Secret Santo 2018-2019

[NintendoLogic]

I was terribly busy this past week, but I should have a review for Micro's match pretty soon. Meanwhile, here's something for cad.

 

[NotJayTabb]

14 hours ago, Microstatistics said:

Yes, I've already seen this. Great match (**** or so). But I guess if you could provide an alternative (not sure what the rules are actually about previously watched matches, maybe I can just review this one)

That was always going to be the danger with that match. At least I was right in thinking it was a match you'd enjoy. I'll swap it with this one, pretty good chance you won't have seen it previously.

 

[Matt D]

@joeg

I'll give you a choice.

The criminally underwatched Dibiase vs Hayes Glove on a Pole match from the Houston set:

Or the recently unearthed Dibiase vs Tenryu 82 Carnival match.

 

[NotJayTabb]

This is the match Boss Rock chose for me in week one

https://rutube.ru/video/630a7005c6882e692f3454ef3b9d5f00/

Fuminori Abe vs Takuya Nomura - BJPW

I went into this knowing nothing about either guy, and not really knowing what to expect, bar Boss Rock describing it as a hard hitting sprint. I came out of it really impressed with both men, but especially with Abe. He not only looked good offensively, but I thought his selling was really on point too. There's a point in this about 5 minutes in, where they've mostly been working each other on the mat, wearing the other down, when suddenly Nomura hits him with a slap and a couple of big kicks, and Abe just crumples to the mat. It feels like a really big moment, the sudden burst of violence after how evenly match they seemed on the mat, and Abe's selling really puts over how rocked he is. There's another moment later on where Nomura catches a kick to the head and uses the leg to yank Abe to the mat, holding a kind of backwards single leg crab, and Abe is frantic, clawing at the ref and trying to fight off his need to tap out, and again it makes it feel like a big moment. The match story is simple but effective, as they work evenly at the start to try create openings to throw bigger bombs, with a hurt leg slowing the opponent down just enough to sneak in a kick. As the match wears on, both men look less steady on their feet, which makes them throw big strikes more readily, with the opponent less likely to stop it. Both men sell the effects of the fight throughout, and by the time we get to the final submission, it feels right, it's come at the right time. A ten minute sprint is perfect for this type of match, going much longer wouldn't be credible. Really enjoyed this.

 

[HeadCheese]

I missed last week's recommendiona so joeg, I nominate 

Or

 

[HeadCheese]

For Boss Rock, I nominate one of these matches

 

[aaeo_]

On 12/8/2018 at 6:04 PM, SirEdger said:

 

 

I've seen about two Road Warriors matches in AJ and none from the Fabulous Ones, so in that sense it was good to see something mostly new. I thought all the offense looked alright, but it just happened at such a glacial pace. At least for me, being more used to lucha or Japanese wrestling. I can get into American tag team matches when there's a clear structure in the match and cutting off the ring becomes really important but in this case, they never really settled into that type of rhythm until very late into the match. It was actually kind of awkward, when it seemed like that was about to happen, a Road Warrior would just be like "nah" and walk back to the center of the ring. Without the hot tag being really emphasized, it just feels like they're doing stuff because it always looks like the Fabolous One could just go back to his corner at any point. The Crusher fucking rules though, he's shaped like a billiard ball with suspenders.

I also enjoyed the finish, it was a mess in the best way.

[Matt D]

Joe gave me the Bret vs Dynamite match from Landover from 85. I'm sure I've seen it but not in the last ten years. I was glad to watch it it so close to Dynamite passing because frankly, the last dozen matches of his I've seen have frustrated me with him eating up the match in the least productive way. I liked this a lot. First of all, Bret's stalling at the beginning is great. They were going to give the fans something they weren't used to. The stalling created anticipation and the anticipation made that first bit of rope running mean all the more. When Dynamite finally caught him, I thought they went into the most dreaded of things, the babyface chinlock, a little too early, but it was probably to call Bret's big bump out of the ropes, so you can forgive it. There was also the snappiest snap suplex here. Bret took over with an eyerake but it was the great kneelift that cemented it. Dynamite was almost too over the top in the way he threw himself into bumps. Hell, I think he was half bumping himself on every offensive move too. It was striking even if it probably didn't help his longevity. Bret's control was brisk, precise, and didn't wear out its welcome. I really liked the callback spots both on the comeback and towards the finish (with Bret ducking down so that Dynamite bumped out of the ring). We basically miss the finish due to a replay but it does stand out that for the time, the things they chose to replay were just really quickly executed exchanges/moments. I loved Monsoon and Alfred here too. I hadn't heard them for a while and it's always a bit like going home. Towards the end, they were honestly getting excited at the kick outs, which you never, ever saw. 

Glad to have seen this again.

