This is a commercial tape which just has the second Shinzaki vs. Great Sasuke match. The first half an hour has a bunch of clips focusing on Shinzaki, bits from previous matches, bit of him being a monk in a monk place, some training. It would be fair to say that this is really all about Shinzaki - more on that at the end. Anyway, big match feel is inevitable.
Sasuke's entrance music is the greatest music I have no idea the words for yet still sing along to in a borderline-racist way. The match starts off great, Sasuke attacking with both men still wearing their robes, eventually diving off the top in a weird half somersault, half headfirst dive which could have gone very wrong. It settles down from there, with a nice little mat section. I liked Sasuke's perserverance taking Shinzaki with his arm, fighting to maintain position, kicking Shinzaki's legs from under him as he tried to get up. After Shinzaki outpowers Sasuke and takes control for a bit, Sasuke resets and that's when this really gets going. He half-catching him with a couple of SPIN FLY KICK's, but follows up with a long series of nasty kicks to the head and the face. The dynamic then completely changes, with Shinzaki on the back foot and Sasuke unleashing his entire arsenal. I liked all the nearfalls, each move visibly took its toll on both men. Nearing the end, Sasuke manages two space flying tiger drops, but on the second one Shinzaki catches him on the way and turns it into a powerbomb. This scored an impressive 0.8 on the Sasuke scale of skulldeath, which was followed by a Vader-Cactus like powerbomb on the outside. Completely nuts.
Shinzaki gets in a few highspots (including a praying quebrada) but the match was pretty much done after the two powerbombs, giving this a definitive and satisfying ending. The slightly odd thing about this match is the story. Shinzaki is the all-conquering heavyweight of the promotion, yet Sasuke is more than his equal here, and not just through risk taking - he's faster, better on the mat and more violent in striking. This nearly pushes Shinzaki into an underdog role by the end.
Still, I thought this was really great - the oddness in the story of the match isn't a bad thing, just a curiousity. I mean, I completely get the story of the match, it's just not perhaps what you would expect - it didn't have the stop-start awkwardness of the first match, great highspots, really good selling from both guys. 2010 juniors should imitate this match structure a lot more, instead of all this your-turn my-turn stuff.
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Saturday 12 June 2010
WWE Superstars: 4th March 2010
I've been going over some Superstars shows as part of getting back into current WWE. Got a bunch of reviews coming in the next couple of days. Opening match of this show is Kofi Kingston vs. Chavo. This is a match of two polar opposite performances - Chavo has great-looking offence, whilst Kofi has awful looking offence. He does a tope which barely creeps over through the ropes, whilst Cole mentions his "imaginative" offence. Perhaps in this case, he was imagining what it would be like to do a tope whilst wearing armour. Chavo, on the other hand, leads Kofi through some matwork (whilst making it look like Kofi was matching up), works the blood stoppage with palpable exasperation and does some really nice looking stuff, like the roll-up boston crab, before the inevitable loss.
William Regal is on Superstars. Amazing. I am short of William Regal in 2010. He's against Evan Bourne. I am short of Evan Bourne in 2010. And he is short in 2010 (aha!). This was a really fun six minutes of match. I was really enjoying Regal submission work - with a smaller opponent, he really gets to improvise increasingly painful and elaborate looking stretches. I also liked how Evan battled to escape - they do a nice little roll through with Regal holding on before shakes it off. For the size difference, Regal's bumping off Bourne's early offence - headscissors, monkey flips - and his selling of the strike to the back and the knee to the chin at the end were an utter treat.
The Kane-Mike Knox match had little to recommend for it, aside from Knox's chokeslam bump. I don't think I've seen a guy the size of Knox take such a great bump off that move. The main event was Goldust vs. Jericho. I got a kick out of the early interactions - Jericho's has two facial expression which he does well. Firstly, there's when he doesn't understand why something has happened, and Goldust's schtick let's him play that one out. Secondly, he knows how to look smug, and when the smugness comes off the back of some minor victory (here, a shoulderblock that knocks Dustin down), it works really well. Goldust is so good taking the beating - I loved the little wild swinging fist as he fell down at one point, and he does a tremendous job selling his throat after getting guilottined (a move which rarely looks any good). His comeback was typically exciting - he really gets the crowd involved as he fought out of a sleeper, and there was some nice nearfalls. Both the first version and replay of Dustin getting caught by a dropkick as he came off the top really was as spot-on as the commentary suggested.
