Rah

What still stands out to me, months later, is how Virus was feeding Prayer holds. Honestly, I'd go a step ahead of Jetlag and say that Virus is one of the best ever at getting a strong match from inferior workers - he's been doing it for years in CMLL (Fuego et al). What sets Virus apart is that he doesn't necessarily play to his opponent's strengths (I think Virus' matches are heavily formulaic) but he's so great at controlling matwork that he pretty much carries the proverbial broomstick in his matches. I'm not going to call Prayer a broomstick, as he's not the worst Virus has stepped up with, but this is the match that most stood out to me in terms of Virus putting Prayer into position, locking himself into "Prayer's" holds and moving the matwork along. Kenny Omega gets a lot of praise for wrestling a doll but this was far more impressive to me. While I never thought this match etched past good it made me appreciate Virus a lot more than I had (and he's someone I already listed high on my GWE "list"). Yeah, I decided that this match is proof of Virus' greatness.

This was a little awkward at times due to their positioning in holds (accidentally causing rope-breaks and moving to prevent them) but I thought they delivered some nice moments on the mat. Thatcher dead-lift suplexing Barnett was crazy but I had wished they kept to the mat than go strike-for-strike as these two aren't really lighting the world on fire with their punches. I'm almost sure Thatcher had great offence in 2015 (a helluva uppercut, at any rate) but his boot and elbows looked a little weak here - Barnett even more so. I thought Barnett actively dragged this down with his control segments and finish. Thatcher crumpling after a kick that whiffed air was also a little jarring. This newish rise in MMA guys doing pro wrestling is set to provide some really great opportunities and match-ups but it's definitely not happening with Barnett.

http://www.agcwebpages.com/BLINDITEMS/2018/JAN.html Ignore the drivel etc

As per the Rock n Rolls on the 1986 NWA timeline: It was a TBS studio match from what I can tell. Camera man panned away quickly to the commentators as things went on and the match was never mentioned again (as per Wrestling Classics)

According to a specific gossip site

@NintendoLogic You mentioned in your review for Rey/450 that you hadn't seen any non-80s WWC blood-letting, well let that change! I'm not sure it's a MotYC but it's one of the most fun matches I watched in 2016. MDA is here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/34648-mike-mendoza-el-cuervo-vs-la-revolucion-wwc-362016/

They're running with the scoop that Daniel Bryan will be returning to ring, too.

Nifty little match that adds a little reasoning to why Goto was sitting ringside to Tajiri/Severn. Fun section where Tarzan near stabs Dan with a beer bottle. Bet he didn't have that in UFC. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40902-dan-severn-vs-tarzan-goto-iwa-20081995/

"Shoot. It's a shoot. These guys are shooting. A shoot, bro. If you think for one second that this is some sort of work, you’re out of your mind. TOTAL SHOOT" GAHD. STOP. The announcing probably soured me on this far more than the work deserved but it was nauseating at times to hear that term used so liberally. Honestly, it isn't something that makes you actually think something isn't going to plan, in wrestling it has the complete inverse effect. When Goto got busted open and went to bottle Dan I thought things were legit going south. They brawled into the crowd and roughed each other up like they were actually in the King of the Deathmatch tourney itself. I started to question whether that knee to Goto's head was a bit stiff and he took umbrage to it or not. Then it came, like a roar amidst the silence, IT'S A SHOOOOOOOOOT and it all became crystal clear this was all in the book. It's a pity, as their brawl was the highlight of their entire match. The opening was fine enough albeit sluggish heavyweight action backended with a decent nearfall finishing run. Nothing spectacular but it had its purpose. But, man, those few minutes of violence were great. If anyone else is on the Severn kick with Segunda Caida, then those few minutes are required viewing. But, don't forget, it's a shoot.

@SPS You said you weren't too familiar with Lucha (and I think you are/were into deathmatch so why not try a slight bit of both?)

Destiny Wrestling (Toronto) is advertising a show with Pete Dunne vs Austin Aries on top. Impact Spoiler: Is this the first time ever?

The "Lazy Nak" speak came from years back when he was still in NJPW. He would deliver a great performance at WK and then dog it/coast for the rest of the year - almost quite literally at points. I honestly don't know a match of his I'd point to outside of WK that I'd call truly great. The only one that comes to mind is one against Hiroshi Tanahashi and even then I thought it was Tana that was bringing most of everything to the plate. My viewing of Nakamura in WWE is limited to his matches against Cena and Zayn (both really big matches) as well as random clip viewing on Youtube. I wasn't impressed by either, so I'm clearly in a minute minority but I don't think he really shined. I understand your reasoning but I think it can be done differently and while still making TV matches meaningful. Nakamura was basically Lesnar before Lesnar became "Suplex City". The only difference is that Nak's apparent laziness gets a lot of passes online, while Lesnar doesn't.

Did you guys ever see Super Porky doing real MMA? He fought for Deep once (Canek and El Solar did Vale Tudo). One of the funnier endings to a fight I've witnessed. _______ @SPS, I'll get to your match and your nomination tonight!

