Antonio Cesaro's stock rose more than anyone's this past monday. Sure, Daniel Bryan arguably got the most attention. Cena and Orton got the main event. But Cesaro got time to shine and the hot Staples Center crowd was into him like a guy much higher on the card. Sheamus and Cesaro showed great chemistry as tag opponents that night, but that has a precedent. Sheamus, despite his obvious character flaws, knows how to make an opponent look like a million bucks. Put them together and you've got a fine match up. Let's go back to their June encounter.
Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro
Damien Sandow delays this match so he can continue a story line that I don't much care to remember. Now that that's over, we can get to the wrestling. Collar-and-elbow tie up. Cesaro European uppercuts Sheamus on the break. He forces Sheamus into the corner and slaps him across the face. Sheamus is pissed. He charges Cesaro, who has to roll out of the ring to avoid the Irishman's wrath. Cesaro narrowly avoids a kick through the ropes. He got a bit too close to the ring and Sheamus couldn't wait to get at him.
Sheamus works over Cesaro's abs. He tries for a suplex but that's a no go. Cesaro gets Sheamus down with a waistlock, rotates on top of him, and gets back to his feet. Cesaro pulls Sheamus off the ground with a Karelin lift. That's freaky strength. Sheamus takes a clothesline that puts him over the top and outside.
Cesaro sizes Sheamus up and tries a crossbody. Sheamus catches Cesaro and throws him into the boards with a fall away slam. Commercial break. They're brawling in the ring once we're back. Sheamus drops Cesaro over his knee with a backbreaker. The two step outside again like they're in an ROH match. Cesaro bullrushes Sheamus, tackling him into the steel steps. Cesaro rolls Sheamus into the ring so he can go for a pin. One count.
Cesaro headlocks Sheamus, lifts him off his feet, and spins him around until a toss breaks the hold. It's no giant spin, but that was a feat in and of itself. Sheamus hits two ax handles on Cesaro. He hits the ropes again, but Cesaro gets back at him with a hard clothesline. Two count this time. Cesaro and Sheamus keep wailing away. Sheamus gets his signature chest-thump spot in. He picks Cesaro up over the ropes and slams him down with a backbreaker, but this time Cesaro kicks out at two.
Cesaro and Sheamus continue to clobber each other. Cesaro shoves Sheamus into the corner. He charges, Sheamus pops his leg up and lands a perfectly timed counter Brogue kick to Cesaro's jaw. Cesaro falls back, Sheamus covers, and it's over. Sheamus wins.
Match Rating: ****1/2 Great match. The only thing that keeps it from a higher rating is that it's short and a commercial break cuts it even shorter. Execution and storytelling get five stars, but the total presentation is just a little lacking. Such is life on Main Event. Sheamus and Cesaro are a dream match up. Both are willing (and able) to sell so that the other guy looks like a destroyer. Both have offenses that make them look like powerhouses. That makes for a great match.
Feb 9, 2014
Show Recap: NJPW New Beginnings - Feb 9, 2014
We're not live from Hiroshima for this one. I stayed up past 7AM for Wrestle Kingdom 8, which was awesome, but I was also on winter break. Suffice it to say, I usually don't see New Japan live, but the same day is good enough for me. Tonight's the Tanahashi-Nakamura rematch for the IC title. Aside from that, I don't know the card well off-hand. Let's get to it.
Jushin Liger & El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi & BUSHI
Liger has my favorite mask and some of my favorite gear ever. El Desperado has a pretty cool mask himself, and a guitar, but it doesn't look like he intends on using it Honky Tonk Man style. BUSHI and Ibushi come out as a team, unlike their opponents.
Ibushi and Desperado start the match off with neither able to take advantage. Liger gets a two and a half count after a sit out powerbomb on BUSHI. It took all of a minute ofor that. BUSHI got a suicide dive on Liger through the ropes, which Liger caught perfectly. El Desperado gets the pin on BUSHI about 10 minutes in. Perfectly acceptable opener.
Match Rating: ** This sets up El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi and I got to see some Liger. No complaints here.
Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki
Tonga has extremely subdued entrance music. It's not menancing or eerie and it never sounds like something a crowd could pop for. Suzuki, on the other hand, has a recognizable theme that the crowd gets into.The crowd loves it, even if Suzuki is supposed to be a heel. Taichi comes with Suzuki tonight, strolling down with hands in his pocket. He gets a chair from the commentators booth while Suzuki puts the boot to a poor trainee.
Tonga tries to shine early on. He puts Suzuki in the corner and punches him in the abdomen over and over. Suzuki spits in defiance. Suzuki gets some help double teaming Tonga thanks to Taichi. Both guys are ostensibly heels, which translates to neither one having extended heat over the other. Suzuki's repeated slaps and a sleeper attempt get the biggest pop. Suzuki uses Taichi to distract Tonga, then grabs the ref to distract him from Taichi hitting Tonga with a chair. One Gotch piledriver later and we're all done.
Match Rating: ***** because I'm a complete Suzuki mark. No, I'm not that dumb, it's really a *1/2 effort. Very short and Tonga only gets in enough offense to not make this a squash.
Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs. Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba
Iizuka attacks the poor announcer again and spray paints him into some sort of clown. The announcer looks like he's about to cry. Yano barely cares. Yano and Iizuka ambush their opponents to start the match. Sakuraba does the laziest spinning toe hold. Iizuka drags Sakuraba way into the crowd and tosses him onto the chairs. Iizuka chokes Sakuraba with a microphone chord to zero heat, though him wrapping the chord around his own neck and mocking Sakuraba gets a reaction.
Nagata getting the hot tag brings the crowd back to life. They're into him more than anyone else and this is no contest. Sakuraba has some terrible looking strikes that put Iizuka down. Yano holds onto the ref and keeps his attention while Iizuka uses a chair on Sakuraba and Nagata. Sakuraba uses the iron fingers on Iizuka, ending the match in DQ.
Match Rating: * A lot of sloppy brawling and the crowd only got into when Nagata was involved.
Michael Tarver vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tarver is big and muscular but not a good worker. Tarver yells "I'm gonna knock his ass out!" while the crowd chants for Tenzan. Tarver's offense is mostly shoulders and chinlocks. Tarver cut Tenzan open with an elbow. Tenzan is bleeding bad from it. It's in a spot that would be a major concern in MMA or boxing. The announcers mention Tarver being a sparring partner of Mike Tyson. Tenzan got an anaconda vice on Tarver after a rolling kick, but Tarver got to the ropes. Tarver wins via a very sudden KO superman punch.
Match Rating: * Nothing worth adding. This was pretty bad.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship - Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Big Daddy Yum Yum
I am instantly disappointed to see that Yum Yum is not a 400+ pound fat man. On the plus side, Bruce Tharpe is there in all his hammy goodness. Yum Yum is wearing a tiny, tiny vest that looks like the straps of a backpack when you see him from the front. That, plus yellow and pink leopard print gear.
Tharpe screaming at Kojima and cheering on Yum Yum is the highlight. "This is MAH BELT. Hurt 'im, Big Daddy!" Kojima does a corner chest slap spot that Yum Yum sells like death, even if most of the slaps aren't hard. Yum Yum is a lot better than Tarver and Kojima can move much more than Tenzan at this point. Kojima wins with a lariat.
Match Rating: **1/4 Nothing special either way. Tharpe was the best part. Tarver came out and ambushed Kojima after the match. Tenzan ran out for the save.
Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomaki Honma
Honma is the biggest stand out of the match. It's en vogue to love him and righfully so. He works hard as hell, sells and bumps with the best of them, and is great at getting the crowd behind him. Ishii chops the hell out of Honma for a while. Yujiro continues the beat down.
Naito and Ishii trade forearms. I do think New Japan is getting a little dependent on this spot, but it doesn't kill the match. Honma tags back in and is hot for a moment before Ishii and Yujiro start to kick his ass again. Ishii superplexes Honma for a two count. Honma misses a diving (well, falling) headbutt. Ishii almost takes Honma's head off with a clothesline but Naito saves his teammate. Ishii brainbusters Honma and gets the pin.
Match rating: **3/4 Best match so far. Everyone looked pretty good and it's an entertaining match.
Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale, & the Young Bucks) vs. Timesplitters, Toki Makabe, & Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi and Devitt square off first, but Devitt immediately tags out to Fale. The Timesplitters and Youngbucks move at a million miles per hour in there. The match stands out for its pace. Fale serves as the big badass that tosses the little guys around. Makabe is the only one big enough to stand up to him. Makabe and Fale brawling helps lower the tempo.
Devitt gets face to face with Taguchi again after the big men are done. Fale interferes, wiping out Taguchi and the Timesplitters with clotheslines. Lots of rapid transitions as guys come in and out of the ring. Taguchi and Devitt are still the legal men. Devitt gets Taguchi with a Bloody Sunday, giving the Bullet Club a clean win.
Match Rating: *** Another good match and it's one that stands out compared to the rest of the card, which I like. The previous match was a bit more crisp and well-laid out, but this is more good wrestling.
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
YOSHI-HASHI gets up in Shibata's face and forearms him before the bell ever rings. Okada tags in and the crowd immediately chants his name. They're very into Okada. YOSHI-HASHI brawls with Shibata outside. That leaves Goto and Okada alone to work for a while.
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI work over Goto for a long while. Shibata gets back in there to lay some kicks into YOSHI-HASHI. Shibata lines him up for the PK but runs at Okada and boots him off the apron instead. Shibata wants Okada, but YOSHI-HASHI gets fired up and goes at Shibata instead of tagging out. The crowd's as loud as any point so far.
