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Post by fxnj on Mar 19, 2019 16:57:56 GMT -5
20140314 Thatcher vs. Gulak
I'll get the negatives out of the way first. This style clearly went over the heads of the people in the audience, who were busy chanting USA for a good chunk of the match rather than actually reacting the work. It also seemed to go over the commentators as well who didn't seem to do much to put over the technique on display. The grit and struggle on display is still a step above your standard pro wrestling match, but there's still a sense of a touch more cooperativeness than there is in Thatcher/Graves 2015. Also, it's an odd complaint, but I thought Thatcher actually sold the leg a tad too much down the stretch as, even though Gulak worked on it quite a bit, him doing theatrical sports entertainment style selling was a tad out of place given the shooty style they were working. This is an excellent match, though, and well worthy of the hype it got at the time even if Thatcher may have had some better matches. There really aren't a whole lot of recent matches where you can see the sort of technique on display in this match. I get a kick out of little things like Thatcher grinding his knee into Gulak's head while going for a keylock. He's great at representing catch wrestling, which is as much about just hurting your opponent as it is going for match-ending submissions. I also dug how he wrenched on his biceps crusher. Looked hella painful. There was some great guard work too with them trading blows. They also made the spot with two guys with legs tied up doing headstands and trading slap look as good as I've seen it done. Gulak also brought his own variety of toeholds that really didn't look fun to take and that, as mentioned, Thatcher ended up selling the damage for in the stretch run. The match has a great sense of escalation as well with them starting out with mat-work and then working in hard strikes and bigger throws as match progressed, highlighted by a piledriver that bordered on a ganso bomb/Kawada driver. ****1/4
20030412 Danielson vs London
A beloved match for both Danielson fans and general ROH fans, and again my general distaste for matches going long for the sake of going long shows itself. I had no idea these guys were going 40 minutes going in, so I might have been in a tad more forgiving mood if knew they were pacing themselves for a long match, but this dragged for me. The 15 minutes or so were solid, but the lack of a real hook kind of hurt it. I was almost begging them to get to the point of the match and to stop the trading of listless moves. Still, the stuff they did was at least had a degree of stiffness and passion to it that put it above the first 15 minutes of something like Okada/Shibata. The opening matwork was snug. I especially dug Paul London's headlock with Danielson even selling the ears. When they moved onto throwing strikes, everything looked good as well even if it didn't seem all that gripping to me. The dynamic they set up is that London just wants to wrestle a respectful match while Danielson is doing pretty much whatever he can to win. Highlight of the first fall was Danielson throwing open handed cheap shots at London while having him in an abdominal stretch. It's dirty, but legal. After London wins the first fall by reversing an attempted top rope backdrop into a cross body, they start off the 2nd with Danielson cheapshotting London after the latter went for a handshake. The commentators emphasized that the rules only say handshakes should happen before the match and not between falls, which gave me impression of the story being that London might have been a little too friendly and needed to focus more on winning the match. Anyway, the 2nd fall was shorter than the 1st and ended with a memorable spot of London getting his leg tied up in the ropes and Danielson putting in some vicious work on it en route to picking up a submission victory. The 3rd is dominated by the story of London trying to fight back from the leg injury. His selling was good, but the issue I had is that it didn't really seem to have much effect on his strategy. What does it really matter if he's limping when he can still execute slams and trade strikes without issue? I felt they could have done more to get across the urgency of the injury. Still, they worked in some great near falls. I loved Danielson hitting the top rope backdrop as a callback to the first fall finish. They also worked an excellent single leg crab submission attempt that played off the 2nd fall finish, which looked all the more sick from London being mad flexible and capable of getting his leg bent almost all the way back to his head. I also dug London beginning his comeback by stopping Danielson from attempting another top rope backdrop, this one intended to be aimed at the outside, to begin his comeback. The escalation was really good throughout the match and the motif of the top rope backdrop throughout the match was great to help get it across. Similar to the Joe match, I think these guys had some good ideas but should have gone for a shorter length. Still, it didn't bore me for stretches like the Joe match did so this is a good deal better. ****1/8