Quite the little TV show, with two matches that are definitely worth your time. Superstars, I am sorry I did forsake you these past three score and seven...weeks? Maybe.
William Regal is on Superstars. Amazing. I am short of William Regal in 2010. He's against Evan Bourne. I am short of Evan Bourne in 2010. And he is short in 2010 (aha!). This was a really fun six minutes of match. I was really enjoying Regal submission work - with a smaller opponent, he really gets to improvise increasingly painful and elaborate looking stretches. I also liked how Evan battled to escape - they do a nice little roll through with Regal holding on before shakes it off. For the size difference, Regal's bumping off Bourne's early offence - headscissors, monkey flips - and his selling of the strike to the back and the knee to the chin at the end were an utter treat.
The Kane-Mike Knox match had little to recommend for it, aside from Knox's chokeslam bump. I don't think I've seen a guy the size of Knox take such a great bump off that move. The main event was Goldust vs. Jericho. I got a kick out of the early interactions - Jericho's has two facial expression which he does well. Firstly, there's when he doesn't understand why something has happened, and Goldust's schtick let's him play that one out. Secondly, he knows how to look smug, and when the smugness comes off the back of some minor victory (here, a shoulderblock that knocks Dustin down), it works really well. Goldust is so good taking the beating - I loved the little wild swinging fist as he fell down at one point, and he does a tremendous job selling his throat after getting guilottined (a move which rarely looks any good). His comeback was typically exciting - he really gets the crowd involved as he fought out of a sleeper, and there was some nice nearfalls. Both the first version and replay of Dustin getting caught by a dropkick as he came off the top really was as spot-on as the commentary suggested.
Quite the little TV show, with two matches that are definitely worth your time. Superstars, I am sorry I did forsake you these past three score and seven...weeks? Maybe.
Wednesday 2 June 2010
Michinoku Pro: 31st March 1994
This show went across two episodes of Champ Forum. I'll be reviewing it out of order, so I finish with the main event (which actually aired in the first episode).
Quickly through the undercard. The Monkey Magic and Super Delfin vs. Shiryu and Leon Guererro tag match has a few fun moments - Leon is a bigger guy, but he's impressively quick and athletic - but for the most part this was disposable. The TAKA Michinoku vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa was short, but I really liked the opening few minutes of matwork, which looked nicely competitive and flowed well. Then they dropped it for some nearfalls, which wasn't as interesting. Terry Boy vs. Masato Yakushiji was worked around Yakushiji going for Terry's legs whilst Terry yanked apart Yakushiji's arm in a thousand different ways. I liked how they stuck with this throughout and how the weak arm filtered into the finish.
For something I had no high expectations for going in, Wellington Wilkins Jr. vs. Yone Genjin was a really interesting, and often highly enjoyable match. Often in matches between technical wrestlers and guys with untrained gimmicks, it is the wrestler that struggles to match up with the untrained guy, the story being that he's too unconventional to wrestle in the normal way. Here, however, it is Genjin who can't get anything in on Wilkins, who is completely not afraid to kick and clobber his opponent in the head on a regular basis. This is an inversion of a cliche that I kind of liked, and one that actually makes sense.
After a while, a baffled looking Genjin starts throwing chairs, which seemingly gives the match an excuse for the match to really spiral out of control. There's lots of nonsense in this, but it's entertaining nonsense. Wilkins sort of looks like he's really enjoying himself, throwing Genjin into walls and tables and sending him hurtling across the arena on a trolley. The whole thing ends with a double count-out or disqualification or something unimportant, and then loads of post match high jinks (Genjin brings a bicycle into the ring, fails to get into to start, so Wilkins just charges him and kicks him in the head a few more times for being a damn fool).
