The RAW match is a women's tag. I have no preconceptions if this collection of women are any good, except Beth, who I know to be fine. Nine seconds in, and I look for the 'Mute Lawler' button on Windows Media player (I refer to my legal television channels as my Windows Media player. It's just a little fun I like to have, copyright protection lawyers). This ws actually fine. The Bella Twins are competent, and don't look like pretty girls put in a ring with little training to justify their existence in a wrestling promotion. Beth drives the action, as short as it is, and looks as dominant as she ever does. No complaints.
Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder is the ECW match. I hoped to be impressed by at least one of them, as Bourne hasn't been as great this year so far (stuff with Henry notwithstanding) and Ryder is just working enhancement guys at the moment. This match was pretty formulaic, but it's a formula that works. Thing I've always liked most about Bourne is that he occassionaly does things that seem unusual. In this match, there's the matwork section with the series of armdrags which smaller guys normally wouldn't do in favour of more opening rope-running. Later, he escapes a sleeperhold into a single leg crab- comeback spots are normally more impactful, whereas Bourne shows here a greater interest in realism and looking less forced. Maybe he hasn't full adopted a template WWE small flyer style, and he's better for it. The great part about his WWE work is that he now has a couple of really spectacular high spots, which he works in much sensibly that an indie flyer would do. Anyway, this match turns out good. Ryder is charismatic enough to carry the middle section working on Bourne's injured ribs well enough before the comeback and hot finish stretch, and Bourne puts in a decent selling performance with the injury.
Main event is Jericho vs. John Morrison. With the horrendous writing Orton's charachter has attracted, Jericho is by far the best heel in the company at this stage, and this match is as much driven by his heel character work as it is Morrison's gymnastics. He even recalls the 2000 last man standing match with HHH, copying the lying on the corner taunt. Morrison suits his face turn - he has an impressive array of moves to show off. He hasn't changed significantly in demeanour except in small ways, such as the way and times he interacts with the crowd. I'm glad he hasn't turned in a grinning, fan-loving, cheery babyface all of a sudden, and prefer the more natural evolution of his character growing to love crowd approval after years of treating them with disdain. The last few minutes of this were exciting, and featured a couple of nice reversals of the Walls. I have no idea how Morrison has space to do a full 360 off a split leg moonsault, but there it was.
This show continues to provide the best hour of WWE TV each week. Who knew professional wrestling fans might enjoy professional wrestling?
Saturday 13 June 2009
Sunday 7 June 2009
DRAGON GATE - Infinity 132!
132
Dragon Gate USA Inc. Commemoration Bonus Match: BxB Hulk & PAC vs. Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki
If like me, you like THE MOOOVS, then you'll love this match. All four guys are crisp as hell doing all this mind blowing stuff. PAC is the star in my opinion. He's easily become the best flyer I've ever seen. The stuff he does is unreal. Tanizaki was the glue of the match, holding things together and making sure everything transitioned right. BxB and PAC won after a Shooting Star Kneedrop followed by an E.V.O.P followed by an Inside Out 450 Splash. Got all that?
Cyber Kong vs. Masato Yoshino
Oh what a glorious match this was. These two have the best big man/little man chemistry in wrestling right now. Kong attacked before the bell and squeezed a pineapple all over Yoshi. Awwwwesome. He fired some pineapple debris at the crowd which I would think would hurt if it dinged me in the face. Kong controlled most of the match but Yoshino exposed the weakness of the big man's often injured arm to gain openings for himself. After some nice exchanges down the stretch, Yoshino trapped Cyber in the Sol Naciente Kai for the submission and the giant killing.
Post match Yoshino challenged his partner Doi for the Dream Gate at World. The crowd went banana, and as Doi was about to accept Gamma hit the ring saying he should be getting the shot. Thus Yoshino/Gamma was signed for #1 Contendership.
YAMATO vs. Don Fujii
As great as these two men were here, they were trumped by the greatest man of the day - SUPER SHENLONG. Yes you heard that right. After Yamato forced a double countout two minutes in, Shenlong hit the ring and got all firey and demanded a restart. So the match resumed and there was much interference from Real Hazard and Shenlong. The highlight of this was a series of EPIC FAILS by SS on everything he tried. It was glorious. Needs to be seen to be believed. Eventually it was a screwup on the heel side (Genki hitting Yammy with protein powder) that led to Don getting the cradle pin.