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Post by fxnj on Mar 19, 2019 17:41:19 GMT -5
19860206 Inoki vs. Fujiwara
For a guy that rubes like to characterize as a HHH-type figure who held down talent and often refused to sell, Inoki sure does put on an incredible performance here getting over Fujiwara and making him look worthy of main eventing NJPW against the ace. I had watched an absolutely breathtaking grappling shootfight before this (Garry Tonon vs Rousimar Palharas, FYI. If you haven't seen it, absolutely go check it out as the work is easily up there with the best RINGS stuff) and, though the technique on display in this could not hope to live up to that, it's still a fantastic pro wrestling match because of all the dramatic flourishes worked in. The thing that really struck me about the match when watching it after the shoot-fight is how slow paced it is and lacking in what we'd call "slick" matwork. So much of the match is told simply through facials and body language. In fact, in terms of "big match feel" type spectacles, this might be my favorite. The crowd treats this like a huge match in the ring intros, and early going is defined by a tentativeness to engage that really gets over the seriousness of that match. Fujiwara had already built a rep for himself in UWF as the greatest counter-wrestler out there, and he brought that into NJPW when he was booked to beat Maeda by flash armbar in their excellent January match. Inoki acknowledges all that with how careful he is in picking his spots. Fujiwara, as is to be expected, delivers with hanging on the mat and even seems to get the better of Inoki in a lot of exchanges. An early highlight is Inoki going for a standing wristlock that gets fought off and Fujiwara, not to be outdone, being sure to get in his own attempt on a rope break. What really defines this match, though, is how they work the leglocks. Specifically, after the first leg lock ends in a stalemate, Inoki can't help but shit talk Fujiwara the next time Fujiwara grabs the hold. As best as I could interpret, the idea seemed to be that Inoki was mocking Fujiwara and wanted to show how easily he could reverse the hold. I remember some people on the DVDVR set disliking it as they saw it as Inoki burying Fujiwara. What those people seemed to miss, though, is that after Inoki would try to reverse it that Fujiwara would just wrench in harder and end up getting the better of the exchange. If that isn't a put over job then I don't know what is. The dynamic that seems to develop is that not only is Fujiwara going hold-for-hold with the ace but actually surpassing him. Thus, moments like Inoki trying to blitz Fujiwara with strikes that might seem like fun little moments in other matches end up coming across like a huge deal here as Inoki finding his opening for his best shot at winning the match and indirectly admitting Fujiwara's mat superiority. I should also mention Fujiwara also gets Inoki in an armbar that's probably that most brutal hold of the match. Fujiwara spends some time just wrenching on it and I couldn't help but wince as it looked like it might have been doing some real damage to Inoki's elbow tendons. Inoki is sure to sell it for the rest of the match, and I wondered how much of it was legit. Inoki busting out the headbutts later on is an incredible moment as well. What struck me even more, though, is how smart Fujiwara was in handling it. Rather than doing the obvious and immediately trying to get revenge on Inoki for stealing his signature move, he bides his time and waits until later on to get his payback. Then, when Fujiwara does end up doing his headbutts when an accidental low blow pisses him off, Inoki ends up having them scouted and counters one of them with a hard as fuck elbow. Pro wrestling rules. The low blow shenanigans are what they are. I think I might have liked the match a tad more if they got the chance to work a real stretch run, but I acknowledge that the low blow and the post-match brawling was an awesome spectacle in itself on top the epic big match that they had built as a base. Just an incredible spectacle and one of my favorites from either guy. ****5/8
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Post by fxnj on Mar 19, 2019 18:59:10 GMT -5
20000526 Kobashi vs. Takayama
A fantastic example of adapting a match structure to fit a guy's strengths. Takayama, the UWFi alumni, is totally different from Kobashi's usual opponents, so the usual slow building match ending match with bombs at the finish just isn't the best way to highlight him. Thus, we see a sort of hybrid style in play with sort of an underlying theme of Kobashi defending the honor of King's Road style against a guy who really doesn't care too much about about it or its history. Pretty fitting story for the last classic of pre-split AJPW. This match is set apart straight from the beginning, when Takayama nails Kobashi with a stiff knockout knee during the intros and then goes for the cover as soon as the match begins. Takayama doesn't care about the usual pageantry. He just wants to win the title through any means possible, and it works because his buddy Omori beat Akiyama in a similar fashion