|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Oct 24, 2022 6:47:38 GMT -5
Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, Mega Battle Tournament 2nd Round, 11/22/96)
The final match in their 1996 trilogy.
And though it lacked the drama of their previous match, the work was excellent. It was tight and technical throughout.
Plus, it looked as though TK had Han’s number. With an answer to everything the Russian pulled out, though Han does have a very deep bag of tricks to pull from.
Quality, technical shoot-style wrestling.
****
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 04/04/97)
While this is loaded with back and forth technical action, it lacks drama and excitement. And began feeling a little repetitive.
Though it picks up for the final few minutes when they really start laying into each other and upping the urgency.
Good action, not quite great action.
***¾
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Bitsadze Tariel (RINGS, 07/22/97)
This does a good job at telling a simple story.
Tariel’s dangerous standing, Tamura’s dangerous on the mat. And at first Tariel dominates, but the longer it goes, the more he tires, and the easier Tamura can take him down.
But though the story’s sound, the action is nothing special. Especially when they hit the mat as Tariel’s just a lump.
Good story-driven match that would’ve benefited from a better opponent for Tamura.
***½
Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 08/13/97)
Yamamoto’s come a long way since their first bout.
He looks like the best shoot-style wrestler in the world here. He oozes confidence, his striking’s great, and on the mat he goes hold for hold with Han.
And this was a very good match with great stand up and technical mat work.
But it was better as a showcase for how much Yamamoto’s grown.
***¾
Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS, 09/26/97)
Similarly this shows Tamura’s growth.
It’s not as flashy as their previous matches as Tamura’s realised working a fast, loose style plays right into Han’s hands.
But it’s much more dramatic as Tamura slows things down and tightens up his grappling, not giving Han the space he needs to work in. But Han’s still Han and it feels like either man could win.
A perfect conclusion to their trilogy.
****
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Oct 26, 2022 8:34:27 GMT -5
Taking a quick break from RINGS as I’ve been looking forward to this:
FTR vs. Aussie Open (NJPW, IWGP Tag Team Titles, 10/01/22)
The time flew by, I couldn't believe it when 25 minutes gone was announced.
And there’s no downtime or dull stretches.
But nothing here was on the level of “best tag match ever” or even approaching five stars.
The action’s solid, but nothing more. It felt a little bland and flat. And there didn’t seem to be any sort of theme or story holding everything together. It was just a bunch of stuff. Modern, homogenous, tickbox wrestling.
For example, the commentators explained one of Aussie Open was a high flyer, the other a power worker. I should have been able to tell that from how they worked, but I couldn’t. The flyer did a moonsault to the outside, but that was about it.
That said, I’m picking on it because of the hype. It’s far from a bad match and I did enjoy my time with it.
I was just disappointed I didn’t get the classic I hoped for. FTR’s two matches with the Briscoes were far better.
***¾
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 2, 2022 1:12:28 GMT -5
The final stop in my journey through RINGS. And they've saved the best until last...
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine (RINGS, RINGS Openweight Title, World Mega Battle Tournament Final, 01/21/98)
Ilioukhine looked unbeatable here, like a more dangerous Volk Han. Which leads to the story of the match being Tamura working out how to beat him.
A great action-packed match.
****
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 06/27/98)
A masterclass in defensive grappling.
Tamura goes on the offensive, but TK forces him to slow down. And the result is some of the best technical work I’ve seen in a wrestling match. They go for pretty much the first 13 minutes on the mat without a rope break.
And it’s incredibly compelling, you can’t take your eyes off the screen for fear of missing something.
Then they pick up the drama for the finishing stretch as they’re both tired and sloppy, and it feels like any move could end the match.
One of the finest shoot-style matches featuring some of the finest grappling you’ll see. *****
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS, 09/21/98)
This is almost the opposite of the above match.
Because as that was a defensive wrestling showcase, this is an offensive showcase. Both men are on the attack here. And they’re both skilled and athletic enough to be dangerous from any position.
