Calvin
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Everything posted by Calvin
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This is for Kanemoto's IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Awesome match. Benoit is one step ahead of Kanemoto in almost every single exchange here, but struggles to put him down, so he starts taking bigger risks in the end that come back to bite him. Kanemoto barely escapes with his title here, and for Benoit, it was one of those moments where everything was going right for him until it suddenly doesn't. ***1/2 -
I thought this was much more actualized as a match compared to 2/17 -- which felt more like a glorified angle. Chaotic, hate-filled brawling is always fun, but give it a cohesive element to build around and you get something much more compelling. ***1/2
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This was fast and hard-hitting with Interesting dynamics at play here since the stipulation is the person who scores the pinfalls will get a shot at Aja Kong's WWWA World Single Championship at the 3/26 Queendom show. Toyota and Hotta are out for themselves and obviously butt heads -- which leads to Toyota dumping Hotta on her head with a wicked German -- but the Inoue's remain steadfast in their commitment to each other as a team. Finish is botched, but otherwise this is a borderline great match. ***3/4
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This is for Misawa and Kobashi's AJPW World Tag Team Championship. I thought this was incredibly heated at the beginning when both teams are posturing and at each others' throats, but there's a tonal shift when they transition into the body of the match and it doesn't maintain that same level of fire, which was disappointing. Ace putting on the gutsiest performance of his career as he gets dragged into deep waters by Misawa and Kobashi in the finishing stretch saves this from being just another match in my brain. ***1/4
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It's hard to tell if Shawn took a fistful of soma's or snorted a line before he worked this match. Maybe both? Going from him bumping vivaciously around the ring to slapping on sleep-inducing chinlocks in control segments that we're way too fucking long made this a rollercoaster of a match. This would've worked better as a sub-ten minute sprint where Shawn isn't left to his own devices. **1/4
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Rules are if you're pinned, you're eliminated, and the winner also has to leave the match but will get an opportunity to represent AJW at the 4/2 Tokyo Dome show. This is an excellent match from front to back, but it really distinguishes itself in the final fall between Hasiegawa and Yoshida -- two lower-tier wrestlers going back-and-forth with palpable urgency and desperation to get that last spot on the Dome show. Takako doing her sisterly best to secure Kyoko's spot on 4/2 by backstabbing Toyota was maybe the wholesome moment of the year. I think part of the reason this was such an easy watch despite it being 34 minutes long was because this felt like four short stories seamlessly transitioning one after another rather than one long narrative, and that kept things fresh for its entire runtime. ****
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Bret as face-in-peril was kind of dry, and I found the leg-work to be a questionable decision for a control segment, especially since it leads nowhere, but this still hits all the beats you want from your southern tag match. Backlund's demented stooging is fun, and Davey has a wicked hot tag in the finishing run. Owen is great as a connector -- from sprinting with Davey in the beginning to cutting the ring in half while controlling Bret -- and this is yet another versatile performance from him. ***1/4
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This is for Harlem Heat's WCW World Tag Team Championship. You can plug any middling heel team with Savage/Sting and they'll drag you to something solid. Of course in classic WCW fashion, we get another overbooked finish as Harlem Heat tries to do the twin switch, but it doesn't work, and & Sting win the titles! But, wait, the referees reverse the decision post-match because Stevie Ray technically wasn't tagged in, and it's all rah-rah bullshit that isn't entertaining in 2023. **3/4
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Jannetty had a very short stint with ECW that I didn't realize happened, but he doesn't even last more than six months before he returns to the WWF at the end of July according to Wikipedia. Interesting piece of bar-room trivia. Anyways. I enjoyed this more than I expected to, but obviously eighteen minutes is ridiculous for a Douglas match. Jannetty really worked his ass off here, though, and I'm now interested in his post-Rockers run as he mostly became an afterthought in my brain after their break-up. **3/4
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This is for Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Diesel certainly has no shortage of good opponents. Jarrett bumps/sells hard and stooges with aplomb here. It's a formula WWF TV match, so they're not breaking any new ground, but it's very well-worked. ***
