AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns (WWE - 5/22/2016)
Jan 14, 2018 5:20:49 GMT -5
Post by Kadaveri on Jan 14, 2018 5:20:49 GMT -5
Strong contender for 2016 MOTY for me. The really great thing about this one is it's the most violent WWE hardcore match in years yet it's takes until the last 2 minutes for anyone to actually use a weapon on someone! Yeah AJ brings the chair out early on but Roman takes him out before he can swing it. Then later Roman swings a hard chairshot but AJ dodges it. You can really effectively build a sense of danger and intensity without even hitting anyone, so when AJ finally unleashes those chairshots on Roman it really means something.
The match is filled with some awesome spots which have impeccable timing. For example Roman Superman Punches AJ while AJ is standing on the ropes about to hit a Phenomenal Forearm and sends him tumbling to the floor. AJ blocks a Superman Punch by hitting Roman with a midair shoulder tackle that sends him flying. You need great chemistry to pull these things off and have them looking so great.
AJ's bumping in this match is something else. He is working so hard to get this match and Roman over it's no surprise that Vince has pushed him so strong ever since giving him those wins over Cena. There's the spot where Roman backbody drops him onto the announce table where AJ does a full 360 midair spin before crashing down it. The crowd sounded astonished. But before long he's up again with Roman powerbombing him into the other table and a bit earlier he's swinging him into the apron and barricade like Samoe Joe did to CM Punk in one of their old ROH matches. Did I mention that this match is VIOLENT?
There's this anti-Roman element of the crowd who get a bit embarrassing. They start the match by chanting "You can't wrestle!" at him, and when he then puts on an elite performance they just chant "You still suck!" everytime he does something great. That chant clearly means "We know deep down you don't suck, but we refuse to admit it". This chant follows one of the best moments in that match where Roman hits AJ with SPLASH MOUNTAIN as in Dynamite Kansai's finisher (I love the thought of these guys watching 90s AJW) and hits it better than she ever did. When she did it it was more of a slam but Roman actually chucks AJ several inches up in the air before smashing him down in a powerbomb-pin which is executed perfectly by both guys for a 2.9 kickout.
Roman's selling is perfect in this match. He gets his knee hurt about halfway through on that Superman Punch>Shoulder Tackle spot and spends the rest of the time working at like 70% speed and putting more weight on the other leg. How he hits that spear on the outside jumping on the alternate leg is great attention to detail. And note how he doesn't do this over the top selling like a lot of WWE guys do acting like they've actually broken their leg hopping around the place which you can never maintain till the end. It's just something that's hindering his kayfabe performance.
Amazing match from two amazing wrestlers.
The match is filled with some awesome spots which have impeccable timing. For example Roman Superman Punches AJ while AJ is standing on the ropes about to hit a Phenomenal Forearm and sends him tumbling to the floor. AJ blocks a Superman Punch by hitting Roman with a midair shoulder tackle that sends him flying. You need great chemistry to pull these things off and have them looking so great.
AJ's bumping in this match is something else. He is working so hard to get this match and Roman over it's no surprise that Vince has pushed him so strong ever since giving him those wins over Cena. There's the spot where Roman backbody drops him onto the announce table where AJ does a full 360 midair spin before crashing down it. The crowd sounded astonished. But before long he's up again with Roman powerbombing him into the other table and a bit earlier he's swinging him into the apron and barricade like Samoe Joe did to CM Punk in one of their old ROH matches. Did I mention that this match is VIOLENT?
There's this anti-Roman element of the crowd who get a bit embarrassing. They start the match by chanting "You can't wrestle!" at him, and when he then puts on an elite performance they just chant "You still suck!" everytime he does something great. That chant clearly means "We know deep down you don't suck, but we refuse to admit it". This chant follows one of the best moments in that match where Roman hits AJ with SPLASH MOUNTAIN as in Dynamite Kansai's finisher (I love the thought of these guys watching 90s AJW) and hits it better than she ever did. When she did it it was more of a slam but Roman actually chucks AJ several inches up in the air before smashing him down in a powerbomb-pin which is executed perfectly by both guys for a 2.9 kickout.
Roman's selling is perfect in this match. He gets his knee hurt about halfway through on that Superman Punch>Shoulder Tackle spot and spends the rest of the time working at like 70% speed and putting more weight on the other leg. How he hits that spear on the outside jumping on the alternate leg is great attention to detail. And note how he doesn't do this over the top selling like a lot of WWE guys do acting like they've actually broken their leg hopping around the place which you can never maintain till the end. It's just something that's hindering his kayfabe performance.
Amazing match from two amazing wrestlers.
