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Post by kas on Feb 13, 2019 19:36:59 GMT -5
A fantastic technical match up that is among Ring Of Honor's best. Things start on the mat with a great sense of urgency, and some really good looking holds, everything looked really snug. They take it to the outside after that, and London begins attacking Styles' leg, who's welling of it was superb. As the match goes on, London's legwork gets more vicious, and Styles' offense gets more desperate, throwing whatever he can at London, who at this point smells blood. My only gripe with the match is the finish, but I can't complain too much as it meant that London's work actually went somewhere and wasn't just for show.
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Post by elliott on Sept 21, 2023 20:15:51 GMT -5
2nd
I tried. It's not for me.
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Post by mrjmml on Apr 25, 2024 18:01:09 GMT -5
AJ Styles vs Paul London (ROH - 6/14/2003)
This feels like antithesis of the last match I covered (Akira Taue v Yuji Nagata (NOAH - 6/6/2003) that one was stiff and direct in a way that really peaked my interest while this bout is an indie epic that was way longer than it needed to be. I like Paul London as an easy to root for babyface but that match structure only works when you’re against a great in-ring presence who knows how to manage his energy like Bryan Danielson did earlier in the year. AJ Styles is no Bryan Danielson if you’re reading this you know that AJ is a talented high flyer but not the greatest ring general and that’s noticeable here. Both wrestlers have a very similar style and they are promoted by the company in a very similar way although AJ was seen as a serious title contender along with Low Ki, Daniels or Danielson. Paul London is more of an underdog fan favourite who puts everything on the line everyday with mixed results, a role that fit him perfectly, he is the main babyface of the company so it didn’t matter if he won or lost. Samoa Joe was already champion at this point in time, this match is, in fact, a match to decide the number 1 contender for Joe’s belt which makes the finish of this contest particularly stupid from a booking perspective. After around 25 minutes of back and fourth AJ hits a german suplex for the three count or so it seemed, turns out he also had his shoulders touching the floor making it an anticlimactic draw that didn’t benefit anyone. Now I know why americans have overtime in every major sport, ties like this are awful but if you like indie epics this is definitely for you it just wasn’t my cup of tea but there’s still a lot here to be enjoyed especially from Paul London, he’s the reason why I don’t regret watching this match.
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