We finally get Okada and Shibata together. There's another forearm exchange, with Shibata making Okada wobble after Shibata gets the best of it. Okada does some fine selling. Shibata gets his sprinting corner dropkick in on Okada, then a German suplex. Goto backdrop drivers Okada, but YOSHI-HASHI gets the save.
YOSHI-HASHI gets a lot more offense than I expected. He eats more offense than anyone else too. Okada almost rainmakers Shibata but Goto catches Okada's arm. Goto and Shibata work in some nice double team moves, first on Okada then YOSHI-HASHI to finish the match. Shibata walks off without any fanfare while Goto stands in the corner and gives us the universal "I want your belt" sign.
Match rating: ***1/2. I really want to see Goto vs. Okada now. And Shibata vs. Okada. So this match did its job. YOSHI-HASHI did a really good job in there trying to prove that he belonged with the other three.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship - Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (c) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith & Lance Archer)
Turns out that Tama Tonga theme music is generic Bullet Club music. Still not a fan. We have four big men in there and four heels too, though K.E.S. get face reactions against the Bullet Club. Archer and Gallows keep trying to clothesline each other but neither can drop the other. Archer finally gets Gallows down with one and that gets a pop. The audience stays silent otherwise.
Lots of big man offense, which is exactly how this match should go. When someone bumps, it's because someone else hit him hard or threw all his weight behind something. Archer gets most of the action for KES. Karl Anderson uses a great spinebuster on Davey Boy Smith once he's in the ring. Davey Boy uses his equally smooth Tiger Suplwx after that. KES killer bomb Anderson but Gallows makes the save. Unfortunately for Gallows, KES killerbomb him next.
Tama Tonga is up on the apron with a chair. KES aren't done. A third killerbomb, this one to Tonga. Archer fires up the crowd with clappling. A fourth killerbomb? Nope, Anderson kicks Davey Boy away. The go home for the match doesn't get as much heat as I'd hope. Actually, it got none. That aside, it's really well done by all four men. Damn it, Hiroshima, make some noise.
Match rating: ***1/4 I could easily see this being a lot more if there was some actual heat.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship - Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tanahashi and Nakamura try to out-muscle each other in a collar-and-elbow at the start. Good matwork and grappling to start, but it's your standard fare in New Japan at a more polished level. Nakamura hits a codebreaker and transitions right into an armlock. Nakamura follows up on that with hard kicks to Tanahashi's arm.
Nakamura controls Tanahashi until Tanahashi hits a dragon screw. Tanahashi gets a flying forearm but is clutching the elbow immediately afterwards. Both guys are going at it hard. Nakamura's strikes look particularly vicious. Nakamura makes sure to go back after Tanahashi's arm when he gets the chance. Tanahashi goes back at Nakamura's knee when he goes on offense. Tanahashi tries to skin the cat but his arm is too weak to do it now. Tanahashi gets another dragon screw on Nakamura, this time outside. He follows up with a high fly flow outside as Nakamura gets back to his feet.
Tanahashi hits a styles clash and looks for the high fly flow afterwards. Nakamura rolls out of the way, springs up, and crushes the back of Tanahashi's skull with a bom ba ye. Nakamura can't get a cover though, he clutches at his knee instead. The crowd heats up louder than any point yet. Nakamura lines Tanahashi up for another bom ba ye. Tanahashi cuts him off and rolls through into an O'Connor roll. Nakamura pops out of it and slaps on an arm bar. Tanahashi fights to not tap, even trying to pin Nakamura's shoulders at one point, but Nakamura holds on. Only the ropes save Tanahashi.
Nakamura drills Tanahashi's arms with kicks. He hits a bom ba ye, but Tanahashi kicks out at two. The crowd erupts. Nakamua goes up to the top rope, sitting on their, waiting for Tanahashi. Jumping bom ba ye! Nakamura wants another one though and now he's getting greedy. Tanahashi evades the last one and puts Nakamura down with his signature sling blade.
Another slingblade puts Nakamura back down. Tanahashi goes up top and high fly flows a standing Nakamura. Back up top. High fly flow. One-two-kick out! The announcer is going nuts. Nakamura writhes around, Tanahashi can't believe he didn't get hte pin. Nakamura tries a standing armbar but slips off Tanahashi. Tanahashi dragon suplexes him and bridges into the pin. We have a winner!
Match rating: ****1/2 I saw some people say the ending was botched. Maybe it was, but they recovered immediately and it makes sense that a guy would slip off in the context of a match like that. They're sweaty and tired and he couldn't hang on. No problem there. Nakamura's offense was superb. Tanahashi's slingblade isn't my favorite, but it pops the crowd and served as a fine transitioning counter. Great match by bother guys, particularly for their selling.
Final Thoughts
Not the best iPPV by any stretch, but the post-intermission bouts made up for the weak first half. The main even absolutely delivered. Now I can't wait for the second New Beginning either.
Jushin Liger & El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi & BUSHI
Liger has my favorite mask and some of my favorite gear ever. El Desperado has a pretty cool mask himself, and a guitar, but it doesn't look like he intends on using it Honky Tonk Man style. BUSHI and Ibushi come out as a team, unlike their opponents.
Ibushi and Desperado start the match off with neither able to take advantage. Liger gets a two and a half count after a sit out powerbomb on BUSHI. It took all of a minute ofor that. BUSHI got a suicide dive on Liger through the ropes, which Liger caught perfectly. El Desperado gets the pin on BUSHI about 10 minutes in. Perfectly acceptable opener.
Match Rating: ** This sets up El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi and I got to see some Liger. No complaints here.
Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki
Tonga has extremely subdued entrance music. It's not menancing or eerie and it never sounds like something a crowd could pop for. Suzuki, on the other hand, has a recognizable theme that the crowd gets into.The crowd loves it, even if Suzuki is supposed to be a heel. Taichi comes with Suzuki tonight, strolling down with hands in his pocket. He gets a chair from the commentators booth while Suzuki puts the boot to a poor trainee.
Tonga tries to shine early on. He puts Suzuki in the corner and punches him in the abdomen over and over. Suzuki spits in defiance. Suzuki gets some help double teaming Tonga thanks to Taichi. Both guys are ostensibly heels, which translates to neither one having extended heat over the other. Suzuki's repeated slaps and a sleeper attempt get the biggest pop. Suzuki uses Taichi to distract Tonga, then grabs the ref to distract him from Taichi hitting Tonga with a chair. One Gotch piledriver later and we're all done.
Match Rating: ***** because I'm a complete Suzuki mark. No, I'm not that dumb, it's really a *1/2 effort. Very short and Tonga only gets in enough offense to not make this a squash.
Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs. Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba
Iizuka attacks the poor announcer again and spray paints him into some sort of clown. The announcer looks like he's about to cry. Yano barely cares. Yano and Iizuka ambush their opponents to start the match. Sakuraba does the laziest spinning toe hold. Iizuka drags Sakuraba way into the crowd and tosses him onto the chairs. Iizuka chokes Sakuraba with a microphone chord to zero heat, though him wrapping the chord around his own neck and mocking Sakuraba gets a reaction.
Nagata getting the hot tag brings the crowd back to life. They're into him more than anyone else and this is no contest. Sakuraba has some terrible looking strikes that put Iizuka down. Yano holds onto the ref and keeps his attention while Iizuka uses a chair on Sakuraba and Nagata. Sakuraba uses the iron fingers on Iizuka, ending the match in DQ.
Match Rating: * A lot of sloppy brawling and the crowd only got into when Nagata was involved.
Michael Tarver vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tarver is big and muscular but not a good worker. Tarver yells "I'm gonna knock his ass out!" while the crowd chants for Tenzan. Tarver's offense is mostly shoulders and chinlocks. Tarver cut Tenzan open with an elbow. Tenzan is bleeding bad from it. It's in a spot that would be a major concern in MMA or boxing. The announcers mention Tarver being a sparring partner of Mike Tyson. Tenzan got an anaconda vice on Tarver after a rolling kick, but Tarver got to the ropes. Tarver wins via a very sudden KO superman punch.
Match Rating: * Nothing worth adding. This was pretty bad.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship - Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Big Daddy Yum Yum
I am instantly disappointed to see that Yum Yum is not a 400+ pound fat man. On the plus side, Bruce Tharpe is there in all his hammy goodness. Yum Yum is wearing a tiny, tiny vest that looks like the straps of a backpack when you see him from the front. That, plus yellow and pink leopard print gear.
Tharpe screaming at Kojima and cheering on Yum Yum is the highlight. "This is MAH BELT. Hurt 'im, Big Daddy!" Kojima does a corner chest slap spot that Yum Yum sells like death, even if most of the slaps aren't hard. Yum Yum is a lot better than Tarver and Kojima can move much more than Tenzan at this point. Kojima wins with a lariat.
Match Rating: **1/4 Nothing special either way. Tharpe was the best part. Tarver came out and ambushed Kojima after the match. Tenzan ran out for the save.
Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomaki Honma
Honma is the biggest stand out of the match. It's en vogue to love him and righfully so. He works hard as hell, sells and bumps with the best of them, and is great at getting the crowd behind him. Ishii chops the hell out of Honma for a while. Yujiro continues the beat down.
Naito and Ishii trade forearms. I do think New Japan is getting a little dependent on this spot, but it doesn't kill the match. Honma tags back in and is hot for a moment before Ishii and Yujiro start to kick his ass again. Ishii superplexes Honma for a two count. Honma misses a diving (well, falling) headbutt. Ishii almost takes Honma's head off with a clothesline but Naito saves his teammate. Ishii brainbusters Honma and gets the pin.