[SirEdger]

On 12/12/2018 at 5:43 PM, aaeo_ said:

I've seen about two Road Warriors matches in AJ and none from the Fabulous Ones, so in that sense it was good to see something mostly new. I thought all the offense looked alright, but it just happened at such a glacial pace. At least for me, being more used to lucha or Japanese wrestling. I can get into American tag team matches when there's a clear structure in the match and cutting off the ring becomes really important but in this case, they never really settled into that type of rhythm until very late into the match. It was actually kind of awkward, when it seemed like that was about to happen, a Road Warrior would just be like "nah" and walk back to the center of the ring. Without the hot tag being really emphasized, it just feels like they're doing stuff because it always looks like the Fabolous One could just go back to his corner at any point. The Crusher fucking rules though, he's shaped like a billiard ball with suspenders.

I also enjoyed the finish, it was a mess in the best way.

Glad you somehow enjoyed it. I'll have the review of the match you assigned me this weekend, probably tomorrow. :)

[cad]

Two big lugs seeing who can hit each other the hardest is a long way off from my aesthetic preferences for wrestling, so I can't say I went in expecting to enjoy Williams vs Hansen. Now I imagine the average human being would say that two big lugs seeing who can hit each other the hardest is an exact description of professional wrestling, and I don't really have any counter to that, but whatever. The first six minutes or so of them just slugging it out bored the hell out of me the first time I watched this. I was looking for some kind of story to follow and instead it was just a slow back and forth brawl. Watching it again I liked it more as I sort of got a feel for how each guy was waiting for the other to finally crack, but it still went on awhile and didn't have anything that stood out other than Williams putting Hansen in a wristlock and headbutting him. When Hansen started to sell this got really good. Williams' specific attacks didn't even matter that much, Hansen just bled, fell over, struggled to get up, did whatever it took. I liked when he flopped over the railing and the fans looked at him like beachgoers gawking at some creature that washed ashore. He kept fighting back like he had in the first part, but now Williams was responding immediately and refusing to let him get back in the match. Got right in Hansen's face and taunted him too. The final third was fine. I'd have liked the finish more had Hansen not done that exact counter a couple of minutes earlier. Good match that overcame the doubts I had going in.

[Matt D]

Anyone on/off for the week?

I'll roll the dice later today.

[Matt D]

joe g
NintendoLogic

Matt D
NotJayTabb

aaeo_
Jetlag

boss rock
Microstatistics

SirEdger > cad > Headcheese (Edger gives cad a match. cad gives Headcheese. HC gives Edger). 

Think this gives us new pairings (cad had given Edger one before but not the other way around). 

NotJay, I'll try to have something for you tomorrow.

[SirEdger]

cad, let's go with Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi from AJPW's 1994 edition of Champions Carnival. If you have already seen it, I got something else on the backburner just in case.

 

[aaeo_]

for jetlag: https://rutube.ru/video/887f726518db053dbb6fb62f4f412fc3/

[NintendoLogic]

From Microstatistics, I got a JWP title match from joshi's dark ages. I found the match fascinating because none of my usual issues with joshi presented themselves. The selling and transitions were fine, there was no interminable apply-a-hold-and-release-it-for-no-reason mat section, and there was no overkill in the sense of them kicking out of things they shouldn't have. In fact, I can't think of anything that was bad on a micro level. Despite all that, I couldn't really connect to what they were doing. I think it was because there was no real hook to the action beyond Hyuga and Haruyama throwing bombs at each other. It probably would've worked better for me if they had built up to the bombs rather than going all-out from the opening bell. A hook arrived about eighteen minutes in when Hyuga injured her leg, and they managed to suck me in during the final five minutes. Hyuga's one-legged bridge out of a pin attempt was an awesome spot. Other than that, the most compelling part of the match for me was Haruyama mudering Hyuga with chairs outside of the ring and showing reckless disregard for both her body and her opponent's.

From cad, I got a AAA trios pitting El Hijo del Santo against his would-be archnemesis (Psicosis and La Parka are announced as the captains of their respective teams for some reason, but Santo and Santo Negro are the actual captains). The story of the match is as follows: the rudo team jumps the tecnicos before the opening bell and dominates the first fall, ending with Santo Negro forcing Santo to submit to the camel clutch. Santo's mask gets torn up to the point where he's out of commission for the entire second fall, forcing Parka and Octagon to make a 2-on-3 comeback, which is facilitated by Santo Negro being knocked out of the ring. Santo returns in the middle of the third fall and cleans house, leading to him finally getting Santo Negro in a one-on-one situation. But Santo Negro takes the easy way out by fouling Santo, taking the L but leaving with his head held high. I find that that matches like this don't really lend themselves to play-by-play analysis because so much is happening simultaneously. It's more about the overall vibe and standout moments. To that end, Psicosis supplies his usual insane bumps, a pre-Chairman Parka supplies the dancing, and Eddy supplies the suplexes. I always enjoy Eddy in a lucha setting because his Japanese-style offense comes across as even more devastating. I must note that the end of the second fall contains one of the most horrifically business-exposing moments I've ever seen. Octagon lands a huracanrana on Psisosis and Eddy, who is standing right there, makes no attempt to break up the pin and instead goes after Parka. Overall, though, the match did a good job of advancing the Santo/Santo Negro issue and the crowd remained hot throughout, so I'll mark it down as a success. It's unfortunate that Santo's family forced them to pull the plug on the Santo Negro gimmick, because a proper blowoff no doubt would have been a barn burner.

