tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39712389542439789702024-02-06T19:03:39.293-08:003 Count Blog - Wrestling News, Reviews and Opinion Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-90110944651363940752015-12-13T14:53:00.003-08:002015-12-13T15:05:40.205-08:0030 Best Matches of 2014<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/d341b1d81c4a91c3bd719c806edbb6b6/tumblr_inline_nh0nug1RYs1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/d341b1d81c4a91c3bd719c806edbb6b6/tumblr_inline_nh0nug1RYs1s9fq61.png" /></a><br />
<b>30. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling</b><br />
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Why is Tomohiro Ishii the wrestler of the year? Probably because he seems to be able to put on a great match against just about anybody. Yujiro Takahashi is far from a bad wrestler, but on NJPW's stacked and super talented roster, he's probably one of the companies weakest links. This didn't stop Ishii from putting on another great performance though, as he showed just how versatile he is as a wrestler.<br />
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At the King of Pro Wrestling event, both guys put on a great back an forth contest that had Tomohiro's fingerprints all over it - Stiff action, nice psychology, and nearfalls galore. And to Takahashi's credit, for more than 20 minutes the Bullet Club member was able to keep up with him. <b><br /></b>
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<b><a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/36148dce4353af1adcef189b291a1b06/tumblr_inline_nh0o9k3TSJ1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/36148dce4353af1adcef189b291a1b06/tumblr_inline_nh0o9k3TSJ1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>29. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - </b><b>WWE SummerSlam</b></b></div>
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There was something infinitely entertaining about Cena vs. Lesnar, a match that wasn't really <i>supposed</i> to be entertaining. It was a match that didn't serve to really get fans out of their seats, or get them that emotionally involved in it - and it's because of that aspect of the match that makes it quite a surreal spectacle.<br />
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Going in to the match everyone wanted Brock Lesnar, who was pretty much off the heels of beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania, to go in and destroy John Cena completely, and surprisingly, that's exactly what we got. John Cena got practically nothing in on this match. Instead, it was Brock Lesnar giving Cena suplex after suplex after suplex, all more vicious looking than the next, before capping it off with an F5. And that was it - pure domination.<br />
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Cena vs. Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012 was original in the sense that we were seeing MMA vs. pro wrestling. Two years later both guys put on a match just as original, as two guys at the top of the WWE ladder battled it out in the most one-sided main event you'll see in a WWE ring. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't exciting, it wasn't entertaining. But at the same time, it was all of those things.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/5b6497bd530f43ac9238edaf9c4dfeeb/tumblr_inline_nh1qhluYr01s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/5b6497bd530f43ac9238edaf9c4dfeeb/tumblr_inline_nh1qhluYr01s9fq61.png" /></a><b>28. AJ Styles vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ROH Death Before Dishonor XII: Night 1</b><br />
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When SBG took over Ring of Honor the company started going into new areas of the US to showcase their product. Some of the markets they've delved into have been good (Texas, Ohio), and some not so good (North Carolina, Baltimore). The best new place they've landed in though has been the city of Milwaukee, and since debuting there it has proven to be a real gem of a place for the company to perform.<br />
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At Death Before Dishonor weekend, the Milwaukee fans inside the dingy Turner Hall Ballroom showed why their such a good crowd to wrestle in front of, as they were in full approval of one of ROH's best matches of the year, Styles vs. O'Reilly.<br />
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Both guys put on an excellent exhibition, with submission moves, reversals, and exciting sequences being the stand out aspects of the match. Styles' return to the company has been a bit hit-and-miss, but here O'Reilly was the perfect opponent to showcase his skills, and vice versa.<br />
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<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/0845c41d307e45b8d1417c5b74dc6488/tumblr_inline_nh1sqyq4lt1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/0845c41d307e45b8d1417c5b74dc6488/tumblr_inline_nh1sqyq4lt1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>27. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling</b><br />
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While it can be considered that Kazuchika Okada can work a good match with pretty much anyone, when it comes to his matches with Tetsuya Naito everything just seems to click. At King of Pro Wrestling this past October, the two squared off one-on-one for the third time this year, and put on a terrific match that surpassed the lot.<br />
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After a less than stellar first half of the year, Okada came back from a very impressive G1 and brought that into the later stages of the year. This match against Naito had everything you'd want, and pretty much expect from these two, with a highly engaging 20 minute contest, and a brilliant closing sequence.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d922aca9ea311e0dc19508c97f0ec3f0/tumblr_inline_nh1up6vB7M1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d922aca9ea311e0dc19508c97f0ec3f0/tumblr_inline_nh1up6vB7M1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>26. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon - ROH All Star Extravaganza VI</b><br />
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The Young Bucks have had an amazing year. From tearing it up in Reseda every month to breaking through into Japan, the Bucks have solidified themselves as the best tag team in the world.<br />
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Some of their finest matches have come from Ring of Honor though, where they faced off against reDRagon in a trio of matches that showcased both teams insane chemistry with each other. Their last encounter came at All Star Extravaganza VI where both teams faced off in a 2-out-of-3 Falls tag team match to settle it all. The result was a hugely exciting match that had everything you'd want to see from these four men - a fast pace, high flying, near falls, O'Reilly arm bars, and SUPER KICKS galore. While not the best match of the series (actually the weakest), this match was just a ton of fun.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/4bd107496f5dd6ea203029413d2d9cd2/tumblr_inline_nh21cv409M1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/4bd107496f5dd6ea203029413d2d9cd2/tumblr_inline_nh21cv409M1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>25. The Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters - NJPW Dominion</b><br />
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The Young Bucks have helped breath some life into the junior heavyweight tag team scene in New Japan. Of all the consistently fun tag team matches that they had, their match against the always impressive Time Splitters at June's Dominion PPV was the best of the lot.<br />
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Even with the likes of Kushida in them, junior tag team bouts don't always get the biggest reactions from fans. Whether it's because of their place on the card, or the fact that there's so may gaijins involved is up for debate, but it's something that's always been kind of noticeable. The Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters match at Dominion was a big exception though, as the crowd gradually got more and more involved as the bout went on.<br />
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For around 15 minutes both teams put on a highly entertaining match that great spots, fluid sequences, and some fantastic near falls in the final few minutes. It's one of those cases where both teams just click together, and the crowd ate it all up.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/0a084fea33b54621f047a875a80caf51/tumblr_inline_nh22hwRmNc1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/0a084fea33b54621f047a875a80caf51/tumblr_inline_nh22hwRmNc1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>24. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - WWE NXT ArRVAL</b><br />
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Despite only winning the NXT Title a few weeks ago, Sami Zayn has been <i>the </i>guy in NXT over the past 12 months, and has consistently put on some very good matches in that time. Sami's best match last year came against Cesaro when the two faced off in an excellent 2-out-of-3 falls match.<br />
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This year, both men topped themselves at ArRIVAL, when they battled it out in a gripping contest that showcased both of these men greatest strengths in the ring. The big, skilled powerhouse vs. the gutsy high flyer is the kind of dynamic that just suits these guys so well. There's a certain amount of chemistry that's hard to come by, but both Cesaro and Zayn have it. <br />
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Besides the great action, both men also told a great story in the ring as well, as Sami Zayn pulled out all the stops, only to fall short at the power and size of Cesaro. While NXT has been lauded for its great in-ring action, it's their simple and effective storytelling that makes it such a fun product to watch. And this match exemplifies all of that.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/fd53fd0a1aeb4931398230559bc6a229/tumblr_inline_nh3bx2xEyW1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/fd53fd0a1aeb4931398230559bc6a229/tumblr_inline_nh3bx2xEyW1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>23. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka </b><br />
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When he's champion, there's no one in the world who can keep up with his level of quality in terms of title defenses. It almost seems effortless at times, but Okada always seems to put on a good to great title defense, no matter who he's against.<br />
Earlier in the year at The New Beginning in Osaka, Okada put on the best title defense of his latest reign when he took on Hirooki Goto in a brilliant bout. Filled it a great pace, nice psychology, and a great closing stretch, this match featured everything that's special about Okada. Goto also complimented Okada's work very well, and more than held his own to produce some excellent sequences throughout the match.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d0954a430fbb1194ace2b4f873d6c8c6/tumblr_inline_nh3ffagnet1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d0954a430fbb1194ace2b4f873d6c8c6/tumblr_inline_nh3ffagnet1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>22. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack</b><br />
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Every match between Tanahashi and Nakamura this year have all had a different aspect to them that's made them great. Their last encounter at Invasion Attack was arguably the best, both for its action, and original structure of the match.<br />
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When you have two of you top guys pitted against each other you're normally going to get a pretty contest where the opponents cancel each there out a lot. With this match though, it was so different.<br />
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For most of the match we had Tanahashi working over Nakamura for most of the match, preventing his opponent from getting anything in. It was such a fresh approach to such a high profile match, and really made for a very engaging bout. It's these kind of aspects that make Tanahashi such a great wrestler, as he's able to structure matches in so many different ways<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/f1abb1c94d1b12f75f08721c9ad3423d/tumblr_inline_nh3k7oz8Ok1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/f1abb1c94d1b12f75f08721c9ad3423d/tumblr_inline_nh3k7oz8Ok1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>21. reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks - ROH Raising the Bar: Night 2</b><br />
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This was both teams' first encounter in 2014, and a real hidden gem from them as well. While ROH house shows, and the Chicago market in general aren't anything special anymore, this match between reDRagon and The Young Bucks from the Frontier Fieldhouse proved to be one of the best matches from the company this year.<br />
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Not only did this match show the two teams stellar chemistry with each other, it also showed something that not many people thought, which is that The Young Bucks can put on a pretty great non-spot fest type of match.<br />
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Using Matt Buck's legitimate broken wrist as focal point in the match, both teams told a great story of the wrist being a target of reDRagon's, and later a weapon of The Bucks in the later stages of the match. Between all that there was some terrific selling from Matt Buck, some nice submission based moves from O'Reilly and Fish, and of course some exciting Super Kick-heavy sequences in the last few minutes of the bout. it had all the fun moves you'd expect from these two teams, and a good story to it to top it all off.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/71e369e53bffc3463559245b529bf9fb/tumblr_inline_nh3l8iPHbY1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/71e369e53bffc3463559245b529bf9fb/tumblr_inline_nh3l8iPHbY1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>20. Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW Back in Yokohama Arena</b><br />
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It's kind of amazing how good Tomohiro Ishii is considering he has such a limited move set. Such a situation would hold most wrestlers back in terms of putting on different types of matches with different types of wrestlers, but with Ishii he always finds a way to make it work.<br />
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At Back in Yokohama Arena, he faced off against Kota Ibushi, someone who such a different style to Ishii's. That didn't stop him from incorporating his style into the match though, nor did it stop him from allowing Ibushi's high flying into it either. Right from the bell everything just clicked between them, and throughout the match they displayed some tremendous spots, and exciting near falls that had the fans invested in every moment. Both styles meshed perfectly, and nothing looked out of place.<br />
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It's a credit to Ishii that he's able to get these pretty young wrestlers with their ridiculous hairstyles and make them look like total bad asses.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/a77996de08fdf94505be0a9bf5935a21/tumblr_inline_nh3mdece9Y1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/a77996de08fdf94505be0a9bf5935a21/tumblr_inline_nh3mdece9Y1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>19. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Destruction in Kobe</b><br />
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Some of the best feuds in wrestling are those with real life animosity, and the feud that Tanahashi and Shibata had this year was about as real as it gets.<br />
Their second, and final, one-on-one encounter took place at Destruction in Kobe, in what was easily the most physical match of the year. Tanahashi almost played by Shibata's rules as the two traded stiff looking blows for 18 minutes. Neither man held back, and as the bout went on things only seemed to get more intense between the two.<br />
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Some will argue that they were too stiff, others will argue that it wasn't as bad as they made it look. Whatever the viewpoint though, there's no denying that this was a gripping contest that ended the half-decade long grudge in perfect fashion.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d60118052b8e18f6b09be4c0cb148ac9/tumblr_inline_nh3ykji2vv1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/d60118052b8e18f6b09be4c0cb148ac9/tumblr_inline_nh3ykji2vv1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>18. Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Night 2</b><br />
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This year's Battle of Los Angeles played host to many debutants, but none more impressive than Zack Sabre Jr. Having seen very little of him before (one random match from Noah to be exact), the British style he brought in front of the Reseda crowd was a breath of fresh air, and quite simply just a joy to watch.<br />
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The best thing PWG did during that triple header was pit Sabre Jr. against Adam Cole in some capacity, and he proved to be the perfect opponent during the tournament. Everything both men did just gelled together so well, and they're singles match on night 2 of BOLA had so much to enjoy.<br />
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You had Sabre schooling Cole on the mat on numerous occasions (with terrific Adam Cole mannerisms that made him look even better), Cole catching him out with some of his signature moves, and an excellent closing stretch which had both of them combined. Everything they did came off as smoothly a you like.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/42313ee6b6536252f566826d516eec95/tumblr_inline_nh401ctePF1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/42313ee6b6536252f566826d516eec95/tumblr_inline_nh401ctePF1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>17. Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE WrestleMania XXX</b><br />
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It was an emotional, gut wrenching, annoying, confusing, roller coaster of a ride for Daniel Bryan, but at WrestleMania XXX the 'Yes' man finally got what he deserved, a World title win on the grandest stage of them all<br />
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While the crowd were very much subdued due to the shock result of Lesnar vs. Undertaker, there seemed to be a willingness on the fans part to give Daniel Bryan his moment. And even though many were just kind of waiting for Daniel Bryan to get his hand raised in the end, it didn't stop them from getting behind every moment in the match as well, which certainly added to the drama.<br />
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The match itself had everything to you'd expect from a match with an abusive authoritative figure storyline behind it. Dirty tricks, interference's, and near falls galore can easily ruin a match, but in this case it made sense, and ultimately added some great drama to it.<br />
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Everyone played there part well, from the underdog challenger Bryan, to the egotistical heel due Orton and Batista, to the power couple Triple H and Stephanie, making for an exciting championship match that was all sorts of crazy, emotional, and fun. Whatever happens to Bryan in the future (and already it's been frustrating and unlucky), this was a fitting end to his story.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/81c10a88d6e66791e48f87d3486c40a2/tumblr_inline_nhcyuiFOVf1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/81c10a88d6e66791e48f87d3486c40a2/tumblr_inline_nhcyuiFOVf1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>16. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet - NJPW Dominion</b><br />
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It's been a great year for Ricochet, who, after being turned down by WWE at the start of the year has gone on to win PWG's Battle of Los Angeles, New Japan's Best of Super Junior's, and land himself a leading role of sorts in Robert Rodriguez's Lucha Underground.<br />
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His best stuff this year has arguably come from Japan, even though his stint was short lived due contractual obligations with Lucha Underground. After a very impressive showing in the Best of Super Juniors tournament Ricochet went on to face Kota Ibushi at Dominion for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.<br />
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The match was about as good as you're going to get in terms of pure athleticism, as both men put on a terrific back and forth match with some awe inspiring, ridiculously innovative moves spots that you won't see anywhere else. It was a showcase of two of the best high flyers in the world today going to to toe, and the result was pretty great.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/d1075f71f4ee0254f9965098a944d607/tumblr_inline_nhcz3b617Q1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/d1075f71f4ee0254f9965098a944d607/tumblr_inline_nhcz3b617Q1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>15. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 4</b><br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/zZpcAQW.png">There's an image before the bell</a> which brilliantly sets the tone for this match, and perfectly describes both men that no other image could. There's Tanahashi, the charismatic, and exuberant face of the company with a rockstar persona that sets him apart from everyone else. And then there's Shibata, the deadly, no nonsense fighter who just likes to get the job done. Both polar opposites, both guys that hate each other.<br />
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At this years G1 Climax tournament, both guys faced off in a grueling, and exciting bout that highlighted both men's personalities, styles, and traits in excellent fashion. Shibata looked to knock Tanahashi off his stride with hard strikes, while Tanahashi kept to his strengths trying to catch him out with his explosive offense.<br />
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It was a match that told a superb story of two guys colliding, both stylistically, and mentally. For 15 minutes it was two wrestlers letting their hatred for each other out, with terrific call backs to their previous encounter, stiff shots, and great sequences in between. A truly great match that highlights both men's disdain for each other in excellent form.<br />
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<b>14. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 4</b><br />
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AJ Styles as had a resurgence since leaving TNA, with some of the finest work in his entire career unsurprisingly coming from New Japan. At this summer's G1 Climax, AJ showed just how versatile a wrestler he can be, putting on different matches of equal quality almost every night.<br />
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On day 4 of the tournament, Styles faced off against Tetsuya Naito in a fantastic match that seems to have fallen under the radar due to that night's (and the tournament as a whole) stacked card.<br />
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Both men told a great story in the match as Styles went after the open wound on Naito's head, which he received the previous day. On a personal note, seeing blood inside a New Japan ring for the first time brought and "oh shit" reaction out of me, and that reaction stayed throughout most of the match as AJ viciously and methodically worked his match around Naito's bloodied face. AJ has never been a great heel, but in this match he brought a certain mean streak to his game that complimented Naito's gutsy underdog look perfectly, which made for an excellent dynamic in the match. Coupled with a very good pace and great spots throughout, this all made for a terrific match.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/a6b03d80b0286f4d0de56c49acef77c1/tumblr_inline_ni8d0kbqmB1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/a6b03d80b0286f4d0de56c49acef77c1/tumblr_inline_ni8d0kbqmB1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>13. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 8</b><br />
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Shortly before G1 Climax 24, Kota Ibushi suffered an injury, putting him out of the tournament. The spot was later filled by Tomoaki Honma, a bit part player who's been in and out of New Japan for a few years. The replacement didn't look very good on paper, but Honma soon proved to be the most entertaining wrestler in the entire tournament, losing every single match in his block, yet becoming one of the most over people in the process.<br />
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Tomoaki Honma approached every match the same. Go out full force with quick flurry of strikes, lariats, and (often unsuccessful) headbutts, and try to pick up the win. It was an approach that often times became repetitive, but not once did it becoming anything but awesome.<br />
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Honma brought this tactic into his match against Katsuyori Shibata, which made for a superb contest with both men going all out for 10 minutes. The action was fast, the strikes were stiff, and the near falls towards the end of the match were fantastic. Honma's fearless approach matched with Shibata's no bullshit approach made for vigorous results. Everything about this match was explosive.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/fad2fb882b094303ddc2428b700e0f4e/tumblr_inline_ni8d0yrrEc1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/fad2fb882b094303ddc2428b700e0f4e/tumblr_inline_ni8d0yrrEc1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>12. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber</b><br />
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At the start of the year The Shield and The Wyatt Family were put into what was essentially a filler feud before WrestleMania. The result, however was far from filler, as it ended up being one of the most fun feuds from WWE this year.<br />
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At Elimination Chamber, both teams took part in a highly entertaining 6-Man Tag Team match that showcased every single person exceptionally well. While some have gone on to greater things in singles action since then, this was a match that's structure highlighted everyone's strengths.<br />
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The tornado tag rules enabled the likes of Rollins and Harper to fly recklessly around the ring and ringside, the chaos enabled Ambrose, Wyatt, and Rowan to brawl everywhere without any overbooking pulling them down, and the multi-man stipulation enabled Roman Reigns to appear in short bursts with his explosive offense. Everything in this match had something for every man to shine off, which made for a special match that was a ton of fun from start to finish.<br />
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<b>11. Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 4</b><br />
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Tomohiro Ishii is arguably at his best when he's fired up, hitting lariats, powerbombs, and brainbusters in back and forth exchanges. At Day 4 of the G1 Climax, Ishii had the perfect opponent to do that against.<br />
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Like in his match against Katsuyori Shibata, Tomoaki Honma brought his fearless, fast paced approach at Tomohiro Ishii, looking to put him away as quickly as possible. But while Shibata looked to tame Honma more than anything, Ishii went out with the same game plan as Honma's, which made for a terrific story that in many ways represents what the G1 Climax is all about.<br />
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For 12 minutes both guys put on an exhilarating bout that was fought at a tremendously fast pace from bell to bell. Some matches can be hard to take in all at once, and this match didn't give you a second to take anything in. And that's what was so special about it. One cool spot was met with another one straight afterwards, the near falls were quick and sudden, and every exchange ended with no clear winner. Both men threw everything at you in such a short amount of time, but managed to spread it out brilliantly.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/7757c945602966dce98881c4101afa0e/tumblr_inline_ni8d2vEmMq1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/7757c945602966dce98881c4101afa0e/tumblr_inline_ni8d2vEmMq1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>10. The Young Bucks vs. World's Cutest Tag Team - PWG Eleven</b><br />
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PWG matches don't always hit their mark. Some spot fests drag out for too long, some comedy routines fall a bit flat, and sometimes the wrestlers don't quite have the chemistry together. When all of those things click inside Reseda's American Legion Hall though, there's nothing more fun to watch in all of wrestling.<br />
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The Young Bucks vs. World's Cutest Tag Team at Eleven perfectly represents everything that's great about PWG. A hot crowd, fast pace, silly comedy spots, "holy shit" moments, and Superkicks aplenty. Both teams combined all of those things excellently, which made for a fantastic back and forth match that had everything you could want from a Guerrilla Warfare.<br />
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More than anything though, this was a breakthrough performance from Candice LeRae, who put in a gutsy display in front of the approving Reseda crowd. Matched with an underrated partner in Joey Ryan, and perfect opponents in The Young Bucks, everything between these two teams came off brilliantly.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/77bf3247bbce709b059168e4b59f449d/tumblr_inline_ni8d3g049c1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/77bf3247bbce709b059168e4b59f449d/tumblr_inline_ni8d3g049c1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>9. Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW Power Struggle </b><br />
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In many ways Goto vs. Ishii from Power Struggle was this year's Shibata vs. ishii from 2013. It was two guys trading blows, looking to see who falls first. Simple concept, hard in execution.<br />
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Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii are two of the best wrestlers in the world for these types of matches. They're two popular guys who hit hard, and aren't afraid to put their bodies on the line. The exchanges between these two men were highly intense, with both guys trading lariats, kicks, headbutts, and neckbreakers in dramatic fashion. Ishii and Goto don't have the most diverse move set (Ishii especially), and the moves used in the this match don't sound <i>that</i> exciting, but it's the pure intensity that both guys bring to them that makes it so entertaining.<br />