Match rating: **3/4 Best match so far. Everyone looked pretty good and it's an entertaining match.
Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale, & the Young Bucks) vs. Timesplitters, Toki Makabe, & Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi and Devitt square off first, but Devitt immediately tags out to Fale. The Timesplitters and Youngbucks move at a million miles per hour in there. The match stands out for its pace. Fale serves as the big badass that tosses the little guys around. Makabe is the only one big enough to stand up to him. Makabe and Fale brawling helps lower the tempo.
Devitt gets face to face with Taguchi again after the big men are done. Fale interferes, wiping out Taguchi and the Timesplitters with clotheslines. Lots of rapid transitions as guys come in and out of the ring. Taguchi and Devitt are still the legal men. Devitt gets Taguchi with a Bloody Sunday, giving the Bullet Club a clean win.
Match Rating: *** Another good match and it's one that stands out compared to the rest of the card, which I like. The previous match was a bit more crisp and well-laid out, but this is more good wrestling.
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
YOSHI-HASHI gets up in Shibata's face and forearms him before the bell ever rings. Okada tags in and the crowd immediately chants his name. They're very into Okada. YOSHI-HASHI brawls with Shibata outside. That leaves Goto and Okada alone to work for a while.
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI work over Goto for a long while. Shibata gets back in there to lay some kicks into YOSHI-HASHI. Shibata lines him up for the PK but runs at Okada and boots him off the apron instead. Shibata wants Okada, but YOSHI-HASHI gets fired up and goes at Shibata instead of tagging out. The crowd's as loud as any point so far.
We finally get Okada and Shibata together. There's another forearm exchange, with Shibata making Okada wobble after Shibata gets the best of it. Okada does some fine selling. Shibata gets his sprinting corner dropkick in on Okada, then a German suplex. Goto backdrop drivers Okada, but YOSHI-HASHI gets the save.
YOSHI-HASHI gets a lot more offense than I expected. He eats more offense than anyone else too. Okada almost rainmakers Shibata but Goto catches Okada's arm. Goto and Shibata work in some nice double team moves, first on Okada then YOSHI-HASHI to finish the match. Shibata walks off without any fanfare while Goto stands in the corner and gives us the universal "I want your belt" sign.
Match rating: ***1/2. I really want to see Goto vs. Okada now. And Shibata vs. Okada. So this match did its job. YOSHI-HASHI did a really good job in there trying to prove that he belonged with the other three.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship - Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (c) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith & Lance Archer)
Turns out that Tama Tonga theme music is generic Bullet Club music. Still not a fan. We have four big men in there and four heels too, though K.E.S. get face reactions against the Bullet Club. Archer and Gallows keep trying to clothesline each other but neither can drop the other. Archer finally gets Gallows down with one and that gets a pop. The audience stays silent otherwise.
Lots of big man offense, which is exactly how this match should go. When someone bumps, it's because someone else hit him hard or threw all his weight behind something. Archer gets most of the action for KES. Karl Anderson uses a great spinebuster on Davey Boy Smith once he's in the ring. Davey Boy uses his equally smooth Tiger Suplwx after that. KES killer bomb Anderson but Gallows makes the save. Unfortunately for Gallows, KES killerbomb him next.
Tama Tonga is up on the apron with a chair. KES aren't done. A third killerbomb, this one to Tonga. Archer fires up the crowd with clappling. A fourth killerbomb? Nope, Anderson kicks Davey Boy away. The go home for the match doesn't get as much heat as I'd hope. Actually, it got none. That aside, it's really well done by all four men. Damn it, Hiroshima, make some noise.
Match rating: ***1/4 I could easily see this being a lot more if there was some actual heat.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship - Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tanahashi and Nakamura try to out-muscle each other in a collar-and-elbow at the start. Good matwork and grappling to start, but it's your standard fare in New Japan at a more polished level. Nakamura hits a codebreaker and transitions right into an armlock. Nakamura follows up on that with hard kicks to Tanahashi's arm.
Nakamura controls Tanahashi until Tanahashi hits a dragon screw. Tanahashi gets a flying forearm but is clutching the elbow immediately afterwards. Both guys are going at it hard. Nakamura's strikes look particularly vicious. Nakamura makes sure to go back after Tanahashi's arm when he gets the chance. Tanahashi goes back at Nakamura's knee when he goes on offense. Tanahashi tries to skin the cat but his arm is too weak to do it now. Tanahashi gets another dragon screw on Nakamura, this time outside. He follows up with a high fly flow outside as Nakamura gets back to his feet.
Tanahashi hits a styles clash and looks for the high fly flow afterwards. Nakamura rolls out of the way, springs up, and crushes the back of Tanahashi's skull with a bom ba ye. Nakamura can't get a cover though, he clutches at his knee instead. The crowd heats up louder than any point yet. Nakamura lines Tanahashi up for another bom ba ye. Tanahashi cuts him off and rolls through into an O'Connor roll. Nakamura pops out of it and slaps on an arm bar. Tanahashi fights to not tap, even trying to pin Nakamura's shoulders at one point, but Nakamura holds on. Only the ropes save Tanahashi.
Nakamura drills Tanahashi's arms with kicks. He hits a bom ba ye, but Tanahashi kicks out at two. The crowd erupts. Nakamua goes up to the top rope, sitting on their, waiting for Tanahashi. Jumping bom ba ye! Nakamura wants another one though and now he's getting greedy. Tanahashi evades the last one and puts Nakamura down with his signature sling blade.
Another slingblade puts Nakamura back down. Tanahashi goes up top and high fly flows a standing Nakamura. Back up top. High fly flow. One-two-kick out! The announcer is going nuts. Nakamura writhes around, Tanahashi can't believe he didn't get hte pin. Nakamura tries a standing armbar but slips off Tanahashi. Tanahashi dragon suplexes him and bridges into the pin. We have a winner!
Match rating: ****1/2 I saw some people say the ending was botched. Maybe it was, but they recovered immediately and it makes sense that a guy would slip off in the context of a match like that. They're sweaty and tired and he couldn't hang on. No problem there. Nakamura's offense was superb. Tanahashi's slingblade isn't my favorite, but it pops the crowd and served as a fine transitioning counter. Great match by bother guys, particularly for their selling.
Final Thoughts
Not the best iPPV by any stretch, but the post-intermission bouts made up for the weak first half. The main even absolutely delivered. Now I can't wait for the second New Beginning either.
Feb 8, 2014
Match Review: Smackdown 41-man Battle Royal - Oct 14, 2011
I searched "WWE match" on youtube and this was the first result. I guess Smackdown battle royals from two years ago are what the WWE really want to push on youtube. Works for me, I friggin' love battle royals. Also, it's battle royals, not battles royal. Don't be that guy. Let's do this.
Smackdown 41-Man Battle Royal
Winner receives the right to a title shot of their choosing that same evening. I'll bet some idiot goes for the IC title. The match description says this the biggest battle royal in WWE history, so we're in for a real treat.
Then intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes comes out with his belt on, so I'm wrong. There are some conspicuous gaps in the line when the superstars walk out. Notably, Orton comes out last and about 10 feet away from anyone else. All 41 guys jam themselves in there. The bell rings and the brawling commences. Way too much going on to call the action with any effect. Somebody dumps masked Cody Rhodes to the outside a few seconds in, making him elimination numero uno.
Johnny Curtis goes out second. This is during the heel Michael Cole commentator era, so enjoy that if you watch. JTG falls out, never to be seen again. Michael McGuillicutty, Derek Bateman, and Titus O'Neal follow soon after. There's a Yoshi Tatsu sighting. Matt Striker takes a hard bump and hits his head on the mat outside. The ring's slowly thinning out when a commercial break gives us a reprieve.
William Regal steps onto the outside with the grace of a fine British gentleman. Percy Watson is out too. Morrison and Ziggler come next, ridding the ring of our mid-sized athletic guy contingent. Trent Baretta takes the craziest looking bump yet when he front flips over the rope, lands on his feet, then face plants. An Uso goes out, glad it's not just me who can't tell them apart that quickly as the commentators never specify which it is. At this point the wrestlers actually have some room to move around. Ezekiel Jackson dumping Ted DiBiase over the top helps. Booker T hypes out how great Drew McIntyre looks tonight. Some indy geek falls out and the camera barely catches it. He'll never matter anyhow.
Tyler Reks and Curtis Hawkins go flying out of the ring thanks to Mason Ryan. Drew McIntyre doesn't live up to the hype, he's out next. Mason Ryan press slams Justin Gabriel, only for someone to jump him from behind and casually tilt him over the top rope. It's a clean-shaven Wade Barrett. So much for British pride. CM Punk high kicks Primo when Primo was on the apron, so he's out. Christian almost eliminates Santino, but Santino pulls himself back up onto the apron. He starts getting the cobra ready when Christian pops him in the jaw and sends him packing.
Miz eliminates Alex Riley by pulling down the top rope as Riley charges. Kofi Kingston skins the cat to stay alive, grabs Swagger with his legs, but can't get the elimination on Swagger. Swagger gets an ankle lock on Kofi, who is still clutching the top rope and dangling upside down. A Jack Swagger boot ends that little showdown. Ryder goes out without much ceremony. Sheamus grabs Otunga and then the other Uso by the back of the neck and throws each over the top rope within a few seconds of the other. He really should go for that more often.
Ezekiel Jackson wants to get the jump on Sheamus. Sheamus isn't having it and fights his way off of Jackson's shoulders then clotheslines Jackson over the top. Sheamus stands tall in the middle of the ring while everyone else slouches in the corner or lays on the ground. Heath Slater almost meets the same fate as Otunga and Uso #2, but he manages to hang onto the top rope. Sheamus brogue kicks him for the insolence, leaving us with only ten men left.
