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Post by AndrewGB79 on Mar 31, 2024 10:07:49 GMT -5
More eighties lucha:
Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo (EMLL, Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 02/28/86)
Great punching from Perro.
Great selling from Chicana.
But this was too minimalist for my taste and went on for too long.
***
Espanto Jr. vs. El Hijo Del Santo (UWA, Mask Match, ⅔ Falls, 08/31/86)
Now this was far better than the above match.
There’s more action, less downtime, and a clear narrative. And Santo gets surprisingly violent.
Though it’s hampered by poor quality footage.
And a little longer for the finishing stretch wouldn’t have hurt.
****¼
El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA, Mask vs. Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 07/18/87)
Structurally similar to the previous match.
The story’s not as strong here, but the offense is better.
A fun match.
****
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (UWA, UWA World Lightweight Title, ⅔ Falls, 04/10/88)
This was a bit of a mixed bag.
The first fall was full of quality technical work. Though none of it felt all that connected. But the finishing stretch was great.
The second fall was joined-in-progress and dull until another great, if too short, finishing stretch.
And then the third fall makes this. Big moves. Quality back-and-forth action. And a finish I was not expecting that saw the crowd get into the ring.
****¼
Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy (EMLL, Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 09/23/88)
This was pretty similar to the other apuestas matches I’ve watched.
But this felt more compact and with a bigger third fall. Which made it a lot better. Plus, both men spray mist with each other’s blood which is fun.
Easily my favourite of the eighties lucha I’ve watched so far.
Though I really want something to hit five stars for me.
****½
Sangre Chicana vs. El Satanico (EMLL, ⅔ Falls, 05/26/89)
Yeah, they punch each other and it looks good.
But it seemed they were building to something they never got to.
***¾
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Apr 1, 2024 0:33:16 GMT -5
Only one match for Easter:
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Young Bucks (NEW, 08/02/14)
Their first match (and thankfully the Hardyz can still go at this point).
It’s about what you’d expect. Nothing too intense or spectacular. But it’s almost all action with both teams getting plenty of opportunities to show what they can do. And it does build to a quality finishing stretch.
Plus Kevin Owens is entertaining on commentary.
It could've been a little shorter, but I had a fun time with it.
****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Apr 3, 2024 9:29:47 GMT -5
Couple of random watches before I get back to the lucha:
Antonio Inoki vs. Chris Markoff (JWA, World League Final, 05/16/69)
This was a good brawl.
Both men did a great job here playing their roles. Inoki as the sympathetic babyface, Markoff as the vicious villain.
And it got off to a great start with Markoff working the leg and Inoki coming back by working the stomach. But they abandoned that and the action ended up feeling a bit too simple and repetitive.
A pity as it could’ve been great.
***¾
Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville (WWE, 04/03/22)
I was hoping to like this a bit more than I did.
I liked the concept and the ideas, I just didn’t think it came together as well as it could. And it didn’t help that not all of Knoxville’s gadgets worked perfectly.
Entertaining, but felt like it could have been better.
***¾
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Apr 5, 2024 8:55:15 GMT -5
Went on a bit of an El Dandy run:
El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca (EMLL, ⅔ Falls, 06/01/90)
This seemed like it was going to be the perfect match for me.
It’s long, all-action, technical, they keep it on the mat, and there are plenty of moves, reversals, and counters I’d not seen before.
But they wrestled with almost zero urgency.
It was all far too casual except at the very end. But by then I just wanted it to end.
**½
El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL, ⅔ Falls, 10/26/90)
Satanico comes to the ring to atmospheric music, wearing a cool cape, and with his second dressed as the devil and holding a pitchfork.
So it’s already an amazing match before they’ve started.
This felt more violent and gritty than the other lucha brawls I’ve seen. Like these two really wanted to hurt each other.
I would rate this higher but there’s some ref shenanigans I didn’t like. And I think they were holding back. ****¼
El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL, Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 12/14/90)
I was right about their previous match - they were holding back.
But they don’t here.
And the result is an amazing, violent brawl.
The first lucha match that’s connected with me and had me fully engaged and biting on the nearfalls. And what might have been an anti-climatic finish is perfect here as it plays off their last match and left me smiling.
A wonderful slice of hatred and violence.
