AJ Styles vs Matt Hardy, TNA Victory Road
This was a good match though I'd be lying if I said I was overboard on it. Best thing about it was how stiff and hard-hitting it was. This wasn't close to being on the same level as say a Low Ki vs Joe match or one of your other "holy shit these guys are beating the fuck out of each other" matches, but still every blow looked like it was hit with force. Both guys throw some great punches and clotheslines, and Hardy hits some nasty looking elbow drops as well as throwing Styles viciously into various parts of the ring. Flair was also great in his role on the outside. If you take away the stiffness though this was pretty average, and for a bunch of morons who go nuts over any random highspot the crowd was dead as dodos.
The Wrestling Bucket
Friday, 18 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
FMLL CMLL 3/5
Dr. Cerebro/Los Traumas vs Virus/Puma King/Tiger Kid
This felt a bit like the New Year's Day trios in the same sense that it was a fun match I liked and is straight-forwardly enjoyable, but ultimately failed to stand out or blow me away. A lot of the match felt like "these guys just doing their thing", which is no bad thing when four great wrestlers are involved (Felino's kids looked pretty competant too). There was some solid matwork, some stiff shots and some cool and neat spots. It failed to really reach the point of being something I'll remember at the year's end, but I still had fun watching it.
Negro Navarro/Blue Panther vs Solar/Satanico
This was terrific. Four absolute maestros getting to show their stuff in a lengthy match. Everyone matches up against each other and every pairing was great. Navarro/Solar were mostly just doing their thing, but they still had some neat stuff like Navarro's swank triangle choke. Satanico is pretty much retired, and looked little off at points, but otherwise worked like a guy half his age and rocked on the mat as much as he ever did and I loved him and Navarro getting at each other before th bell. But really, Panther vs Solar was where this was at, with all of their exchanges being really superb and probably as good if not better than the best Solar vs Navarro stuff. The result was predictable, but who can complain at four of the best luchadors ever getting 30 minutes to tear it up on the mat? Great match.
Best Of 2011
This felt a bit like the New Year's Day trios in the same sense that it was a fun match I liked and is straight-forwardly enjoyable, but ultimately failed to stand out or blow me away. A lot of the match felt like "these guys just doing their thing", which is no bad thing when four great wrestlers are involved (Felino's kids looked pretty competant too). There was some solid matwork, some stiff shots and some cool and neat spots. It failed to really reach the point of being something I'll remember at the year's end, but I still had fun watching it.
Negro Navarro/Blue Panther vs Solar/Satanico
This was terrific. Four absolute maestros getting to show their stuff in a lengthy match. Everyone matches up against each other and every pairing was great. Navarro/Solar were mostly just doing their thing, but they still had some neat stuff like Navarro's swank triangle choke. Satanico is pretty much retired, and looked little off at points, but otherwise worked like a guy half his age and rocked on the mat as much as he ever did and I loved him and Navarro getting at each other before th bell. But really, Panther vs Solar was where this was at, with all of their exchanges being really superb and probably as good if not better than the best Solar vs Navarro stuff. The result was predictable, but who can complain at four of the best luchadors ever getting 30 minutes to tear it up on the mat? Great match.
Best Of 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Teacher vs Student: Meathead edition
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi, BJW 1/2
Fucking boring match that went way too long for it's own good. There were a couple of points where they trade blows and Sek chops Ok so stiff he leaves visible welts, and Ok sells just as a guy should in an uphill battle against his mentor (outside one shitty no-sell near the end), but really this was a massive snoozefest. The crowd was also dire and only made noise for a couple of decent nearfalls at the very end. Go watch their 2009 match or various tags against each other instead.
Fucking boring match that went way too long for it's own good. There were a couple of points where they trade blows and Sek chops Ok so stiff he leaves visible welts, and Ok sells just as a guy should in an uphill battle against his mentor (outside one shitty no-sell near the end), but really this was a massive snoozefest. The crowd was also dire and only made noise for a couple of decent nearfalls at the very end. Go watch their 2009 match or various tags against each other instead.