Tremendously entertaining show. You get a great fast paced match, a great big man/little man match, and a ...... well I don't know what to call YAMATO/Don but it was most definitely great.
Infinity 132 - 8/10
Dragon Gate USA Inc. Commemoration Bonus Match: BxB Hulk & PAC vs. Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki
If like me, you like THE MOOOVS, then you'll love this match. All four guys are crisp as hell doing all this mind blowing stuff. PAC is the star in my opinion. He's easily become the best flyer I've ever seen. The stuff he does is unreal. Tanizaki was the glue of the match, holding things together and making sure everything transitioned right. BxB and PAC won after a Shooting Star Kneedrop followed by an E.V.O.P followed by an Inside Out 450 Splash. Got all that?
Cyber Kong vs. Masato Yoshino
Oh what a glorious match this was. These two have the best big man/little man chemistry in wrestling right now. Kong attacked before the bell and squeezed a pineapple all over Yoshi. Awwwwesome. He fired some pineapple debris at the crowd which I would think would hurt if it dinged me in the face. Kong controlled most of the match but Yoshino exposed the weakness of the big man's often injured arm to gain openings for himself. After some nice exchanges down the stretch, Yoshino trapped Cyber in the Sol Naciente Kai for the submission and the giant killing.
Post match Yoshino challenged his partner Doi for the Dream Gate at World. The crowd went banana, and as Doi was about to accept Gamma hit the ring saying he should be getting the shot. Thus Yoshino/Gamma was signed for #1 Contendership.
YAMATO vs. Don Fujii
As great as these two men were here, they were trumped by the greatest man of the day - SUPER SHENLONG. Yes you heard that right. After Yamato forced a double countout two minutes in, Shenlong hit the ring and got all firey and demanded a restart. So the match resumed and there was much interference from Real Hazard and Shenlong. The highlight of this was a series of EPIC FAILS by SS on everything he tried. It was glorious. Needs to be seen to be believed. Eventually it was a screwup on the heel side (Genki hitting Yammy with protein powder) that led to Don getting the cradle pin.
Tremendously entertaining show. You get a great fast paced match, a great big man/little man match, and a ...... well I don't know what to call YAMATO/Don but it was most definitely great.
Infinity 132 - 8/10
Saturday 6 June 2009
ECW: 2nd June 2009
Opening match is between Mark Henry and Evan Bourne, a rematch from last week. Sometimes I think the WWE has two sorts of feuds - those that start with an issue and lead to a singles match, and those that start with a singles match, and leads to an issue. This is the second sort, designed for TV only. Hopefully its given some time, because it could be really good. The first match had a lot of great Henry monster offence, including a swinging head kick, and a bunch of nice spots as Bourne tries to find a way into the match - his diving knee seated senton to the outside looked great, as Henry took it brilliantly, bumping hard whilst catching still safely Bourne. Bourne takes a countout win, and thus a single match leads to an issue.
This match continues the same theme, though Henry looks even more dominant after his embarrassment over losing last week. The match is a bit short to be worth much on its own, and Bourne doesn't really get a proper comeback before the disqualification finish, which is weaker than the count-out one, because it had nothing to do with Bourne. Still, my expectations are raised that some good stuff will come out of this. Bourne needs something like this - he's not been as interesting as he was last year, and it's great to see Henry not just making up the numbers at the top of the ECW card.
There's a Zack Ryder squash that I don't care about, and Tommy Dreamer vs. Paul Burchill, which is likely his last ECW TV match. The match is pretty mediocre, which somehow seems appropriate. Burchill works pretty aggressively, but he still lacks a purpose - I commented elsewhere last week that he's a larger, technically competent heel on the same show that is being built around Jack Swagger.
Main event is Christian vs. Tyson Kidd. Opening bit of matstuff was fun, and I wish they would ever be a situation where a long mat section between both guys could happen. I enjoyed this a lot - really energetic back and forth stuff, which should go at least a small way to elevating Kidd. Christian takes a nasty looking back bump into the stairs, leading to this week's episode of Christian Shows America What Selling Looks Like. The back injury doesn't get in the way of his comebacks as much as leg work does, but he still remembers it throughout. They get time for a lengthy (and hot) nearfall stretch, before the run-ins. I particularly like how, just like Matt Hardy in 2007, Christian has speeded up his finisher. This was a worthwhile show.