*****
El Dandy vs Negro Casas (CMLL, CMLL World Middleweight Title Tournament Final, ⅔ Falls, 07/03/92)
Now this was what I thought Dandy’s match against Angel Azteca was going to be like.
The first fall was all technical matwork, but here they wrestled like they wanted to beat each other which made it far better. They build on that in the second fall.
But then things fall apart in the third fall. They got sloppy and it took me out of the action.
But this is still loaded with quality work. Especially the first fall.
****½
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Apr 9, 2024 22:35:56 GMT -5
Continued with some lucha I thoroughly enjoyed then caught up with the last two matches of the DEAN~!!! tribute show:
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Brazo De Oro (UWA, Mask vs. Hair Match, ⅔ Falls, 01/13/91)
Now this was a great apuestas match.
Brazo’s strikes are vicious and look amazing. It doesn’t take long for the front of Santo’s mask to start turning red from the blood. And when it’s time for Santo’s comeback he demonstrates he can get just as violent.
Then they up the drama for the third fall with plenty of big moves and back-and-forth action.
And the whole thing benefits from going shorter than most of these matches which gets rid of any repetition and downtime. Fantastic, easy to watch apuestas action.
*****
El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA, UWA World Welterweight Title, ⅔ Falls, 05/17/91)
This is exactly what I wanted from them.
Quality technical work from bell to bell.
The matwork’s great. Everything looks like a struggle. And it’s tense throughout. It feels like it could end at any point.
Plus, while Santo’s looked great in all the matches I’ve watched, Casas has improved massively here compared to how he looked in their 1987 match. He was fine in that, but he looks top-tier here.
Excellent title match.
*****
MS-1, Satanico & Pirata Morgan vs. Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata & El Brazo (CMLL, CMLL World Trios Title Tournament Final, ⅔ Falls, 11/22/91)
The first fall of this was some of the most beautiful wrestling I’ve seen.
Slick, technical, non-stop action. Just ridiculously impressive.
The second and third falls fail to live up to that high-standard. But it doesn’t matter. They’re good enough. And they do ramp the drama up in the third fall.
Amazing action.
*****
Demus vs. Mad Dog Connelly (ACTION, Dog Collar Match, 04/04/24)
Maybe it’s the high-end lucha brawls I’ve been watching recently, but this didn’t seem anything special.
As outside of the short face-punching finishing stretch it lacked in intensity.
***¼
Timothy Thatcher vs. Daniel Makabe (ACTION, 04/04/24)
Non-stop technical action.
And this should have been a lot better, but it’s just a bunch of stuff.
Outside of a brief while where Makabe attacks Thatcher’s injured leg it’s technical work for the sake of technical work.
But the work is good. And the ending - a Death Valley driver into a volley of face punches - felt fitting for a Dean tribute show.
***½
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Post by fxnj on Apr 10, 2024 2:13:43 GMT -5
Nice, I’m not the only one who watched Demus/Mad Dog and had no idea what people were going crazy over.
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Post by AndrewGB79 on Apr 22, 2024 11:12:55 GMT -5
Caught up on some Bockwinkel and AWA:
Nick Bockwinkel vs. Chavo Guerrero (NWA, 02/25/83)
A simple match that told a good story.
Nick was out to put Chavo in his place, but Chavo wasn’t having it and showed he had serious skills too.
The commentary does a great job of explaining all this, but the actual work wasn’t all that compelling. Though Bockwinkel’s selling is top-notch throughout.
***¼
Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel (AWA, AWA World Heavyweight Title, 08/28/83)
This was a Lawler-style brawl where they throw a punch every ten minutes.
Bockwinkel bumps and sells well, but the style’s just not my cup of tea.
***
Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (AWA, AWA World Heavyweight Title, 09/20/84)
The best Martel match I’ve seen so far.
We get duelling limb work and the offense and especially the selling from both men is excellent.
The only reason it doesn’t get the full five stars is the finish. It’s both a bad finish and I think they could’ve had a couple more minutes in the build to it.
Other than that this was a top-notch piece of wrestling.
****¾
Stan Hansen vs. Curt Hennig (AWA, AWA World Heavyweight Title, 05/31/86) Now this wasn’t full-fat, All Japan Stan Hansen.
But it wasn’t all that far off either.
He’s toned the violence down here, though he still brings the intensity. And he gives a lot more to Hennig than I thought he would.
