December 2005

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

The TAKEOVER duo has an awesome entrance together. As Misawa makes his entrance, Shibata just stares him down & I am already loving this. Then the actual match starts with Shibata completely owning Go. He doesn't want to fight Go, he wants Misawa! So Misawa tags in, and we get some great stiff back & forth between him & Shibata. Eventually Shibata comes out on top, so Misawa works as the FIP for a bit - KENTA & Shibata were awesome working over him in complete dickish, no respect fashion. They weren't out there to shake hands with the legend or anything, they were out there to make a hard hitting, badass statement. Misawa comes back to things & KENTA w…

I'd consider this an overlooked gem especially for 2005 Noah. So much hard chopping machismo fighting spirit stuff came from 2005 Mr. Kobashi that you wouldn't think he was capable of anything else. ...and you wouldn't be totally wrong but! his mini feud with Tenryu in 05-06 showed us that Chopbashi was capable of garnering different emotions from fans/viewers other than, "Chop him dammit! Chop him Kobashi!!" and "Oh he's dead..." I tagged WAR to this topic because you got Tenryu, Koshinaka, and Jun Izumida (not sure if he was in W-A-R but, he's built for it) and this was wrestled in this style. So, no head drops, apron moves, moves at all per say...this is all pu…

Yeah this was a entertaining goofy match that had probably some of the most random pairings in AJPW history lol. Want to see De-Von Dudley grapple with Muto on the mat? Want to see a green Akebono be big and do big-man stuff? This is absolutely the peak for those lads who just love weird freakshow matches. Team 3-D definitely aren't workrate darlings by ANY extent of the imagination but they know how to put a match together and drag things out with fun character work and interactions, even if it definitely does feel like them padding for time at times because they don't have a whole lot in their tank that isn't brawling/hardcore spots. Was surprised that Ake was the one w…

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

I was a little worried that this wouldn't age well, juniors wrestling is a style which I have soured on the most as a fan, so much of current wrestling is infected by crossfit juniors style, that stuff which looked great back in the day, tends to really show it seams now. I hated the Tiger Mask stuff on the NJ DVDVR set, really didn't like Ultimo Dragon WAR matches, thought Liger v. Pillman sucked last time I watched it. However, while this match was clearly in the Sayama to Okada lineage, Low-Ki will kick a match into my heart. The hellacious assbeatings laid in on this match really separated it my eyes, Ki and KENTA both unloaded on every shot and Ki especially did a g…

This was a really good match. Much better than their Survivor Series bout. Booker T was up 3-0 in the series and looking to sweep Benoit. Benoit took it Booker both technically and physically. There were some great WWE-style near falls, and the match had far more heat than their first match. Part of what made it so compelling was the fact that it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility for the WWE to job Benoit out 4-0. There were a couple of moments where I thought they were going to do just that. The only weak point was Sharmell. I liked the fact that she was carrying a broom to signal the sweep, and it allowed Cole to make a few cracks about her being a witch, but it w…

This wasn't a bad match, but did anyone really want to see Undertaker wrestle Orton in a Hell in a Cell match? Maybe I'd have felt differently if I'd watched the buildup, but nothing about the entrances or the commentary sold me on the premise. I swear Cole and Taz were reading from the same script that JR and King used whenever they introduced a Hell in a Cell match. The buzzword this time was "Devil's Playground." There was no way Orton was going to climb the cage or take a crazy bump, so instead they worked one of those Hell n a Cell match where they brawl around the outside of the ring. Orton bled big time. Undertaker tried to get his hands on Orton Sr throughout the…

Talk about it here.

If you're wondering what the heck is going on, Booker T injured himself at a house show and Teddy Long allowed him to choose a substitute in the Best of Seven Series. Orton was coming off a beating at the hands of the Undertaker in their Hell in a Cell match, and Book convinced Orton that he could repair his reputation by helping Booker win the United States title. Book would keep the tile, but Orton would get all the glory. The match was short but technically sound. Booker and Sharmell joined the commentary table, and while they were good on the stick, Cole couldn't stop bickering with Booker and talking over the match. I kind of wish Booker had bitch slapped him. The fi…