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

[Sky]

@Funky Charlie if you want to read my more recent match reviews here is this

 

[Jay-Ashley]

I am glad you covered The Briscoes vs Kota Ibushi and Naomichi Marufuji because it is a match that is slept on by so many but is so good.

 

[Sky]

Match #68
Edouard Carpentier vs. The Black Demon
WWF All-Star Wrestling - June 16, 1985​

I'm back bitches

And when I saw this match come up, I was wondering what would come of this. I only saw the competitors: Edouard Carpentier vs. The Black Demon. My thought going in was that this would be a match from the 60s, when Carpentier was at the top of his game and a rare example of an agile flyer in those days. So at least it would be a good match from the 60s. And then I saw the video, and the date. This is from 1985, where Carpentier was 59, and being given a run out in front of one last Canadian crowd before he retired for good. No word on who the Black Demon was in this match, but the best guess is Charlie Fulton, so I'll credit it to him. Let's go.

We get right into it and Carpentier is actually not doing terribly for a man his age. Sure, he's slow, but he's doing cartwheels and rolls around the ring like he used to do. Big credit to the Demon, though, he's doing a good job at selling, like when he throws himself into a Carpentier drop toe hold early on. Then Carpentier does an honest-to-goodness headscissors, and I'm actually impressed. If he's doing this at 59, how was he at 29? Demon gets his first proper offense with a wristlock (which Carpentier somersaults on to the mat to sell) but Carpentier reverses it by just getting up and letting the Demon flail around. Demon tries a nerve hold ( that didn't work even in the 60s) but Carpentier hits an armdrag. And I just have to give more props to the Demon for his selling, he slams into the mat with FORCE. Carpentier at one point hits what is effectively a snap AA. He then corners Demon, mounts the ropes... and just flips off. Maybe it's a psyche-out tactic. Anyway, he gets a pair of jumping sentons and the win.

Absolutely nothing special, but it's really interesting to see what this guy could do at his age. Maybe I should watch some of his younger days.

 

[Sky]

Match #69
The Great Sasuke/Tarzan Goto vs. Masaru Toi/Mr. Pogo
Michinoku Pro First Tohoku Revolutionary War - December 10, 1993​

nice

Sorry, had to. Anyway, here's a match with 3 names I recognise.

Before the match Pogo andToi's manager insults their opponents so Goto swings at them with a kendo stick. Match starts with a pair of brawls, and Sasuke/Toi get to be the ones in the ring as Goto and Pogo brawl to the outside. Including a chairshot to the head, this early! Was not expecting it to be this wild and brawly from the start but I guess I don't understand certain things. Goto gets another chair to use on Pogo, while the manager from before gives Sasuke a kendo stick to the gut, then hands it to Toi to hurt Sasuke with more.

Finally three of them get back to ringside (Pogo's been left for dead on the other side of the building) and Toi and Sasuke do some of that cool athletic stuff I love. Goto refuses to be outdone, throwing out several Vader Bombs. He's definitely more of a brawler type, but that's fun when you have someone who will sell the shit out of it like Toi does. Pogo gets back, tags in, and hits several weapon shots (is that a shoe? I can't tell) until Goto stops selling them. Pogo is tossed out, and Sasuke looks like he'll use Goto for an assisted plancha to the outside, but he catches himself on the apron and goes for a springboard moonsault instead! This match really is firing on all cylinders.

After a brief period where everyone's on the outside and Goto wipes everyone out with kendo stick shots, it's Goto/Pogo in the ring again. Looks like Goto's busted open. Those headbutts he's doing can't be helping. His big splash gets the first two-count of the match though. In comes Sasuke, who strangely goes for a headlock rather than trying to outpace the larger man, and gets overpowered for a bit. He does manage a spin kick and diving crossbody for a two-count of his own. Then he goes for another crossbody but gets punched right in the chest by Pogo.

There's a referee distraction spot while Pogo brings Toi and his manager in to hold Sasuke down, breaks the kendo stick in half, and carves into Sasuke's back with it. First of all, really sick spot, kind of messed up. Second, gotta love the referee's priorities, making sure Goto doesn't come in when he's not tagged while ignoring all the weapon shots that have happened in the first half of this match. Third, this lasted really long. There's a solid minute and a half of just Pogo and later Toi driving splintered wood into a grounded Sasuke's spine. Must be writing something in there. Maybe a haiku. And I do mean "into his spine", it looks like his actual backbone's exposed. Yikes.

