Takayama is huge. He looks twice the size of KENTA. Not only that, but he's rocking a glorious golden mane. Takayama throws his hand out for a nonchalant handshake but KENTA kicks it away. The two exchange kicks and hard slaps to open the match. It's clear very early that Takayama is going to dominate if KENTA tries to trade.
Takayama and KENTA trade until about two minutes in when Takayama floors KENTA with a huge knee. He does it again once KENTA gets back to his feet. The ref is counting him out and so far this resembles PANCRASE more than pro wrestling. KENTA starts to sit up when Takayama rushes at him and caves his chest in with a hard knee. Dick move. Takayama will press slam the barely conscious KENTA to the outside and continue to push the little guy around.
Takayama's kicks sound brutal. Those tree trunk legs looks like they're going to kill KENTA. KENTA will rise to his feet and start a fiery comeback, slapping away at Takayama, but one big fist sends him packing. KENTA blocks a Takayama charge with two boots to the face and gets another comeback, springing off the ropes and using his speed advantage on the big guy. He sends a flurry of kicks at Takayama, first to the chest then to the body, and the crwd pops when Takayama goes down.
KENTA's taken control of the match as this point, beating Takayam with the sheer volume of strikes. But KENTA goes down any time Takayama touches him.
KENTA continues to wail away on Takayama with vicious strikes. He knocks him down and go for the pin, but Takayama is out at two. KENTA transitions to an armbar then a choke, but Takayama rises and tries to powerbomb him, but KENTA is too quick and slips out, landing on his feet. Takayama blasts him with a rising knee for his effort.
Takayama is toying with KENTA now. A huge rising knee makes KENTA go flying. The giant bounces off the ropes and hits another rising knee. KENTA is out and a quick pin gets Takayama a win. After the match, KENTA struggles to get to his feet and Takayama gives him a hug, helping him gain his footing and then raises the loser's hand.
Really good big vs. little man match. KENTA's moments of offense were energetic and believable given how hard he was hitting Takayama. He bumped hard for the big guy too and his selling looked excellent. Takayama's offense looked great.
Match rating: ***1/2. It's a tight match, another 10 minute affair that tells its story quickly and makes it clear how things are going to work out. KENTA isn't big enough to stand up to Takayama, but he tried damn hard to do it. Worth a watch.
Jan 17, 2014
Match review: Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen - April 14, 1983
I chose this match as my first review and recap for three reasons. One, I wanted to watch it again. Two, it's a hell of a match. "Match" might not even be the right word because this isn't so much of a wrestling match as it is a fight where one guy tries a submission. And three, it'll help explain how I rate matches. Here's how it goes down:
Funk comes out as the baby face while Hansen follows, swinging his massive arm to cut through the streamers flying at the ring up util the match starts. The match starts with Hansen trying to corner Funk but the much nimbler, smaller man is evading him and jabbing at Hansen to keep his distance. When they do tie up, it's Hansen bullying Funk around and wailing away with those clubbing fists.
Hansen stiffs the hell out of Funk and pummels him around the ring. Funk will occasionally grab the advantage when he can outsmart (or out dirty) Hansen, but the advantage never lasts long. Hansen is just too big, strong, and brutish. Funk's selling is excellent here, not that he has to feign being hurt when Hansen is smacking him around.
Funk manages to backdrop Hansen to get out of a headlock then goes right after Hansen's knee. He puts on the spinning toe hold, only for Hansen to boot him in the face and then grab Funk's hair and punch him until Funk has to let go. Funk trips Hansen and goes for the toe hold again, but Hansen brute forces his way out again. Funk is bleeding bad at this point. His face is covered i red and it's falling all over Hansen's chest. Funk won't stop going for that spinning toe hold and he's taking the worst for it.
The two of them continue that dance until eventually Hansen drops Funk on to the top rope ad the out of the ring. Funk rolls somewhere into the crowd while Hansen takes a turnbuckle off. He hunts Funk down and then starts a viscous beating. Hansen has the turnbuckl and a rope wrapped around Funk's throat and he's dragging him around the ring. He pulls Funk over to the ropes and chokes Funk out, using the top rope like a pulley. It's intense to watch Funk look like he's about to die. Hansen lets go of the rope, only to stomp and knee Funk some more.