The main event was Great Sasuke vs. Jinsei Sinzaki, which may be there first time singles meeting, at least the first one recorded. This is the second Sasuke match I've watched in a row which felt a little disconnected between the first and second half. It starts out tentative, ocassionally builds up pace, before they reset and start again. I think this can work in some settings - like with a dominant crowd favourite and a outmatched heel - but when both guys are taking breaks to regroup after every exchange, it takes away some of the momentum. There's a bit where Shinzaki visibly loses his composure, takes Sasuke to the outside and throws him around, flips him into the chairs and posts him and suddenly the match is rocking. Then, after regrouping, the go to some matwork. The work isn't bad at all, far from it, but the layout is a little confusing.
That said, the finishing stretch is really nice. Sasuke looks to be in control, hitting a bunch of his big trademark spots, only to be caught mid Asai moonsault and tombstoned. They spill to the outside, and Shinzaki sitout powerbombs him through a table. Remember, in Japan, tables are made of tables. The fatigue selling during all of this is spot-on, and I liked the real sense that Sasuke's fightback was like a survival instinct - upon chancing to knock Shinzaki from the ring, he gets up and starts running for the ropes without even a look at where he would be diving. A double KO finish leads to the rematch in the following month, and my only real technical criticism is that they needed a more hard-hitting or intensive first half to justify it. I'm going to be the last person to criticise guys for overselling, but the cause and effect from first to second half was probably a little out.
Quickly through the undercard. The Monkey Magic and Super Delfin vs. Shiryu and Leon Guererro tag match has a few fun moments - Leon is a bigger guy, but he's impressively quick and athletic - but for the most part this was disposable. The TAKA Michinoku vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa was short, but I really liked the opening few minutes of matwork, which looked nicely competitive and flowed well. Then they dropped it for some nearfalls, which wasn't as interesting. Terry Boy vs. Masato Yakushiji was worked around Yakushiji going for Terry's legs whilst Terry yanked apart Yakushiji's arm in a thousand different ways. I liked how they stuck with this throughout and how the weak arm filtered into the finish.
For something I had no high expectations for going in, Wellington Wilkins Jr. vs. Yone Genjin was a really interesting, and often highly enjoyable match. Often in matches between technical wrestlers and guys with untrained gimmicks, it is the wrestler that struggles to match up with the untrained guy, the story being that he's too unconventional to wrestle in the normal way. Here, however, it is Genjin who can't get anything in on Wilkins, who is completely not afraid to kick and clobber his opponent in the head on a regular basis. This is an inversion of a cliche that I kind of liked, and one that actually makes sense.
After a while, a baffled looking Genjin starts throwing chairs, which seemingly gives the match an excuse for the match to really spiral out of control. There's lots of nonsense in this, but it's entertaining nonsense. Wilkins sort of looks like he's really enjoying himself, throwing Genjin into walls and tables and sending him hurtling across the arena on a trolley. The whole thing ends with a double count-out or disqualification or something unimportant, and then loads of post match high jinks (Genjin brings a bicycle into the ring, fails to get into to start, so Wilkins just charges him and kicks him in the head a few more times for being a damn fool).
The main event was Great Sasuke vs. Jinsei Sinzaki, which may be there first time singles meeting, at least the first one recorded. This is the second Sasuke match I've watched in a row which felt a little disconnected between the first and second half. It starts out tentative, ocassionally builds up pace, before they reset and start again. I think this can work in some settings - like with a dominant crowd favourite and a outmatched heel - but when both guys are taking breaks to regroup after every exchange, it takes away some of the momentum. There's a bit where Shinzaki visibly loses his composure, takes Sasuke to the outside and throws him around, flips him into the chairs and posts him and suddenly the match is rocking. Then, after regrouping, the go to some matwork. The work isn't bad at all, far from it, but the layout is a little confusing.
