ohtani's jacket

Just watched this and it's not their 12/83 match. Satanico is already the champion heading into this match.

Zatura vs. Trauma II, IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship, 6/18/09 Somehow we ended up skipping an episode of IWRG. It must've been an eventful one, since this week was all about singles matches and recriminations. I haven't been as high on Trauma II as other people who watch and write about IWRG on a weekly basis, but I figured this match would showcase one way or another whether the kid's any good. And I'll say it up front -- the kid blew me away. There were a few things they could've done better, but I feel churlish just typing that. This was an excellent title match for this type of weight class. None of the criticisms I've had of Trauma II as a submission grappler applied here. Both guys were quick with their takedowns and there was enough movement on the mat that it seemed like they were going for a straight pinfall submission with every hold. I've mentioned before that Trauma II ain't no chip off the old block, but judging by his strikes, I've been far too harsh on the kid. I guess I've been beating the drum too hard, because Trauma wasn't alone in impressing me. A few weeks ago, Zatura showed he could hang with Cerebro Negro and here he took that one step further with some nice counter wrestling to take the first fall. He opened up the second caida working from the top and it was a nicely weighted fall. It's not very often that the second fall is a turning point in a lucha title match, but it was very much the case here. Both of these guys came into the match with taped shoulders, but Trauma was the first to aggravate his injury when Zatura caught him with the counter submission. And he made no bones about going after the arm in round two. That rocked me a bit, as I didn't know he had it in him. Previously, he'd seemed like a guy who could only grapple from the defensive position, but he scored an early takedown here and was Satanico-like in seizing control. So often these guys relinquish holds and give up position, but there was nothing easy here. Trauma had to fight every inch of the way to get an early break and slumped into his corner clutching his shoulder. What followed was a piece of grappling that was well beyond Trauma's years. Realising he had a bum shoulder, he opted to attack off the ropes and did the most spectacular leg takedown into a shoulder submission. It was a fantastic move that really underlined his championship credentials. Having saved match point, we headed into a third and deciding fall with both guys looking like they belonged in a lucha libre title match. Trauma's selling was fantastic throughout and even Zatura's dives seemed nastier than usual. I loved the spot where they started throwing body punches and Zatura drove him into the mat with a double leg takedown. I guess the highest compliment I can pay a match like this is that even though I knew the result beforehand, I was genuinely excited by the outcome. It's rare for young guys to pull off this kind of finish. They timed it to perfection and the finish came on exactly the right beat. I would've never picked these guys to have a match this good. I dunno if it's a sign of things to come, but I sure as hell sat up and took notice. Probably the most positive and exciting thing to happen in Mexico all year. On a parting note, Trauma's outfit was class. I swear it made him look like a better worker. I can't really justify that comment, but as a wrestling fan, you know it makes a difference.

I glanced over the second part of his obit and it seemed OK to me. I wasn't really following whether he told Misawa's early career accurately or not. There were a few parts where he got his wires crossed or assumed a few things that weren't exactly true, but I can't imagine anybody doing a better job in a week's turnaround.

Arena Puebla 6/15/09 Ares, Espíritu Maligno, Siki Osama vs. Black Tiger, Blue Center, Centella de Oro This was the Puebla boys at their best. The opening matwork wasn't just good by Puebla standards, it was arguably the best matwork to come out of Mexico this year, but what really made the match were the follow-up falls. Usually, the Puebla guys lose their way after the first caida, but here the rudos did a good job of pushing the action. They kept changing the point of attack, which kept things interesting and went a long way toward maintaining a rhythm. The finishes were ambitious and didn't flow all that well, but it was cool to see them grandstanding. If not for the ending, it would've been the best of the local trios matches, but it was a bit of a swing and miss. The rudos almost had the technicos on the rack, and it was very nearly last ditch stuff, but they couldn't pull it off. They went for the three-pronged dive attack and it was all a bit uncoordinated. Nevertheless, it was more of a ride than most Puebla openers. Blue Center came up limping, which put a cool spin on the usual post match celebrations. I dug how they chased the rudos out of town. Endings are tough to do. We see that all the time in Westerns and in comic books, but the local matches are always about the thought outstripping the execution and this was just behind the two other Puebla trios I've pimped. Tzuki, Bam Bam, Pequino Olímpico vs. Pequino Universo 2000, Pequino Black Warrior, Pierrothito I was under the impression that this was the best minis trios since Bracito De Oro/Cicloncito Ramirez/Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero/El Fierito/Pierrothito, and while it was heading that way with the early matwork, it wasn't meant to be. It was a good match, and I'd definitely like to see the minis as a regular fixture on Puebla cards, but the technicos couldn't match the rudos' performance here. It was fantastic stuff from the rudo mini veterans, Universo 2000 and Pierrothito; the kind of rudo beatdown you don't see much of any more, even from good workers. I won't win any points with Rob here, but I thought Tzuki dragged this down with his performance. Bam Bam carried his side somewhat with some pretty slick rope work, but this was a night where the rudos outclassed the technicos and left me wondering where the heroes have gone. Rudos should lay down the groundwork, but there's not enough technique on the technico sides these days.

