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Post by Kadaveri on Feb 14, 2022 20:59:07 GMT -5
This is probably the biggest example ever of a match growing on me. I saw it not long after it happened and thought it was great but not a MOTYC candidate or anything, but something about it kept making me want to rewatch it way more than just another 'minorly great' match should.
This is Mio's return match from a leg injury which took her out for most of 2019. The crowd absolutely adores her and greets her like a massive hero, Mio has this very peculiar juxtaposition of ultra-girliness and badassery. It's hard to explain but anyone who watches her knows what I'm talking about here. The first few minutes establishes the character dynamics wonderfully. Takumi is the chilled out Ace of the promotion who doesn't see Mio as any kind of threat. She squats down for a wristlock lockup, but Mio stands tall above her and holds her hand up for Greco-Roman lockup. Mio being like 8 inches shorter makes this. Takumi grins at her and holds her down with just one arm. A bit later Mio spins Takumi around into a wristlock and earnestly shouts at her "Give Up!", which Takumi finds hilarious and reverses it. The whole match is kinda gently worked up till now. Takumi pushes Mio into the ropes, the referee steps in to force a break, Mio tries to push Takumi away by pulling at her hair a bit but Takumi still has that patronising grin on her face that this little pest is seriously trying to fight her, then backs off and pats her on the chest. Mio slaps Takumi in the face.
Mio slaps Takumi in the face. She demands Takumi take the match seriously. Takumi obliges, and absolutely blasts Mio with a mean kick to the chest that sends her out of the ring.
I won't go into such detail for the rest of the match. It's that opening which sets everything up, you think at first you're watching just a feel good return from injury match, then suddenly the mood changes just like that and Takumi inflicts the asskicking of a lifetime. Other things I want to mention is Mio returns to that slap across the face multiple times, every time it's like a big act of defiance despite being hopelessly outgunned. Takumi's big move is the powerbomb, it's not her regular finisher but she does win matches with it occassionally and anyway Mio desperately avoids it each time well enough that you know it's a killer move. There's also an incredible nearfall in this which makes the crowd literally scream it's so great. The finishing stretch, if you want to call it that, is some pretty gut-wrenching stuff for me. I can't think of a finish quite like it.
I've settled on ****3/4
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Post by kas on Feb 15, 2022 6:03:46 GMT -5
2nd. I find it difficult to put into words what makes this match so great without just spoiling the whole thing, so I'll just say go and watch it because this is a real contender for my list.
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Post by mvz on Feb 16, 2022 20:34:22 GMT -5
3rd. I don’t want to spoil and can’t put my finger on what made this especially compelling, but I would def recommend watching this and am interested in seeing more from both wrestlers.
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Post by lemming on Mar 21, 2022 15:44:46 GMT -5
I've never seen anything from this promotion or either participant before, and would never have checked this out without the recommendation, so thank you.
For a while I didn't quite know where they were going with the match but it kept getting better as it went along and everything made sense at the end. I enjoyed this a lot and can see myself revisiting it down the line.
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Post by club on Mar 22, 2022 5:08:45 GMT -5
Same here, never seen anything from these two before. Whilst it won't be on my list I did really enjoy it. Brought some different twists to the big vs small dynamic. I'll leave it there since the board doesn't have a spoiler button.
Kadaveri, thanks for the write-up. I watched it cold without knowing anything, so it was very helpful to get some background insight before watching again.
Edit: On rewatch, it's Iroha's attitude to Momono that makes this match stand out. Its one thing to know your're stronger than the other person, and I assume here she is (Momono is about 5ft and dressed like a 6 year old going to the beach). It's quite another to humiliate them with such a show of indifference. On their return match as well. Bully.
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Post by Kadaveri on Mar 22, 2022 17:37:13 GMT -5
Edit: On rewatch, it's Iroha's attitude to Momono that makes this match stand out. Its one thing to know your're stronger than the other person, and I assume here she is (Momono is about 5ft and dressed like a 6 year old going to the beach). It's quite another to humiliate them with such a show of indifference. On their return match as well. Bully.
A nice detail I'll add is that Takumi just lets Mio hit her with any offense she wants to show how ineffective her moves are, with one exception. At 16:35 Mio tries to hit a code red, but Takumi quickly blocks it and puts Mio down with a superkick. It signals that Mio actually has 1 move that Takumi considers a threat. Then see what happens at 19:10.
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Post by club on Mar 23, 2022 4:20:25 GMT -5
Edit: On rewatch, it's Iroha's attitude to Momono that makes this match stand out. Its one thing to know your're stronger than the other person, and I assume here she is (Momono is about 5ft and dressed like a 6 year old going to the beach). It's quite another to humiliate them with such a show of indifference. On their return match as well. Bully.
A nice detail I'll add is that Takumi just lets Mio hit her with any offense she wants to show how ineffective her moves are, with one exception. At 16:35 Mio tries to hit a code red, but Takumi quickly blocks it and puts Mio down with a superkick. It signals that Mio actually has 1 move that Takumi considers a threat. Then see what happens at 19:10.
Thanks - that's a great detail I didn't pick up on at all. |
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Post by elliott on Oct 19, 2023 18:43:00 GMT -5
Good one.
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