Ref continues to be obsessed with whatever Goto's doing while the heels target Sasuke's back, obviously. Sasuke does get a short comeback until Pogo drives the broken wood into his stomach. Then we get... you guessed it... MORE BACK-CUTTING! I'm not sure the referee has looked at anything other than Goto or the heel manager in the past 4 minutes solid. Especially during the period where Goto's chasing the manager around. The referee finally looks at the action... and objects to Toi being involved despite not being the legal man. Rather than, you know, the man having the entire history of Japan crudely carved into his back. Toi comes in, Goto comes in to clear him off... and the ref brings GOTO out of the ring, leaving Toi to continue this rather OTT face-in-peril sequence. Maybe there's a tag I missed, I don't know.

Eventually (5 minutes after this entire spot started), Sasuke's able to get a dropkick off, and a hot tag to Goto! He smacks Pogo around then nails Toi with a brainbuster. Then he goes out to get a chair and just kill Toi with it. Toi recovers with a spin kick and hits a diving headbutt, but that doesn't do much to a mostly fresh Goto! He hits a powerslam before tagging in to Sasuke, who hits a springboard moonsault and locks in the octopus stretch to make Toi tap!

This was a really good match in principle, but there's one pretty big problem - the back-cutting spot went on a bit too long. It's all well and good to have the heels torture one face until he can get the hot tag, but there weren't many moves in that 5-minute sequence. Just Sasuke face-down with some wood in his spinal cord. Still, an extremely fun watch if you have the benefit of skipping most of that part.

 

[Sky]

Match #70
Villano V vs. Mikey Whipwreck
WCW Worldwide - August 21, 1999​

Oh hey, another weirdly deep cut WCW match. Love those. No idea who's doing the squashing here because the Villanos were never pushed in WCW, but Whipwreck wasn't either. At least this one will be a surprise.

During Villano V's entrance they try to explain that Villano IV was long-term injured after being attacked by Raven's Flock over a year prior. I checked, and yes, he did get a neck injury around that time. I thought it was just a poor excuse for not using him. Whipwreck looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. They basically say he's out of shape by saying he's not a cruiserweight anymore ("You saying I'm not a cruiserweight?" -Dusty ).

Whipwreck goes for a high dropkick but Villano just moves his head out of the way. About half a minute in, Villano decides to go for a dive to the floor! Shame it's ruined a bit by Dusty talking about how stupid he is to go for that because by the time you've rolled your opponent in, he's already recovered. Villano uses a Cavernaria... that's such a lucha hold, you never really see it in the US as far as I know. Commentary has no idea what to make of it. He then does a move that's described as a "variation on a Blockbuster" but looks to me more like grabbing both Whipwreck's arms while on the top rope then slamming himself. Me neither.

Whipwreck gets an eye poke and takes control, doing a slingshot guillotine leg drop for a two-count. The world's most listless springboard forearm gets two also. Commentary speculates that Villano V might be Mike Tenay under the mask. Villano goes for a surfboard but Whipwreck falls back awkwardly against the ropes. Villano then gets another two-count with a diving clothesline, after which he argues with the referee. He goes to the top rope, but Whipwreck meets him, crotches him, then hits the Whipper Snapper for the surprise win!

I'll be honest, that wasn't very good, and that's for one reason. Mikey Whipwreck visibly could not give a single fuck throughout. He was doing the bare minimum, and it was clear he was checked out of WCW by this point (he'd be gone by the end of the month).

 

[Alexa]

One day Sky will get one of my matches, and it will be great.

 

[Sky]

Match #71
KENTA (c) vs. SUWA
for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
NOAH 2nd Great Voyage - September 18, 2005​

Now is a good time to discover good wrestling. Pretty much every day is a good time to discover good wrestling, but recently in particular. And here we have a match between 2 Japanese guys with capitalised names. Let's get right into it!

First things first, I like the atmosphere of this show. Who needs pyro when you have DISCO LIGHTS? SUWA comes out with a big old case. I think it's an instrument case, I can't tell. They get Joe Higuchi out to read out the match order, but SUWA tears up his papers. Guess we know the face/heel dynamic right away! KENTA chases SUWA out of the ring, and he doesn't come back in until he's flipped off Higuchi for good measure.

