure of date

 

I watched this on YouTube and was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if I'd go as far as calling this a great match, but it's a great schtick performance from Pearce and it's a really fun throwback to a simpler time. I understand that wrestling has changed, but I wish you saw more of this sort of thing ("He pulled my hair", stalling for heat, hiding foreign objects in trunks, etc) in ROH, TNA and even WWE than we see.

 

...

 

What's ultimately most notable about this match isn't what it does wrong, but more what it does right. The good in this match is the type of good you rarely, if ever, see among even top-level workers today. Kurt Angle would even probably learn something from watching this match. In a perfect world, this old style would still be the template most wrestlers followed, although you do wish there was *something* here other than borrowed formula to make the match more unique.

 

How much Adam Pearce have you seen from the last 6-9 months? The throwback style is really refreshing the first few times, then starts to feel increasingly like a gimmick and not an actual style. Sort of Matt Classic without being as cool.

 

I leave it to someone else to offer learned opinions on whether one guy on a roster can work a Memphis style by himself and still have it come off as compelling, but I have trouble believing Adam Pearce is that guy.

 

As for a whole fed going back to roots and giving us something different, I think I need to go watch some more NWA-Virginia.

[Bix]

Yeah, Pearce is pretty much a very poor man's Todd Morton.

[Loss]

This is the only Adam Pearce match I've ever seen.

[Bix]

Gran Apache & Super Calo vs Laredo Kid & Super Fly (AAA 5/26)

 

This aired on Galavision in the US today. One of the neat things about AAA is that in the way that the shows are scheduled, the 3 week delay between Mexico and the US is a lot less painful. They tour and run the tapings, backlog them, and take breaks from running shows. It doesn't feel as awkward as CMLL does on a delay with its weekly tapings at Arena Mexico.

 

Anyway, this feud has been brewing for a month or two as Apache/Calo/Alan/Decnnis (truly the pinnacle of Pena's name changes for trademark reasons) vs Fuerza Aerea. Fuerza Aerea is much more polished than the Cadetes de Espacio stable of a decade ago, but they still need some structure added to their matches at times. The previous matches were spotfests, this was more like the Lucha Libre interpretation of a WWE style brawl that's slotted as not quite the main event. There were chairshots, removal of a turnbuckle pad, and lots of blood. For whatever reason, American style chairshots in Lucha brawling aren't usually very good (and Lucha brawling tends to focus less on weapons aside from the occasional row of chairs being thrown), but these were fine. Calo is a much, much more well-rounded wrestler as a veteran rudo than a young technico flyer, though he still takes some insane bumps, now with Rudo stooging instead of technico sympathy. His version of the Fuerza/Hamrick feet first to the floor bump was really nasty looking. Apache was awesome as usual. Super Fly hit possibly the most graceful Space Flying Tiger Drop ever, which got the Tecnologia Televisa Deportes treatment.

 

A very good match that showed some promise in what's to come in the future.

[Dylan Waco]

I will seek out any Super Calo match

[CodySave]

Adam Pearce v Nelson Creed - NWA Pro in Las Vegas, unsure of date

 

I watched this on YouTube and was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if I'd go as far as calling this a great match, but it's a great schtick performance from Pearce and it's a really fun throwback to a simpler time. I understand that wrestling has changed, but I wish you saw more of this sort of thing ("He pulled my hair", stalling for heat, hiding foreign objects in trunks, etc) in ROH, TNA and even WWE than we see. Pearce was a breath of fresh air here, as he was going all out with the classic US heel style and Creed was good enough to keep up and play off of it. Even Creed's dorky pre-match promo had a certain Ron Garvin-esque vibe going for it that just added to the whole nostalgia feel of this. If this is the style that NWA Pro is going for, this is an indy I can probably get into and really follow and enjoy. It's a shame I couldn't find any DVDs for sale on their website.

 

The finish bugged the hell out of me. It certainly fit the nostalgia vibe, but one of the good things about modern wrestling is that there are typically more decisive finishes (even if they sometimes lose their impact in how their built up and followed up on), and the end of this was just a reminder of why Crockett died. Also, as a title match, this feels more like a midcard title match than a main event -- very dumbed down Larry Zbyszko and Barry Windham fighting over the Western States Heritage title-ish, and not just because the title at stake is the NWA Heritage Title. It's because it's all about schtick and the wrestling is more there to enhance the gaga, rather than the other way around. Considering that I haven't seen really any of either guy prior to this, that may or may not be the best route, I'm not sure.