back in the Carnival. Kobashi's comeback with him busting out forehead chops is a great as well. I love him busting out Jumbo's abdominal stretch and Misawa's facelock. This is pro wrestling, mother fucker. Takayama takes back over by mounting Kobashi and throwing some stiff punches before locking in a nasty armbar. Some brutal kicks on his control segment. I love the shit out of Kobashi firing himself up while taking hits and coming back destroying Tak with forehead chops and spinning elbows. Reminds me of Inoki destroying guys. Anyway, Tak takes back over after they do the classic pro wrestling spot of Kobashi getting distracted by Omori, who is Takayama's second. I love the irony of the former shoot-stylist resorting to that shit, and the execution was much better than what you'd get in most US promotions. Tak's comeback is punctuated by him nailing Kobashi with another hard KO knee in the corner that Kobashi sells to perfection. After that, he zeroes in on Kobashi with all kinds of rough armlocks, and it's great. Kobashi begins his real comeback with a Giant Baba tribute jumping neckbreaker. Kobashi's comeback with him running through his offense while selling the hell of arm is some awesome shit. I dug him sacrificing his bad arm to hit Tak with the lariat. Tak won't stay down for long, though, and comes back with a beautiful Everest German Suplex. After Kobashi kicks out, you get the sense that Tak might be gassing out as he collapses in the corner after following up with a running knee. The climax of the match happens soon thereafter as the two start trading head shots, Takayama throwing stiff punches to Kobashi's chin while Kobashi uses backfists and inside forearm blows. I love how even at this crucial moment of the match Kobashi is staying true to King's Road and refusing to turn it into a boxing match. Again, pro wrestling, motherfucker. Anyway, it's an incredible moment that really feels like it's going to decide the outcome of the match and Kobashi ends up getting the better with Takayama collapsing. Takayama tries to comeback by hitting a german, but he's too spent to nail it cleanly and it just ends up being a double knockdown. From there, it's just a matter of Kobashi hitting another lariat to score the win. ****5/8
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Post by fxnj on Mar 26, 2019 19:25:25 GMT -5
20030614 London vs Styles
To me, this is the quintessential ROH match. When I first heard of ROH, I imagined young guys performing t a fast-paced hybrid style built around handshake shenanigans, and that's exactly what this match is. This was my working GOAT ROH match going into this project, but it had been years since I had seen it so I wasn't sure how it held up. After rewatching it for this project, not only does it hold up but I think I enjoyed more than ever. I might have had some issues with the length of Danielson/London, but I am so glad I watched it as it really enhanced this match to have seen it, along with the promo between Styles and London on that same show teasing London's jealousy for Styles's title victories. Comparing this to Danielson/London, that was worked more like a slow-building heavyweight match while this is more of a juniors sprint, albeit one that goes almost 30 minutes. They start out with some really good matwork that's noticeably different from the slower and struggle-oriented stuff in Danielson. They're much quicker in moving through holds, but it's still feels hard-fought and never catch-and-release. The matwork enhanced by them playing some handshake mind games with each other playing up the friendly rival dynamic they had going in. I felt much more urgency in the early going here than I did in Danielson/London as Styles was already looking for match-ending submissions and his Styles Clash, which made it feel like they weren’t going that long. There’s an underlying theme in the matwork of Styles getting the better of London, which leads to the match turning away from the matwork after London does a stiff cheap shot. They tease the match going into a high-flying direction with a fantastic kung-fu exchange straight out of Ki/Red, but the real meat of the match begins then Styles tweaks his knee off a dive to the outside. If Danielson/London was about Bryan using some cheap-shots against a babyface London, and London having to show a scrappier side of himself, this match is about that scrappiness turning into a full-on mean streak from London. It’s so beautiful seeing those seeds planted two months ago pay off as London is vicious going after the knee. He mixes in stiff shots with creative stuff like a great looking shooting-star press on the knee. Dragon screws often don’t look brutal, but it looked pretty brutal here when London pulled one out to counter a Styles enzugiri attempt. This time, it’s Styles’s turn to be the babyface who has to get scrappy as he fights back with plenty of hard shots. I can’t say for sure that these were hitting each other harder than Danielson/London, but the lighting and camerawork is much better so it definitely looks like they are, and that’s what matters to me. At one point Styles did a running elbow to London and you could see the perspiration just flying off of London from the impact. They also did a Frye/Takayama tribute exchange that I loved. Styles does an excellent subtle sell-job of the knee. He doesn’t overdo it with the limping, but you can definitely see how it’s affecting his strategy in the match. They work a fantastic near-fall where Styles hits the Styles Clash, but he’s just a tad late in covering because of his bad knee, and, after the kick-out, he has this express on his face that’s reminiscent of Undertaker’s in Mania 25 when Shawn kicked out of the tombstone. The double pin-fall finish is a little deflating for such a hard-fought match, but it worked fine for the story they told. Styles had London’s number, but his knee gave out on him and he couldn’t adapt. ****3/4
