Friday, December 16, 2005
Yes in fact, we are not dead.
Situations suck indeed.
First of all, I would like to apologize for the rush job I (Steve) did on Episode 2 of Blade Hard. I was burnt out from the end of the week due to some things going on in my life, along with what was a horrible week in professional wrestling. This, combined with editing the show (Which entails me piecing and syncing all three ends of the conversation, because we're poor, folks.) and Hawk's constant complaining about not being paid for his services made for a very tiring week for myself.
And as if you haven't noticed, BH Episode 003 has yet to see the light of day. Unfortunately, it never well, as the master copies of the show were accidently deleted. That's professionalism for you, folks.
And as they say, it always comes in 3's. Blade Hard Wrestling will be delayed a couple of days. Due to family coming in from out of town (For both Hawk and myself), we will not be able to tape the show on Friday like we normally do. At the moment, we're aiming to tape the show on Saturday, but at this time, it isn't definite.
If it's any consolation to you BH die-hards (Hi Mom~!), we are planning on taping an End-of Year In-Review, talking about the biggest stories of the year. I'd like to extend the show to two hours, instead of our usual 45-60 minutes... But when I realize that I'm the one who has to piece the god damned abomination together, I almost want to cut the show down to a 30 second bumper... Couldn't be any worse.
In addition, I'd like to do more things with the blog itself, in the form of tape/match/show reviews.
In any case, I kindly thank all three of our listeners for their patience.
- Steve
First of all, I would like to apologize for the rush job I (Steve) did on Episode 2 of Blade Hard. I was burnt out from the end of the week due to some things going on in my life, along with what was a horrible week in professional wrestling. This, combined with editing the show (Which entails me piecing and syncing all three ends of the conversation, because we're poor, folks.) and Hawk's constant complaining about not being paid for his services made for a very tiring week for myself.
And as if you haven't noticed, BH Episode 003 has yet to see the light of day. Unfortunately, it never well, as the master copies of the show were accidently deleted. That's professionalism for you, folks.
And as they say, it always comes in 3's. Blade Hard Wrestling will be delayed a couple of days. Due to family coming in from out of town (For both Hawk and myself), we will not be able to tape the show on Friday like we normally do. At the moment, we're aiming to tape the show on Saturday, but at this time, it isn't definite.
If it's any consolation to you BH die-hards (Hi Mom~!), we are planning on taping an End-of Year In-Review, talking about the biggest stories of the year. I'd like to extend the show to two hours, instead of our usual 45-60 minutes... But when I realize that I'm the one who has to piece the god damned abomination together, I almost want to cut the show down to a 30 second bumper... Couldn't be any worse.
In addition, I'd like to do more things with the blog itself, in the form of tape/match/show reviews.
In any case, I kindly thank all three of our listeners for their patience.
- Steve
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Blade Hard - Episode 002
Alternate links and show notes tomorrow.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BladeHard
Download the show directly from there.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BladeHard
Download the show directly from there.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Blade Hard - Episode 001
Blade Hard - Episode 001
November 25, 2005
Hosted by Steve Cash, Chris "Hawk" Godwin, & Shawn "RK" Faatz
Run Time: 41:50
File Size: 19.1MB
- Jesus, not ANOTHER wrestling Podcast!
- Don't call Hawk Chris.
- TNA draws 0.6 for last week's iMPACT. Is it the beginning of the end?
- Who's to blame? Lance Hoyt's punches?
- RK wants people to give them a chance.
- Why the hell isn't Samoa Joe NWA Champion yet?
- Do fans watch TNA for the Heavyweights?
- WWE Survivor Series is in two days.
- Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long! YES!
- RAW vs. SD! Elimination Match should be good. Keyword being "should."
- Is Flair vs. Triple H for the IC title? Hawk thinks so.
- We liked Melina vs. Christy.
- We also liked the Boogey Man.
- Is it worth $35.00?
- We need to stop pimping TNA and bashing WWE.
- RK says something about watching a donkey kick something in the head...
- Hawk says Angle's walking out as champion.
- Should they turn Cena heel?
- WWE institutes new drug policy. Will the next WWE Champion weigh under 230lbs?
- The policy gets a surround thumbs up from us.
- Is Vince serious?
- Hawk says Vince has to answer to his share holders.
- Steve says "Cena" should have retired after facing Brock at Wrestlemania 19... I think he meant
Kurt Angle.
- Randy Orton vs. Undertaker = Armegeddon Main Event?
- How do you kill The Undertaker? Certainly not by setting him on fire.
- Hawk wants to see the return of Biker 'Taker.
- Sting DVD in the works?
- Hawk thinks it may not pan out.
- Vince will never bring back War Games.
- Or will he?
- Ahh, MMA talk. This is the portion of the show where RK raids his 'fridge.
- PRIDE Man Festival III - Enter the Judo
- RK will be drunk on NYE.
- Hawk can't pronounce Japanese names.
- Steve can't pronounce "Sanae".
- Hawk says Yoshida and Ogawa will be a grappling classic.
- Steve DID NOT say it would be a work.
- We'll be talking about the K-1 Dynamite! show next week.
- ...If they announce some matches.
- Will Gomi vs. Sakurai do well against Kid vs. Sudo?
- Tito's back. Shamrock too. Oh, and that BJ Penn dude.
- Steve likes Tito and Ken as TUF3 coaches.
- Hawk worries that they'll overshadow the actual fights.
- Will Ken and Tito appeal to the casual fans?
- Third team coached by Dan Severn!? Probably not.
- Screw the teams. Let's just watch Tito, Ken and Dana White go round-for-round.
- BJ Penn kicked Matt Hughes ass. Impressed?
- BJ Penn only adds to what is turning into an incredible Welterweight division.
- Hawk reacts to seeing Nate Quarry getting knocked out.
- We do not condune illegal piracy.
- Hawk does, apparently.
- Please don't sue us.
- This show cost $0 to produce. Please remember, you get what you pay for.
- RK wants a kickback from Google.
- RIP Nate Quarry. Although Hawk thinks he'll be back.
- Steve would be lost without his precious notes.
- It's at this point the show falls apart.
- E-mail us at BladeHardShow@gmail.com
- Hawk violates the show's strict "No Pet Policy".
- This was one of Hawk's GOOD weeks.
- Radio or Podcast? You decide.
November 25, 2005
Hosted by Steve Cash, Chris "Hawk" Godwin, & Shawn "RK" Faatz
Run Time: 41:50
File Size: 19.1MB
LINKS:(Due to OurMedia/Archive.org never putting up our file, I've decided to simply do away with them for the moment. For now, we'll supply three links from YouSendIt.com. Copy the URL and remove the two X's at the beginning before pasting.)
YouSendIt.com Link #1 (Remove X's at beginning)
YouSendIt.com Link #2 (Remove X's at beginning)
YouSendIt.com Link #3 (Remove X's at beginning)
- Jesus, not ANOTHER wrestling Podcast!
- Don't call Hawk Chris.
- TNA draws 0.6 for last week's iMPACT. Is it the beginning of the end?
- Who's to blame? Lance Hoyt's punches?
- RK wants people to give them a chance.
- Why the hell isn't Samoa Joe NWA Champion yet?
- Do fans watch TNA for the Heavyweights?
- WWE Survivor Series is in two days.
- Eric Bischoff vs. Teddy Long! YES!
- RAW vs. SD! Elimination Match should be good. Keyword being "should."
- Is Flair vs. Triple H for the IC title? Hawk thinks so.
- We liked Melina vs. Christy.
- We also liked the Boogey Man.
- Is it worth $35.00?
- We need to stop pimping TNA and bashing WWE.
- RK says something about watching a donkey kick something in the head...
- Hawk says Angle's walking out as champion.
- Should they turn Cena heel?
- WWE institutes new drug policy. Will the next WWE Champion weigh under 230lbs?
- The policy gets a surround thumbs up from us.
- Is Vince serious?
- Hawk says Vince has to answer to his share holders.
- Steve says "Cena" should have retired after facing Brock at Wrestlemania 19... I think he meant
Kurt Angle.
- Randy Orton vs. Undertaker = Armegeddon Main Event?
- How do you kill The Undertaker? Certainly not by setting him on fire.
- Hawk wants to see the return of Biker 'Taker.
- Sting DVD in the works?
- Hawk thinks it may not pan out.
- Vince will never bring back War Games.
- Or will he?
- Ahh, MMA talk. This is the portion of the show where RK raids his 'fridge.
- PRIDE Man Festival III - Enter the Judo
- RK will be drunk on NYE.
- Hawk can't pronounce Japanese names.
- Steve can't pronounce "Sanae".
- Hawk says Yoshida and Ogawa will be a grappling classic.
- Steve DID NOT say it would be a work.
- We'll be talking about the K-1 Dynamite! show next week.
- ...If they announce some matches.
- Will Gomi vs. Sakurai do well against Kid vs. Sudo?
- Tito's back. Shamrock too. Oh, and that BJ Penn dude.
- Steve likes Tito and Ken as TUF3 coaches.
- Hawk worries that they'll overshadow the actual fights.
- Will Ken and Tito appeal to the casual fans?
- Third team coached by Dan Severn!? Probably not.
- Screw the teams. Let's just watch Tito, Ken and Dana White go round-for-round.
- BJ Penn kicked Matt Hughes ass. Impressed?
- BJ Penn only adds to what is turning into an incredible Welterweight division.
- Hawk reacts to seeing Nate Quarry getting knocked out.
- We do not condune illegal piracy.
- Hawk does, apparently.
- Please don't sue us.
- This show cost $0 to produce. Please remember, you get what you pay for.
- RK wants a kickback from Google.
- RIP Nate Quarry. Although Hawk thinks he'll be back.
- Steve would be lost without his precious notes.
- It's at this point the show falls apart.
- E-mail us at BladeHardShow@gmail.com
- Hawk violates the show's strict "No Pet Policy".
- This was one of Hawk's GOOD weeks.
- Radio or Podcast? You decide.
Credit for the intro music goes to Koichi Hayakawa and Mr. Nasty. Please visit both at their appropriate locations and check out their fine work.
Also would like to thank OurMedia/Archive.org for hosting our file, along with Switchpod. Maybe one of these days we will actually put some money into this thing.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
King Hawkius Maximus presents: The SmackDown BreakDown
I am, of course, named Hawk. I have a history of writing wrestling recaps, and tape reviews along with OP pieces. This is my first recap in ages, and my first ever attempt at doing a 100% live show review. Steve, Sean & Myself formed this blog to have a place to vent our frustrations and thoughts on wrestling. Just so happened that the show I volunteered to cover went down today. I'm doing this REAL time, so it isn't going to be ultra detailed....Well, depends on my mood. I can only do so much at one time, I am only one man. Every week I plan on doing Smackdown, along with whatever opinion pieces come from my frazzled brain.
Segment #1:
We're opening with Teddy Long in the ring commenting on John Cena, which we could have probably guessed just from what happened on Raw. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that was easily the biggest moment I can remember in the last three years. Not only did they sell it like it was a major deal, but the crowd reacted as if it was the second coming of Christ himself. We come back from the recap to Long commenting on the lack of champion, only to be interrupted by *GOD HIMSELF* JBL. Bradshaw is easily the single most improved wrestler today in the last twelve months. Listening to JBL is like being taken back twenty years to the heyday of awesome old school promos. Without even hearing his full rant, it's pretty simple to see that JBL is petitioning for himself to be the new world champion…which means his promos rule. He doesn't need fifty minutes to get to HIS points…ANNND of course Teddy shoots him down because they need to send Hunter or Batista to SD to give them a champion of course. After all this promo, the first draft pick for SD is...CHRIS BENOIT? Interesting. To say this is a surprise to me would be an understatement. Hunter has always claimed Benoit was his Steamboat. This, of course, means Hunter is going to SD! Why do they still give Benoit a microphone? Anyone know? He's only good when he's doing a ranting promo on his sacrifices as a wrestler. Any other type of promo with him just doesn't work at all. When he's doing any kind of cocky or crowd pleasing promo, it just…falls flat. Bradshaw: "It's like Wolfgang Puck bragging about working at Jack-In-The-Box", as if I needed to show an EXAMPLE of why JBL rules, there you go. At the end of this long promo, Benoit of course challenges JBL to a match whiiich as we can all guess, Long agrees with giving us our main event, Chris Benoit v.s. JBL, which should be a VERY good, stiff match. JBL goes for the cheap shot like a good heel should, but eats a german suplex, then flees the ring to avoid the crossface.
