Sunday 16 June 2013

What I Watched This Week: 10 - 16 June


William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno – WWE NXT (10/4/13)
It took a while, but I finally got around to watching this match. As someone who doesn't watch NXT I kind of held out on watching this bout, and really didn't expect it to hold up after all the praise it got. After viewing it though, I can safely say that this deserves all the hype it's gotten.

This is a fantastic hard-hitting match which really showcased the young vs. veteran dynamic extremely well. It was simply everything I wanted to see from these two men and more. Nice methodical chain wrestling, stiff kicks and forearms, and a great story to top it all off.

The best moment of the match, however, was seeing Regal snap Ohno's finger in the later stages of the match. I don't know if Kassius is double jointed and played a nice illusion, but it still came off looking extremely rough.

A refreshingly realistic wrestling display from both Ohno and Regal, and I loved everything about it. 4/5

Bryan Danielson vs. Doug Williams – ROH Scramble Madness (2002)
Their second encounter together in ROH here, and one I found to be even better than the first. This was a great 30-minute Iron Man match which really showed both men's excellent technical ability in the ring.

The slow pace really set the tone of the match as both men didn't look to take any chances, and instead wrestled cautiously and patiently. It was only when Danielson got the first pinfall that their tactics changed as Williams went all out for the next couple of minutes looking to make it equal and Dragon wrestling a more defensive game.

In the end that 1 fall was all that mattered. Some will argue that the match was boring at times, and the crowd clearly weren't into it, but for me this was a beautiful display of technical wrestling from both guys. The moves were crisp and fluid, and their game plans highlighted just how well both men knew each other. 4/5

Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe – ROH In Your Face (2006)
From a mat wrestling clinic to a fun and innovative Triple Threat match, these two bouts really shows how diverse Danielson is.

Anyway, enough of my pandering of Dragon. This is an excellent Triple Threat match, and arguably one of the best ROH has ever put on. It was a hard-hitting, fast paced match which really showcased all three men's strengths and chemistry in the ring.

While most Triple Threat matches start off with a bit of a feeling out process, or a sudden 1-on-1 situation, this one kicks it up another gear straight from the bell. The pacing is superb, with all three men hardly ever slowing down, and the sequences and moves used throughout are, for the most part, really well executed.

It's a match which didn't overstay its welcome either. The crowd were firmly behind everything near the end, and things wrapped up at the perfect time. A real hidden gem from 2006. 4.5/5

Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards & KENTA – ROH Honor Reclaims Boston (2006)
Just like the match above, this is another hidden gem from 2006. It's amazing to think that some of these matches aren't highly regarded by ROH fans. It really must be a testament to ROH back then, and how they constantly put on top notch matches from that year.

Like nearly all the other matches I've watched this week, this is an extremely stiff match. Right from the get-go we get Strong and KENTA chopping the shit out of each other, with the Boston crowd reacting to every single one. This set the tone for what was a match filled with hard shots and really exciting action.

While the bout lacked in some hot tags, it did eventually build up to an excellent climax with both teams pulling out all the stops to get the victory. The sequences came off very well, and the near falls were played perfectly in the final few moments of the match.

I honestly don't think I'm overrating it here by saying that it's probably in my top 5 bouts of the year. This was just really exciting stuff to watch. 4.5/5

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I know I've been doing a lot of Indie matches since kicking this weekly thing off, but I will try and cover some more WWE stuff.

If you have any matches you'd like me to check out (preferably matches which aren't considered instant classics) then drop me a match on Twitter @3CountBlog and I'll try and check it out. There's a lot of stuff from WWE around 2002-2005 that I wouldn't mind checking out again. 

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