Hell in a Cell 2010

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison - Submissions Count Anywhere

This had the potential to be either really fun or a complete mess. It turned out mostly fun, with a bit of messiness. The opening segments were plagued by the non-sensical isolation stuff present in most triple threats these days. Miz played the coward and ran away for a while, which was nice: if they're going to do the isolation segments, they should set them up by having two guys take out one, and that's what they did. Bryan whiffed on a sliding kick-- it looked like Miz moved away-- which was unfortunate but not a big deal. Morrison busted out a cool tarantula on the ropes; Bryan used his leg lock and cattle mutilation and teased the Lebell lock. The match picked up when Bryan put Miz in a leg lock: they traded boots to the face until Morrison broke it up with maybe the best Starship Pain he's ever hit. He landed right on both dudes' legs and it looked devastating. Then he too Miz out through the crowd, and the rest of the match was a pretty wild brawl with guys coming in and out. Miz was at the focal point most of the time because both babyfaces hated him, which made sense. Everyone looked good during this segment: Morrison did his nifty parkour spots; Miz brought some viciousness and used his surroundings; Bryan took some nasty bumps into barricades and onto steel. Bryan kept going for holds on the Miz, and Miz kept busting out counters, including an awesome one where he kicked Bryan into the barricade to escape a Fujiwara armbar. Really showed some growth on Miz's part as he previously didn't have an answer for any of Bryan's holds. Morrison climbed some stuff and hit a big splash, which was the most contrived spot of the match. He followed it up with a Texas cloverleaf, which I maybe bought into for a second thanks to Miz's selling. Alex Riley's interference was perfectly-timed and created the perfect opportunity for Bryan to win in the right way. 

Not as good as a Miz/Bryan singles match would've been, but still a solid bucket of fun. I hope we get one more Miz/Bryan match. On a side note, there was a great commentary moment. Striker was babbling about cattle mutilation, and Lawler called Striker's commentary cattle mutilation, and then Striker threatened to ask Lawler a million questions. I love how they've taken Lawler's legit irritation with Striker and turned it into a running joke. Good stuff.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus - HIAC 


I haven't loved the matches between these two in the past, but I thought this was really good for the most part. Not great-- I don't think these two can have a great match together at this point-- but better than I expected and about as good as it could've been. Sheamus looks good on offense but still works with too limited of a moveset to be really great working offense for an extended period. Orton can sell and bump, but I still don't think he's fully adapted to working babyface. It's a difficult character to work: he's this emotionless killer-type, but he has to make the crowd cheer for him, and it seems he hasn't figured out how to draw major sympathy in that role. Sure, the crowd goes wild when he goes on offense, but they also sit on their hands for long segments of the match when he's getting beaten up. Not sure what the solution is, but his facial expressions were a lot better here, and his selling was great. I'd call Orton a good bumper, but the way he goes limp and slinks to the ground seems like a heel-ish way to bump. I guess I just want to say that Orton isn't a great babyface at this point.

But the match: they went back and forth in the opening stages and Sheamus avoided the cell when he was in danger, but then he rushed to use it when he was in control. When Sheamus went on offense, he targeted the ribs, and he eventually hit an awesome gordbuster outside the ring onto the steel steps. Awesome spot, and from that point forward, Orton's selling was terrific. He timed his comebacks well, and Sheamus always went back to the ribs to cut him off. There was a great moment where they were trading punches to the face and the crowd was boo/yeah-ing in favor of Orton, and Sheamus threw a nasty punch to Orton's gut to stop it. They did some cool stuff with the steel steps and Sheamus took some nasty bumps. Sheamus conveyed desperation and the stuff with the chair was awesome. He really needs a new finisher because his boot won't finish anyone major unless he hits it 5 times, and his lack of finishing potential hurts his matches. But we all knew Orton was retaining here, and the finish was great, and Orton's rib selling was tremendous, and Sheamus was as focused as always, and he busted out some cool spots. Match was probably a tad longer than it should've been, but still really good. Felt ***1/4-ish.

Edge vs. Jack Swagger


I guess Edge is turning face again. I'll try to be optimistic because he looked great breaking a computer last week on Raw, but his last run flopped and he stunk then and now. Pre-match promo started with Del Rio, and then Edge called him stupid, and then Swagger came out and complained about how Edge speared his bird, which was nice because Swagger is great at comedy. Match was a big old nothing for the most part. Swagger looked good on offense at points, but then Edge kicked out of the gutwrench powerbomb for no reason, and then it looked like he hurt his leg, so Swagger locked in the ankle lock. Edge countered and shook it off and then hit a spear, no-selling everything and burying both of Swagger's finishers. Nice.

I can't help but think that this whole angle was intended for Jericho-- they teased a face turn for him several times this year, and he was the first one to bitch about the GM-- and it really would be better with Jericho. He looked great as a pseudo-babyface at SummerSlam and in a couple random tags, and the crowd totally dug him, unlike Edge. But he's gone now, and so Edge gets another random turn, and Swagger takes another step backward, which is unfortunate.