CMLL en la ARENA PUEBLA 6/1/09 Siki Osama, Espíritu Maligno VS Iron, Blue Center Espíritu Maligno and Siki Osama! I like both these guys, so I got a kick out of this. The first caida had a real old school feel to it. Blue Center is such a classical thinker. He may not have the athleticism of a Lizmark or Solar, but he thinks like a technico and has all the right ideas. There were a lot of neat exchanges in the first fall and they were nicely spaced; the way lucha used to be before it lost its sense of fun and adventure. Espíritu Maligno continues to be the incarnation of Espectro Jr and his ilk and Siki Osama is probably my favourite big man at the moment. I adore everything about him from his gimmick and ring attire to the way he works. I was impressed with his matwork here. For a big guy, I thought he did a superb job of leading from the top. The rest of the match wasn't that crash hot, but my boys won. For some reason, I've been on a Jack Kirby kick lately, and I dunno if it's because of all the primary colours, but the Puebla locals have a real Kirby feel to them. Lucha libre isn't really a style, and it's wrong to say there's only one way of doing it; but the more it looks like a Jack Kirby splash page, the more I dig it. IWRG 6/4/09 Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro VS Trauma I, Trauma II, Zatura I dug the Traumas' hoodies here, as well as the Cerebros' matching tights. They also posed in their masks, which was pretty cool. This was another vaguely interesting IWRG trios. It started off with some stalling from Cerebro Negro, before a mat sequence where he really put the brakes on Zatura. That's something we haven't seen for a while and was somewhat refreshing. Trauma II and the Doc followed that up with some submission grappling. It wasn't the prettiest of matwork, but they managed to stay on the mat and keep the breaks to a minimum. Next up were Terry and Trauma I, which presented an interesting mismatch. Terry took over in the maestro role and it was a return to the more pain inducing holds of recent months. Trauma I, who's being made out as bruiser, caught Terry in a leg lock and there was a fantastic reaction shot from Dr. Cerebro. The move spelled trouble and sure enough the technicos took the first fall. Terry spent the rest of the match looking to get even and he did something of a number on the Trauma's arm. Trauma basically fought with one arm the rest of the way and was almost too consistent with his selling. I'm not sure if he tweaked something, but he hasn't been a noted seller to date. Cerebro Negro, on the other hand, did appear to tweak his neck from a Trauma II hold. He was attended to by the ring doctor while guys stood around brawling, and the match pretty much lost its shape, which must be the upteenth time I've written that about an IWRG trios. Anyway, the upshot of all this to-ing and fro-ing was some miscommunication between the technicos and Zatura copped an earful afterwards. I'm starting to lose track of all the beefs in IWRG and God knows if any of them will ever be resolved. If the Trauma arm mangling was an angle, I'm assuming the return of Poppa Bear can't be too far off, but the tag against the Guerreras was on the show after this, so stay tuned kiddies!

There's been plenty of Japanese wrestlers who took heed of medical advice and retired from injuries. Misawa's case is specific to Misawa. This mindset you're talking about is nowhere near as prevalent as you think and certainly not what has come out of this.

People don't survive the type of injuries Misawa sustained. The mortality rate is essentially 100%. It was a miracle that Christopher Reeve survived his accident. It was no secret that Misawa was in bad shape. He wanted to retire and confided with various people that his health was bad. None of those wrestlers Dave mentioned had the pressures that Misawa did as shacho. I'm not trying to defend Misawa one way or the other, but there's nothing essentially "Japanese" about what Misawa did or didn't do.

Would make more sense to kayfabe a heart attack than a severed spinal cord.

