I watched, but have no interest in commenting on, the June 8th show (this does not count). Sekimoto and Inoue vs. Ishikawa and Takeda was fine - I like the two lower-ranked guys and think they could be useful for the non-deathmatch portion of the shows. The rest was fairly dull (obviously, this is also not a comment)
So I moved on to the two Deathmatch Wars episodes from the June Korakuen show. The six-man hardcore match was reasonably unremarkable - Abby Kobayashi and Mammoth were fun enough, though by no means trying to force this towards greatness. Seemed mainly a vehicle for more Hoshino and Masada interactions, as Masada turns on his partner. Also, Masada sticks sticks into Ito's head, which was a little unpleasant (other possible choices of weapons: plants, rams, hammers)
The main event was Takashi Sasaki and Miyamoto vs. Numazawa and the returning Jun Kasai. This was a Korakuen Bangai Chi Death Match Carnival, distinguishing it from all other light tube matches by the choice of words. Also, there's a cage in one corner, filled with lightubes. I think this is the best deathmatch of the year so far (admittedly in a bad year), and may remain so. I didn't like the indie stand-offs at the beginning - I got that they were building up to the first light tube spot more gradually than in most of these matches, but some of that stuff looks so contrived - especially the duel spots where they each catch the others light tubes. Once they got past all that, though, this was loads of fun.
Kasai was a blast in an unhinged, Terry Funk sort of a way, at one point breaking a lighttube in half and cutting his own chest with it. My favourite bit was when he worked out that punching a light tube was more effective than shoulder blocking it, and did it a load more times. Sasaki and Miyamoto dominate most of this in the ring before they brawl outside and up into the balcony, setting up the big dive. I liked the use of this much more than in the title match in May, where Ito goes straight for the big dive. Here, they battle in the ring for fifteen minutes, and then escalate the match by going for a leap. Kasai opts for a groin-first dive, which was probably ill-advised.
The finishing run got a little silly - the only way they could keep the momentum going was moving on top of the cage and doing moves off it, so it felt a bit spotty. I liked the finish though - Numazawa drove Sasaki head first into the cage, they held him inside it, so Kasai could pick up the win with a Pearl Habour Splash off the cage.
The main event of the second show is the Mashimo vs. Sekimoto NWA UN title match. My overriding thought was that there was a good match in there somewhere, but it was well hidden by a lot of big flaws. The body of the match was Sekimoto's leg attacks vs. Mashimo's arm attacks. I get Mashimo working the arm, to set up his big submission finisher (which was established in the previous month's tag match), but I don't understand the purpose or story behind Sekimoto's leg work. Both guys make little attempt to sell their injured limbs (Mashimo seems to literally shake the leg work off). Worse still, Mashimo kicks at Sekimoto's arm, while Sekimoto happily chop-blocks and lariats Mashimo's leg.
In the end, they both resort to their big knock-out finishers, rather than anything based on the limb-work. Mashimo kicks out of a few german's and Sekimoto even kicks out of Mashimo's brainbuster - in K-Dojo, that never happens. Mashimo sets this up with some nasty roundhouse kicks (thankfully, using his good leg), but they were always playing for the thirty minute draw. The result forced them to slow everything down, and I felt positive about the match at the beginning. Problem was that they never incorporated any of this at the end, and that doesn't make for a good match.
Miles better than the April Tanaka match though, and the Tanaka thirty minute draw last year, so that was something.
Friday 28 November 2008
Friday 21 November 2008
Big Japan: 23rd May 2008
Now here's a great show (shown on two seperate episodes of Deathmatch Wars). The main event on the first show is a six person lighttube match with Ito, WX and Abby Kobayashi on one side and Miyamoto, Takeshi Sasaki and Numazawa on the other side. I think this stood out amongst this year's deathmatches so far - as much as these matches can. I felt particularly energetic, and also slightly more structured - the long heat section on WX, a better sense of escalation in the spots than in some deathmatches this year. There's blood and crowd heat and guys headbutting glass. Jun Kasai returns after the match after a long absence, which should freshen up the hardcore main event scene for a while.