The only thing that saves Funk is his brother running in. Dory Funk looks like he's managing a big box store, but he gets in there and immediately goes after Hansen, even trying his own spinning toe hold. He forces Hansen from the ring, security drag that big guy to the back, then checks on his brother. Terry looks like absolute hell and crawls across the ring, unable to stand.
This isn't the best match I've see, but damn it if it isn't awesome. It's about 13 minutes from bell-to-bell, and every second is part of a very obvious and simple story: Hansen is a big bad ass that's going to smash Terry Funk; Terry Funk could beat Hansen by being quick and smart but makes the mistake of going for the same thing just a few too may times. Hansen makes him pay a hefty toll.
Rating: ***** This is a perfect match in my book. I don't have a checklist of thing I look for to make a five-star match, only a handful of heuristics. Story telling and technique cover the aesthetics of it and those make up the bulk of my ratings, but pure entertainment factors in. This match isn't a fine wine that I really sit there and analyze. It's simple, it's fun, and it's something I'm probably going to watch again in a couple of weeks. It's perfect for what it is and giving it less than five stars just feels wrong.
Funk comes out as the baby face while Hansen follows, swinging his massive arm to cut through the streamers flying at the ring up util the match starts. The match starts with Hansen trying to corner Funk but the much nimbler, smaller man is evading him and jabbing at Hansen to keep his distance. When they do tie up, it's Hansen bullying Funk around and wailing away with those clubbing fists.
Hansen stiffs the hell out of Funk and pummels him around the ring. Funk will occasionally grab the advantage when he can outsmart (or out dirty) Hansen, but the advantage never lasts long. Hansen is just too big, strong, and brutish. Funk's selling is excellent here, not that he has to feign being hurt when Hansen is smacking him around.
Funk manages to backdrop Hansen to get out of a headlock then goes right after Hansen's knee. He puts on the spinning toe hold, only for Hansen to boot him in the face and then grab Funk's hair and punch him until Funk has to let go. Funk trips Hansen and goes for the toe hold again, but Hansen brute forces his way out again. Funk is bleeding bad at this point. His face is covered i red and it's falling all over Hansen's chest. Funk won't stop going for that spinning toe hold and he's taking the worst for it.
The two of them continue that dance until eventually Hansen drops Funk on to the top rope ad the out of the ring. Funk rolls somewhere into the crowd while Hansen takes a turnbuckle off. He hunts Funk down and then starts a viscous beating. Hansen has the turnbuckl and a rope wrapped around Funk's throat and he's dragging him around the ring. He pulls Funk over to the ropes and chokes Funk out, using the top rope like a pulley. It's intense to watch Funk look like he's about to die. Hansen lets go of the rope, only to stomp and knee Funk some more.
The only thing that saves Funk is his brother running in. Dory Funk looks like he's managing a big box store, but he gets in there and immediately goes after Hansen, even trying his own spinning toe hold. He forces Hansen from the ring, security drag that big guy to the back, then checks on his brother. Terry looks like absolute hell and crawls across the ring, unable to stand.
This isn't the best match I've see, but damn it if it isn't awesome. It's about 13 minutes from bell-to-bell, and every second is part of a very obvious and simple story: Hansen is a big bad ass that's going to smash Terry Funk; Terry Funk could beat Hansen by being quick and smart but makes the mistake of going for the same thing just a few too may times. Hansen makes him pay a hefty toll.
Rating: ***** This is a perfect match in my book. I don't have a checklist of thing I look for to make a five-star match, only a handful of heuristics. Story telling and technique cover the aesthetics of it and those make up the bulk of my ratings, but pure entertainment factors in. This match isn't a fine wine that I really sit there and analyze. It's simple, it's fun, and it's something I'm probably going to watch again in a couple of weeks. It's perfect for what it is and giving it less than five stars just feels wrong.
Jan 16, 2014
It all begins
For a few years I've kicked around the idea of starting a blog to record some thoughts and help keep my writing skills active. Today is the day I finally did it. What I intend to put here are my thoughts, comments, ratings and reviews on the pro wrestling I watch. Maybe this will keep me from annoying the people around me, maybe not, but my goal is to put something up here every time I watch wrestling. That would mean practically daily updates, often multiple times a day. That's ambitious, but we'll see how it goes. If I have access to my lap top, I'll put at least a blurb up.
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