Then we get a recap of the WORST ANGLE IN SD HISTORY, Another Booker v.s. Angle match, which is what we ALLL wanted.
Commercials, and I go eat some food!
Segment #2:
I'm back, and apparently we have a singles…or tag match with Carlito involved. Looks like Carlito v.s. Charlie Haas. I'd ask why we're having this match, but does it really matter in the long run? Match opens up by Carlito kicking, then head locking Haas only to have Haas reverse and go on to offense with arm drags and an arm breaker. Haas continues to work over the arm with shoulder throw into turnbuckle, followed by a shoulder breaker. If this were the 80's, Haas would be way higher up the food chain then he currently is. Haas goes to ram Carlito's arm into the buckle again, but this time Carlito throws him into the ring and takes over control. Carlito doesn't hit much of note before locking on a front neck lock, but then eats a dropkick from Haas, who then stinger splashes Carlito and becomes the face on firah. Haas hits the usual moves before eating a eye poke. Haas goes all insane with screaming… HAAS DIED. Haas tried for a tope on Morgan, but SPEARED HIMSELF ON THE FLOOR. They go through a rollup sequence, which Carlito wins by grabbing the tights. Holly attacks, but Morgan comes in and murders both of them, including Haas eating a F-5.
After this we go into a ECW recap from Raw…I could care less, and eat my dinner. We all win. I will say this, "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" being the ECW PPV theme sucks since I hate that song, and if I hate it then I know everyone else does.
Commercials, I eat, everything rules. I do wanna ask this, has UPN ever produced a good show? Ever?
Segment #3:
We're back…with Heidenreich and Chris Benoit? That…was odd. I think he dedicated a poem to Benoit. Now we got Heel Eddie interacting with Benoit. Eddie's mock sincerity between the two rules. Oooh snap. Benoit mentioned Rey to Eddie, which of course Eddie hates…BALRGSGANGLE. This is going to SUCK. Yep, I went and blew my nose. That was more entertaining. Are they trying to end Angle's career? I mean…what is the point supposed to be? I…just don't understand. After all that, it's the end of the segment.
Commercials, and I still can't figure out the POINT of that feud. Have either man gained anything from this Sharmell feud. No, so why continue it?
Segment #4:
TASSELDON~! …That's my nickname for the Cruiserweight champion Paul London. He has tassels, and his name ends with don…just forget it. He's taking on Akio for what I think is the sixth time in singles competition. Akio freaking rules, as does London so they never cease to have a bitching match. Akio & London trade moves, including London busting out the M Bison, only to have Eddie Guerrero's theme to hit, distracting London allowing Akio to take over. Can't say Eddie ruining a potentially great match is any fun. London dropkicks Akio into Eddie…and Akio died, but London attacks…and he gets tossed, only to get back into the ring and attacking Eddie again. He gets tossed again, but then comes back to get the shit stomped out of himself, and tossed *AGAIN*. That time London splattered onto the floor, he's likely not coming back this time. Fun note, every time Eddie makes a serious point, he spits. Check that out if you've never noticed. I wish Eddie would tone down his voice a few levels so it's not like gravel…minor note, but still. Eddie's point basically was he's going to finish the job he promised to finish on Rey.
…and we're back to Angle & Booker for another short recap. Worst feud ever. I swear to god.
Commercials. Not a bad promo by Eddie, but them ruining London v.s. Akio sucks. We're almost an hour into this show with one match that had a crappy finish in Carlito/Haas.
Segment #5:
Once again, we are back and we are graced by Kurt Angle, who continues his rant on Taz(z) about the ECW show. Angle gives Tazz an ultimatum about answering him on where he stands, which Tazz just smirks at. Booker T makes his entrance, and we are getting ready to see the match no one wants to see anymore. While these two can have good matches, the storyline robs them of a lot of their ability. They lock up and Booker backs Angle into the corner, they separate and circle. They lock up again but Angle snaps it off with a headlock. Angle takes over with an armbar that he turns into a Fujiwara Armbar. This being WWE though, Booker just stands up from it, backs Angle into the ropes, and gets the break. Booker whips Angle into the ropes and lariats him down, then chops him in the corner. The problem with this match is already apparent. Booker should be FURIOUS but instead he's pretty much just wrestling the same match as always. Booker drapes Angle over the top rope and then gives him an Axe Kick on the apron. Logically…that should be a match ender. Angle comes back with brilliant use of a right hand, and works Booker over with European Uppercuts. Booker runs into the buckle, but Angle moves and Booker hits the buckle. They then just start trading shots for lack of anything better to do, which lets Booker take over, hitting a Harlem sidekick. Their showing Sharmell WAY too much for her to not be involved in this finish tonight, Booker once again eats the buckle and then eats a German from Angle leaving both men down. Both get up, but Angle takes over with a boot and then knee lift. Now Angle's working over the midsection for no apparent reason, with a couple stomps and a backbreaker. Angle beats him down some more before draping him over the ropes with a choke. Angle picks him up and hits a back suplex for a 2.5, then locks on his body scissors rest hold. I honestly can't STAND Angle's use of that hold, it's easily one of the most blatant "We need to fill some time." holds I've ever seen.. Booker fights to his feet, elbows out of Angle's waist grip only to eat an overhead belly to belly from Angle. Angle motions him up, but Booker backdrops him over the top rope as we go to the commercial.
Commercial. Really, this match hasn't been that good at this point. I can smell the bad ending a mile away, that or it's the stink of a swerve. Booker isn't putting over his rage at all, nor are they using any psychology at all. It's just a lot of punches, kicks, and small moves. WWE style at its best, or worst depending on your outlook of the style.
Segment #6:
We're back with Angle controlling the match using a back grip, but Booker quickly counters out with a jaw breaker. They trade again, which Booker wins starting the usual face heat-up series that we all know. Booker motions for Angle to get up, but they fuck up the Axe Kick by Angle being out of position. Angle goes for a Angle Slam, but Booker falls out of it and hits the Book End for 2.9. Once again they fuck up as Booker goes for a Harlem Sidekick, but they get out of position and they awkwardly hit a German suplex. The second is reversed into a rollup for Booker, but within a few seconds Angle hits the Angle Slam for a near count. Angle drops the straps and locks on the ankle lock, Booker counters and throws Angle into the corner then hits a spine buster when Angle charges him. Booker executes the Spinarooni, hitting a rolling savate kick into the Axe Kick. He covers Angle, but Angle kicks out at 2.9. Angle picks the ankle, catching the Ankle Lock on Booker. Sharmell gets in front of Booker and cheers him on, Angle pulls him back to the center of the ring. Booker crawls back to the ropes and grabs a hold of the bottom rope. Angle hooks it on again, but Booker throws him off, and of course we have a ref bump and Angle goes for Sharmell. Angle throws Chimel across the floor, and grabs a chair, hitting Booker in the ankle with it. Angle goes for a shot…but bounces the chair off the ropes and KO's himself. That spot RULES. Booker pulls himself up and hits the Axe kick, covering for the three count. Color me surprised. Angle throws a hissy fit post match, including punching a chair.
We get more hype for Benoit/JBL, along with another ECW video package set to "Let the Bodies hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool.
Commerials. Like I said, color me surprised. I thought I saw a screwy finish coming. I guess you could say I was half right, since Angle wouldn't have lost had he not KO'd himself with a chair, but does that really count? I don't think so. Pretty decent match, about **1/4 maybe, nothing that sets the world on fire or anything.
Segment #7:
We come back with Angle still sitting in the ring upset. This leads to a recap of Angle hitting Booker with the chair, and then KO'd himself off the top ring rope. Sharmell is the worst actor in the promotion right now. Angle leaves the ring, and slowly walks over grabbing a chair and a microphone then once again goes over to Tazz. He demands an answer from Tazz about where he stands on the ECW show. Tazz stands up, giving Angle the "You're a dead man" look. Angle again demands the right answer or else…or else he'd sit down next to Tazz until he does. Uh…kay. Tazz just stares at Angle with a half confused/half pissed expression. Angle says he'll leave Tazz without giving an answer. Tazz turns away, and Angle just WALLOPS him in the head with the mic, and then blasts him with the chair. You could almost hear Tazz go "GFLARGLE!" when he got smacked. Michael Cole getting protective and angry over Tazz being beaten down is funny though, I will say that. Random fan: "WHIP HIS ASS TAZZ, COMMON!". Tazz be bleeding, and he slowly gets up with some help, rips away from them…and face plants onto the floor. Officials help Tazz up again, and carry him to the back as we go to…
Commercials. Pretty good little segment there. I think everyone knows Tazz is going to run down at some point in the show, and proceed to destroy Angle and probably all of the other "invaders" at the ECW show.
Segment #8:
Back we are with a recap of the beating Angle just gave Tazz. Michael Cole is RANTING about it too. We go from that to HEIDENREICH~! It's impossible to sum up what I like about this guy. Between the poems, the hand pumping in tune to the music, and the simplistic nature of how they've gotten him over as a face is just genius. He's taking on some wrestler named "Rory Fox"…HEIDENREICH JUST KIDNAPPED A WOMAN! …but Heidenreich gets jumped before the chick can get into the ring. Heidenreich screaming out "WHOSE MY FRIEND?!?!" after beating the crap out of someone is GOLD. …In the time it took me to write that line, it was over. …He's also winded from it. Poem time~!...Honestly, I never listen to his poems...that chick's HOT. I'm just ranting at this point.
Of course, we have to ruin the mood and recap Batista/Hunter's contract signing. I really don't mind the feud, but Hunter v.s. Whoever is getting old so hard. Less said about this boring thing the better.
We go back into the ring with Tony Chimel announcing Paul Heyman being guest announcer for the main event…along with the ECW army, which are Dreamer, Rhyno, The Dudley's and The Sandman this time around.
Commercials. That was a fun segment. Nothing terribly important, but fun none the less. The main event tonight could end up being one of the better ones in recent memory. JBL & Benoit should be able to have a really good brawling match.
Segment #9:
We're back with the ECW army protecting Heyman around the commentator's booth as Chris Benoit makes his way to the ring. The ECW group applauds Benoit, but there doesn't seem to be the same reaction for JBL, who is accompanied by Orlando Jordan, the US champion(A fact many forget!). JBL sends Orlando to the back, likely to go get the rest of JBL's group. Which proves to be correct as the Bashams run down, giving us gang warfare~! They lock up, with JBL pushing him into the corner, socks him in the chest but then eats two VICIOUS chops. They lock up again, with Benoit pushing him into the corner, taking over with rights and chops. Benoit rams him into the buckle, and continues the assault, but JBL reverses a whip into the opposite turnbuckles. They start to hammer each other with some VICIOUS shots. Benoit tries a corner charge, eats a boot, then gets taken down with a shoulder tackle from JBL. JBL goes for a suplex, but Benoit blocks it and snaps suplexs JBL over. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but JBL fights it off not once, but twice. Benoit continues his control with more chops, but JBL takes his face off with a big boot. JBL picks up Benoit, setting up for a Powerbomb, but Benoit trips him and hooks on the Sharpshooter. The Cabinet climbs to the apron, but Benoit knocks them off. Benoit gets the sharpshooter again, but this time Orlando distracts him. Benoit turns his attention and gets blindsided as Carlito & Matt Morgan walk to the ring.