The second show has two K-Dojo vs. BJW tag matches. The first one - Team HANDSOME vs. Sekimoto and Inoue - was fine. Sekimoto and Inoue have been having a bunch of random tag matches this year, in lieu of having an actual storyline, and this one was neither better nor worse. Actually, it was clipped quite a bit, so its hard to say how it would have been overall - I suspect the full twenty minutes may have been pretty tidy. The best sections were between JOE and Sekimoto, who could probably put together a good singles match judged on this performance.
The main reason for watching this show is the Mashimo and Madoka vs. MEN's Teioh and Shinobu BJW tag title match. This is a match that has received more plaudits and positive reviews than almost anything else this year (except perhaps some of the Battlarts matches). They are entirely meritted. This match has absolutely everything going for it, and few (if any) downsides. Firstly, there's the fact that this isn't a top match in one of the big three promotions, nor is it a match blowing off a huge feud. It's just a title match, where the challengers are guys that spend most of the year working light-hearted indy spotfests. There is something essentially indie about a match in these settings turning out to be one of the best things in Japan this year.
Secondly, the work is great. Shinobu puts in the professional wrestling performance of his life, selling his injured shoulder throughout the entire match, like he wasn't a junior heavyweight at the Korakuen in 2008. This is the core of the match as Mashimo relentlessly targets the bandaged arm. Mashimo is currently one of my favourite guys in the role he adopts here - the dominant aggressor - although he only really gets to do outside of K-Dojo, because it requires a certain amount of heelishness. The crowd eat it up, and Shinobu is great as the sympathetic underdog.
The other great feature of this match is MEN's - he plays the role of experienced veteran, watching his younger partner take the bulk of the offense, before coming in and using smartness to get the edge on his faster, younger, stronger opponents. The spot built around the repeated use of the octopus hold was excellent - turning an ordinary move into an excellent moment - clearly the move was effective, but kept being broken up. Normally in these situations, wrestlers move onto the next move. MEN's sticks with it, locking it in on four seperate occassions, each time finding a way to counter his opponents advance into it.
The finishing straight is amazingly dramatic. They never go for overkill, but instead build around a number of spots where a finish is very possible, but the save (and hence the match's continuation) makes sense. Pinfalls are broken up by partners, submissions end with rope breaks or counters at the last possible minute. It's an impressive feat for an end stretch that went way over ten minutes that I really didn't want it to end - I was completely hooked and caught up in it. The finish comes back to the earlier armwork on Shinobu (who, by this point, is walking around with a limp arm), and Mashimo almost rips it off to get the submission.
I like all four guys a lot already, but this is just one of those rare occassion where absolutely everything hits the mark. Match of the year? It will be close.
The second show has two K-Dojo vs. BJW tag matches. The first one - Team HANDSOME vs. Sekimoto and Inoue - was fine. Sekimoto and Inoue have been having a bunch of random tag matches this year, in lieu of having an actual storyline, and this one was neither better nor worse. Actually, it was clipped quite a bit, so its hard to say how it would have been overall - I suspect the full twenty minutes may have been pretty tidy. The best sections were between JOE and Sekimoto, who could probably put together a good singles match judged on this performance.
The main reason for watching this show is the Mashimo and Madoka vs. MEN's Teioh and Shinobu BJW tag title match. This is a match that has received more plaudits and positive reviews than almost anything else this year (except perhaps some of the Battlarts matches). They are entirely meritted. This match has absolutely everything going for it, and few (if any) downsides. Firstly, there's the fact that this isn't a top match in one of the big three promotions, nor is it a match blowing off a huge feud. It's just a title match, where the challengers are guys that spend most of the year working light-hearted indy spotfests. There is something essentially indie about a match in these settings turning out to be one of the best things in Japan this year.
Secondly, the work is great. Shinobu puts in the professional wrestling performance of his life, selling his injured shoulder throughout the entire match, like he wasn't a junior heavyweight at the Korakuen in 2008. This is the core of the match as Mashimo relentlessly targets the bandaged arm. Mashimo is currently one of my favourite guys in the role he adopts here - the dominant aggressor - although he only really gets to do outside of K-Dojo, because it requires a certain amount of heelishness. The crowd eat it up, and Shinobu is great as the sympathetic underdog.