 

What's ultimately most notable about this match isn't what it does wrong, but more what it does right. The good in this match is the type of good you rarely, if ever, see among even top-level workers today. Kurt Angle would even probably learn something from watching this match. In a perfect world, this old style would still be the template most wrestlers followed, although you do wish there was *something* here other than borrowed formula to make the match more unique.

 

The match can be watched through the link below. I think it's very much worth watching and talking about.

 

Slightly off-topic, but was anyone else shocked at how great the production is on this clip? When I clicked on the clip, I assumed the match was being held in a school gym or armory, just like any other modern-day NWA promotion footage.

 

So, what's the backstory on this? How do any of the NWA promotions have the money to run an actual arena and have slick production values? ROH is generally considered the top indy in America and the production on this clip is worlds better than any ROH footage you see. Hell, this is better than what ECW was putting out on PPV.

 

Is it truly a case of the NWA having more money to work with, or is it that the majority of indys are staffed by people that know next-to-nothing about TV-style production?

 

I have to think that the NWA could get on at least a regional TV sports network with production this slick.

[CodySave]

[EDIT] Sorry, double post. DSL is acting wonky.

[Loss]

In the case of ROH, I think they purposely darken the arenas and have that dingy sort of look because they are proud of that "underground feel" ... I'm pretty sure this was a Vegas show in front of 5,000 people, which is an early 90s WCW-level number, which would explain the WCW-style production values.

[CodySave]

In the case of ROH, I think they purposely darken the arenas and have that dingy sort of look because they are proud of that "underground feel" ... I'm pretty sure this was a Vegas show in front of 5,000 people, which is an early 90s WCW-level number, which would explain the WCW-style production values.

Yeah, I've been to two ROH shows in St. Paul, and at both shows they shut off the building lights and used four of their own high-powered lights pointed at the ring. Definitely gave the action a more "epic", less indyriffic feel. The difference was really noticeable when their lights went out and they had to use the normal building lights during one match.

 

But 5,000 fans? How did they manage to draw that many fans? Listening to the reactions, this definitely sounds like more of a lucha-viewing crowd, but I assume they must have had some actual drawing names on the card? I'm sure it'd be tough to find 5,000 people who even know who Adam Pearce is.

 

Actually, here's what someone psoted as the card before the event:

Main Event: El Hijo del Santo y Psicosis vs. Super Parka y Billy Kidman

- Fan’s Dream Match: Super Porky vs. “Classic” Colt Cabana

- NWA Heritage Title Match: “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce© vs. Nelson Creed

- WSX Challenge (1st time outside the Bunker!) Aaron “Jesus” Aguilera & Joey “Kaos” Munoz vs. The Human Tornado & Matt Classic

- U.S.A. vs. Mexico – Flag Match! Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson & Joey Ryan vs. Phoenix Star & Zokre

- 25 Man “King of the Summit” Battle Royal! Featuring Ricky Reyes, Scott Lost, Bobby Jo Marshall, Tommy Kim, Sonny Samson, Steve Pain, Tommy Wilson, Kafu, “Diablo” Donnie Tsunami, Peter Goodman, Ray “Boom Boom” Murillo, Sexy Chino, “Iceman” Webster Dauphiney and more!

- 4 Corners Tag Team Action: TJ Perkins & JJ Perez vs. Midnight Dynamite vs. E.G.O. vs. The Young Bucks

- Plus the James Gang in action and one more exciting match!

That explains the lucha fans in attendence. I'm still surprised they drew 5,000 though. I assume a large portion of the crowd was given free tickets?

[CodySave]

I watched Nigel McGuiness vs. Kotaro Suzuki and Marufuji/Kota Ibushi vs. The Briscoes from the July 1 NOAH show today. I haven't seen a lot of 2007 wrestling from Japan, but both these matches were really entertaining. It should be noted that each of these matches were much more about MOVEZ than psychology-based grappling. Normally, I'm not such a fan of this, but I'm also a sucker for strings of acrobatic moves and there was plenty of that, especially in the tag match.

 

Nigel McGuiness vs. Kotaro Suzuki - Nigel's a guy I really like even though his finishers and the amount of times he uses his finishers in certain matches bugs the hell out of me. Like, that stupid headstand he does in the corner always comes off awkard in every Nigel match I've seen. And his Tower of London looks bad when the opponent doesn't know how to eat it.

