BIG LADS WRESTLING. This was awesome - them busting out some chain wrestling & kip ups in the beginning was great - then the match transitioned into Braun working on top while Show fought from underneath & both parties played their parts very well. Really fun stuff from start to finish. ***1/2

I thought this match was awesome and they had the crowd from the get-go, which is incredible considering BIG LAD WRESTLING ain't exactly that popular anymore.

 

What I enjoyed is not only Strowman looked like a beast, kicking out of both the chokeslam and the KO punch, but Big Show also looked impressive kicking out of the running powerslam, something that has never been done before.

 

**** 1/4.

As I've become gradually more obsessed with wrestling I've gone full circle to getting bored with a lot of it and watching a lot less of it, so I'm more interested in deconstructing the patterns present in certain styles, their merits and how much I can get ouf of them. This match looked unique enough in that the conclusions they'd come to appeared interesting.

 

The opening matwork was fun, though it's impossible to say for me that seeing GIF of them doing the same on house shows didn't lessen its impact. It's a double edged sword-if you don't practice a spot you might blow it, if you do it's gonna be as big of a deal for at least someone. The use of the irish whips and rope running was good-Show attempted the classic New Japan "hit a move after your opponent runs the ropes" cut off but Strowman avoided that and took him down instead, successfully used running moves and so on. Strowman's control segment was a little disappointing, throwing people around and beating them senseless is what really made me love him and he couldn't really do that against Big Show. The actual transitions were predictable, not to a huge detriment-but when you know a suplex counter is coming or that Big Show's Vader Splash wont' connect it isn't adding to the match. The finisher kick-outs worked in that they were unexpected for the occasion, unforced and added to the atmosphere of the match without going overboard. Strowman laid in some nice shots but I couldn't shake the feeling that even when the ideas were good (like Big Show attempting a desperate Chokeslam before being put away) there was just something a little artifical about it. I'm not sure I buy into the idea the crowd was constantly into it when they would go silent for long stretches before popping for the highspots, though that isn't really that much different than all other WWE wrestling that just has more highspots. **3/4

Another great match from this year. My favorite match of the three. With the Sheamus match at WWE Hell In A Cell 2012, this might be my favorite Big Show match of all time.

Match Rating - Fantastic