The other great feature of this match is MEN's - he plays the role of experienced veteran, watching his younger partner take the bulk of the offense, before coming in and using smartness to get the edge on his faster, younger, stronger opponents. The spot built around the repeated use of the octopus hold was excellent - turning an ordinary move into an excellent moment - clearly the move was effective, but kept being broken up. Normally in these situations, wrestlers move onto the next move. MEN's sticks with it, locking it in on four seperate occassions, each time finding a way to counter his opponents advance into it.
The finishing straight is amazingly dramatic. They never go for overkill, but instead build around a number of spots where a finish is very possible, but the save (and hence the match's continuation) makes sense. Pinfalls are broken up by partners, submissions end with rope breaks or counters at the last possible minute. It's an impressive feat for an end stretch that went way over ten minutes that I really didn't want it to end - I was completely hooked and caught up in it. The finish comes back to the earlier armwork on Shinobu (who, by this point, is walking around with a limp arm), and Mashimo almost rips it off to get the submission.
I like all four guys a lot already, but this is just one of those rare occassion where absolutely everything hits the mark. Match of the year? It will be close.
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Big Japan April 28th: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Masato Tanaka
Somehow, on the last post, I entirely neglected to talk about this match. This is incredible, because it is a match that gives me the most to talk about. And yet, so far I have said nothing (this paragraph doesn't count).
Let me begin by saying this: this is not a good piece of professional wrestling. I am able to understand how people may enjoy it - its fast, action packed and the crowd are on fire (literally) (not actually literally). However, by any measure that I would evaluate matches (for instance, goodness of match) this is not good.
Here's a match that has been done again and again in the past two years - I count five times since March 2006. It may be one of the biggest matches in the Japanese independents - BJW's non-deathmatch star against the all-conquering champion and ace of Zero1. Both men are hard hitters. Both men can take a lot of hard hits. But both men can be guilty of the worst excesses of puroresu, and when against each other, they bring out these traits in each other in SPADES.
There are two major criticisms: firstly, Tanaka spends a decent amount of time working over Sekimoto's arm, only for any form of arm selling to be dropped the moment Sekimoto decides he's going back on the defence. Forgetting to continue selling worked over body parts is bad enough, but going out of your way to used injured limbs as offensive weapons as if they were fine is unforgivable.
Secondly, the last twelve minutes of this match is all finishers (in the puro sense where none of these moves actually finish anything). In their 2007 Fire Festival draw, at a certain point they decide to just cycle through their big moves pretty much continously for many minutes until time runs out - in my mind, this is the laziest form of wrestling, where neither guy can think of a single original or coherent way to put together their finishers. This isn't quite as bad - their feels like a build from minor trademark moves towards the bigger finishers. But I counted four Sliding D's (Tanaka's top finisher) and at least four German suplexes (Sekimoto's finisher), including one on the apron and one over the ropes. It's hard to say what purpose they served except lengthening the match and adding a near fall. The purpose is certainly not to add to the story being told (which was written on imaginary paper in invisible ink by a man with no arms).
I like both guys in other situations. They have been in good tag matches this year, and I like Tanaka against other guys, especially some of the bigger NJ guys during that feud. But they just shouldn't be booked against each other: if not for my sake, then for the sake of those who really like this match-up and extract a lot of enjoyment from it.
Let me begin by saying this: this is not a good piece of professional wrestling. I am able to understand how people may enjoy it - its fast, action packed and the crowd are on fire (literally) (not actually literally). However, by any measure that I would evaluate matches (for instance, goodness of match) this is not good.
Here's a match that has been done again and again in the past two years - I count five times since March 2006. It may be one of the biggest matches in the Japanese independents - BJW's non-deathmatch star against the all-conquering champion and ace of Zero1. Both men are hard hitters. Both men can take a lot of hard hits. But both men can be guilty of the worst excesses of puroresu, and when against each other, they bring out these traits in each other in SPADES.
There are two major criticisms: firstly, Tanaka spends a decent amount of time working over Sekimoto's arm, only for any form of arm selling to be dropped the moment Sekimoto decides he's going back on the defence. Forgetting to continue selling worked over body parts is bad enough, but going out of your way to used injured limbs as offensive weapons as if they were fine is unforgivable.