That said, the finishing stretch is really nice. Sasuke looks to be in control, hitting a bunch of his big trademark spots, only to be caught mid Asai moonsault and tombstoned. They spill to the outside, and Shinzaki sitout powerbombs him through a table. Remember, in Japan, tables are made of tables. The fatigue selling during all of this is spot-on, and I liked the real sense that Sasuke's fightback was like a survival instinct - upon chancing to knock Shinzaki from the ring, he gets up and starts running for the ropes without even a look at where he would be diving. A double KO finish leads to the rematch in the following month, and my only real technical criticism is that they needed a more hard-hitting or intensive first half to justify it. I'm going to be the last person to criticise guys for overselling, but the cause and effect from first to second half was probably a little out.
Michinoku Pro: March 4th 1994
The opening match was Great Sasuke, Shiryu and Terry Boy vs. Jinsei Shinzaki, Yone Genjin and Gran Naniwa. The first two-thirds of this was a little unstructured and underwhelming. There's some not-the-worst comedy stuff with Genjin, some well-tested sequences between Sasuke and Shinzaki and some other entertaining stuff, but it doesn't really come together all that well. However, after the sort-of hot tag, the last ten minutes really kicks off as it breaks out in a brawl in the crowd. The camera struggles to keep up as there is much flying around (including one point where Sasuke throws a guy into the chairs who I'm fairly sure was not Shinzaki, Genjin and Naniwa) and guys choking other guys and chairs thrown around and it's the sort of chaotic scene I really like. Then, the final stretch of high spots was really exciting, flowing into and out of the ring with very little let-up. I liked the resumption of Terry vs. Shinzaki, leading to some of the best falls. Sasuke and Shiryu finish with stereo somersault topes, after the more familiar dives spot. A pleasing conclusion to an otherwise passable (and pretty long) six-man.
The main event (or match number two or whatever) was Super Delfin vs. SATO in a mask versus hair match. The odd thing about this match is how in control SATO was throughout. It kind of had the slight feel of the 1997 Santo vs. Casas hair versus mask match, because whilst Delfin was nominal rudo, he had significant crowd support, like maybe the fans didn't want to see Delfin lose his mask despite everything else. They shouldn't have been concerned, because a small box featuring a very masked Delfin kept on appearing in the bottom corner of the screen to offer thoughts (maybe on the outcome).
There wasn't as much crazely impressively athletic matwork as in other SATO matches I've seen. Instead, there were quite a long string of nearfalls and Delfin kickouts and submission escapes, which pushed my patience slightly (three powerslams in a row was the peak of this). That said, I thought there was a clever little story here, with Delfin seemingly working the match fairly and being outwrestled, only for him to low blow SATO mid hurricanrana for a cheap victory and a screw-you to the fans he was gaining babyface sympathy from. SATO gets a hair cut as I start to suspect that both this match and the previous mask match were just part of an elaborate makeover program where 1993 masked, long-haired SATO said 'I really want to look like 1996 Dick Togo'.
The main event (or match number two or whatever) was Super Delfin vs. SATO in a mask versus hair match. The odd thing about this match is how in control SATO was throughout. It kind of had the slight feel of the 1997 Santo vs. Casas hair versus mask match, because whilst Delfin was nominal rudo, he had significant crowd support, like maybe the fans didn't want to see Delfin lose his mask despite everything else. They shouldn't have been concerned, because a small box featuring a very masked Delfin kept on appearing in the bottom corner of the screen to offer thoughts (maybe on the outcome).
There wasn't as much crazely impressively athletic matwork as in other SATO matches I've seen. Instead, there were quite a long string of nearfalls and Delfin kickouts and submission escapes, which pushed my patience slightly (three powerslams in a row was the peak of this). That said, I thought there was a clever little story here, with Delfin seemingly working the match fairly and being outwrestled, only for him to low blow SATO mid hurricanrana for a cheap victory and a screw-you to the fans he was gaining babyface sympathy from. SATO gets a hair cut as I start to suspect that both this match and the previous mask match were just part of an elaborate makeover program where 1993 masked, long-haired SATO said 'I really want to look like 1996 Dick Togo'.