We begin with what every match should start with: stiff elbows! SUWA rolls to the outside, KENTA chases him and introduces his face to the timekeeper's desk. SUWA grabs the ring bell and smacks KENTA right in the face with it before retrieving another case from under the ring. Somehow, the first time he smashes the case over KENTA's head doesn't draw a DQ. The second one does, though, and that's quite a disappointing ending to a major show title match.

But then it turns out KENTA wants to fight and win this match properly! Ah, babyfaces, as honourable as they are stupid. Well, let's restart the match. KENTA chases SUWA up the elevated walkway (I love me a good elevated walkway), kicks him hard, then suplexes him on to it! Once they're back in the ring, SUWA slides out to jaw with Higuchi some more. The sight of Higuchi taking his jacket off gets a massive pop! SUWA comes back to take an ass-beating from KENTA, who drapes him on the ropes and punts him hard. First 2-count comes from a KENTA dropkick to the face.

SUWA sets up a referee distraction before untaping his fists and choking KENTA with the tape. This guy really does not want to wrestle. He then strips a turnbuckle pad, and when the referee complains he shoves him off before smacking him on the ass with the pad!! Then he tosses it at Higuchi! I LOVE this. They briefly get back into elbows before SUWA subdues KENTA with an eye rake and a kick to the nuts, because clearly it's more important to him to ATTACK THE GUY THAT'S TRYING TO REATTACH THE PAD!



Pretty much the most heelish thing you can do in Japan is ignore the rules, it seems, and this guy went beyond being a heel. He's just a massive troll.

It's all SUWA for a while. Another exchange of elbows ends in another eye rake. KENTA is hit with a backbreaker and rolls to the outside, where SUWA can just whip him into the guardrail back-first. SUWA then goes for an atomic drop, but instead of his knee, it's the ring post! He briefly returns to the ring before remembering he can't get the title by countout and coming back with KENTA! SUWA works the back, KENTA comes back with some kicks, he goes for a springboard, but SUWA pushes the referee into the ropes so KENTA falls! I think the best part is that the ref also bumped for the back of KENTA's head landing on him. A SUWA back suplex gets two.

SUWA then goes for a camel clutch, which he interrupts with a bit of fish-hooking for good measure. He then threatens the referee for... KENTA not having submitted? Yeah, he's just unhinged. He is effective though as he decks KENTA with a right in the corner, then a dropkick for a 2-count. KENTA fights out another corner with a headscissors takedown and big boot! That's the first time SUWA's been downed in a while. How has it been 10 minutes already? This has flown by. KENTA's springboard dropkick gets another two. SUWA manages to dodge another boot, and gets 2 with a flapjack, of all things! He follows up with a flying lariat and a suicide dive! See what you can achieve if you just try, SUWA? You don't have to cheat.

KENTA barely beats the count to get back in... but then gets folded up with a lariat for two! Both men down, KENTA's recovering, going for the attack... SUWA catches him and lifts him into the Jet Pool!! He then seems to be going for a Pedigree (I looked it up, and he calls it the Triple F, which is fun) but KENTA gets out with a Tiger Suplex for two! SUWA catches KENTA at speed, then goes for some more crotch-based offense... before dropkicking KENTA so hard into the corner that his soul leaves his body for a second. Another Triple F attempt... KENTA LIFTS HIM UP AND HITS A G2S! He can't capitalise, though.

Back to elbows. KENTA drops SUWA to his knees with a big spinning kick to the midsection, before uncorking some of the shootiest shoot kicks I've ever seen! This only gets two, but that doesn't stop KENTA! Busaiku Knee... some more nasty kicks to the head... and then another Busaiku Knee takes it!

That was a blast. SUWA heeling it up and revelling in it, KENTA coming right back, and a satisfying finish.

 

[Sky]

Match #72
The Headhunters (Headhunter A/Headhunter B) vs. The Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers/T-Money)
Double Dare Tag Team Tournament 2016 Match
AIW Double Dare - November 5, 2016​

Holy completely random match, Batman! I guess someone just wants me to watch some more Headhunters. Fighting a team I'd never heard of before this came up on the wheel. And I'm going to have fun, fun, fun struggling to tell the Headhunters apart again! Let's get this out of the way.