Though it fades a bit as it goes, the slap exchanges were weak, and the finishing lock looked barely cinched in.
That said, they’re relatively minor points as this was loaded with great quality work.
****¼
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 05/22/99)
And this is a better version of the above match.
TK drops his normal defensive style and goes aggressive. And of course, Yamamato is more than happy to match him.
What elevates this above the previous match is the striking is much more vicious and intense.
Quality action from bell to bell.
****½
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS, 06/24/99)
This takes their 1998 match and improves on it in every way.
The result:
The best shoot-style match I’ve ever seen.
It’s intense and vicious. You can tell there’s no love lost between the wrestlers. And this adds an almost brawl-like aspect to the work. By the end they’re not using their grappling to break submissions, they’re simply punching each other as hard as they can.
Great action combined with a great crowd makes for a classic.
*****
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 5, 2022 11:42:52 GMT -5
Trying some modern joshi as the idea of a High Spped Title got me interested:
AZM vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom, High Speed Title, 02/23/22)
This was fun.
There’s some big moves and some fast and flashy sequences.
But it was a bit too obviously choreographed and cooperative for my liking.
***¼
AZM vs. Mei Suruga (Stardom, High Speed Title, 04/29/22)
Now this is what I wanted from these matches.
It’s not as flashy as the above match, but it’s better in every other way.
And that’s thanks to Mei Suruga as she put on a one woman show here.
She turned the opening Irish whip spot into a dance sequence. Worked AZM’s hair. Involved the ref in a sequence. And briefly got on commentary.
I had a smile on my face throughout.
****
|
|
|
Post by Kadaveri on Nov 5, 2022 20:05:42 GMT -5
Trying some modern joshi as the idea of a High Spped Title got me interested:
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 6, 2022 1:05:35 GMT -5
Trying some modern joshi as the idea of a High Spped Title got me interested: Always got time for quality joshi. Thanks for the recommendation and upload. AZM vs. Mei Hoshizuki (Stardom, High Speed Title, 12/20/20)
High speed is right on the money for this one. Other than a short section in the middle of the match with AZM working Hoshizuki’s arm, this is a sprint. And they pull out all sorts of cool little technical moves. Especially in the finishing stretch where they’re both trying, blocking, and countering all sorts of roll-up and pinning combination attempts. I enjoy that style of wrestling and I enjoyed this match. ***¾
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 6, 2022 14:08:09 GMT -5
More modern joshi as I've been wanting to check out Arisa Nakajima's work for a while now:
Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto (SEAdLINNNG, 04/29/22)
This is my first time seeing either wrestler.
They both impress and they both seem influenced by Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada, especially Fujimoto.
So perhaps fittingly this match featured pretty much all of the stereotypical traits of joshi wrestling: Plenty of action. Violent strikes. Painful submissions. Minimal selling.
And it made for an enjoyable watch. Though I think I’d have liked it even more if I was familiar with each wrestler as it seemed like they were using each other's moves and there might have been more story aspects I missed.
Plus, it was hurt by low production values and a small crowd.
That said, I liked this and can’t wait to see more work from the pair.
***¾
Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon, SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Title, 04/30/22)
This looked like it was a better version of the previous match.
But the audio mix was bad. The commentary was far too loud, drowning out both the in-ring action and the crowd. And it really distracted from the wrestling.
So through no fault of Nakajima and Fujimoto, I'll give this the same score.
***¾
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 12, 2022 11:53:46 GMT -5
Time to start on Battlarts. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoyed this style...
Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Shoichi Funaki (Battlarts, 01/13/96)
This match gets things off to a great start.
It opens with high quality, hard-hitting, back-and-forth action until Funaki gets isolated as the face in peril. Though here he’s more a human heavy bag for Ikeda and Usuda to unload on.
This was exactly what I wanted from Battlarts. Though I didn’t think it’d be this good, this early in their run.
****
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (Battlarts, 04/13/96)
Two quality technicians take it to the mat.
