Posted July 26, 201015 yr comment_5453592 Tajiri v. Jerry Lynn This was a reasonably decent workrate sprint. Lynn can't really work any other sort of match and Tajiri is game for this but it's not really my cup and it wasn't a homerun for the style either. Rod Price v. Nova This was weak. Basically just a match to set up angle to help start Da Baldies Super Crazy v. El Mosco del Merced This was a pretty good escalating spotfest. Merced hit some fucking crazy dive variations in this that you almost never see even today. Crazy was Crazy. They really worked hard. Pacing was sort of strange as it was a case where a full blown spotfest probably would have been a more reasonable route but they didn't got that way for whatever reason. Finish actually felt anticlimactic. I'm holding off on this, but you may want to watch it and see if it's something you like more than I do. Taka Minchinoku v. Papi Chulo I really liked Taka's bumping in this. I remember liking Essa Rios a lot at the time but he really didn't hit his big spots all that well and telegraphed a lot of the exchanges badly. Taka carried him to something decent, but I had expected this to be pretty dynamic at the very least and it really wasn't. Finish was pretty epic though. Too Cold Scorpio v. Rob Van Dam If you can put up with interference by Sabu and Fonzy at the very end this is a great match, maybe one of the ten best ECW matches I've ever seen. And it's a total Scorpio carry job. Right out of the gate this has a really awesome dynamic as you have the guy who sort of defined slick highspots and the ECW TV title v. the guy who fetishized slick highspots and elevated the tv title above the World title. It has a real clash of the titans feel to it and Scorp wrestles this almost like he believes the title still belongs to him and Van Dam has it on a loner basis. Early you get a bunch of cool shit like Scorpio going into a fighting stance leaning into RVD's kicks making them look like potential knockout blows before crumpling in the corner. Later when Scorp has Van Dam back pedaling with strikes, RVD goes for a standing jump kick and Scorp just sort of leans his head back before peppering him again. Scorp brings his A game and really unloads on Rob with his offense but the match never even enters spotfest territory because the pacing is so well and Scorp drops his staple "cocky guy hitting big moves and then not going for pinfall" gimmick which really helps the flow of this. I thought they structured this really well with even handed mat exchanges early, Van Dam winning the first battle, Scorp winning the second, a brief Van Dam comeback and then Scorp trying his damndest to win the match by any means necessary. Tables get turned for Van Dam off of Sabu interference, but Scorp makes another comeback only for Fonzy to intervene. Finish was pretty great as Scorp takes a jump kick/chairshot from Van Dam/Fonzy combo, RVD scrambles to the top and Scorp desperately tries to get to his feet before falling at the last second (with RVD in mid air) and getting hit with the five star for the finish. Easy nomination. Second Disc of this show was blank. I checked and one of the matches (Douglas v. Credible) is already an SC pick. Other bouts are a Dudleyz cage match and a Candido v. Taz match. I may just track them down online.
September 5, 201015 yr comment_5455336 Watched the first three matches with Naylor last night. Tajiri v. Jerry Lynn - You can call it a sprint but this was a really hot opener. Both guys hit everything cleanly. Nice back and forth action where Lynn absorbs Tajiri's kicks and hits some big counters to keep Tajiri grounded. I thought the finish wa a little too brief but the rest of the match was solid gold. Solid nomination. Super Crazy v. El Mosco del Merced - Naylor liked this more than I did but I thought this was fun. There were a couple of botches including that keep it from nomination status but some of the dives and spots were nuts. The finish looked ugly as well and we can safely keep this off the set. Taka Minchinoku v. Papi Chulo - Man, I had a blast watching this. Loved the Papi kick to TAKA's throat that sends Taka outside. I didn't see the awkward spots or exchanges that you did because I thought everything was pretty fluid. I was afraid that Essa and TAKA might have a cultural barrier but nothing of the sort. This isn't a match I would fight for but something I definitely want Kris to check out. Low level nomination.
September 5, 201015 yr Author comment_5455339 Watched the first three matches with Naylor last night. Tajiri v. Jerry Lynn - You can call it a sprint but this was a really hot opener. Both guys hit everything cleanly. Nice back and forth action where Lynn absorbs Tajiri's kicks and hits some big counters to keep Tajiri grounded. I thought the finish wa a little too brief but the rest of the match was solid gold. Solid nomination. Super Crazy v. El Mosco del Merced - Naylor liked this more than I did but I thought this was fun. There were a couple of botches including that keep it from nomination status but some of the dives and spots were nuts. The finish looked ugly as well and we can safely keep this off the set. Taka Minchinoku v. Papi Chulo - Man, I had a blast watching this. Loved the Papi kick to TAKA's throat that sends Taka outside. I didn't see the awkward spots or exchanges that you did because I thought everything was pretty fluid. I was afraid that Essa and TAKA might have a cultural barrier but nothing of the sort. This isn't a match I would fight for but something I definitely want Kris to check out. Low level nomination. There is a much better Crazy v. Merced match in this batch you just sent me.