The JFIs seem to have come out with wheel covers with "FUCK IT" drawn on them. Russ keeps squaring up to whichever Headhunter starts in the ring (I'm assuming it's A) but getting shoved right away. It's 2016, the Headhunters aren't particularly agile, but they're still twice this guy's size. T-Money has to break up the first pin attempt early on. I think in certain rulesets of wrestling you only get one tag team pin break per match? Correct me if I'm wrong, I just remember that from somewhere. Silly to waste it on a side slam. Commentator outright admits that he doesn't know which Headhunter is which either. A 30-second chinlock is missed because it's facing away from hard cam, and the Russ-fighting-out spot just sees him floored anyway. A rope choke is also away from hard cam. Headhunter B (I think it's B) tags in as we get one guy in the crowd calling "Tweedledee and Tweedledum"!

B goads T-Money into rushing the ring, and uses the referee distraction to... do nothing. Then he does it again and uses the second referee distraction to twin magic back to A. A hits a double armed chokeslam before punching a bit and tagging to B so they can do a double shoulderblock. I don't think either Headhunter has bended his knees yet. They do the spot where the referee misses the hot tag, but the referee actually sees and calls the tag until A in the corner has to remind him it wasn't a tag! Russ does some forearms which aren't sold at all. In comes A, and there's the drop toe hold into splash combo. T-Money breaks up a second pin (is that legal? Someone let me know, please). B is in, and a long headlock ensues before Russ fights out... and gets dropped with another lariat, again.

Here comes A again. You notice I'm mentioning every tag, that's because I need to keep track myself. A goes for a senton, but Russ rolls out of the way. Hot tag to T-Money, and dropkicks all around level the Headhunters for the first time. T-Money dives all the way over the top rope to hit B! This does, however, throw Russ to the wolves with A, who takes control with an eye rake and corner splash. He does a rope foot choke until B brings in a chair or two (the second of which is used to smack T-Money over the head). Michinoku Driver on to the chairs! Headhunter A goes for the trademark moonsault but Russ rolls out of the way again! The Fuck-Its go to opposite corners, A manages to catch Russ but T-Money comes in with a lariat! And that's your lot.

That was quite poor. The Headhunters are shells of their former selves, and they were the ones controlling the pace. A pace that could be charitably described as "leisurely".

 

[Sky]

Match #73
Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak
WWE Elimination Chamber - March 8, 2020​

The 2020 Chamber is such a weird show. It's the last WWE PPV before COVID forced the entire world to shut down, and easily the weakest part of it was the Chamber main event, which was jobbed out to put over a WrestleMania challenger who wouldn't even win. But hey, I remember Bryan and Gulak having a fun old time of it during 2020, given the time they needed to get over, so let's have a look at this!

I miss a good, strong YES chant. You don't get those anymore. They show a little package that tells us the story of this is basically "Gulak has watched a bunch of Bryan matches, and now claims he knows how to beat him". That should be more storylines.

Gulak's early plan to take out Bryan seems to be a lot of fireman's carry takedowns, because he pulls 2 off in quick succession. Bryan has to take a seat in the corner early on and regroup. He's probably thinking to himself "Wow, maybe he does know my weakness is being lifted up on someone's shoulders". Gulak counters a headlock with a headscissors. I like that, very catch. Soon after he attempts to reverse Bryan's half crab into one of his own, which leads to a sequence where both men are grabbing on to each other's legs and trying to kick each other off with the other. It's like something out of a World of Sport match, except we're only 2 minutes in instead of 10, and I still have the will to live.

It looks like Gulak has a cut below his eye already, as he taunts Bryan who's rolled outside the ring. When he comes back in, Bryan tries to set up a surfboard, but fish-hooks Gulak for just a bit to make sure he's not cut off. Even then, he is countered and Gulak gets a surfboard of his own! That's pretty clearly the pattern of this match so far: anything Bryan can do, Gulak can every bit as well. Commentary puts over how Gulak is working Bryan's legs with a dragonscrew and heel hook (so he can't do the shoot kicks or the running knee) and neck with a headscissors driver and spinning neckbreaker (because, you know, doing anything head- or neck-related is scary for Bryan). Bryan deadweights a bunch of Gulak suplex attempts, taking them both to the edge of the ring, and going for a suplex of his own to dump them both out!