Secondly, the last twelve minutes of this match is all finishers (in the puro sense where none of these moves actually finish anything). In their 2007 Fire Festival draw, at a certain point they decide to just cycle through their big moves pretty much continously for many minutes until time runs out - in my mind, this is the laziest form of wrestling, where neither guy can think of a single original or coherent way to put together their finishers. This isn't quite as bad - their feels like a build from minor trademark moves towards the bigger finishers. But I counted four Sliding D's (Tanaka's top finisher) and at least four German suplexes (Sekimoto's finisher), including one on the apron and one over the ropes. It's hard to say what purpose they served except lengthening the match and adding a near fall. The purpose is certainly not to add to the story being told (which was written on imaginary paper in invisible ink by a man with no arms).
I like both guys in other situations. They have been in good tag matches this year, and I like Tanaka against other guys, especially some of the bigger NJ guys during that feud. But they just shouldn't be booked against each other: if not for my sake, then for the sake of those who really like this match-up and extract a lot of enjoyment from it.
Thursday 13 November 2008
Big Japan: LOADS OF SHOWS
I've been racing through a number of episodes of Deathmatch Wars over the last few nights, starting with the two from the March 24th all the way up to the two from May 4th.
I don't think this is turning out to be a particularly good year for Big Japan. That said, there are currently three matches I'd consider for my MOTY list (Miyamoto/Sasaki vs. Sekimoto/Sasaki from January, Mammoth vs. Sekimoto from February, and the BJW tag title match from May 23rd that we'll get to next time). Necro has been involved, and he's fun, though he has generally partnered with Pondo. I can't stand Pondo. It's not only that he uses the same boring garbage spots every match, but that he seems to give his opponent nothing. No-one ever seems to get revenge for getting stapled in the head or stabbed with a knife - instead, they may get the start of a comeback, before he cuts it off and does something else. The tag match against Miyamoto and Sasaki was OK, though, despite him. Necro is insane - that flat back suplex bump to the outside was the act of a madman.
The Men's Club matches have been full of joy. The two 8 man tags (on the March 24th and April 28th show) were just exhibitions of flying and lucharesu. I laughed out loud when Madoka didn't sell Teioh's invisible fireball because he was new and didn't understand it. Then, in the next match, he sells it too early, keen to make up for his earlier mistake, while everyone stands around. Both of these matches had similar spots, but, you know, its impossible not to find this stuff a massive silly plus for Big Japan.
There were two big singles deathmatches in these shows, and I didn't really like either. The moonlight darkness match between Miyamoto and Shadow WX was a victim of the gimmick - matches that are hard to see aren't easy to watch. Aside from the punching the dark (I assume. They could have been doing a foxtrot.) there was a lot of waiting around until it was time to do the next lightube spot. The only one I liked was Miyamoto's moonsault - at the moment of impact, it all went dark. Then they fought on, and the symbolism was lost.
I didn't think Shadow's big title win stacked up well compared to the last two year's big death matches (Abby vs Sasaki in 2006, Miyamoto vs. Sasaki in 2007). I don't like deathmatches based around big jumps and over-elaborate setups, rather than hitting people with stuff and blood-letting, and Ito went straight for the splash of the side wall within the first two minutes. They fight around the boards in the middle, then go for the scaffold spots to finish: the big Dragon Splash off the scaffold, the suplex off the scaffold, the brainbuster through the light tube board. The last three minutes of the finish was hot, but it wasn't built up well in the preceding forteen minutes, and that's just a bad ratio.
I don't think this is turning out to be a particularly good year for Big Japan. That said, there are currently three matches I'd consider for my MOTY list (Miyamoto/Sasaki vs. Sekimoto/Sasaki from January, Mammoth vs. Sekimoto from February, and the BJW tag title match from May 23rd that we'll get to next time). Necro has been involved, and he's fun, though he has generally partnered with Pondo. I can't stand Pondo. It's not only that he uses the same boring garbage spots every match, but that he seems to give his opponent nothing. No-one ever seems to get revenge for getting stapled in the head or stabbed with a knife - instead, they may get the start of a comeback, before he cuts it off and does something else. The tag match against Miyamoto and Sasaki was OK, though, despite him. Necro is insane - that flat back suplex bump to the outside was the act of a madman.