The result is a really fun, all-action match.
****¼
Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel (AWA, AWA World Heavyweight Title, 11/15/86)
A wonderfully crafted slice of wrestling.
I knew Bockwinkel was a master of his craft but didn’t realise Hennig was so good.
We get about 30 minutes of quality, technical work from both men before things begin to break down. And by the end of the match they’re both covered in blood and punching each other in the face.
The work’s great, the storytelling’s great, and the build to the violence is great.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and the hour flew by.
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on May 9, 2024 10:14:35 GMT -5
Time for some lucha, All Japan, and modern indie action:
Terry Gordy vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW, Triple Crown, 06/08/90)
This got off to an amazing start.
The crowd and the way they locked up made it feel like a huge match.
But it never hit the level of intensity and violence you see in the best Stan Hansen matches. Even Hansen’s blade job here was half-hearted and by the end of the match you’d never even know he bled.
Though the finishing stretch was great with Hansen doing anything he can to survive against Gordy.
Watch Hansen’s match with Dr. Death from 3 days before this. It’s similar but much better.
***½
Espectrito vs. Mascarita Sagrada (AAA, IWC World Mini's Title, ⅔ Falls, 03/12/94)
I was hyped for this one based on its reputation and the other minis trio I watched.
But it didn’t deliver at the level I expected or wanted.
There is some great action, but it never flows all that well. And it gets repetitive towards the end.
Though it was still entertaining and enjoyable enough.
Just not the elite match I thought it would be.
***¾
Cicloncito Ramirez vs. Damiancito El Guerrero (CMLL, CMLL World Mini Estrella Title, ⅔ Falls, 01/07/97)
If the AAA minis are Warwick Davis, then the CMLL minis are Tom Cruise.
And this match delivers exactly what I want.
It’s pretty much non-stop, amazing, fluid, technical action. With no shortage of moves I can’t recall seeing before. Including a neat fake headscissors into an enziguri. And it seemed like there was a touch of Japanese influence here.
On the downside it did feel on the lightweight side, with little narrative beyond the action. And the crowd didn’t do it justice.
But still a superb showcase match. *****
Jake Parnell vs. Gary Jay (ZERO1 USA, ZERO1 USA World Jr. Heavyweight Title, Last Man Standing Match, 01/27/18)
I wanted to like this far more than I did.
The finishing stretch was great. But the middle felt pedestrian with them spending too long setting things up.
Though I thought both men looked good with crisp execution of their offense. And I’d like to see them in a regular match.
***¾
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Post by AndrewGB79 on May 12, 2024 14:10:36 GMT -5
I've had a very fun weekend of wrestling. First some US indie action and then catching up with late era Battlarts.
Eddie Kingston vs. Mike Quackenbush (CHIKARA, CHIKARA Grand Title, 12 Large: Summit Final, 11/13/11)
A great clash of styles.
Kingston’s heavy hitting against Quackenbush’s technical submissions.
It started off decently enough and got better and better as it went. By the end I was completely hooked. Though I don’t think Quackenbush was the best heel for this. He just didn’t come off threatening enough compared to Kingston.
But I still had a great time with this.
The action and story were sound, the crowd was great, and all the wrestlers coming out and surrounding the ring was a nice touch.
****3/4
Dominic Garrini vs. Joshua Bishop (AIW, Submit Or Surrender, 04/04/19)
Submit or surrender just means “I quit”.
And this felt like how I remember the best of ECW feeling (though I’d be surprised if most of ECW holds up).
They go through a series of violent spots, they look brutal, and there’s minimal downtime.
Not much to complain about for this type of match!
****1/2
Eddie Kingston vs. Dominic Garrini (AIW, 04/30/21)
This was what I expected.
A couple of hard-hitters hitting each other hard. And the action’s great throughout.
What stops me rating this any higher is there’s too much no-selling throughout this. And no real structure or story beyond them taking turns to smack each other around.
****
Daisuke Ikeda & Manabu Hara vs. Alexander Otsuka & Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, 07/21/07)
This is Battlarts.
Violence, technical work, some pro-style.
It didn’t have anything to elevate it above other high-end matches from the promotion. But that’s far from a bad thing.
****½
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (Battlarts, 06/01/08)
A pure grappling match.
It started out a bit like an exhibition. But about part way through, Ishikawa gets frustrated at being out-matched and starts to play rougher.