CM Punk uses his tried and true "lay on the mat and hope no one notices me" method to great success. Sheamus continues his dominant run when he powerbombs Sin Cara Negro over the top and into Ezekiel Jackson and two others, who manage to break his fall. Christian lines up Sheamus from the corner. He sprints at the Irishman, looking for the diving hug, but Sheamus knees him in the face. Sheamus hoists Christian up on his shoulder. Christian escapes before he gets too near the ropes, then tries to push Sheamus over the top. Sheamus blocks a punch, puts his hand behind Christian's neck, and throws him over the top rope. See, it's that easy.
Pre-3MB Jinder Mahal is still in there, working over Sheamus. CM Punk dumps R-Truth, Miz eliminates Punk immediately after that. Miz eats a brogue kick and rolls out of the ring, under the bottom rope. The commentators mention that he is not eliminated, but I'm sure that won't come back into play. Punk and R-Truth keep on brawling outside, distracting the camera man from seeing Christian eliminate Sheamus. Sheamus gets right back in there and starts chasing him around, inside and then outside of the ring. Christian makes a run for it, all the way up the ramp and to the back. Orton eliminates Wade Barrett and immediately RKOs Jack Swagger after that. Swagger goes out next. Jinder eats an RKO and Randy dumps him out, leaving nobody else standing.
But where's the bell? Nowhere yet, because the Miz is still in this. He sneaks back into the ring and throws Orton over the top rope. He celebrates his win prematurely. Orton is still alive. Miz puts the boots to Orton. Orton ducks a Miz clothesline and then power slams him, getting back in control. He does that mat slapping taunt but fails to deliver an RKO. Both guys end up on the apron. They square off while clutching the top rope. Punches fly as each backs up the other. Miz shoves Orton into the ring post, but it's not enough to end this. Orton boots Miz's gut and RKOs him onto the apron. Both men drop out, but Miz hits first. There's some confusion about who hit first, even though it looked pretty clear to me. Orton's the winner, so he faces Mark Henry later that night.
Match Rating: *. Even by Battle Royal standards this was pretty bad. It's almost sixteen minutes long and hits on plenty of the big tropes: eliminated guy eliminates a live contestant, the photo finish, the hide outside the ring and hope no one notices, etc. etc. It's no Wrestlemania 14 tag team battle royal, i.e., the gold standard of battle royals. Why is this the first result for "WWE match" on youtube? This wasn't even fun to watch. Here's, watch it, wallow in this with me:
Smackdown 41-Man Battle Royal
Winner receives the right to a title shot of their choosing that same evening. I'll bet some idiot goes for the IC title. The match description says this the biggest battle royal in WWE history, so we're in for a real treat.
Then intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes comes out with his belt on, so I'm wrong. There are some conspicuous gaps in the line when the superstars walk out. Notably, Orton comes out last and about 10 feet away from anyone else. All 41 guys jam themselves in there. The bell rings and the brawling commences. Way too much going on to call the action with any effect. Somebody dumps masked Cody Rhodes to the outside a few seconds in, making him elimination numero uno.
Johnny Curtis goes out second. This is during the heel Michael Cole commentator era, so enjoy that if you watch. JTG falls out, never to be seen again. Michael McGuillicutty, Derek Bateman, and Titus O'Neal follow soon after. There's a Yoshi Tatsu sighting. Matt Striker takes a hard bump and hits his head on the mat outside. The ring's slowly thinning out when a commercial break gives us a reprieve.
William Regal steps onto the outside with the grace of a fine British gentleman. Percy Watson is out too. Morrison and Ziggler come next, ridding the ring of our mid-sized athletic guy contingent. Trent Baretta takes the craziest looking bump yet when he front flips over the rope, lands on his feet, then face plants. An Uso goes out, glad it's not just me who can't tell them apart that quickly as the commentators never specify which it is. At this point the wrestlers actually have some room to move around. Ezekiel Jackson dumping Ted DiBiase over the top helps. Booker T hypes out how great Drew McIntyre looks tonight. Some indy geek falls out and the camera barely catches it. He'll never matter anyhow.
Tyler Reks and Curtis Hawkins go flying out of the ring thanks to Mason Ryan. Drew McIntyre doesn't live up to the hype, he's out next. Mason Ryan press slams Justin Gabriel, only for someone to jump him from behind and casually tilt him over the top rope. It's a clean-shaven Wade Barrett. So much for British pride. CM Punk high kicks Primo when Primo was on the apron, so he's out. Christian almost eliminates Santino, but Santino pulls himself back up onto the apron. He starts getting the cobra ready when Christian pops him in the jaw and sends him packing.
Miz eliminates Alex Riley by pulling down the top rope as Riley charges. Kofi Kingston skins the cat to stay alive, grabs Swagger with his legs, but can't get the elimination on Swagger. Swagger gets an ankle lock on Kofi, who is still clutching the top rope and dangling upside down. A Jack Swagger boot ends that little showdown. Ryder goes out without much ceremony. Sheamus grabs Otunga and then the other Uso by the back of the neck and throws each over the top rope within a few seconds of the other. He really should go for that more often.
Ezekiel Jackson wants to get the jump on Sheamus. Sheamus isn't having it and fights his way off of Jackson's shoulders then clotheslines Jackson over the top. Sheamus stands tall in the middle of the ring while everyone else slouches in the corner or lays on the ground. Heath Slater almost meets the same fate as Otunga and Uso #2, but he manages to hang onto the top rope. Sheamus brogue kicks him for the insolence, leaving us with only ten men left.
CM Punk uses his tried and true "lay on the mat and hope no one notices me" method to great success. Sheamus continues his dominant run when he powerbombs Sin Cara Negro over the top and into Ezekiel Jackson and two others, who manage to break his fall. Christian lines up Sheamus from the corner. He sprints at the Irishman, looking for the diving hug, but Sheamus knees him in the face. Sheamus hoists Christian up on his shoulder. Christian escapes before he gets too near the ropes, then tries to push Sheamus over the top. Sheamus blocks a punch, puts his hand behind Christian's neck, and throws him over the top rope. See, it's that easy.
Pre-3MB Jinder Mahal is still in there, working over Sheamus. CM Punk dumps R-Truth, Miz eliminates Punk immediately after that. Miz eats a brogue kick and rolls out of the ring, under the bottom rope. The commentators mention that he is not eliminated, but I'm sure that won't come back into play. Punk and R-Truth keep on brawling outside, distracting the camera man from seeing Christian eliminate Sheamus. Sheamus gets right back in there and starts chasing him around, inside and then outside of the ring. Christian makes a run for it, all the way up the ramp and to the back. Orton eliminates Wade Barrett and immediately RKOs Jack Swagger after that. Swagger goes out next. Jinder eats an RKO and Randy dumps him out, leaving nobody else standing.
But where's the bell? Nowhere yet, because the Miz is still in this. He sneaks back into the ring and throws Orton over the top rope. He celebrates his win prematurely. Orton is still alive. Miz puts the boots to Orton. Orton ducks a Miz clothesline and then power slams him, getting back in control. He does that mat slapping taunt but fails to deliver an RKO. Both guys end up on the apron. They square off while clutching the top rope. Punches fly as each backs up the other. Miz shoves Orton into the ring post, but it's not enough to end this. Orton boots Miz's gut and RKOs him onto the apron. Both men drop out, but Miz hits first. There's some confusion about who hit first, even though it looked pretty clear to me. Orton's the winner, so he faces Mark Henry later that night.
Match Rating: *. Even by Battle Royal standards this was pretty bad. It's almost sixteen minutes long and hits on plenty of the big tropes: eliminated guy eliminates a live contestant, the photo finish, the hide outside the ring and hope no one notices, etc. etc. It's no Wrestlemania 14 tag team battle royal, i.e., the gold standard of battle royals. Why is this the first result for "WWE match" on youtube? This wasn't even fun to watch. Here's, watch it, wallow in this with me:
Feb 7, 2014
ROH TV show recap - Episode 124
AJ Styles returns to ROH. What else do you want me to say? Let's get to it.
ROH Top Prospect Tournament Semifinal - Hanson vs. Andrew Everett
Prince Nana joins the commentary table for this semifinal match. Hanson has a mighty viking beard and some gear to match. Everett grapples at Hanson, who's having none of it. A middle rope dropkick barely moves Hanson, the much bigger man. Everett wants to fly and high-impact moves might be his only chance. Another dropkick puts Hanson to the outside. Everett high jumps the top rope, but Hanson catches him on his shoulder. He torpedoes Everett into the ring post in an impressive show of strength.
Hanson lariats Everett in the back of the head when Everett goes to hit the ropes. Some distant "huss" chants in the crowd. Hanson tries to throw Everett like he did before, this time into the top turnbuckle, but Everett is quick to reverse with headscissors. Everett is on top now. He gets Hanson back down two more times, first with a hurricanrana and then a springboard dropkick. Hanson's a little hurt, though he can still grab Everett by the scruff of the neck and toss him around.
Hanson clotheslines Everett outside then sizes him up for a dive. A big man is considering this, so the crowd pops at the idea. Actually, they're really into the entire match. Hanson suicide dives through the ropes and gets nothing but air. He rolls through it pretty gracefully, if I say so myself. Everett gets back in the ring just so he can use the top rope. A springboard shooting star press leaves both men down outside.
The crowd is chanting for Everett. Everett leaps over the top rope from the apron, kicking his legs out almost into the splits, and springboards off the inside of the middle rope. Too bad for him that Hanson flattens him with a big spinning leg lariat. The 1-2-3 puts Hanson in the tournament finals against Raymond Rowe.
