dawho5
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Everything posted by dawho5
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Please tell me all of the matches between these two exist on tape somewhere and I can watch them. Such a great, unexpected feud. -
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This is two weeks in a row of women being openly punched right? Hooray Memphis? Say what you will about Embry's booking being self-centered. Seems to me we didn't have women being decked by men, which is definitely a positive feature.
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The whole Dragon Master thing was a little ridiculous. I mean, so is Leatherface, but that actually works. Not sure if a guy in a dragon mask works regardless of height.
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So I guess 2 cheap Abdullah knock-offs is better than 1. And one of them can do a moonsault, yay? Be nice if they were anything beyond serviceable in the ring. And I feel like I'm being generous giving them that. Fantasma throws a nice dropkick, but it seems like that's all he's good for. This match was....really forgettable.
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Tag team shootstyle match is just wrong. I can recommend the 2008/2009 Battlarts tags as much, much better than this. But also violent in really almost disturbing ways. This match is...why is it on the set? Scott hits some nice amateur moves early. Nakano does almost nothing of note. Yamazaki and have some okay striking exchanges. And that's all I thought was noteworthy in 28 minutes. I noticed something with suplexes counting as a point deduction for the team that took them. That seemed like a new thing.
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I liked this one a lot. A lot of these 6 mans on the Yearbooks haven't had the rudos just being pricks from before the bell to after, but this one has that covered and more. I also liked that everyone got their chance to shine both dishing it out and taking it.
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This was a fun shootstyle squash. Would that make it a poorly booked fight then? Also, as somebody who has been trained to throw kicks, you don't ever want Fujiwara kicking you. His form is really, really good and I'm guessing Lato was hurting more than a little after this.
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And he always knew what that character was and stuck to it. I really love that Jake wasn't willing to sacrifice that just to get booked.
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So much going on in the new year. Can Lawler and Rich coexist? Luger working for Baby Doll is a good pairing if you ask me. And yeah, Ron Wright is definitely going to be a big time heel. Not sure if that angle would have been nixed by TV in 86 but I don't care.
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Muto is a strange case. The more I see of him the more I think it's really hard to judge him on the same criteria as anyone else. He just seems like he exists in his own separate universe the way he does just about everything. Watching young Muto work is such a trip because he runs different, he does even basic moves with this extra little snap to them that is executed in his own inimitable way. And yeah, he has some really inexplicable stuff to go along with it. The match he loses to Kawada in, I think, 2001 where Kawada is still in the ring selling the match by the time Muto is off the arena floor and in the locker rooms...and Kawada WON. Stuff like that is really going to stand out to somebody who is on the detractor side of the fence. I will say that whatever your opinion of Muto, he's really one of the true innovators of pro wrestling in the early 90s. There is so much stuff that just isn't as prevalent now if he's not around then.
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I also thought that Smiley vs. Blue Panther on the mat was a really good exchange in addition to the above mentioned match-ups. Cruz avoiding Dantes right away made me think they'd do more with those two. Did Smiley legit hurt his arm when it got tied up in the ropes like that? Good action all the way through and some superb exchanges. I am still partial to the los Brazos matches, mainly due to Super Porky, but I'd put this at that level for 6 mans.
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I would agree that this entire tournament puts the 3 Musketeers right where their All Japan peers are. This match was incredible. I was engaged by the matwork despite the lack of struggle. I thought there was a certain intensity to it that worked very well. I think the thing that made it more of an All Japan match was the piledriver on the floor. It struck me as out of place in this setting (NJPW) but it works for this match and what is up for grabs. Chono looks like the most resilient guy on the planet with the 2 Hash matches and this one coming the same night as the second. He also looks like a smart wrestler who knows his opponents' moves well enough to use that against them. Although I will admit the spot that made me pop biggest was Muto jumping over Chono's dropkick as Muto came off the turnbuckle. Never seen that before and it was in a heavyweight match. I had never seen Chono's highly regarded work before the injury and now I get it. The guy had a future in front of him that we'd still be arguing about where it sat in relation to Misawa. Oh yeah, and that crowd was like Puerto-Rico-fans-for-Carlos-Colon rabid for both of these guys. Amazing stuff. I will say though that this tournament being over is a happy thing. It's been pretty draining with all of these emotionally charged matches one after another.
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Yeah, the draw was better as far as work. But this had better structure and really puts over Chono big time while not deflating Hash in any way. I wish Hash had sold more of the leg work (that Chono was doing all match) throughout. Chono does such a great job selling his shit I don't mind though. I also loved Chono's dedication to the gameplan. He knew he couldn't get Hash in 30 minutes the way he already tried, and it was risky at best anyways. So hit the leg early and often to set yourself up for the STF. Great match.
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It's that time of year and I think it's one of the most important times of the year to really accentuate the positive. I know it can be difficult with the way the Holidays go, but it's important. I started celebrating by watching one of my two favorite matches of all time, Magnum vs. Tully, Starrcade 85. And it is every bit as glorious as it was the last 8 times I watched it! I had never seen the match before I started posting here and that is something that will forever endear PWO to me. I also would have never discovered the joys of Puerto Rico or Buddy Rose or...you know, the list goes on forever. No matter how often we may disagree on what constitutes good wrestling, I think we can agree that this here is an awesome place to be a part of. It steers you directions you never meant to go. Often enough, you find out that you damn sure should have been going there because it's way better than you thought it would be. Thanks a ton to bradhindsight, shoe, soup23, dylan Waco, Childs, goodhelmet and Loss for keeping this wonderful place up and running and always trying to make it better. I hope you guys know we appreciate it.
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If it's not the greatest, it's top 5 of all time. I mean matches, not brawls. Tully instinctively going for a cover and realizing his mistake is such an awesome spot. I LOVE how both guys are just gone after 4 minutes. They have beaten the shit out of each other and both are on fumes. I love how they construct this too, with Tully putting over how tough Magnum is just by the sheer frustration he shows and Magnum really making Tully look good despite being a weaselly heel. And you know, for the ending I'm just not buying that Tully has anything to be ashamed of. After all that to have a wooden shard put into your head and moved around would be a tough one. You know that one Mission Impossible movie with the knife like 1/4 inch away from Tom Cruise's eye? These guys did that in real time in front of a crowd on the first take after beating each other up for 10 minutes. And people say wrestling is fake. I also love how Tully's frustration leads to hubris. He brings in the weapon that causes his own demise. Perfect ending to an almost perfect match.
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Did AJPW do a lot of touring outside of Tokyo? I thought most of the big time promotions clustered around there.
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That will be taken care of next week.
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I think it's just the culture in general. If somebody thinks differently they have to be wrong. Therefore an argument like this has to be about sides and not personal preferences.
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So you ARE bad at promoting. Sinclair is a better babyface for sure. I do love Street as the de-facto babyface against Jimmy Breaks though.