Commercials. Good match so far. It's going to be overbooked as all hell, but it'll still be fun. These two are just BLASTING each other with shots. None of their punches look weak, nor their chops flimsy. Benoit & JBL are stiffing each other hard at times, which makes me happy.
Segment #10:
Annd we're back with JBL choking the crap out of Benoit on the bottom rope. JBL tries to pick up Benoit, but he wrenches away from him. Benoit gets up in the corner allowing JBL to tee off on Benoit. JBL whips him into the turnbuckle, and Benoit bounces off in the Hart style we all love. JBL covers but Benoit kicks out at two. The ECW army cheers on Benoit as JBL tries a Back suplex, which Benoit flips over into a pinfall. Benoit runs into the ropes, but JBL catches him with a sleeper hold. Benoit's hand drops once before he fights out of the sleeper hold with a Back suplex. Both men do the double KO off the suplex, and both get up at a count of eight, and then they trade in the middle of the ring. Benoit whips JBL into the ropes and catches him with a axe handle. He then snap suplexes him, then into the rolling Germans. JBL signals for a time out right before getting suplexed for the third time. Benoit signals for the Diving Headbutt, but out comes Kurt Angle. Benoit scores the Diving Headbutt and covers JBL getting a 2.9. Benoit catches JBL with the Crippler Crossface…AND ALL HELL HATH WENTDOWN. Angle broke up the pin and everyone attacked everyone. JBL eats a Gore. Carlito eats a DVD from Dreamer. Doug Basham eats a cane shot from Sandman and here comes Tazz and more ECW guys. Tazz gets the Tazzmission on Danny Basham. Axl Rotten hits Matt Morgan with a chair into a shot from Balls Mahoney. 3-D on Orlando! The Smackdown guys run off as the ECW army stands tall in the ring.
Final Summary: This was my first show recap in years, and it proved to be somewhat hard, while at the same time enjoyable. The main event was *** easy for me, even with the screwy finish. The only problem I have with this is on both shows now ECW has stood high against their enemies…WWE logic dictates that they won't be at the PPV.
Segment #1:
We're opening with Teddy Long in the ring commenting on John Cena, which we could have probably guessed just from what happened on Raw. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that was easily the biggest moment I can remember in the last three years. Not only did they sell it like it was a major deal, but the crowd reacted as if it was the second coming of Christ himself. We come back from the recap to Long commenting on the lack of champion, only to be interrupted by *GOD HIMSELF* JBL. Bradshaw is easily the single most improved wrestler today in the last twelve months. Listening to JBL is like being taken back twenty years to the heyday of awesome old school promos. Without even hearing his full rant, it's pretty simple to see that JBL is petitioning for himself to be the new world champion…which means his promos rule. He doesn't need fifty minutes to get to HIS points…ANNND of course Teddy shoots him down because they need to send Hunter or Batista to SD to give them a champion of course. After all this promo, the first draft pick for SD is...CHRIS BENOIT? Interesting. To say this is a surprise to me would be an understatement. Hunter has always claimed Benoit was his Steamboat. This, of course, means Hunter is going to SD! Why do they still give Benoit a microphone? Anyone know? He's only good when he's doing a ranting promo on his sacrifices as a wrestler. Any other type of promo with him just doesn't work at all. When he's doing any kind of cocky or crowd pleasing promo, it just…falls flat. Bradshaw: "It's like Wolfgang Puck bragging about working at Jack-In-The-Box", as if I needed to show an EXAMPLE of why JBL rules, there you go. At the end of this long promo, Benoit of course challenges JBL to a match whiiich as we can all guess, Long agrees with giving us our main event, Chris Benoit v.s. JBL, which should be a VERY good, stiff match. JBL goes for the cheap shot like a good heel should, but eats a german suplex, then flees the ring to avoid the crossface.
Then we get a recap of the WORST ANGLE IN SD HISTORY, Another Booker v.s. Angle match, which is what we ALLL wanted.
Commercials, and I go eat some food!
Segment #2:
I'm back, and apparently we have a singles…or tag match with Carlito involved. Looks like Carlito v.s. Charlie Haas. I'd ask why we're having this match, but does it really matter in the long run? Match opens up by Carlito kicking, then head locking Haas only to have Haas reverse and go on to offense with arm drags and an arm breaker. Haas continues to work over the arm with shoulder throw into turnbuckle, followed by a shoulder breaker. If this were the 80's, Haas would be way higher up the food chain then he currently is. Haas goes to ram Carlito's arm into the buckle again, but this time Carlito throws him into the ring and takes over control. Carlito doesn't hit much of note before locking on a front neck lock, but then eats a dropkick from Haas, who then stinger splashes Carlito and becomes the face on firah. Haas hits the usual moves before eating a eye poke. Haas goes all insane with screaming… HAAS DIED. Haas tried for a tope on Morgan, but SPEARED HIMSELF ON THE FLOOR. They go through a rollup sequence, which Carlito wins by grabbing the tights. Holly attacks, but Morgan comes in and murders both of them, including Haas eating a F-5.
After this we go into a ECW recap from Raw…I could care less, and eat my dinner. We all win. I will say this, "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" being the ECW PPV theme sucks since I hate that song, and if I hate it then I know everyone else does.
Commercials, I eat, everything rules. I do wanna ask this, has UPN ever produced a good show? Ever?
Segment #3:
We're back…with Heidenreich and Chris Benoit? That…was odd. I think he dedicated a poem to Benoit. Now we got Heel Eddie interacting with Benoit. Eddie's mock sincerity between the two rules. Oooh snap. Benoit mentioned Rey to Eddie, which of course Eddie hates…BALRGSGANGLE. This is going to SUCK. Yep, I went and blew my nose. That was more entertaining. Are they trying to end Angle's career? I mean…what is the point supposed to be? I…just don't understand. After all that, it's the end of the segment.
Commercials, and I still can't figure out the POINT of that feud. Have either man gained anything from this Sharmell feud. No, so why continue it?
Segment #4:
TASSELDON~! …That's my nickname for the Cruiserweight champion Paul London. He has tassels, and his name ends with don…just forget it. He's taking on Akio for what I think is the sixth time in singles competition. Akio freaking rules, as does London so they never cease to have a bitching match. Akio & London trade moves, including London busting out the M Bison, only to have Eddie Guerrero's theme to hit, distracting London allowing Akio to take over. Can't say Eddie ruining a potentially great match is any fun. London dropkicks Akio into Eddie…and Akio died, but London attacks…and he gets tossed, only to get back into the ring and attacking Eddie again. He gets tossed again, but then comes back to get the shit stomped out of himself, and tossed *AGAIN*. That time London splattered onto the floor, he's likely not coming back this time. Fun note, every time Eddie makes a serious point, he spits. Check that out if you've never noticed. I wish Eddie would tone down his voice a few levels so it's not like gravel…minor note, but still. Eddie's point basically was he's going to finish the job he promised to finish on Rey.
…and we're back to Angle & Booker for another short recap. Worst feud ever. I swear to god.
Commercials. Not a bad promo by Eddie, but them ruining London v.s. Akio sucks. We're almost an hour into this show with one match that had a crappy finish in Carlito/Haas.
Segment #5:
Once again, we are back and we are graced by Kurt Angle, who continues his rant on Taz(z) about the ECW show. Angle gives Tazz an ultimatum about answering him on where he stands, which Tazz just smirks at. Booker T makes his entrance, and we are getting ready to see the match no one wants to see anymore. While these two can have good matches, the storyline robs them of a lot of their ability. They lock up and Booker backs Angle into the corner, they separate and circle. They lock up again but Angle snaps it off with a headlock. Angle takes over with an armbar that he turns into a Fujiwara Armbar. This being WWE though, Booker just stands up from it, backs Angle into the ropes, and gets the break. Booker whips Angle into the ropes and lariats him down, then chops him in the corner. The problem with this match is already apparent. Booker should be FURIOUS but instead he's pretty much just wrestling the same match as always. Booker drapes Angle over the top rope and then gives him an Axe Kick on the apron. Logically…that should be a match ender. Angle comes back with brilliant use of a right hand, and works Booker over with European Uppercuts. Booker runs into the buckle, but Angle moves and Booker hits the buckle. They then just start trading shots for lack of anything better to do, which lets Booker take over, hitting a Harlem sidekick. Their showing Sharmell WAY too much for her to not be involved in this finish tonight, Booker once again eats the buckle and then eats a German from Angle leaving both men down. Both get up, but Angle takes over with a boot and then knee lift. Now Angle's working over the midsection for no apparent reason, with a couple stomps and a backbreaker. Angle beats him down some more before draping him over the ropes with a choke. Angle picks him up and hits a back suplex for a 2.5, then locks on his body scissors rest hold. I honestly can't STAND Angle's use of that hold, it's easily one of the most blatant "We need to fill some time." holds I've ever seen.. Booker fights to his feet, elbows out of Angle's waist grip only to eat an overhead belly to belly from Angle. Angle motions him up, but Booker backdrops him over the top rope as we go to the commercial.
Commercial. Really, this match hasn't been that good at this point. I can smell the bad ending a mile away, that or it's the stink of a swerve. Booker isn't putting over his rage at all, nor are they using any psychology at all. It's just a lot of punches, kicks, and small moves. WWE style at its best, or worst depending on your outlook of the style.
Segment #6:
We're back with Angle controlling the match using a back grip, but Booker quickly counters out with a jaw breaker. They trade again, which Booker wins starting the usual face heat-up series that we all know. Booker motions for Angle to get up, but they fuck up the Axe Kick by Angle being out of position. Angle goes for a Angle Slam, but Booker falls out of it and hits the Book End for 2.9. Once again they fuck up as Booker goes for a Harlem Sidekick, but they get out of position and they awkwardly hit a German suplex. The second is reversed into a rollup for Booker, but within a few seconds Angle hits the Angle Slam for a near count. Angle drops the straps and locks on the ankle lock, Booker counters and throws Angle into the corner then hits a spine buster when Angle charges him. Booker executes the Spinarooni, hitting a rolling savate kick into the Axe Kick. He covers Angle, but Angle kicks out at 2.9. Angle picks the ankle, catching the Ankle Lock on Booker. Sharmell gets in front of Booker and cheers him on, Angle pulls him back to the center of the ring. Booker crawls back to the ropes and grabs a hold of the bottom rope. Angle hooks it on again, but Booker throws him off, and of course we have a ref bump and Angle goes for Sharmell. Angle throws Chimel across the floor, and grabs a chair, hitting Booker in the ankle with it. Angle goes for a shot…but bounces the chair off the ropes and KO's himself. That spot RULES. Booker pulls himself up and hits the Axe kick, covering for the three count. Color me surprised. Angle throws a hissy fit post match, including punching a chair.
We get more hype for Benoit/JBL, along with another ECW video package set to "Let the Bodies hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool.
Commerials. Like I said, color me surprised. I thought I saw a screwy finish coming. I guess you could say I was half right, since Angle wouldn't have lost had he not KO'd himself with a chair, but does that really count? I don't think so. Pretty decent match, about **1/4 maybe, nothing that sets the world on fire or anything.
Segment #7:
We come back with Angle still sitting in the ring upset. This leads to a recap of Angle hitting Booker with the chair, and then KO'd himself off the top ring rope. Sharmell is the worst actor in the promotion right now. Angle leaves the ring, and slowly walks over grabbing a chair and a microphone then once again goes over to Tazz. He demands an answer from Tazz about where he stands on the ECW show. Tazz stands up, giving Angle the "You're a dead man" look. Angle again demands the right answer or else…or else he'd sit down next to Tazz until he does. Uh…kay. Tazz just stares at Angle with a half confused/half pissed expression. Angle says he'll leave Tazz without giving an answer. Tazz turns away, and Angle just WALLOPS him in the head with the mic, and then blasts him with the chair. You could almost hear Tazz go "GFLARGLE!" when he got smacked. Michael Cole getting protective and angry over Tazz being beaten down is funny though, I will say that. Random fan: "WHIP HIS ASS TAZZ, COMMON!". Tazz be bleeding, and he slowly gets up with some help, rips away from them…and face plants onto the floor. Officials help Tazz up again, and carry him to the back as we go to…
Commercials. Pretty good little segment there. I think everyone knows Tazz is going to run down at some point in the show, and proceed to destroy Angle and probably all of the other "invaders" at the ECW show.
