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Post by microstatistics on Aug 8, 2020 15:49:58 GMT -5
Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue (NOAH, 4/23/2006)
In terms of pure talent and skill, Inoue was no match for the world champion and so had to employ an early ambush, stalling, underhanded ploys, and inventive tricks to catch Akiyama off guard. The crowd understood the need for these tactics to an extent because whenever Akiyama retaliated in kind, he was booed quite heavily. Akiyama fed into the backlash, even piledriving Inoue on the concrete out of sheer spite. It became more of a straightforward contest later on as Inoue pulled off a number of big moves and managed close flash pins. He also displayed commendable toughness absorbing Akiyama’s offense before slowly but surely being put down. They probably could have taken it home a couple of minutes earlier, but this was still a truly one-of-a-kind, wonderfully orchestrated heavyweight bout. ****5/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 8, 2020 15:51:05 GMT -5
Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 9/9/2006)
Marufuji had proven himself capable against heavyweights earlier in the year and so earned an opportunity for the GHC title. Marufuji utilized his usual strategy of targeting the knee of his larger opponent and it worked quite well until he ate a brutal backdrop on the ramp, which allowed Akiyama to somewhat recover. They worked over each other’s back and neck and Akiyama even had to resort to using unusual moves like a top rope frankensteiner since Marufuji had pushed him further than expected. A final Akiyama control stretch looked to be the end of Marufuji, but he shockingly kicked out of the Sternness Dust α and recovered enough to take advantage of Akiyama’s famous susceptibility to flash pins and pull off a stunning upset. The crowd didn’t really buy a potential title change until that near fall, which was slightly disappointing, but they definitely worked a match worthy of the occasion. ****1/4
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 8, 2020 15:52:46 GMT -5
Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (ROH, 9/16/2006)
Coming in, KENTA was undefeated in ROH and Bryan had a serious shoulder injury, so the world title was in more jeopardy than ever. KENTA zeroed in on the arm with stiff kicks and submission holds as Bryan’s usual cocky approaches proved ineffective and he was forced to rely on his versatility and durability to tough it out. Bryan eventually became the first person to survive the GTS and persisted through the pain in his arm to snap KENTA’s streak and retain the title. Bryan’s arm selling was very consistent as he often used left arm strikes and even messed up execution of basic maneuvers like a surfboard, making the finish feel earned. This was essentially a high-end NOAH bout, with the well-paced, escalating moves and counters, to which they added some indie touches. The inclusion of NOAH-style fighting spirit was unnecessary though. ****1/2
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 8, 2020 15:54:18 GMT -5
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura (MUGA, 9/25/2006)
Nishimura outwitted his mentor Fujinami to quickly take the first fall. In the second fall, he tried to keep the more aggressive Fujinami in check by grinding down his arm, until Fujinami belligerently kicked away at his knee and eventually induced a submission via the figure-four. Fujinami continued his line of attack on the leg in the third fall, with an extended king of the mountain segment as Nishimura was forced to regroup on the floor. The build to the finish with Nishimura’s tenacity and resilience was strong but the finish itself with the figure-four reversal and submission was actually quite poor since it was too sudden and a little contrived. They might have been able to salvage it had Fujinami sold the correct leg (earlier on, Nishimura got in a few shots that hurt his left leg but at the finish he sold the right). The finish aside, this was a high-end old school bout with choice matwork and hard strikes that, despite its stylistic distinctiveness, fit right in with the great matches from this time period. ****3/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 8, 2020 16:42:56 GMT -5
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (ROH, 12/23/2006)
The biggest match in ROH history as Homicide looked to fulfil his destiny after years of disappointments while Bryan wanted to cement the legendary status of his title run. Bryan was in full on heel mode, but Homicide was unperturbed and stayed focused on the task at hand. Normally I don’t like interference spots but Homicide’s enemies re-injuring his arm, the fake-out DQ and Bryan’s smugness turned outrage all setup the dueling arm portion of the match well. Bryan felt the match slipping away and busted out old tricks that had previously bore fruit: the crossface chickenwing, cattle mutilation, the small package. He even tried to get disqualified by refusing to break on five and pulled out a last-ditch low blow. Homicide almost lost his composure on a Kudo driver kickout but, following pleas from the crowd, marched on as all of Bryan’s efforts fell flat and eventually dethroned the champion with a Lariat. An ROH classic. ****1/2