Match rating: **1/2. Simple concept: big man hurts smaller man, smaller man has to soar to do anything about it. Everett's a fine high flyer and Hanson's got a look that stands out in ROH. This opened the show up nicely and the spinning leg lariat to a springboarding Everett made for a nice finish.
Michael Bennett (/w Maria Kanellis) vs. Cedric Alexander
Maria takes the mic before Alexander can come out. She's ripping on Kevin Steen: he touched her in a vile way, he's everything that's wrong with wrestling, and he didn't deserve a victory over Bennett. If the crowd was in to the opener, then they sure tuned out quickly for this. No heat.
Bennett tries a sucker punch as the bell rings. Alexander gets under it and pops Bennett with a right of his own. Alexander has control for only a few moments before Bennett is back in charge. Alexander picks up the pace of a slow starting match when he topes onto Bennett. Alexander's really fast and he executes the leap well, but these spots start to lose meaning when they happen every match.
We come back from commercial with the two outside the ring. Bennett shoves Alexander into a barricade then rolls him back inside. But that lasts for all of a two seconds, the time it takes to get a two count, before Bennett throws Alexander back out of the ring. Fair enough, I guess Bennett is arrogant enough to think shoving someone into a barricade is good for a pinfall. Back into the ring again. Cedric's in the corner. Bennett charges. He leaps. Alexander moves out of the way, letting Bennett crotch himself on the middle turnbuckle.
Alexander starts to fire up. Bennett slips outside and they tease another dive. Alexander hits a springboard clothesline. A moment later, he goes for another. Bennett spears him, or so the announcers say, it looked more like a spinebuster, I guess. Nearfall for two a moment later. Bennett hoists Alexander up on his shoulders. Alexander slips off and kicks Bennett into the corner. Alexander tries to finish Bennett off, but Bennett rolls outside again. Alexander lays out Bennett once again, goes up top, and gets two knees to the body for trying a frog splash. Bennett clotheslines Alexander, throws on an anaconda vice, and Alexander taps immediately. Bennett calls it a "Go Back To Japan" after the match.
Match rating: *. The only thing keeping this from being a DUD was the crowd being pretty in to it. Otherwise, I hated this. It wasn't a botchfest or even sloppy. It was just a sequence of moves, one guy taking advantage of the other for a brief with little rhyme or reason. The constant going outside and the dives/springboards irked me more than a little. Plus, you know I hate guys tapping out with no build. Or you do now. Maybe I'm being ornery, but I'm sticking to my guns.
Roderick Strong v. AJ Styles
Match maker Nigel McGuinness pops on a headset for the main event. Strong and Styles start off with grappling. Strong has a waistlock. Styles gets out and brings him to the mat with a wristlock. Strong ends up getting Styles in headscissors. He slaps his thigh and tries some heeling, sarcastically yelling "yes" whenever Styles says "no, I do not give up this early" to the ref. "You're in my ring now, AJ." Styles takes Strong down for a moment. The two try to out wrestle each other for all of a minute before the crowd starts a "this is wrestling!" chant.
We move on from the mat work section of the match to the running the ropes section so the pace can pick up. A Styles dropkick forces Strong to roll outside. Styles goes for a baseball slide instead of a suicide dive. I respect that. Commercial break.
Styles hits a gut buster when we come back. Styles is in the corner. Strong eats boot when he rushes in. Styles goes over the top rope and onto the apron. He tries a springboard of his own, but Strong dropkicks Styles just before he can. Smooth execution. Strong takes Styles outside and throws him into a barricade. He drags Styles towards another, then whips him into that one too.
Styles rolls across the ring after Strong puts him back in it. Styles rolls out of a back suplex attempt on the apron and into the ring. He forearms Strong off the apron. Styles tries another baseball slide. This time Strong counters it. Strong lifts Styles up and slams his back against the edge of the ring. Let the back breaking commence! Strong gets a two count for that. Strong and Styles both hit the ropes and try a crossbody, meaning both are laid out. Styles gets up first. He clotheslines Strong, elbows him, and spinning kicks him when Strong keeps springing up. Styles goes out to the apron. He springboards in, forearming Strong. Another two count leads us to a commercial break.
Styles taunts like he's about to finish off Strong. Strong back body drops Styles, nope, Styles rolls through. He tries a Styles Clash. Strong escapes with a heel to the head. Olympic slam by Strong. Big running knee into the corner, hitting Styles clean in the jaw. Strong hits a running forearm and one of his many back breakers to finish the combo. Two count. Strong and Styles are hurting now. They're countering each other left and right until Styles back flips off the middle rope in the corner and catches Strong for an inverted DDT.
Styles drags himself up top. Strong forearms, slaps, and chops him, in that very order. Strong gets up on the top rope too. Strong hits the big superplex then rolls over for the cover: only two! Both guys look absolutely exhausted at this point. The match moves at a blistering pace, so I can't blame 'em. Strong double underhooks Styles. Styles kicks Strong to the head before Strong can flip him over. Strong misses Styles in the corner and a Pele kick to the shoulder hurts Strong badly. Short brainbuster by Styles. Two count. Styles thought that would be enough.
Styles goes back onto the apron and springboards in. He misses the rope and hyperextends one knee. The other smacks Strong in the head as he's on the mat. Styles is selling the knee big time. Styles is on the top rope again, sitting on the turnbuckle. Strong jerks him off and nails Styles with a backbreaker. Strong follows with a double knee gutbuster, but it's only good for two.
Strong elbows Styles, who shells up until he recovers enough to fire back. Strong blasts the hell out of Styles with a high jumping knee. He tries a clothesline too, but Styles gets a leg pick and rolls them both down to the mat. Styles has Strong in a calf-cutter. Strong only gets out by rolling Styles over into a pin. They trade a few chops and forearms. Both men stagger after each shot. Styles hits a flurry of strikes. Strong ducks a clothesline, hits the ropes, ducks a Styles clothesline, hits the other rope, and CRUSHES Styles with another big knee. One, two, nope, only two. Jumping knee from Strong. Styles is all fired up and clotheslines Strong immediately after it. Styles yanks Strong in, lifts up his waist, steps over the arms, and hits a Styles clash. Styles hooks the leg. 1-2-3. We have a winner. AJ Styles wins in his return. BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs ambush him before the celebration can sink in, but a gaggle of faces run them off.
Match rating: ****1/4. Very, very good match. It's good work rate in spades, but actually adds some psychology, build, and sense of timing to make that mean something. This is the most difficult match recap I have written yet because of how fast these two were going at times. Way more pausing and rewinding than a Stan Hansen match. The only thing that really brings this down are a few slip ups (nothing really bad except the springboard) that both guys covered for nicely and an ending that felt a little rushed. And it looked like it broke Strong neck. Luckily, the outcome wasn't that bad, but he's been hurt ever sense. Otherwise, top stuff.
Feb 4, 2014
Match Review: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Stan Hansen - April 20, 1986
One of my favorite things to search on youtube is "Nick Bockwinkel promo." I can listen to him talk all day and I'll be damned if his delivery (though not his diction) didn't help me give a speech today. So, in honor of Mr. Bockwinkel, I figured it's time to review a match. Unfortunately, not much video of a young Nick exists. Doesn't matter, there's still an okay amount out there from the 80s in AWA. So today, it's Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA Heavyweight Championship. Let's get to it.
AWA World Heavyweight Title - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Hansen stomps someone in the audience a for getting in his way before the match even begins. The announcer informs us it was Larry Nelson, another broadcaster, but for a moment I thought the man just kicked the hell out of some poor guy in the crowd. Stan Hansen is scary.
Hansen lunges for a bullwhip as the bell rings. Bockwinkel jumps on him to stop that nonsense. The two start to brawl inside and outside of the ring. Bockwinkel doesn't get to shine much early. Hansen is in control with a headlock for a minute until Bockwinkel can get out. Bockwinkel tries to rough up Hansen but Hansen puts an end to that with some of his smashing blows.
Bockwinkel's still flashing some speed on the mat. Impressive, given he was in his early fifties. He gets out of a headlock and had Hansen in a double wristlock. Both men rise to their feet with the wristlock still in place. Hansen grabs the rope, forcing a break. Bockwinkel socks Hansen with some shots to the ribs. Hansen's fists hit a lot harder and he send Bockwinkel reeling. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, who hits a sunset flip that's only good for two. Both are up again. Hansen charges; Bockwinkel arm drags him and puts on an armlock.
Bockwinkel wants to keep the big Texan grounded and to slow the pace down. The two have a vicious strike exchange. It's not what you'd see in modern puro. It's something that feels a lot more brutal and intense. More real, to be honest. Hansen slaps the hell out of Bockwinkel's chest to break the arm hold. Bockwinkel throws stiff right fists at Hansen to back him up. Hansen snapmares Bockwinkel, but Bockwinkel drags Hansen down into another wristlock. Hansen gets headscissors on Bockwinkel but has to break that when the ref gives him a five count. No clue why that happened. Hansen sits Bockwinkel up so he can put Bockwinkel in a chinlock. That isn't good enough for Hansen, who clubs away at Bockwinkel's chest.
Bockwinkel gets Hansen in a sleeperhold and the crowd pops big. Hansen's flailing his arms at first but quickly starts to fade. Hansen leans forward enough to get the rope, then keeps leaning until he dumps Bockwinkel outside. Hansen slams Bockwinkel's head against the stairs. He tries to take Bockwinkel to a post but Bockwinkel jabs Hansen until he has to back off. Hansen scoops Bockwinkel up for a body slam but drops him chest-first on the top rope.