This match continues the same theme, though Henry looks even more dominant after his embarrassment over losing last week. The match is a bit short to be worth much on its own, and Bourne doesn't really get a proper comeback before the disqualification finish, which is weaker than the count-out one, because it had nothing to do with Bourne. Still, my expectations are raised that some good stuff will come out of this. Bourne needs something like this - he's not been as interesting as he was last year, and it's great to see Henry not just making up the numbers at the top of the ECW card.
There's a Zack Ryder squash that I don't care about, and Tommy Dreamer vs. Paul Burchill, which is likely his last ECW TV match. The match is pretty mediocre, which somehow seems appropriate. Burchill works pretty aggressively, but he still lacks a purpose - I commented elsewhere last week that he's a larger, technically competent heel on the same show that is being built around Jack Swagger.
Main event is Christian vs. Tyson Kidd. Opening bit of matstuff was fun, and I wish they would ever be a situation where a long mat section between both guys could happen. I enjoyed this a lot - really energetic back and forth stuff, which should go at least a small way to elevating Kidd. Christian takes a nasty looking back bump into the stairs, leading to this week's episode of Christian Shows America What Selling Looks Like. The back injury doesn't get in the way of his comebacks as much as leg work does, but he still remembers it throughout. They get time for a lengthy (and hot) nearfall stretch, before the run-ins. I particularly like how, just like Matt Hardy in 2007, Christian has speeded up his finisher. This was a worthwhile show.
Thursday 4 June 2009
AULL: 16th May 2009
Negro Navarro vs. Solar is an absolute can't fail match-up. I'm relatively new to both guys, but I've never been anything other than amazed by the two veterans. Firstly, age has no effect on their pace - these guys can put together some sequences as fast as much younger guys. Secondly, both guys are old-school is the most meaningful definition of the term - their matches are built around the classic psychology of struggle for the upper-hand and superiority. Solar is a permanent technico, but Navarro doesn't wrestle strongly rudo. The focus is on the moves and the grappling, and that is rooted firmly in an old school mentality.
This match here could be a contender for lucha match of the year, and is a title match, so while 2009 has already seen some great instances of Navarro brawling, especially with Black Terry, this is going to hit the mat hard.
The first part of primera caida is a one-upsmanship battle of takedowns. There is an element of increasing complexity to each armdrag or snapmare as a form of posturing to the audience. Solar holds on after a hiptoss, rolls Navarro through into an arm lock and flips his opponent to the mat again in one particularly lovely sequence. From the takedown and reset stuff, they move through one shorter and then one longer sequence of complicated lucha submissions and counters. One of the joys of lucha matwork is the way leverage is used to generate some truly unlikely combinations. From a crucifix armbar submission on his front, Navarro moves into a position to be able to ease the pressure on his arms and follow round into a stretch muffler. Solar counters by taking one of Navarro's legs and moving around until he had the leverage advantage and Navarro was on his back. The blend of elaborate submissions but constant struggle for position is really the pinnacle of lucha matwork. They move into a quick rope running section, with Solar hitting several armdrags, a headscissors and a quebradora, before taking the fall with a submission.
Segunda caida is a more intense Navarro - bearing in mind he's a pretty intense looking guy in the first place - coming out to even the score with leg takedowns and a series of very twisty leg locks. One day I'm going on a course to learn the lucha names for all these submissions. Solar has a few counters here, but Navarro is in full maestro mode, and has a hundred different ways of positioning Solar to lock in another nasty looking hold. The double ankle lock one is really nice, holding on ankle, while locking and twisting the other with his legs. Both guys know to add in little extras that make the battle look harder - loose limbs are grabbed to add an extra contorsion to the submissions; Navarro wrenchs back on a headscissor. Solar seems to take advantage on the rope running section that completes the fall, but Navarro counters a roll-up pin with a complicated sequence of twists that leads to his own cradle pin, and then stops Solar running off the ropes with a rolled through front face lock. This last bit is breathtakingly quick.