Segment #8:
Back we are with a recap of the beating Angle just gave Tazz. Michael Cole is RANTING about it too. We go from that to HEIDENREICH~! It's impossible to sum up what I like about this guy. Between the poems, the hand pumping in tune to the music, and the simplistic nature of how they've gotten him over as a face is just genius. He's taking on some wrestler named "Rory Fox"…HEIDENREICH JUST KIDNAPPED A WOMAN! …but Heidenreich gets jumped before the chick can get into the ring. Heidenreich screaming out "WHOSE MY FRIEND?!?!" after beating the crap out of someone is GOLD. …In the time it took me to write that line, it was over. …He's also winded from it. Poem time~!...Honestly, I never listen to his poems...that chick's HOT. I'm just ranting at this point.
Of course, we have to ruin the mood and recap Batista/Hunter's contract signing. I really don't mind the feud, but Hunter v.s. Whoever is getting old so hard. Less said about this boring thing the better.
We go back into the ring with Tony Chimel announcing Paul Heyman being guest announcer for the main event…along with the ECW army, which are Dreamer, Rhyno, The Dudley's and The Sandman this time around.
Commercials. That was a fun segment. Nothing terribly important, but fun none the less. The main event tonight could end up being one of the better ones in recent memory. JBL & Benoit should be able to have a really good brawling match.
Segment #9:
We're back with the ECW army protecting Heyman around the commentator's booth as Chris Benoit makes his way to the ring. The ECW group applauds Benoit, but there doesn't seem to be the same reaction for JBL, who is accompanied by Orlando Jordan, the US champion(A fact many forget!). JBL sends Orlando to the back, likely to go get the rest of JBL's group. Which proves to be correct as the Bashams run down, giving us gang warfare~! They lock up, with JBL pushing him into the corner, socks him in the chest but then eats two VICIOUS chops. They lock up again, with Benoit pushing him into the corner, taking over with rights and chops. Benoit rams him into the buckle, and continues the assault, but JBL reverses a whip into the opposite turnbuckles. They start to hammer each other with some VICIOUS shots. Benoit tries a corner charge, eats a boot, then gets taken down with a shoulder tackle from JBL. JBL goes for a suplex, but Benoit blocks it and snaps suplexs JBL over. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but JBL fights it off not once, but twice. Benoit continues his control with more chops, but JBL takes his face off with a big boot. JBL picks up Benoit, setting up for a Powerbomb, but Benoit trips him and hooks on the Sharpshooter. The Cabinet climbs to the apron, but Benoit knocks them off. Benoit gets the sharpshooter again, but this time Orlando distracts him. Benoit turns his attention and gets blindsided as Carlito & Matt Morgan walk to the ring.
Commercials. Good match so far. It's going to be overbooked as all hell, but it'll still be fun. These two are just BLASTING each other with shots. None of their punches look weak, nor their chops flimsy. Benoit & JBL are stiffing each other hard at times, which makes me happy.
Segment #10:
Annd we're back with JBL choking the crap out of Benoit on the bottom rope. JBL tries to pick up Benoit, but he wrenches away from him. Benoit gets up in the corner allowing JBL to tee off on Benoit. JBL whips him into the turnbuckle, and Benoit bounces off in the Hart style we all love. JBL covers but Benoit kicks out at two. The ECW army cheers on Benoit as JBL tries a Back suplex, which Benoit flips over into a pinfall. Benoit runs into the ropes, but JBL catches him with a sleeper hold. Benoit's hand drops once before he fights out of the sleeper hold with a Back suplex. Both men do the double KO off the suplex, and both get up at a count of eight, and then they trade in the middle of the ring. Benoit whips JBL into the ropes and catches him with a axe handle. He then snap suplexes him, then into the rolling Germans. JBL signals for a time out right before getting suplexed for the third time. Benoit signals for the Diving Headbutt, but out comes Kurt Angle. Benoit scores the Diving Headbutt and covers JBL getting a 2.9. Benoit catches JBL with the Crippler Crossface…AND ALL HELL HATH WENTDOWN. Angle broke up the pin and everyone attacked everyone. JBL eats a Gore. Carlito eats a DVD from Dreamer. Doug Basham eats a cane shot from Sandman and here comes Tazz and more ECW guys. Tazz gets the Tazzmission on Danny Basham. Axl Rotten hits Matt Morgan with a chair into a shot from Balls Mahoney. 3-D on Orlando! The Smackdown guys run off as the ECW army stands tall in the ring.
Final Summary: This was my first show recap in years, and it proved to be somewhat hard, while at the same time enjoyable. The main event was *** easy for me, even with the screwy finish. The only problem I have with this is on both shows now ECW has stood high against their enemies…WWE logic dictates that they won't be at the PPV.
Does the Kool-Aid come in Grape?
This Sunday, WWE will present ECWs One Night Stand, live on Pay-Per-View.
Wait, what? What did I say?
Reading that first sentence still surprises me... I dont know WHY, but it just does. Given WWEs purchase of the intellectual property of Extreme Championship Wrestling, its only natural for them to want to try and make a profit from their investment. If you understand business, and more specifically; the wrestling business, you would have seen this coming. Six or seven months ago, it was completely feasible to see WWE doing something like this.
So why am I surprised?
I dont know if it was because of Vinces ego, Stephanies petty differences with Paul Heyman, or just the consensus that when it comes to big money-making angles, they always drop theball. Whatever the reason, I just never expected to see the day where the WWE would be presenting a PPV from a brand they did not create. Whats next, WCWs One Night Stand?
...All right, lets not get too excited.
Never the less, this Sunday will see the Pay-Per-View return of the Extreme Championship Wrestling brand name.When the show was first announced, it was said that the show would be a production of Stephanie McMahon, with NO input from Paul Heyman, the evil genius behind ECW. How could they even CONSIDER this? Would they honestly go and put on a show, which on the surface bears the ECW name, and not even involve the person responsible for ECWs very existence?
Thankfully they didnt.
Never the less, the general consensus among the internet at the time (Of course, we all know how much the internets opinion is worth!) was that the show was poised for failure. And honestly, that wasnt a radical thought. What does Stephanie McMahon know about ECW? After all, her vision of hardcore wrestling is a match littered with flimsy garbage can lids and fire extinguishers. Could you imagine what a Stephanie McMahon produced ECW show would look like?
...Okay, Ill spare you the fantasy booker crap. We all know what it would have looked like, so lets leave it at that. Thankfully however, Vince has decided to give Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer reigns of the project, with Vince, Stephanie, and probably others overseeing it... Oh cmon, its better than nothing. Can you say 20-minute opening promo?
Honestly gang, this is the North-Eastern Empire were talking about here. Fans of the promotionare lucky enough to hear the letters E-C-W uttered by their announcers, much less lay witness to a show like this. Be thankful for what youre getting. And if you are to believe the words of Tommy Dreamer, and the mad professor himself, ECWs One Night Stand will be as authentic as it can possibly be... Their words, not mine.
Speaking of Dreamer and Heyman, I actually just got done watching them host WWE.coms internet show, Byte This... In fact, the show was the very inspiration for this log in the first place. Eric Bischoff and Shane Douglas bashing aside, the show did an excellent job of conveying the importance of this show. They, along with a few former ECW alumni that stopped by, spoke about the legacy of ECW, and called their memories, both good and bad.
Make no mistake about it. They pushed the PPV, and they pushed it hard. However, the way they did it... It was genuine. And although up until this point, I had decided not to purchase the PPV, I was ready to personally hand Heyman my $34.99. Honest to god, that man could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.
Even though Im seemingly drinking the kool-aid in handfuls, I still have my reservations about the show. After all, I said it earlier. World Wrestling Entertainments track record isnt exactly air tight. They have taken money making angles and turned them into a quick one-month payday. I think fans of ECW, including myself have every reason in the world to worry. Never the less, what little theyve offered in terms of a card has left many ECW hardcore (no pun intended) fans salivating.
Although there has been no announcement regarding match order, or even what the main event will be, its probably safe to assume that the show will be headlined by Tommy Dreamer & Sandman vs. The Dudley Boys. This is probably the most authentic ECW match on the entire show. Dreamer is the franchise of ECW without a doubt, and is the undeniable insignia of ECW. You never saw Ric Flair grab an opponents leg and yell W-C-FUCKING-W! before applying the Figure Four. Nor do you see Hunter get that double-underhook and shout W-W-FUCKING-E! before Pedigreeing somebody into oblivion. The Sandman is The Sandman. Nobody watches him for his workrate. In fact, if Sandman can successfully juice from smashing a beer can into his forehead, the match immediately jumps to ***.The Dudleys are The Dudleys. To ECW fans, they were the Road Warriors and the Steiner Brothers. To fans of ECW, The Dudleys are the greatest tag team in the world.When you throw these four wrestlers together, youre going to have an authentic ECW style brawl. Youll get the tables, youll get the blood, youll see Tommy drag Bubba into the crowd and spit beer into his face. Its the ECW nostalgic match fans of the group have been demanding for the past four years.
When the idea for the show was originally brought up, Dean Malenko made a huge play to come out of retirement for the show to face Eddie Guerrero, renewing one of ECWs most legendary rivalries. The two had an incredible series of matches enroot to WCW, including their 2/3 falls farewell match. However, due to personal issues within Malenkos family, the plan was changed from Dean vs. Eddie to Chris (Benoit) vs. Eddie. But whos complaining? Now me, thats for sure. There isnt a smart fan out there that will bitch about a Benoit vs. Guerrero match, much less when it is booked by Paul Heyman.
Theres also match pitting the legitimately injured Rey Mysterio against one of WWEs latest signings, Psychosis. Much like Dean, Chris and Eddie, Rey and Psychosis were first brought over to the United States by Heyman, before ultimately heading to Atlanta. The two wowed wrestling fans with their unique style, which many had not seen at the time. Up until that point, most fans were used to the cartoonish, big man style of the WWF, the... pure lunacy that was WCW, and the brawling hotbed of ECW, when all of a sudden, here were these two small guys from south of the border, doing Hurricanranas off of automobiles, among other things. Although the claim that the two, along with Konnan and Juventud brought the cruiserweightstyle to the United States isnt exactly accurate, they were never the less pioneers of the style, and they fit in with ECWs message of a counterculture style.
Also announced is a 3-Way Dance between Super Crazy (Another recent WWE singing), Tajiri (Could have sworn he had a first name...) and Little Guido Maritato. (Nunzio who?) Ill admit it right here, Im not crazy about the 3-Way Dance. Nor am I crazy about 4-Way Dances, or even Triple Threat and Fatal Four-Way matches. To me, wrestling is in its purest form when its one on one, or even two on two... With that said, I do have to say that these three men have had some AWESOME matches together. Viewing some of Super Crazys recent matches in Japan, he looks better than ever. Tajiri cans till go when hes given the opportunity, as can Guido.
The last match announced is kind of perplexing... Sure, Chris Jericho, and more specifically Lance Storm have their history in ECW, but together? Maybe they should just name this name SMWs Last Stand.
Dear Chris Jericho,
You suck.
- Wade Keller
Even with those matches announced, theyre promising dozens upon dozens of surprises. WWE.com has a list of figures who will appear at the show, so check the site for that. Id expect some on-the-fly matches to be made. Many Japanese papers are claiming that Masato Tanaka will face... who else? Mike Awesome. However, being the Japanese press, you always have to take it with a grain of salt.