Bryan's covered in welts on his back, which is something commentary mentioned earlier but camera doesn't see fully until now. Gulak gives us scary neck move #3: a back suplex. And I emphasise scary because Bryan's twitching. An exchange of full nelsons sees Bryan hit a Dragon Suplex for two!! LOVE that move. Gulak's neck move #4 is a German suplex, followed by neck move #5, a big release German that Bryan decides to take on his entire neck. Yeesh. I know he's selling really well, but it's worrying. It legit looks like he's broken something, it's the same movement as Jesse Sorensen in his last TNA match (don't look that up). Bryan rolls out of the ring and just... collapses. Eventually he beats a count of ten and this match continues, while a voice in the back of my head wonders if it should. But in a good way.

Bryan gets a rush of offense ending in a knee out of nowhere! After recovering, he goes in with some pretty stiff elbows and kicks, goes to the top rope... Gulak crotches him! He hits an inverted superplex from the top! Before rolling into the Gu-Lock... Bryan counters into the Yes Lock! And that does it, Gulak's out! The referee calls this!

That was a great match, clear story told well and such a nice variety of holds and moves brought out. Feels like the sort of match wrestling purists would say "If that had gotten 25 minutes it would have been an all-timer, that was too short". Eh, it was totally a fine length for me. Putting this one near the top.

 

[Sky]

Match #74
Buff Bagwell vs. Scotty Riggs
Strap Match
WCW Uncensored - March 16, 1997​

So, basically, Sasha and I predicted on something that would happen on Impact this week. I said that if I was wrong, I'd immediately go to my list and review 3 matches featuring 3 of my least favourite wrestlers back to back. I was wrong. So, here we are. There are 3 matches on the wheel featuring my all time least favourite wrestler Buff Bagwell, and this was what random choice betwen those three gave me. And wouldn't you know it, it's a stip I'm really not a fan of either. Strap matches can either be fun or suck, depending on what ruleset they go with. I think I know which one it is, given that it's WCW.

Also, the storyline is that this is the implosion of American Males, when Buff became one of the worst members of an nWo that already had Virgil, but whatever.

Bagwell out first, says he doesn't even care if he loses this match. You and me both. When Riggs comes in with the strap, Bagwell bolts from the ring and complains that that's not a legal strap. They start by taking turns whipping each other while commentary only cares about the main event. Bagwell takes control and chokes Riggs for a bit, then goes to the top rope and gets crotched. What a dumbass. Riggs hits a superplex and then works Bagwell's back with the strap while it's still sensitive. They go to the outside, Bagwell gets dragged into a ring post, then back in the ring where Riggs chokes him more.

Dusty on commentary provides my first amusement so far when he has an interesting pronunciation of the word cement. "If he was hauling semen around... he'd be harder to pull than a sack of semen". Yeah. Anyway, Bagwell, back in control and choking Riggs. He mugs for the camera and says hi to his mother Judy (of course). Bagwell does an Irish whip on Riggs, Riggs slides under Bagwell's legs and uses the strap to give his testicles the second trauma of the night. And then the third. Fuck it, I'll probably recommend this match so you can see Bagwell's spuds getting smashed. Riggs goes for the first corner-drag of the match but only gets two before Bagwell grabs the bottom rope. Bagwell drops Riggs face-first against the top rope, before taking the time out to... yell at camera again.

More strap whipping, and... MORE BAGWELL CUTTING A PROMO TO THE CAMERA! He then decides to drag Riggs by the throat, but only touches two corners again. Dusty still pronounces cement and semen as homophones. An errant arm by Riggs hits Bagwell in the groin (that's four!) and soon Riggs has recovered to deliver more whipping. Bagwell returns the favour of genital murder with an atomic drop. Then a clothesline with the strap and... more Bagwell posing. Jesus wept. Riggs does get in one more crotch shot (number 5) before Bagwell chokes him on the ground. Dragging Riggs up, he puppeteers him into doing the American Males clap (okay that's pretty fun) before Riggs' mule kick causes bruised testes moment #6.

Bagwell hits a snapmare takedown, more strap choking, then he tries to pin Riggs. I wish this had pins. Bagwell is indignant that the rules he doesn't know exist, and shoves the ref, who no-sells and shoves him back to the biggest pop of the match. Buff Bagwell: weaker than a referee. The ref is now cornering Bagwell until he apologises! Okay, that's over now. Bagwell goes to the top rope but Riggs dodges whatever he's going for. Big Riggs rally features more choking, a powerbomb, and a missile dropkick. Riggs manages to drag three corners but doesn't make the fourth. Bagwell gets Riggs over the top rope and hangs him by the neck for entirely too long. After that literal execution, touching the four corners is only a formality.