Fuerza Chicana, Mr. Rafaga, Sauron vs Asturiano, Centella de Oro, Tigre Rojo, Arena Puebla, 5/25/09 Ah, the Puebla locals. What I like about these guys is that they come in all shapes and sizes. A real mix of odds and ends. Centella de Oro was the only worker here, but there was no shirking from the match-ups and no hiding in the trios. They all took their turn here and were all rolling with an 80s bent. It was standard fare from these guys, but more praise worthy than anything from last week. IWRG 5/28 Angelico, Chico Che, Freelance vs. Capitan Muerte, Durango Kid, Tetsuya Bushi This was an abomination of a match, but Freelance is on a tear right now. Valiente's been earning the plaudits, but Freelance is taking them back. The pleasing thing about this run is that he's cut back on the number of dives. Watch his exchange with Capitan Muerte and you'll see where he's improving. If I had my way, Freelance would blow up into something huge in Mexico. Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro vs. Trauma I, Trauma II, Zatura, IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship This started off with a lengthy mat sequence between Trauma II and Oficial 911, with every exchange ending in a submission attempt. They weren't bad holds, but the set-up was poor. They released holds, gave up position and were far too slow. When it was over, Trauma fronted him, but the Oficial hadn't been anywhere near aggressive enough for that to be the story. I kinda dig Trauma II as a skinny guy who's dangerous from the guard position, but if they go down that route there needs to be better takedown work from 911. In came Trauma II, who was looking to establish himself as the enforcer, but again the execution was poor. The Oficiales took over, and as with much of their wrestling this year, they were short of ideas. They kinda pulled it together in the end and Zatura did a cool dive, but it was a pretty average effort. I'm not sure what's happened to them this year, but they've gone right off the boil. The Traumas are kids and you expect them to struggle , but what's up with the Oficiales?

Was anyone over enough in '94 to force a change of plans? Was the WWF even booked like that? I wish someone had spared us Diesel's run.

Whoah, Owen wasn't over in '94? That's news to me.

The best time to push Owen would've been during the Black Hart return, but we all know what happened there. The only other time would've been during 1994, but we know all about that too. After '98 and '99, I don't see Owen sticking with the company let alone winning one of the two world titles. There was always Scoop level talk about Owen getting a run against Austin, but when you really think about it, they couldn't even book the Ministry of Darkness or Hit and Run Driver to be a compelling opponent for Austin. I do wonder whether he could've stuck around in a Finlay type role or whether he'd have gone to TNA.

I wouldn't say I was embarrassed at being a pro-wrestling fan, it's just a pain in the ass explaining to people how you know Japanese wrestlers from the 70s and 80s and leads to all sorts of questions like: "is Japanese wrestling famous in your country?" My wife has a co-worker who's a big New Japan fan and he keeps trying to give me merchandise I don't want. Somehow he got her hooked on Tanahashi and she keeps bringing home pro-wrestling magazines despite having no interest in his work. The only guy I ever watched wrestling with, I haven't seen for three years, so that's definitely a factor; but with others hobbies, I'll check the internet to figure out which movie to watch next or what album to buy, but I don't feel the urge to discuss these things. There's something about wrestling that makes it just as satisfying to discuss as it is to watch; perhaps moreso. The only other topic I devote as much time to is rugby. I guess this goes back to when I first got the internet. The first thing I looked for was wrestling news and I suppose the habit grew from there. Jose and I went to a bar once and had to explain how we knew each other. That was kinda surreal.