The Men's Club matches have been full of joy. The two 8 man tags (on the March 24th and April 28th show) were just exhibitions of flying and lucharesu. I laughed out loud when Madoka didn't sell Teioh's invisible fireball because he was new and didn't understand it. Then, in the next match, he sells it too early, keen to make up for his earlier mistake, while everyone stands around. Both of these matches had similar spots, but, you know, its impossible not to find this stuff a massive silly plus for Big Japan.
There were two big singles deathmatches in these shows, and I didn't really like either. The moonlight darkness match between Miyamoto and Shadow WX was a victim of the gimmick - matches that are hard to see aren't easy to watch. Aside from the punching the dark (I assume. They could have been doing a foxtrot.) there was a lot of waiting around until it was time to do the next lightube spot. The only one I liked was Miyamoto's moonsault - at the moment of impact, it all went dark. Then they fought on, and the symbolism was lost.
I didn't think Shadow's big title win stacked up well compared to the last two year's big death matches (Abby vs Sasaki in 2006, Miyamoto vs. Sasaki in 2007). I don't like deathmatches based around big jumps and over-elaborate setups, rather than hitting people with stuff and blood-letting, and Ito went straight for the splash of the side wall within the first two minutes. They fight around the boards in the middle, then go for the scaffold spots to finish: the big Dragon Splash off the scaffold, the suplex off the scaffold, the brainbuster through the light tube board. The last three minutes of the finish was hot, but it wasn't built up well in the preceding forteen minutes, and that's just a bad ratio.
Sunday 9 November 2008
DRAGON GATE - Infinity 104 + 105!
Two for one this week.
104
1. Nagoya-style Elimination Match:
Gamma, Genki Horiguchi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kongcito vs.
Kenichiro Arai, Taku Iwasa, Akira Tozawa & X (Gakyuu-iinchou/School Chairman)
This match was alot ot fun. You had a pretty simple story of Real Hazard having a numbers advantage the whole way through. The tide turned when X turned out to be Big Tony Mori, reprising his role in Tozawa-Juku for one night only. He helped clean house to get the babyfaces back on track. Tozawa who's been the focus of a "stepping up" storyline in recent weeks, took a man's sized beating throughout this and it came down to him and GAMMA at the end. He fought and fought but was eventually put away. Good match.
Afterwards, KILLER HULK came out and unleashed an emo beatdown on GAMMA.
2. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title:
Cyber Kong & YAMATO vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (c)
I found this kind of disjointed because 15 of the 29 minutes were cut. Twin Gate matches are usually straight wrestling, but this had a load of interference down the stretch. Genki blinded Yoshino with blue mist, allowing YAMATO to hit his awesome finisher, the GALLERIA, for the win.
Not as good as recent episodes, but still a very enjoyable 50 minutes of ProWres.
INFINITY #104 - 7/10
105
This eminated from Korakuen Hall, the best building in wrestling!
1. Open the Dream Gate Next Challenger 4 Way Match:
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Gamma vs. Susumu Yokosuka vs. Naruki Doi
The eliminations of Mochi and GAMMA were done early so we were left with about 9 or 10 minutes of Doi vs. Susumu, and it RULED! It was what you'd expect if you know these two guys, Susumu was going for lariats and Doi was going for Bakatare Sliding Kicks. Lots of nearfalls and the crowd was hot as hell. Finish came when Susumu, after avoiding the Muscular Bomb, nailed Doi with a big sliding lariat.
Afterwards he cut a promo and broke into tears. Dunno what it was about. Regardless, Shingo vs. Susumu is set as the main event of the 11/16 PPV.
2. Handicap Lumberjack Match:
Cyber Kong & YAMATO vs. Shingo Takagi
Possibly the best handicap match ever. Although, that ain't saying much, since handicap matches SUCK. They worked this well though. Kong and Shingo had loads of cool SHEEEER POWAAH BATTELS~! and Shingo and YAMATO did a bunch of sweet MMA stuff. The heels put Shingo through a table during the heat, which was kinda unique to see in DG. I was worried about Shingo going over the tag champs and making them look weak, but they actually worked it well. Kong was looking to put Shingo away with a power bomb, but Anthony in the midst of a brawl with the Lumberjacks, snatched Kongs mask. This allowed Shingo to hit Yammy with the most heinous MADE IN JAPAN I've ever seen. He planted him right on the side of his face. 1-2-3 and the mullet goes to the pay windah.