The two try to suplex each other. Bockwinkel finally does it. Only a two count on the ensuing pin. BIIIIIIG back body drop by Bockwinkel. A body slam is next. Hansen gets a shoulder up on each pin. Bockwinkel lifts Hansen up for another bodyslam and Hansen's boots clock the ref right in the temple. Bockwinkel covers Hansen but that's not even good enough for a visual pinfall.
Bockwinkel checks on the ref until Hansen ambushes him from behind with a double ax handle. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, Bockwinkel responds with a cross body. Another pin attempt with no ref. A dropkick shoves Hansen into the ropes. Bockwinkel manages to haul Hansen up for a piledriver, spiking him down a second later. Another pin attempt. Hansen kicks out at around two. No count again, though the ref is finally getting up.
Bockwinkel comes at Hansen, who simply dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop of his own. The ref immediately waives it off, calling for a DQ. So that rule was in effect. Hansen retains thanks to the DQ. Bockwinkel tries to get back in the ring and Hansen ambushes him. The two are still going at it, trading rights until Bockwinkel starts putting a combo of them together. He drops Hansen, who has to roll out of the ring and retreat away. Bockwinkel's in the middle of the ring with a chair. Hansen comes back just to grab the championship and hoist it in the air.
Match Rating: **3/4. Could have been a lot better, but for the sudden, unexpected ending. Seeing a match with the over-the-top-rope DQ rule in effect is pretty jarring nowadays, especially when you aren't expecting it. That really lowers the match for me, but Hansen and Bockwinkel did a fine job in there. I actually liked Bockwinkel more as a baby face than I expected to, since all of the stuff I've seen is really heel work. Hansen's selling is a favorite of mine too. He gets hit and walks away with this big grimace on his face. It doesn't look like guys are killing him, nor should he act that way with how he is, but he still needs a minute to get his bearings straight. It's a short match, maybe 12-15 minutes. Give it a watch, even if the non-finish is disappointing.
AWA World Heavyweight Title - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Hansen stomps someone in the audience a for getting in his way before the match even begins. The announcer informs us it was Larry Nelson, another broadcaster, but for a moment I thought the man just kicked the hell out of some poor guy in the crowd. Stan Hansen is scary.
Hansen lunges for a bullwhip as the bell rings. Bockwinkel jumps on him to stop that nonsense. The two start to brawl inside and outside of the ring. Bockwinkel doesn't get to shine much early. Hansen is in control with a headlock for a minute until Bockwinkel can get out. Bockwinkel tries to rough up Hansen but Hansen puts an end to that with some of his smashing blows.
Bockwinkel's still flashing some speed on the mat. Impressive, given he was in his early fifties. He gets out of a headlock and had Hansen in a double wristlock. Both men rise to their feet with the wristlock still in place. Hansen grabs the rope, forcing a break. Bockwinkel socks Hansen with some shots to the ribs. Hansen's fists hit a lot harder and he send Bockwinkel reeling. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, who hits a sunset flip that's only good for two. Both are up again. Hansen charges; Bockwinkel arm drags him and puts on an armlock.
Bockwinkel wants to keep the big Texan grounded and to slow the pace down. The two have a vicious strike exchange. It's not what you'd see in modern puro. It's something that feels a lot more brutal and intense. More real, to be honest. Hansen slaps the hell out of Bockwinkel's chest to break the arm hold. Bockwinkel throws stiff right fists at Hansen to back him up. Hansen snapmares Bockwinkel, but Bockwinkel drags Hansen down into another wristlock. Hansen gets headscissors on Bockwinkel but has to break that when the ref gives him a five count. No clue why that happened. Hansen sits Bockwinkel up so he can put Bockwinkel in a chinlock. That isn't good enough for Hansen, who clubs away at Bockwinkel's chest.
Bockwinkel gets Hansen in a sleeperhold and the crowd pops big. Hansen's flailing his arms at first but quickly starts to fade. Hansen leans forward enough to get the rope, then keeps leaning until he dumps Bockwinkel outside. Hansen slams Bockwinkel's head against the stairs. He tries to take Bockwinkel to a post but Bockwinkel jabs Hansen until he has to back off. Hansen scoops Bockwinkel up for a body slam but drops him chest-first on the top rope.
The two try to suplex each other. Bockwinkel finally does it. Only a two count on the ensuing pin. BIIIIIIG back body drop by Bockwinkel. A body slam is next. Hansen gets a shoulder up on each pin. Bockwinkel lifts Hansen up for another bodyslam and Hansen's boots clock the ref right in the temple. Bockwinkel covers Hansen but that's not even good enough for a visual pinfall.
Bockwinkel checks on the ref until Hansen ambushes him from behind with a double ax handle. Hansen throws Bockwinkel to the ropes, Bockwinkel responds with a cross body. Another pin attempt with no ref. A dropkick shoves Hansen into the ropes. Bockwinkel manages to haul Hansen up for a piledriver, spiking him down a second later. Another pin attempt. Hansen kicks out at around two. No count again, though the ref is finally getting up.
Bockwinkel comes at Hansen, who simply dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop of his own. The ref immediately waives it off, calling for a DQ. So that rule was in effect. Hansen retains thanks to the DQ. Bockwinkel tries to get back in the ring and Hansen ambushes him. The two are still going at it, trading rights until Bockwinkel starts putting a combo of them together. He drops Hansen, who has to roll out of the ring and retreat away. Bockwinkel's in the middle of the ring with a chair. Hansen comes back just to grab the championship and hoist it in the air.
Match Rating: **3/4. Could have been a lot better, but for the sudden, unexpected ending. Seeing a match with the over-the-top-rope DQ rule in effect is pretty jarring nowadays, especially when you aren't expecting it. That really lowers the match for me, but Hansen and Bockwinkel did a fine job in there. I actually liked Bockwinkel more as a baby face than I expected to, since all of the stuff I've seen is really heel work. Hansen's selling is a favorite of mine too. He gets hit and walks away with this big grimace on his face. It doesn't look like guys are killing him, nor should he act that way with how he is, but he still needs a minute to get his bearings straight. It's a short match, maybe 12-15 minutes. Give it a watch, even if the non-finish is disappointing.
Feb 3, 2014
Match Review: KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima - Jan 5, 2014
Word on the street is that KENTA had a workout with the WWE at their performance center. It doesn't seem like much will come of it, other than spreading news that nothing will come of it, but it does give me a reason to review his most recent NOAH title match. Not that I want this to be KENTA: The Blog, but one more won't kill me. That said, let's get to the match.
GHC Heavyweight Title - KENTA (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima
KENTA is the reigning GHC Heavyweight champ coming into this match. He's going on almost a year now after dethroning Morishima in late January 2013. A video package before the match shows some of the battles these two have had and refers to Morishima as a "High Tention Monster." Sic, guys, absolutely sic.
Neither guy is in much of a hurry to start this one. They tie up on the first approach and the much bigger Morishimi easily backs KENTA up. KENTA shoots Morishima into the ropes and a shoulderblock floors the smaller man. KENTA rolls over into the corner, clearly rethinking his strategy right now.
They start a forearm and strike exchange. KENTA gets the worst of it to start, but a string of hard kicks to the chest finally put Morishima on his back. Headscissors are squeezing Morishima until a rope break. KENTA gets a few stomps in before the big guy rolls out. He tries to get back in, KENTA kicks him again while he's in the ropes. Another set of forearms sends Morishima packing.
KENTA whips Morishima into the barricade, but Morishima takes the lead after a shoulder block moments later. Morishima body slams KENTA once they're back in the ring and follows up with a big splash. Love me some big man offense. KENTA rolls out of the ring. People do that a lot more than you realize, until you start breaking matches down. Morishima follows him out there and gives KENTA a suplex before taking it back in the ring.
Morishima bludgeons KENTA with his big paws. He's laying it in for a couple minutes until KENTA tries to fight back with some forearms. Morishima locks in an abdominal stretch. He pulls up KENTA's other leg for added effect, but he only gets a two count on the post-break pin.
KENTA and Morishima battle for a suplex. KENTA finally wins that struggle. Morishima isn't down long and it takes a KENTA leg lariat to put Morishima down for any length. KENTA uses those precious moments to climb the turnbuckle and hit a flying clothesline. Morishima's down again, so a KENTA STF inflicts some more pain. Morishima gets Irish whipped to the ropes. KENTA goes for a body slam. Nothing doing, he's not big enough to lift Morishima. KENTA hits the ropes with a full head of steam and Morishima counters with a butt bump. KENTA's down now, Morishima's up on the ropes, and he shoots KENTA across the ring with a missile drop kick once KENTA got back up.
KENTA looks the worse for wear thus far. Morishima's eating some forearms and kicks, sure, but he looks unstoppable. KENTA can only slow him down momentarily, which he's doing again with a dropkick to the corner. KENTA sprints back to the opposite corner and does another on the now sitting Morishima. The crowd's chanting for KENTA after a knee drop from upstairs. He tries to lift Morishima, but Morishima's still too damn big. KENTA springboards in from the apron; Morishima counters it straight into a slam.
Both are slow to get up, though Morishima is definitely looking better. He waits for KENTA to rise before hitting the ropes and lariating KENTA with his thick right arm. The ref counts the pin, but only gets two. Morishima gets KENTA to his feet, looking for a backdrop driver, and KENTA grabs the top rope for leverage. Morishima yanks him away, tries again, and KENTA counters with a headlock takedown into a failed pin attempt. Morishima rushes at KENTA, who lifts him up on his shoulders. He goes for a Go 2 Sleep, but barely connects, mostly hitting Morishima's arm. It gets a two count, which was probably more than it deserved.