 

Kotaro's a guy I really like even though I've only seen him a handful of times. I'm sure any fan has a few wrestlers they enjoy for the slightest of reasons, like the coolness of their wrestling gear. Kotaro has cool blue/yellow/white tights and a nifty entrance jacket.

 

Throughout the match, the card for the ROH in Japan show flashes on the screen, so it's definitely getting some promotion from NOAH.

 

All of Nigel's signature moves are seen here, including lots of lariats, which look great here. Kotaro counters the aforementioned headstand spot very nicely and uses lots of speed and aerial moves to achieve nearfalls. He also eats the Tower of London better than most of Nigel's opponents.

 

Certainly not a MOTYC candidate, but good enough that you should make an effort to see it. If you love ROH-style, you'll really like this. Kotaro looks much better now than he did as a newcomer to the scene in the 2003 Differ Cup, but I doubt he'll ever be one to use lots of psychology in his matches.

 

Marufuji/Kota Ibushi vs. The Briscoes - This is the first time I've seen Ibushi besides a 4-minute clip against American Ballon on YouTube, and jesus christ am I impressed. In the last two weeks, I've seen my first fooage of Ibushi, Super Fly and Laredo Kid, who provided enough awesome aerial moves to fill a year's worth of highlights. Ibushi caused me to react out loud four or five seperate times during this match, including a few spots I've never seen:

 

 

The missed moonsault-land on his feet into a standing moonsault is PHENOMENAL.

 

 

I can't imagine current DDT is as great as some make it sound, but Ibushi seems too talented to be stuck in the Japanese indy ranks and I suspect he'll be making many more appearances in NOAH. Based on this performance, ROH fans would go apeshit for him.

 

The Briscoes threw in a bunch of impressive double team moves, but it never seems like there's much rhyme or reason why they use a certain move at a certain time.

 

I honestly didn't notice Marufuji much in this match between all the crazy moves Ibushi was throwing out and the Briscoes double-team work. Listen for one of the Briscoes speaking to the camera at the end for a really funny line.

 

This match should be seen for the numerous innovative spots, but some of them will undoubtedly make you shake your head at the amount of set up involved. Lots of action movie-style ducking and dodging. The last ten minutes is really entertaining, if not absurd at times.

 

Still, this is definitely one of the most entertaining tag team matches I've seen this year.

 

[EDIT] It's come to my attention that this match is part of the NOAH Nippon Jr. Cup Tag League. Or something like that.

[Jingus]

So, what's the backstory on this? How do any of the NWA promotions have the money to run an actual arena and have slick production values? ROH is generally considered the top indy in America and the production on this clip is worlds better than any ROH footage you see. Hell, this is better than what ECW was putting out on PPV.

 

Is it truly a case of the NWA having more money to work with, or is it that the majority of indys are staffed by people that know next-to-nothing about TV-style production?

 

I have to think that the NWA could get on at least a regional TV sports network with production this slick.

It has nothing at all to do with the NWA. They're a scam to make money, not spend it (it costs a cool $3,000 for a promotion to join up and use the NWA name). This case, the promoter probably found some rich moneymark who's willing to bankroll a huge show like this. I'm amazed that this is the first I heard about it, 5,000 is a HUGE goddamn number of fans for an indy show.

 

 

I understand that wrestling has changed, but I wish you saw more of this sort of thing ("He pulled my hair", stalling for heat, hiding foreign objects in trunks, etc) in ROH, TNA and even WWE than we see.

Yeah, it's cute. Sometimes. Come on down to any local indy show in the Nashville area, and you can watch it in Every. Fucking. Match.

 

...not literally, but damn sometimes it sure felt like it. Half the card was always a variety of guys who were either old, out of shape, untalented, or just plain lazy, and they all lean on that ancient southern schtick like GWBush talking about staying the course. It got to the point where sometimes it was almost a relief when it was time for the half-trained young rookies to come out and hit a billion lung blowers, shining wizards, moonsaults, spinning headscissorseseses, etcetera.

[Guest Spunk]

I can't imagine current DDT is as great as some make it sound, but Ibushi seems too talented to be stuck in the Japanese indy ranks and I suspect he'll be making many more appearances in NOAH. Based on this performance, ROH fans would go apeshit for him.

I'm a long-time DDT fan, and current DDT is really crummy. I think it is just that most people didn't catch on until now, and IMO got to the game way too late. Ibushi is alright, but still can be really, really green. He has lots of grace and agility (his moonsault is a thing of beauty), but he still fucks up a lot and can't structure a match to save his life.

