July 2006

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A good match, but unfortunately not much more than that. They couldn't find a fitting format the channel the violence-I don't mind that the much was based on so many strike exchanges, it's that they really didn't have an idea on what it would be. Shibata attacked Kensuke at the bell, but the match lacked the urgency of an all out hate filled shorter brawl. There were probably instances in the strike exchanges where they sold too much-or, to be more accurate, randomly sold after an x amount of moves instead of building a striking exchange and then delivering a final strike that would differentiate from the previous ones and register with the viewer as something that would …

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ECW Champion Big Show vs Ric Flair - WWECW 7/11/06 I watched this live in 2006 and have fond memories of this bloody brawl. I remember when ECW first started they definitely tried loading up the main events and this was the best of that early bunch. Within a month or two, I stopped watching the show became a total afterthought. I liked the repackaging of Big Show as the Extreme, violent Giant I don't remember what the end game was but I feel like it was a good idea that could have been better executed. Garbage match Flair was pretty fun around this time. I went to Summerslam in 2006 in Boston and Flair/Foley was fun live but something I will revisit. I thought thi…

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Kimura's nowhere near Yoshida in technical ability (I mean who is can be counted on one hand at best) but I thought she really got herself over here as a quite competent mat-worker. Of course this has the typical Yoshida-Isms thrown in as Kimura is mostly the brash upstart trying to dethrone a established vet and it starts off strong with the two hitting explosive offence on the other. Kimura is doing fairly well until she gets her leg stuck on the ropes and Yoshida cranks it with a ankle lock, basically cutting her short right then and there. Yoshida's control stuff is fantastic, it's a mix of shoot-style with the crazy submissions, it's rudo shit with the disrespect dis…

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What a grizzly blood soaked war, Devil's Rejects have to be the scariest faction in wrestling history, they look like a gang of hillbilly cannibals. It really adds something to the danger of WarGames it is one thing to be locked in a cage with Arn Anderson or Sid, totally different thing to be locked in a cage with a bunch of guys who look like they have lost hikers chained up in their basement. Rockwell comes in with a broken arm and Slim J comes with a bad eye and they both injuries get exploited in horrible ways, Rockwell gets crucifix powerbombed arm first into the cage, Tempers drives a fucking meat cleaver into Slim J's eye. The babyface comeback after the sides equ…

WWE US Champion Finlay vs William Regal - GA 2006 "Give me some skin, Teddy!" - Finlay Finlay was in the midst of a feud with Bobby Lashley, but Lashley was suffering from elevated liver enzymes and so he is out and instead we get this gem. Even when their matches are unheralded you got to go out of your way to see a Finlay vs Regal bout. Not as good as their WCW wars, but this is still a hard hitting, badass affair. Now the fans do get restless and they end up chanting boring. I don't think it was due to bad workmanship per se, but the lack of a narrative. It is hard to call this a spotfest as there were almost no highspots. But there was no web between the spots…

This ECW revival in 2006 is kind of a weird moment in WWE history, but I suppose there was a deep-seated desire to expand the number of brands. I wonder what Angle made of the position he was in. If he was unhappy it didn't show during the match. On paper, this seems like an awful matchup, but the bout was surprisingly good. Instead of an out and out spot fest, it was a legitimate wrestling match. As a viewer, you just want to see something hard fought with some twists and turns that don't involve outside interference, and that was what they delivered. I'm a big fan of when they save the bullshit for after the bell and they accomplished that here despite Edge being at rin…

This is for Bryan's ROH World Championship. Coming off of their first match at Weekend of Champions, this rematch is for Bryan's World Championship since Nigel did beat him via count-out in that said previous match. I do think that their first match is a tad bit better (the Pure rules stuff is just so much fun), but man this thing rules so much as well. The competitive energy is just off the charts with the match feeling like a constant cock-fight with Bryan & Nigel trying to prove to one another that they truly are the best in the world. The match is compelling wrestling from bell-to-bell with the action beautifully building towards the end. Awesome, creative fi…

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