Bad, but could have been worse. Most of the runtime was wasted with choking and Bagwell putting himself over. I would actually recommend this one for Buff Bagwell haters like me, just for how many times his grapefruits are mashed.

Also: Scotty Riggs just became the 200th unique wrestler in this thread.

 

[Alexa]

We just need to quit making dumb promises

 

[Sky]

Match #75
Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer
Dog Collar Match
Houston Wrestling - December 27, 1985​

My second stop on the pain train is Hacksaw Jim Duggan, a man whose every appearance on TV made me hate the idea of wrestling. He made negative sense to me. Here's a match from Hacksaw pre-WWF, when he was apparently good. We'll see about that. And it's a close relative of the strap match, the dog collar match. The differences are that pins are allowed and this match has a chain.

Hacksaw is ready to go, dragging around the referee pre-match. Sawyer's wielding the chain like the unbridled prick he is (both in-ring and out) and refusing to hand over the other end to Hacksaw until he's allowed to use it as a weapon. The ref grabs it on the downswing - I get the feeling referees were more competent back in the day. Hacksaw stands and waits to be strapped up, giving a few thumbs up to the crowd. Once they're started, he's raring to go, closing the gap with his fists and then giving a few chain shots to Sawyer. Sawyer, with his big furry boots, slides to the outside and asks for a timeout. He does not get one.

Duggan continues to dominate, even hitting an elbow drop with the chain. He drags Sawyer to the outside, treating him to the guardrail and the ring post. Back in the ring, he seriously throws a lariat that seems to go right through Sawyer's head - and Sawyer sells it as such! I feel this level of overselling is a lost art these days. Probably to do with TV somehow - you sold a lot harder when you knew there was only the crowd watching, because you had to exaggerate your movements. That gets a 2-count, by the way.

Sawyer recovers, attacking and choking with the chain, before going to the outside and smashing Duggan's face into every bit of metal he can find. He's busted open, and I can't really tell when he bladed. Maybe it's hardway. He lets Duggan recover a bit from inside the ring... then goes right back to the outside and thwarts him again! What an great piece of shit he is. Duggan scrambles back into the ring, but just gets his head wound opened more by that chain. Then we get Sawyer trying to split Hacksaw's mouth with the chain! Nice bit of violence there.

More whipping... Duggan starts no-selling! Big comeback time! Punches, and another remarkably well-sold clothesline, and an elbow drop for two. Then Hacksaw takes a bite of Sawyer's ear! Both men bleeding now. Sawyer's stumbling and flailing trying to get up, and keeps getting knocked down again. Duggan wraps his whole entire fist in chain, and pounds the grounded Sawyer. He then gets up and Sawyer uses the chain to crotch Duggan! Are we going to get another dick spot in the third match? I sure hope so! He uses the opportunity to crawl outside, Duggan tries to drag him back, and just ends up choking Sawyer!

Sawyer finally flops to the outside, but Duggan follows and smashes his face into a steel chair! He calls for another time out after that but just gets more chain shots. Duggan attempts to choke Sawyer over the rope (there's that execution spot again) but Sawyer grabs said chair and smashes Hacksaw over the head with it! Chekhov's gun in action! Sawyer crawls in, and gets the pin and the win!

You know what? Very pleasant. A very brawly brawl with visible intensity and a hot crowd. Maybe I've been too harsh to Jim Duggan.

 

[Sky]

Match #76
Big Show (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
WWE SmackDown - January 11, 2013​

Okay, this was going to be just a Big Show match, but you get four for the price of three! I am seriously not a fan of Alberto Del Rio, and I must admit it's not entirely for on-camera reasons. And it's babyface Alberto Del Rio too... ugh. Still, hopefully it's not terrible.

Champ is out first, which is interesting. Do champions who come out first really lose more often? Del Rio comes out in a Lamborghini. "I need to get me one of those" -JBL on Ricardo Rodriguez. Would track with his established opinions on Mexicans, honestly. Josh Mathews is on commentary, which is probably going to be the worst part of this match when I think about it.