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For 17 minutes both men simply destroyed each other. The manner in which they exchanged blows was almost exhausting to watch, with the pace of the match never slowing down for a second. For pure brutality, there's been no match this year like it.<br />
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<b>8. Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka</b><br />
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Tomohiro Ishii has had a fantastic year. Over the course of this year he's reminded people just how versatile a wrestler he is, with short bursts against the likes of Tomoaki Honma, lengthy bouts against the likes of Yujiro Takahashi, and wars against the likes of Hirooki Goto. His most impressive performance came at The New Beginning in Osaka when he took on Tetsuya Naito in a tremendous match full of excitement.<br />
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Ishii's best matches are generally those when his opponent wrestles to his strengths, and that's exactly what Tetsuya Naito did when he took the fight to Ishii for over 20 minutes. The story of Naito standing to-to-toe was excellent, as he engaged in some great exchanges involving headbutts, lariats, sweet reversals.<br />
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Some matches can suffer from an over reliance on near falls for drama, but in this case the close two counts simply added to the already terrific action throughout. Every kick out was met with a thunderous roar from the Osaka crowd, with each one getting more and more engaging as the bout went on. Between the good story, dramatic near falls, and excellent action, everything between these two men just fell into place.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/9e4360fca215da0937ad885338f27ed9/tumblr_inline_ni8d54oQd61s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/9e4360fca215da0937ad885338f27ed9/tumblr_inline_ni8d54oQd61s9fq61.png" /></a><b>7. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn - WWE NXT R Evolution</b><br />
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Despite not winning the NXT Championship until the end of the year, NXT in 2014 was all about Sami Zayn. His climb to the title was one of the bright sparks on the brand throughout the year, and his chase came to a brilliant conclusion against Adrian Neville at R Evolution.<br />
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There's not many wrestlers on the WWE roster (if any) that truly represent a good babyface, but Sami Zayn is one of them. Sami is the gutsy underdog who always wants to do things the right way, and at R Evolution that was highlighted so well. One of the best parts of this match was the story that it told. Zayn’s ‘good guy’ personality costing him so many times in the past was a great call back, and really helped intensify the drama in the match.<br />
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On top of all that, the action itself was fantastic, with both guys pulling out awesome moves, and exchanging in some great spots. This match hit all the right boxes in the finale of their exciting feud.<br />
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<b>6. Kushida vs. Ricochet – NJPW Best of Super Juniors XXI Finals</b><br />
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Despite a short stay in NJPW, Ricochet took part in some highly exciting matches for the promotion, with the best coming against Kushida at the Best of Super Juniors Finals in Tokyo. The pace at which these two wrestled each other was terrific, and the moves they hit were about as fluid, graceful and athletic as you’re going to see in 2014.<br />
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The manner in which Kushida looked to lock in the Kimura Lock made for an exciting element of the match, and made way for some great reversals and sequences throughout. Everything between these two men just clicked, and added with a hot crowd that were behind every moment, this was an excellent match from start to finish.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/c4ae2070adda0abdc5e0401bfe7d389b/tumblr_inline_ni8dcmMyPq1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/c4ae2070adda0abdc5e0401bfe7d389b/tumblr_inline_ni8dcmMyPq1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 11 </b><br />
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While the praise was mostly focused on AJ Styles and Kazuchika Okada post G1 Climax, one of the wrestlers that fell under the radar in some respects was the ever consistent Minoru Suzuki. And on day 11 of the tournament, he showed just how great a performer he still is when he put on a fantastic match against Okada.<br />
Suzuki can be one of the best in New Japan when it comes to working on a body part, and Okada is equally one of the best when it comes to selling an injured body part as well. This made for a great dynamic as Suzuki relentlessly went after the right arm of Okada, restraining much of his offense throughout.<br />
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While a few matches from the tournament helped make Okada look like the angry, driven challenger that was ready to take back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, this one arguably did the best job of doing that, as he used the story of his hurt arm to put on a fiery and exciting comeback in one of the companies finest matches of the year.<br />
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<a href="https://31.media.tumblr.com/558057e3763aa369b9c15af1d59ec716/tumblr_inline_ni8ddwiJza1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/558057e3763aa369b9c15af1d59ec716/tumblr_inline_ni8ddwiJza1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>4. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H – WWE WrestleMania XXX</b><br />
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Seeing my favourite wrestler growing up take on my favourite wrestler today was special in itself, and the fact they delivered in such a great manner made it all the better for me. I was slightly worried that the match would be more of a brawl given the storyline behind their match, but after just a few minutes it became clear that they were intent on putting on a more technical matchup, much to my delight.<br />
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The story of this match was really great as the veteran looked to tame Daniel Bryan by working on his injured shoulder, forcing Bryan to take more risks to help get back into the match. When working on a body part Triple H’s technical attributes really shine through, and the work he did on Bryan’s shoulder was fantastic. And while Bryan didn’t get the same sort of offense in, his flurry of strikes were very well placed throughout the match, and added some great moments throughout the match. This match had everything I wanted to see between these two men.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/3a1cc0d0dd883a159cea2cf460cdeb6e/tumblr_inline_ni8dhzuDl31s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/3a1cc0d0dd883a159cea2cf460cdeb6e/tumblr_inline_ni8dhzuDl31s9fq61.png" /></a><b>3. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon – ROH War of the Worlds </b><br />
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Both of these teams had a fantastic 2014. The Young Bucks tore it up in ROH, PWG and NJPW, winning all three companies Tag Team Championships at one point, while reDRagon proved to be the brightest part of ROH throughout the year, and an exciting addition to NJPW. It’s no surprise that their best stuff came when they faced off against each other.<br />
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Their match at War of the Worlds was undeniably the best tag team match in 2014. For little under 13 minutes both teams but on an exhilarating match with brilliant spots and a rapid pace from start to finish. Every move was crisp and fluid from all four guys, and every great spot transitioned into another great spot with such ease. The chemistry these two teams have together is unmatched from any other team around the world, and this match showcased their immense ability perfectly.<br />
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<a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/f2501f312ec4109c71aaaa25d5ce37a8/tumblr_inline_ni8djl8Jip1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://38.media.tumblr.com/f2501f312ec4109c71aaaa25d5ce37a8/tumblr_inline_ni8djl8Jip1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 7</b><br />
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While a great match from New Japan, no matter who it’s from, should never come as a surprise, the excellence of Styles vs. Suzuki sort of came out of nowhere. Suzuki was stuck in a dull feud with Sakuraba, Styles was still sort of finding his feet in the company (despite his success). At the same time though, when you think of who was in the match, maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise.<br />
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Both guys put on a classic match that simply had so much to admire about it. I loved how Styles, the supposed mean leader of the intimidating Bullet Club, was totally shut up from the grizzled badass Suzuki for the majority of the match. This match had such a great dynamic as Styles looked to gain control of the match, but always seemed to be caught out from the veteran, whether it was from ring smarts or straight out cheating (such as the closed fist) from Suzuki.<br />
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With all of that, as well as great sequences, reversals and a terrific finishing stretch, this match was pure brilliance.<br />
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<a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/3bd13d1fc6c8427351adba93581ec134/tumblr_inline_ni8dkwj4BP1s9fq61.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" src="https://33.media.tumblr.com/3bd13d1fc6c8427351adba93581ec134/tumblr_inline_ni8dkwj4BP1s9fq61.png" /></a><b>1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 12 </b><br />
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Amongst all the great matches, Okada vs. Nakamura was the best match from the G1 Climax, and also the best match from anywhere in 2014. Some matches are helped by the hype they have behind them, and when they do live up to the hype it’s hard to find anything better.<br />
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Okada vs. Nakamura was an excellent showcase between two guys at the top of their game. Having never faced each other before it was hard to say how good their chemistry was going to be, but on the night it proved to be as good as any. The pace was great, the exchanges were top notch, and the action all round was just so much fun to watch.<br />
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A lot of matches in 2014 had moves or moments that made me pop out of my seat, and this match consisted of two of those – the Rainmaker attempt reversed into a cross arm breaker from Nakamura, and Okada’s vicious hat-trick of Rainmaker’s. While the best of matches need those great elements of psychology and storytelling behind them, sometimes they just need those awesome moments to make them stand out. And this match was full of them.Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-63699768623246090222014-01-02T13:35:00.000-08:002014-01-02T13:36:01.778-08:0030 Best Matches of 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- ROH Final Battle</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't be alone in saying that it hasn't been a very good year for Ring of Honor, but on their final show of the year, Final Battle, which happened a few weeks ago, the company capped the year off with a bang after a great main event in the Hammerstein Ballroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World Champion Adam Cole, who's been on a decent roll since claiming the title, took on the always consistent Michael Elgin and returning Jay Briscoe in a match filled with drama, nearfalls and and really fun heel work from the champion, who seemed to use everything in the book to regain the gold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may have helped with my rating that following this match saw the returning Chris Hero enter the fray, but in terms of bell-to-bell action this undeniably holds up as being one of the best ROH matches of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXoGqCVDTXrd1VbdElHF4KSK5jhxOSJlms7fIt74sXMMwOI5CAsuz-17AAD5JTC1XNrNlH3UtIQKtBxDilqwlxRW6HlfyOqgnBf0_Ma4sOZ2xuBDHTRDVxUMDnmerw6gQaGE66oubFYQ/s1600/29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXoGqCVDTXrd1VbdElHF4KSK5jhxOSJlms7fIt74sXMMwOI5CAsuz-17AAD5JTC1XNrNlH3UtIQKtBxDilqwlxRW6HlfyOqgnBf0_Ma4sOZ2xuBDHTRDVxUMDnmerw6gQaGE66oubFYQ/s1600/29.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Young Bucks vs. The Dojo Bros </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG All Star Weekend 9: Night 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many ways this match exemplifies Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - fast paced, explosive, balls to the wall fun. This applies especially to Reseda's finest The Young Bucks, who put on a really good match against the team of Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those two men have had a pretty quiet year compared to previous ones, with their singles matches being less-than-stellar for the most part, but as a team they're incredibly fun to watch. They throw caution to the wind and kick and chop the shit out of anyone in front of them - and against the Superkick frenzied Buck brothers, a really fun match is expected of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is exactly what we got here between these two teams. Hard-hitting action, nice tag team moves, fluid sequences and Superkicks galore - and all packed into roughly 15 minutes of fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kassius Ohno vs. William Regal </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE NXT 10/4</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's sad to think of all the opponents Kassius Ohno could have faced in WWE, before being abruptly (to some) released in November. Despite all the dream match-ups though, we were at least treated to a real gem earlier on in the year as Ohno faced off against the veteran William Regal. And what a match it was. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was exactly what you'd hope from two such intelligent wrestlers. The scientific wrestling was a joy to watch as both men tried to garner control on the match, and the stiffness of both men's offence was a breath of fresh air inside a WWE ring. Every shot had a purpose, every rest hold was nicely placed and the story of a young gun trying to knock off the veteran was told very well. Great stuff from both men.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NnBsGkNjVsW3UmABpvFxl2FMoMjVHMRcDqXN7s8lNsycBpUg9ZHlNMJhAkanRynu16yR7aWO0dk0QT28oz2W-4rh52Acn90D9GtdxGwpCb1AeYuu5-QH5cvSOQ4F450NQT-Wb9KHwTg/s1600/27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NnBsGkNjVsW3UmABpvFxl2FMoMjVHMRcDqXN7s8lNsycBpUg9ZHlNMJhAkanRynu16yR7aWO0dk0QT28oz2W-4rh52Acn90D9GtdxGwpCb1AeYuu5-QH5cvSOQ4F450NQT-Wb9KHwTg/s1600/27.png" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kyle O'Reilly vs. Sami Callihan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG All Star Weekend 9: Night 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kyle O'Reilly has proven a lot in 2013, one of which being that he can get the best out of just about anyone. This was the case at PWG's All Star Weekend, when he put on a really good match against a guy who I'm not even the biggest fan of, Sami Callihan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right from the opening bell Sami's stiff style was instantly matched by O'Reilly, who for the whole match delivered some great strikes and perfectly executed moves. And while most PWG matches consists of move after move after move, with this match it seemed a little different. The spots were nicely panned out throughout the match, with the bits in between consisting of welcomed resting periods (by PWG's standards anyway).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The indie scene in 2013 belonged to Kyle O'Reilly, and in March's All Star Weekend 9, he was only starting to show the best of him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Paul London vs. Roderick Strong</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- ROH Glory By Honor XII</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paul London returned to the independent scene in 2013 after a long break away from the wrestling world, and at Ring of Honor's annual Glory By Honor event, he had his best match of the year against an on-game Roderick Strong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While Roderick Strong's a mile a minute style can come across rushed and weak, in this match Paul London seemed to get the best out of that, creating very solid chemistry between the two. The shots were hard, the spots for the most part came off very well, and London's speed and quickness complimented Strong's energetic approach. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes two styles such as these can be a bit of a mess, but in this bout everything just seemed to click.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kevin Steen vs. Johnny Gargano</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Night 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much like the Strong/London match above, this is another match that featured two guy's styles meshing very well. On one corner we had the bruising powerhouse Kevin Steen, and on the other the smaller, yet quick and fiery Johnny Gargano. Of course, both men have a lot more to them than that, but in this match that's what these two men focused on, and it worked extremely well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a great back-and-forth contest which had Kevin Steen deliver some brutal looking moves, but Gargano constantly coming back and trying to execute that one move to get him the victory. In the end both tactics collided, with the end result being one of the best reversals I've seen this year (which you can see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmZKEKERP0I#t=105">here</a>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE NXT 21/8</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks in much part to the match being taped a few weeks before being aired, this was one of the most talked about matches of the year. The worry for me, and I'm sure a lot of people, was that it then had a lot to live up to. Thankfully though, it did live up to the billing (taking into consideration that it almost certainly wouldn't be MOTY quality) and both men put on a terrific 2-out-of-3 falls match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given the stipulation, both Zayn and Cesaro made the most out of not being given a lot of time, and wrestled their match at a wonderful pace. The first two falls were slow, yet fun to watch, and definitely set the tone for the final fall, which burst into action. That final fall saw great nearfalls and sequences which had the fans on their feet. Sami Zayn can't get called up to the main roster soon enough. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcq4aSXmrmdsfqn-Kz6rYmmj8rz4WFc2NCs0UfJJRXtYEvZqjibZSaad0aiweOzuQqBPz1pqCZGR-p9KRRFQIyT2dauFJ_RD_U3CMAAOaj56nabtJZm-nxQrg_0j9hd9IiesIBcPxK8g/s1600/23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcq4aSXmrmdsfqn-Kz6rYmmj8rz4WFc2NCs0UfJJRXtYEvZqjibZSaad0aiweOzuQqBPz1pqCZGR-p9KRRFQIyT2dauFJ_RD_U3CMAAOaj56nabtJZm-nxQrg_0j9hd9IiesIBcPxK8g/s1600/23.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual January 4th show in the Tokyo Dome, Prince Devitt, Low Ki and Kota Ibushi were three men who stood out in a packed card, when they faced off in a really exciting Triple Threat match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For 15 minutes all three guys worked a fast paced match that didn't slow down for a second. The action was swift and fluid, the moves delivered perfectly and nearfalls aplenty. In many ways this is New Japan's WrestleMania (and thus why Low Ki is dressed up as the guy from Hitman - an annual tradition some follow), It's the show where everyone wants to make an impact, and all three here made sure that each one of them did. It'd be hard to find a better Triple Threat match in 2013 than this one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Shinsuke Nakamura</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom proved to have a lot of diversity, and easily the most brutal and hard-hitting match on the card was the fantastic match between Kazushi Sakuraba and Shinsuke Nakamura. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the Triple Threat match above showcased extreme athleticism and fast paced action, this match took the roll of a more hybrid rules match-up, with former MMA fighter Kazushi Sakuraba tussling it out with the equally tough Shinsuke Nakamura in a grueling contest. Both men looked to get the victory straight away with Sakuraba trying to apply his Arm Bar, and Nakamura trying to hit one of his viscous knee strikes - and all the while hitting each other with some of the stiffest shots you'll see all year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many ways this was a controlled frenzy. The action was rough, but also tightly wrapped up in a flowing scuffle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kyle O'Reilly vs. TJ Perkins </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG Ten</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as people like to say, PWG isn't always the host of more technical based match-ups, but on their tenth anniversary show, Kyle O'Reilly and TJ Perkins put on a great technical showcase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TJ Perkins is someone who doesn't always have the right opponents in PWG, as the scientific wrestling he's well capable of doing is generally substituted for a move high flying approach to suit his who ever he's facing. With O'Reilly though, TJ was able to boast the technical side of his game against the equally technically sound Kyle O'Reilly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was as fluent as you'd expect from these two, with both guys exchanging in some wonderful chain wrestling, submission holds and reversals. The high-octane moves were still brought out of course, and contributed greatly with the mat based style to bring off a very good balance. Finally TJ Perkins found the perfect opponent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>reDRagon vs. The American Wolves</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- ROH Supercard of Honor VII</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the finest matches to come out of WrestleMania weekend in April was the ROH World Tag Team Title match between reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) and The American Wolves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match had everything you could really ask for in a tag team match, with both teams on top form. The match started off with a nice steady pace, before both teams kicked it into an other gear, right until the very end of the match. The chemistry between both teams was evident, as every move and sequence came off very smoothly. The crowd were also fully behind everything they did as well, which made the match as a whole just feel that much better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">reDRagon have easily been one of the more brighter sparks in ROH since forming, so it's no surprise that they were involved in the best match from ROH this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW G1 Climax 23: Day 4</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year's G1 Climax from New Japan has been labelled one of wrestling's greatest ever tournaments. While I've only (kind of) started watching NJPW this year, and only watched the most talked about matches from G1, I can still see where people are coming from. The action was consistently excellent, and one of the best matches to come from this year's tournament was from Kota Ibushi and Shinsuke Nakamura. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not every match from the G1 Climax is given much time, but on this occasion both guys where given time to flourish. The different styles meshed instantly, with the stiff hitting Nakamura trying to slow down the quickness and all round athleticism of Kota Ibushi. It led to the high flyer Ibushi standing toe-to-toe with Nakamura, as both guys exchanged in some excellently hard-hitting and fun sequences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matches that consist of wrestlers changing their styles to match their opponent can be hard to do, but in this one it was done effortlessly. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Dominion </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In NJPW, there's so many matches that feature all out action of the highest order. Some don't come off quite as well, but those that do are very fun to watch. Katsuyori Shibata is quite good at this style of wrestling, and at New Japan's Dominion show this past June, he toughed it out against Hirooki Goto. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the bell even rang the action was underway with Goto pouncing on Shibata, and from there it never really slowed down that much. The kicks and chops were wicked, the very real headbutts were barbaric, and every power move seemed to leave behind a large exclamation mark. As well as that, the urgency behind their actions also works greatly, as it brings off the illustration of two tough men wanting to deliver as much pain as possible to avoid it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE Raw 20/7</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many weeks during this past Summer, many episodes of Raw could easily have been labelled 'The Daniel Bryan Show'. This was true on the 20th of July edition of Raw, when Daniel Bryan took part in a Gauntlet match against Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and Ryback. And in that pack, it was his tussle against the Swiss star that garnered the most praise, as both men took part in a great match-up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The many great things about Daniel Bryan is how he can work against anyone and any size. When facing people much bigger and stronger than him he can still control the match and make it look ordinary. He did this here against Antonio Cesaro, who could (unsurprisingly) hang with him during the technical side of things and also when it burst into action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it did kick into another gear things got even better, as the contest became back-and-forth, and with the crowd firmly behind every single move. The result ended with an excellent reversal, which quite fittingly summarized how good this match was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Davey Richards vs. Kyle O'Reilly</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG Is Your Body Ready?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Kyle O'Reilly and Davey Richards' match from ROH's Defy or Deny 2 (which didn't quite make the cut), I had high hopes when the same match-up was announced for PWG's show Is Your Body Ready? Those hopes were matched when the two faced off again, as PWG hosted its best technical based match of the year between two of the best technical wrestlers on the independent scene. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The manner in which both guys worked on a body part was a big welcome inside a PWG ring, as well as the numerous chain wrestling parts throughout. And while that was a pretty big part of the match, they weren't shy in dishing out the crowd pleasing spots to their game, as both Davey and Kyle took part in some really good exchanges and sequences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They did't go overboard with it all of that though (which Davey Richards especially can do at times) and always rooted back to the technical side of things right until the very end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CM Punk vs. The Undertaker</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE WrestleMania XXIX</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Undertaker's condition was somewhat under caution heading into WrestleMania XXIX, with a lot of people wondering how he'd cope in yet another very demanding match. In the end though, nobody had anything to worry about, as the Deadman put on another excellent match on the Grandest Stage of Them All. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also heading into the show it was clear that the former WWE champion probably wanted a bigger gig (which was kind of stupid considering he was facing the freakin' Undertaker), but any worries that he wouldn't be up for it were laid to rest come WrestleMania, as he looked fired up and eager to put on a classic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The end result saw two men from two different generations gel instantly and put on a match that was filled with nice psychology, drama, action and believable nearfalls. I think it's fair to say that no one will ever beat The Undertaker's undefeated streak, but at WrestleMania XXIX CM Punk convinced people that he could pull off the upset. That's something you've got to commend both men for. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>ACH vs. Kyle O'Reilly </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- PWG Battle of Los Angeles: Night 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not only was PWG's second night of Battle of Los Angeles one of the best shows of the year, it featured the best match from PWG this year as well, when ACH took on Kyle O'Reilly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While pretty much everyone in PWG is eager to impress, these two men seemed to be the most hungry. ACH is the young up and comer who's quickly been making a name for himself on the indie scene, while O'Reilly has steadily been doing the same on a greater scale, as he's been making a name for himself as the best worker on the indie scene right now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The result was two men going all out to put on a great match - and they certainly did that. ACH's amazing athleticism coincided very well with O'Reilly's precision and agility, and for the entire match the action never really dipped. The spots were flawless (especially from ACH who seriously does some awesome moves), the exchanges were great to watch, and the pacing was kept at the perfect level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Reseda, California crowd are generally rowdy anyway, so it's a testament to both men when they had all 400+ in the venue going absolutely nuts in the final few minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE SummerSlam</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing Brock Lesnar's next opponent always seems like a big deal, and when CM Punk was chosen to face The Beast during the Summer it created a bit of a buzz. That buzz lived up to the billing as Brock Lesnar and CM Punk put on a fantastic match on what was easily WWE's best PPV of the year, SummerSlam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mixture of MMA and stiff style with WWE's hectic drama filled booking doesn't look good on paper, but when it came to the actual bout it worked extremely well. The action was rough and aggressive, and the inclusion of Paul Heyman spiced things up a bit to make it a thoroughly entertaining bout that had so many aspects to enjoy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever you watch wrestling for, this match seemed have it. And both Punk and Lesnar worked well enough under every condition of the match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW G1 Climax 23: Day 9</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After an G1 Climax excellent tournament it was then left to two in the final - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito. What's both interesting and important to take into account is that these two men wrestled for 9 days straight, with the final day consisting of 3 matches for the finalists. So, the fact that both were able to put in such a great effort in the final is something you have to tip your hat off to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This great effort paid off as well, as the tournament capped with with a brilliant final between two of New Japan's finest. The story of both men just going all out really worked for the match. No real tactics or resting periods, just straight out action right until the very end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's what made this match so much fun to watch. The way they threw caution to the wind and went right at it, resulting in great sequences and nearfalls, was tremendous, especially since I didn't see it going that way. A fitting end to such a great tournament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Kizuna Road</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's actually a pretty nice feeling when a match lives up to your expectations, and that's what happened here when Kazuchika Okada defended his World Title against Bullet Club leader Prince Devitt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Devitt himself hasn't had the best year wrestling-wise, as his new heel faction gets involved a bit too much during his matches, and thus ruining the flow of it all. Thankfully though, with this one it wasn't the case. The Bullet Club made their presence known in the match, but for the most part Kazuchika and Devitt were left alone to do their stuff, which helped things greatly. At New Japan's Kizuna Road, they seemed to get the balance right with regards to interference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that, the action itself was top notch. Both men wrestled at a very nice pace, which made </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">every spot easy to take in, and the fluency of their submission moves and exchanges seemed completely effortless. The climax of the match is also a fantastic watch, with almost graceful reversals taking place every second as both men looked to end the match. A truly great bout.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ5P0E9GVKeRR4-Byo95aL3TVX8aaQneRtQKyLvrL7KdSs6XC_g8i5PvPK9MkL_Iui3pLciwDw9tJJvIJavkms0NRhnY5ZeW7rVkkAEbzYdWFCI3J8R6nlNiqDnJZfQDyJuPNeRjqif8/s1600/10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ5P0E9GVKeRR4-Byo95aL3TVX8aaQneRtQKyLvrL7KdSs6XC_g8i5PvPK9MkL_Iui3pLciwDw9tJJvIJavkms0NRhnY5ZeW7rVkkAEbzYdWFCI3J8R6nlNiqDnJZfQDyJuPNeRjqif8/s1600/10.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW G1 Climax: Day 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You wouldn't really think it when you look at him (or maybe you would), but there's a lot more to Tomohiro Ishii than just stiff brawling. The man is very versatile, and from what I've seen can work pretty much any kind of match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was particularly when he faced off against Hiroshi Tanahashi at G1 Climax. The realistic, ground n' pound style was still there in this match, but the drama and pure engagement that he created with Tanahashi was a great sight. Both men battled it out in a terrific back-and-forth contest that had all the big moves that you'd think would put one of them away. Nearfall after nearfall after nearfall was produced, and while something like that can be overdone at times, on this occasion it sucked you in more and more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this was all under what was a pretty short time limit as well, considering all that happened. Yet straight from the start of the bell they were able to fit in so much and not make it feel rushed on bit. No matter if you know both guys or not, it's a match that once you start watching you can't help but get invested in.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQXHTu0xLwWucI-7xmzAu1Iaqyhdcrwj0tQO00zZ53XQ5REe4Norb870NZitJAxtT0YLZWhdIsnIHh1O5YLHpVXCab2GFcbaYuPe2iBKu_5LNMkPY23nDgKTuf_4oOccHPVllKNUBNwI/s1600/9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQXHTu0xLwWucI-7xmzAu1Iaqyhdcrwj0tQO00zZ53XQ5REe4Norb870NZitJAxtT0YLZWhdIsnIHh1O5YLHpVXCab2GFcbaYuPe2iBKu_5LNMkPY23nDgKTuf_4oOccHPVllKNUBNwI/s1600/9.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>CM Punk vs. John Cena </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE Raw 25/2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a good while now it's been evident that John Cena and CM Punk have immense chemistry. For two such different styles and statures, both guys just seem to click. So when both Punk and Cena faced off on the 25th February edition of Monday Night Raw, nothing short of a solid match was expected of them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was certainly that. And then some. What looked like a standard Raw main event soon turned into a classic, and one of their best matches together. The two former WWE champions had the crowd in the palm of their hands as they want back and forth, producing nearfalls and unleashing new moves to their arsenal. The story of both men wanting to go onto face The Rock at WrestleMania was crystal clear, as they both pulled out all the stops to get the victory. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's almost a shame that we didn't see another series of matches between the two like in 2011 and 2012, but at least we were treated to this fantastic match. A match that's arguably the best in Raw history. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9CZ0xRJCgsJ6R3_dYZwQBssD4xyYbhise9BO10ZwJvbHXF6D996jSgnPXQiI-xY4dti0MNOMh_Fnmw1n8ECK3V7FI2dj37aLpcHNyWkrfnXXm2jS4MfTmVCOxg5ktVCNBE5HOzs6rWU/s1600/8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9CZ0xRJCgsJ6R3_dYZwQBssD4xyYbhise9BO10ZwJvbHXF6D996jSgnPXQiI-xY4dti0MNOMh_Fnmw1n8ECK3V7FI2dj37aLpcHNyWkrfnXXm2jS4MfTmVCOxg5ktVCNBE5HOzs6rWU/s1600/8.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Dominion</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A crowd can pretty much make or break a match in many ways, and at New Japan's Dominion PPV this past June they certainly made it. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada faced off against Togi Makabe, who right from the opening bell had this fans right behind him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This made for a great spectacle as Togi Makabe, a guy who going into the match wasn't really a threat to the title, somehow made it look like he could take the gold off of Okada. Every bit of offence seemed to be met with a rousing reception from the fans in attendance. This led to some really great moments throughout the match, particularly near the end when every nearfall looked like Okada was going to keep the gold, or Makabe was going to pull off the upset. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both men worked an excellent match, and the fans were invested in every bit of it. When you have those two things coincide with each other, you have a pretty special match.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIWio_dguLXjX2wgB8FzE3hxqjNq9JyX1naxR7AY3U2AuRURk3mCRn4KfHr3NflFvbCO5Pn9Su-zXScHNt4pgg2iPB2swra5sqtxl_FtXbhLYbD8oCP_5-5-AqdsSKnhs6yczz_hoo_o/s1600/7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIWio_dguLXjX2wgB8FzE3hxqjNq9JyX1naxR7AY3U2AuRURk3mCRn4KfHr3NflFvbCO5Pn9Su-zXScHNt4pgg2iPB2swra5sqtxl_FtXbhLYbD8oCP_5-5-AqdsSKnhs6yczz_hoo_o/s1600/7.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW G1 Climax 23: Day 4</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can try and find a more brutal and barbaric match in 2013 than Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii from from the G1 Climax, but you simply won't. There have been of course been some very stiff matches over the past 12 months, with some reaching the top 30 list, but this one here reached another level. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pre-match announcements before the bell in many ways sums up this match, as both Shibata and Ishii flustered around their corner of the ring, with the crowd anticipating what they were about to witness. The result was an all-out war that somehow kicked into another gear after every passing minute. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every strike was dealt with such viscous</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> intent, which in turn created a great story of two guys who knew they had to beat each another down until one of them was unable to get back up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not normally a fan of wrestlers literally taking turns hitting each other, but on this match it just worked. It was a test of endurance to see you could last withstand the most pain, with the winner of that test almost gaining the upper hand. From there it was just a see saw of strikes of every form. Forearms, chops, lariats, and of course some ferocious headbutts to go along with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shoot fight style of wrestling executed perfectly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- WWE SummerSlam</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although Daniel Bryan was already a former World Champion going into this match, this was still the pinnacle that he was aiming towards for all these years. Headlining a big PPV against the face of the company, for the WWE Championship, a title much more prestigious than the World Title. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hype leading up to this match set the stage for what was possibly going to be a classic encounter. Despite outside interactions from Triple H and Randy Orton looked like they could tamper such a match-up, thankfully Bryan and Cena were left alone to put on their match before everything that followed. This proved to be a great decision in the end, as both men put on an excellent 30 minute bout that had the wrestling do the talking, and not any booking shenanigans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The face vs. face dynamic worked wonderfully the most as both guys took turns controlling the match, which of course isn't always easy to pull off well. Bryan and Cena are two big match players though and under all the hype, and no matter the situation, they can always pull off the goods. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The clean-cut approach to the match still had a lot more to it do. The 'wrestler' Daniel Bryan putting the 'Entertainer' John Cena through different holds and obstacles created a good story for the match, and the pacing was controlled perfectly from start to finish. This, coupled with a very hot crowd and an unexpectedly fantastic finish made this a classic encounter, particularly for Daniel Bryan fans who've seen him go through so much hardship in his career. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever about what happened afterwards (which I did like), the match itself delivered on all counts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW The New Beginning</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as I know, this was sort of a throwaway main event from New Japan's The New Beginning PPV. Yet, like Okada vs. Makabe from Dominion, it turned into a match that had the crowd totally engaged, and uncertain of the outcome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't really know how Tanahashi does it, but he can somehow make himself look like an underdog in matches, despite all the success he's had. That's what here did here when he faced off against Karl Anderson, as he made the now member of the Bullet Club look like a credible threat to his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Credit must also go to Anderson himself of course. He's someone that helped make this B PPV main event into a classic bout, that told a great story and consisted of many nearfalls that had fans on the edge of their seats. Thanks in part to Tanahashi's selling as well, for the last 10 minutes every move looked like it could be the last, which created some tremendous drama as the champion looked like his reign was coming to an end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Creating that kind of drama and excitement for a match like that can be hard to do, yet Tanahashi and Anderson did it with ease. The instant chemistry, solid storytelling and fine action made this one of the best matches of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If 2013 is to be remembered anything by, it should be the year that Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi tore the house down every time they went head-to-head. Reading back on some previews of this match it was clear that their was a lot of hype surrounding this Wrestle Kingdom 7 main event. Having already put on all-time classic at Dominion 2012, there was hope that they could reach those heights again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crazily enough, this was actually their worst match together in 2013, yet still the 4th best match of the year in my eyes. They were to out do themselves again, but regardless of that, their main event match at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome was an excellent match that showcased each man's immense talent, and their amazing chemistry together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each of their matches seem to follow a certain structure, and in this match it was no exception. The challenger Okada focused on the neck of Tanahashi, while the champion focused on Okada's leg for the most part. This resulted in some engaging in-ring psychology that later flowed into the final few minutes of the match extremely well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action was incredibly crisp throughout the whole match, and featured the kind of excitement and drama fitting enough for the big spectacle in the Tokyo Dome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW G1 Climax 23: Day 8</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having this take place during the G1 Climax </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tournament gave this match another aspect for each man to explore, as neither man had a title to defend, but rather something they both had to fight for. This different dynamic created something different in their match-up, and both Okada and Tanahashi took advantage of that. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With both men needing the win to progress in the tournament, this led to both men throwing caution to the wind a little bit more. This created a great story of exhaustion playing a huge part in the match, as the shorter time limit meant that they both had rush into their offence a bit more. The psychology aspect was still there of course, but the manner in which they worked different body parts was more hurried, which in turn created some more brilliantly hectic exchanges. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Th final few minutes of the match are particularly fantastic as the fatigued wrestlers looked for that one killer blow before time ran out. The end result both made sense and came across a lot better than such an ending generally would thanks to the great storytelling and psychology both formed throughout the match. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In arguably the best wrestling tournament ever, it's almost no surprise that these two produced the stand out match.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was never that intrigued about New Japan Pro Wrestling. From 2011 onward I watched a few matches from fellow Irishman Prince Devitt, but apart from that I wasn't interested in watching anything else. Following a bit of buzz surrounding this match though, which seemed to get 5 star reviews everywhere, I thought about giving this match a watch. For some reason I wasn't expecting myself to like it as much as others, but I was certainly ready to be open about what I was about to watch. In the end, this match more than lived up to my expectations. What I witnessed was an absolute classic, and one of the best matches I've ever seen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's so special about this match is Okada and Tanahashi's ability to say so much with their wresting. I had never seen anything from either man before, and yet while watching this match I was able to pick up on what each man was trying to do, and what they were about. Okada worked on the neck of Tanahashi. Tanahashi worked on the arm of Okada. The psychology was as calculated as you like, and the storytelling was outstanding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually I saw the bigger and final picture as Okada hit the Tombstone on Tanahashi. The reason why he was working on his neck - check. Then, he went for his finishing move the Rainmaker, a variation of the lariat. Tanahashi blocked the move though, thanks to the damage he did to opponents arm. The reason why he went after the arm in the first place - check. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The work from both men was so immaculate that I was able to gather their styles and tactics without having seen them wrestle before. That's how good these two guys are. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For roughly 30 minutes I was glued to the screen as Okada and Tanahashi put on a wrestling clinic. Simply put, this is an amazing match, and no matter if you've seen New Japan before or not, well worth going out of your way to see. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>- NJPW King of Pro Wrestling</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somehow, after all the excellence of their match at Invasion Attack, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi out did themselves again when they faced off for a 6th time at King of Pro Wrestling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything about this match was simply flawless. The manner in which Tanahashi subtly heeled things up by playing possum on a leg injury, showboating at his trickery, and viciously going after the arm of Okada was brilliant to watch. On Okada's side then, the manner in which he sold the hurt right arm was incredible, and one of the finest pieces of psychology and storytelling you'll see around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The result of this match was a bit more certain than on other occasions, yet for so many parts throughout the match it looked like Okada's reign as champion was coming to an abrupt end. It wouldn't be fair to pick out one man as the result of that kind of storytelling, as both men did an excellent job of doing that, feeding off each other through every move and mannerism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all that talk though, everything that went along with it was also exceptional. The drama, the sequences, the numerous nearfalls - it was all stellar. Not many matches can live up to the hype after so many encounters prior, yet Okada and Tanahashi found a way to top it yet again. One of the best matches ever, that's part of one of the best wrestling series in history. Quite simply, wrestling perfection. </span></div>
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Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-49870702054582175152013-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:002013-09-10T13:53:45.244-07:00Raw Quick Hits - 9 September, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - The Cutting Edge</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always great to see Edge and his much missed theme song, and last night </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he took part in a very good Cutting Edge segment. What made this one of the better segmen</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ts surrounding the main storyline is the addressing of Bryan's current behaviour regarding all the attacks he's had to be on the hand of. I've been wondering for weeks why Bryan has been so reluctant to seek revenge after all those RKOs and Triple Powerbombs, and that reason is that he's biding his time until Night of Champions. It was the best excuse we could have hoped for really, so there's really no complaints on me from me on that front. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as that, we got to see some nice jabs between Triple H and Edge. While I don't like to bring it up, there was a lot to this that was very non-PG, and for me made that a lot better. You don't mistakenly let an "asshole" chant ring around the arena like Triple H did, or just straight up call him a "dick" like Edge did. It was a strong segment that showed the retired guy speak his mind, knowing there was no repercussions. Well, apart from Christian getting attacked. That was kind of his fault. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - Heyman Starts to Get Worried That Man Who Doesn't Win Often Might Not Win On Sunday</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shocker, right? The guy who by now must have a pretty shitty win/loss record, lost again to Kofi last night, much to the dismay of Paul Heyman. Of course, he lost by DQ, after constantly kneeing Kofi in the head, but so what? It really didn't make him look that tough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And listen, the idea of Axel getting some shock losses just a week before his match at Night of Champions is actually good... but only if he didn't lose so often beforehand. He's been built up so weakly that we all already know that Punk is going to beat him easily. It's unintentionally being booked as a no contest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Heyman's Medical Examination</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another story revolving around Paulie Heyman, but one that actually worked this time. The absolute desperation he showed in trying to get out of the match was pretty fun to watch, as was him being caught out by and actual doctor, who declared him fully fit. But, the best bit came when CM Punk arrived, leading to Heyman scampering over the barricade without any signs of an injury. If ever an episode of Raw showed that Axel is very much in the background of this feud (or rather in another room with the lights turned off) then this is it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - AJ Calls it Like it Is</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed AJ ripping into Jerry Lawler. Bringing up the fact that he's a borderline pedophile, as well as calling out his lack of knowledge on Raw main events that AJ's been in was just fun to watch. And Lawler reserved it as well. He rather creepily asked her if she had anymore tattoos beyond those on the back of her neck, and also jokingly asked her when she main evented a Raw. He was being a disrespectful dick, and deserved what he got. The same goes for JBL, who was just as bad as Lawler with his obnoxious laughing. At least when Cole showed his lack of interest in something it was because he was a heel, but last night JBL and Jerry Lawler showed their genuine disinterest in the Divas division. So good on AJ for standing up for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's funny what a long break can do for a character. Before Santino Marella left some time last year I, as well as a lot of people I'm sure, felt that his gotten beyond stale. Last night though, it all felt fresh again. Maybe it was because of the hot Toronto crowd, or because he was against someone like Cesaro, but his match last night was just pure fun. His character will probably grow stale again, but at least the long break has brought some life back to it for a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Goldust vs. Randy Orton</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remind me again why Goldust isn't on the main roster. I remember he got injured when things started to go good for him again, and then he just didn't come back. While the Toronto crowd and story behind the match helped how the match went on, it's still fair to say that he can still go in the ring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night he put on a really solid match against Randy Orton which was filled with some nice nearfalls and just an all round big match atmosphere. I've really liked the story regarding Cody Rhodes, Goldust was able to keep it really interesting with a fine performance against the WWE champion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit & Miss - Bryan Stands Tall</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a lot to like about the last half hour of Raw. We got a decent bout between Bryan and Ambrose which saw Bryan clean out all of The Shield single handily before rolling up Ambrose for the win. The usual beatdown was also fine as well, because I always knew that something else was going to happen since it was the go-home show before Night of Champions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The worst thing for me was the large focus on Big Show once again. I think they've already established that Big Show isn't happy with how things are going on with Triple H, and they established that weeks ago. This constant involvement regarding Big Show has taken too much away from Bryan's underdog story, and while the show ended with Bryan standing over Randy Orton, I still feel that the spotlight hasn't been put on Bryan enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will all this Big Show angst lead to a heel turn at Night of Champions. Probably. He turned heel under similar enough circumstances last year and while I wouldn't like to see it, there's a lot of signs pointing towards Big Show laying out Bryan. I hope that doesn't happen. I hope that all this is leading to something else, because for me they've gone too far to go in that kind of direction. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Stray Observations</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm guessing Ziggler is still being punished for some words he said about Orton a few weeks ago. It's hard to say though, he doesn't seem to lose meaningless matches a lot. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fandango has to be the most un-heelish heel ever. I mean, he interrupted a Miz match, who could honestly boo him for that?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really liked the Goldust vignettes throughout the show. The amount of 90's Goldust shown was pretty surprising. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Has everyone made a joke about Big Show smashing the very large TV? Yeah? OK then. </span></li>
