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Post by nintendologic on Nov 14, 2021 11:10:51 GMT -5
This is the best pure brawl to come down the pike in ages. Like Lawler/Mantell, this is a match between nominal babyfaces worked as a straightforward grudge match. They set the tone right away as Kingston nails Punk with a backfist during the referee's instructions, the idea being that his main goal is to hurt Punk and winning the match is secondary. This is a spiritual successor to a high-end territory brawl as rather than trading forearms or whacking each other with plunder, they express animosity with headbutts and bites and eye rakes along with plenty of vicious rights. Even Punk's dive off the apron felt like a wild lunge like you might see in a bar fight rather than a pro wrestling highspot. Superb selling and transitions from both men. The Eddie Guerrero tribute spot felt somewhat out of place with the tenor of the match, but this was close to flawless otherwise. I didn't even mind the Frye/Takayama spot. Awesome finish as Kingston swings wildly and misses with a backfist, sapping his last ounce of strength and leaving him a sitting duck for a barrage of elbows and knees from Punk. This is my current MOTY.
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Post by kas on Nov 14, 2021 11:20:17 GMT -5
Goddamn awesome brawl, getting across their disdain for each other perfectly.
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Post by elliott on Nov 14, 2021 13:30:39 GMT -5
Can we get this on the drive or is it not possible?
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Post by nintendologic on Nov 14, 2021 13:58:19 GMT -5
I just uploaded it.
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Post by elliott on Nov 14, 2021 14:19:05 GMT -5
Thank you! Looking forward to it!
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Post by gramsci on Nov 14, 2021 14:37:00 GMT -5
Where is this "drive" from? Can I get acces to it?
I need to rewatch it because I was burn out by this point, but it was a breath of fresh air in a PPV with matches that went too long. My first impression was that it was awesome and the MOTN, but I would have prefered that the match had more punches and less wrestling moves given the hate they were selling.
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Post by [Darren] on Nov 14, 2021 16:34:05 GMT -5
I already had a list but if I can vote for this one. It’s in there.
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Post by Control21 on Nov 14, 2021 16:34:50 GMT -5
Where is this "drive" from? Can I get acces to it? I need to rewatch it because I was burn out by this point, but it was a breath of fresh air in a PPV with matches that went too long. My first impression was that it was awesome and the MOTN, but I would have prefered that the match had more punches and less wrestling moves given the hate they were selling. I've been wondering the same. It felt like Punk vs Kingston was the best match on last night's show to some degree. I loved the main event of course, but Punk vs Kingston just seemed to hit the spot for me.
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Post by [Darren] on Nov 14, 2021 17:46:56 GMT -5
I love that this match is so heated without a heel/face dynamic. The match is all about perspective. There’s many layers in particular but I like to focus on how neither man is wrong but the viewers perspective changes what you see. Just like both guys have different perspectives. Kingston does not care about winning. He just wants to beat up Punk. Punk thinks that everyone can have their differences and if they settle it in the ring like men then everything is all good. Punk goes for a handshake after the match because the guy is so oblivious and in his own head that he misses the entire point.
I look forward to multiple viewings of this match but upon first viewing it’s the best thing I’ve seen all year and probably my 3rd favorite Punk match. It would be wrong not to include this because so few matches are like this.
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Post by [Darren] on Nov 14, 2021 17:48:42 GMT -5
I also feel like the Eddie Guerrero tributes are out of place but they make perfect sense. Because the story is that CM Punk is oblivious to what’s actually happening. He decides to go into tribute mode when there’s a real fight happening.
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Post by Kadaveri on Nov 14, 2021 18:13:23 GMT -5
Yeah that's the vibe I got as well from Punk doing that, I took it as a conscious subtle heel thing. He also did John Cena's 5 Moves of Doom sequence earlier on in the match. Just acting like he's not taking this as totally seriously as Eddie is because he doesn't see Eddie as on his level so he's gonna just do what he wants.
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Post by Cap on Nov 15, 2021 8:58:07 GMT -5
I was not in evaluation mode on Saturday night. I was just enjoying the show with friends. I'm really looking forward to watching a few of the matches back, this being on the top of the list. This was probably the match that stood out the most to me. Punk remains - to me - in the best in-ring form of his career I think and Kingston is just operating on the highest levels and really has been all year.
I probably wont get to these Full Gear rewatches until after I submit by ballot, but I might not be able to wait on this one.
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Post by Cap on Nov 16, 2021 7:33:57 GMT -5
Just watched this back this morning and yeah... this is unreal. This has to be one of the most efficient matches I can think of. It is roughly 10 minutes or so, but it feels like they had 30 minutes of content in there. Yet, it isn't bloated. Everything here is meaningful draws from the promos and dynamics they established before the match. It is, in many ways, the perfect mainstream match for the current wrestling-taste zeitgeist (at least in my corner of the internet), which has moved away from long maximalist matches in favor of compact, emotional matches. This is top notch stuff and is in real contention for my MOTY.
I am really torn on which match I prefer between this and Kingston/Dragon.
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Post by gramsci on Nov 17, 2021 16:09:17 GMT -5
I watched this again and it's great. My only complaint is that sometimes Punk's kicks and elbows look weak, even if in this match they have looked better than ever (It looks like Danielson is a better MMA fighter than Punk). Anyway, the best part of the match is how they don't forget to sell everything they do to each other while having an intense all-out fight, like when Eddie sells his hand after hitting it with the steel steps or how they sell the fatigue and the accumulated pain during the final stretch of the match.
2021 is my favorite wrestling year of all time, since the return of the crowds I have enjoyed it more than ever, and that's thanks in part to AEW. Danielson/Omega, Barnett/Moxley, Eddie/Bryan and Eddie/Punk could be in my TOP 50.
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Post by lemming on Nov 26, 2021 9:19:16 GMT -5
I've watched this 3 times already. Don't have much to add except to agree with the praise in the thread - I think this is an all timer.
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