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 1:43:13 GMT -5
Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW, 7/6/2007)
The proud IWGP world champion Nagata was less than amused with Makabe’s cavalier attitude and disregard for rules. Makabe used roughhouse brawling, foreign objects and help from his cronies to bust up Nagata quite badly. Nagata was itching to strike back though and finally managed to explode with a series of shoot elbows that cut Makabe open hard way. A spot of blood landing onto a ringside camera after a stiff Nagata slap was quite the visual. This led to a more bomb-heavy, attritional stretch with the referee finally catching on to the interference from ringside, negating Makabe’s advantage and allowing Nagata to put him down. I didn’t care for some of the no selling, but this was a pretty awesome bloody brawl-title match hybrid. ****3/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 1:44:04 GMT -5
Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH, 8/25/2007)
Bryan challenged the superheavyweight Morishima for the ROH world title. Bryan’s primary strategy was built around stiff kicks to Morishima’s legs to weaken his base and open him up for submissions and KO blows. Morishima responded with clubbing blows to Bryan’s ocular region, detaching his retina. Bryan bravely soldiered on though and began to throw everything and the kitchen sick at Morishima, whose leg was really ailing him from the accumulated damage. But a top rope reversal essentially flattened Bryan, and his challenge met its demise in the form of a backdrop driver. Sensible wrestling built around judicious strategies and high-end body part work. ****3/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 1:46:25 GMT -5
Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka/Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda/Super Tiger II (BattlARTS, 7/26/2008)
This was an elimination match and Ikeda and his buddies took full advantage with a devious yet well-constructed strategy. It revolved around liberal use of sneak attacks and cheap shots to pick off one member of the opposing team so that they would always maintain the numbers advantage. Sawa, the junior member of Ishikawa’s team, displayed impressive spunk and really had a bone to pick with Ikeda but predictably was the first to go. Otsuka’s tremendous skill was enough to take out Usuda but he soon succumbed to the double team. This left Ishikawa in a two on one situation but he used his submission expertise to eliminate ST II, leaving the two team leaders to go at it. While the draw finish was far from ideal, it worked narrative-wise since Ikeda’s game plan fell apart after it was just one on one and he was lucky to survive to the time limit. Everything great about the style condensed into 45 minutes, combined with impressive strategic teamwork made for one of the best Japanese matches of the 2000s. ****5/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 1:49:13 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (WWE, 3/28/2010)
Michaels was convinced it was one mistake that cost him his match with the Undertaker the previous Wrestlemania and became obsessed with the idea of a rematch. It was to the point where he didn’t even care about his career if he couldn’t break Taker’s Wrestlemania streak and Taker used this hubris to get him to put his career on the line. Shawn got off to a haphazard start and so it was rather fortuitous when Taker suddenly injured his knee. Michaels launched a focused attack on it, incorporating holds from many of his previous foes, while Taker tried to blitz his way to victory. There was some fantastic long-term learned psychology on display here as both employed smart counters and reversals against offense they had encountered in the past. Shawn finally managed a huge string of offense, but that was still insufficient to keep Taker down. He accepted his fate but refused to stay down passively, even after Taker displayed uncharacteristic mercy, and defiantly demanded to be put down, leading to a violent match-ending tombstone piledriver. I can never overstate just how horrendous Matt Striker’s commentary was, but you can’t really blame the wrestlers for that. This would have been the greatest retirement match in wrestling history had Michaels actually stayed retired. ****5/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 1:50:27 GMT -5
Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba vs. Makoto Hashi/Kengo Mashimo (Futen, 10/24/2010)
Ikeda and his protégé Oba had to contend with the heavy-hitter pair of Hashi and Mashimo. A super hard-hitting affair with solid mat exchanges and even some comedy as Ikeda and Oba tried to keep the bruisers at bay. But the core of the match was definitely Ikeda and Hashi pushing each other to the limit in harrowing headbutt-based exchanges. At one point, Oba even refused a tag as he wanted to Ikeda to prove he still had what it took to reach the finish line, which he eventually did in dramatic fashion. ****3/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 4:23:37 GMT -5