In wrapping this up, let me just say that I dont have my blinders on. Despite my rosy exterior, I still have that annoying, pudgy, pessimistic smart mark inside, telling me how much of a failure this is going to be. And it very well may be. Its already a given that Vince and/or Stephanie has their hand in it, with the invasion set up by Bischoff and Angle/JBL... However, as wrestling fans, we may have to try and simply accept this show for what it is. Its not ECW, no matter what they do. One of the most truthful things on last nights Byte This was Dreamer saying that One Night Stand is NOT ECWand that ECW is something that cannot be replicated.
ECW will never die, due to the legacy that has been instilled in fans. Ten years from now, even if this show flops, you will still see guys crashing through tables, followed by E-C-DUB! chants. Like it or not, ECW is apart of wrestlings culture
Heres hoping Tony Mamaluke doesnt break his neck.
-SC Out.
What does Blade Hard mean to you?
So lets start up my first Blade Hard article. What does the term Blade Hard really mean? Well first explanation is that Blade Hard is something Stevie cooked up in his awesome brain. But the second explanation is that Blade Hard means that you bleed for the sport of professional wrestling. That you put your heart and soul into it. And someday hope it will reward you back. That or at least show the world you bladed hard for the sport of professional wrestling.
Me, Hawk and Stevie want to do that for us and the world. Of course we want a soapbox to speak on. And somebody will come by and be inspiring by our ranting. So I hope when you read us you enjoy us screaming about how big a nose certain wrestlers have and who doesn't sell enough. So the question is what does Blade Hard mean to you?
Thanks for reading,
Sean King
Me, Hawk and Stevie want to do that for us and the world. Of course we want a soapbox to speak on. And somebody will come by and be inspiring by our ranting. So I hope when you read us you enjoy us screaming about how big a nose certain wrestlers have and who doesn't sell enough. So the question is what does Blade Hard mean to you?
Thanks for reading,
Sean King
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
REPOST cuz im a eedeeyut
PRO-WRESTLERS BE STRONGEST... I think?
A couple of days ago, I lightly touched on the 10/9 card, but did not go into very much depth, as I chose to ramble on and on about the situation concerning the main event. However, New Japan presented ten other matches. While I cannot speak for all of the matches on the show due to NJ+IWTV not having a complete card up yet, I can speak about the main matches that went down from New Japan’s sacred grounds: Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan.
If the main matches on the show are any indication, the show was pretty good; main event aside, of course.
Below are a collection of my thoughts concerning the matches themselves.
MANABU NAKANISHI vs. MINORU SUZUKI
- It almost pains me to have to rewatch this to examine it, because anyone who knows me knows that I cannot stand either of these two. I think Nakanishi is an afro and giant boxing gloves away from fighting Survival Tobita in Saitama. I’ll give Suzuki this; he’s got some hilarious mannerisms. His cocky little smirks are fun to watch, because I can never really tell if its apart of his gimmick, or if he’s actually an arrogant shit. Manabu on the other hand; while having a pretty good physique, does nothing at all for me. We got a lot of feeling out early on, with some take down attempts and the such. A Grecro-Roman Knuckle Lock transitions into a body clinch from Manabu, because even mouth-guard wearing apes need some love. Wow, a slap from Minoru! Another one! ...And another! ... And another... TAKED--...No... another slap. WE HAVE TONGUE AT 2:46! Wow, Very awkward Fireman’s Carry there... I dunno who was really to blame there. Manabu dropped down to his knees for the takeover, only it took Minoru a second before jumping over... Okay, okay. I might be nitpicking. Now they’re working the submissions, and we LOVE submissions! Minoru locks in a Grounded Headlock, only Manabu’s like “What, me worry?” before picking Minoru up and slamming down onto the mat like only the WILD BEAST~! can. I think Manabu’s got this in the bag after th--..No, wait!
To absolutely EVERYONE’S surprise, Minoru is perfectly fine, and traps Manabu in a Triangle hold! ACES! Again, Manabu doesn’t sweat it, and hurls Minoru into the corner. HEADBUTTS! WE HAVE HEADBUTTS FROM THE WILD BEAST~! Minoru is back on track with a sleeper hold. OH MY GOD! Manabu has the GREATEST Sleeper face! I need to find out how to take a screen capture NOW. Manabu with a shoulder throw to escape, followed by a HIGH KNEE, BAH GAWD! SHADES OF HARLEY RACE THAT WAS! ...HOOOOOOO~! Lariat could be coming! Well, got my hopes up for nothing, as Minoru’s back up in a matter of seconds. SOCCER BALL KICK~! SHADES OF KAZUYUKI FUJITA THERE, BAH GAWD. WHAT A HOSS! Oh, this is great. Minoru tries for an Argentine Backbreaker. However, Manabu saves Minoru from copyright infringement and avoids it. HOOOOO~! (II~!) Manabu swings and MISSES~! However, he throws Minoru five feet across the ring, which earns him 7/10 from me and FINALLY hits a lariat. It gets a 5/10 on the Hansen-o-meter.
This match just doesn’t stop! Like, SERIOUSLY. Argentine from Manabu, which is deadly enough without the ever-powerful HERCULES CUTTER~! Oh hell. ANOTHER screen capture moment, with Minoru tugging on Manabu’s NOSTRILS. That move alone makes me take back all the nasty things I wrote about Minoru in my diary. MANJIGATAME~! (That’s “Octopus hold” for you inferior Americans who do not speak the Japanese language. ^^) Drill-a-Hole Piledriver from Minoru~! It worries me that Minoru sure seems to take his times rubbing his forearm against Manabu’s crotch... It worries me that I noticed Minoru taking his time rubbing his forearm against Manabu’s crotch. KICK OUT AT ONE, BECAUSE HE’S THE WILD BEAST~! Another Rub-a-Crotch Piledriver attempted from Minoru, only to be countered with a backdrop!
You know what this match is severely lacking? SLAPS! I have a feeling Minoru has what I need, and I am right! THIRD RUB-A-CROTCH! Manabu breaks away, THROAT THRUST! DEAR GOD, WHEN WILL IT STOP!? Manabu ducks down to grab Minoru... but Minoru pushes his head forward, and traps him with a pin at 9:01! That was seriously one of the slowest flash cradles I’ve ever seen. Match is over, thank god
I’m probably going to get some crap about my Minoru/Manabu hate. Neither guy really interest me. Minoru has a unique charisma about him, but has never interested me in the ring. He doesn’t sell, and his offense consists mostly of slaps and tongue thrusts. Manabu on the other hand has the offense of a slug. Why can’t we go back to the days of GOTCH-ISM? Also, I want to apologize if anyone found my humor to be completely not-funny. It was the only way I could get through watching the match for a second time without pulling my hair out.
As for the match itself; it had nothing TERRIBLE. It was your typical Minoru Suzuki/Manabu Nakanishi match, and if you seem a lot of them, you learn to tolerate them. [*1/4]
IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLES
JADO & GEDO (C) vs. KOJI KANEMOTO & MINORU TANAKA
- It’s hard for to rewatch this again, for some reason. It wasn’t a bad match at all... Just... well... we know what happens, and seeing it again doesn’t really have the same impact. However, I digress. Jado is looking more and more like Chavo Guerrero Jr. with every match... I digress again. Gedo’s face looks like a god damn skeleton... ... I digress once again, I apologize. It’s cool to see Minoru Tanaka without the mask. Don’t get me wrong, I like Heat and all... but Minoru has a unique charisma all to himself that couldn’t shine through when he wore that mask.
We got a lot of light transitional work from Minoru and Gedo to start. CHAVO IN~! KOJI IN~! Kicks from Koji, and hard ones at that. Ankle Hold 6 minutes in~! Koji’s in the ring taking on both Jado and Gedo, with no help from Minoru. Does that strike anyone as odd...? Now we got some teamwork from Minoru and Koji, and shows some NICE chemistry. I see a future for Minoru and Koji as a team! Minoru DOOOOOWN after apparently injuring this knee. He slides to the outside. Of course, nobody is checking on his injury. Gedo just yells out “FAWK YOO REFF~!” because he apparently has something against Red Shoes Unno. Minoru is shown again; still no help! Doesn’t New Japan have a RING DOCTOR? Koji’s still in the ring getting his clock cleaned. Gedo, being a heel locks in the Ankle hold... only for Koji to counter it with one of his own. Jado jumps in and quickly stops it.
Fans get behind Koji, who finally mounts some offense. He crawls to his corner... but no Minoru! Back to getting his ass kicked. Crossface of CHAVO locked in. ROPE ESCAPE~! Fans applauded Koji’s spirit, or heart, or guts... or something. Gedo in now with Koji, and is just Backdropping Koji straight to hell. ...!? Minoru is WALKING. IT’S A MIRACLE. And for some reason, Koji decides that it’s in the teams best interest to tag out to the cripple. Minoru limps in... but wait... he isn’t limping. ANOTHER MIRACLE! ..WHA-WHA-WHAT!? MINORU JUST KICKED KOJI!? OMFGWTF!? GERMAN SUPLEX FROM MINORU. JESUS MOTHER OF GOD WHAT HAS HAPPENED!? WHY IS MINORU DOING THIS? AND WHY IS MY CAP LOCK KEY SUDDENLY BROKEN? BLADE KICK! THERE IS NO GOD! THE CROWD IS LIVID. THEY ARE SHOCKED AND APPAULED, AS AM I. LIGER IS CELEBRATING IN THE ENTRANCE WAY! DAMN YOU LIGER! DAMN YOU TO HELL! SUPER BOMB! GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, THEY BROKE HIM IN HALF! NO! DON’T DO THIS! SUPAH FU-RYE~! MATCH OVER AT 11:44! MINORU TANAKA, YOU CAN GO TO HELL!
Oh, wow. Cap Lock fixed. Wasn’t that odd? As with a lot of matches on the show, this match was more or less used to further an angle, and not really put on to give a good match, which is fine. I got no problem with that. I question why they bring in Minoru Tanaka to CTU, as CTU already has Liger, and to an extent, TAKA Michinoku and Dick Togo. However, it’s interesting at least. Unless the plan is for Koji to go over Minoru (Heat) for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title on 10/24, New Japan really has to make sure that Liger does not eclipse Tanaka. However, I think it’s going to be a waste of a good build-up if they’re simply going to hotshot the belt onto Kanemoto on 10/24. I won’t disagree that he’s a talented guy, and deserves the belt, but I think it does nothing for Minoru to make a big heel turn only before losing the belt. [**]
KATSUYORI SHIBATA vs. GENICHIRO TENRYU
- This was really awesome from the start of the gate. Crowd was really hot, and into both guys. Shibata antagonizes Tenryu early. It then breaks down into a big strike fest. Both land simultaneous guh punches, which was cool. Shibata’s really starting to lay it into Tenryu with strikes, including a hard slap, which even gets the attention of the crowd. Guillotine early on from Shibata, with the crowd getting behind Tenryu. Crowd boos heavily as Shibata refuses to break the hold after Tenryu had the ropes. Shibata mocks Tenryu by applying the WAR hold, before hitting a Soccer Kick to the chest. Tenryu slides to the outside to avoid a face kick.
Now this is where the match starts to break down. REFEREE VIOLENCE FROM SHIBATA AT 3:41~! The fight is on the outside. Shibata grabs a bottle of beer, but the referee snatches it away! Silly Shibata, maybe when you’re 21. Shibata lands more strikes outside, before sliding in. Now Tenryu has the beer bottle. Referee does nothing, because Tenryu is of legal age. Shibata wants the beer, and BADLY. Tenryu sighs, and gives in, before shattering the the bottle over Shibata’s head in a gesture of good will, I assure you. Shibata, like... dies, so the referee calls for the bell and DQ’s Tenryu at 4:45.