Solid episode.
INFINITY #105 - 7.5/10
104
1. Nagoya-style Elimination Match:
Gamma, Genki Horiguchi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kongcito vs.
Kenichiro Arai, Taku Iwasa, Akira Tozawa & X (Gakyuu-iinchou/School Chairman)
This match was alot ot fun. You had a pretty simple story of Real Hazard having a numbers advantage the whole way through. The tide turned when X turned out to be Big Tony Mori, reprising his role in Tozawa-Juku for one night only. He helped clean house to get the babyfaces back on track. Tozawa who's been the focus of a "stepping up" storyline in recent weeks, took a man's sized beating throughout this and it came down to him and GAMMA at the end. He fought and fought but was eventually put away. Good match.
Afterwards, KILLER HULK came out and unleashed an emo beatdown on GAMMA.
2. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title:
Cyber Kong & YAMATO vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (c)
I found this kind of disjointed because 15 of the 29 minutes were cut. Twin Gate matches are usually straight wrestling, but this had a load of interference down the stretch. Genki blinded Yoshino with blue mist, allowing YAMATO to hit his awesome finisher, the GALLERIA, for the win.
Not as good as recent episodes, but still a very enjoyable 50 minutes of ProWres.
INFINITY #104 - 7/10
105
This eminated from Korakuen Hall, the best building in wrestling!
1. Open the Dream Gate Next Challenger 4 Way Match:
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Gamma vs. Susumu Yokosuka vs. Naruki Doi
The eliminations of Mochi and GAMMA were done early so we were left with about 9 or 10 minutes of Doi vs. Susumu, and it RULED! It was what you'd expect if you know these two guys, Susumu was going for lariats and Doi was going for Bakatare Sliding Kicks. Lots of nearfalls and the crowd was hot as hell. Finish came when Susumu, after avoiding the Muscular Bomb, nailed Doi with a big sliding lariat.
Afterwards he cut a promo and broke into tears. Dunno what it was about. Regardless, Shingo vs. Susumu is set as the main event of the 11/16 PPV.
2. Handicap Lumberjack Match:
Cyber Kong & YAMATO vs. Shingo Takagi
Possibly the best handicap match ever. Although, that ain't saying much, since handicap matches SUCK. They worked this well though. Kong and Shingo had loads of cool SHEEEER POWAAH BATTELS~! and Shingo and YAMATO did a bunch of sweet MMA stuff. The heels put Shingo through a table during the heat, which was kinda unique to see in DG. I was worried about Shingo going over the tag champs and making them look weak, but they actually worked it well. Kong was looking to put Shingo away with a power bomb, but Anthony in the midst of a brawl with the Lumberjacks, snatched Kongs mask. This allowed Shingo to hit Yammy with the most heinous MADE IN JAPAN I've ever seen. He planted him right on the side of his face. 1-2-3 and the mullet goes to the pay windah.
Solid episode.
INFINITY #105 - 7.5/10
Wednesday 5 November 2008
SEM August 17th 2008: Burning vs. Kensuke Office Elimination Tag
So, it took me four attempts to watch this match properly, electing on three successive nights to start watching it after midnight, and crashing out halfway through on every occassion.
I should say that this had nothing to do with this match being dull. Overall, I liked it - I can't pick out any major flaws for the whole sixty minutes, and there are parts of this that were hugely exciting. For starters, the opening pairing (Aoki/KENTA vs. the two lower ranked KO guys) was really great - an energetic opener that would have workerd well as a standalone tag. I thought Aoki was the best thing in this match, both in his focused arm submission work, and the way he just went for Sasaki when he came in in the next fall.