Homicide vs Moxley, DGUSA 1/30
Homicide vs Jon Moxley, DGUSA "United We Stand" (No DQ)
This was easily 'Cide's best match since his return to the indys and much closer to the Homicide we all know and love. There was no fork, but plenty of cool brawling all over the small venue with both guys beating beating each other up and smashing each other with chairs and gaurd rails. Moxley bled, 'Cide's hilo looked great and they manged to get that sense of wrecklessness which makes these kind of brawls so fun. Disliked the random Sky turn halfway through the match, and the Fingerpoke of Doom finish was mind-bogglingly awful, but Homicide kicking Moxley square in the balls before it was the ultimate dick move. Also Homicide going nuts and trying to cut out Moxley's tongue with scissors post-match was crazy.
Best Of 2011
This was easily 'Cide's best match since his return to the indys and much closer to the Homicide we all know and love. There was no fork, but plenty of cool brawling all over the small venue with both guys beating beating each other up and smashing each other with chairs and gaurd rails. Moxley bled, 'Cide's hilo looked great and they manged to get that sense of wrecklessness which makes these kind of brawls so fun. Disliked the random Sky turn halfway through the match, and the Fingerpoke of Doom finish was mind-bogglingly awful, but Homicide kicking Moxley square in the balls before it was the ultimate dick move. Also Homicide going nuts and trying to cut out Moxley's tongue with scissors post-match was crazy.
Best Of 2011
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Chikara "Caught In A Cauldren Of Hate"
Claudio Castagnoli vs Dasher Hatfield
Mediocre extended squash. The crowd was pretty hot for Dasher, but a lot of Claudio's offence was choking and sleeper holds. Went way too long and dragged a lot near the end.
Brodie Lee vs Sugar Dunkerton
I was taken aback at how good this was. The angle leading up to this was Brodie powerbombing Sugar onto steps the last show, so Sugar was super fired up and out for revenge. I have never seen him before, but he looked like one of the better Chikara guys and his chops and punches were all pretty solid. Brodie was really great at working as a big man, barely even acknowledging Sugar's offence early on and beating the tar out of him. Sugar catches Brodie off-gaurd and starts going to town on working his leg over, slamming it into the post, punching and chopping at it and going for submissions (including one nifty looking Indian Deathlock). Brodie sells it tremendously, even falling out of the ring as he got to his feet at one point, and makes Sugar look like a star by the time the match is over. Shockingly good match.
Eddie Kingston vs Johnny Gargano
Pretty sweet carryjob from Eddie. Most of the early parts were simple holds like headlocks and wristlocks, but they actually made them feel like a struggle. Gargano started working over Kingston's hand, and Kingston's selling of it was pretty excellent and made the match. Gargano isn't anything great, but is atleast better than other FIST members. The crowd were pretty insufferable during this though, to the point where I thought they may have been purposely trolling (chanting "wristlock!" was particularly awful).
Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs The Batiri (2/3 Falls)
Maybe it's because I'm in a good mood but I also thought this was suprisingly good, if not quite as good as Brodie/Sugar. The Batiri are a little green, but most of their offence looked good and they hit their stuff really well. They main thing that impressed me about them was how well they worked as a team, busting out plenty of cool double-teams and really feeling like a pack of wolves all over their opponents. Most of the match was built around Jigsaw selling a leg injury, which is pretty much what Jigsaw is best at doing, so they managed to keep it dramatic throughout. Throw in some well done nearfalls (without going overboard) and Quack and Jig making their opponents look real good, and I thought this was a pretty good match.
Best Of 2011
Mediocre extended squash. The crowd was pretty hot for Dasher, but a lot of Claudio's offence was choking and sleeper holds. Went way too long and dragged a lot near the end.
Brodie Lee vs Sugar Dunkerton
I was taken aback at how good this was. The angle leading up to this was Brodie powerbombing Sugar onto steps the last show, so Sugar was super fired up and out for revenge. I have never seen him before, but he looked like one of the better Chikara guys and his chops and punches were all pretty solid. Brodie was really great at working as a big man, barely even acknowledging Sugar's offence early on and beating the tar out of him. Sugar catches Brodie off-gaurd and starts going to town on working his leg over, slamming it into the post, punching and chopping at it and going for submissions (including one nifty looking Indian Deathlock). Brodie sells it tremendously, even falling out of the ring as he got to his feet at one point, and makes Sugar look like a star by the time the match is over. Shockingly good match.