Charles Lucero would have been around 40 at this point. He debuted in 1975 and has seemingly made a name for himself in matches against Hechicero and Silver Star in 2014. He's a great "lost" mat wizard. I believe this is the oldest match of his on tape:

Grimmas gave me Mike Bailey vs Matt Riddle (07/10/2017 OTT) http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40858-mike-bailey-vs-matt-riddle-07102017/ All in all, a really fun match between someone I really hope gets to WWE (as he has the tools to be great with the right mentoring) and a wrestler with my namesake. I'm really glad I made time for this and I appreciate Grimmas recommending it to me! I'm so sorry! I'm in the process of moving into my first place so things have been rather hectic in my end of the world (notwithstanding being without WIFI and mobile data in my country being limited to 500mb per month). I know it's of no excuse, so I must apologise. I've made time this morning, now, before work!

I'll admit it was Mike that piqued my interest when this was proposed to me by Grimmas, as we share names, but Riddle by-far astounded me with his performance here. Was Regal watching backstage that he put his working boots on? Look, I think he can come off as comical and doesn't put much weight behind his offence but, my god, did he decimate Mike here. I lost count of how many times I grabbed my head in wincing shock at the blows Riddle was landing on Mike. The running elbows were nasty, the knees to the jaw were killer and he damn near crippled the Canadian with his suplexes. Hell, at one point Riddle dumps Bailey on his noggin and, as both men lie motionless, the commentator responds "this is what these men live and breathe for...competition!" - mate, I really don't think Mike's gonna keep breathing if he takes any more of those. I enjoyed the growth in narrative, from Mike hanging with (or, even, out-kicking) Matt to him being the plucky babyface working from underneath. It added a layer to the match that this definitely needed to give the spots context and meaning (a context I don't think the early Canadian Destroyers et al had). Not to sing praises just for one camp, I do believe Mike has some great kicks of his own - even if his standing repeated kicks look more like high knees out of a Beach Body exercise programme. Riddle would let Bailey have just enough of a hope section before cutting him off, again, with something beautiful. Moreover, he enhanced Bailey's come-backs with some great personality. I'm a sucker for cocksure trash-talking in my wrestling, so I smirked at the Callihan middle-finger spot that lead to Riddle eating a huuuuge kick. However, I don't think this match was without some glaring flaws. As alluded to earlier, I found the traded (!!) Canadian Destroyers a bit comically induced rather than serious efforts to put their opponent away. It felt like an idea spawned from the belief of "what spot will pop the crowd?" rather than "how can we pop the crowd and engage them?" if that difference is at all clear. Equally, I thought Riddle's selling was almost non-existent at points, and that's sadly a thing he has against him. He pops up far too eagerly after big moves for me, and he is too overtly obvious in setting up his opponent's moves. It's quite backyarder, at points and it takes me out of the match. Which is a pity as this had some truly great ideas and presentations. The 450-Triangle Choke false-finish was great and logically set-up. They lost me, however, with Mike's Frankensteiner and double-stomp following simply because Riddle made it appear far too choreographed. Though I'm probably the old man yelling at clouds as this spawned a "fight forever~!" chant. All in all, a really fun match between someone I really hope gets to WWE (as he has the tools to be great with the right mentoring) and a wrestler with my namesake. I'm really glad I made time for this and I appreciate Grimmas recommending it to me!

Tried to source the date off their blog but between broken images and lack of helpful captions I haven't had much luck. I did find this, though: Jim Breaks vs Billy Catanzaro!! Blog: http://alpra.blogspot.co.za/2013/05/catanzaro-billy-de-tunis-paris.html

Honma was the saving grace of the 2014 G1 tournament. He may not be responsible for every great match from it, but his inclusion over a far less talented Ibushi means that we're treated to a great underdog performance on a daily basis. No no-selling and shitty strikes here, thank you very much. Just ten minutes of superb work and surly burly kicks to the face.

The most obvious ones are usually: RVD/Jean Claude Van Damme Terry Crews/Ezekiel Jackson (?)

I might be an outlier but I thought this was rather subdued. While Adonis had some nice shtick, and the match had good ideas, it all felt a little too by-the-numbers in execution and lost my interest at certain points.

On it! Real Americans vs Rhodes Bros (WWE Main Event 18th March 2014) From memory you're someone who values smart wrestling and this match epitomizes that for me. While it's not a MotDC or anything, I think it's one of the smartest worked matches from WWE in the 2010s - everything has purpose, build and reason. Enjoy!

They're the same match, sadly. 1984 Arena Mexico means we could also have seen Satanico/Misawa. To be fair, Misawa looked crap in the Arena Mexico footage we do have, but that's a helluva "what if" scenario...

Colour me intrigued!

Same channel: Sangre Chicana/La Fiera/Manuel "Mocho" Cota vs. El Satanico/MS-1/Pirata Morgan (Mexican National Trios Match, Arena Mexico, 3/22/1985) Seems new, too.

Sangre Chicana vs El Faraon 1982!!