Sky's Good Matches Thread (formerly You Decide What Sky Watches)

[Sky]

At this point I've decided to watch whatever I like, just go with it

Spoiler

DO NOT SUGGEST IN THE THREAD - USE THE FORM BELOW

I'm kind of bored out of my mind and have been for a while, so might as well expand my wrestling horizons and watch some stuff I wouldn't normally. This is what this thread will be for.

Go to the below form, send me any match from wrestling history (or at least one I might be able to get footage of) and whenever I feel the need to watch something, I'll spin a wheel on all of the submissions and watch what the wheel decides. Google Forms is used to allow anonymity.

Please note: it doesn't have to be a good match. You can give me a 6-star classic or you can torture me by making me watch something awful. I put myself entirely in the hands of you, my fellow Smarks.

You decide what Sky watches

 

[Sky]

rankings defunct for now

 

[Deezy]

Vince vs Stephanie McMahon No Mercy 03.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

How many can we recommend?

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Alley Street Fight, Madison Square Garden, April 5th, 1981

 

[Chris]

I can give some traditional suggestions later but my go to for random wrestling watching is to use the list below of cards rated by Meltzers star ratings and random.org. It works well bc Dave rates almost all major shows and even some TV here and there, crazy variety if you're randomly picking from it bc his bias doesn't really matter, only him rating in general and the matches having a duration is what's required. Some of the Japanese cards are harder to find and some of the ratings from the 80s are shows that he was there live for and not actually available anywhere so you'll have to skip them if you get them landed.

Cards with Highest Wrestling Observer Newsletter Average Weighted Star Ratings

 

[Hidden Blaze]

Vince vs Stephanie McMahon No Mercy 03.

Following instructions is easy

You Decide What Sky Watches

The official form of the thread. You decide what Sky watches.

forms.gle

 

[Sky]

You're supposed to be using the form

 

[Hidden Blaze]

God damn. None of y’all can follow instructions I see

 

[Hidden Blaze]

You're supposed to be using the form

I did. Because I can follow instructions

 

[Chris]

I was simply listing an alternative that I do when I get bored lol I said I'd do traditional suggestions like she asked later

 

[Sky]

How many can we recommend?

However many really

 

[Deezy]

Forms....I'm not British....I don't que

 

[Jay-Ashley]

I added a decent one

 

[Sky]

Match #1
Octagon/Pentagon vs. Mascara Sagrada/Mascara Maligna
Relevos Suicidas Match
AAA TripleMania X - July 5, 2002​

The first match off the wheel is one I actually found quite interesting from the initial responses. It's one of the match types that I think is really cool in theory, but I haven't watched any of. A Relevos Suicidas match. Two teams competing, the losers get put in a mask vs. mask match immediately afterwards. I'm guessing it's best when the pairs are made up of rivals because that's what we have here. Octagon and Pentagon (the rival fake ninja gimmicks that seem to be popular in Mexico for some reason) against Mascara Sagrada and his mirror world evil counterpart Mascara Maligna. From what I researched, Pentagon is very much not Pentagon Jr.'s dad, and that's not the real Mascara Sagrada (this being another La Parka situation).

Oh yeah, and the person who sent it (it's really obvious who, honestly, as this was the only lucha match in the first batch) spoiled part of how this match goes for me by only mentioning the participants in the second part. Not naming names here, but...

The most interesting things about their entrances are that Fake Sagrada comes out with a popped-collar training jacket, and both the ninjas have valets. Everyone's already fighting each other before the bell rings.... or rather, the whistle blows. This is clearly a highlights show of some sort and the show itself wasn't broadcast live, because there's a LOT of post-production.

I realise it's quite charitable to call this first part a "tag team match" given that it seems to be just two singles matches going on at the same time. Or maybe lucha tag rules are even laxer than I thought. Maligna looks like he's about to mount the turnbuckle and do a series of punches to pop the crowd, remembers he's rudo, and changes his mind. Both rudos seem to be wasting a lot of time trying to remove their opponents' masks early. Octagon looks like he's bleeding from the head from some angles, but it's just the head tassel. It's fine, he's just bleeding from the face.

Tecnicos take control, show a glimpse of actual wrestling moves, and... immediately go to mask-ripping spots themselves. Seemingly no one's told them they'll have to pin one of the other rivals at some point. Octagon hits a tope suicida and then suddenly we have a match here. Tope con Hilo from Fake Sagrada, literally the first impressive move I've seen him do and coming immediately after he whiffed a dropkick so hard it had to be a legit botch to some extent. Maligna somehow sells this less than Sagrada is. Then he goes, decides to FINALLY engage the opposing team by punching Octagon on the apron, then rolls him into the ring for a really flat three. I actually had to go back and check if Octagon had been hit by a finisher and the cameras had missed it.

And then Sagrada goes over to roll up Pentagon, meaning this is apparently not a tag team match at all, just a regular elimination match. I am so confused right now.

Okay, on to the second part of the match, Octagon vs. Pentagon. Or not, because Maligna shows up again to nail Octagon with a chair before Sagrada chases him off. Not gonna lie, I popped. Pentagon starts showing off his collection of pinning predicaments to Octagon, but fails to get a fall with any one. Octagon gets a second wind and hits a top rope armdrag ( ) for two. Where was this moveset variety in the first half? We soon get the finish where Octa puts Penta in some sort of stretch and wrecks his shoulder until he submits.

Octagon helps to unmask Penta, and it's really funny out of context how the lucha crowd goes wild for an unmasking. I know, it's about the identity and the history, but you can't help but watch this and think the crowd is reacting "Wow! It's literally just some guy!". The best part? I just looked it up. This isn't even the original Pentagon either.

My overall thoughts? Just decent. I was thinking of introducing a fairly average recent match to act as a baseline, but it feels like this will be a good baseline anyway. The first half, before Octagon did his tope, was a bit of a mess, but it picked up and was nice fun. Quite short for a match of such significance but I don't mind that.

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Your previous suggestions are still in the wheel, but please feel free to make more. I enjoyed this, and would love to find more matches I wouldn't have seen otherwise.