John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - If Cena loses, he joins Nexus; if Barrett loses, Nexus disbands


This was very good thanks to an awesome performance by Cena and surprisingly good booking and a lively crowd. Cena schooled Barrett early, and he's really great in that role, taking dudes to the mat and out-grappling them. He gave Barrett a smile, and he looked to be in complete control. But then Barrett started throwing punches and brawling and Cena was generous in how much he gave and how well he sold. Interesting to see Cena make a rookie look like a million bucks after Edge buried a former world champion. Anyway, Nexus came down to the ring early to provide a distraction. Barrett yelled at them but took advantage of the distraction to control the match. The crowd was totally alive and there was an audible minority on Barrett's side. When Cena first started to roll, Nexus movee in, so a bunch of WWE dudes rushed the ring to clear them out, which means Goldust, Bourne, and Masters all made cameos. Barrett went back on offense and Cena continued to sell his ass off: he made everything look painful, made every bit of Barrett's offense seem like a big deal. Totally awesome stuff. Barrett eventually hit Waste Land after countering an Attitude Adjustment, and I thought it was awesome that Cena let him get his finisher clean. Cena kicked out and popped up with an Attitude Adjustment, and I was totally shocked to see Barrett kick out. Really, I can't stress enough how much Cena was willing to give in this match, and how much his giving nature helped the match. He went for the STF, and then they did a distraction thing and some guy hit Cena in the face with a pipe and Barrett won and Cole nearly cried and then they got a bunch of awesome close-ups of shocked people in the crowd and kids who wanted to cry. Awesome reaction from the crowd. Million stars for how stunned people were. Probably a ***1/4 match or so. Tremendous performance by John Cena.

Michelle McCool vs. Layla - Unified Divas Title


Lawler told LayCool to slip into a coma after the match. Awesome. Wasn't much to the match: LayCool did some distraction stuff, Layla screamed a bunch and provided some great comedy stuff at ringside. The finish was pretty cool as they traded submissions-- Sharpshooter to heel hook and then back-- and then the awesome-est DQ of all time happened when Layla threw her shoes at Natalya. Michelle kicked Layla inadvertently during the match, another hint at a LayCool dissolution, which would stink.

Kane vs. The Undertaker - HIAC


I wasn't even slightly excited about this feud when it started, but their NHB match was fun and better than I expected, so I tentatively looked forward to this. Didn't like it much at all. They made a point of turning Taker back into a monster after the return of Paul Bearer, and he squashed Punk. But then Kane rocked him pretty good early on and for some reason started doing knee work. ??? Yeah, kinda silly. Taker came back from that pretty quickly and then they went back and forth and brawled sluggishly for a pretty long time. They traded bombs, which was what the match should've been from the get-go, but it wasn't nearly as fun as at Night of Champions. Taker sold the leg work, but it felt a bit like an after thought, and this was the worst limb selling I've seen from him all year. Finishing stretch was silly and a bit fun/frustrating. PAUL BEARER HURT UNDERTAKER WITH LIGHT FROM AN URN. Nice.

Overall, I'd call it an ok show. Good opener and two really good matches. But a PPV without Punk in 2010 is stupid.

When I Met Fujiwara

I decided to attempt to tackle PURO, so I've been feeling my way around, checking out the most heavily-pimped guys, trying to find a starting point. Thus far, Fujiwara has stuck out as the guy who most appeals to me. Basically, that means I prefer shoot-style stuff to the grandiose slugfests put on by AJPW heavyweights and the athletic sprints put on by Liger & co. Not that I dislike the other stuff, but yeah, Fujiwara's been rocking my world. So, bear with me: I'm going to do my best with analyzing and assessing a style that's brand-new to me. I've been watching early UWF stuff, which maybe still had elements of traditional pro-style stuff, but they're clearly working towards something new and more realistic, etc.


Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger (Sayama) - UWF 9/7/84

Evidently, UWF pioneered shoot-style. Also, Super Tiger is the same Sayama who worked as Tiger Mask against Dynamite Kid, but this is much better than I remember those matches being. Watching this, you wouldn't believe it's the same dude who has a rep for whiffing kicks and no-selling. This was totally awesome, btw. They work the mat ruggedly and realistically, struggling for everything, and my favorite part is that they continuously go for kimuras and cross armbreakers and triangle chokes, but they don't get them locked in. The other guy always protects himself, and whenever it looks like the hold is cinched in, the guy in the hold sells it like death and yells and rushes to the ropes to break the holds. They make it seem like their arm's about to break because their arm is about to break because those two arm holds will break arms fast.

