March 2015

This is a surprisingly fun tag match. You would think that Ozaki/Hirota team would the typical 'partners who don't like each' but it's played more like Ozaki not trying to help Hirota and not wanting Hirota to help her, which actually ends up working in this match. Kagetsu and Kobayashi play a super fun youngster team who pull out some really nice double teams. I was impressed with Hirota because, while she has always been a solid worker, she still managed to work in her comedy spots pretty seamlessly into the match. The match was as helped by not being overrun with interference as anytime the match was about to get to that point it was balanced out by AKINO and Sonoko Ka…

Really cool seven minutes. Funaki was the heir to Inoki and Suzuki is a 2010s Billy Robinson, so you knew you'd get some neat matwork, and while it didn't last very long it most certainly was neat. Funaki is more than a decade Suzuki's senior but you couldn't tell from how he moves. He's still super quick in the scramble, rolling through and grabbing armbars like it was 1996. The last couple minutes were just great. They burst into a frantic race to either score the submission or drop the other with a bug suplex and the slickness with which they were reversing and countering was pretty impressive. Wish it were longer, but you take what you can get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FvBGEs91zE It's exceptionally rare that you see a match that is built around the performance of a rookie, but this match is centered around Kana trainee Konami. There is also the interesting dynamic of both Syuri and Shida being junior rivals of Kana in the past. The story of the match is Syuri and Shida focusing on Konami with one of the matches biggest strengths is the way they find interesting, reasonable ways to get Konami offense. Anytime she manages to get something in it's done in a logical fashion, not forced. Even when Kana gets tagged back in she gets in some offense but eventually falls to the 2-on-1 situation because she do…

Two fun teams have a super fun match. The Jumonji Sisters have a bunch of slick double teams and aren't afraid to sell like crazy. Takahashi & Hojo have a nice vet/rookie dynamic with some fun double teams of their own. They also manage to not go too long on the finish. ****

Ethan Carter III vs Rockstar Spud - TNA Impact 3/13/15 Hair vs Hair I am shocked there was no thread for this. When did these subforums get made? I know I am so old that my joining predates these subforums so maybe that's why. I went to Shoe's 2015 MOTY thread from 2015 and there were some real heavyweights weighing in on this match. Outside of the Broken Hardy stuff, this is by far and away the most famous thing to come out of TNA's darkest times 2014-2017. Pretty simple story, heel Ethan Carter III levels up to mega-heel when he turns on his heel lackey Rockstar Spud. I always think that's the ultimate heel dick move. You build up this relationship and it sor…

This is just a super fun, super physical match. These two literally got right at each other from the bell and don't really stop till the end of the match. Although Yamashita keeps finding the right times to work on a sleeper and eventually ends up getting the big win with it. ***3/4

This was really awesome, I haven't particularly liked either guy a ton in Lucha Underground before (have loved some AAA Mesias), so I was really surprised at how great this was. This was the first time that Muertes has looked like a real killer, all of his little stuff landed with real force, and the big moves like the throw into the coffin were awesome looking. There is this great moment where Muertes is just smashing Fenix's head into the guardrail, like he is trying to open up a coconut. Bloody main even spectacles are one of my favorite kind of wrestling matches, and we haven't had one as good as this is quite a while. One of the cool things about Lucha Underground, …

One of my favorite things about WWE Bryan is that even with all the goofiness and yes chants and what not, he was still able to wrestle a gritty and violent style. Some vicious and focused legwork on Harper who turns in a pretty outstanding selling performance. Really impressive how they managed to construct a great match considering the circumstances: 1) they are given just a few minutes on free TV (including ad time), 2) this takes place in the middle of a larger gauntlet match, 3) in typical WWE fashion, the focus is on Rollins/Orton backstage stuff. Bryan also takes a Misawa bump on a half nelson suplex, which is insane given the condition of his neck. Beautiful, beau…

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley vs Kurt Angle - Impact 3/20/15 Absolute, unadulterated shit. I have said before that my own personal hell is watching Kurt Angle work loose, lazy Anklelock counters and does not get much worse than this. Watch Lashley do nothing in an Anklelock and then get up and hit a Oklahoma Slam. Watch Angle not even sell his own move. Watch 8 bazillion German Suplexes. Watch Lashley be a total void of charisma. The moment when I realized I was watch maybe the Worst Match of All Time watch how Angle sells the Cross Armbreaker. Fuck you. What a fucking shitty match.