Eddie Kingston vs Johnny Gargano
Pretty sweet carryjob from Eddie. Most of the early parts were simple holds like headlocks and wristlocks, but they actually made them feel like a struggle. Gargano started working over Kingston's hand, and Kingston's selling of it was pretty excellent and made the match. Gargano isn't anything great, but is atleast better than other FIST members. The crowd were pretty insufferable during this though, to the point where I thought they may have been purposely trolling (chanting "wristlock!" was particularly awful).
Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs The Batiri (2/3 Falls)
Maybe it's because I'm in a good mood but I also thought this was suprisingly good, if not quite as good as Brodie/Sugar. The Batiri are a little green, but most of their offence looked good and they hit their stuff really well. They main thing that impressed me about them was how well they worked as a team, busting out plenty of cool double-teams and really feeling like a pack of wolves all over their opponents. Most of the match was built around Jigsaw selling a leg injury, which is pretty much what Jigsaw is best at doing, so they managed to keep it dramatic throughout. Throw in some well done nearfalls (without going overboard) and Quack and Jig making their opponents look real good, and I thought this was a pretty good match.
Best Of 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
Superstars & Rey vs Drew
Chris Masters vs Tyler Reks, Superstars 3/10
Pretty great "Superstars-style" feud ender with Masters looking like the best babyface in the world. Reks was solid but still this is the sort of match Masters could have had with a number of guys. As usual Masters's offence and selling were great, but the best thing about this was how it was laid out. Started with a fired up Masters beating the shit out of Reks, before getting posted leading Reks in control, before Master's big comeback. Really liked Reks cutting Masters off during his big comeback too, as it had me thinking Masters was dead in the water. The finish was also fucking great.
Vladimir Kozlov vs Zack Ryder, Superstars 3/10
Kozlov's shoot takedowns and submission attempts were trippy as fuck, and his power-based offence looked devestating. Fun couple of minutes.
Mark Henry/The Great Khali/Natalya vs William Regal/Tyson Kidd/Melina, Superstars 3/10
Regal's reaction to getting tagged in and Kidd getting treated like a jobber were amusing, otherwise this was a waste.
Rey Mysterio vs Drew McIntyre, Smackdown 3/11
This was shorter than I'd have liked it to be, but fuck it was a great five minutes (the theme for Drew's year so far). Just a lot of good shit crammed into a short space of time; Drew leveling Rey at the bell and throwing him around like trash, the sequence with Rey following Drew out as he ducked the 619, the nasty backbreaker on the apron and Drew continuing to work the back after it, Drew avoiding Rey's predictable comeback routine, the 619 coming after Rey kicked Drew in the head rather than him limply flopping onto the second rope... good stuff.
Best Of 2011
Pretty great "Superstars-style" feud ender with Masters looking like the best babyface in the world. Reks was solid but still this is the sort of match Masters could have had with a number of guys. As usual Masters's offence and selling were great, but the best thing about this was how it was laid out. Started with a fired up Masters beating the shit out of Reks, before getting posted leading Reks in control, before Master's big comeback. Really liked Reks cutting Masters off during his big comeback too, as it had me thinking Masters was dead in the water. The finish was also fucking great.
Vladimir Kozlov vs Zack Ryder, Superstars 3/10
Kozlov's shoot takedowns and submission attempts were trippy as fuck, and his power-based offence looked devestating. Fun couple of minutes.
Mark Henry/The Great Khali/Natalya vs William Regal/Tyson Kidd/Melina, Superstars 3/10
Regal's reaction to getting tagged in and Kidd getting treated like a jobber were amusing, otherwise this was a waste.
Rey Mysterio vs Drew McIntyre, Smackdown 3/11
This was shorter than I'd have liked it to be, but fuck it was a great five minutes (the theme for Drew's year so far). Just a lot of good shit crammed into a short space of time; Drew leveling Rey at the bell and throwing him around like trash, the sequence with Rey following Drew out as he ducked the 619, the nasty backbreaker on the apron and Drew continuing to work the back after it, Drew avoiding Rey's predictable comeback routine, the 619 coming after Rey kicked Drew in the head rather than him limply flopping onto the second rope... good stuff.