Del Rio starts by trying to sweep Big Show's legs, but Show responds by just being a big man and whacking his opponent. Really shows the distinct styles in a nutshell. Del Rio using strikes to try and put Show off balance, Show just responding with headbutts and huge chops. Commentary puts over Del Rio's staying power because he won the 40 man Royal Rumble, conveniently forgetting that he won from number 38. Only about a minute in, Show brings out a table, right through which he slams Del Rio. He's already hit for six (literally). Show scares one of the ringside helpers out of his chair, but fails to use it as Del Rio kicks out his knee right when he's swinging it! Then Del Rio hits him with the chair again and again. Come on, you'd think the winner of the most recent Chairs match would be better than this.

Del Rio goes for a cross arm breaker, Show lifts him right up... but Del Rio dangles over the top rope and locks the arm! That is a cool spot. Also cool is how Show deadlifts him a bit before dropping him on the apron. When we return from commercial, the tide has immediately turned as Del Rio's got Big Show on the barricade and is working the hurt shoulder. Show topples Del Rio with one boot, then brings out another table! He props it up on the corner, but then Del Rio attacks and dropkicks Show through the table! Show makes it up after a six-count, but then gets Del Rio on his back with a sleeper! His face is going purple! Show fading, still on his feet, but takes Del Rio down. Del Rio comes back with a series of strikes, tries three clotheslines but fails to knock Show down with any of them. He goes to the top rope, but is caught with a chokeslam!

Del Rio barely beats the count again but is back on the outside, where Show charges him and breaks the barricade! That spot's overdone, but it's still very cool. Del Rio again barely stays alive at nine... but Big Show hits his KO Punch! A move explicitly designed to knock a man out.... but Del Rio inches to the apron and lands on his feet on the outside! Even Show can't believe this is still going. He picks up some steel steps, but Del Rio ducks and Show collides into the ring post with the steps in his face! Del Rio picks the steps up and tosses them at Show! And again! And again! And then he tips the announcers' table over to bury Show! That does it! Babyface Del Rio wins!

Another eminently watchable match from two guys I like to avoid. Nothing amazing, but simple and effective. That really wasn't so bad after all, was it? Just had to endure Buff Bagwell.

 

[Sky]

Match #77
Lou Thesz (c) vs. Rikidozan
2/3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
JWA Professional Wrestling World Championship Series - October 13, 1957​

Got nothing better to be doing this late at night - might as well forever tank my credibility by reviewing a bout between two of the legends of their era and inevitably not thinking it's great. This was part of a series between NWA Champion Lou Thesz and THE Japanese wrestling icon, and this got filmed for us. So, let's watch it!

Before the match we get a little four-minute montage of Rikidozan travelling around in America, which is nice.

Thesz is establishing himself as the heel by arguing with the referee early on. He looked like he was about to knock the guy's lights out, which would have made for a very different match. Whenever Rikidozan gets put in a headscissors, which he does twice early on in this match, he puts his whole body into trying to thrash out of it. Thesz's legs must be ridiculously strong in kayfabe if he can't escape them. Rikidozan wrenches in a long hammerlock on Thesz, and he can't come up with the strength to snapmare him out of it. It goes on so long that it feels like his arm would be broken in multiple places if this were legit. After he gets the rope break, he sticks his head out of the ropes so Rikidozan can't attack him. Ah, the good old days when wrestlers were reasonably expected to play by the rules.

Back to neutral until Rikidozan gives Thesz a kick in the elbow of his damaged arm. He keeps trying to find whatever avenue he can to work that left arm, until he switches to twisting the knee instead. This is a big mistake though, as Thesz gives Rikidozan's left arm the same treatment that he got before. Rikidozan does manage to get out eventually, though, and apply some more punishment to the knee. We get more of Thesz being a whiny dick, more jostling... before a sudden back suplex by Thesz gets the first fall!

Second fall we get more feeling-out, Thesz tries to go for some sort of pin with a choke, but Rikidozan goes into a bodyscissors and seems to be grabbing at the left arm again. Sadly no more arm-work, just a rope break. It's at this point I notice we're not seeing full footage of the match, just clips. We get an extended sequence where Thesz attempts an armbar and Rikidozan tries to roll him over for a pin. Neither succeeds, and it's another rope break. Thesz rolls away from the rope and keeps the hold until the referee breaks it up. He looks like he's starting something with the ref again! My favourite detail about this overall is that even though Thesz is being a shit, he acts all innocent as soon as Rikidozan has him against the ropes. Eventually Rikidozan transitions a headlock into what seems like a back elbow for the second fall.