Morishima again bounces of the ropes. This time KENTA uses his moment properly and gets the powerslam on his second attempt. KENTA springs up and starts to wail away with stiff kicks to the head. The third has Morishima on his back. KENTA only gets two. The crowd's not buying these finishes so far, nor am I.
KENTA hoists Morishima up on his shoulders again. He hits a second Go 2 Sleep and this one connects much more cleanly. He makes the cover, the ref counts, and this one is still going on. Only a two count.
KENTA's fired up. He takes Morishima by the hair, pulling him to his feet. Morishima springs into action and finally hits his backdrop driver. Both guys are down. Morishima rolls an arm onto KENTA, good for a two count of his own. Morishima wants another back drop driver. KENTA jerks him down to the mat and hustles into a LeBell lock in the middle of the mat. Morishima's a huge guy and he uses all his strength to haul the both of them towards the ropes, just close enough to get a foot on it.
KENTA hits a running knee to Morishima's back as he tries to stand. He hits the ropes again and Morishima flails wildly with a lariat meant for a much taller man. KENTA hits the other side, Morishima again misses badly on a lariat. KENTA hits the ropes a third time without breaking his momentum. He leaps for a busaiku knee and Morishima crushes him in midair with a third lariat attempt. Morishima smashes him with another lariat. KENTA gets his shoulder up just in time on the pin.
Morishima tries to kick KENTA to the side but it's blocked. KENTA tees off on Morishima with a dozen hard right-handed slaps. KENTA loads up too much on the last one, letting Morishima block it. Morishima clubs KENTA's neck with another lariat, though both are standing. Morishima brainbuster's KENTA and goes for the pin. 1-2-nope, only 2. The crowd really heated up and so have I. I bought into that as the end, but we're getting bonus action now.
Morishima hits the ropes one more and lands the hardest lariat yet. KENTA's neck is going to feel like hell. It's still not enough, KENTA gets a shoulder up once more. Morishima isn't going to let the momentum change. He's got KENTA by the waist the instant he's up. BIG backdrop driver. This this one is OVER. It took 20 minutes and a hell of a lot of offense, but Morishima finished him off.
Match rating: ***. It's an entertaining but not great match. A lot of the near falls were dead until the very end. Oddly, the last one also came across as overkill because Morishima just about murdered KENTA with that lariat. Luckily it only took an additional backdrop driver all of four seconds later to end it, so the kept the match from dragging on. KENTA's offense is credible enough that it looks like it would hurt Morishima, but Morishima did a fine job at only bumping on the right moments, rather then bouncing around in there for a considerably smaller man. I'm a sucker for Big Man vs. Little Man, especially when the big guy is too much to overcome. Give this one a watch.
GHC Heavyweight Title - KENTA (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima
KENTA is the reigning GHC Heavyweight champ coming into this match. He's going on almost a year now after dethroning Morishima in late January 2013. A video package before the match shows some of the battles these two have had and refers to Morishima as a "High Tention Monster." Sic, guys, absolutely sic.
Neither guy is in much of a hurry to start this one. They tie up on the first approach and the much bigger Morishimi easily backs KENTA up. KENTA shoots Morishima into the ropes and a shoulderblock floors the smaller man. KENTA rolls over into the corner, clearly rethinking his strategy right now.
They start a forearm and strike exchange. KENTA gets the worst of it to start, but a string of hard kicks to the chest finally put Morishima on his back. Headscissors are squeezing Morishima until a rope break. KENTA gets a few stomps in before the big guy rolls out. He tries to get back in, KENTA kicks him again while he's in the ropes. Another set of forearms sends Morishima packing.
KENTA whips Morishima into the barricade, but Morishima takes the lead after a shoulder block moments later. Morishima body slams KENTA once they're back in the ring and follows up with a big splash. Love me some big man offense. KENTA rolls out of the ring. People do that a lot more than you realize, until you start breaking matches down. Morishima follows him out there and gives KENTA a suplex before taking it back in the ring.
Morishima bludgeons KENTA with his big paws. He's laying it in for a couple minutes until KENTA tries to fight back with some forearms. Morishima locks in an abdominal stretch. He pulls up KENTA's other leg for added effect, but he only gets a two count on the post-break pin.
KENTA and Morishima battle for a suplex. KENTA finally wins that struggle. Morishima isn't down long and it takes a KENTA leg lariat to put Morishima down for any length. KENTA uses those precious moments to climb the turnbuckle and hit a flying clothesline. Morishima's down again, so a KENTA STF inflicts some more pain. Morishima gets Irish whipped to the ropes. KENTA goes for a body slam. Nothing doing, he's not big enough to lift Morishima. KENTA hits the ropes with a full head of steam and Morishima counters with a butt bump. KENTA's down now, Morishima's up on the ropes, and he shoots KENTA across the ring with a missile drop kick once KENTA got back up.
KENTA looks the worse for wear thus far. Morishima's eating some forearms and kicks, sure, but he looks unstoppable. KENTA can only slow him down momentarily, which he's doing again with a dropkick to the corner. KENTA sprints back to the opposite corner and does another on the now sitting Morishima. The crowd's chanting for KENTA after a knee drop from upstairs. He tries to lift Morishima, but Morishima's still too damn big. KENTA springboards in from the apron; Morishima counters it straight into a slam.
Both are slow to get up, though Morishima is definitely looking better. He waits for KENTA to rise before hitting the ropes and lariating KENTA with his thick right arm. The ref counts the pin, but only gets two. Morishima gets KENTA to his feet, looking for a backdrop driver, and KENTA grabs the top rope for leverage. Morishima yanks him away, tries again, and KENTA counters with a headlock takedown into a failed pin attempt. Morishima rushes at KENTA, who lifts him up on his shoulders. He goes for a Go 2 Sleep, but barely connects, mostly hitting Morishima's arm. It gets a two count, which was probably more than it deserved.
Morishima again bounces of the ropes. This time KENTA uses his moment properly and gets the powerslam on his second attempt. KENTA springs up and starts to wail away with stiff kicks to the head. The third has Morishima on his back. KENTA only gets two. The crowd's not buying these finishes so far, nor am I.
KENTA hoists Morishima up on his shoulders again. He hits a second Go 2 Sleep and this one connects much more cleanly. He makes the cover, the ref counts, and this one is still going on. Only a two count.
KENTA's fired up. He takes Morishima by the hair, pulling him to his feet. Morishima springs into action and finally hits his backdrop driver. Both guys are down. Morishima rolls an arm onto KENTA, good for a two count of his own. Morishima wants another back drop driver. KENTA jerks him down to the mat and hustles into a LeBell lock in the middle of the mat. Morishima's a huge guy and he uses all his strength to haul the both of them towards the ropes, just close enough to get a foot on it.
KENTA hits a running knee to Morishima's back as he tries to stand. He hits the ropes again and Morishima flails wildly with a lariat meant for a much taller man. KENTA hits the other side, Morishima again misses badly on a lariat. KENTA hits the ropes a third time without breaking his momentum. He leaps for a busaiku knee and Morishima crushes him in midair with a third lariat attempt. Morishima smashes him with another lariat. KENTA gets his shoulder up just in time on the pin.
Morishima tries to kick KENTA to the side but it's blocked. KENTA tees off on Morishima with a dozen hard right-handed slaps. KENTA loads up too much on the last one, letting Morishima block it. Morishima clubs KENTA's neck with another lariat, though both are standing. Morishima brainbuster's KENTA and goes for the pin. 1-2-nope, only 2. The crowd really heated up and so have I. I bought into that as the end, but we're getting bonus action now.
Morishima hits the ropes one more and lands the hardest lariat yet. KENTA's neck is going to feel like hell. It's still not enough, KENTA gets a shoulder up once more. Morishima isn't going to let the momentum change. He's got KENTA by the waist the instant he's up. BIG backdrop driver. This this one is OVER. It took 20 minutes and a hell of a lot of offense, but Morishima finished him off.
Match rating: ***. It's an entertaining but not great match. A lot of the near falls were dead until the very end. Oddly, the last one also came across as overkill because Morishima just about murdered KENTA with that lariat. Luckily it only took an additional backdrop driver all of four seconds later to end it, so the kept the match from dragging on. KENTA's offense is credible enough that it looks like it would hurt Morishima, but Morishima did a fine job at only bumping on the right moments, rather then bouncing around in there for a considerably smaller man. I'm a sucker for Big Man vs. Little Man, especially when the big guy is too much to overcome. Give this one a watch.
Feb 1, 2014
Match Review: Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - Jan 16, 2014
I haven't seen too much Dragon Gate, to be honest. A few matches here and there, which I largely enjoy but don't think are my cup of tea. I'm lucky enough to have seen the Dragon Gate match at ROH's Super Card of Honor, the one Meltzer gave *****, and that one blew me away.
While I enjoy their best matches, I can't handle an entire show of it. I've given it a shot and end up getting lost. Not to knock DG, it's simply not my favorite style. That said, when a match gets *****-level praise, I'm going to have to go out of my way to watch it. So let's see how 2014's supposed MOTY leader stacks up.
Open the Dream Gate Title Match - Masato Yoshino (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
A firm handshake starts us off, popping the crowd before a single move. The two trade chops, and I mean trade. Offer, acceptance, and consideration style, puffing their chests out so the other can show what he's got. Only a minute in and Mochizuki moonsaults outside onto Yoshino. Mochizuki works Yoshino's arm over on the ring post for a moment, but he's not heeling it up. He lets Yoshino back into the ring and pounces only when the two are on equal footing.