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Post by fxnj on Mar 26, 2019 20:10:53 GMT -5
19930601 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue
I've never really understood why this match hasn't been pimped a whole lot. Have this same match move-for-move with any other combination and it would be regarded as a career match for all four involved. The match pretty much ticks all the boxes you could want out of a tag whether it be clear escalation, a great heat section, a molten hot tag, stiff and fluid exchanges, and on-point character work. The glue that holds the match together is really Misawa. Even this early on, has such a great understanding of using his ring presence. You can see it from the first time he tags in early on to work a counter exchange with Kawada. All the teases they do feel so big from how the crowd reacts, and they know how to give just enough to whet your appetite. When Misawa hits his first elbow to counter an elbow cheapshot from Kawada the reaction is huge. Kobashi was in the middle of his amazing 1993 babyface run, so he's as great as you'd expect with him showing all kinds of fire against Kawada/Taue and giving as good as got. Everyone's chest was red by the end of this from how hard they chopped each other, by way. I know some aren't into Kobashi's machismo thing, but I thought it was awesome here and really felt like a rising star stepping up when given an opportunity. Kawada and Taue had lots of great tandem offense while working over Kobashi during the main heat section of the match. They really came across as well oiled machine compared to Misawa/Kobashi, and that might have been the difference maker down the stretch. I absolutely loved how they worked the hot tag in this with Kawada working over Kobashi in the stretch plum and him desperately reaching out his hand to Misawa while inching across the ring. Misawa screaming out at Kobashi to make the tag and Kobashi finally getting the tag while still in the hold is such an incredible moment. Kawada/Misawa do an awesome as well strike exchange as well. After breaking his stoicism earlier, I love Misawa showing he's the boss by refusing to sell Kawada's soccer kicks and then nonchalantly cheap-shotting Taue off the apron. Finishing stretch is pretty damn great as well with the crowd really coming unglued and biting on every near fall. Kobashi hitting the moonsault and powerbomb on Kawada had the crowd stomping their feet, which is always something I love. This stretch-run is a great example to me of how to leave something on the table for a rematch as they don't really do any surprise kick-outs and most of the focus is on having partners break up pins. My favorite near fall of the match happens when Taue hits a super nodowa otoshi and Misawa just casually comes in to stomp Kawada square in the jaw during his pin attempt. I rewound that multiple times. Anyway, as mentioned, the superior team-work of Kawada/Taue ends up feeling like the difference as Taue is able to play the big man to occupy Misawa while Kawada isolates Kobashi for long enough to get the powerbomb pin on him. ****3/4
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Post by fxnj on Mar 26, 2019 20:32:57 GMT -5
20040309 Kawada vs Nishimura
I had thought I had seen all the Kawada classics, so I was pretty surprised to discover this gem that even happened in the middle of his big triple crown reign. The great Kawada as Ace matches have a war of attrition feel, but this match is a tad different as here it's about the challenger coming in with a smart gameplan and Kawada having to find a way out. Nishimura's gameplan comes in two. The first is to go after Kawada early on and provoke him. The second, after Kawada has been provoked, is to find an opening and then just grind him down on the mat with a focus on his bad knee. Nishimura is awesome here giving a Fujiwara-ish performance with being lightning-fast to act on any openings he sees and torquing the fuck out of all his holds. Kawada gives exactly the performance you'd expect out of him as he brings out his usual great leg selling while stiffing Nishimura with kicks. I love how the two worked the Nishimura figure four spot. Both guys are so great with their facials, and the camerawork is really good at catching all of it. The sense of struggle is top notch as well with Kawada really having a hard time reversing it while Nishimura keeps trying to get it on deeper. The most impressive thing, though, is how the crowd seemed to buy into Nishimura as a champ and was chanting for him to win by the end. I'm as big a Kawada fan as anyone, but I came out feeling like it would have been good to do a surprise title switch as the crowd was definitely ready for it. The reaction to Nishimura's backslide late in the match is really something to behold. Pretty sick finish as well with Nishimura kicking out of Kawada's usual signature finishers and Kawada knocking him out by punting him straight in the face. ****1/2