Rikidozan seems to have all the momentum, though when that momentum is a headlock it's hard to tell. Thesz seems to be fading, until he rallies, gets a fireman's carry... and both of them topple outside the ring! Double count-out! That ends the match with the scores at 1-1, but Rikidozan comes back in and slams Thesz for good measure. That's it, see you next show when there'll definitely be a winner. Definitely.

This doesn't do too much for me, like most old matches. Thesz heeling it up was a nice touch, but that's one grain of spice on a plain cracker.

 

[Sky]

Match #78
Kevin Bennett vs. Danny Danger
Career vs. Career Match
ESW WrestleBash - October 6, 2012​

See, THIS is the kind of thing I love reviewing. Matches with two random indy guys that no one's ever heard of. Kevin Bennett, as I find out from searching both of them, is also a rapper who recently released a track about Waluigi(??????) while Danny Danger is pretty highly regarded going by his one Cagematch review.

Pre-match, Danger gets on the mic and buries Bennett for being a bad student (he trained him? I find that hard to believe) before making this match officially Career vs. Career. This guy has a GREAT promo voice, I hope he doesn't lose.

And quickly after this match starts, I see the tradition that Lou Thesz performed in Japan in 1957, of talking a big game and swaggering it up but then weaseling out whenever your opponent does the same, isn't dead as Danny Danger displays the same attitude. He even sticks his head out through the ropes! Bennett is sent to the apron, but he gives a springboard dropkick to Danger. The production of this is very much "one guy with a handheld camera" so we get a shot of Bennett unloading the move from behind which looks pretty nice. Danger spends a lot of time mouthing off and not a lot of time avoiding dropkicks, as another one knocks him out the ring for a Tope con Hilo! They are straight out of the gate for this one.

Outside the ring we get a bit of brawling. Bennett seems to be motioning for an Asai Moonsault but Danger yanks him down so he lands on his back on the floor. And there are no mats there so he just smacks against tile, ouch. The referee can be heard starting a count multiple times but not following through. And they're on the outside for a minute and a half so he seems to have abandoned the idea of the whole "count-outs" thing. Danger does slide Bennett back in, stomp him, then runs to the ropes but smacks against them (the camera doesn't pick up how Bennett evaded him). Bennett manages to hit the same move as Danger seemed to be attempting (a splash, but you bounce against the ropes, I guess) for two.

Bennett goes to the top rope and gets crotched so hard that even the ref sells it. Big enzuigiri and suddenly the ball is in Danger's court again. We get a bit of dominance from him before Bennett starts countering his moves into headscissors. Bennett goes for a crossbody but Danger counters into a gutbuster (nice!). Bennett hits a spinebuster for two. A big superkick topples Bennett and Danger presses his advantage by... stomping on him. They do the tired forearm-forearm thing despite both of them not really having sold much for the rest of this match.

Then we get a double down after a Bennett enzuigiri. When we're back, Danger hits a flapjack, which they treat as one of his big moves. That's nice. But then he does a Triple H at WM19-esque crawl job and it only gets a two count. Bennett spits in Danger's face before delivering a short-arm clothesline. Danger does a move that is sort of like a Go 2 Sleep but it's from a backbreaker rack. Doesn't come out clean, and only gets 2. Danger goes to the top rope, Bennett catches him, and hits a spinning powerbomb for another two!

Danger hits his finisher - an arm-trap bulldog transitioned into a cobra clutch! That's a nice finisher, I'd love to see someone use it on a bigger stage. He then decides that the reason it didn't get a fall was that he didn't go to the top rope. But as we all know in these matches, the heel going to the top rope for the finish always ends badly. Bennett pushes him off and hits a FUCKIN' SPIRAL TAP! Where did that come from? That only gets two though, because of a delayed pin. Bennett insists it's three, Danger gets him from behind... but Bennett HITS DANGER WITH HIS OWN FINISHER! Danger looks really pathetic as he taps and is forced to retire. Great facials.

Not bad, though very indyriffic, not a lot of selling, not a lot of consequence. It is comfy to watch, though. Sad to see Danny Danger gone (he apparently retired for real after this match).