More arm work by Mochizuki. He cranks away at Yoshino's elbow again and again. Yoshino even gets stuck in a cross armbreaker and for some unknown reason he doesn't immediately tap out. Yoshino starts to work over Mochizuki's arm, repeatedly dropkicking a kneeling Mochizuki. Mochizuki yells at Yoshino, egging him on. Yoshino double stomps Mochizuki's arm while it clutches the top rope.
Yoshino's laying the boots to Mochizuki's arm. Mochizuki fires back. First fists to the gut, then a hard kick to the chest, finally backing Yoshino off of him. Yoshino's eating these kicks, but he's going it to show up Mochizuki. These two want to prove how tough they are, but a Mochizuki kick to Yoshino's arm makes Yoshino look a lot less brave.
Another exchange of slaps to the chest. Mochizuki ends it with a spinning back kick and runs for the ropes, but Yoshino grabs him by the tights and pulls him back. A backdrop flips Mochizuki over and puts Yoshino back in the driver's seat. It only lasts a moment before Mochizuki no sells another suplex and lays out Yoshino with some more kicks.
All of a sudden we're in DG overdrive mode. I couldn't ever hope to keep up with the pace. They're cycling through moves again and again until both guys are out on the mat. It's an impressive sight that really gets the crowd going.
Just like that, the pace dies down. Yoshino starts to get the better of Mochizuki. Yoshino is crazy fast. He hits a tilt-a-whirl bulldog type move that he kept working in that burst of work rate before. He takes Mochizuki by the arm, rolls over, and does whatever the hell is:
Mochizuki refuses to tap. Great facials here as his eyes bug out and he tries to back up. Mochizuki gets a foot on the ropes, forcing the break. Yoshino sits Mochizuki up on the top rope, facing out. He gets up there himself, but Mochizuki isn't about to take something from the top. The old pro decks Yoshino with a closed fist and a superplex brings them both back down.
Mochizuki high kicks Yoshino twice in the middle of the ring, but Yoshino is still on his feet. Yoshino springs off the ropes and again hits that tilt-a-whirl, which really ends with an elbow to the neck, not a bulldog. Either way, Mochizuki's face kisses the canvas. Yoshino goes for that same arm hold as before. Mochizuki jerks him forward into a cradle, two count! The crowd bought it as the finish.
Mochizuki charges Yoshino in the corner. Yoshino catches Mochizuki mid-splash and drives him back the other direction, ending it with a big powerbomb. Yoshino goes straight for a pin. Mochizuki kicks out at two. Mochizuki nabs Yoshino's arm and pulls it into an arm triangle. Yoshino's in the middle of the ring. Mochizuki transitions to a cross armbreaker and Yoshino is trying to flip and twist and push his way out of it. Back into the arm triangle. Yoshino powers Mochizuki up just enough to drop him. It breaks the hold and both guys are down.
Mochizuki's the first one up. Yoshino springs off the ropes again and eats a Mochizuki right high kick. Left high kick. Ax kick. Another big right high kick puts Yoshino down. Mochizuki pins, Yoshino gets out at two. The crowd is chanting and yelling. They're 100% into it. Mochizuki tries to clamp on a full-nelson but Yoshino gets out. Mochizuki Germans Yoshino, Yoshino lands on his feet. Mochizuki gets Yoshino down with a springboard kick, but it's not enough to finish the job.
Both guys are again trying to show up the other one with their toughness. Yoshino absolutely crushes Mochizuki with a lariat. He hits a double stomp to a standing Mochizuki's chest. Yoshino doubles down on the double stomp, this time to Mochizuki's back while he stands. Pray for Mochizuki.
Yoshino brings them both up top again. Mochizuki is too beat down to resist. Yoshino lands an avalanche fisherman's suplex. Mochizuki kicks out of a pin at two. Yoshino grabs Mochizuki's arms. He rolls through and cranks on that hold. Mochizuki is fighting like hell to get out of it. He's howling in pain but Yoshino has him in the middle of the ring. Both guys are grimacing and looking exhausted. Mochizuki finally nods his head and the ref breaks the hold. Mochizuki had no choice but to tap. Yoshino retains in a hell of a match.
Match rating: ****1/2. I'll say it again: that was a hell of a match. Loved that they kept going back to the arm work instead of dropping it entirely. It felt a lot more subdued than a lot of the DG I've seen, but maybe I'm watching the wrong stuff. I wish I hadn't accidentally read the result while looking for this match, because I would have absolutely bought into some of the false finishes if I didn't know better.
While I enjoy their best matches, I can't handle an entire show of it. I've given it a shot and end up getting lost. Not to knock DG, it's simply not my favorite style. That said, when a match gets *****-level praise, I'm going to have to go out of my way to watch it. So let's see how 2014's supposed MOTY leader stacks up.
Open the Dream Gate Title Match - Masato Yoshino (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
A firm handshake starts us off, popping the crowd before a single move. The two trade chops, and I mean trade. Offer, acceptance, and consideration style, puffing their chests out so the other can show what he's got. Only a minute in and Mochizuki moonsaults outside onto Yoshino. Mochizuki works Yoshino's arm over on the ring post for a moment, but he's not heeling it up. He lets Yoshino back into the ring and pounces only when the two are on equal footing.
More arm work by Mochizuki. He cranks away at Yoshino's elbow again and again. Yoshino even gets stuck in a cross armbreaker and for some unknown reason he doesn't immediately tap out. Yoshino starts to work over Mochizuki's arm, repeatedly dropkicking a kneeling Mochizuki. Mochizuki yells at Yoshino, egging him on. Yoshino double stomps Mochizuki's arm while it clutches the top rope.
Yoshino's laying the boots to Mochizuki's arm. Mochizuki fires back. First fists to the gut, then a hard kick to the chest, finally backing Yoshino off of him. Yoshino's eating these kicks, but he's going it to show up Mochizuki. These two want to prove how tough they are, but a Mochizuki kick to Yoshino's arm makes Yoshino look a lot less brave.
Another exchange of slaps to the chest. Mochizuki ends it with a spinning back kick and runs for the ropes, but Yoshino grabs him by the tights and pulls him back. A backdrop flips Mochizuki over and puts Yoshino back in the driver's seat. It only lasts a moment before Mochizuki no sells another suplex and lays out Yoshino with some more kicks.
All of a sudden we're in DG overdrive mode. I couldn't ever hope to keep up with the pace. They're cycling through moves again and again until both guys are out on the mat. It's an impressive sight that really gets the crowd going.
Just like that, the pace dies down. Yoshino starts to get the better of Mochizuki. Yoshino is crazy fast. He hits a tilt-a-whirl bulldog type move that he kept working in that burst of work rate before. He takes Mochizuki by the arm, rolls over, and does whatever the hell is:
Mochizuki refuses to tap. Great facials here as his eyes bug out and he tries to back up. Mochizuki gets a foot on the ropes, forcing the break. Yoshino sits Mochizuki up on the top rope, facing out. He gets up there himself, but Mochizuki isn't about to take something from the top. The old pro decks Yoshino with a closed fist and a superplex brings them both back down.
Mochizuki high kicks Yoshino twice in the middle of the ring, but Yoshino is still on his feet. Yoshino springs off the ropes and again hits that tilt-a-whirl, which really ends with an elbow to the neck, not a bulldog. Either way, Mochizuki's face kisses the canvas. Yoshino goes for that same arm hold as before. Mochizuki jerks him forward into a cradle, two count! The crowd bought it as the finish.
Mochizuki charges Yoshino in the corner. Yoshino catches Mochizuki mid-splash and drives him back the other direction, ending it with a big powerbomb. Yoshino goes straight for a pin. Mochizuki kicks out at two. Mochizuki nabs Yoshino's arm and pulls it into an arm triangle. Yoshino's in the middle of the ring. Mochizuki transitions to a cross armbreaker and Yoshino is trying to flip and twist and push his way out of it. Back into the arm triangle. Yoshino powers Mochizuki up just enough to drop him. It breaks the hold and both guys are down.
Mochizuki's the first one up. Yoshino springs off the ropes again and eats a Mochizuki right high kick. Left high kick. Ax kick. Another big right high kick puts Yoshino down. Mochizuki pins, Yoshino gets out at two. The crowd is chanting and yelling. They're 100% into it. Mochizuki tries to clamp on a full-nelson but Yoshino gets out. Mochizuki Germans Yoshino, Yoshino lands on his feet. Mochizuki gets Yoshino down with a springboard kick, but it's not enough to finish the job.
Both guys are again trying to show up the other one with their toughness. Yoshino absolutely crushes Mochizuki with a lariat. He hits a double stomp to a standing Mochizuki's chest. Yoshino doubles down on the double stomp, this time to Mochizuki's back while he stands. Pray for Mochizuki.
Yoshino brings them both up top again. Mochizuki is too beat down to resist. Yoshino lands an avalanche fisherman's suplex. Mochizuki kicks out of a pin at two. Yoshino grabs Mochizuki's arms. He rolls through and cranks on that hold. Mochizuki is fighting like hell to get out of it. He's howling in pain but Yoshino has him in the middle of the ring. Both guys are grimacing and looking exhausted. Mochizuki finally nods his head and the ref breaks the hold. Mochizuki had no choice but to tap. Yoshino retains in a hell of a match.
Match rating: ****1/2. I'll say it again: that was a hell of a match. Loved that they kept going back to the arm work instead of dropping it entirely. It felt a lot more subdued than a lot of the DG I've seen, but maybe I'm watching the wrong stuff. I wish I hadn't accidentally read the result while looking for this match, because I would have absolutely bought into some of the false finishes if I didn't know better.
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