And though the action’s great, the match as a whole doesn’t hit that level as there’s little structure or build.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda & Carl Greco vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, 04/14/96)
17 minutes of non-stop action.
Technically sound and brutally violent I enjoyed every second of this.
Like the above match, there’s not a great deal of structure. It’s pretty much back-and-forth action for the entire bout.
But when the action’s at such a high level I don’t mind.
****½
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (Battlarts, Young Generation Battle Block A, 08/04/96)
The simple story of Ikeda’s kicks vs. Ishikawa’s submissions.
The action’s great. Though at less than 10 minutes, it doesn’t build to anything spectacular.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 10/30/96)
Not quite on the same level as the previous tag match.
This does a better job with its storytelling, everyone’s role is clear, and it feels like a more traditional bout. But the action’s not as good.
Though it’s still a highly entertaining match. And Ikeda and Ono do a great job as the villains of the piece.
****¼
|
|
|
Post by mvz on Nov 12, 2022 19:55:32 GMT -5
I’ve gotten my first taste of Battlearts and it is amazing, feels like I have really been missing out. I’m about where you are on the 10/30/96 match. I’ll be checking out the others you recommend soon.
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 13, 2022 2:43:02 GMT -5
I’ve gotten my first taste of Battlearts and it is amazing, feels like I have really been missing out. I’m about where you are on the 10/30/96 match. I’ll be checking out the others you recommend soon. Good to hear you're liking it so far. Hope you keep on enjoying it!
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 16, 2022 14:51:43 GMT -5
Continuing on with Battlarts. Still enjoying their tag matches. Though the singles work has been a bit of a let down compared to what I was expecting.
Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Takeshi Ono (Battlarts, 01/21/97)
Another excellent tag match.
This is loaded with high level action from bell to bell.
Though it is let down slightly by its storytelling. At one point Ikeda looks in trouble as Ishikawa and Ono work his leg, but then they just let him tag out.
But given the quality of action that’s not too much of an issue.
****½
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, 04/15/97)
For a 30 minute draw the time flew by.
And the action was good throughout.
But the match didn’t really progress. They were still doing the same thing at the 28 minute mark they were doing at the 8 minute mark. Just a little more slowly as they were tired.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, Young Generation Battle, 09/01/97)
Another good match, but another disappointing match. As I wanted something truly great.
Instead this feels like a case of style over substance as they transition between each other's offense far too easily. And it lacks the vicious brutality of their tag matches.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 11/05/97)
And again, another singles match that doesn’t hit the level of their tag work.
Though it’s still a good match and benefits from a more traditional structure. It starts to feel like an extended squash for Ikeda, he doesn’t take Otsuka seriously and toys with him instead of finishing him, giving Otsuka the opening for a comeback.
And Otsuka impresses. His selling’s great, even when he moves back onto offense he still puts over the beating Ikeda’s given him.
***¾
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 20, 2022 14:43:42 GMT -5
On with the Battlarts. And at last they deliver a couple of great singles matches. Though they're still not at the level I want from them.
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 01/20/98)
Finally I can give a Battlarts singles match 4 stars!
This starts off with a reversal of roles, with Ishikawa showing off his wrestling and Otsuka bringing the submissions. It progresses well. And then does a great job of building to a quality finishing sequence.
It works because it feels like much more of a “proper” match rather than two guys taking turns to hit each other.
****
Daisuke Ikeda & Carl Greco vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 04/19/98)
As you’d expect from this line up, the action’s good throughout.
Though it didn’t feel as intense or vicious as their best tag work.
***¾
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco (Battlarts, 04/24/98)
Given the praise this has received, I was looking forward to it.
And it didn’t really deliver. As unlike Ishikawa’s match against Otsuka, this one felt like they were just doing a bunch of stuff with little rhyme or reason.
They could have made it work if it was either high-level or violent enough. But this wasn’t.