This REALLY had the makings of a great match. They had everything; HOT crowd and two solid workers who had the chemistry. Shibata really needed a clean win over Tenryu, whose purpose solely has to be to put over the new stars. I don’t know why they booked this idiotic finish, but all I know is it does nothing for Shibata or Tenryu, and ruined what could have been a phenomenal match. [*1/2]
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. KEIJI MUTO & OSAMU NISHIMURA
- I was looking forward to this, but expected a little more, for some reason.
TWO THINGS I NOTICE ABOUT HIROSHI TANAHASHI:1. His hair is unusually flat in this match, which makes me cry.2. He is the fucking man in this match.
This crowd is HOT for Muto; almost as if they are GAY for HIM. Nakamura and Nishimura start things off here.. Verrrry slow start, as most Nishimura matches are. Nishimura with the chest tap at 2:19! We got a lock-up now... Nakamura chest tap 2:47 in! Ground work now, with Nishimura applying a headlock. Nakamura gets up, as Nishimura clamps on a wrist-lock. Nakamura displays his hot circus skills and escapes the wrist-lock with a one-handed cartwheel, followed by a headlock takedown, which gets countered by Osamu who gets in a legscissors. Crowd senses the headstand spot, but Osamu shrugs Nakamura off. Tanahashi in now, as he and Osamu exchange pleasantries. Much of the same between Osamu and Tanahashi. Wow, that was nice; Tanahashi countered out of Osamu’s leg scissors with a back roll into a toe-hold. MUTO IN~!
TWO THINGS I NOTICE ABOUT KEIJI MUTO:
1. He’s sporting one hell of a beer belly.
2. He’s still over as hell with the New Japan fans, despite being labeled as a “traitor”.
Tanahashi and Muto feel each other out. Some AWESOME exchanges between the two; just some slick transitional moves there. Muto comes out on top with a side leg lock. I’m also starting to notice that Muto’s really sluggish at times. Nakamura IN~!
TWO THINGS I NOTICE ABOUT SHINSUKE NAKAMURA:
1. Being the son of god, he prays an awful lot.
2. Reminds me of the Japanese equivalent to the Artist Formally Known as Prince.
We’re back to square-one, as Muto tags out to Nishimura. We have an exchange of bridges here now, and while I’m no expert on bridges, I have to commend Osamu on one fine bridge Nakamura busts out the submissions now, with a shoulder hold, and sells it really well. Tanahashi back in now. The new Musketeers land a nice looking double dropkick. They DO have good chemistry as a team, so I’ll give them that too. DORY-ISM European Uppercuts from Osamu, which look brutal. Muto back in, and we get a FLASHING ELBOW~! Crowd eats it up. STF by Muto, which the crowd pops for again. Muto transitions into a Nagata Lock II... Announcers mention Nagata and Chono by name in reference in Muto using the moves. Dragon Screw by Muto~! ...What’s this? Muto looks like he’s going for a Scorpion Deathlock... Wow, he used the Scorpion set-up and transitioned into an Indian Deathlock... Didn’t see that coming; neither did the announcers. I can tell Muto loves this move... I’m sure Muto loves any move that allows him to lay on his ass without having to move in any exerting fashion.
We got Nishimura in now with a Cobra Twist on Tanahashi, who is in the ropes in a matter of a few seconds. Nishimura’s working on the leg, even going as far as to give the leg a European Uppercut. Tanahashi ducks the Enzuiguri, and lands one of his own out of desperation! He tags out to the son of GOD himself! Nakamura going heavy with the knees before landing a Snap Suplex. Even more knees from Shinsuke. Osamu counters out of the sleeper with a Backdrop, and tags out to Muto, who immediately goes to attacking Nakamura’s knee with dropkicks, followed by another Dragon Screw~! Wow, that was kinda awkward. Nakamura applies the Forearm Choke he used to beat Ignashov... Only the crowd... or Muto for that matter didn’t seem to realize it.
We have a not-so-Shining Triangle from Nakamura, which looks really weird in pro-wrestling... Nakamura seems to be exerting himself a lot with the hold, which gives me naughty thoughts... Osamu in to break it up. EL NINO, BABY~! I seriously hate that move, but the crowd enjoyed it... or maybe they enjoyed Osamu breaking the pin... THAT was nice. Nakamura shoots for a takedown, but Muto catches him first with a low dropkick to the face. Tag in to Tanahashi, who’s just rocking it with a Jumping Forearm, which is soon followed with a Missile Kick. Tanahashi goes for a Dragon Suplex, only to turn it into a German for two. I gotta give Muto credit; he’s giving both of these guys A LOT of offense. Dragon Sleeper now~! Muto escapes it with a knee. Dropkick from Muto... Tanahashi on one knee. Gee I wonder what’s ne—SHININGWIZAAAAH~! ...Or not? Tanahashi blocks~! Tanahashi with a Rolling Clutch, but Muto rolls onto his feet... SHINEEENG WIZZAAARDOH~! THAT was an awesome spot, even if the crowd can spot the Shining Wizard from a mile away.
Nishimura back in now. NIIIICE Double Arm suplex from Osamu. That was some great height; Inoki would be proud. Another one, to boot! Backslide from Osamu for a CLOSE fall. MORE FUNK-ISM with the Spinning Toe hold! Nakamura jumps in, but gets cut off by Muto! We have STEREO Figure Four Leg Locks! Nishimura and Tanahashi are on top. Tanahashi tries for a Superplex, but Osamu’s not having any of it, and knocks Tanahashi doooown, before... MISSING with a Knee Drop!? ...SHINING WIZARD FROM TANAHASHI~! ...SHINING WIZARD FROM MUTO!? IT’S A BANANZA OF SHINING WIZARDS. AND IT DOESN’T END~! Shining Triangle from Nakamura! All this while Osamu attempts a Backslide... Tanahashi escapes, and lands a running Small Package hold for the pin at 21:25!
Wow, this was a fun match. The biggest thing that stands out in the match was how much Muto took, and I really give him kudos for that. He made a sincere effort to put over both Tanahashi and Nakamura as legitimate threats. Everyone’s offense looked great; especially Tanahashi. The crowd was hot; mostly due to Muto’s participation. This is a solid match that you should probably go out of your way to see. [***1/4]
LUMBER JACK DEATH MATCH
HIROYOSHI TENZAN & YUJI NAGATA vs. MASAHIRO CHONO & DON FRYE
- I had low expectations going into this, knowing that; much like the IWGP Jr. Tag match, it was mostly a handicap match. This match continued the trend of having a hot crowd, and erupted as Tenzan immediately attacked Chono. On the outside, we have the home army and CTU serving as the lumber jacks. Unfortunately no flannel jacket could be found in Yoshie’s size. The fans are behind Tenzan big time, giving off loud “HISSSSSS” sounds. Big moves are pulled out early, as Tenzan drops Chono on his head with the TTD at 0:56, followed by the Anaconda Vice at 1:05. Crowd breaks out in a chant I can’t make out... sounds like “NO SUBMIT!”, but I could be totally wrong. Frye jumps in and puts the boots to Tenzan to get him off Chono, who immediately takes a powder to the outside. However, this is a Lumber Jack match, as Tiger Mask and Wataru Inoue grab Chono by his oversized belt and chucks him back into the ring.
Oh god help me, I’m actually ENJOYING Tenzan. Hopefully there’s a vaccine for what I’ve contracted. We got some double team work from Tenzan and Nagata. Exploder at 2:06 from Nagata. Hopefully they can keep this pace up. The big moves continue with a Diving Headbutt from Tenzan. Chono tries to escape to the outside again, but it’s prevented from YOSHIE~! Oh snap, Tenzan to the outside, and he’s getting stomped by CTU~! Regular Army to the rescue~! Do I tilde too much?
Now we got Frye and Nagata in. Frye must have borrowed those leather pants from Nakanishi, who was unfortunately without them. Frye’s brawling a lot, using knuckle arrow shots and knees. Nice exchange there, with Nagata trying for a shoulder-arm breaker, only for Frye to counter with a hip-throw, which in turn is countered by Nagata into a Cross Armbreaker. Tenzan in, and Frye’s just whaling on Tenzan. Referee seems to count Tenzan’s shoulders down in that position. Yeah, like anyone would be pinned in that predicament.
WE GOTS HEADBUTTS~! WE GOTS MONGOLIAN CHOPS~! WE GOTS TENZAN OUTSIDE GETTING HIS ASS KICKED BY CTU AGAIN~! Big brawl on the outside by the home army and CTU. Back in the ring, more team work from Nagata and Tenzan. Nagata now throwing some vicious kicks to Chono. Nagata gets hit with the brace on Chono’s knee, and sells it like DEATH~! Nagata rolls to the outside and despite being a lumber jack match, the Home Army gives Nagata enough time to slide under the ring and magically begin to bleed! (Blood capsules, I assure you.)
Now we got Norton and Nakanishi back out. I guess Nak wants his pants back. They, along with CTU are on a tear on the outside, just clearing out all of the home army. Tenzan gets his bell cleaned with a NORTON POWERBOMB on the floor~! ...That was a hilarious visual. Nakanishi is CARRYING Tenzan away. Marvelous. Mean while in the ring, Nagata’s beginning to gush. Chono’s removing the protective padding from the corners, while Frye’s just pounding away on Nagata’s wound. Crowd goes nuts as Nagata attempts a comeback, after no-selling Chono’s headbutts. Chono uses the brace again, causing Nagata to scream in utter agony. More punches from Frye, who is obviously limited in the match. OH GOD. TOPLESS YOSHIE. YES. YES. YES. Crowd goes NUTS for Yoshie. CTU in the ring, BUT SO IS YOSHIE, BITCHES~! He, along with other Home Army members clean the ring!
Order is restored... I guess. Nagata’s still being pounded on by Frye. Nagata’s trying to mount a comeback, and exchanges Kenka Kicks from Chono, who quickly halts Nagata’s momentum with an Inverted Atomic Drop. On commentary, somebody chimes in with an update on Tenzan, who I assume is somewhere in the back being hog tied by Scott Norton. The match is telling a great story, with Nagata mounting short bursts of offense, forcing Frye and Chono to have to stay on their toes. Nagata just won’t stay down, and connects with an Exploder from the top rope! BLUE WOLF INNNN~! He knocks Chono down with a lariat after Nagata is tripped in the ropes. Nagata on offense now, hitting Chono with elbows... Nagata just tasted his own blood... DEMON NAGATA LIVES~! Exploder! ONE! TWO! NOOOO! Frye with the save! KNEEL KICK TO FRYE! DOOOOOWN! Brainbuster! BRAIN. BUSTER. 2.9! THUNDER DEATH DRIVER! FRYE SAVES AT 1! TENZAN BACK!??! TENZAN IS BACK! JESUS CHRIST THIS IS INSANE. CTU doing EVERYTHING they can to keep Tenzan from reentering the ring. Frye catches Nagata on the apron, allowing Chono to hit the Shining Kenka! Liger in! SHOTEI~! ...!? SUPAH FU-RYE~! Pin by Chono, BUT NAGATA KICKS OUT~! Enzui Kenka! Front Face Kenka! Pin! KICKOUT! Another Shining Kenka at 22:43 , and it’s over!