Mike Quackenbush/Kendo/Solar v Negro Navarro/Mr. Ferrari/Claudio Castegnoli, Invasion Azteca, 3/08/09 Well, for the second year running, it looks like my match of the year will come from outside Mexico. Perhaps this wouldn't have been a MOTY in years gone by, but these days you have to search every nook and cranny. It's a bit like diggin' in the crates. I won't deny that finding lucha in Delaware is half the fun, but the important thing is that it was lucha through and through. There's a certain aesthetic that says this match is cool: the crowd, the building, the colour of the mat, two all-time greats in a scaled back trios. But I'll tell you what this match had: it had charisma. If I were to describe trios wrestling, I'd say it's one or two good workers, a guy with some shtick and a couple of apron warmers. The workers do the bulk of the wrestling, the comedy guy does his schtick and the apron warmers pick their spots. These days it doesn't take much imagination to work a trios match. The only guys who do it well are the Puebla locals, but here you had Navarro/Solar, Navarro/Quackenbush, a little bit of comedy and a bunch of guys working around the edges. So when I'm talking about charisma, I'm talking about that real shit from back in the day. You had three guys nowhere near the level of the others and the match was better for it. Watching Navarro here, I had no doubts I was watching an all-time great worker. How many wrestlers revent themselves at Navarro's age? How many guys are better in their early 50s than they were in their youth? And how many guys get better year after year from the age of 45? It just doesn't happen. I thought Solar had one of his better outings in recent times, but I'd go so far as to say this is THE Negro Navarro match: the match that encapsulates why he's the man right now. I don't think I've ever seen Solar and Navarro go at each other like this, with amazingly quick go-behinds and strong takedowns. but what really impressed me was Navarro and Quackenbush. Quackenbush doesn't look like much of a wrestler, but in the past six months I've seen him wrestle Johnny Saint, Cassandro and Negro Navarro, and I've gotta give the guy his dues. Navarro was lording it here, trashing talking in Spanish throughout their exchanges; but every time Quackenbush hooked a limb, he did not disappoint. In all honesty, he was one of the better sparring partners Navarro's had. I don't know how he did it, but he did it and fair play to him. So what you had was a bit of clowning around, some killer match-ups and an awesome setting. What more could you ask for? The imperfections are what really made it: the scrappy finishes, the ref's mistakes, the looseness at times. You know they're working when they're ad-libbing comedy between matwork. You can't do that without some personality and a whole lot of confidence in your mat skills. Navarro's takedowns are like Ray Mendoza's. Everytime he slams someone to the mat, you expect him to come back up with his arm raised. He's a killer. I don't think anyone could take him in a fight. But he's seen it all, done it all and has a sense of humour about it. A lot of indie matches strike me as the sincerest form of flattery, but this was the real deal. Hell, Solar even sold the low blow like a pro. He was stretching that thing at the end and there was no aggravating it. What a champ.

This comment from Death From Above got me thinking in tangets: Wrestling, and more specifically writing about it, have always been hobbies for most people. Despite a few people making careers out of it or securing book deals, wrestling criticism has never been pursued as seriously as film criticism, music criticism or sports journalism. That's understandable given the sheer scale of those entertainment forms, but while I was thinking about this, I couldn't shake the feeling that wrestling isn't as worthy a subject as film, music, sport or literature. So, I started thinking about whether I actually like wrestling as much as film or music or rugby, basketball and tennis. My first thought was that all of those things are immediately and inherently superior to pro-wrestling, but then I started wondering why I've spent twenty or more years watching wrestling and why I spend a part of everyday reading up about it or watching matches. I've had other hobbies over the years that have fallen by the wayside, yet when my wife tells people I like wrestling, I always try and downplay it. I'm assuming that everyone here has other hobbies, in fact I'm familiar with some of them from other boards. So my question is: How highly do you regard wrestling in regard to your other hobbies, and if it doesn't rate highly, do you think you spend a disproportionate amount of time on it?

Not much, I suppose.

Someone posted a random link to some "greatest tag matches ever" article on 411 and I was amazed by how generic the choices were. Even in this age of downloads and filesharing, shit still doesn't fall that far from the tree.

Blue Panther vs. Averno, CMLL World Middleweight Championship, 5/29/09 (clipped) This was a difficult match to judge since it was clipped, but it made me wanna throw in the towel. The opening matwork was there or thereabouts, with Panther making it look more spectacular than it really was. Averno is an average worker, but he at least brought his A game and Panther has enough credibility to work an opening caida along traditional lines. The third fall is where my apathy grew, especially when they reprised that shitty mask match from last year. Where others see Panther cutting this sympathetic figure, I just see a guy who can't salvage the third caida. What's the point of going for three topes if they're not sold? Why can't they space their moves properly? The Chicana/Aguayo topes put this shit to shame. This is what lucha has become: shit basically. I've tried finding new ways to enjoy it, but it's a losing battle. When you have one of the most respected workers of the past 30 years towing the company line, it's a difficult pill to swallow. I'll say this much -- it was better than the Mistico/Casas matches and probably better than Averno/Santo from 2004, but still not enough. The decade's almost over and there's no relief in sight. The 2010s are gonna be bad.