***
Daisuke Ikeda, Gran Naniwa & Mohammed Yone vs. Yuki Ishikawa, Carl Greco & Ikuto Hidaka (Battlarts, Elimination match, 05/10/98)
I do like a good elimination match and I enjoyed this one.
The first elimination was unexpected and made things interesting. And the action was consistently good.
It was the most pro-style out of all the Battlarts I’ve seen. And yes, Naniwa does the crab walk elbow drop. Plus he has some better than I expected exchanges with Hidaka.
And it all made for a very easy to watch match.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, 05/27/98)
This has a bigger and louder crowd than their previous encounters.
And it’s the better for it, as they slow things down and make it feel like a bigger match and not just them taking turns to hurt each other.
Though it’s still not approaching the level of the best UWF and RINGS matches.
****
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Nov 26, 2022 15:08:03 GMT -5
Finishing off my journey through Battlarts' first run. I've had a great time watching it, but I'm a little disappointed they never managed to hit five stars for me. Especially as they definitely had the talent.
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 04/26/99)
This started out like a juniors match with springboards and even a space flying tiger drop.
Otsuka went on to dominate the match, though Ikeda ended up winning with very little build.
And this was disappointing. As though the work was good as you’d expect, the structure didn’t really work for it. Otsuka took far too much of the match. It almost felt like an extended squash.
That said, I still enjoyed it, it just could and should have been better.
***½
Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Greco vs. Bob Backlund & Mohammed Yone (Battlarts, 04/26/99)
Backlund still looked good, a decade after his classic with Takada.
And this made for a very fun, very easy to watch match. When the final bell rang I was surprised 18 minutes had gone by.
I’d have rated it even higher if the finish didn’t suddenly come out of nowhere.
***½
Daisuke Ikeda & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Malenko & Joe Malenko (Battlarts, 06/09/99)
Joe looked good and Carl looked amazing here.
And this was along similar lines to the above match, but a step up. As we get a proper build to the finish. Though disappointingly, Ikeda and Ishikawa worked together with zero animosity.
***¾
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, Young Generation Battle match, 07/29/99)
A great mat-based encounter.
With the technical work broken up by the occasional striking flurry.
Still not at the level I want from them, but an enjoyable match.
****
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, Young Generation Battle Final, 08/29/99)
Finally, they deliver a top-tier wrestling match.
As while the quality of work, and even the structure, is similar to their previous bouts, what elevates this is the drama.
They slow things down, sell their fatigue, and it gives everything they do more impact. The match feels like it could end at any point and this gives it a real sense of drama that their earlier matches were lacking.
At last, the match I knew they were capable of putting on.
****½
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 11/09/99)
I’ll have to admit, despite the praise for this one I wasn’t convinced going in.
But I ended up having a great time with it. Matsunaga does what he needs to do, Otsuka sells everything pretty much to perfection, and they make the style clash work.
The result: a compelling and blood-soaked match.
****
Kazunari Murakami vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Battlarts, 11/26/00)
Murakami looks scary and dangerous.
But his wrestling doesn’t quite match his image. He’s not as vicious and violent as Ikeda. Though that is a high bar.
And this was a good match. Short and action-packed. With more intensity it could’ve been great.
***½
Alexander Otsuka & Tiger Mask vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Carl Greco (Battlarts, 01/28/01)
Quality technical work as you’d expect.
But the match felt bland and lacked the intensity and violence of the best Battlarts tags.
***
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 6, 2022 11:55:51 GMT -5
I finally caught covid last week and it knocked me out for most of the week, though I did watch a few of A-Kid's more acclaimed matches.
A-Kid vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Triple W, Triple W Absolute Title, 04/14/18)
ZSJ gets a great crowd reaction here.
And much like Joe/Kobashi, the crowd elevates this to a level it wouldn’t have been able to hit otherwise.
The technical work’s good with A-Kid just about able to hang with ZSJ. Though they could have spent more time working the holds. They pop in and out of them a bit too quickly for my liking.