</ul>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-66573383141143864602013-08-28T14:28:00.000-07:002013-08-28T14:28:42.574-07:00Raw Quick Hits - 26 August, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEZvIXKGzvnSO_1VGfIQ1mo8SGn9u5UHa88OUL_T2_IRPUXX5FE8SjFKwMZpbumuaB-d0FQ69ankV1eBSb9e3I93i-VRnAasRyFK3BGNt2BbR2WF1o-sVODFgMghWXSJeuAjNbYv044Q/s1600/RawQuickHits.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEZvIXKGzvnSO_1VGfIQ1mo8SGn9u5UHa88OUL_T2_IRPUXX5FE8SjFKwMZpbumuaB-d0FQ69ankV1eBSb9e3I93i-VRnAasRyFK3BGNt2BbR2WF1o-sVODFgMghWXSJeuAjNbYv044Q/s1600/RawQuickHits.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit: Daniel Bryan vs. The World</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first it was starting to look like Bryan was going to get some help in his pursuit to regain the WWE Championship off Randy Orton. Both Big Show and Dolph Ziggler spoke out against Triple H's devious authoritarian attitude, which to me, insinuated that both men were going to side with Bryan and have his back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, that's not exactly where they're going with it after all. And that's OK. In fact, it is something which I quite like. I like the idea of Daniel Bryan having to be the lone underdog who takes on the corporate powerhouses of the company. Seeing Triple H lay down his authority in front of everyone on stage was a really nice touch, as they all looked on as Bryan got mauled by The Shield and Randy Orton. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know when we'll see the payoff for this storyline, especially with WrestleMania so far away, but right now I'm just really enjoying what they're doing here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss: Punk Beatdown</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A minor miss of sorts, but still a segment that I just didn't care for. The idea was there, and it sets up Punk wanting to get more revenge than ever at Night of Champions (when he takes on Axel and Heyman in a Elimination Handicap match), but overall I felt it really overstayed its welcome. I mean seriously, this segment went on forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heyman beat up Punk with the Kendo Stick, shouted how much he loved him and then did the EXACT same thing when outside the ring as well. Paul Heyman really has been a joy to watch since his return last year, and is one of the best people on the mic in the WWE, but in this case it seemed like Heyman was trying too hard. They looked for effective and engaging television, but for me, I was bored after two minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit: Pipebomb!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What the hell happened here? First we were watching a boring Divas match and the next witnessing one of the best Divas promos ever. Seriously, this was just so awesome and totally unexpected. The way she ripped into every single person in front of her (apart from Natalya, who got a little dig simply because she was there) was just excellent. Every word invited more attention from the crowd until it was obvious that we were witnessing something really great.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not even The Bella's and Eva's tantrums could stop AJ, and if anything made them look worse as they shouted High School insults while AJ destroyed them on the mic. I'm guessing this was all for AJ to turn heel, which would make sense because there's literally no other face to defend the title against apart from Natalya and Kaitlyn. This opens up something new for AJ to delve into, and I'm actually really looking forward to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss: STOP MAKING DEL RIO LOSE</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously,<b> </b>there are other ways to make someone number one contender. One idea? Make a number one contender's match that DOESN'T INVOLVE THE CHAMPION. Crazy, I know, but it's something that would actually work better. If not that, then just put RVD in the title match at Night of Champions anyway. Would it really matter how he didn't do anything to really warrant a title shot? I don't think so. It really is only the World Heavyweight championship after all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss: Randy Orton vs. Christian</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There wasn't exactly anything wrong with this match, I just found it to be pretty boring. And considering how long the match went on for, I think that's enough to warrant a Miss from me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This probably wasn't just a one off either. Randy Orton is boring in the ring when he's a heel. Simple as that. He doesn't control a match in a way that's engaging, but rather just bides his time until his opponent is ready to make a comeback. Randy's only been a heel for a little over a week and already he's showing how he's better in the ring as a face. All of a sudden his dreadful 2009 stint feels like yesterday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit: Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We didn't get the Gauntlet match we were hoping for (or most of us anyway), but we were treated to a really fun bout between Bryan and Rollins, two guys who work very well together. The match had a nice flow to it, was given enough time, and of course, consisted of an awesome Release German Suplex off the top rope. Rollins sold like an absolute champ in this match, and right until the very end, when Bryan hit his new running knee finisher. The director did miss it unfortunately, but here's a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=T21FGrgxOpU#t=34">live recording to see just how great it was.</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Stray Observations:</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone else picture Jerry Lawler sitting at home in his underwear watching the VMAs when he brought up Miley Cyrus? I imagine that's how he finds out most news stories regarding teenage pop stars. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are WWE really trying get Tout off the ground again? I think even Tout have given up on Tout at this stage. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's funny how the most frequently used weapon in today's PG environment is a weapon that legitimately leaves people bruised and welted up.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Show did a great job of showing his desire to go out there and help Daniel Bryan when he was getting beatdown. He could have done so as well considering he has an ironclad contract, but you know, the last time that was brought up was a whole 12 months ago so of course it doesn't exist anywhere. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did Renee Young really have to interview Show, Ziggler and Miz for their reactions? She knew they couldn't say anything due to a risk of being fired and yet she asked them anyway, egging them on to say something they'd later regret. What a sneaky bitch. </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-21043993133739756882013-08-19T15:29:00.002-07:002013-08-28T13:12:24.297-07:00WWE SummerSlam 2013 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJfw0bSIEA-SQuP9vCnVOC51IltcLbyMhZ3Gr1ww-fDA3kRcTUZTbv7zIQ9oQ5wahJE53X_UyILfSauc4iXyPSWkvfNNA1BaTfjV3qqUmNYYqO0kEayNpvh2MTDQkJFnIyVtG9l0Ftkg/s1600/SummerSlam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJfw0bSIEA-SQuP9vCnVOC51IltcLbyMhZ3Gr1ww-fDA3kRcTUZTbv7zIQ9oQ5wahJE53X_UyILfSauc4iXyPSWkvfNNA1BaTfjV3qqUmNYYqO0kEayNpvh2MTDQkJFnIyVtG9l0Ftkg/s1600/SummerSlam.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ring of Fire</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bray Wyatt vs. Kane</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As someone who's never been a fan of the 'Inferno match' I wasn't exactly looking forward to this. I expected the spectacle of it to be a bit cleaner looking and less distracting than before, and it was, but from a wrestling standpoint the match fell completely flat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a match that's still left me undecided on Bray Wyatt's wrestling ability. There's no denying that he plays an engaging character, but straight off the bat he looked like more of a character wrestler than anyone else - someone who can play their character very well, but ultimately fails to deliver in the ring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bray Wyatt did that last night. While you could argue that such an outrageous stipulation was never going to show his strong points in his debut match, I still fell that I saw enough from him to get a grasp of his wrestling ability. It's not very good. It's slow, chunky, and last night he could seem to do anything with Kane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His two associates weren't much good either, as they comically tried to get into the ring even though there was fire straight in front of them. Before trying the same thing over and over again in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3W1OrcMPMb0&t=21">Homer-like</a> fashion, they eventually found a way into the ring. Unfortunately they didn't seem to be able to make the match anymore exciting, and in the end the whole thing just fell flat. Maybe the stipulation was awkward for Bray, maybe Kane wasn't the best opponent for him, but so far his wrestling ability has proven to be less-than average. <b>2/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the feud between these two has been fairly hit and miss, I still had relativity high expectations for this. It was a match that was never going to get a whole lot of time, and I knew that, but it was still one I thoroughly enjoyed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The grudge-like feel wasn't really there unfortunately, but while the match didn't have that aspect to it, it still had some solid action between two guys who were clearly eager to impress. Damien Sandow was in impressive form as he worked on the lower back of Cody Rhodes and controlled the match at a nice pace. Cody on the other hand, complimented that with a faster pace as he made his comeback multiple times, and performed some nice moves in the process. The match still could have been given more time, and could have been a really good match if given 5 more minutes, but overall both guys did a good job with what they had. <b>5/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>World Heavyweight Championship</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simply put, I've been loving Del Rio since winning the World title. There's not a whole lot different with him character-wise, but in terms of his wrestling his new found aggression has been a joy to watch. Last night was no exception as he put in a great performance against an on-game Christian. His work on the left arm of Christian was really good, and every one of Del Rio's kicks were vicious and with a purpose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christian was also quite impressive as well, as he sold the arm injury pretty well and meshed perfectly with Del Rio for the whole match. For a match that was only 12 minutes long they fit in so much good stuff without it feeling rushed. There was the focus on the injured arm of Christian, some really enjoyable back and forth sequences, and a highly entertaining final few moments of the match as well. Once again these two guys showed just how well they were together. <b>7/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Natalya vs. Brie Bella </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An excellent match here that had some outstanding psychology throughout and told a really engaging story regarding the hit TV show "Total Divas". Okay, only joking, I didn't watch this match. I quite literally used it as my toilet break. My friend told me it was a classic. I don't believe him. I probably shouldn't rate this match considering I didn't see it, but screw it, it just screamed <b>2/10. </b>Who knows though, maybe it was a classic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>No Disqualification</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from this match. Since Extreme Rules last year Lesnar changed his style a little bit. The guy that viciously assaulted John Cena at that PPV slowed things down a notch in his trilogy of matches with Triple H. And while I did enjoy those matches, things kind of felt like Lesnar was holding back compared to his match against Cena. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thankfully though, the straight out and legit barbaric style wasn't exactly needed here, as him and Punk put on a highly engaging match. It wasn't unlike his matches with Triple H, but seemed to produce more drama and more high octane action which made it a fantastic watch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the way Lesnar toyed with Punk in the early goings of the match, before getting caught with knees and kicks to set the tone for the rest of the match. From there it became a really fun back and forth match that had some good storytelling and high drama thanks to the every consistent antics of Paul Heyman. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasn't a fan of Punk having Lesnar beat on one occasion, as I felt Lesnar needed to look as strong as possible in a match against someone like Punk, but overall that didn't take a whole lot away from the match. Easily one of the best matches Lesnar's ever had. <b>8/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn vs. Big E Langston & AJ Lee</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A real filler type of match, but one which was still relatively enjoyable. 5 minutes was hardly a lot of time for all four involved, but they did make the most of it in the end. Big E especially was pretty impressive here, as his offensive on Ziggler was quick and explosive. This in turn complimented Ziggler when he made his fast-paced comeback in the match.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The women weren't given as much time as the men, so in that aspect everything felt a bit flat and under developed, but as a whole this was a decent filler match that could have been better given more time. <b>4/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WWE Championship</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where to start? Simply put, I loved this match. Thanks to the awesome buildup, and really hot crowd in the Staples Center, this match had truly great big match feel to it. It never stopped feeling as such either as right from the bell ring both guys put on a fantastic match which had the crowd behind every hold and strike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the way Bryan focused on every body part of Cena so that he'd open his left arm up for Bryan to later capitalize on. It wasn't the only bit of ground-based wrestling either, as Cena more than held his own on the mat. All this made for a perfectly paced bout which had some great spots and sequences laid out throughout. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match also told a very good story of Cena keeping up with Bryan from a technical standpoint, resulting in Bryan eventually giving Cena a slap across the face, despite saying that he wouldn't heading into the match. What also felt good was that the story was just about them two, and not about Triple H or anyone else. They let both guys do their stuff in the ring before any sort of story development (which I'll get to later). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was't without it's slightly awkward parts though. There were a few moments that didn't come off quite as they probably intended, but any negative part was mostly overshadowed by the excellent work of both Bryan and Cena. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To have Bryan win clean and in the manner that he did was also a big plus, and the perfect way to finish off a tremendous match. <b>9/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aftermath was also extremely well played as despite all the talk of a Randy Orton cash-in, I truly thought that they were just going to given Bryan his moment of glory to close out the PPV. That wasn't the case though, as the referee that raised his hand gave him a Pedigree in a brilliant heel turn which saw Orton finally cash-in on Bryan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People may be unhappy with the ending, but in the end we saw Daniel Bryan pin John Cena CLEAN, and also saw seeds being planted (hopefully) for the underdog Bryan chase after the corporate champion Randy Orton. And I for one, can't wait to see how it all plays out. </span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-63988352325142246512013-08-06T16:36:00.001-07:002013-08-28T13:12:34.705-07:00WWE Raw Quick Hits - 06/08/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYC1bzT6DWq3mhes5lG2zdlDwJE2eTQTcBKHvAsfsXE-xtw5QbNRJkYkzMiKlxYmT3pDwEMBZlDsE5y_466qlvPccFopCdh-sdEiAa8eBzsXJOEC5ddiC57IRvkW97V-XJMTDkrzVvTc/s1600/RAW_1054_Photo_019.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYC1bzT6DWq3mhes5lG2zdlDwJE2eTQTcBKHvAsfsXE-xtw5QbNRJkYkzMiKlxYmT3pDwEMBZlDsE5y_466qlvPccFopCdh-sdEiAa8eBzsXJOEC5ddiC57IRvkW97V-XJMTDkrzVvTc/s1600/RAW_1054_Photo_019.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Bryan's Corporate Makeover</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a segment I was quite looking forward to if I'm honest, and in the end it really delivered. It was a great indication of just how over Daniel Bryan is with the WWE fans and how they don't want him to conform to the WWE's corporate preference. Despite looking pretty sharp in his suit and with his hair combed back in a ponytail, the fans don't want him to change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was in this segment where we also saw a very good promo from Bryan himself. It took a while to get there, but we finally saw Bryan (and Cena) delve a little bit deeper heading into their match at SummerSlam. Bryan criticizing Cena's status in the WWE franchise, as well as showing his passion as a "wrestler" was really great to see, and the fans were behind every word he said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of the segment went by pretty well also. Vince McMahon got to exchange a little bit more with Bryan himself, and we also got to see Wade Barrett's "U wot m8?!" face after getting a bit of his beard shaved off. It was all good stuff. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Del Rio Loses, Kills Ricardo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After coming back from a "serious injury" (of drugs!), Ricardo returned at the side of Del Rio, only to cost the World champion the match. I wasn't really happy to see Alberto lose once again, but I suppose it made sense for why he'd attack his sidekick, which in the end made for a fun segment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This leaves us with a few questions going into SummerSlam, and beyond. Does RVD deserve to be included in the World title match at SummerSlam? I think it'd make the match a lot better, especially since the card is already fairly singles heavy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, what now for Ricardo? It wouldn't surprise me if he ends up in the corner of Christian (if it remains a one-on-one contest), followed by him going into singles action himself. I think the change was probably needed for him in the end (and not because his stuff with Alberto got stale exactly) and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss -</b> <b>Stop Acting Like a Dick, Cody</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't watched such a frustrating feud in a long time. For all of the good stuff between Sandow and Cody (The gulf of Mexico segment was definitely a year highlight, much thanks to Sandow's antics), but it's been marred so many times by strange writing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week we probably saw the worst of the lot, as Cody retrieved the briefcase from the Gulf of Mexico. Fine, so maybe set up a 'winner keeps briefcase' match there on the spot? Or, you know, tease Sandow into getting <i>his </i>briefcase back, only to beat him up a little and throw it towards him without the contract inside. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It makes me wonder who creative are booking as the heel and face here, because last night it was a helpless Sandow left without his briefcase, while Cody grinned and showed it off to a crowd, who at that stage, could do nothing but sit there in a hushed silence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Cena's Promo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't happen often, but John Cena cut a really great promo last night. It was serious, straight to the point, and had that extra little spice which his other ones generally lack. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time since WrestleMania 28, Cena spoke like someone full of confidence. He didn't talk like the underdog who was going to give it his best shot, he spoke like an 11-time champion who said that Daniel Bryan has no chance of winning at SummerSlam. Those few lines directed at Daniel Bryan, and his contentment at being a big deal in the indie wrestling worlds, brought about that little edge which I felt the build-up needed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That, as well as Bryan's promo earlier on in the night, has shoved the 'we all respect each other immensely' to the side a tiny bit, leaving open a bit more stuff for fans to bite on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit and Miss - Layla's Heelish Behaviour</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, after turning heel we've seen a whole new side to Layla, and really, one that I like. For me, she never really made for a good face, and for the past year or so all she's seemed to have done was act 'best friend' to whoever was around her. Her heel persona though, I like. For the most part. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like that she's just straight up acting like a bitch. I don't care that her reason for turning on Kaitlyn because she wants attention, because it was something that just needed to happen straight away. What I do care about though, are some of her antics. For a few moments during last night's match she looked like she was trying to express her crazy side, between skipping and weirdly crawling along the rope. Simply put, there's only one room for a crazy person, and that's AJ. He other mannerisms are fine, and of course, really, really hot, but I think it's best she doesn't channel the crazy side of her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Brock Smash</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another very good brawl between the SummerSlam opponents. Both guys (as well as Cole commentary during it, I might add) did a great job of showing the underdog Punk try to topple the beast Brock Lesnar. The brawl was fast, vicious and told the story without any talking needed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aspect of Heyman being the distraction near the end was also a nice touch, and another talking point going into SummerSlam. This entire thing is as much about Punk and Heyman as it is about Punk and Lesnar, and so far I think they've done a very good job of balancing that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - Six-Man Mess</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A match and segment which really should have been a lot better, but sadly just wasn't. The early DQ could have been handled a lot better (seriously, how is two guys breaking up a submission move considered enough to warrant a disqualification?), but the worst came afterwards when Randy nearly cashed in on John Cena. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why did The Shield come out to make the save? Well, no one really knows. You could argue that it was them stopping an injustice from happening, since Cena was helpless, but that shouldn't be up to us to guess. If that was their intention then they should have expressed it better, otherwise it looked like the came back into the ring for nothing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And really, that's probably all they did. To stop Orton from cashing in at that moment, they decided to throw in The Shield for no reason. The whole thing wasn't a big deal of course, and will pretty much be forgotten about soon, but it was still a pretty poor ending. </span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-58262280545639572232013-08-03T08:24:00.000-07:002013-08-03T08:24:03.878-07:00What I Watched This Week: 29 July - 3 August, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley - WWE Backlash 2004</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first time seeing this match. I took a break from wrestling during 2004 and 2005, so a lot of stuff in that time period has gone by un-watched. I've been slowly getting through the highlights of both of those years though, and this week I came across this match from Backlash 2004. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I actually stumbled upon this match after reading a conversation as to how many great matches Randy Orton has had in his career. Not many in my opinion especially when you consider the hype that surrounded him for years (and still does to a small degree). This match may well be his finest though, as he stood toe-to-toe with an on-game Mick Foley in a barbaric, but highly entertaining bout. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's simply so much to like about this match. The way Mick Foley came out all guns blazing, the way Randy took a long time to adapt to Foley's chaotic style, the nicely laid out spots, and the great pacing that went along with it. I'm still a firm believer that hardcore matches can be extremely hard to pull off. It's not just about how many crazy spots you can do, but rather where and how often you use them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match does a great job of giving each big spot time to breathe. The fans were given the right amount of time to take in the big spots, before wanting even more. The spots we're treated to of course, are gruesome and engaging. The moments involving the barbed wire baseball bat, the tables beside the titantron, and the dreaded thumbtacks are all pretty much perfect, which in turn is thanks to Orton and Foley's excellent chemistry together. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is one of the best hardcore matches WWE have ever done. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9/10</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit - WWE Armageddon 2002</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the great things I've noticed about the Smackdown Six's matches is that they were never afraid to work matches to their liking. This is no more evident than during Eddie and Benoit's match from Armageddon in 2002. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In what normally would have been expected to be a close matchup, Chris and Eddie change things up a bit as Guerrero relentlessly goes after Benoit in an attempt to ground him for the entire bout. This makes for really engaging stuff as Benoit desperately tries to build up some momentum, but only goes so far as Eddie continues to work heavily on the left leg of Benoit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Technical matches like this don't always work, but due to how over they were at the time, and also to the various spots they smartly placed throughout, both guys were able to get the crowd heavily invested in this match. This in turn made everything that things that much more exciting, as we saw a human game of chess between both men unfold in front of a enthusiastic crowd. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I try to leave out spoilers of my reviews, but I feel it necessary to spoil it here as it really exemplifies just how smart a match this was. With both guys desperately trying to get their submission moves in, Eddie reaches for the bottom rope to stop Chris from putting on the Crossface, thus inadvertently opening up the opportunity for Chris to switch sides and successfully apply the Crossface using Eddie's free arm. Truly great stuff. <b>8/10</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - NJPW Kizuna Road (2013)</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An awesome main event here from New Japan's PPV last month. It was a match I was really looking forward to, with both men on a great roll as of late, and in the end the match didn't disappoint at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a more back-and-forth contest if anything, but I think these suited both men extremely well. Devitt occasionally worked on the back of the neck of Okada, but for the most part this was two guys looking to grasp the upper hand with each piece of offence they could hit. This all made for some really fast paced stuff, and some really great spots and reversals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also quite liked how they handled the interference from Devitt's posse, as I feel at times they can be too much of a factor in his matches. With this one though, we got a really good moment dedicated to their interference as they looked to take out Okada while the ref was down. Once that was out of the way we were back to Devitt and Okada trading blows, with the best moment of the match coming at the very end when both guys put on a wonderful sequence filled with really great reversals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given more time I truly think this could have been an even better match, but despite that both men were given enough time to work up a highly exciting match with some really good action and a great climax. One of the finest matches of the year. <b>9/10</b></span></div>
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Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-57309172101193954462013-07-31T04:58:00.002-07:002013-07-31T04:58:51.676-07:00WWE Raw Quick Hits - 29/07/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Daniel Bryan and Vince McMahon</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A minor hit here, but more than anything it was just really cool seeing Bryan and Vince in the ring together. The development between them two heading into SummerSlam has been pretty good to watch as well. I like the way Vince has been downplaying Bryan's chances of winning at SummerSlam, and also emphasizing on the fact that he doesn't want him, or see him, being a top guy in his company. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It all just makes for good development on Bryan's part. This story has been done before in some kind of form, but Bryan fits this kind of story with Vince McMahon so I'm all for them going with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - John Cena and Vince McMahon</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Listen, when Vince berates and shows his disinterest in someone like Bryan it makes sense. He's not your typical (or rather, Vince's typical) WWE superstar, and pretty much everyone knows that. That's why it's silly to see Vince McMahon want Cena to lose the WWE championship, even though he's everything Vince loves in a WWE superstar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the things I've liked about Cena's and Vince's relationship over the past ten years or so is that they've always been fairly content with each other. Cena is Vince's golden boy in many ways, so to see them not tamper with that idea on television was always something I kind of liked. It all just made sense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But here, we see Vince show his disdain for Cena, and for no reason whatsoever. I get the idea of the heel boss disliking the faces in the company, but in this instance is just doesn't make any sense. Vince McMahon loves everything about John Cena, and he shouldn't be led to believe otherwise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - 6-Man Tag Team Match</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know it may sound strange to not want a match be shown on free television before it's shown on PPV, but for me it's just not something that generally benefits a feud. Now granted, the 6-Man Tag between The Shield and The Usos and Mark Henry might not even happen at SummerSlam, but I'm just expecting it is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match wasn't even bad, of course. It's just that I feel the match took a little spark away from a match that would feel bigger at a PPV. Could they not have done a few singles matches? Or a few more brawls? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not a big deal, and I'm still enjoying this feud for the most part, but I feel they're showing a bit too much already. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Del Rio vs. Christian</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I said on Twitter during Raw on Monday that I've really been liking Del Rio's stuff as of late. Since winning the World title he's brought about a great amount of aggression about his work. Apparently some people backstage aren't happy about his stiff style as of late, but as I viewer I've loved his viscous kicks and all-round ruthless style. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Monday we saw more of that as he did a good job on the arm of Christian, who also sold the hurt arm pretty well also. Both men put on an impressive performance in what was a relatively short match, and also delivered a decent ending as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another loss may look bad on Del Rio's part, but I think this time it was the right call, as (SPOILER) Christian needs to look strong going into his championship match against Del Rio at SummerSlam. (THESE SHITTY SPOILER TAGS PROBABLY DIDN'T HELP AT ALL...SORRY). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Cody and Damien</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When this storyline started back after Money in the Bank a few weeks ago I was excited, but quickly learned that it was going to be a pretty frustrating one to watch. The fact that Cody Rhodes got upset at Sandow for taking advantage of a situation at MITB bugged me, as despite what he and Michael Cole said, Sandow didn't do an anything wrong. If anything, it was Rhodes who looked like a sore loser, and one that felt the need to attack Sandow at every chance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was annoying to watch, but thankfully I think they've kind of moved on from that. The foundation of the storyline is still there of course, but at least it's at a stage where both guys that just show there hatred for each other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Monday we saw Rhodes down Barrett in a decent enough match, followed by Sandow's presence on the titantron. The video package of what happened last Friday on Smackdown was great, and Sandow's promo following that was just as good. It took a while to get there, and to be honest it's still not perfect, but I suspect a lot of good stuff to happen between these two from now until SummerSlam. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hit - Bryan, Kane and The Wyatt Family</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another minor hit here. The match between Bryan and Kane was fine, especially the ending which looked pretty cool. It was a match to set up two things - Bryan getting another win on the road to SummerSlam, and The Wyatt's attacking Kane. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of these things happened, as after Bryan beat Kane the Wyatt's made there way to the ring to take care of the Big Red Monster. It was the same kind of story as last time, and for some reason I was expecting a bit more than just another beatdown, but I guess with SummerSlam still a relatively good bit away they're just stretching it out a little bit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - STOP BEING SO EASILY DISTRACTED</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mean, it's kind of understandable if it's someone on the apron looking to interfere in your match, but being distracted by a shitty whistle bird thing? What's even worse is that Nattie was about to put in the Sharpshooter on Brie. WHY TURN AROUND AT THAT MOMENT? IT'S A BLOODY WHISTLE FROM ON TOP OF THE STAGE. BIG DEAL. FINISH THE MATCH FIRST. LOUD NOISES. Okay, I'm finished. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Miss - "Cena wins!"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Tables match which was basically meant to make Cena look strong going into SummerSlam. Which was fine, I guess, except why do it at the expense of Ryback? I am in no way a fan of the guy at all, but is yet another loss to Cena will going to make him look in any way a danger? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the main event we saw Ryback play backyard bully as he slapped a guy backstage (and speaking of that, why was the camera on those three guys getting food in the first place?). It's a story which I'm fine with, as it makes Ryback look like a bit of a dick who can get away with doing stuff like that. That's why it was strange to see him lose yet another match against Cena, especially since there weren't any high stakes involved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The term 'Cenawinslol' may be a bit overused at times, but when I heard Cole say "Cena wins!" after the match I just couldn't help by roll my eyes. The whole thing felt like a boring house show match in which Cena wins to send the fans going home happy. It was all rather pointless. </span></div>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-4165825939409273512013-07-29T12:34:00.000-07:002013-07-29T12:34:07.127-07:00I Watched Total Divas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/838/740/WWE-TotalDivas-630-jpg_225117_original.jpg?1367330650" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/838/740/WWE-TotalDivas-630-jpg_225117_original.jpg?1367330650" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so here's why - I pretty much watch everything got to do with Daniel Bryan. Old matches, new matches, interviews, Twitter, and yes, even this reality TV show that aired last night. I also kind of wanted to see some of his stuff with Brie Bella, mostly because I'm a hypocrite who rips into people who watch this kind of crap and then proceed to watch a little bit of this crap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it's not as if I watch all reality TV programs. In fact, I don't watch any. But, when one comes along about wrestling you just kind of have to check it out... well, for me anyway. So in that sense, it's a little bit of both. Daniel Bryan and everything wrestling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People are probably wondering if it's true to life and successfully shows the struggles of being a WWE Diva, but it doesn't really. In the end, it's even faker than the WWE, even though they're passing it off as being 100% real. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, there's not an awful lot to say about the first episode. It's Monday evening and I was bored (like, really bored) so I decided to check it out. Does it warrant some kind review from me? Probably not, but it's still Monday evening and I'm still really bored. So, here's my bullet point analysis of it. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, they're all bitches. Are you supposed to like any of these women? Even Natalya comes across as a bit of a bitch. And the supposedly 'down to earth' Bella's</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. And the Funkadactyls. And the two 'newbies'. In one hour of television they've already made out the Divas division out to be a political and back-stabbing mess... actually, it's probably not far off from that in real life. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently 5 days before WrestleMania the Superstars and Divas have a sit down meeting with two PR people who tell them if they're going to be on the show or not. As you all know, Natalya, who had the meeting, was not booked for the show, much to her dismay. Apparently not being on TV for months isn't a clear enough indication. I kind of wish they showed a clip JTG getting the same news. It must have been soul crushing to hear that he wouldn't be on the card for the 6th year in a row. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eva Marie was told to dye her hair Blonde. I was thinking of how hard they must have been trying to portray Diva-like dilemmas like that, but then remembered that Dolph Ziggler had the <a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkeBNErPupovJtsS2DiyJapNRLovh4NtcUdLgINQeOVyE6zRB54g">same kind of dilemma</a> a few years ago. I guess it's a problem for everyone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nikki called her and Brie "veterans"! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Cena went out to dinner with Nikki. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he didn't wear his ring attire to the restaurant like <a href="http://files.fbstatic.com/PostImages/0/0/46e4a031-b3fc-4613-a85d-32502a759a84.jpg">last time.</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I loved the way the Bella's and Funkadactyls were such bitches to each other, yet were moments away from having to work together in a match. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kind of wish that seeing John Cena make his entrance led them to believe that they were main eventing WrestleMania. They could have gotten another two episodes out of that alone. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have no life. </span></div>
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Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-60357412660085412542013-07-24T07:23:00.000-07:002013-07-24T07:23:12.972-07:00WWE Raw Quick Hits - 22/07/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Hits</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Hour Of Bryan</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a while it was becoming clear that the show wasn't quite going to be as good as last week's. The action was there, and some of the segments were as well, but last week's episode had that extra edge that made it an absolute joy to watch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then came the hour of Daniel Bryan. And then I quickly changed my mind. Not only did we get to watch a good 30-40 minutes of Bryan wrestling, but most of that wrestling against an on-game Antonio Cesaro. The result - an awesome match. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was hard-hitting, back and forth (those uppercuts!), and given a lot of time to develop into a fantastic watch of the underdog Bryan looking to once against prove himself. Those of you that watched ROH back in 2007-08 will know just how well these two guys work together, and on Monday they were given the chance to shine on the big stage. That, as well as his stuff against Swagger and Ryback made this a tone of fun to watch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the show Bryan was greeted with standing ovation - and he thoroughly deserved it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Punk and Heyman Tear It Up Once Again</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was always going to be extremely hard to top last week's segment, and while they weren't able to do it in the end, this was still a really entertainment between two of the best talkers in the business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lesnar may not have been there, but the hatred and grudge-like feel to this feud shone through once again, mostly thanks to the work of CM Punk, who can play the relentless underdog extremely well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the PG surroundings of WWE today, ironically enough the past few years have played host to storyline filled with a great sense of realism. This feud between Punk and Lesnar is no exception. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>That's What He Do</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A brief and minor hit, but the stuff between Mark Henry, The Usos and The Shield was really good once again this week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I really like about The Usos siding with Mark Henry is that Mark Henry isn't exactly siding with The Usos. He's still his own man, and while he needed help on Monday and didn't seem upset to get it, he wasn't afraid to through The twins out of the way to get through to The Shield. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He'll need the help from The Usos whether he likes it or not, but that doesn't mean he should play up to them either. Let him be the monster that has The Usos on his shoulder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always thought that Del Rio and Sheamus worked quote well together. There feud back in 2012 wasn't anything special, and you could definitely argue that their matches weren't either, but they were always relatively solid for me. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past week they got to show their stuff once again in what was a pretty decent match. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Really it was the selling of Sheamus' leg injury which made it for me (he can honestly be a tremendous seller when he wants to be), with the ending topping it all off for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't anything special, and maybe I shouldn't be praising that ending so much, but screw it, it was a cool ending that showed great storytelling and psychology. I love that stuff. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Misses</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Rhodes/Sandow Situation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, I'm happy that these two are feuding together, as I feel we could get some exciting matches from them. BUT, the storyline direction is complete arseways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the past few years WWE have developed a bit of a knack for making their faces look like sore losers, bullies and out-right unlikeable people. Cody Rhodes is starting to look like that. Sure, he has every right to be upset that he didn't win Money in the Bank, but Sandow did nothing wrong, and I think the most casual of fans know that as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was every man for himself, and Sandow pushed his best friend off a ladder to achieve that dream. No matter what way they try to put it, Sandow looks like he was just taking advantage of the situation. Cody, on the other hand, is looking like a bit of a dick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Total Divas OMG</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Divas. Reality TV. Jerry Lawler creepily introducing himself to women. The Miz hosting. Yeah, I think that all adds up to be the worst segment in wrestling history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mean, I honestly don't know what else there is to say. It was a travesty of a segment A complete abomination. Brie Bella's nip slip didn't even interest me that much. It was a wardrobe malfunction, so what? Unless she actually poses nude,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> instead of accidentally</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> showing some nipple, then I'm not going to get excited. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, I either made myself sound mature by not getting excited over a nip slip, or sound even more like a creepy for wanting full blown nude pictures instead. I tried for the former, but I think I'm coming across as the latter here, sadly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-21955566877073347082013-07-20T07:58:00.002-07:002013-07-20T07:58:38.600-07:00What I Watched This Week: 15 - 20 July<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not a full week of wrestling watching this week as I won't be around tomorrow at all. I figured I might as well post this today, that way I won't need to change the name of the column to 'What I Watched Last Week'. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of this week I didn't watch a whole lot. Between Money in the Bank and a good match-filled Raw on Monday I wasn't up for watching anything but bits and pieces. My week included watching another MOTY candidate from NJPW, taking a rare glimpse of watching a match from TNA, and finally getting around to watching a bit (well, one match) of the Smackdowns 6's stuff from 2002, which I never really appreciated back then. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson - NJPW The Beginning (2013)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the many great things about Hiroshi Tanahashi is that he can play a great underdog wrestler when he wants to be. His build and stature isn't too far off John Cena's, yet when he plays the underdog character it can look so much more believable. This match against Karl Anderson showcases that excellently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tanahashi starts off by focusing on the leg of Karl Anderson, which sets the tone for the pacing of the match for the rest of it. Anderson controls a large part of the match, but the weakness in his leg is still there and the crowd get firmly behind Hiroshi whenever he goes back at it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anderson instead focuses on the neck of Tanahashi and uses his great strength to his advantage. Throughout the match we see a lot of cool spots highlighting on the neck of Hiroshi, as he softens him up for his finisher. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides the excellent psychology from both men, the action is also very entertaining. We see stiff shots, big moves and some high flying action as well. Both guys find the right balance between the crowd pleasing spots and the story developing psychology. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It does go a bit overkill in the latter stages of the bout, with Hiroshi taking almost too much punishment on his neck, but one positive from that is that the crowd get behind every move and nearfall, which makes for some pretty exciting stuff. A definite must-watch if you want to see what Tanahashi is all about. <b>9/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell - TNA Impact 11/7/13</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After their highly rated match at Slammiversary last month it was once again time for both ladies to try and step it up a notch. I'm not a TNA follower myself, having stopped watching it shortly after the "Monday Night Wars" started in 2010, but this match was one I felt I needed to see. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ladder matches are very hard to get right, and I'm normally one to be quite critical on them, so going into this match I wasn't that optimistic. In the end, I had every right to be as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match wasn't that bad of course. I give both women a lot of credit for putting on a very physical match on a night which I'm sure was pretty big for the Women's division going forward, but honestly, I still felt it could have been better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many ways it felt like both Kim and Terrell were trying to hard to wrestle a match neither woman are quite able to do. Their reliance on trying innovative spots hurt the structure of the match a lot, and also made things look a bit awkward as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The selling of the leg injury from Terrell was also fairly hit and miss, as you'd see her struggle immense to climb up the ladder yet find no problem jumping off the top of it and getting up off the mat shortly afterwards. Maybe I'm being a bit too critical here, but for me it just didn't work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match still had its moments, and it was a gutsy performance from both women, but overall it still wasn't half as good as people are making out. <b>5/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle - WWE Unforgiven 2002</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hard to think that I didn't start with the best match from the Smackdown 6's reign of top quality wrestling in 2002, because I don't think any match can beat this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That match was only given something like 13 minutes, but I guess that was all that was needed, as both guys put on a an absolute wrestling clinic. The chain wrestling was fantastic as Benoit and Angle leveraged for an advantage early on, while the pacing complimented the action tremendously. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At no point did the match slow down that much, yet the precision and execution of all their holds, take-downs</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and moves were top notch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also saw a god story of each man looking to apply their finishing submission moves. This made for some good calculating action and a finishing sequence which any many fantastic reversals. My match of the year for 2002. <b>9/10</b></span></div>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-2004923338088900832013-07-16T09:48:00.001-07:002013-07-16T09:48:51.706-07:00WWE Raw 15/07/13 - Quick Hits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Raw Hits</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Opening Segment</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A slightly odd Raw to be kick off this new 'Quick Hits' review I'm doing, because last night's Raw was filled with so much good stuff. The opening segment is now exception. It was a segment that probably shouldn't have worked, but with a hot crowd behind all three guys (Cena, Orton and Fandango) it just made for a nice opening to the show. It shows that with a right crowd the Fandango character can still get over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fandango vs. Randy Orton</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of Fandango, he also had his best singles match to date against Randy Orton. I've never been the biggest fan of the ballroom dancer, but last night he was able to stand toe-to-toe with the 9 time World champion and look pretty strong in doing so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action itself was also pretty good, with Fandango getting the opportunity to lay in some offence on Orton. A good opening match.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Shield Attack Mark Henry</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good stuff from all four guys involved here. Mark Henry cut another fine promo (and even managed to own the loud Brooklyn crowd at one stage), and also did a good job of what essentially must be a face turn for the World's Strongest Man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will this lead to a Shield/Henry feud? It's hard to say. The segment was definitely used to turn Henry face, but it might have also been used to put Mark out of action for a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A really enjoyable match here that had great action, and an ending that was in my opinion better than the one at Money in the Bank. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Del Rio and Ziggler once again got to show their superb chemistry together, and AJ (as well as Big E) was able to turn on the former World champion in great fashion. It's been said for a good year now, but AJ Lee really does play the psychotic character extremely well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Wyatt Family Attack R-Truth</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a night filled with attacks on Raw, but once again it was one that came off really well. Not only did the Wyatt Fairly get to make their awesome entrance and lay out another victim, but Bray Wyatt also got to cut a promo as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And what a promo it was. Not only did Wyatt get his message across but the manner in which he did it was simply a joy to watch. I've never seen such a fascinating group coming along in the WWE in a very long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Heyman and Punk Confrontation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Segment of the night, and arguably the segment of the year. Simply put, this was absolutely perfect. I was slightly worried that Heyman might not have been able to come up with a good excuse as to why he turned on his former best friend, but he did, and in a terrific way as well. When Heyman talked you could really feel the anger behind his words, and ditto Punk who let his venomous hatred come through in his talking and mannerisms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fight between Lesnar and Punk was also excellent, as Punk go to show off his 'relentless' side while Lesnar got to beat down on Punk and look like the monster he is. Everything about this segment was simply outstanding to watch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A great match here which strangely enough wasn't as surreal to see as I thought it'd be. You'd think that and RVD vs. Y2J match in 2013 wouldn't look even slightly out of place but it really didn't. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was given a lot of time and both guys took full advantage of that by putting on a great back and forth contest. Both guy may be past their prime, but they were still able to deliver here by putting in a terrific effort. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan is Set</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A minor hit here. The segment itself with Cena deciding who to choose certainly could have been better, but I'm just so happy that they're going with Daniel Bryan that I don't care how it was announced. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship, and I cannot wait to see it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>Raw Misses</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nothing</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were some parts of the show I wasn't a fan of (Sandow losing, the lack of time given for the Real Americans/Usos match), but overall there really wasn't anything which I felt was a complete miss. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a feeling that there won't be many Raw's with no misses in the future, but last night was one of those shows where I was pretty much happy with everything. Definitely one of the best Raw's of the year. </span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-3903876571859872262013-07-15T12:18:00.000-07:002013-07-15T12:33:41.681-07:00WWE Money in the Bank 2013 Review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heading into this PPV I wasn't expecting a whole lot overall. While I was still looking forward to it and expecting the two Ladder matches to deliver, I felt there wasn't enough quality on the card compared to other years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It had a bit of a MITB 2010 vibe to it in many ways. The two MITB Ladder matches being the big attraction matches, with everything else lacking that extra something. In the end, the PPV did felt exactly like that. The event definitely had its moments throughout and the two Ladder matches did deliver for the most part, but everything else lacked that extra spark to make the entire PPV feel that match better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess the reason I feel this PPV was almost disappointing because of the potential it had to be stellar. Some shaky parts, questionable booking, and bad endings held this down from being one of the best WWE PPVs of the year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still though, despite all that it was still an enjoyable PPV overall. We got some exciting action, surprising moments and Brad Maddox singing. I guess it's hard to ask for too much more after getting the latter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WWE Tag Team Championship</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Shield vs. The Usos </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People will complain that this was put on the pre-show, and I guess they have every right to be upset, but the fact remains that WWE want to make their kick-off shows must-see, and they succeeded in doing that last night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Shield and The Usos put an an extremely fun match which was thankfully given a lot of time. This enabled both teams to structure a well worked match which kicked into another gear in the final few minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the big positives about The Shield's booking is that they're a team that people want to see lose. It's happened so few times since their debut that even The Usos are able to get the crowd behind them. All of that made for a really exciting bout which had a hot Philly crowd behind every move. The action was quick and smooth, and the spots were nicely placed throughout the match to make for a good balance. Great stuff all round. <b>7/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say, I really wasn't sure how an all-heel match-up would go over with the crowd, but in the end it didn't seem to matter, because it was all about the action in the ring. And what great action it was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many Ladder matches in the past have failed due to innovating spots coming across cheap botch-ridden, but all seven men in this bout were able to successfully able to pull off the innovative side of the match. Bar a few tiny mistakes here and there, everything came off extremely well. The pace of the match was kept at a fast pace, the storytelling was solid, and the action was terrific between everyone involved. All of that rolled into one made for a highly entertaining match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ending was also perfectly executed as well. Cody Rhodes did an excellent job of showing off some face mannerisms throughout the match which enabled the crowd to get fully behind him once he went to retrieve the briefcase. The sudden appearance of Sandow to take the victory away from Rhodes made for a great moment which made Sandow look like the opportunist and Rhodes the sympathetic babyface who had his dreams crushed by his friend. To be able to tell that much in an all-heel Ladder match is very impressive. <b>8/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Intercontinental Championship</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Miz vs. Curtis Axel</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The latest Heyman protégé needs top quality opponents if he's going to succeed as the next break out star this year, and this match clearly showed that. While The Miz isn't the worst opponent to have, the chemistry just wasn't there between these two last night and once again left Curtis Axel looking less than strong as a champion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He's to fault as well for this of course. For the 10 minutes that they were given neither man were able to do anything exciting or memorable, with the closest being a Figure-4 spot which saw both guys try to reverse it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action was that bad, but rather just felt non existent. Let's hope that this is the end of their little feud together. <b>4/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Divas Championship</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another fairly decent match between these two given the lack of time that they were given. It wasn't nearly as good as their match last month at Payback, but it was still a good effort from both women. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I liked the way AJ went after the injured arm of Kaitlyn, but Kaithlyn's selling of it wasn't there apart from a slight arm grasp after her Spear. AJ's Black Widow to finish the match was also applied on the wrong arm, but maybe that's just me being too picky on that one, as the execution of the move was still well done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from that there's not a whole lot left to say. It's good to see AJ win cleanly as I felt she needed to look a bit more dangerous to take that extra step as champion, and hopefully she moves on from here. <b>4/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chris Jericho vs. Ryback</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match would have been a lot better if they actually continued on from the story they were telling regarding Ryback's leg, but apparently it wasn't worth bringing up during the match. Instead, we say Ryback walk with complete ease and Jericho hardly focus on the injured leg at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From that point it was very hard to get into the match. Both guys wrestled a fairly standard match and never really kicked it up a notch. They had the time to do it as well, but in the end they just seemed to be biding there time until the end, which unsurprisingly, wasn't very good either. A monster heel winning by a schoolboy. Genius. <b>3/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>World Heavyweight Championship </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month I said that Del Rio doesn't work that well against many people on the roster, but Ziggler is one of them. Last night proved the be the case once again as both men put on a really solid bout. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was slow enough to start off with I felt, but as the match went on it gradually got a lot more exciting. The focus on Ziggler's head was there, the action was there, and the close cals towards the end of the match were as well. Since both guys have turned face/heel, both have been perfect opponents for each other. Del Rio has been able to showcase his ruthless side by focusing on the slightly weakened Ziggler, and Dolph has been able to show gutsy and entertaining comebacks because of it. Last night all of that was highlighted once again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite all that though, I felt the ending was pretty poor. I get that they want to end the AJ/Ziggler relationship, but I felt there was a smarter way for her to accidentally cost Ziggler the match. To me it just felt like lazy booking, as they wanted to give Ziggler a reason to get angry at his girlfriend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An entertaining match no doubt, but the ending drags it down quite a bit. <b>6/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WWE Championship </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>John Cena vs. Mark Henry</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, I was expecting worse. After WWE once again teased another 'Cena can't lift him!' kind of story heading into the match I was already rolling my eyes. Of course, the unexpected did happened (or rather, the painfully expected), as Cena was able to lift Henry up for the AA, but despite the predictable manner of it all there were still some decent moments in this match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two nearfalls from each others finishers were pretty good (especially Henry's World's Strongest Slam attempt), and Henry did play up his heel monster roll quite well also. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's why it was a shame to see the match end on such a low note, as Henry tapped out to the STF (after the man who can't lift Henry pulled him back into the centre of the ring with complete ease). It would have been much better to end it with another AA from Cena in my opinion. It may have been predictable, but it would have been better than Henry tapping out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's been worse Cena title defences, but there's also been a lot better. <b>5/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where to start? A lot of good stuff happened in this match, a bit not so much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was a bit slower to begin with compared to the Smackdown MITB, but once it got going it never stopped. There were so some nasty falls, a good share of who was in action at the same time, and some really good spots throughout. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not everything came off smoothly of course. The broken ladder spot has been done to death at this point and Sheamus falling knee first through it was probably the worst one yet. Other moves didn't come off as smooth as I'm sure they expected, and some of the spots felt anti-climatic in their execution. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also wasn't a huge fan of Heyman's turn on Punk. It was surprising to see, and pretty brutal to look at as Paul smashed the ladder over Punk's head, but I don't see why he'd have Axel take out Bryan beforehand. If Heyman didn't want Punk to win then why not just leave Bryan to retrieve the briefcase. It just didn't make that much sense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from that though, it was still an entertaining match to watch. Each man had their fair share of momentum building offence, the returning RVD was on top form, and some of the spots came off looking really well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm also OK with the finish of the match also. I know it all happened after the Heyman ordeal, but set up was done quite well. From here it'll be interesting to see what they do with Orton next. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, this was an enjoyable match that just falls short of being great. <b>7/10</b></span></div>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-22095569761661882262013-07-07T15:48:00.001-07:002013-07-07T16:03:27.565-07:00What I Watched This Week: 1st - 7th July<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there was me thinking that the quality of matches this year wasn't that good. It turns out that I just wasn't looking far enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Up until this week the only bit of New Japan Pro Wrestling I watched was when Prince Devitt was competing. I always knew of the great stuff in the heavyweight division, and also throughout most of their cards as well, but it was something I always held out on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thankfully, I took that step and checked out a bit of more New Japan this week. I started off by watching the highly rated Hiroshi Tanashi vs. Kazuchika Okada match from this past April, followed by two matches from their yearly Dominion show, Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanashi. Did these matches impress me? Well you'll have to wait to find out... or just quickly scroll down and see the ratings put in bold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also this week I watched the terrific series of matches between Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima from Ring of Honor in 07 and 08. I saw some of the matches already, but together with the rest it makes for a really watch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, if you have any recommendations as to what I should watch next week you can hit me up on Twitter @3CountBlog or leave a comment below. Anything is welcome!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hiroshi Tanashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW Invasion Attack (2013)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lot of you may have heard about this match, some of you may not. I heard about it after it happened in April but was never really pushed on seeing it. Between not really knowing either man, and how good they are, I decided to just assume that it wasn't worth the hype. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was worth the hype. Every single bit of it. Wrestling matches like this are hard to come by, and I'm extremely happy with myself for deciding to watch (a shout out goes to <a href="http://wrestlingrambles.com/2013/07/03/13461/">J712 and his Mid-Year Awards</a>, because I think that's where I first started to consider to watch it.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match tells such a great story that it was really easy to pick up on why Tanashi went after the right arm of Okada, even though I don't know either man's move set. It was also clear what their big moves were, through just seeing their reactions and reason behind every move. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The psychology involved is also a joy to watch. As noted above the arm of Okada was worked on extremely well by Tanasahi, but was also sold brilliantly as well. Okada did this for almost the entire match, and really made it look like he was desperately fighting through the pain. Okada also did some tremendous work on the neck of Tanashi as well, as he looked to set him up for his patented Tombstone or Lariat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides all of that though, the action is also top notch. The moves are crisp and with a purpose, and in the final few minutes of the match they had the crowd in the palm of their hands, as put on some really good sequences and nearfalls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This right here is wrestling perfection, and although we're already half way through the year I'm pretty certain you won't find a better match than this. <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">10/10</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Dominion 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taken place just a couple of weeks ago, Goto and Shibata put on an awesomely hard-hitting match, that while didn't last <i>that</i> long, still served up some brilliant action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, I've never seen these two wrestle before but the story of this match was easy to grasp; both men wanted to beat the shit out of each other. That was it. And while that may be a bit off putting for some, there was just something about the action in this match that was just so gripping. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For 13 minutes or so both men delivered some vicious shots, and took part in some great sequences which had the crowd reacting to every single move. It can be extremely hard to pull off matches this this. They can go overboard in the way they are handled or become a bit too messy, but everything in this match just seemed to work. The physicality was out right shocking at times, but you knew both men could handle it, and that's probably what makes this match such a success. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For pure action, it'll be hard to find a whole lot better. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the best matches of the year. <b>9/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanashi - NJPW Dominion 2013</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it only happened a few months ago, Prince Devitt's heel run has been really fun to watch. I didn't think he'd be able to pull off the brash 'Rock n' Rolla' type of character, but he's done it with flying colours. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match against Tanashi really showcased how much he's changed, as his posse stood at ringside interfering every chance they got. it made for a really good dynamic in the end, with Tanashi desperately trying to cope with all of Devitt's men, while Devitt himself broke nearly every rule in the book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The action was also very good though. Sometimes matches can be too top heavy on interferences and look a bit overbooked, but this one found the right kind of balance. Once Tanashi took care of business on the outside, both he and Devitt turned it up a notch and exchanged in some fun moments near the end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both men are probably capable of more together, but overall this was still a really solid bout. <b>8/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Manhattan Mayhem II (2007)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match that started it all, and arguably the best match in the series. If your looking for a big man vs. little man kind of dynamic that actually looks realistic, this is the match you should watch. Both men put on a brilliant back-and-forth bout which shows Danielson stand toe-to-toe with the big man Morishima. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing that makes this match so great is when you consider how much pain Danielson must have fought through, as he tears his retina just a few minutes into the match. It really exemplifies the physicality of this match, as it continues for another good 15 minutes and never slows down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides all the hard-hitting action, we also see Danielson work the left leg of Morishima, which really adds some great drama to the fight. The leg work got the crowd firmly behind him, as he relentlessly tried to make the then ROH world champion submit. That kind of balance of stiff action and close calls makes for a highly entertaining match with the kind of atmosphere that makes it feel that much more special. Excellent stuff all round. <b>9/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Man Up (2007)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An very good following bout here which pretty much continues on from their match at Manhattan Mayhem. Bryan Danielson, eye-patch and all, changes his tactics slightly as he goes all guns blazing against Morishima. This makes for really exciting stuff as both guys trade stiff blows for the entire match. Takeshi sticks to his strengths by using his signature Lariat and Back Drop Driver, while Danielson tires to build up some momentum after constantly being put down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He also see first sings of a heelish attitude from Morishima as he eventually goes after the injured eye of Danielson, even though he vowed not to. This brings a certain edge to their rivalry as the focus turns from being about the ROH World title to about hurting one another. They had to highlight how personal their feud had gotten and in the end they execute it perfectly. <b>8/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Glory By Honor VI (2007)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the heated feud already rolling this is another match which once again finds a way to kick it up another gear in terms of that grudge-like feel. Bryan Danielson, the normally technically sound kind of wrestling known for being patient and calculating, changes his style completely into a man looking out to inflict pain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both men do an excellent job of getting that hatred across, and although the match doesn't last very long, they get their story across and develop their feud even further. Takeshi turns full fledged heel, plays the hurt underdog, and the crowd are left watching even more. While this match was only used to heat things up for future matches, they do a fantastic job at doing that. <b>7/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Rising Above 2007</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See above. It's the same kind of match, with the same crowd in the same venue, expect the rolls of both men change near the end (I'm trying not to spoil anything here...). Once again it's both guys throwing caution to the wind, and not holding back with the 'relaxed rules' from officials put in place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Same kind of match as above, but the same kind of results. <b>7/10</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima - ROH Final Battle 2008</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the match I've seen the most from this series (3, I think) and it still holds up pretty well. Even though this match took place a year after their last encounter both guys still brought off the immense intensity from their matches in 2007. There was high drama, stiff shots, and fought at a pretty fast pace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were also good call backs to previous matches as well, such as Danielson going after the eye of Morishima, delivering some low blows, and Morishima delivering those nasty lariats every time Danielson tried to build up some momentum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not the best match of their series, but it's still a really enjoyable match that caps off a fantastic feud very nicely. <b>8/10</b></span></div>
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Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-59440249841648546462013-06-30T15:56:00.000-07:002013-06-30T15:56:13.810-07:00What I Watched This Week: 24 - 30 June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I almost went in stages in what to watch this week, even though it was kind of unintentional. I started off the week my watching a little bit from the Young Bucks vs. Rick Knox feud from PWG that happened last year. It wasn't exactly a must-see feud, and it wasn't the sole focus when it came to the Young Bucks, but it is involved in some really fun matches from that year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then moved onto a bit of the Bryan Danielson vs. The World DVD, which I've been slowly getting my way through. This time I watched some of his stuff during Ring of Honor's 2007 tour of Japan, and competes in two enjoyable matches. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, I watched the second Elimination Chamber match for the first time, after I pretty much just stumbled upon on YouTube. As far as I know that's every Chamber match I've seen now, but might look through the list just to make sure. I almost hope I haven't seen them all, because it really is one of my favourite stipulation matches from WWE. Even in today's PG world it's still a match that can be highly enjoyable, and at times, just plain barbaric. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Triple Threat Ladder Match : </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Young Bucks vs. Super Smash Bros. vs. Future Shock - PWG Threemendous III (2012)</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Words cannot describe how much I love this match. Since getting the DVD late last year I've watched the match three time, there's just something about. The hectic action, the atmosphere, the commentary (I think Excalibur and Steen set a record for most swear words said in a match), the perfect execution of nearly ever move; it's all just so much fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever about ring psychology and storytelling, this match doesn't need any of that to make this hugely enjoyable. It doesn't matter that everyone in this match fights back after only minutes of basically nearly dying, because it really helps with the overall pacing of the match-up. And really, that's what it's all about with multi-man Ladder matches - it's all about the action. The Hardys, Dudley's and E&C did it perfectly over 10 years ago, and these three teams did it here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of action and just all round excitement, I'd almost put this match right up their with the classics seen from the three WWF teams I listed above. It has violence, great athleticism, tons of 'Holy Shit' moments, and even a bit of comedy as well. It's basically everything you could ask for. <b>9/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6-Man Tag Team Match: El Generico, Kevin Steen & Rick Knox vs. The Young Bucks & Brian Cage - PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2012, Night 2</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally scheduled for a 3-on-2 Handicap match, and was for a while as well, until Kevin Steen came to the aid of Knox and Generico. That's when the match really kicked into another gear as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was fine up until that point though. The Young Bucks showed their dominance over the referee Rick Knox, and El Generico struggled to take on all three opponents. When Steen came in things got a bit more fast paced, and like nearly every tag team match, became Tornado rules with everyone popping into the ring. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What made this match so enjoyable was Rick Knox's performance itself. The crowd were firmly behind him, and in the end gave them a lot to cheer about when he delivered some highly impressive moves on his arch Nemesis' The Young Bucks. The protected him well in the early goings, and then let him pull out all his guns in a really entertaining final few moments of the match. Great stuff all round. <b>8/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Singles Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki - ROH Live in Tokyo (2007)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not the best Bryan Danielson match from 2007, but still a terrific match against the highly talented Go Shiozaki. The match started off very well, with both men keeping things on the mat for the most part. Danielson won most of the exchanges and managed to hurt the left arm of Shiozaki, which he then went onto sell brilliantly for the remainder of the match. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From there it had very good pacing, as both men did a great job of knowing exactly when to kick things into another gear, before going back to a slower pace. While the match had a few sloppy bits here and there, it still served up some great action whereby the crowd were fully behind Shiozaki's comebacks against Danielson. His comebacks were also the highlight of the match as well, as both men contested in some great back-and-forth sequences in the second half of the bout. Well worth a watch if you can find it. <b>8/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6-Man Tag Team Match: Bryan Danielson, CIMA & Naomichi Marafuji vs. Davey Richards, Rocky Romero & Masaaki Mochizuki - ROH Live in Osaka (2007)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another bout here from ROH's tour of Japan in 2007, this time seeing Danielson compete in a 6-Man Tag Team match. While the match took place in front of a less than excited Osaka crowd, all six men managed to on some solid action. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The match was so enough to start off with, every man from both teams getting involved in a feeling out process against their opponents. It was a stage in the match that probably went on a bit too long, but thankfully got a bit more grounded as it progressed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richards and Romero did a good job of getting a little bit of heat throughout the match, which in turn helped home turf favourites Marafuji and CIMA get a good reaction whenever inside the ring. It was enough to get a good heel vs face dynamic in front of a crowd that was pretty content with both teams at the start of the match. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few hit and miss hot tags the match picked up to another gear with all six men getting in some good action. The action was fast and fluid, and really mad the match more exciting heading into the final few minutes of the match. That alone was enough to make this a really enjoyable match overall. <b>7/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Elimination Chamber Match: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Nash - WWE SummerSlam 2003</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I said at the top of this column how much I like Elimination Chamber matches, this is arguably one of its weaker matches. There's not exactly a whole lot wrong with it, and there is a good bit to like about it to be fair. It had some good heelish behaviour from Triple H, some decent spots throughout, and a fun Goldberg rampage in the later stages of the match. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall it just seemed to lack that extra kick to make it a great match. Triple H's injury harnessed his involvement, with Nash's fitness and age doing the same. The eliminations were also a bit sudden at times, even the final one which saw Triple H hit Goldberg over the head with a Sledgehammer after an attempted Spear. The idea behind it was certainly good, but at that point in the match it only seemed to be kicking off between Triple H and Goldberg. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You could probably find worse Chamber matches in its 10 year hesitance, but this certainly isn't one of the better ones. A real hit and miss type of match. <b>6/10</b></span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-53455501924810716562013-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:002013-06-27T12:00:44.405-07:00Ring of Honor's Decision to Discontinue iPPV's Is a Smart Move<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rohworld.com/images/buyerbeware.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://rohworld.com/images/buyerbeware.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After another notable technical failure from Ring of Honor at Best in the World this past Saturday, it appears ROH have finally realised that yeah, they really suck at putting on iPPVs. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>To our fans,</i></span></div>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This past weekend at "Best in the World" in Baltimore, MD , Ring of Honor proved once again from top to bottom why our talent is truly the best in wrestling today. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the live iPPV stream that wound up distracting from the energy and action in ring. For this, we sincerely apologize to all fans that encountered problems.</i></span><br />
<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Because of how much we value the support of our fans, and understand the imperfections of the live streaming technology, "Best in the World" will be the last iPPV stream that we will be broadcasting live. All future main event shows will now be offered as a Video On Demand, which will allow Ring of Honor to present a flawless show and truly depict the excellence of our product.</i></span><br />
<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>From now on, fans can watch ROH Wrestling on TV, VOD, or DVD, however there is still nothing like seeing Ring of Honor in person. We thank you for your continued support and are excited to be moving forward.</i></span><br />
<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>- Ring of Honor Wrestling</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was an announcement that certainly came out of nowhere. After so many bad iPPVs from a technical standpoint I, as well as a lot of other people I'm sure, figured that this announcement would be like all their other. They would first state that they ARE THE BEST PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING COMPANY WHO PUTS ON THE BEST PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING MATCHES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, and then finally address the technical problems. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead, it seems that ROH have thrown in the towel when it comes to broadcasting PPVs. And while many people may think this is the step backwards, I think stepping back is the right choice for ROH. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's face it, since leaving Go Fight Live last year, nearly every bit of publicity from Ring of Honor's PPVs have been bad publicity. There were some clean runs here and there, but more often than not headlines would be addressing both results and technical problems together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's also fair to say that a lot of this bad publicity came from ROH themselves in regards to how they handled each situation. When 2012's WrestleMania Weekend shows </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Showdown in the Sun encountered problems galore, it was ROH who used them as a scapegoat and put all the blame on them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that show ROH took their product in house and produced their own PPVs, leaving them with no one to blame but themselves if something went wrong. A lot went wrong of course, and ROH, who must have the worst PR team in the world, decided to address their WORLD CLASS PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING PRODUCT first, and their iPPV issues second. They addressed this issues in the worst possible manner though. They would blame the new technology, <a href="http://www.rohwrestling.com/connect/blogs/patrick-edwards/2012/sep/20/sidewalk-slam-volume-1-issue-13">the dirt sheets,</a> or even just ignore the situation all together. It was almost a mind boggling scenario as ROH's complete and utter unprofessionalism shone through after every problem they encountered. With the iPPVs now gone, maybe now their weaknesses on the PR side of things won't be highlighted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from that though, it benefits them on how they present their product in the future. With ROH's new VOD service, fans can now watch their latest shows just a week after being put on. It enables fans to keep up to date with ROH a bit easier, and also to watch the shows without any fear that the stream will stop for them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also enables ROH to bring some unpredictability back to their house shows. Over the past two years or so house shows have lacked the spark that they once had. Without depending on all their big stuff happening on iPPVs, ROH have the chance to throw in some shockers here or there, and hope that sales will boost because of that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may leave their TV show with even less direction because of this news, but that all depends on how they deal with the situation going forward. ROH can put on high profile shows whenever they need, and not have to worry about putting all their eggs in one basket when it comes to drawing big numbers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a chance fort Ring of Honor to go back to basics. </span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-89228105025224993432013-06-23T15:21:00.001-07:002013-06-23T15:21:54.296-07:00ROH Best in the World 2013 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ringsideaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ring-of-honor-best-in-the-world-2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://www.ringsideaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ring-of-honor-best-in-the-world-2013.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ring of
Honor's annual Best in the World came to Baltimore last night in what
was one of the promotions weaker cards this year. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It was a
show in which I decided to pass on last night, and only got around to
watching today via some free website. I'm normally someone who
purchases ROH iPPVs, having done so since Death Before Dishonor VIII
in 2010. But having spent roughly </span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">€</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">100
on PPVs from them since then (which I only noticed last week) I
decided to leave this one, which really, I didn’t feel was worth my
money going into it. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Anyway,
enough of me unintentional promotion of pirating shows from company's
that need the money – here's my review for Best in the World 2013. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>BJ
Whitmer vs. Mike Bennett</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Probably
not the best choice for an opener, because even the surprisingly loud
Baltimore crowd quickly went quiet throughout this match. I've never
been a fan of either guy to be honest. BJ Whitmer, ROH's version of
Drake Younger, hasn't really been able to get back to his best, while
the 'Prodigy' Mike Bennett just seems to be waiting for WWE to sign
him up already. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Honestly,
there wasn't a whole lot wrong with the match. There were some decent
moments throughout, and neither man exactly made any mistakes, but
overall there still wasn't a whole lot to get excited about it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>2/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>American
Wolves vs. Adrenaline Rush </b></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">An
extremely fun match here which really showcased Tadarius Thomas and
ACH especially as two bright prospects for Ring of Honor in the
future. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It
had a good mixture of the Wolves showing their experience against the
hungry opponents, while also showing moments of both teams being
evenly matched. It did have some weak moments here and there, most
noticeably coming from Tadarius, who I feel relies too much on his
unique kicks at times, but overall there was a lot to like about this
match. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Adam
Cole vs. Roderick Strong</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
real hit and miss match between Cole and Strong. I liked the chain
wrestling at the start, and there was some pretty exciting action
throughout, but the ending to the match just didn't work for me. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Simply
put, there's nothing wrong with leaving your opponent on the outside
and hoping for a count out victory. The way Cole dropped Strong and
went back into the ring with a menacing and opportunistic smile on
his face looked good, but the idea that such an act is considered
heel is just silly. They seem to be going from one extreme to another
with Cole's slow heel turn here. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Another
thing which I would have liked was a bit more focus on Cole's inured
elbow. It was highlighted at the start, and Roddy did go after it for
a few minutes, but it soon became nothing in regards to the match.