[NotJayTabb]

I'm currently on holiday, so will review the lucha six man from last week in the next day or two when I get home. In the meantime, here's my match for Matt D, some 1987 Reslo.

 

[SirEdger]

On 12/8/2018 at 7:27 PM, aaeo_ said:

thanks! I'm picking the December 84 edition of Tiger/Fujiwara, which is my favorite one and I think the consensus highlight of that series. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzny2l

So, finally got a chance to watch this match. I must say that if not my first, it's one of my very few incursions into UWF, but most specifically Super Tiger and Fujiwara so I chose to watch more as a casual fan than anything, just to give me a chance to digest a bit what I was seeing. I'm used to watch mostly NJPW & AJPW old school stuff so watching this particular match particularly struck a chord in me in the sense that I definitely was amazed by the whole different structure of those matches. Definitely built more like an MMA fight as much as pro wrestling can allow it within their parameters. The more the match progressed, the more I certainly got invested, especially towards the end where Super Tiger is definitely going balls out on those shots on Fujiwara, who can barely defend himself. Finally, the ref stops the match and Super Tiger is victorious. I certainly won't disagree with you that this is a very good match between those two and I have no doubt in your words when you say this is the highlight of their series. Maybe I need to see more of this series to side with the majority. All in all, it was a very nice discovery for me, especially considering that I had never seen a Fujiwara match until then so it was nice to finally have a look at the creator of the Fujiwara Armbar. Thanks for the match! :)

[Microstatistics]

boss rock: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Megumi Kudo (FMW, 4/18/1997)

Still working on reviews for matches from NintendoLogic and NotJayTubb

[Matt D]

14 hours ago, NotJayTabb said:

I'm currently on holiday, so will review the lucha six man from last week in the next day or two when I get home. In the meantime, here's my match for Matt D, some 1987 Reslo.

 

Looking forward to this, thanks.

You are a tough one because 1) you've seen a lot and 2) I think you read SC so you know about all the finds we've made in the last year. 

I was going to toss the Luger/Ramon vs Perfect/Bret match from MSG (which I bet you've seen but not recently) at you but I can't actually find it online right now. 

How about this? Have you seen it?

 

 

[NotJayTabb]

I haven't. I don't watch anywhere near as much lucha as I intend to, so I'm excited about this.

[HeadCheese]

For SirEdger I nominate

 

Barry Windham vs. Doug Furnas from NWA Clash Of The Champions #11 - "Coastal Crush"or Jiro Kiroshio vs. Masato Tanaka from ZERO1 Fire Festival 2018 - Day 1

 

[SirEdger]

Oh nice, I'll pick Kiroshio vs Tanaka! Been looking to watch some Zero-1 for a while now!

[Boss Rock]

Late on commenting on the matches I've been given so far, but here goes.

NotJayTabb gave me Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Dickinson from Limitless Wrestling this year. They're both guys I'm familiar with but surprisingly haven't seen a ton of either's matches. But both have a reputation of being mean, tough dudes. Really fun, hard-hitting match that subverts from the usual indieriffic enzuguris and suicide dives (not to say I necessarily have a problem with that, there's just too damn much of it). I like how they played up Eddie's status as an indie legend and for Dickinson to get a victory over him would be a big deal. For anyone who's jaded with today's indie wrestling this is definitely one to check out.

From Headcheese I went with Tortugas vs. Rokambole Jr, Dragone Bane, Villano V Jr, and El Capo del Norte. Comedy wrestling is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine and this was that type of comedy wrestling that's so dumb and ridiculous it's actually really good. Loved the chicken game at the beginning, the sumo contest, and everyone taking turns chopping each other, even the ref! Never taking itself seriously for a moment but still slipping in some cool high-flying spots, this was a lot of fun.

[Boss Rock]

@Microstatistics Hideki Suzuki vs. Kazumi Kikuta https://rutube.ru/video/a7bdc779e51c8024845c648c4be83e97/?pl_type=user&pl_id=1067514

 

[cad]

For Headcheese, El Brazo/Brazo de Oro/Brazo de Plata vs Anibal/Ringo Mendoza/La Fiera, February 1 1991