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Post by fxnj on Mar 26, 2019 21:31:02 GMT -5
19900526 Misawa/Taue/Kobashi vs. Jumbo/Kabuki/Fuchi
I had seen this while first going through AJPW and loved it but didn't really revisit it afterwards as it doesn't seem to ever get much pimping as a top tier 6-man. Still, I was planning to watch Jumbo/Misawa so I figured I'd watch the lead-in. Holy shit. This not only held up but felt like a top-tier 6-man in its own right, maybe even the best of 1990. Jumbo's performance and the story he tells through it from his entrance to the finish is simply amazing. He's coming into this riding high as the Triple Crown champ and undisputed top native, and you can feel him exude confidence even while coming into the ring with his team. When it's his turn to tag in early on, he faces young Kobashi. Kobashi shows some fire and tries to bring the fight to Jumbo like you'd expect a guy in his position to do, but Jumbo inevitably gets the better of him with his signature jumping knee. A bit excited, he decides to flex by cheap-shotting Misawa and Taue off the apron before playing to the crowd. Though he doesn't know it yet, this would come back to bite him. Misawa demands to be tagged in, and you can alrady see the quiet confidence that would go on to define him during his run as ace. Though Jumbo gets the better of their exchange before tagging out, you can just feel from his body language that he KNOWS he's on Jumbo's level even if no one else does at this point. Then, a few minutes later the magic begins. While near Jumbo's corner, Misawa cheap shots Jumbo with his soon-to-be signature elbow strike and a legend is born in that moment. Jumbo spends 3 minutes knocked out on the outside before coming in fuming, rushing Misawa as soon as he regains his senses. But Misawa fights back. He manages to get on top of Jumbo and rain down elbows while Jumbo is reduced to throwing weak, sloppy punches in response. That's some true next-level selling. After the partners come in to break it up, Jumbo also does an awesome job of selling still being loopy. At this point, not only has Misawa gotten the better of Jumbo but he's embarrassed him in his attempt to re-establish himself as the top dog in the match. The match settles down after that, entering a Kobashi heat section but the spectre of what has just transpired looms over the match. Fuchi works over Kobashi on the mat, softening up his leg as if he's a sacrificial lamb to appease the angry god that is Jumbo. All of Jumbo's offense when he tags in has this snap to it, as if he's taking out his anger on Kobashi. There's one point where he bodyslams Kobashi as hard humanly possible. But Kobashi is no slouch, and he manages to fight through the pain and make the hot tag. For the last few minutes of the match, the crowd really gets going as they realize they could see a potentially huge upset. And the young guys don't disappoint, working together perfectly to isolate Fuchi before Jumbo can even grasp what's going. Misawa of all people scores the pin with a Tiger Suplex, and the visual of Jumbo's face afterwards is absolutely perfect. Even the lighting is coincidentally amazing with there being this red tint over Jumbo's face from the arena lights that give it this other-worldly quality. I've focused on Jumbo's performance, but really this is a supreme effort from all involved. Taue really brings it as a young lion, and there's a beauty to the humbleness his match-opening exchange with Fuchi before the history-making majesty of the match has yet to unfold. Fuchi is as awesome in the later tags, and even Kabuki bring out his stiff strikes. Kobashi's leg selling is great as well, though the camera seems to miss some of his apron selling. It's a very well-worked 6-man that's elevated by a spectacular put-over job by Jumbo. In the span of this match, Misawa went from a mid-carder who took off a mask to a guy who could not only hang with the ace but embarrass him. There's a famous story about Baba changing the finish to Jumbo/Misawa because of the reaction Misawa got at the merch stands, and this is the match that created that reaction. ****1/2
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Post by microstatistics on Mar 26, 2019 22:01:36 GMT -5
Everybody's doing it, so I figured I'd start my own thread.
19960716 Han vs KohsakaIs there a review? This almost made my Top 50. |
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Post by fxnj on Mar 27, 2019 2:48:21 GMT -5
I was planning on rewatching and reviewing it, but never got around to it. Guess now is as good a time as any. I'm not very good at reviewing RINGS, but I'll see how it comes out.