That said, the middle three falls felt completely perfunctory - like the stipulations were a nuisance to get past before the obvious final pairing of KENTA/Kobashi vs. Sasaki/Nakajima. I didn't think the last fall was as good overall as the June tag - I did like the conclusive finish more, but there was some long, slow bits, especially whilst Kobashi working over Nakajima. This was my biggest problem with the match - it wasn't building towards anything in particular, or wasn't based around anything. It wasn't really about anything. Going back to the Nakajima heat section again, Kobashi moved from one resthold to another, while KENTA lay around on the outside. At one point, though, Kobashi does chop Nakajima in the face. That chop-result again: IN THE FACE.
Another annoyance for me was that during this part of the match, Sasaki could have been much more useful from the outside - he often seemed perfectly happy to let his partner take a beating, despite the fact that KENTA was knocked out and Kobashi wasn't covered.
The finisher stretch, however, was excellent. It was the right length, and made full use of all the combinations of opponents, meaning that it didn't feel like when two guys just roll through their finishers until the end. Nakajima's ankle lock, after catching a KENTA kick was great. Obviously, those two were where all the workrate was here, and they just keep going until one of them finds the knockout blow.
What we have here, then, is a match with a hot start and hot finish, and a long, slow build section in the middle. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I suppose when stretched to sixty minutes with novel stipulations there could be a tendency to overrate it. I just think that the absence of an recognisable dynamic of the match, in particular in the final fall (other than of two equally matched teams), hurt it, and make the whole thing seem a lot more ordinary (or maybe a lot less extraordinary).
I should say that this had nothing to do with this match being dull. Overall, I liked it - I can't pick out any major flaws for the whole sixty minutes, and there are parts of this that were hugely exciting. For starters, the opening pairing (Aoki/KENTA vs. the two lower ranked KO guys) was really great - an energetic opener that would have workerd well as a standalone tag. I thought Aoki was the best thing in this match, both in his focused arm submission work, and the way he just went for Sasaki when he came in in the next fall.
That said, the middle three falls felt completely perfunctory - like the stipulations were a nuisance to get past before the obvious final pairing of KENTA/Kobashi vs. Sasaki/Nakajima. I didn't think the last fall was as good overall as the June tag - I did like the conclusive finish more, but there was some long, slow bits, especially whilst Kobashi working over Nakajima. This was my biggest problem with the match - it wasn't building towards anything in particular, or wasn't based around anything. It wasn't really about anything. Going back to the Nakajima heat section again, Kobashi moved from one resthold to another, while KENTA lay around on the outside. At one point, though, Kobashi does chop Nakajima in the face. That chop-result again: IN THE FACE.
Another annoyance for me was that during this part of the match, Sasaki could have been much more useful from the outside - he often seemed perfectly happy to let his partner take a beating, despite the fact that KENTA was knocked out and Kobashi wasn't covered.
The finisher stretch, however, was excellent. It was the right length, and made full use of all the combinations of opponents, meaning that it didn't feel like when two guys just roll through their finishers until the end. Nakajima's ankle lock, after catching a KENTA kick was great. Obviously, those two were where all the workrate was here, and they just keep going until one of them finds the knockout blow.
What we have here, then, is a match with a hot start and hot finish, and a long, slow build section in the middle. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I suppose when stretched to sixty minutes with novel stipulations there could be a tendency to overrate it. I just think that the absence of an recognisable dynamic of the match, in particular in the final fall (other than of two equally matched teams), hurt it, and make the whole thing seem a lot more ordinary (or maybe a lot less extraordinary).
Sunday 2 November 2008
DRAGON GATE - Infinity 103!
OLA!
So this'll be the first of a series of reviews I hope to have up here on my favourite promotion in Japan - Dragon Gate.
First and foremost I'd like to give anyone unfamiliar with DG an idea of how it's schedule works. Every week there is a new episode of their TV show on the GAORA channel. It's called Mugendai: Infinity, and it usually features at least two big matches more or less unclipped, along with several other segments and video montages that progress the storylines along. In addition to the weekly show there is also a big PPV every three months or so.
So onto Infinity #103, which I watched today.
1. Open the Triangle Gate Title:
Gamma, Yasushi Kanda & YAMATO (c) vs.
Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Magnitude Kishiwada
I really enjoyed this match. Dragon Gate trios matches are known mainly for fast paced, super athletic stuff, but these 6 guys tend not to specialise as much in that type of style. With the REAL HAZARD trio being total scumbag heels, they worked a match which mainly focused on a long heat segment that got the crowd riled up against the heels due to their saliva based antics and what not. When Mochizuki's team made the big comeback, it was really good. They did a hell of a little dive sequence and then worked in some hot nearfalls. The finish was cool as Mochi kicked Kanda's head of his shoulders to give us new champs.
2. Open the Dream Gate Title:
TAKA Michinoku vs. Shingo Takagi (c)
Really smart, simple match. TAKA may be lazy as fuck, but he can piece together a nice little match when he wants to. Shingo needs some strong defenses to get his reign off on the right foot and so far that's happening. This match was mainly based on TAKA exploiting Shingo's knee injury that he caused in a 6 man the week before this. One of my fave spots in ages happened in this and it was so simple yet so great. TAKA was kicking at Shingo's leg and Shingo fired back with jab-jab-jab-mongolian, and TAKA falls to his ass. What does he do immediately when he hits the ground? Why he kicks Shingo right in the knee. AWESOME! Shingo wins in the end with a big Pumping Bomber (lariat).
Post match, a four way was set up between Susumu Yokosuka, GAMMA, Naruki Doi and Masaaki Mochizuki to determine Shingo's next challenger.
To close the show we go highlights of what looked to be a mindblowingly incredible tag title match between Doi & Yoshino and Saito & Yokosuka. The crowd were losing their minds for all the nearfalls.
So that wraps up this column up. I guess if I'm gonna be reviewing every Infinity, I should use a ranking system of sorts. We'll go with 1-10, because well, I don't know why.
INFINITY #103 - 8.5/10
So this'll be the first of a series of reviews I hope to have up here on my favourite promotion in Japan - Dragon Gate.
First and foremost I'd like to give anyone unfamiliar with DG an idea of how it's schedule works. Every week there is a new episode of their TV show on the GAORA channel. It's called Mugendai: Infinity, and it usually features at least two big matches more or less unclipped, along with several other segments and video montages that progress the storylines along. In addition to the weekly show there is also a big PPV every three months or so.
So onto Infinity #103, which I watched today.
1. Open the Triangle Gate Title:
Gamma, Yasushi Kanda & YAMATO (c) vs.
Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Magnitude Kishiwada
I really enjoyed this match. Dragon Gate trios matches are known mainly for fast paced, super athletic stuff, but these 6 guys tend not to specialise as much in that type of style. With the REAL HAZARD trio being total scumbag heels, they worked a match which mainly focused on a long heat segment that got the crowd riled up against the heels due to their saliva based antics and what not. When Mochizuki's team made the big comeback, it was really good. They did a hell of a little dive sequence and then worked in some hot nearfalls. The finish was cool as Mochi kicked Kanda's head of his shoulders to give us new champs.
2. Open the Dream Gate Title:
TAKA Michinoku vs. Shingo Takagi (c)
Really smart, simple match. TAKA may be lazy as fuck, but he can piece together a nice little match when he wants to. Shingo needs some strong defenses to get his reign off on the right foot and so far that's happening. This match was mainly based on TAKA exploiting Shingo's knee injury that he caused in a 6 man the week before this. One of my fave spots in ages happened in this and it was so simple yet so great. TAKA was kicking at Shingo's leg and Shingo fired back with jab-jab-jab-mongolian, and TAKA falls to his ass. What does he do immediately when he hits the ground? Why he kicks Shingo right in the knee. AWESOME! Shingo wins in the end with a big Pumping Bomber (lariat).
Post match, a four way was set up between Susumu Yokosuka, GAMMA, Naruki Doi and Masaaki Mochizuki to determine Shingo's next challenger.
To close the show we go highlights of what looked to be a mindblowingly incredible tag title match between Doi & Yoshino and Saito & Yokosuka. The crowd were losing their minds for all the nearfalls.
So that wraps up this column up. I guess if I'm gonna be reviewing every Infinity, I should use a ranking system of sorts. We'll go with 1-10, because well, I don't know why.
INFINITY #103 - 8.5/10
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