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Dave loved this apparently, so I added it to my watchlist. It's fine. If you're into testicular psychology, lucha libre style, then maybe this is for you. It was a little too messy for me. I did love El Hijo del Santo's big comeback in the finishing run, though. He had the crowd roaring. **1/2
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Norton is sporting an injured arm sustained in the Keiji Muto match from 2/3. Hashimoto obviously picks at it with surgical precision, and aside from one or two hope spots, completely stifles him every time he gains so much as an inch of momentum. It's not exactly the most compelling structure, but good individual performances from Hashimoto and Norton make this a match worth watching. ***
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I'm surprised this only got ten minutes, but also thankful that it did. This is worked with some pace, with a hot crowd, by four workers who know how to work big/small like the back of their hand. It's nothing special, but arguably the best match on the show. **3/4
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I guess people say this subverts the typical Hogan formula, but my counterpoint would be this is just a protracted version of it. Obviously this match-up became an immediate joke after Hogan infamously no-sold Vader's powerbomb back at Clash, but matches can be good in vacuum, right? Hogan is who he is, and Vader requires someone who can take a bit of stiffness -- something Hogan is notorious for being unable to handle. Flair interferes in the match at the end, and we get a fuck finish, and this was a complete waste of time. **
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This is for Arn's WCW Television Championship. I guess they decreased the time limit to win the belt from fifteen minutes down to ten minutes because ... hey, who cares, whatever. Badd doesn't work this with any type of urgency at all despite being on a timer, but Arn is probably the best television worker in the world right now and he carries Badd to something watchable. **1/2
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Taped on January 11, 1995 South Padre Island TX. Aired on WWF Action Zone 2/5/95 This is for Diesel's WWF World Heavyweight Championship. More B-show goodness, and so far the best WWF singles matches have come from these side shows. We had Bam Bam Bigelow vs. 1-2-3 Kid last month, and now we have another match where the smaller wrestler ping-pongs in and out of the ring for the bigger one. I would say this is a much sprintier version of Diesel vs. Bret Hart from last month, and the brevity is very much appreciated. ***
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This is for Hashimoto's IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Tenzan is fresh off of some foreign excursion, and management is high on him, so he gets a title shot -- the first big match of his career. This actually isn't dissimilar to the Hashimoto vs. Sasaki match that happened last month at the big Tokyo Dome show in the sense that it's Hashimoto doing his best to make the up-and-comer look as good as possible before putting him down. I thought this was *only* fine, but Tenzan isn't really my cup of tea, so I'm biased. **1/2
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This match has its moments, but it's marred by Muto being .... well, Muto. It's filled with pointless limb-work that ultimately leads nowhere. He's popping up and down constantly without much consideration for selling. And it's plodding -- Muto tries to wear down the big man to neutralize his power, but I'm the one getting fucking tired. **1/4
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Good match! Toyota and Maekawa feed off of Jungle Jack's brutality and physicality exactly the way you would want them to here. Toyota is just so good at timing pace changes - I love the way she operates in tag matches and how she'll completely shift the momentum of a match with her explosive offense. Maekawa's interactions with Kong are great David vs. Goliath-esque moments, and Ito brings an array of cringe-inducing foot stomps that she's well known for. ***1/2
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This is for Douglas' ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Heyman's ballsy for putting these two together after they were booed out of the arena the last time around. (I don't think that match ever made tape.) The crowd is clearly ambivalent to Tully despite his best efforts, so this doesn't really work because the dynamics are all off, but mechanically speaking this wasn't awful. Given these two's limitations, it's better that we ended this in ten minutes. **1/2
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It's these two for almost ten minutes, so of course this rules. Dustin works the arm a bit, so Arn targets the leg in response .... these two have the television formula down to a science. We get a fuck finish, so I can't entirely get behind this in good conscience, but this was worth watching. **3/4
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Snow is rather plain, but he hits his beats appropriately and allows himself to be carried to the best singles match of his career. Benoit is starting to *really* hit his groove, and now that he has a gimmick that fits his persona to a tee, it's no surprise that Heyman was looking to give him a big push. ***