Granted, this gave way for a more back and forth match, which suited
the face vs. face dynamic quite well, but a bit more focus on that
injured elbow would have made the pacing a lot better. Both men are
capable of more. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>2.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Michael
Elgin vs. Tomasso Ciampa</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
great return match for Tomasso Ciampa here. It's been a while since
ROH have done a powerhouse vs. powerhouse match, the last I can
recall being between Elgin and Steen last year at Glory By Honor X,
and both guys here did an extremely good match at it here. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
match had incredible feats of strength, back and forth action, and
high drama in the final few minutes of the match. It took a while for
Ciampa to finally show his full potential in ROH, but I think this
will be the match people will look back on when they think of how far
he's come. He stood toe-to-toe with arguably the most exciting
wrestler on the independent scene and helped put on a really
enjoyable match. I'm really looking forward to the rest of these
guys' stuff this year. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>4/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ROH
TV Championship</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Matt
Taven vs. Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Jacobs</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So
much fun up until a certain point. A really good effort from all
three guys, who put on a fast paced match with some choice moments
throughout. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In
was only in the last few minutes when things started to go off. Jay
Lethal accidentally stripping one of the Hoopla's was pretty funny,
albeit not at all surprising considering some of the controversial
stuff that's happened in Taven's title defences. It was after that
which I had a problem with though. I may sound like a hypocrite here
after saying that I liked the stripping part, but Jay Superkicking
the other hoopla is just something I hate to see in wrestling, more
so when a face does it (Honor lives, eh?). I simply don't see how
that makes Lethal the good guy in this match, and because of that all
the hard work before that seems worthless. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It
was almost like Cole/Strong in that it was a match of two halves, and
the last few moments of this match just kind of ruined it for me. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>2/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>ROH
World Tag Team Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>reDRagon
vs. C&C Wrestle Factory vs. S.C.U.M. </b></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Man,
ROH has some awful tag team names... anyway, onto the match, which
was actually as bad as the names of all three tag teams. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
action at the start of the match was actually fine, but it never
fully got going. O'Reilly and Fish were the only team to show some
good stuff, and the other two were slowly getting into it (more so
C&C), but then it just ended. It wouldn't have been so bad if
that kick at the end of the match were a signature move of Fish, but
he does so many kicks in a match (as well as 70% of Indie wrestlers)
that fans have no reason to believe that it'll finish an opponent
off. Strange match. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>1.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Kevin
Steen vs. Matt Hardy</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Definitely
Hardy's best match in ROH, and all thanks to Kevin Steen as well.
He's been the only person so far to help us hate S.C.U.M, and the
only person to look like he really wants to inflict punishment on
them. With only a little bit of hype in this feud between these two
men there was already a really good grudge-like feel to it. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
match had some good hardcore moments throughout, and also told a good
story of each S.C.U.M member getting involved and Kevin Steen losing
through his own request for a No DQ match. Corino's group haven't
looked threatening a whole lot since forming, but they did here
thanks for Kevin Steen. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>ROH
World Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Jay
Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
really enjoyable match which perfectly showcased the brother vs.
brother dynamic. The opening exchanges were really nice with both men
showing their knowledge of each other, and the pacing for the rest of
the match was pretty spot on. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
didn't think the ending could have been better however, as Jay
Briscoe got back into the match far too easily. After all the work
Mark was doing on him I felt more could have been done for Jay's
comeback and eventual victory. Still though, this was an entertaining
main event which exceeded my expectations. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<br />Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-30304018179638695882013-06-17T11:59:00.000-07:002013-06-17T12:12:22.552-07:00WWE Payback Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4mOZgN0F8LRHmTFDheDO7UsySwJu2WtQFWn4ABd_3QqkHMHVGHHB3zJNyt9YhCQFsvqk4F_RkOpkfG2EhYfb2NdDQipB2Lf2IDNe9CzyptCrwK7SGBvwBmrTdMwPEPoCyL0fnFoyAwL8/s1600/Payback.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4mOZgN0F8LRHmTFDheDO7UsySwJu2WtQFWn4ABd_3QqkHMHVGHHB3zJNyt9YhCQFsvqk4F_RkOpkfG2EhYfb2NdDQipB2Lf2IDNe9CzyptCrwK7SGBvwBmrTdMwPEPoCyL0fnFoyAwL8/s1600/Payback.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Last
night's PPV felt like the unofficial beginning of WWE's Summer in
many ways. While the road to SummerSlam is still very far away,
enough happened last night for us to look into the distance and see
just a little bit of what WWE might have in store for us. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Seeds
were planted for a possible heel turn for either Bryan or Orton (or
both), as well as a possible face turn for the returning CM Punk.
Meanwhile a straight switch occurred when Del Rio took on Dolph
Ziggler in the World Heavyweight championship bout. Returns were
announced, champions were crowned, and for the first time in a long
while WWE seem to have some kind of grasp as to what they want to do
this Summer, and not just for a select few people. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We
weren't given too much in regards to upcoming matches, but were at
least shown the groundwork for where some wrestlers might be heading
into SummerSlam. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Intercontinental
Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Wade
Barrett vs. Curtis Axel vs. The Miz</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
bittersweet ending for Curtis Axel as he was crowned Intercontinental
champion on Father's Day, but that wasn't the only good thing about
this opening match. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All
three men put in a good effort here and put on an exciting Triple
Threat match which saw fast paced action, some near falls and a very
smart ending as well. It was in no way perfect, and to be honest I'm
still not convinced by Miz and Barrett, but there was a lot of
surprisingly good stuff in this match. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Intercontinental title may not garner any more prestige now that it's
on the third generation superstar, but I still feel it was a smart
decision putting it one someone who is at least relevant on the
roster. <b>3/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Divas
Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Kaityln
vs. AJ Lee</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
the night hosted a lot of surprises concerning turns and
match-quality, I think this match was the most surprising of all.
Like pretty much every Divas match I've watched, I had no
expectations going into this match, but it ended up being one of the
best Divas bouts I've seen in years. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What
made this a cut above the rest was the story involved in it. Seeing
AJ get in the head of former best friend Kaitlyn was actually very
good to watch, and actually served up a solid ending as well. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
time given to both women also helped them a lot, as it enabled them
to slow the match down a bit and execute some decent moves
throughout. I wouldn't be surprised if this match became a hidden gem
in years to come. <b>3/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>United
States Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Dean
Ambrose vs. Kane</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">You
know a match isn't very good when, bar the very end, you can't
remember anything that happened. This was the case for this match
because 10 minutes nothing really happened. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It
was match where it seemed to end before it got started. The first
real thing to happen in this match was when Ambrose slapped Kane
across the face outside the, luring him in so he could eventually get
counted out. That was pretty much it though. Before that I honestly can't
remember what happened. <b>1.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>World
Heavyweight Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Dolph
Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Double turns can be extremely hard to
do in wrestling. Giving the crowd a reason to suddenly boo one guy
and then cheer the other by doing nothing but wrestling is something
that some have been able to do, and some unable. Bret Hart and Stone
Cold were able to do it at WrestleMania 13 perfectly, while the
Briscoe Brother's and Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team failed miserably
at Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2011. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Last night Ziggler and Del Rio were
successfully able to do that. Del Rio relentlessly focusing on the
head of Ziggler showed ruthlessness, aggression and desperation.
Ziggler selling the injury and being unable to fully get into the
match showed concern and sympathy. It was a match entirely focused on
the state of Ziggler and his head, and I felt they handled it
perfectly. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's something that more than likely
wouldn't have happened if Ziggler hadn't actually suffered a
concussion weeks prior, but it was something that happened, and WWE
found last night a good opportunity to mix things up. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The ending was certainly a surprise,
and I know a lot of people weren't happy with it, but I think it
opens an avenue for Ziggler to come back as the fighting babyface
that everyone will get behind and eventually reclaim his World title
at the biggest show of the Summer. <b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While this match didn't serve up and
surprises or turns, we were at least treated to a very good
wrestling match, and that's more than good enough for me. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Just like their previous encounters
this year, both men's chemistry shone through. The pace of the match
was very good, the reversals and sequences came off smoothly, and
there were some good near falls near the end as well. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The crowd were also a good indicator
of where Punk's character might go from here. It's been rumoured for
a good while now, so wouldn't have come as a surprise to see Punk
embrace the cheers he was receiving, but last night showed the
babyface side of Punk very well, and I'm sure that's what WWE wanted.
</span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The match itself did have some weak
points, and Punk seemed a big more gassed than he probably should
have been, but this was still a really good effort from both men.
Match of the night for me. <b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Tag Team Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs.
Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A really fun match here which really
didn't let the crowd to take a breather after the previous bout. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All four men played the hot-tag
situation very well, and the final few minutes of the match served up
some really good action as all four men delivered some cool spots.
The inexperience of Bryan and Orton as a team was always going to
show here, and in the end we saw both men serve distractions for each
other. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the end it was a good case of the
tension between Bryan and Orton continuing to show, while The Shield
still looking strong in victory. Good stuff all round. <b>3/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>WWE Championship</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>John Cena vs. Ryback</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My stream actually crashed last night before the main event so I had to leave this match until the morning after, but even
being able to watch this match more recharged wasn't able to get me any
more excited for this mess. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first fall was tame enough, as
you'd expect. Both men took turns throwing each other out of the
ring, before delivering the big spot of the fall which saw Cena jump
off the top rope and onto the Lumberjacks. Having around 30 people
fall over because of one guy dropping on them is bad enough, but when
you hear Michael Cole call it “incredible” you can't help but
feel annoyed that they consider that to be a good moment. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The second fall was even worse, as
Ryback tried lifting Cena up to put him through a table, only to have
Cena do the exact same thing every time and roll off. The third
attempt left Ryback being put through a table instead, making it 1
fall each. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Not only was the ending to that fall
bad, but things got even worse when Ryback got straight back up after
being AA'd through a table, and proceeded to slam Cena through an
announce table... even though he was incapable of doing that a few
minutes earlier. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ryback continued to take control of
the match as both men made their way to the ambulance, which I might
add, was probably the weakest ambulance ever assembled. The tore of
pieces of the vehicle , slammed each other through various parts,
before Cena AA'd Ryback through the roof of the ambulance. The ending
itself wasn't too bad, it was just everything beforehand that made
the entire fall look laughably bad. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In my head I had this match at a 2/5,
but after going through it bit by bit I realise that there's just so
match I didn't like about this match. They've had better bouts, and
both guys are capable of more, but it was the direction of this
stipulation (among other things) which proved to be the major
weakness in this match. <b>1.5/5</b></span></div>
<br />Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-170959461280050022013-06-16T08:13:00.003-07:002013-06-16T08:13:59.144-07:00What I Watched This Week: 10 - 16 June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/O5oQ3dkC5xI/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/O5oQ3dkC5xI/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">William
Regal vs. Kassius Ohno – WWE NXT (10/4/13)</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
refreshingly realistic wrestling display from both Ohno and Regal,
and I loved everything about it. <b>4/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan
Danielson vs. Doug Williams – ROH Scramble Madness (2002)</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. <b>4/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan
Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe – ROH In Your Face (2006)</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From
a mat wrestling clinic to a fun and innovative Triple Threat match,
these two bouts really shows how diverse Danielson is. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. <b>4.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Austin
Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards & KENTA – ROH
Honor Reclaims Boston (2006)</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. <b>4.5/5</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>_____________________________________________________</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">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 <a href="https://twitter.com/3CountBlog">@3CountBlog</a> 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. </span>
</div>
<br />Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-49503608470743629732013-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:002013-06-16T05:02:52.231-07:00PWG 'Is Your Body Ready?' Preview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ourwweviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/pwg-preview2.png?w=602&h=200&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://ourwweviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/pwg-preview2.png?w=602&h=200&crop=1" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's
been a long time since Pro Wrestling Guerilla's last show. After All
Star Weekend 9 in March, PWG took a two month break for reasons I'm
not really sure. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
absence has also felt longer for me as well, considering the last
show I watch from them was December's Mystery Vortex a good few
months ago. And since then a good bit has happened in Reseda,
California. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">PWG said
goodbye to El Generico as he went back to Mexico to help the orphans,
Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong have formed an exciting tag team
together to add to PWG's already excellent tag team division, we've
seen more hardcore type matches thanks to the rise of Drake Younger,
and Adam Cole has established him as a top heel in the company. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It isn't
so much a case where PWG is going from strength to strength, but
rather them keeping up their consistently top notch product,
solidifying themselves as the most exciting independent promotion in
the US. And when PWG returns with 'Is Your Body Ready?' on June 15th,
I'm sure we'll see much of the same stuff we've come to expect form
PWG over the past three years or so. </span>
</div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tag
Team Match</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">RockNES
Monsters (Johnny Goodtime & Johnny Yuma) vs. Unbreakable F'N
Machines (Brain Cage & Michael Elgin)</span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
is a match I'm only half looking forward to really. Simply put, the
RockNES Monsters just don't do anything for me. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
PWG's tag team division isn’t exactly filled with physically
imposing wrestlers, most of them have a certain presence about them
that make them look like a solid tag team. The Young Bucks have their
cockiness, fluid tag team moves, and all round brotherly chemistry.
Super Smash Bros. have a good variety of speed and strength,
complimented by a good balance of humour and a never say die attitude
which they seem to bring off very well. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
RockNES Monsters however, don't have any of that. Their humour feels
forced, their move-set needs too much of a suspension of belief at
times, and they carry themselves like a bunch of teenagers rather
than wrestlers. Some will argue that they tick all the boxes on what
a PWG tag team is like, but for me they don't show off the qualities
that could make them a decent tag team. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
they step into the ring on Saturday I'm hoping for more of a one
sided contest, which, may not be something that PWG does often, but
when you have Brian Cage and Michael Elgin as your opponents I think
their should be an exception. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
the Unbreakable F'n Machines are better suited to singles action,
both of these guys are still capable of putting on really fun tag
team matches. Cage showed it while teaming with the Taylor's, and
Elgin briefly showed it when he teamed with Roderick Strong in ROH. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Both
men are on an extremely good run at the moment, and although they're
facing a team I'm not a fan of, I'm still expecting an enjoyable
match. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Singles
Match</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Davey
Richards vs. Kyle O'Reilly</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
people say that PWG possesses all the different styles of wrestling
to suit every type of fan, I'm always one to disagree. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">PWG
may have many different styles of matches, accompanied by every type
of wrestler from high flyer to powerhouse, but I feel the technical
based side of wrestling is always the part that gets the least amount
of attention. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kyle
O'Reilly's style doesn't always come through when he teams with Adam
Cole (which he's done most of the time in PWG), while Davey Richards
normally finds himself in tag team bouts as well, or even singles
matches against people who don't always compliment his technical
side. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
Saturday both O'Reilly and Davey Richards have the chance to wrestle
that way suits them best. If you saw Ring of Honor's event 'Defy or
Deny 2' this past March, you'll know that these two men work very
well together. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At
'Is Your Body Ready?', I expect the same type of match-up, or at
least I hope so anyway. They might go straight into a slug fest after
a few minutes into the match (which I really hope they don't do), but
the option for them to wrestle a mat-based match is right there for
them. And I hope they take it. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tag
Team Match</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>DoJo
Bros (Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong) vs. Chuck Taylor &
Johnny Gargano</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
don't want to turn this into some kind of ROH vs. PWG column, but
they're are just some things that PWG do right compared to ROH. The
formation of Edwards and Strong is simply one of them. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
neither man were doing a whole lot in either promotion for a good
while, they were doing some good stuff in Japan when they teamed up.
Excalibur looked at the situation (or even Edwards and Strong
themselves) and decided to bring the DoJo Bros to Pro Wrestling
Guerilla. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's
already proved to be a great success because since forming they've
put on some fantastic bouts. I haven't seen all of them, mind, but I
did see their double slot at Mystery Vortex where they put on
extremely good matches against The Young Bucks and Super Smash Bros. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They
face two guys who teamed together at All Star Weekend 9, Chuck Taylor
and Johnny Gargano. Gargano, who's mostly known for his stuff in
DGUSA, made his debut for PWG that weekend, and is said to have had
an immediate impact there. He, as well as the ever consistent Chuck
Taylor, should make for very good opponents against the DoJo Bros.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Singles
Match </b></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Kevin
Steen vs. Drake Younger</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Definitely
one of the more interesting matches under the circumstances of what
Drake Younger announced after this match-up was made. The
'Ultraviolent Golden Boy' a few weeks ago announced on Twitter that
he has stopped doing Hardcore matches. After years of abuse in highly
violent matches it's a smart move from Younger, and one that I
commend him for. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's
an announcement which I'm sure Excalibur didn't see coming, and you
have to wonder what he might have done with him and Kevin Steen if
that announcement didn't happen. It is well known that Kevin Steen is
quite a hardcore wrestler himself, and while their match was also
going to be contested under normal rules, it wouldn't be too hard to
believe that this match was going to lead to something more violent. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So
with that said, what will happen between these two wrestlers. Steen
has also been someone who's been in top feuds in PWG. Most recently
it was Adam Cole, and before that it was the likes of The Young Bucks
and El Generico. That's why the possibility of something big
happening after this match was always going to be strong. And it
might still be big as well. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Drake
Younger is very over with the Reseda crowd and PWG may well want to
capitalize on his popularity very soon. While hardcore rules may be
out of the question, the possibility of a fed between these two men
is still strong. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tag
Team Match</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>AR
Fox & Samuray del Sol vs. The Young Bucks</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Arguably
the most exciting tag team match on the card here. AR Fox and Samuray
del Sol, who only made their debut for Pro Wrestling Guerilla this
past March at All Star Weekend 9, take on the top tag team on the
roster, The Young Bucks. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
I've seen very little of Fox and del Sol, I do know the style in
which they wrestle in, and I'm sure Matt and Nick Jackson will be
able to get the best out of both men. They're the kind of tag team
who can work with anyone, but always seem to be at their most
exciting when up against another fast paced team. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Of
course, it's a match that won't lead to anywhere for one team.