Story-wise, Fujiwara establishes himself as the superior mat worker. He doesn't dominate, but he definitely looks to have the other hand. He targets the arm but, like I said, Tiger can hang well enough to keep it from getting locked in. Sayama is known as a martial-artist, so he relies on kicks. Fujiwara sells his kicks like death, and aside from one bicycle kick attempt that goes awry, Sayama's kicks look stellar. He eventually goes to the air to try to put Fujiwara away and misses twice and maybe lands on his knees, so Fujiwara switches his focus to the leg, using a half-crab and a figure-four, which are less lethal holds, but they take a lot away from Sayama's offense. Sayama does sell the leg work and he sells it well, but he still manages to make his comeback. Fujiwara backs him into the corner and grabs a leg, and Sayama counters with that mule kick that Jeff Hardy does. He really nails it, and he follows it up with another great kick, and Fujiwara sells both like death, and then Sayama goes for a crossface chickenwing. Felt a bit out of nowhere for a finish, but with the way they put Sayama's kicks over, I'd buy that two big kicks nearly twenty minutes in would rock Fujiwara enough for Sayama to look in a hold that would finish him off.

Bunches of other awesome stuff in this match. Loved they way they struggled for holds and avoided and sold the dangerous ones; loved the way Fujiwara sold Sayama's kicks; loved how his strategy evolved throughout the match. Also, there was this great moment where Sayama slapped Fujiwara in the face. Fujiwara didn't have to do a lot with his face to look pissed because he was a naturally grumpy-looking dude. He lures Sayama to the corner and then throws him into the buckle and slaps the piss out of him. Fujiwara didn't go to strikes much, so that slap felt significant. There was also a really cool exchange where Sayama went for a triangle but Fujiwara didn't let him have his arm. Fujiwara then pulled his head out of the triangle and countered directly into a piledriver and then immediately went for the kimura again. Sayama sold it like death and went to the ropes and it was awesome.

Not sure how to rate/rank something like this, but I thought it was legit great.


Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Super Tiger - UWF 9/11/84

Didn't like this quite as much as the first, but it was still really awesome. More great mat work, and they made Sayama's kicks an even bigger deal. Opening stages are really cool, as Sayama threatens with kicks to back Fujiwara off, and you can tell Fujiwara wants to get in close to take Sayama down and neutralize his kicks. There are a lot more strikes in this one, and Sayama goes deeper into his kick arsenal, which is a bad thing: the more complicated the kicks get, the less they connect. Still, Fujiwara sells them like death, and they do a few awesome things with the strikes. At one point, Fujiwara gets pissed and takes Sayama to the corner and decks him in the face. It's awesome. Later, he tries the same thing in the opposite corner, but Sayama blocks the punch and throws one of his own, then hits a spin kick to the gut in the corner. Fujiwara's sell rules. Later, he blocks that same spin kick attempt. Basically, it was awesome to watch strategies unfold simultaneously for the mat work and for the strike exchanges.

Finish was really great, too. Sayama hit that same mule kick that set up his victory in the first match. Fujiwara sells it brilliantly and then backs off into the corner to try to protect himself. Sayama pulls him out in a waistlock; Fujiwara elbows him in the face and immediately goes into a Fujiwara armbar. Awesome callback. Awesome awesome match. About on par with the first one.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki - UWF 1/7/85


Man, this was totally awesome. They open up with mat work and look pretty even until Yamazaki kicks Fujiwara's face off. Fujiwara sells kicks perfectly, so from now on, whenever I say someone kicks Fujiwara in the face, assume that kick is followed by top-notch selling unless I say otherwise. Ditto for if he gets kicked in the gut, leg, arm, etc. Wherever he gets kicked, he sells it well. Better than well. Anyway, Yamazaki backs Fujiwara into the corner and kicks the piss out of him, and Fujiwara balls up in the corner and covers up, and it's really something to see that grumpy-looking badass get leveled by a skinny dude. Fujiwara has been totally willing to put his opponents over with his selling, which is really awesome. He eventually gets up, though, and then he throws Yamazaki into the corner and throws these gorgeously nasty punches to the Yamazaki's mid-section. Just all over the place, wherever Yamazaki leaves an opening.

And from then on, these dudes are just mean to each other. It's really a battle of Yamazaki's kicks against Fujiwara's punches, with some beautiful slaps sprinkled throughout, until Fujiwara finally gets fed up and grabs Yamazaki's leg and takes him to the ground and starts tearing at his leg. Then they go back to mat work, and though I didn't like this as much as the Sayama matches on the whole, I'd say the mat work was even better. The stuff they do makes so much sense: they find openings and grab limbs and wrench on them, and then they sell and it's awesome. There's nothing fancy or clever, and I find it weird that a lot of this surprised me because it really looked so natural. This looked like two guys fighting on a mat. There was this awesome moment where Fujiwara went for a figure-four, and he had Yamazaki's left leg wrapped up, so Yamazaki just grabbed his right leg and held it in so Fujiwara couldn't complete the hold. Then, Fujiwara just sat on Yamazaki's left leg. Brilliant. Finish was great, too: Fujiwara locked in the kimura and Yamazaki went to the ropes, so Fujiwara picked him up, slapped the piss out of him, and then took him back down. Yamazaki kept sitting up to prevent Fujiwara from getting full pressure on the kimura, so Fujiwara turned it into a rear choke. No body scissors or anything: just one arm wrapped around his neck until he submitted. Fucking awesome. Yeah: stiff strikes, realistic mat work, perfect selling, and a general feeling of flat-out dislike: I loved this.