[2021-09-25-DWF] Daniel Makabe vs Jeremy Wyatt

[corwo]

While their first match in St. Louis Anarchy was good, it felt like Makabe and Wyatt were just riffing on what they were capable of together. This match felt like a more tidy, self-contained story.

Makabe constantly goes for the Makabe Lock, and Wyatt tries to set up the Cross Face. Makabe weaves in and out of holds seamlessly, grabbing his ankle to gain leverage when Wyatt has him compromised. The offense gets downright nasty at times, as Makabe bridges out of a pin attempt and gets elbowed back down to the mat for his efforts.

The turning point sees Makabe miss a corner dropkick, and Wyatt sends him arm-first into the post. From there, Wyatt’s target is clear, and we get some dueling limb work. Both competitors are mindful of their injuries, constantly shaking out their arms in-between spurts of offense. A frenzy of pinfall attempts follows, and Wyatt steals the win with a roll-up.

A wonderful match that packs a lot into its sub-fifteen-minute runtime.

[squidlad]

A fantastic match that is unfortunately destined to sit in near invisibility for the rest of time, like practically all US indie wrestling after the pandemic. Makabe and Wyatt do some of the best mat based storytelling I've seen from the 2020s short of Nomura vs Abe. They grab holds which lead to clever counters which lead to the match escalating in intensity but it never feels 'floaty'. They struggle for everything they get including Makabe having to absolutely maul Wyatt to the ground in order to lock on the cattle mutilation. A very clear indie MOTYC ****1/2.