Greco looked amazing here. Fast and smooth with all sorts of technical trickery. It would’ve been great to see him (or any of the Battlarts boys) in RINGS.
Not the greatest match. But as a grappling showcase this was pretty entertaining.
****¼
Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II (Battlarts, Elimination Match, 07/26/08)
I’ve always enjoyed the action in Battlarts matches.
But the lack of structure, narrative, and sometimes even pacing stops them building up drama or excitement and has held them back from hitting five stars for me.
Up to now.
This has the trademark Battlarts action. It also has excellent storytelling. And the longer it goes the more dramatic it gets.
It’s hampered by amateurish camerawork and a weak finish. But everything else here was top-notch.
This has instantly become one of my all-time favourite matches.
*****
Yuki Ishikawa & Munenori Sawa vs. Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara (Battlarts, 11/16/08)
This was more of the same!
And almost as good.
Some of the kicks here are just ridiculous. And the extended finishing stretch between Tiger and Ishikawa is incredible.
World-class shoot-style action.
*****
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Post by AndrewGB79 on May 13, 2024 0:32:33 GMT -5
Finished the weekend off with some indie war games:
Azrael, Iceberg, Shaun Tempers & Tank vs. Ace Rockwell, Nemesis, Shadow Jackson & Slim J (Anarchy, War Games, Submit or Surrender, 07/22/06)
The promos for this are great.
The commentators are really good.
And the small crowd is red hot.
But it’s a bit too simple and messy for me.
Just not my cup of tea I’m afraid.
***
Azrael, Iceberg, Shaun Tempers & Tank vs. Abomination, Jeff Lewis, Kory Chavis & Phil Shatter (Anarchy, War Games, Submit or Surrender, 06/23/07)
More of the same.
***
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Post by AndrewGB79 on May 15, 2024 18:17:03 GMT -5
Some U-Style and PWG:
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (U-STYLE, 04/06/03)
Tamura sticks with the same style of wrestling he was using in UWFi and RINGS.
And I’m not complaining.
The action’s great here. And Mishima contributes some fun kicks and submission attempts.
Needed some structure or narrative to take it to the next level.
****
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (U-STYLE, 02/04/04)
Not too different from their RINGS work.
Just not quite as good. But it’s still pretty great.
The action at the start is top-notch and they turn the tension up for the finishing stretch.
****¼
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (U-STYLE, U-STYLE Title Tournament First Round, 08/07/04)
The action’s great again.
But this time we get a better structure making it a better match.
And it could’ve been special with another few minutes, but a finish out of nowhere was a bit of a letdown.
****¼
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito (U-STYLE, U-STYLE Title Tournament Semi Final, 08/18/04)
Ito couldn’t look any blander, but he delivered the goods. He’s aggressive and keeps Tamura on the backfoot.
The action here is excellent. And the drama builds throughout, especially as both men start to tire.
Great match and a pity we never got a rematch when Ito had grown into even more of a threat.
****½
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Josh Barnett (U-STYLE, 11/23/05)
Barnett looks massive compared to Tamura.
And he starts out by dominating on the mat. But the longer it goes, the more he runs out of gas and Tamura gets his opportunity.
The technical work here was great, far better than I expected. And it builds to a quality finishing stretch with a very nicely done finish.
****¾
Eddie Kingston, Claudio Castagnoli & Human Tornado vs. Necro Butcher, Chris Hero & Candice LeRae (PWG, 01/05/08)
This felt a bit like a lower-rent version of the FMW six-man tag with Santo and Casas.
It starts off a little dull, but soon becomes a crazy brawl with all six wrestlers fighting outside the building throwing everything from stones to trash cans at each other. Then they get in the ring and the work’s not quite as great as you’d want from these as it’s a bit too one-sided.
Human Tornado impressed me as I’d not seen him work before. Though Candice LeRae didn’t do much here and looked hesitant to get involved with anything.
But overall this was a lot of fun.
****
Low-Ki vs. Necro Butcher vs. Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston (PWG, PWG World Title, Fatal Four Way, 08/30/08)
This should’ve been amazing but wasn’t.
The action didn’t flow and for most of the match it felt awkward.
Though it does benefit from Low Ki and Necro Butcher punching and kicking each other harder than can possibly be safe.
***1/4
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