El Dandy vs. Javier Cruz, hair vs. hair, 10/26/84 This was just a bad match. Way too much offence for a hair match and not enough selling. That should come as no surprise. Dandy was only 22 here and Cruz 25. Collectively, they didn't know shit yet. It kind of reminded me of Kiyoshi Tamura's early fights, where he's all limbs and no control. Sadly, we'll probably never seen their '86 feud and won't be able to pinpoint when Dandy entered his prime or if Cruz was ever a good singles worker. Felino vs. Pantera, CMLL World Welterweight Championship, 12/27/94 I like Felino, I really do, but this was a piss poor performance with the most atrocious matwork I've seen in a lucha title match. In lucha, there's certain things you accept -- the first two falls are academic: the loser of the first fall will win the next and winning is as easy as a few simple moves. After awhile, you take it for granted. Occasionally, you're surprised. But they've got to be good, even if you're half stepping. 90s Felino had the same workrate tendencies as a Chris Benoit or Eddy Guerrero, but here, in a lucha title match, the only matwork was a foul. Pantera's not the most impressive worker, probably serviceable at best, but all he could do was sell and Felino gave him fuck all to work with. The third fall had multiple dives, but who gives a shit after being short changed? This was disturbingly close to modern CMLL. They should've nipped it in the bud in 1994. Apolo Dantes vs. Miguel Pérez Jr., hair vs. hair, 10/13/95 This wasn't a bad match per se, but it was excessive and once again there were too many moves for a hair match. This was rudo contra rudo and Mexico contra Pérez; a revenge match for Pérez taking Silver King's hair (in another workrate hair match.) Pérez was one of the better workers to come through Mexico in the 90s; perhaps the best, unless I'm forgetting someone obvious. He's a guy who could clearly brawl, but he also had a lot of spots, and I mean a lot of spots. In 1995, if there were two guys who could work the semi-universal 'Best of the Super Juniors' style, Apolo Dantes and Silver King were those guys., so it's no surprise that they booked these matches, and the publico absolutely LOVED it. The third fall went on too long for mine, but there were all sorts of crowd shots (shot from a classic documentary angle), and while those inserts are easy to manipulate the assorted reactions were the most interesting thing about the match. Especially the guy with a hook for an arm. Hair matches should always be brawls in my view, but if you're a Dantes fan this was a solid performance.

What I meant is that it's difficult to have an original take on the match.

That may be true, but it's difficult to have an original opinion about that Misawa/Kawada match. I don't think basing your opinion on what other people say is a bad thing as such, the problem is when people feel the need to have the same opinion as others, as if they're getting "it" and others aren't.

I don't see what's wrong with basing your opinion on what others say.

Can F4W subscribers vote? How about people who only subscribe via the website?

IWRG 5/21/09 Freelance, Miss Gaviota & Diva Salvaje vs. Xibalba, Carta Brava & Avisman Usually I'd skip a match like this, since you have to sit through so much crap to get to the Freelance parts, but it was worth it this week. From the opening matwork with Avisman to all of his rope work and bumps, it was a really solid outing from the world's foremost technico. There were a few hiccups on the mat, but they worked through it and I liked how pissed Avisman was at himself. The exoticos tried hard, but they're not very good. The crowd seemed to enjoy their schtick, but I've seen better. One of the problems with Freelance is that despite being a great technico, there's really no-one for him to feud with. And since there's no rhyme nor reason to IWRG, he's stuck in these random trios matches. Negro Navarro, Durango Kid & Capitán Muerte vs. Black Terry, Dr. Cerebro, Cerebro Negro This was the match of the week. It started off with some solid matwork between Dr. Cerebro and Durango Kid and then Cerebro Negro and Capitán Muerte, before Terry and Navarro took over. Over the past few weeks, Terry's conceded that he can't beat Navarro on the mat, so Negro put him away in style. Nobody but nobody fucks with Navarro on the mat and Terry's selling was vintage as usual. The second fall was a nice change of pace. The Cerebros looked to push a three on two or three on one advantage for the quick fall, but Navarro's boys had a fall in hand, which led to some good exchanges. The third fall opened with more of the same, which made sense from the Cerebros' perspective, since they're the champs. They're making a push for trios of the year; in part because they're getting all the opportunities, but Navarro just can't be fucked with. He'd take on all three guys at once if he had to, and threw the best punch combos I've seen him do. The finish saw Terry faking a low blow and so it continues. You have to think Navarro is getting the belts. The question is who his partners will be. The matwork was considerably better without his kids involved, but I can't imagine them not being involved. Traumas I y II & Zatura vs. Oficiales AK-47, Fierro y 911 Crap. Gave up watching it. The Oficiales have been pretty average this year. CMLL Blue Panther, La Sombra & Volador Jr. vs El Averno, El Mephisto & Efesto, 5/22/09 I only watched this to see the Averno/Panther matwork, since I hear they're having a singles match soon. I approve of CMLL pushing Panther as an authentic lucha maestro and I also liked the Navarro style tights. Anything to move away from the image of a maskless Blue Panther. The matwork was good and their singles match should at least be as good as Panther's anniversary match last year, provided there's no bullshit. The rest of the match was a heated spotfest and of no interest to me.