Best Of 2011
Sunday, 6 March 2011
CZW "Twelve"
Sami Callihan vs Alex Colon
I liked their first match some, but this was a step up and the sort of intense, awesome, hard-hitting match Sami has become known for over the last couple years. Some of Colon's stuff looked weak, but for the most part he was fine and both guys beat the shit out of each other. Some sick headbutts in particular busted Sami open hardway, and he also cut his arm open which looked grizzly. Both guys also took some wickid bumps, including Colon getting wrecklessly suplexed onto a chair on the outside.
Philly's Most Wanted vs The Briscoe Brothers (No DQ)
This wasn't on the same level as most high-end Briscoes brawls but was more "fun" than epic. Kind of what it says on the tin, with brawling through the fans, guys smashing each other with chairs and getting thrown through tables. Sabian still sucks, but he spent most of the match getting his ass kicked and the finish saw him getting murdered through a barbwire table, so I was satistfied. Shame about the shitty crowd, though.
Best Of 2011
I liked their first match some, but this was a step up and the sort of intense, awesome, hard-hitting match Sami has become known for over the last couple years. Some of Colon's stuff looked weak, but for the most part he was fine and both guys beat the shit out of each other. Some sick headbutts in particular busted Sami open hardway, and he also cut his arm open which looked grizzly. Both guys also took some wickid bumps, including Colon getting wrecklessly suplexed onto a chair on the outside.
Philly's Most Wanted vs The Briscoe Brothers (No DQ)
This wasn't on the same level as most high-end Briscoes brawls but was more "fun" than epic. Kind of what it says on the tin, with brawling through the fans, guys smashing each other with chairs and getting thrown through tables. Sabian still sucks, but he spent most of the match getting his ass kicked and the finish saw him getting murdered through a barbwire table, so I was satistfied. Shame about the shitty crowd, though.
Best Of 2011
ROH "Only The Strong Survive"
El Generico vs Homicide vs Mark Briscoe vs Kenny King
Pretty average match. No real story or direction to anything (outside of Homicide being against everyone) and the action was your standard everyday stuff. Generico was the best guy in the match simply by not sucking.
Christopher Daniels vs Claudio Castagnoli
This was far from a flawless match but I was still surprsed at how good this actually was. For one thing they did a good job of playing the big vs small psycology with spots like your classic "small guy cant powerslam big guy" spot and Daniels struggling to take Claudio down on a sunset flip only for Claudio to easily pick him up and toss him around the ring. Daniels worked over Claudio's arm for a large part of the match, and while it wasn't brought into play later, it was a smart way of letting him take over after establishing the size difference, and he had some pretty neat holds in his arsenal. The highlight was a great spot in the middle where Daniels hits a big rana on Claudio over the apron where Claudio takes a big bump to the outside. Thats then followed by Claudio catching him on a dive and swinging him headfirst into the gaurd rails. There was some stupid bullshit with Mike Bennett but otherwise the end run was pretty good and had some cool counters, my favourite being the springboard uppercut into the Koji Clutch. Daniel kind of whiffs a moonsault, but in the process he lands on Claudio's head so I'm not complaining. This was far from great but still the first Daniels match I've dug since 2006 and that alone seems worthy of recommendation.
Chris Hero vs Davey Richards
Didn't totally hate this as there was some good stuff, but I can' say I liked it either. I thought Hero was really good for the most part - he sold the armwork really well in subtle ways (not being able to lock in holds with it, etc), and his shit-talking was great. Both guys really beat the shit out of each other, Hero with some great chops and violent stomps to the head and Davey is not afraid to throw some really stuff kicks and body-punches. That said, there are tonne of matches with Hero talking shit and guys stiffing each other that have much more good content. My main problem with this was that for such a long match, neither man was ever in danger of losing until the very very end, which made the body of it really dull and lacking in any drama. Davey is a badass strong style warrior, constantly fighting back against his opponent, which is alright for some but to me that is him not selling and killing any heat or sense of peril for the match. How can I buy into you getting your ass kicked when you can pop up and hit a top rope suplex out of the blue at any point? Or when you come back with a shot for every one your opponent gets in on you? Combine that with his absurd mannerisms and the way he insists on getting all his trademark spots into EVERY match... Ugh. And the concussion angle was never brought into play once!