Although AR Fox may stick around, Samuray del Sol has already signed
a contract with WWE. He more than likely won't get any 'Thank You'
chants from the Reseda crowd, but the I expect the team itself will
get a good reaction. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
for The Young Bucks, I'm sure they'll just continue to take things in
their stride. I suspect that another Tag Team title run won't happen
any time soon, but I'm sure they'll be happy enough putting on
must-see matches against any sort of tag team. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Both
teams don’t have a whole lot to wrestle for. One is going to split
up after this show, and the other will continue to do what they've
done for years. But while this match doesn't have a lot at stake, I
still expect this to be a fantastic match. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>PWG
World Championship</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Iron
Man Match</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Adam
Cole vs. Sami Callihan </b></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
must-see match here at 'Is Your Body Ready?', and for a good few
reasons as well. The first is probably the most obvious, and that's
the Iron Man stipulation itself. With this only being the second Iron
Man match in PWG's 10 year existence, the stipulation itself is still
very fresh. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's
a match that many people can't wait to see, but that fans that this
match relies on most is that in the American Region Post that night.
Without looking up the attendance of this venue, I'm guessing it
holds around 300-400 every show, and while they are normally very
rowdy, you have to wonder how they'll do in a 60 minute Iron Man
match. The small crowd may very well grow tired after watching it,
especially after over 2 hours of wrestling beforehand. Also, the hot
Californian weather in such a cramped venue might not help either. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
lack of a back-story is also something that might hurt this match.
When you're talking about 60-minute Iron Man matches, they always
seem to have an edge to them to help them fill up that time limit.
With Cole and Callihan however, there's nothing there for them. This
is a match that is neither a feud ender nor a feud starter, so I
expect it'll be difficult enough to tell a story in the ring that
fans will be able to get stuck into. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But,
these are still two popular wrestlers who will no doubt go at this
match 100%, and for very different reasons as well. The young and
talented Adam Cole has been on a great roll over the past couple of
months so I'm sure he'll be going into this match fully focused on
putting on an exciting performance. Sami Callihan, on the other hand,
will be wrestling his last match for PWG before heading off to WWE,
so will no doubt be looking to leave a lasting mark in Reseda. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
fact that these two men have wrestled each other numerous times
before also benefits this stipulation very much. They know each other
strengths, and I'm sure they know what works, so going into this
match we should expect two guys with very good chemistry together. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
heat, small crowd and long time limit may still play the biggest part
in this match, but if there's two guys on the PWG roster now that can
put on an engaging 60-minute Iron Man match together, it's probably
these two. </span></span>
</div>
<br />Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-59439112559804420862013-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:002013-06-09T12:40:17.259-07:00What I Watched This Week: 3 - 9 June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/photo_large/public/photo/image/2013/06/RAW_1045_Photo_016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/photo_large/public/photo/image/2013/06/RAW_1045_Photo_016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not a whole lot I've seen this week I must say. Bar the usual weekly shows I've seen very little in terms of matches I've been meaning to watch. I'll get through them eventually, and I also picked up <a href="http://www.rohwrestling.com/product/bryan-danielson-vs-world-2-disc-set">Bryan Danielson vs. The World</a> the other day (and managed to watch one match on it), so might get through some of that next week as well. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Randy Orton - Raw 3/6/13</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I watched every match of Raw this week, but I feel this is the only one worth talking about (I did really enjoy Bryan/Ryback, but I'd end up just praising Bryan, which is basically what I'm going to do here). I seriously think that if 2013 is remembered for anything, it's that 6-Man Tag Team matches became really fun to watch. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't even the best I've seen this year either, but one which I really enjoyed watching. While The Shield have been doing great stuff since arriving, I feel that their matches have been entertaining because of Daniel Bryan's participation in them. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This match is no exception, as Bryan's mean streak and flurry of offence was great to watch. The crowd also played their part in my enjoyment of this match as well, as they were behind everything Bryan did in this match. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also liked the ending of the match especially. It served its purpose on so many levels, with The Shield looking to be in serious trouble for the first time since their debut and Bryan having a reason to get even angrier. This was just really fun to watch. <b>3/5</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Roderick Strong vs. Taiji Ishimori - ROH TV 25/5/13</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't think that there's any denying that Taiji Ishimori was very impressive in his debut for Ring of Honor. The NOAH star put on an excellent match against Eddie Edwards at Border Wars, before facing Roderick Strong the next night on ROH TV. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While not as good as the match at Border Wars this was still a very good match. There were moments where both men didn't click that well, and some of Roderick's pacing of the match was a bit off, but despite all that it was still a hard-hitting bout with lots of action. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a match that slowly built up to a fine conclusion, and while it wasn't perfect leading up to it the final few minutes were really exciting to watch. <b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Doug Williams - Road to the Title (2002)</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I probably would have enjoyed this match a lot more if the commentary wasn't so goddamn annoying. I mean seriously, this is even worse than Ring of Honor's commentary right now. I know back then they really wanted to get across how great they were but saying stuff like that every 10 seconds is a tad too much. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ANYWAY, there's still a lot to like about this match, despite all the distracting bits on the side. Williams' British style wrestling complimented Danielson's technical style very well, which is funny to think of considering how early on he was in his career. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And lack in hard-hitting, spot filled action is made up for in extremely fluid chain wrestling, and really good psychology as well. The ending itself could have been better, but it doesn't take a whole lot away from what was a really enjoyable match. <b>3.5/5</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-88079009809300065572013-06-06T13:35:00.001-07:002013-06-06T13:38:19.093-07:00Short Thoughts on the Daniel Bryan Dilemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/photo_large/public/photo/image/2013/05/SD_719_Photo_026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/photo_large/public/photo/image/2013/05/SD_719_Photo_026.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello all, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not a whole lot I want to talk about this quite frankly, so why that talk about that bearded fellow who's put on an extremely exciting run as of late. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I touched on him briefly during my Raw review this past Monday, about his current form and how his face/heel dynamic has gotten very interesting. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a situation that simply doesn't happen that often. Fans generally know when a change is needed for a wrestler (and I'm not talking about those 'Turn everyone heel!' type of people). Wrestlers turning heel/face isn't always the solution, of course. Randy Orton may be stuck in a rut for the past 15 years but that doesn't mean that a heel turn will fix everything, but it would freshen things up for him. The same applies for the likes of Sheamus, Antonio Cesaro and John Cena, even though you could argue the ship has sailed on that one for a few of them. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been quite different for Daniel Bryan. Here's a guy that since day one in the WWE has had his doubters about how full of charisma that man was. And since then he's shown that he is the total package as a WWE Superstar. He can show off the clean cut look, the talking ability, the burst off offense to get the crowd going, the great psychology to control a match, the intensity, the comedic affect, and the aggression - he can simply do it all as both a face and a heel. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year he's been incredibly over as face, and his burst of offense as stated above has been a joy to watch, and clearly gets the fans off their feet. In saying that though, it's hard to say if I want him to stay as a face. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's no denying how over he is, and many will rightly argue that WWE should just capitalize on this opportunity, but I'm not as quick to jump to do that conclusion. The simple fact is that he plays an awesome heel as well. If he showed that great intensity that he's shown over the past couple of weeks and put it in with his heel persona, it would be entertaining as hell. He could control a match beautifully yet use his mean streak to mix it up later on the match. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a scenario that's hard to se what will benefit Bryan more. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rumours today have circulated that Bryan is currently scheduled for a WWE title match against John Cena at Money in the Bank next month. And yet while people who face Cena are mostly heel, even creative aren't sure what to do as there's plans that he could be a face going into the match. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it stand right now, I'd like to see Bryan go into Money in the Bank (if they don't change their mind by then) as a heel. He would be cheered regardless I would expect, but seeing a heel Bryan stand toe-to-toe with the face of the company in a WWE title match just sounds more appealing to me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But... I don't really care at the same time. I don't care that I'm so undecided on this whole situation, because it's a great situation to see Daniel Bryan in. </span>Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-51662744127695713122013-06-04T10:36:00.000-07:002013-06-04T10:36:25.999-07:00Raw Review: 3 June, 2013 - The Daniel Bryan Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's been quite a few shows which I would consider <b>Daniel Bryan</b> Show's since the No man's debut. The infamous post WrestleMania Raw in 2012, a good few Smackdown's while he was World Heavyweight champion, and a few other ones that consisted of Bryan at his best. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night was one of those shows for Daniel Bryan. The first hour saw him compete in a fun 6-Man Tag Team match against <b>The Shield</b>, the second hour consisted of some good backstage segments, and the third hour saw Bryan compete for a second time in one night when he faced <b>Ryback</b> in a very good match. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a great dynamic over the past couple of weeks seeing Daniel Bryan show the heart of a fiery babyface, while tempting a heel turn at the same time. It's the kind of dynamic that's great to see. Most fans can tell what they want certain wrestlers to be, but it Bryan there's been a divide on whether he should remain a face or turn heel, because frankly he can do both extremely well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw that this week as well. His gutsy performance against The Shield showed a face that was very over with the crowd, while his backstage segments showed a more serious and temperamental side of Bryan that would suit him very well as a heel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As someone who's favourite wrestler is Daniel Bryan, seeing him get this much attention made the entire show look better than it probably was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only other enjoyable part of the show was seeing <b>Stephanie</b> inside a WWE ring again. It wasn't anything special, but I always enjoy seeing her. The segment itself was fine though, although you have to wonder why she allowed the announcement that Triple H would be competing in the first place. I mean, she's producer of the show (or something along those lines), why not just remove the graphic advertising his return to the ring? Anyway, it's no big deal... at all. This is just something I picked up on throughout the show last night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You also have to wonder why they had <b>The Shield</b> come out in the way that they did. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the commercial break it looked like they had something to say to the two McMahon's</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> inside the ring, but when it came back from the break it was just The Shield inside the ring by themselves, waiting for their match to begin. Seriously, talk about anti-climatic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the stuff featuring <b>Triple H</b>, I thought the opening part of this storyline was pretty good. People will roll their eyes at Triple H getting a storyline like this, but I say let's wait for things to play out, because it could make for some interesting television. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also liked the latest vignette from the <b>Wyatt Family.</b> As far as teaser videos go I seriously think that this is up there with some of the best. As <a href="https://twitter.com/BigEvil93">@BigEvil93</a> said last night during Raw, the Wyatt Family have that 'whole Southern Voodoo vibe' to them and these video perfectly show that. The videos themselves are also crisply edited, which helps make these guys look eerily different from everyone else on the roster. I really hope we get more vignettes like this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so yeah, that was pretty much it as far as highlights go. The rest of the show really was either bring or meaningless... or both. <b>Curtis Axel</b> won yet again by count out, even though it was in a No DQ match. <b>Chris Jericho</b> and <b>Paul Heyman</b> signed the contract for Punk vs. Jericho at Payback, in what was a fine but uneventful segment. And while I don't like the argument that some wrestlers can be bullies (because let's face it, they're all dicks), <b>Sheamus</b> has shown some of the strangest babyface attributes in a very long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Stray Observations:</b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Kofi had Kingston last Thursday. His beatdown at the hands of Ryback was so bad he knocked him back 24 hours. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Creative finally found a way to make The Uso's edgier; face paint. Genius. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know they wanted to show Vince's concern when he called Triple H 'Paul', but I don't know if it worked. When CM Punk said that in 2011 it was edgy, but when Vince says it they're ignoring all the other times Hunter Hearst Helmsley was regarded as Triple H's real name (Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, anyone?).</span></li>
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Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-51570921358289177132013-06-02T06:16:00.002-07:002013-06-02T06:27:40.146-07:00What I Watched This Week: 27 May - 2 June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so every week I'll be posting what wrestling matches I watched. It won't be reviews on full shows, but rather individual matches which I feel are worth talking. Some weeks the list will be bigger or smaller, depending on how much time I have, and also if it's worth talking about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I watched a good bit from ROH. I won't give the links here but there's a good few matches on Dailymotion and even YouTube which I managed to find. So, without further a due, here's what I watched this week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Austin Aries vs. CM Punk - ROH Death Before Dishonor III (2005)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you that don't know, this was the ROH World title match where CM Punk finally won the gold before turning on ROH in the well known Summer of Punk angle. I'm sure it was one of those matches that would have been better watching back in 2005, because I'm sure the surprise that CM Punk won this match great. That said, this is an excellent match that still holds up today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pacing of this match was very good, with Punk methodically picking his places to work on Aries, while the champion worked at a slightly faster pace. Both men compliment each other quite well here, and in the final few minutes of the match the crowd really become alive and add a lot to the match overall. The ending with CM Punk eventually getting the win was a great moment, and really capped off the excitement in this match very well. <b>4/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson - Midnight Express Reunion (2004)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is brilliant bout which really highlights Danielson's superb psychology in the ring. His tactics of standing toe-to-toe with Samoa Joe, while also finding ways to get in his head was great to watch. It was a man trying so many different things to get the win, with Joe staying on defence and fighting back when the time was right. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The later stages of the match were especially good, with Danielson finding an opening to work on the leg of Joe. With some good selling on Joe's part, both men put on a really engaging conclusion to the match, with Joe desperately yet successfully being able to apply the rear naked choke hold for the win. <b>4.5/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries - ROH Final Battle 2004</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I've seen very little of Samoa Joe's dominant reign as ROH World champion, there's still so much to love about it. One of the main things that made it so good was that there were so many different tactics used by challengers. People like Punk used the headlock, Danielson used mind games and picked a body part, while here, Aries used his speed and energy to topple Joe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a tactic that made for an exciting match. It may have slowed down in parts, particularly when Joe was in control of the bout, but just like the Aries/Punk match, the final few moments of this match are great to watch. It was a near two year reign coming to an end and the crowd ate it all up with Aries went on his last flurry of offence before getting the win. <b>3.5/5</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black - ROH New Horizons (2008)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A flawless performance from Bryan Danielson here, a real wrestling clinic. I honestly can't say enough good things about his match. I loved the opening parts of the match where Danielson took control of Black, followed by Black's worked on the injured head and neck area of Danielson, and then the last 10 minutes which great sequences and nearfalls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the standards that Danielson set for himself back then in ROH. His effortless psychology and precision was something that while fans appreciated, was also something expected from him as well. This is a highly regarded match that I feel isn't highly regarded enough. <b>4.5/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Shelley - ROH Arena Warfare (2006)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're looking to see an example of a great heel vs. heel dynamic then you don't have to look any further than here. Both men do an extremely good job of keeping the fans hate for each men straight down the middle, while also putting on a terrific wrestling display. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both men take turns controlling the match, before things kick up another gear heading into the last 10-15 minutes of the match. There's a lot of nice sequences, action, and perfectly placed spots throughout. The best moment however, is at the very end of the match when Danielson reversed the Sliced Bread attempt into a Cattle Mutilation, before turning him over into a pin for the victory. It's hard to believe that this match doesn't get talked about, because it's one of the finest matches I've seen from 2006. <b>4.5/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels - WWE Backlash 2004</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't know Benoit's whole family were in the crowd for that shows, that's kind of depressing. Anyway, this is a really good match here that, while wasn't as good as the match at WrestleMania XX, was still really enjoyable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hot crowd in Calgary (I think... somewhere in Canada anyway) were firmly behind Chris Benoit, which really added to the match overall. The pacing of the match was particularly good, with each man taking a bit of a breather every so often, leaving the other two to go at it. This really kept things, and enabled all three guys to work a different kind of match than their previous one at WrestleMania. <b>4/5</b></span><br />
<br />Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971238954243978970.post-74626812181338032572013-06-01T07:49:00.002-07:002013-06-01T07:50:57.265-07:00S.C.U.M.’s Reign of ‘Evil’ Is Starting to Run Its Course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s been a long time since Cornette’s vision for ROH came to an end. It was an era which many people were happy to see the back of (including myself), and now seem to be content with Delirious’ booking thus far.<span id="more-12662" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it has been an improvement. While Delirious was the booker during 2011 and 2012, it seemed that he wasn’t able to fully get his own way with the company. When Cornette left it must have been a little bit of weight off Delerious’ shoulders, and since them we’ve seen steady improvements.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">House shows have looked stronger, the wrestlers brought in have been a bit better and the storylines seem to have more to them as well. It is still far removed from what it was like when SBG took over, but ROH have looked a lot more steady this year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s why it’s hard to think why ROH seems better when the main storyline going on has been a direction-less mess. The rise and progression of S.C.U.M. has been of great entertainment for some people, but for me it just doesn’t work.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It hasn’t looked good for a very long time either. Even when Steen was in the what was then 3-man group things just didn’t look right. While Cornette brought his Smokey Mountain vision with him when he left ROH, there still seems to be a sense that the company has lost the edginess that it once had.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I think of factions in ROH the first that comes to mind is The Age of the Fall. This group, led by S.C.U.M. member Jimmy Jacobs, was a group that had people talking right from the get go. At Ring of Honor’s 2007 event Man Up, the mysterious group made their debut after a gruelling Ladder War between The Briscoes and Steen and Generico. The group beat down on the bloodied Jay Briscoe and proceeded to hang him upside down from the ceiling, using the strap used to hold the belts. The motionless Briscoe dripped blood onto the ring mat as The Age of the Fall stood in the ring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a debut that made an immediate impact. It was so shocking that ROH found themselves taking the footage out of the show which was due to air on PPV two months later. While it might be too much to ask for S.C.U.M. to do something similar, it’s been clear that the group has done nothing at all shocking since they formed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">S.C.U.M. seem to lack that heat and ruthlessness to really look like a threat to ROH. For a faction that is meant to take down ROH, they’ve been booked as a bunch of menaces up to no good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Kevin Steen won the ROH World title at Border Wars last year it looked like S.C.U.M. was finally looking to take over. But while Steen’s reign itself was pretty enjoyable, no such thing happened.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even when Jacobs and Corino managed to win the Tag Team titles a few months later nothing really happened. A group who’s intention was to take down Ring of Honor weren’t doing anything. They defended their titles every time they booked, cheated a little, and had the annoying Kevin Kelly outraged that they would steal a win in a match with very little at stake</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, things looked like they might be heading in the right direction, when before the 11<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> Anniversary Show this past February, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpvZ-gMm6Ww" style="border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Corino pledged that S.C.U.M’s numbers would grow.</a> Unfortunately though, that’s all that happened – S.C.U.M.’s numbers grew. They didn’t look any more menacing than when it was just a three man group, their attempts to take down ROH became even more non-existent, and the only development so far has been that Corino is now colour commentator.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know it’s hard to build a storyline around a group of people looking to take the company down, while also booking a normal wrestling show, and I think it’s been a problem that Delerious has not been fully able to manage. The Age of the Fall were a group that weren’t looking to end ROH, so it was much easier to manage. They were able to look strong without the overall product being revolved around them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Steen out of the group S.C.U.M look even less intimidating. And at this stage I feel it’s a matter of going all out with the storyline or deciding to end it as soon as possible. There’s been hints of Adam Cole turning heel and joining S.C.U.M but that remains to be seen. If he does join the group, they should go on and have him win the ROH World title. From there it should be a matter of taking the company under their control. Not only should they hold the World title, but they should hold all the titles as well. They should do what ROH thought they were doing in 2012 and take the company hostage. If this storyline is to work they need to go all out. They need to do what they did in 2006 with CZW and make that the only focus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If they don’t do that then I feel they should just end the stable once and for all. Even if Adam Cole eventually joins S.C.U.M., it needs to be a case where they actually build from there. They simply can’t be a force to be reckoned with when they don’t do anything even remotely bad. A few beat downs and interferences simply isn’t enough.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OF3A-OlRg" style="border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This video</a> from Rhett Titus rightly sums up the direction of S.C.U.M. He talks like a villain you’d see in a cheesy, second rate TV show, and when you add on those cheap transitions at the end of the video they look like more of a joke than anything. It may seem harsh, but it’s true. The “flames” he talks about that will burn ROH down have been nowhere to be seen. And while they may talk about it all they want, it’s been nothing but what that little match light is in that video – a storyline that shows a group talk big, but who’s impact has been nothing but a whimper.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">___________</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And on a side note, this article is now available on a new site I'm posting on called WrestlingRambles.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The stuff I post on that site will mostly be got to do with Indie wrestling, so I won't be writing daily on it like I will here, but it's a really good site that's worth checking out. </span></div>
Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03320529863250770557noreply@blogger.com0