But they keep driving the match forwards and the grappling never feels dull or repetitive.
The big negative for me are the you hit me, I hit you sequences. They’re lazy, a blight on modern wrestling, a step back from the classic AJPW strike exchanges, and they go to them too often here.
Great indie match elevated by a red hot crowd.
****½
A-Kid vs. Will Ospreay (Triple W, 03/30/19)
This was a bad match-up for A-Kid.
He almost comes off as a jobber compared to Ospreay. As Ospreay’s bigger, faster, and outworks him in every area.
It doesn’t help that it takes too long to establish the story of A-Kid having to outthink Ospreay and capitalize on his mistakes. And it goes on for too long. By the end I’d stopped caring.
That said, some of the work’s good, a couple of A-Kid’s comebacks are effective, and Ospreay’s offense looks great.
But they’re not enough to save this.
**½
A-Kid vs. Walter (NXT UK, NXT UK Title, 01/14/21)
Your typical David vs. Goliath Walter match.
But a great one as A-Kid refuses to go down easily and throws everything he’s got at the big man.
****
A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK, 07/01/21)
I’ll have to admit I only watched this because I mistakenly thought it was the highly praised iron man match.
And while it’s not, it does set that match up.
Though something felt off here. Both wrestlers were a little awkward with each other. Almost as if they were rookies rather than experienced professionals.
But the action was good and a nasty leg submission finish does a great job of setting up the rematch.
***½
A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK, Iron Man match, 08/05/21)
This improves on the above match in every way.
Though, oddly, it still felt they weren’t always 100% on the same page.
But the action’s smoother and they’ve got the simple story of A-Kid’s weakened knee to work with. And it immediately adds a sense of tension to the match and leads to a dramatic finishing stretch.
This got better and better as it went and made full use of the iron man gimmick.
****½
|
|
|
Post by AndrewGB79 on Dec 11, 2022 12:37:42 GMT -5
Thought it time to get some Flair classics on the list. Though the Steamboat matches didn't hold up as well as I remembered. Largely due to Steamboat's lack of offensive firepower.
Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (MACW, NWA World Heavyweight Title, 03/17/84)
The version of this I watched had an interview between Steamboat and Matt Striker instead of commentary and that probably affected how I viewed the match.
They went 60 minutes and it felt like a good portion of the match was Steamboat keeping Flair grounded with a headlock.
And though they keep it interesting throughout, Steamboat doesn’t do enough with the advantage. He seems happy to just keep grinding Flair down and never goes for the kill.
But it still made for an engaging watch and was impressive they filled an hour with it.
****
Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW, NWA World Heavyweight Title, 02/20/89)
This is almost the complete opposite of the above match.
It’s a fast-paced, all-action affair. And even though it went over 20 minutes it felt like barely 10 had passed.
****½
Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW, NWA World Heavyweight Title, 2/3 Falls, 04/02/89)
A bit of a let down.
They go over twice as long as their previous match, but don’t really do much more in the extra time.
And Steamboat’s not impressing me all that much. He doesn’t have a great deal of offense and comes off as Flair-lite.
***¼
Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW, NWA World Heavyweight Title, 05/07/89)
This is much closer to the February match in terms of pace and action.
And has the advantage of featuring higher-end work.
Though I can’t rate it any higher as the ending almost comes out of nowhere. And while that’s keeping with the trend for these matches, it’s not really good enough for the final match in the feud.
****½
Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW, NWA World Heavyweight Title, 07/23/89)
I only intended to watch the Flair/Steamboat matches, but Funk attacking Flair got me interested in their two bouts.
And this was a great fight.
There’s not much wrestling on offer here, they spend most of the match hitting each other. But they’re both excellent strikers and they hit hard.
Thoroughly enjoyed this.
****½
Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW, I Quit Match, 11/15/89)
A better version of their previous match.
Felt more intense and more compelling.
Though it lacks blood which could’ve taken it to an even higher level.
*****
|
|