Michinoku Pro: February 4th 1994
Show opens with a decent Terry Boy vs. Ricky Fuji match. I've seen Fuji in Super J Cup matches, and never really thought he looked good. In a brawl, however, against a babyface as sympathetic to crowds as Terry Boy, he makes a lot more sense. He does a series of headlocks where he takes advantage of the position and punches Terry in the face. The match is particularly notable for Terry's bladejob, which was pretty impressive. I continue to be impressed with Terry's sense of timing and ability to connect with the crowd during his comebacks.
The main event is a six-man tag between Great Sasuke, SATO and Shiryu vs. Delfin, Shinzaki and Naniwa, and could serve as the best possible introduction to the promotion from this time period. It pretty much has everything from familiar spots and sequences, comedy, an impressive pace and an insight into each guys characters. Right from the start, SATO and Delfin match up which gives the former opportunity to show off his athleticism whilst Delfin bumps, shouts at the audience and mugs when SATO remains unexpectedly in the ring. Sasuke and Shinzaki pair up as their feud continues - I liked Shinzaki's 'where did that come from' face after Sasuke catches him with his spinning kick. There's a hugely impressive series of spots where SATO bests both Naniwa and Delfin (and later, Shinzaki) with a combination of takedowns and moves that uses one man against the others. I particularly liked how this wasn't just mindless technical wonkery - the kind of sequence that just exists to show off how imaginative the perfomers are. Instead, they use to tell a mini story of rudo frustration against a technically superior technico, calmed down by Shinzaki's Zen monk schtick.
They do they increasingly familiar spot where Delfin's accidentally does armbreakers to his team mate. There's also some regular spots I don't like (like the hurricanrana into the middle of sat-down guys), of course. They repeatedly tease dives in the early section, which I quite liked as they only went all out for their trademark dives right at the end, starting with a spectacular Shiryu tope where he goes the wrong side (the right side) of horizontal, followed by SATO's no hand two rope springboard, Delfin's plancha and Sasuke's quebrada. It's not, as is probably indicated by the number of individual spots discussed, the deepest of match stories - there's lots of enjoyable individual exchanges and a general crowd-friendly theme of the technico's one-upping their opponents. As a result, however, it is tremendous fun.
The main event is a six-man tag between Great Sasuke, SATO and Shiryu vs. Delfin, Shinzaki and Naniwa, and could serve as the best possible introduction to the promotion from this time period. It pretty much has everything from familiar spots and sequences, comedy, an impressive pace and an insight into each guys characters. Right from the start, SATO and Delfin match up which gives the former opportunity to show off his athleticism whilst Delfin bumps, shouts at the audience and mugs when SATO remains unexpectedly in the ring. Sasuke and Shinzaki pair up as their feud continues - I liked Shinzaki's 'where did that come from' face after Sasuke catches him with his spinning kick. There's a hugely impressive series of spots where SATO bests both Naniwa and Delfin (and later, Shinzaki) with a combination of takedowns and moves that uses one man against the others. I particularly liked how this wasn't just mindless technical wonkery - the kind of sequence that just exists to show off how imaginative the perfomers are. Instead, they use to tell a mini story of rudo frustration against a technically superior technico, calmed down by Shinzaki's Zen monk schtick.
They do they increasingly familiar spot where Delfin's accidentally does armbreakers to his team mate. There's also some regular spots I don't like (like the hurricanrana into the middle of sat-down guys), of course. They repeatedly tease dives in the early section, which I quite liked as they only went all out for their trademark dives right at the end, starting with a spectacular Shiryu tope where he goes the wrong side (the right side) of horizontal, followed by SATO's no hand two rope springboard, Delfin's plancha and Sasuke's quebrada. It's not, as is probably indicated by the number of individual spots discussed, the deepest of match stories - there's lots of enjoyable individual exchanges and a general crowd-friendly theme of the technico's one-upping their opponents. As a result, however, it is tremendous fun.
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