Hot DAAAAAAAAAAMN that was excellent. Not as technically sound at the previous match, but it was an awesome story that had the fans going from the opening bell. Before being carried away like a blushing bride, Tenzan was absolutely awesome; which is something coming from me. The story that was told after Tenzan was taken away, was that even being handicapped, Nagata was a lot for Chono and Frye to handle, and unless they weren’t fully aware of the situation, Nagata would continue to make heroic comebacks. The whole dynamic of the two armies surrounding the ring was awesome as well. It wasn’t an ordinary Lumber Jack match by any means. The Home Army made quick work to keep Chono in the ring without harming him, without the heels blatantly attacked the babyface; whether it was Nagata or Tenzan, on the outside. Everyone on the home army, especially Yutaka Yoshie showed tremendous emotion as they watched CTU’s underhanded tactics during the match. The fans came unglued when Yoshie charged into the ring and attacked CTU. The chants of “YO-SHEE-EY” were deafening. My perception of the match might have a lot to do with the fact that I had very low expectations here because 1) Lumber Jack matches are typically boring, and 2) It was basically a handicap match. If anyone is serious about following New Japan, they NEED to see this match. [***3/4]
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
KAZUYUKI FUJITA (C) vs. KENSUKE SASAKI
Ya know, I’m not even going to rewatch this. Why waste the time? We all know what went down. Kensuke went nuts early on, hitting a couple of lariats, chops and a Northern Lights Bomb. They do tease the finish early on for a NEAR FALL. Jesus Christ. I ask this not using sarcasm, but before this show, did they; or anyone for that matter count stuff like that as pins? I know they’ve done it with pinning moves like German Suplexes and the such. Really, if you know a similar example to this, let me know, please. [DUD]
Judging from what I saw, the show was sort of hit and miss. I thought the two tags before the main event were extremely well done, and would probably warrant a purchase alone. However, you will probably become sour over the main event, which SHOULD leave a bad taste in your mouth. [6/10]
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Who will lead Japan? One Word: TADAO~!
Pro-Wrestling is suffering. Why? I don't know why. And I don't think anyone truly does. I think the MMA boom in Japan is apart of it, but I don't think it's the end-all of the industry. MMA has existed in Japan since the early days of Pancrase, which began as a pro-wrestling group, but later turned into a full-fledged fight promotion. However, like New Japan in the early days, Pancrase was bought as a legitimate sport. Then came along UWF, the second UWF, and then UWFi; All of those promotions did TREMENDOUS business, and yes... they folded. Why? I would say lack of interest due to no new stars created. The only real star UWFi ever had was Nobuhiko Takada, and to lesser extents, Masahito Kakihara and Kiyoshi Tamura. By the time UWFi was on its last legs, they were lucky to draw half a house as the days of drawing 37,000 fans to Jingu were gone.
While I think there are several things to factor in why the industry in Japan is suffering, I think more than anything else is the lack of new stars being created. Look at All Japan. Toshiaki Kawada, who is STILL a good worker, is leading the company in place of Mitsuharu Misawa, who, along with Kenta Kobashi are leading AJPW's break-away group, Pro-Wrestling NOAH. All Japan has created no stars since Keiji Muto and company jumped, and has yet to pull the trigger on Satoshi Kojima, who Muto has gone over in several singles matches since the jump. In NOAH, there is NO sign of a changing of the guard. Kenta Kobashi has been reigning as GHC Heavyweight champion since March of last year, while Mitsuharu Misawa; along with his sidekick Yoshinari Ogawa have been dominant in the tag ranks. The saving grace for the promotion has seemed to be its incredible Jr. Heavyweight division, which features some of best juniors in the world. However, in terms of heavyweights, they have yet to pull the trigger on guys like Takashi Morishima and Takeshi Rikio. Rikio received a title match earlier in the year, but nobody expected him to actually win. Nobody is going to buy any of these young guys just up and winning the championship. There's a thing in Pro-Wrestling called a Build-up. This is how Misawa was made into a star. He just wasn't plucked out of a sea of dojo boys and told "Okay, you're going over Jumbo tonight." Misawa was slowly pushed, becoming the leader of his generation, picking off the veterans one by one before defeating Jumbo Tsuruta.
Misawa is going to have to realize that Kobashi's knees aren't going to hold up forever. He will also have to realize that he cannot carry the company himself. Jun Akiyama is the one to run with right now, but even Akiyama is getting older every day. We can only hope that with time, NOAH’s young generation pulls through. Takeshi Morishima is a very competent worker today, but has yet to be tested in the main event waters. Rikio was easily the most boring of Kobashi’s title challengers, which isn’t a great indication for things to come. Hopefully, Rikio can pick up the pace and turn into the great heavyweight prospect he was hyped to me. NOAH’s most recent dojo graduate, Go Shiosaki has the foundations of being a very solid heavyweight fighter. Already in his career, he has crisp transitions from move-to-move, solid strikes and a decent frame (Much like Jun Akiyama did when he debuted.) All indications point to Shiosaki as being a future player in NOAH.
All Japan on the other hand recently had the debut of their “prodigy”, Kohei Suwama., who is a very competent amateur star. Many have compared him to the late Jumbo Tsuruta, which cannot be an easy title to live up to. From all reports, Suwama’s debut was very positive, and reportedly had a good match with the man that recruited him, Hiroshi Hase.
Suwama is a great grab for All Japan. However, he’s still YEARS away from a major push. All Japan needs to sit down, look at what they have, and realize that much like Kobashi, Kawada’s living on borrowed time, and is simply one leg injury away from retirement. I can’t believe I’ve talked about injuries so much without even mentioning Muto’s knees. With that sad, All Japan DOES have skilled wrestlers. Both Tomoaki Honma and Kazushi Miyamoto are both great workers. Honma was the shining star of Big Japan for several years, and began a cult hero to internet fans world-wide for the technical skill and innovation he showed in types of matches usually dominated by big burly men with forks in their hands. For whatever reasons, the two have been kept in a mid-card jobber role as Tumeric Storm; This, of course while Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi are running around with the groups SECONDARY TAG TITLES. I love 100 Years Old as much as anyone, but Jesus Christ. They’re doing NOTHING for the belts. Tumeric Storm were MADE for these belts, and could easily be catapulted towards winning the AJPW World Tag Team titles... which is currently MIA from the company at this time... Hmmmm..... Tumeric Storm aside, they also have Nobutaka Araya, who, while not being an awesome worker; definitely has some spunk and can work when he absolutely has to. All Japan also has its two trueborns, Masayuki Kono and Taichi Ishikari. Well, I guess if none of them work out, they could always push Arashi. Yeah, that’ll work nicely.
I complain a lot about these companies not trying to create new stars. However, to New Japan’s credit, they are trying EXTREMELY HARD. So hard in fact, they sometimes leave the fate of their young stars to luck.
Like them, or hate them, New Japan is the most organized pro-wrestling company in Japan, and has the best Young Lion system around. They scout year-around to find the best potential talent, and for the most part, do a damn good job about it. New Japan is slowly pushing a Generation War between the old guard (Chono, Tenzan, Nagata) and the new guard (Nakamura, Tanahashi, Shibata).
The company took quite a gamble with Nakamura when they gave the belt to him. It got the presses talking about Nakamura, who had some success in the MMA ring. I don’t know who made the decision to put the belt on Nakamura, but they apparently felt that Nakamura’s success in MMA would make him into the second coming of Antonio Inoki; much like Kazuyuki Fujita was slated to become. I also think the switch was made as some sort of shock method to show that you should always expect the unexpected in Shin Nihon Puroresu... And really, we have seen a lot of unexpected events in the past few months concerning the company.
Back to the topic, New Japan is making a great effort in establishing the new crop of stars as legitimate threats to the company’s top stars. As I said a moment ago, Nakamura already has one IWGP Heavyweight title run under his belt. Shibata has been pushed heavily, gaining victories of Masahiro Chono and Genichiro Tenryu. Hiroshi Tanahashi had an incredible run in ’03 and 04’; first having a great run as one half of the IWGP Tag Team champions with Yutaka Yoshie, followed by capturing the GHC Tag Team titles with Nagata. Finally, gave a good showing in the ’04 G1 Climax, making the finals before losing to Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
So unlike NOAH and All Japan, New Japan is at least putting in an effort. Success in terms of drawing and press has so far been lukewarm. The press is slowly opening up to New Japan’s coming guard, even labeling Nakamura, Tanahashi and Shibata as the new “Three Musketeers” (A label that New Japan is currently running with.). In time, the fans will accept Nakamura, Tanahashi and Shibata. HOWEVER, if New Japan continues to risk the reputation of its young wrestlers by putting them in legitimate fights, they will not succeed. Yes, Nakamura has had a great boost to his career because of his three MMA wins. However, is the payoff really that much worth it? Just weeks after capturing the title, Nakamura was sent into the MMA ring to fight Alexey Ignashov and wound up suffering serious injuries that forced him to vacate the belt.
It’s odd to think about where the industry in Japan will be ten years from now. Who will be leading All Japan? Kohei Suwama? Kazushi Miyamoto? Satoshi Kojima? What about NOAH? Will Takeshi Morishima, Rikio, Go Shiosaki finally surpass Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, Taue? In New Japan, will the company still dictate its pushes based on vale tudo success? I don’t know... I’ll get back to you in about ten years.
- SC Out
While I think there are several things to factor in why the industry in Japan is suffering, I think more than anything else is the lack of new stars being created. Look at All Japan. Toshiaki Kawada, who is STILL a good worker, is leading the company in place of Mitsuharu Misawa, who, along with Kenta Kobashi are leading AJPW's break-away group, Pro-Wrestling NOAH. All Japan has created no stars since Keiji Muto and company jumped, and has yet to pull the trigger on Satoshi Kojima, who Muto has gone over in several singles matches since the jump. In NOAH, there is NO sign of a changing of the guard. Kenta Kobashi has been reigning as GHC Heavyweight champion since March of last year, while Mitsuharu Misawa; along with his sidekick Yoshinari Ogawa have been dominant in the tag ranks. The saving grace for the promotion has seemed to be its incredible Jr. Heavyweight division, which features some of best juniors in the world. However, in terms of heavyweights, they have yet to pull the trigger on guys like Takashi Morishima and Takeshi Rikio. Rikio received a title match earlier in the year, but nobody expected him to actually win. Nobody is going to buy any of these young guys just up and winning the championship. There's a thing in Pro-Wrestling called a Build-up. This is how Misawa was made into a star. He just wasn't plucked out of a sea of dojo boys and told "Okay, you're going over Jumbo tonight." Misawa was slowly pushed, becoming the leader of his generation, picking off the veterans one by one before defeating Jumbo Tsuruta.
Misawa is going to have to realize that Kobashi's knees aren't going to hold up forever. He will also have to realize that he cannot carry the company himself. Jun Akiyama is the one to run with right now, but even Akiyama is getting older every day. We can only hope that with time, NOAH’s young generation pulls through. Takeshi Morishima is a very competent worker today, but has yet to be tested in the main event waters. Rikio was easily the most boring of Kobashi’s title challengers, which isn’t a great indication for things to come. Hopefully, Rikio can pick up the pace and turn into the great heavyweight prospect he was hyped to me. NOAH’s most recent dojo graduate, Go Shiosaki has the foundations of being a very solid heavyweight fighter. Already in his career, he has crisp transitions from move-to-move, solid strikes and a decent frame (Much like Jun Akiyama did when he debuted.) All indications point to Shiosaki as being a future player in NOAH.
All Japan on the other hand recently had the debut of their “prodigy”, Kohei Suwama., who is a very competent amateur star. Many have compared him to the late Jumbo Tsuruta, which cannot be an easy title to live up to. From all reports, Suwama’s debut was very positive, and reportedly had a good match with the man that recruited him, Hiroshi Hase.
Suwama is a great grab for All Japan. However, he’s still YEARS away from a major push. All Japan needs to sit down, look at what they have, and realize that much like Kobashi, Kawada’s living on borrowed time, and is simply one leg injury away from retirement. I can’t believe I’ve talked about injuries so much without even mentioning Muto’s knees. With that sad, All Japan DOES have skilled wrestlers. Both Tomoaki Honma and Kazushi Miyamoto are both great workers. Honma was the shining star of Big Japan for several years, and began a cult hero to internet fans world-wide for the technical skill and innovation he showed in types of matches usually dominated by big burly men with forks in their hands. For whatever reasons, the two have been kept in a mid-card jobber role as Tumeric Storm; This, of course while Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi are running around with the groups SECONDARY TAG TITLES. I love 100 Years Old as much as anyone, but Jesus Christ. They’re doing NOTHING for the belts. Tumeric Storm were MADE for these belts, and could easily be catapulted towards winning the AJPW World Tag Team titles... which is currently MIA from the company at this time... Hmmmm..... Tumeric Storm aside, they also have Nobutaka Araya, who, while not being an awesome worker; definitely has some spunk and can work when he absolutely has to. All Japan also has its two trueborns, Masayuki Kono and Taichi Ishikari. Well, I guess if none of them work out, they could always push Arashi. Yeah, that’ll work nicely.
