October 2006

This match doesn't get anywhere near as much attention as the Unforgiven match a few weeks before but I think it's almost as good. My takeaway from watching these is Edge deserves credit for being a 'gimmick match specialist'. He's not a very good wrestler otherwise, but he has loads of good performances in cage/ladder matches it seems unfair to dismiss it as mere smoke and mirrors. Dude just suits the more chaotic environment. Cena is working with an injured arm, which Edge immediately attacks right at the start with nastiness. Cena's selling is good. I've said this for other matches but I appreciate how Cena can sell a limb injury but doesn't take it to excessiv…

WWE Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs Jeff Hardy - RAW 10/2/06 There is a hilarious screw up early on. JR says "In the latest edition of WWE magazine, Maria says she likes having three way sex. Sorry I mean Melina." The deadpan tone of voice he uses because he clearly thinks this is stupid compounded with him fucking up the names had me laughing for like two minutes straight. Going to give Nitro credit again, way to go to back after Jeff Hardy crashes and burns on Whisper in the Wind. This is body psychology is strong. The dropkick to Jeff causing him to the hit the post hard is nasty. Plus he hits a crazy backbreaker. Great use of the surfboard too. The f…

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There are videos of Fujiwara's submission demonstrations circulating around the web, I'd recommend watching those if you enjoy watching Fujiwara stretch people. This match is very reminiscent of those videos as Fujiwara speds the vast majority of it stretching whoever Ultraman Robin is, but he also incorporates a bunch of gags into it making it even more amusing. Ultraman Robin is completely outclassed and Fujiwara has him beat a million times but chooses to continue to stretch him, they tease you with him actually managing to hurt Fujiwara only to go right back to the torture spots, it's a blast.

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Not really the wild or awesome spectacle you'd hope for, so in that sense I suppose it's a touch disappointing, but it still had enough Murakami horse shit to be fun. Unfortunately Misawa didn't seem all that interested here. On the one hand it was pretty amusing seeing him act above engaging in Murakami's antics. Murakami would try and get a rise out of him by throwing dickish jabs and gloating, outright standing on his face while Misawa lay slumped in the corner, stepping onto the ramp and beckoning Misawa to follow, but by and large Misawa played it by the book. A couple times his composure cracked and he drilled Murakami with some elbows, but if that had been Hashimot…

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I'm overrating this for sure (I mean, probably), but look into these eyes and you'll find no trace of a fuck to be given. This ruled. Fuji is Dragon Gate's resident bruiser and tries to out-Tenryu Tenryu by chopping him really hard and punching him in the jaw and whacking him with chairs. I fully expected Tenryu to dish out something fierce in return but he went beyond even that. The punches and Adam's apple chops were ungodly and he even hit a dive off the stage! Well, it was more of a jump, but still, off the stage! Fuji may be a bruiser among the little fellas of his home promotion, but he's a head shorter than Tenryu and made to pay dearly for his temerity. Tenryu was…

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