[Tim Evans]

5,000 fans is not uncommon for shows with Santo on the card. He is over like hell with the Latino Community in the southwest.

[Guest Spunk]

Loss -- I watched that Pearce/Creed match and it was pretty cool, but wasn't all that great I thought. I liked the basic premise of the match, but think if it had two guys with a bit more personality and ring presence it would have been so much better. Like many have said, Pearce is all shtick, and most of his matches play out the same. I don't really think he was the issue though, if anything it was that Creed is just rather bland and really didn't show much personality at all. It is hard to rally behind the babyface when he gives you so little to care about.

[smkelly]

Ric Flair vs. David "Fit" Finlay

 

Ric Flair with a nice reaction, and billed at 242 pounds. Right. Finlay out. Billed as 233 pounds. Right. JBL is a tremendous announcer, putting over both Finlay and Flair, and hyping this match as a classic. Nice early arm wringer and heel hook. Ric Flair IS the Iron Man, just like Nolan Ryan. Finlay with some nice European uppercuts, it's unbelievable to see Flair take such stiff strikes. Finlay nails Flair with a clothesline. Awesome, Finlay with a nerve hold and stomps Flair's hand, which JBL notices and talks about. JBL is greatness as an announcer. Finlay with more stiff strikes, and Flair opens up his playbook and pulls out an eye gouge and some stiff chops for some nice retribution. Flair with a difficult hip toss. Funny that Cole asks about an eye gouge being a disqualification and JBL says the ref is a close friend. Another example of good commenting, knowing your history. Finlay with some single leg crabs, and JBL brings up trying to outbox De la Hoya, nice. Indian Death Lock or as Finlay calls it, the Celtic Knot is a nice move to see in an American ring, especially a WWF ring. Finlay with a body splash across Flair's old legs, nice. Finlay goes for it again and gets pushed out by Flair, Finlay tumbles to the floor. Flair with more stiff chops and sells his leg well. Cole said it gets interesting when Flair chop blocks Finlay, yes, it is. Figure Four Leglock, and the crowd comes unglued. Finlay reaches the ropes, and Flair pulls him back to the middle of the ring. Small package by Finlay gets a nearfall. Back suplex. Hornswoggle gets chopped = awesome. Finlay with the shalleigh, and the Celtic Knot for the submisson victory.

 

The highlight of the match was Finlay's stiff strikes, leg work, and Flair chopping Hornswoggle on his knees.

 

These two could have had some "classic" matches back in the day together.

 

The combination of JBL, Finlay's leg work and dirty antics, and Flair's big spots (chops/figure four), along with him chopping the little one on his knees makes this a match worth watching.

 

**1/2

[smkelly]

Umaga vs. John Cena Royal Rumble - Last Man Standing

 

I've waited over two years before watching this match. I generally laugh at the over top praise certain matches get at DVDVR, because there's been times that matches are drooled over and end up being lamer then being grounded as a teenager.

 

But much to my surprise, this match delivers. Cena pulled off one of the greatest carry jobs I have ever seen, and this is the greatest WWF gimmick match of all-time, and possibly greatest gimmick match of all-time, in any federation (I'll have to re watch some gimmick matches).

 

Cena, the best main event wrestler in the business, and the biggest baby face the WWF has had since the Rock got destroyed by the unstoppable monster, bumping for Umaga's punches while Cena's huge haymakers didn't phase Umaga until the very end of the match. The bumping by Umaga was top notch, it's rare to see a three hundred plus man take the bumps Umaga did, like the announce table, ring step slam spot, etc. One of my favorite moments was when Cena "powered up" by slamming his own fist into his bloody face, I thought that was absolutely incredible. The ending sequence with the ring ropes is spectacular. It took the Hogan-esque Cena using the FU his finishing move, and the STFU his finishing submission move with a ring rope to put Umaga down. That's legendary booking. Instead of just laying out a monster like Hogan used to, big boot and leg drop was all it took, Cena went the direction, he won but made Umaga look even better then what he looked like before the match even started. The crowd heat was also superb, as was Cena's selling and bumping.

 

To bad that Umaga lost all of his luster from losses to Lashley/Hardy/HHH, because Cena made him look like a million bucks.

 

My match of the year for 2007, and a definite Match of the Decade candidate.

 

*****