Roderick Strong vs Jay Briscoe
Much like the TV title match this was actually shockingly good. It started out above average with both guys trading blows and stiffing each other but this went to another level once Jay started bleeding following getting his head violently rammed into the rail. What a fucking sick bladejob that was. I am far from a Strong fan, but he has never been afraid to work stiff and he throws some brutal shots in this, and moves like the piledriver and guilletine choke were twice as dramatic because of the bladejob. The Jay Driller through the table was a great "holy shit" spot and actually made Jay look like a viable winner, and Jay's shit-talking and nearfalls kept the finishing run dramatic despite it going longer than it should have. Best ROH title match I've seen in a couple of years.
Best Of 2011
Pretty average match. No real story or direction to anything (outside of Homicide being against everyone) and the action was your standard everyday stuff. Generico was the best guy in the match simply by not sucking.
Christopher Daniels vs Claudio Castagnoli
This was far from a flawless match but I was still surprsed at how good this actually was. For one thing they did a good job of playing the big vs small psycology with spots like your classic "small guy cant powerslam big guy" spot and Daniels struggling to take Claudio down on a sunset flip only for Claudio to easily pick him up and toss him around the ring. Daniels worked over Claudio's arm for a large part of the match, and while it wasn't brought into play later, it was a smart way of letting him take over after establishing the size difference, and he had some pretty neat holds in his arsenal. The highlight was a great spot in the middle where Daniels hits a big rana on Claudio over the apron where Claudio takes a big bump to the outside. Thats then followed by Claudio catching him on a dive and swinging him headfirst into the gaurd rails. There was some stupid bullshit with Mike Bennett but otherwise the end run was pretty good and had some cool counters, my favourite being the springboard uppercut into the Koji Clutch. Daniel kind of whiffs a moonsault, but in the process he lands on Claudio's head so I'm not complaining. This was far from great but still the first Daniels match I've dug since 2006 and that alone seems worthy of recommendation.
Chris Hero vs Davey Richards
Didn't totally hate this as there was some good stuff, but I can' say I liked it either. I thought Hero was really good for the most part - he sold the armwork really well in subtle ways (not being able to lock in holds with it, etc), and his shit-talking was great. Both guys really beat the shit out of each other, Hero with some great chops and violent stomps to the head and Davey is not afraid to throw some really stuff kicks and body-punches. That said, there are tonne of matches with Hero talking shit and guys stiffing each other that have much more good content. My main problem with this was that for such a long match, neither man was ever in danger of losing until the very very end, which made the body of it really dull and lacking in any drama. Davey is a badass strong style warrior, constantly fighting back against his opponent, which is alright for some but to me that is him not selling and killing any heat or sense of peril for the match. How can I buy into you getting your ass kicked when you can pop up and hit a top rope suplex out of the blue at any point? Or when you come back with a shot for every one your opponent gets in on you? Combine that with his absurd mannerisms and the way he insists on getting all his trademark spots into EVERY match... Ugh. And the concussion angle was never brought into play once!
Roderick Strong vs Jay Briscoe
Much like the TV title match this was actually shockingly good. It started out above average with both guys trading blows and stiffing each other but this went to another level once Jay started bleeding following getting his head violently rammed into the rail. What a fucking sick bladejob that was. I am far from a Strong fan, but he has never been afraid to work stiff and he throws some brutal shots in this, and moves like the piledriver and guilletine choke were twice as dramatic because of the bladejob. The Jay Driller through the table was a great "holy shit" spot and actually made Jay look like a viable winner, and Jay's shit-talking and nearfalls kept the finishing run dramatic despite it going longer than it should have. Best ROH title match I've seen in a couple of years.
Best Of 2011
Friday, 4 March 2011
My boys in action this week
Chris Masters vs Curt Hawkins, WWE Superstars 3/3
This was way short but still the usual Masters goodness. Nothing to write home about, but Masters has some of the best chops out there, and he is probably the first wrestler to actually make the catapult spot look realistic by grabbing the legs in the right spot.
Edge vs Drew McIntyre, WWE Smackdown 3/4
Holy shit this was a good carryjob from Drew. The guy pretty much does it all, good psycology with targetting the injured arm, vicious/violent offence, kept the match moving when in control, tones of intensity, trash talking, and a big NASTY bump on the outside. Edge using the bad arm for the Spear was weak and his "crazy" face is hilarious but I like the effort to get over a submission finisher. But still, this was Drew's match and he fucking bossed it.
