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Post by microstatistics on Oct 20, 2018 19:37:20 GMT -5
Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith (WWF, 8/29/1992)
Off the charts performance by Bret, turning the aggression to 11 and throwing in some arrogance and disdain while playing the partisan crowd. A 100% masterful carryjob, though I guess you could argue the match is so distractingly one sided that it hinders the whole thing. The chinlock stuff isn't ideal but they transition pretty quickly to the next spot each time and they pay it off with a extended sleeper segment.
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Post by microstatistics on Oct 20, 2018 20:54:39 GMT -5
LCO vs. AKINO/Ayako Hamada (ARSION, 12/11/1999)
I forgot that this starts off pretty tamely before suddenly turning gruesome. The babyfaces actually impressed me more than the usual LCO heel mastery. Great fire, selling and perseverance. Some of the pseudo no-selling by LCO also works for the most part since the babyface champs are so wildly overmatched. Also liked how invested everyone at ringside is, this feels like a battle for survival of the promotion against the invading barbarians.
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Post by microstatistics on Oct 22, 2018 0:38:46 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/17/2014)
Still, the #1 squash of all time. Quite a lot of violent, borderline uncooperative exchanges. Brock's Michael Myers sit up was an all time moment, though the shitty WWE camerawork/replay function sort of tarnished it. Cena's finest performance ever in between babyface fightbacks and selling.
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Post by microstatistics on Oct 22, 2018 0:53:39 GMT -5
Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJPW, 2/9/1997)
Snug strike exchanges and intense grappling. Ohtani sort of no selling Liger's desperate leg attacks is an interesting contrast to Liger selling Ohtani's focused armwork like death. Great narrative as Liger struggles, Ohtani is the architect of his own downfall thanks to pointless emotional posturing and overconfidence. The finish is an all timer.
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Post by microstatistics on Nov 18, 2018 18:29:03 GMT -5
Bronko Nagurski vs. Jim Londos (Philadelphia, 11/18/1938)
This was even better than I remember. Old wrestling is usually associated with a more stripped down, slower style but not here. Almost no downtime, constant struggle, intense and violent exchanges and some really detail oriented wrestling. Great use of weight difference and different strategies to build a narrative. American classic.
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Post by microstatistics on Nov 22, 2018 23:41:25 GMT -5
The Destroyer vs. Giant Baba (JWA, 3/5/1969)
The matwork is actually a lot more basic than I remember but they keep things interesting for 50+ minutes with consistent struggle and attention to detail. The learned psychology spots are really cool as is the aggression from both. The finish is a copout but I guess it is sort of like a payoff to Destroyer's constant cheating coming back to haunt him.
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Post by microstatistics on Nov 24, 2018 5:04:23 GMT -5
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS, 4/15/1997)
This might have the best display of "take advantage of any opening" type wrestling I've ever seen. This is essentially worked like a shootstyle match with some suplexes thrown in. Some of the tightest matwork ever and nutty struggle. This is also a lot more evenly worked than I remember since Ikeda is working from underneath with a rib injury. In fact he actually ends up in dominant positions a lot of the time through tenacious counter-wrestling and, in the end, it is a desperate Ishikawa who is lucky to survive to a draw, which is an interesting narrative.
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Post by microstatistics on Nov 24, 2018 5:40:02 GMT -5
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (UWF, 4/15/1990)
A great tale of resiliency and perseverance. Yamazaki gets schooled by the master in condescending fashion for most of the match. There is a fantastic spot where, during a standup, Yamazaki has this defeated look as though he just wants it to be over. But he continues on, gets an opening near the end and the rest is history. Interesting layout as it's a quasi-squash followed by a sudden comeback.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 16, 2018 3:26:39 GMT -5
Akira Hokuto vs. Kaoru (GAEA, 4/12/1997)
I still maintain this is an overlooked classic from 97 that would likely run away with MOTY honors if it happened today. Hierarchy based title match as Hokuto is out to humiliate her younger challenger while Kaoru fights tooth and nail. Good mix of the usual joshi action with some limb psychology and ultra aggressive, vicious exchanges.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 16, 2018 14:37:06 GMT -5
AJ Styles vs. Abyss (TNA, 4/24/2005)
Abyss is a really convincing monster here. He lumbered around but everything he did looked pretty devastating. AJ brings the speed, smarts and resiliency. Some surprisingly great nearfalls. Between this and Ikeda-Ishikawa and the NOAH show, April 24th 2005 was a pretty good day for wrestling.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 18, 2018 16:33:37 GMT -5
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW, 6/5/1989)
This dropped down a few notches for me, which is disappointing, but it still rules. For a match that spawned the such a maximalist style, this is shockingly minimalist. Jumbo's hyper aggressive and laser focused attacks on the neck hold this together and Tenryu nails the underdog role. Little downtime (the sleeper stuff plays into the neck stuff) and compact. Crowd getting progressively more annoyed at Jumbo's ruthless tactics as the match goes on might be the highlight.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 24, 2018 4:49:13 GMT -5
Mariko Yoshida vs. Hiromi Yagi (ARSION, 2/18/1999)
Fancy submission work and great grappling but the character work shines through just as much with the arrogant and disdainful champion growing more and more frustrated while a cheeky Yagi continues to fight tenaciously . An interestingly focused final stretch as Yoshida desperately tries to finish Yagi before her relentless arm attacks do too much damage.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 25, 2018 0:54:39 GMT -5
Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street (Joint Promotions, 2/12/1972)
Shootstyle version of British wrestling. Tremendous, hard fought grappling and also cool heel vs. heel spots. I thought Street outworked Breaks here actually, his career performance for sure.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 26, 2018 4:14:24 GMT -5
Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka/Munenori Sawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda/Super Tiger II (BattlARTS, 7/26/2008)
Really clever match. Compelling strategic battle as Ikeda the general and his goons are tactically superior and use underhanded tricks to maintain a consistent numbers advantage. Ishikawa and Otsuka go for killer blows to neutralize them. Ikeda's plans backfire at the end when it is one on one and he is exposed and has to scrap together a draw, which is an interesting narrative. Fun mini-spots along the way to keep things interesting for 40 minutes.
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Post by microstatistics on Dec 27, 2018 11:39:04 GMT -5
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa (NJPW, 4/7/2000)
Poignant match that is the antithesis to the 96 Takada match in some ways. All that buildup and all those adjustments and after finally having Ogawa on the ropes, Hashimoto still loses. Ogawa was pretty good with selling the leg and head attacks. Also liked how he desperately threw himself at Hashimoto for those last few STOs. Big fight feel and a great crowd.
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