This is a pretty fun title match between the young, but experienced, Kurumi and Ice Ribbon ace Fujimoto. Nothing really flashy with the work as they go with the typical ace vs young star storyline. Kurumi does stay competitive with nice mix of power and agility spots, sort of a more simplified Apollo Crews. The match does suffer early on with some weak transitions and selling but they manage to leave that behind with a pretty strong finishing run at the end. Not necessarily a "Must Watch" but more fun and interesting due to the age dynamic. ***1/2

I was pretty low on Dickinson in the past, I described him as a fake Davey Richards which is about the worst way you can damn somebody. He has removed a lot of the extraneous bullshit, and is now mostly working on stiffness and his despicable charisma. He has to be one of the most hatable wrestlers I can remember, he feels like the kind of high school linebacker who would organize a gay bashing or gang rape, and add in the crew of creeps he runs with and you get a really compelling act. Low-Ki, especially in JAPW is a guy you want to see beat the shit out of someone, and man does he beat the shit out Dickinson, although Chris dishes it out too. Match starts out with some …

This was a really competitive match, which is surprising considering Rabbit is at the same level as the two DIANA girls and Arisa is way above any of them. To their credit, both Sareee and Tanaka are unafraid to stand in there and trade shots with Nakajima and Tanaka does a pretty good job putting over the beating she gets. While there never really is a moment that the you feel that the DIANA girls are going to win, you also never feel that they are not really competitive either. Really fun stuff. ***1/2

While these two worked together a lot around this time, this match is the best one that they've had together. They work it as a big show match rather than a typical house show one so you get some learned spot along with some different counters. It's really amazing how much better Charlotte is when she has a clear character and is comfortable with her moveset. Sasha's performance isn't too far off of her other big match performances. ****

This is the final for the World of Stardom Title as it was vacated by Yoshiko after the incident with Act Yasukawa. Both had semi-final matches earlier in the night and are selling injuries from them with Steamboat-style tapejobs. Io controls the early part of the match by working over Hojo's arm after she gets a bit too aggressive and ends up spearing the post. Hojo does a really great job selling the arm throughout as she has a difficult time working over Io's back with various crab holds due to her not being able to keep a good grip due to the arm. Things kinda fall apart at the finish due to Hojo hurting her shin during the finish but the match still ends up being rat…

Bad News Barrett defends the Intercontinental Championship in a seven man ladder match This is one of the best multi-man ladder/TLC/MITB you name it gimmick matches WWE has ever produced. It's 7 men smacking the crap out of each other w/ no downtime whatsoever. There's a real wild & chaotic feel to it that usually is missing from this kind of matches too. Not to mention it's length, which is perfect & doesn't let the thing drag at all, which is very unusual for matches like this. ****1/4

One of the 3-5 best matches in the history of the company. Shockingly violent and stiff with top notch action and a great build to Reign's comeback. I know sometimes Brock is perceived as an offense machine but his character work, mannerisms and selling can be as good as anyone's. If only this had a proper finish. Screwy finishes in things like Shawn/Foley or Fujinami/Maeda don't usually hurt the matches but here the match felt incomplete because of the run-in. Still this is fantastic. ****3/4

Good Lord, this match. What a manly modern spectacle. Sloppy at times and a wee bit overkill, it wasn't the illusive "perfect match" but felt perfectly organic and brutal, not to mention one of the best false finishes in recent memory. Sekimoto won't lay down. Great heart and energy, great selling for the most part, especially in his facials, and he wrestles with this real sense of urgency throughout. I loved the the early suicide dive after Ishikawa gets extra saucy with his elbow shots. And Ishikawa is such a great super bully champ in this, constantly cutting Sekimoto off at every opportunity and just laying into him fully with everything in his arsenal. I genuinely fe…