This was way short but still the usual Masters goodness. Nothing to write home about, but Masters has some of the best chops out there, and he is probably the first wrestler to actually make the catapult spot look realistic by grabbing the legs in the right spot.
Edge vs Drew McIntyre, WWE Smackdown 3/4
Holy shit this was a good carryjob from Drew. The guy pretty much does it all, good psycology with targetting the injured arm, vicious/violent offence, kept the match moving when in control, tones of intensity, trash talking, and a big NASTY bump on the outside. Edge using the bad arm for the Spear was weak and his "crazy" face is hilarious but I like the effort to get over a submission finisher. But still, this was Drew's match and he fucking bossed it.
Sunday, 27 February 2011
ROH 9th Anniversary Show
Davey Richards vs Colt Cabana
Even in an opener against a comedy wrestler Davey has to get in his stupid signature OTT dive that barely grazes his opponent. This was a pretty solid opener though, and better than the usual Richards affair as he wasn't trying to put on a five billion star MOTY for socially depraved ROHbot workrate marks to splooge over. Colt looked good, selling the arm-work effectively and hitting the insane Tyler Reks firemans carry drop thing on the turnbuckle. They built to some nice nearfalls and I'll give Richards some credit, the final combo of the tornado DDT>falcon arrow>arm-breaker was cool and the arm-work actually played into the finish.
Steve Corino vs Mike Bennett vs Kyle O'Riley vs Grizzly Redwood
Holy shit does Kyle O'Riley fucking suck. The dude is maybe the biggest "generic indy kicker" cliche I've ever seen and for a generic indy kicker his kicks and strikes are Chikara-level feeble and he cranks the blandness up to 11. I enjoyed Corino and the way he played his character of a guy turning face and trying to fight his heel-ish tendencies, but there was nothing to see here.
El Generico vs Michael Elgin
This was really awesome. Both guys do their thing and what they do compliments each other well. Generico makes the the high-flying and getting wailed on, and Elgin mauls him. Elgin is a fucking beast, and his selling was terrific - all of Generico's low-end offence like chops and elbows merely phased him and never took him off his feet, but he made the big spots look big. The guy is also crazy powerful, not just with the force he puts behind his strikes, but he had some great power spots like countering a Tornado DDT on the oustide into a powerslam into the fucking gaurdrail and powerbombing Generico with Martini on his shoulders. The finish was also really effective at making both guys look legit. I'll be surprised if this isn't a top 5 ROH Match for the year.
Roderick Strong vs Homicide (Street Fight)
This wasn't good. They did two big spots, Strong getting rammed into four chairs in sucession and a DDT through a table, neither of which were really anything too exciting. Everything else was pretty weak. The street fight gimmick felt tacked on solely so they could have a bunch of bullshit with Martini interfering, which detracted bigtime. No blood or anything you actually want to see from a Homicide street fight, and Roddy's suplex-backbreaker is the sort of bush league MOVEZ shit you'd expect out of a 2003 CZW undercard.
The Kings Of Wrestling vs The All Night Express
Why ROH ran this with ANX as the faces is beyond me, when anyone can see the KoW are way more popular and both are better at working as faces. This didn't blow me away, but was still probably the career match of the ANX so far. Kings working over Titus was boring filler, but King had probably the best performance of is career. He was pretty good off the hot tag and his flashy athletic shit actually added to the match, and the SSP was a great big match spot. The finishing run was pretty decent, but still you never get the sense that ANX were going to win.
Christopher Daniels vs Eddie Edwards (2/3 Falls)
Whoever booked this to go to a 30 minute draw really needs to be fired. This was decent at points, there were some stiff shots and couple of good spots, but man, this was two guys who have no business working a lengthy match doing just that. Edwards is a good wrestler - great strikes, some cool spots, great dive and sold the neck work in a way that hindered him, but really no one is having a great 30 minute match with Daniels the same way no one is having a great 30 minute match with Kotaro Suzuki.