Daniel Bryan/Kane/Ryback vs. The Shield (WWE, 12/16/2012)
This was the Shield’s in-ring debut as they took on Team Hell No and Ryback in a TLC match. Ryback was the single most dangerous wrestler in the match and Bryan and Kane managed brief flurries of control but the Shield’s divide and conquer tactics put them ahead on several occasions. JBL wasn’t exactly some wise sage on commentary but he made a great point about how the numbers game feel was an illusion since the Shield simply worked better as a collective pack. A key part of the Shield’s strategy was keeping Ryback away as they focused on one of the other two wrestlers so Ryback menacingly stumbling back to the ring as Reigns finished Bryan off just in the nick of time made for quite the finish. The action was violent, chaotic and creative but the story of how a good team always beats a collection of great individuals was the focus. ****1/2
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 4:25:40 GMT -5
William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno (WWE, 3/21/2013)
Ohno believed that the aging Regal had lost his cunning, ruthless streak and wanted to prove that to the world. Regal made him regret those words by busting out old tricks and violently dislocating his fingers. Ohno fought back with some brutal kicks to Regal’s ear, which severely disrupted his equilibrium. Now the veteran had to dig down deep and managed to hold out long enough to pull off an impressive victory and prove that the old dog still had fight in him. ****1/2
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 4:26:38 GMT -5
Rey Hechicero vs. Charles Lucero (Monterrey, 8/4/2013)
The younger Hechicero challenged the veteran Lucero for his title. Tricky matwork in the first fall saw the wisdom and experience of Lucero edge out the athletic, fancy maneuvering of Hechicero. Lucero was doing well in the second fall but deviated from his game plan to take a stupid risk and got caught. Hechicero sensed the pendulum swing in the third fall and launched a spirited attack, while an increasingly desperate Lucero countered in a compelling back and forth battle. Hechicero ended up nearly breaking his neck on a missed tope and Lucero’s response bordered on rudo territory when he gave no quarter and urgently tried to finish Hechicero off. But Hechicero valiantly persevered through the neck injury to complete a rousing comeback win. Maybe the best lucha title bout of all time. ****5/8
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 4:27:41 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/17/2014)
World champion and company ace Cena faced his most daunting challenge yet in form of a rejuvenated Brock Lesnar, who had recently pulled off the unthinkable: breaking the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania winning streak. Despite getting ambushed, Lesnar nearly pinned Cena with the F-5 within seconds and this set the tone for what followed. Lesnar demolished Cena with stiff shots and a barrage of German suplexes, while taunting him at every turn. Cena was still Cena, so people kept expecting a miracle comeback and he briefly teased it whenever he caught Lesnar napping. But the latter was well prepared and stopped it dead in its tracks by either shrugging off the offense or countering out of it, leading to an utterly dominant title change. ****1/4
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 9, 2020 4:31:22 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 3/29/2015)
Within the last year, Lesnar had reached a new level of invincibility having broken the Undertaker Wrestlemania streak and squashed Super Cena for the world title. Meanwhile, Reigns had positioned himself to be the next ace, though he was suffering furious backlash from the fans, who saw him as the corporate pick being favored over the beloved Daniel Bryan (who Roman beat in a #1 contender’s match, incidentally). Reigns wasted no time in cutting Lesnar’s cheek but within moments, he had a separated rib and absorbed an F-5. Lesnar refused to pin him though and began to pound him into oblivion. One distinction from the Cena Summerslam squash was that while Cena’s comeback attempts were largely worthless, Roman at least managed to land potato shots that badly stung Lesnar, even though they didn’t materialize into proper comebacks. Reigns defiantly laughed off his thrashing, which Lesnar initially found amusing until Roman proved desperately difficult to pin. Eventually, Reigns injured Lesnar enough to facilitate a comeback and gather a few near falls. Just when it looked like the match was back on a level playing field, Seth Rollins cashed in his money in the bank contract and stole the title. In many ways, this was the quintessential Wrestlemania main event. ****5/8
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