The third fall does to an extent capture the idea of a final tussle for the winning combination, but I didn't get a sense of huge drama. There is again some impressive submission stuff in here - Navarro's mid air Indian deathlock is quite a feat of balance, if not strength, as was the campana hold. I liked the exchange between the two tapatias - again, the guys move around to manipulate leverage that makes an unlikely counter seem reasonable. The third fall also had a running section. You get the slight sense that Solar picks it up at the end - his tosses and takedowns seem more forceful. The finish made sense - Navarro misses an elbow, Solar follows up by going for that arm, before using the injury for an armlock/pin combination for the win and the title - but comes across a little flat, as there seems to be nothing particularly special about that particular combination. It's probably fits into their mentality of match-building - the combination of the intricate and unlikely matwork combined with the hard fought sense of struggle - leading to what could be considered a more legitimate-looking finish. Justifiable, but still flat.
Overall, while there is depth to this match, with subtle shifts in control worked throughout, they weren't particularly noteworthy. The wrestling certainly is noteworthy - really great, intense mat work and fast sequences between two guys who could have a good match together whilst actually asleep. A match I'll rank highly, but the lack of a stronger story prevents it from top of my list for the year.
This match here could be a contender for lucha match of the year, and is a title match, so while 2009 has already seen some great instances of Navarro brawling, especially with Black Terry, this is going to hit the mat hard.
The first part of primera caida is a one-upsmanship battle of takedowns. There is an element of increasing complexity to each armdrag or snapmare as a form of posturing to the audience. Solar holds on after a hiptoss, rolls Navarro through into an arm lock and flips his opponent to the mat again in one particularly lovely sequence. From the takedown and reset stuff, they move through one shorter and then one longer sequence of complicated lucha submissions and counters. One of the joys of lucha matwork is the way leverage is used to generate some truly unlikely combinations. From a crucifix armbar submission on his front, Navarro moves into a position to be able to ease the pressure on his arms and follow round into a stretch muffler. Solar counters by taking one of Navarro's legs and moving around until he had the leverage advantage and Navarro was on his back. The blend of elaborate submissions but constant struggle for position is really the pinnacle of lucha matwork. They move into a quick rope running section, with Solar hitting several armdrags, a headscissors and a quebradora, before taking the fall with a submission.
Segunda caida is a more intense Navarro - bearing in mind he's a pretty intense looking guy in the first place - coming out to even the score with leg takedowns and a series of very twisty leg locks. One day I'm going on a course to learn the lucha names for all these submissions. Solar has a few counters here, but Navarro is in full maestro mode, and has a hundred different ways of positioning Solar to lock in another nasty looking hold. The double ankle lock one is really nice, holding on ankle, while locking and twisting the other with his legs. Both guys know to add in little extras that make the battle look harder - loose limbs are grabbed to add an extra contorsion to the submissions; Navarro wrenchs back on a headscissor. Solar seems to take advantage on the rope running section that completes the fall, but Navarro counters a roll-up pin with a complicated sequence of twists that leads to his own cradle pin, and then stops Solar running off the ropes with a rolled through front face lock. This last bit is breathtakingly quick.
The third fall does to an extent capture the idea of a final tussle for the winning combination, but I didn't get a sense of huge drama. There is again some impressive submission stuff in here - Navarro's mid air Indian deathlock is quite a feat of balance, if not strength, as was the campana hold. I liked the exchange between the two tapatias - again, the guys move around to manipulate leverage that makes an unlikely counter seem reasonable. The third fall also had a running section. You get the slight sense that Solar picks it up at the end - his tosses and takedowns seem more forceful. The finish made sense - Navarro misses an elbow, Solar follows up by going for that arm, before using the injury for an armlock/pin combination for the win and the title - but comes across a little flat, as there seems to be nothing particularly special about that particular combination. It's probably fits into their mentality of match-building - the combination of the intricate and unlikely matwork combined with the hard fought sense of struggle - leading to what could be considered a more legitimate-looking finish. Justifiable, but still flat.
Overall, while there is depth to this match, with subtle shifts in control worked throughout, they weren't particularly noteworthy. The wrestling certainly is noteworthy - really great, intense mat work and fast sequences between two guys who could have a good match together whilst actually asleep. A match I'll rank highly, but the lack of a stronger story prevents it from top of my list for the year.
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