The Briscoe Brothers vs Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
This was really underwhelming. It was solid, and not really bad, but most of these big ROH/Briscoes tags feel like the guys are just killing time until the nearfalls section at the end. But even with that, the finishing run of this wasnt nearly as crazy or exciting as you would hope for between these teams and the finish came off really flat. This should have been a brawl instead of another generic indy dream match. Briscoes can brawl, Haas can brawl, Benjamin can't really brawl but can atleast hit some big highspots. Oh, and Benjamin still having to get his leaping superplex spot into every match in 2011 is just absurd.
Best Of 2011
Even in an opener against a comedy wrestler Davey has to get in his stupid signature OTT dive that barely grazes his opponent. This was a pretty solid opener though, and better than the usual Richards affair as he wasn't trying to put on a five billion star MOTY for socially depraved ROHbot workrate marks to splooge over. Colt looked good, selling the arm-work effectively and hitting the insane Tyler Reks firemans carry drop thing on the turnbuckle. They built to some nice nearfalls and I'll give Richards some credit, the final combo of the tornado DDT>falcon arrow>arm-breaker was cool and the arm-work actually played into the finish.
Steve Corino vs Mike Bennett vs Kyle O'Riley vs Grizzly Redwood
Holy shit does Kyle O'Riley fucking suck. The dude is maybe the biggest "generic indy kicker" cliche I've ever seen and for a generic indy kicker his kicks and strikes are Chikara-level feeble and he cranks the blandness up to 11. I enjoyed Corino and the way he played his character of a guy turning face and trying to fight his heel-ish tendencies, but there was nothing to see here.
El Generico vs Michael Elgin
This was really awesome. Both guys do their thing and what they do compliments each other well. Generico makes the the high-flying and getting wailed on, and Elgin mauls him. Elgin is a fucking beast, and his selling was terrific - all of Generico's low-end offence like chops and elbows merely phased him and never took him off his feet, but he made the big spots look big. The guy is also crazy powerful, not just with the force he puts behind his strikes, but he had some great power spots like countering a Tornado DDT on the oustide into a powerslam into the fucking gaurdrail and powerbombing Generico with Martini on his shoulders. The finish was also really effective at making both guys look legit. I'll be surprised if this isn't a top 5 ROH Match for the year.
Roderick Strong vs Homicide (Street Fight)
This wasn't good. They did two big spots, Strong getting rammed into four chairs in sucession and a DDT through a table, neither of which were really anything too exciting. Everything else was pretty weak. The street fight gimmick felt tacked on solely so they could have a bunch of bullshit with Martini interfering, which detracted bigtime. No blood or anything you actually want to see from a Homicide street fight, and Roddy's suplex-backbreaker is the sort of bush league MOVEZ shit you'd expect out of a 2003 CZW undercard.
The Kings Of Wrestling vs The All Night Express
Why ROH ran this with ANX as the faces is beyond me, when anyone can see the KoW are way more popular and both are better at working as faces. This didn't blow me away, but was still probably the career match of the ANX so far. Kings working over Titus was boring filler, but King had probably the best performance of is career. He was pretty good off the hot tag and his flashy athletic shit actually added to the match, and the SSP was a great big match spot. The finishing run was pretty decent, but still you never get the sense that ANX were going to win.
Christopher Daniels vs Eddie Edwards (2/3 Falls)
Whoever booked this to go to a 30 minute draw really needs to be fired. This was decent at points, there were some stiff shots and couple of good spots, but man, this was two guys who have no business working a lengthy match doing just that. Edwards is a good wrestler - great strikes, some cool spots, great dive and sold the neck work in a way that hindered him, but really no one is having a great 30 minute match with Daniels the same way no one is having a great 30 minute match with Kotaro Suzuki.
The Briscoe Brothers vs Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
This was really underwhelming. It was solid, and not really bad, but most of these big ROH/Briscoes tags feel like the guys are just killing time until the nearfalls section at the end. But even with that, the finishing run of this wasnt nearly as crazy or exciting as you would hope for between these teams and the finish came off really flat. This should have been a brawl instead of another generic indy dream match. Briscoes can brawl, Haas can brawl, Benjamin can't really brawl but can atleast hit some big highspots. Oh, and Benjamin still having to get his leaping superplex spot into every match in 2011 is just absurd.
Best Of 2011
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