19960716 Han vs Kohsaka
Fantastic mat war between the leg-lock wizard and the rising native star. Like a lot of Han matches, it has pretty amazing beginning as they scramble for holds until Han gets in a shooty figure-four that really has to be seen to be believed. Best hold of the match for me. Kohsaka quickly countered it into an ankle lock before they tangle into the ropes. Back up standing and Kohsaka sells a Han liver shot before doing a lightning fast takedown into a choke hold. Han manages to reverse it into a LeBelle lock and Kohsaka has to grab the ropes. They've been cutting a blistering pace so far 3 minutes into the match. Han goes for a similar leglock to the figure four he did earlier, only done more like an ankle lock, but Kohsaka endures the pain and manages to reverse it into his own ankle lock. The top-down cam is awesome as you can see really see his body-language with wrenching in on it for all he has. Still, he can't quite get Han as they tangle back up, but he secures side control before doing an armbar that finally forces Han to take his own rope break at 5 minute mark. I love Kohsaka acting like he'd just won Olympics off that break. Kohsaka goes for a guillotine, but Han gets out and manages to get him in some sort of dual leg and arm lock that I've never even seen before. He truly is a wizard. Kohsaka has a difficult time even getting to the ropes, and there's a great close-up of Han smiling afterwards like he's a wolf who's found his prey. Kohsaka grows more desperate as he blitzes Han with a series of strikes, but Han forces the ref to break them up with a clinch on the ropes and then takes take him down to get a third rope break from Kohsaka off a leg lock. Han takes him back down to do more damage to Kohsaka's poor legs, this time attempting a banana split move, but he ends up leaving his leg open to Kohsaka to grab an ankle lock and get his own rope break. The confidence seems to be coming back to Kohsaka. Kohsaka quickly gets another Han rope break on a choke and the two are now tied for points. Han goes for another Guillotine, but Kohsaka reverses it into an attempted armbar, before transitioning into a triangle and scoring a rope break. Crowd is molten for all this. Feeling a bit threatened, Han goes for broke landing all kinds of strikes before getting a KO win by breaking and bloodying Kohsaka's nose. The first time I watched it, the finish felt really sudden, but on rewatch it was more like an exclamation point on what was a grueling all-out submissions battle. The technique on display was superb, as is to be expected, and it really felt like an exciting match as both guys were constantly going for kill shots and not really doing much positioning work. There's a really nice contrast in play between the flashy shit Han keeps going for and Kohsaka's more basic counters. Han definitely seemed to be in control for most of the match, but Kohsaka gave a great showing of his own in keeping up and the flash KO finish, though brutal, also serves to protect him and set up for a rematch. ****1/2
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Post by fxnj on Mar 27, 2019 3:42:38 GMT -5
19600608 Jesse James vs Al Costello
I had fears that this wouldn't hold up as well as I remembered, but it pretty much did. Just an amazing US weekly TV main event that still holds up among the best in its genre nearly 60 years later. It's the classic story of the beloved face in James trying to fend off a mean heel in Costello, but it's done so well. Costello is awesome with how works over James's arm while liberally sprinkling in cheap shots throughout the match. He's just so expressive with wrenching in all the holds, and there's an awesome moment where he shakes his head to the ref after using James's hair to maintain an armlock. It might not sound like much to read about, but he had the perfect mischievous look that I just can't help but chuckle at. The actual struggle surrounding the matwork is top notch as well, and Costello even pulls out a figure four armlock that I'm surprised I haven't seen more guys do. Besides that, I also love how much struggle they work into the pin attempts. A backslide is not generally thought of as a spectacular move, but there were several time I rewound the backslide that Costello used to score the first fall as it just looked awesome how hard-fought it was. Imagine an NWA title match where every hold and strike was done in the most vicious and gritty and you'll have a good idea of how this match is worked. Even the snapmares that Costello does in the second fall look nasty, like he's trying to rip James's head off. Hot comeback from James wins him the second fall. Third fall is short but pretty damn great as James has had enough of Costello's cheapshots and decides to unload on him with his own barrage of strikes. Not really sure about the finish as the backbreakers that Costello used to win the fall didn't look quite up to standard of the other stuff in the match, but it could be that he just used a different application of the hold than I'm used to appreciating. ****1/2
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