Big Time Wrestling 02/14/79: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel
Every single time I watch a Nick Bockwinkel match, he amazes me. This was a clinic in pacing, selling & making every moment matter. Bock's performance is all kinds of great & Jumbo's babyface work is terrific. Awesome limb targeting, superb selling, fantastic strikes. Issa classic! Thank you my friend shoedate for recommending it to me. ****1/2
ROH Round Robin Challenge: American Dragon vs. Low Ki
Danielson is 20 YEARS OLD & Low Ki is 22 YEARS OLD in this one. That's absolutely unbelievable considering how good this match & they were already. There were a couple of moments where I thought some sections of the match dragged a bit, but that's just a minor complaint, and really just something that makes it a 4.75* match rather than the full 5-dog. Some of the best mat work seen in the US in this one with a great touch of grittiness and fantastic intensity to it. Superb psychology throughout, too; Danielson gets the better of Ki on the mat throughout, so Ki gets frustrated & starts doing Low Ki things aka kicking the crap out of his opponent & throwing big bombs. Love how Danielson's match vs. Daniels from earlier in the night comes into play as well w/ his eye & neck injuries - LOVED the moment when Low Ki just said "fuck this shit" & blasted Dragon's eye with those stiff kicks. Absolutely brutal stuff. He also works the neck throughout w/ nasty bombs. It's a classic. ****3/4
JAPW Smarts Only: American Dragon vs. Low Ki
It's been WAY too long since I've watched this, and I originally wasn't planning on watching it as a part of this project (hadn't rated this 5* before), but boy oh boy am I glad I did. It's just as good as their ROH classic, and in some ways even better. Once again, like in that ROH match, this features some of the best mat work ever seen in the States; Danielson delivers an incredible performance on the offense, showing great grit as every hold he puts looks violent as hell. It helps that Low Ki's body bends like a motherfucker. Those damn crosshair shots before Bryan locked in the choke - so good! His selling in the closing stretch is absolutely wonderful too, and caps off a tremendous performance by him. Low Ki of course brings it as well in every department - especially in the last third or so when they get off the mat, but it's Danielson who brings the match to that next level w/ his incredible overall performance. ****3/4
UWF 07/24/89: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano
Much credit once again to shoedate, who recommended me this match. This was just an all-out, crazy, shoot style brawl. The crowd is one of the hottest I've ever heard & that helps create an amazing dynamic between Funaki & Nakano - it becomes a classic underdog tale w/ the crowd fully behind Nakano, as he tries to kick Funaki's ass. Both guys deliver on the offense BIG TIME, to say the least, and the selling by both is also really great. ****1/2
No comments:
Post a Comment