I complain a lot about these companies not trying to create new stars. However, to New Japan’s credit, they are trying EXTREMELY HARD. So hard in fact, they sometimes leave the fate of their young stars to luck.
Like them, or hate them, New Japan is the most organized pro-wrestling company in Japan, and has the best Young Lion system around. They scout year-around to find the best potential talent, and for the most part, do a damn good job about it. New Japan is slowly pushing a Generation War between the old guard (Chono, Tenzan, Nagata) and the new guard (Nakamura, Tanahashi, Shibata).
The company took quite a gamble with Nakamura when they gave the belt to him. It got the presses talking about Nakamura, who had some success in the MMA ring. I don’t know who made the decision to put the belt on Nakamura, but they apparently felt that Nakamura’s success in MMA would make him into the second coming of Antonio Inoki; much like Kazuyuki Fujita was slated to become. I also think the switch was made as some sort of shock method to show that you should always expect the unexpected in Shin Nihon Puroresu... And really, we have seen a lot of unexpected events in the past few months concerning the company.
Back to the topic, New Japan is making a great effort in establishing the new crop of stars as legitimate threats to the company’s top stars. As I said a moment ago, Nakamura already has one IWGP Heavyweight title run under his belt. Shibata has been pushed heavily, gaining victories of Masahiro Chono and Genichiro Tenryu. Hiroshi Tanahashi had an incredible run in ’03 and 04’; first having a great run as one half of the IWGP Tag Team champions with Yutaka Yoshie, followed by capturing the GHC Tag Team titles with Nagata. Finally, gave a good showing in the ’04 G1 Climax, making the finals before losing to Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
So unlike NOAH and All Japan, New Japan is at least putting in an effort. Success in terms of drawing and press has so far been lukewarm. The press is slowly opening up to New Japan’s coming guard, even labeling Nakamura, Tanahashi and Shibata as the new “Three Musketeers” (A label that New Japan is currently running with.). In time, the fans will accept Nakamura, Tanahashi and Shibata. HOWEVER, if New Japan continues to risk the reputation of its young wrestlers by putting them in legitimate fights, they will not succeed. Yes, Nakamura has had a great boost to his career because of his three MMA wins. However, is the payoff really that much worth it? Just weeks after capturing the title, Nakamura was sent into the MMA ring to fight Alexey Ignashov and wound up suffering serious injuries that forced him to vacate the belt.
It’s odd to think about where the industry in Japan will be ten years from now. Who will be leading All Japan? Kohei Suwama? Kazushi Miyamoto? Satoshi Kojima? What about NOAH? Will Takeshi Morishima, Rikio, Go Shiosaki finally surpass Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, Taue? In New Japan, will the company still dictate its pushes based on vale tudo success? I don’t know... I’ll get back to you in about ten years.
- SC Out
Holy crap! ANOTHER blog! This has got to be the most unique idea in the history of unique ideas!
Okay, enough.
On October 9th, New Japan ran its "PRO-WRESTLERS BE STRONGEST BY GENERAL" event from their sacred ground; Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. Overall, the show looked promising. On paper, you would assume that the card would be carried with a strong main event, as well as the two matches that would proceed it. However, everyone was shocked to see the main event, pitting IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuyuki Fujita defending the crown against Kensuke Sasaki... end in TWO MINUTES.
TWO MINUTES! Two FREAKING MINUTES. 149 SECONDS.
Now don't get me wrong... I LOVE Kensuke. So much, in fact, that he's my favorite wrestler in the world. It was his raw intensity and charisma that sucked me into this great sport. But jesus... Winning the championship in the fashion he did does NOTHING for Kensuke NOR the IWGP Heavyweight title.
I was opposed to Fujita getting the belt in the first place. I have never been a fan of Kazuyuki Fujita; EVER. I thought he was easily one of the worst IWGP Champions when he won the belt in 2001. He was terrible in terms of workrate. The guy can throw a knee and take a punch, I'll give him that, and I know Inoki loves to think that this is somehow REAL, but Fujita's shoot-style offense does not cut it. It didn't cut it then when he was submitting guys in six minutes in 2001, and it didn't work when he was brutally kicking Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata in 2004. Both of his runs were failures.
If you look back to 2001, New Japan was heavily influenced by MMA, thanks to the boom of PRIDE and Kazushi Sakuraba. As champion, Fujita never worked ONE tour for New Japan, only working the major standalone shows that year. Those matches included; defeating Scott Norton to win the belt in under 7-minutes, beating the up-and-coming Yuji Nagata in 10-minutes in a title defense, in another defense; defeating Don Frye in 7-minutes, beating Kensuke Sasaki in his return match in 7-minutes.
FIN.
In his time as IWGP Heavyweight champion, Fujita did NOTHING for New Japan. All it did was make Inoki smile, because a legitimate fighter was holding the IWGP Heavyweight title, which in his warped mind; means that Pro-Wrestling is the strongest style. Fujita worked his periodic shows, squashing his opponents in mere minutes before dropping the belt finally to the deserving champi...
Oh, wait a minute. NO HE DIDN'T. He had to vacate the belt due to an achilles tendon injury! Why? Because he was training for a FIGHT. THIS is what happens when you put your belt on a god damn SHOOT FIGHTER. It happened with Fujita, it happened with Nakamura, and it happened with Sapp (Although he wasn't as much injured as he was really, really, really embarressed.)
Inoki has to learn that this is not the 1970's. Pro-Wrestling has been exposed as a complete work, and is a complete other entity from MMA. Yes, the two are linked, but only because both are sports. Despite what people say, beyond that direct relation, one is neither the other.
In Inoki's time, the lines were blurred. Inoki competed in "shoots" (I don't dispute that some may have been actual shoots, but most were works.) against legitimate martial-arts fighters, and more so than not won these fights, making Inoki look credible, which brought legitimacy to pro-wrestling. However, the times have changed. Japan has changed.
Fast-forward three years, and look where we are. Fujita came in, won the belt, never worked one tour, wrestled two matches before dropping the belt to Kensuke Sasaki in what has to be one of the most lame-duck finishes of all-time.
I am positive that this wasn't the planned finish. It just screamed LAST MINUTE. Everyone has their theory. Fujita refused to job, Fujita was Montreal'd, Fujita didn't want to take a clean fall. I think it went something like this:
MMA is competitive, and you risk injury all the time. Even by walking; you risk tearing a tendon. Fujita isn't a pro-wrestler anymore, despite what people say. He is an MMA fighter, who fights in legitimate matches. He trains every day to prepare for these legitimate fights. You have to be 100% when you enter the vale tudo ring. And let's admit it, NOBODY walks away 100% from a match with Kensuke Sasaki, who works such an intense and brutal style. So, I think realizing this, Fujita (Or Inoki... or hell, Uei) suggested this finish.
The fans weren't happy, and for good reason. They were screwed out of what could have been an intense fight; much like Kensuke's 1/04 match with Nagata from this year.
However, as the saying goes: If you play with fire, you will get burned. And that's actually what happened.
Hey, but don't worry about Fujita, as he just laughed it off.
I hope he gets his head caved in by knees, and that his brain leaks from his ears.
Fuck. Fujita.
- SC Out
Okay, enough.
On October 9th, New Japan ran its "PRO-WRESTLERS BE STRONGEST BY GENERAL" event from their sacred ground; Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. Overall, the show looked promising. On paper, you would assume that the card would be carried with a strong main event, as well as the two matches that would proceed it. However, everyone was shocked to see the main event, pitting IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuyuki Fujita defending the crown against Kensuke Sasaki... end in TWO MINUTES.
TWO MINUTES! Two FREAKING MINUTES. 149 SECONDS.
Now don't get me wrong... I LOVE Kensuke. So much, in fact, that he's my favorite wrestler in the world. It was his raw intensity and charisma that sucked me into this great sport. But jesus... Winning the championship in the fashion he did does NOTHING for Kensuke NOR the IWGP Heavyweight title.
I was opposed to Fujita getting the belt in the first place. I have never been a fan of Kazuyuki Fujita; EVER. I thought he was easily one of the worst IWGP Champions when he won the belt in 2001. He was terrible in terms of workrate. The guy can throw a knee and take a punch, I'll give him that, and I know Inoki loves to think that this is somehow REAL, but Fujita's shoot-style offense does not cut it. It didn't cut it then when he was submitting guys in six minutes in 2001, and it didn't work when he was brutally kicking Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata in 2004. Both of his runs were failures.
If you look back to 2001, New Japan was heavily influenced by MMA, thanks to the boom of PRIDE and Kazushi Sakuraba. As champion, Fujita never worked ONE tour for New Japan, only working the major standalone shows that year. Those matches included; defeating Scott Norton to win the belt in under 7-minutes, beating the up-and-coming Yuji Nagata in 10-minutes in a title defense, in another defense; defeating Don Frye in 7-minutes, beating Kensuke Sasaki in his return match in 7-minutes.
FIN.
In his time as IWGP Heavyweight champion, Fujita did NOTHING for New Japan. All it did was make Inoki smile, because a legitimate fighter was holding the IWGP Heavyweight title, which in his warped mind; means that Pro-Wrestling is the strongest style. Fujita worked his periodic shows, squashing his opponents in mere minutes before dropping the belt finally to the deserving champi...
Oh, wait a minute. NO HE DIDN'T. He had to vacate the belt due to an achilles tendon injury! Why? Because he was training for a FIGHT. THIS is what happens when you put your belt on a god damn SHOOT FIGHTER. It happened with Fujita, it happened with Nakamura, and it happened with Sapp (Although he wasn't as much injured as he was really, really, really embarressed.)
Inoki has to learn that this is not the 1970's. Pro-Wrestling has been exposed as a complete work, and is a complete other entity from MMA. Yes, the two are linked, but only because both are sports. Despite what people say, beyond that direct relation, one is neither the other.
In Inoki's time, the lines were blurred. Inoki competed in "shoots" (I don't dispute that some may have been actual shoots, but most were works.) against legitimate martial-arts fighters, and more so than not won these fights, making Inoki look credible, which brought legitimacy to pro-wrestling. However, the times have changed. Japan has changed.
Fast-forward three years, and look where we are. Fujita came in, won the belt, never worked one tour, wrestled two matches before dropping the belt to Kensuke Sasaki in what has to be one of the most lame-duck finishes of all-time.
I am positive that this wasn't the planned finish. It just screamed LAST MINUTE. Everyone has their theory. Fujita refused to job, Fujita was Montreal'd, Fujita didn't want to take a clean fall. I think it went something like this:
MMA is competitive, and you risk injury all the time. Even by walking; you risk tearing a tendon. Fujita isn't a pro-wrestler anymore, despite what people say. He is an MMA fighter, who fights in legitimate matches. He trains every day to prepare for these legitimate fights. You have to be 100% when you enter the vale tudo ring. And let's admit it, NOBODY walks away 100% from a match with Kensuke Sasaki, who works such an intense and brutal style. So, I think realizing this, Fujita (Or Inoki... or hell, Uei) suggested this finish.
The fans weren't happy, and for good reason. They were screwed out of what could have been an intense fight; much like Kensuke's 1/04 match with Nagata from this year.
However, as the saying goes: If you play with fire, you will get burned. And that's actually what happened.
Hey, but don't worry about Fujita, as he just laughed it off.
I hope he gets his head caved in by knees, and that his brain leaks from his ears.
Fuck. Fujita.
- SC Out
