Christian vs. Jack Swagger - ECW 2/24/2009
Holy butts, this match rules. It's been a favorite of mine for a little while, and it was just as good, maybe a bit better than I remember. So much to like here: they establish the size dynamic early, and Swagger also establishes his mat superiority. But Christian is more experienced and smarter. I love how, because he had to work with rookies so often during his ECW run, he adopted this cagey veteran role and played it perfectly. He takes advantages of Swagger's mistakes and uses his experience to come up with cool counters. Eventually, though, he makes a mistake on the outside and goes shoulder-first into the steel steps, which means Swagger works his arm, which means Christian sells his arm, which means win. Christian's selling is phenomenal, and Swagger's work is engaging, too. It's especially fun to see how he uses his power advantage. He picks Christian up and smashes his shoulder into multiple turnbuckles, and then hits a shoulderbreaker. But Christian always finds ways to work in comebacks, frequently flying off the top ropes to try to overcome the size differential. Smart stuff. And of course, there's the brilliant moment where Christian hits a tornado DDT and then sells his arm like death. Great finishing stretch, too. Christian goes for the Killswitch, but Swagger counters and launches him into the post, and then goes for the gutwrench, which Christian counters into another Killswitch attempt, but his arm injury (now worsened thanks to the ringpost) prevents him from engaging it. So, in the end, Christian out-maneuvered him, but physical limitations prevented him from winning. Smart way to keep him looking strong after a clean loss.
****1/4
Christian vs. Jack Swagger - Backlash 2009
Holy butts, this wasn't far off from the ECW match. Size dynamic remains, but Swagger has managed to close a lot of the experience differential, which I thought made him look good and smart. In the first match, Christian hit most of his big spots fairly easily. Here, though, Swagger comes out with an arsenal of counters-- he catches the pendulum kick attempt and smashes Christian into the apron, and he counters Christian's first attempt at a tornado DDT. So, Christian no longer has the major advantage in smarts, changing this into a battle of regular man vs. genetic super-freak instead of a battle of experienced man vs. genetic super-freak. Swagger works the mid-section this time, and his work his again good, and Christian's selling is good, too. Really cool gutbuster spot. Even cooler spot where Swagger smashes Christian's back against the turn buckle and then hits a running powerslam-- smart variation on the spot from their last match, changing it up to target a new body part. Awesome. Finish was great, too. Christian may have been over-matched, but he proved to be tough as heck, and Swagger-- still inexperience-- got desperate and tried to cheat by exposing a turnbuckle, and Christian was, like, "Bitch, I've been cheating since you were rolling around with other adolescents," and then he exposed his own turnbuckle, which Swagger charged into with his face, setting up the Killswitch and a good pop. Can't beat 'em? Out-cheat 'em.
****
Also watched their Judgment Day match and thought it was a good match with a smart finish, but I don't remember it as well as the other two, and I definitely thought it was below them in terms of quality. Still a good match, but not the batch of awesomesauce that those two were.
Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson - Royal Rumble 2010
Thought this was a really really great match. My memory is pooping out on me, so I'm not going to recap a lot of the spots. I really just want to talk about the awesome dynamic. Christian goes out of his way to make Zeke look like a monster, and Zeke plays that role brilliantly, clubbing the crap out of the champ and tossing him around like crazy. Christian tries to be resourceful and cagey early, slapping Zeke to irritate him and then playing a cat-and-mouse game, but Zeke eventually catches and slams him. Really good offense from Zeke, mostly focused on the back, and good selling from Christian. Good hope spots and cutoffs, and a great theme of Christian coming off the ropes and throwing dropkicks and all that, because how else does he stand a chance against the monster? They'd set up a little story coming in, questioning whether Christian could actually lock in the Killswitch. He fails a couple times, but the way he finally hooks it, in a quick sort of counter, looks totally believable, and it's not really a move that generally looks good against bigger guys. They really just nail it though, and credit to both guys.
***3/4
A notch below the two Swagger matches from 09, and below the McIntyre matches from SD, and maybe behind Christian/Regal from BP09, but still one of the best matches of Christian's brilliant run since his return.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Old Raw
Been skipping around in the new Raw: Early Years set, and figured I'd post some thoughts.
Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair - Loser Leaves Town - Raw 1/25/1993
I was interested to see this because I've only seen the clipped version from the 15th anny set, and I hadn't seen that in a while. I found this disappointing on the whole, but there were still some things I liked. Opening segments were smart, as both guys, knowing the stakes, played it slow and tentative. Flair frequently went to the outside to take breaks, and it was clear he was waiting to pick his spot. Perfect rocked him early, throwing some chops and some really crappy punches. His punches were terrible in this match. Flair finally takes control with an eye poke, which rocked, and then he tossed Perfect over the top rope, which also rocked, and then he grabbed a chair, so Hebnar tumbled off the apron to take the chair, which was awesome. Flair kept control of the match anyway, which meant Hennig got to bump around like a total goof. Now, I'm a guy who generally likes dramatic bumping, but the last couple times I've watched Hennig work with anyone other than Bret (this match and the Tito match from 7/28), he's really annoyed me. His stuff looks ridiculous, which isn't a bad thing on its own, but it's not even really fun. Like, he takes a whip to the corner, and he hits it kinda slowly, and then he turns and does a little front flip, and I'm not impressed. He also took an awkward looking bump over the corner and down to the ground, and it hardly sizzled. As for Flair, he's mostly fine. I mean, he acts like heel Flair, cheating and grabbing the ropes for leverage and using a foreign object out of his tights (really impressive-looking & sounding punch there) and begging off. Nothing I'd call standout-ish though, which is kinda what I expect from Flair. Maybe that's not fair, but he seemed fairly routine here. Heenan was probably my favorite part of the whole thing, as his desperation on commentary really added to the drama. There's a backslide struggle spot, which should've been meh, but Heenan yells at Flair to drop to his knees so Perfect can't get him over, and it makes it seem like a legit dramatic moment. Little stuff like that really raises the stakes.
I've probably been a bit too negative so far. For all its flaws, this was still something I generally enjoyed. There's an awesome moment during Hennig's comeback where he starts shaking and shrugging off Flair's strikes in the corner, and he walks toward Flair, trembling and bleeding and limping (he sells the knee really well after the figure-four), and Flair begs off, and it's great. Finish stretch and the finish itself is really good. Felt out-of-nowhere and looked convincing. Still, something I'd call "good" before I'd call it "great."
***
Bret Hart vs. Fatu - Raw 3/1/1993
I thought this was really good, mainly because of the layout. This is shortly before Bret's Mania match with Yoko, so they put over the size difference early, with Bret failing to take Fatu down with a shoulderblock. Bret plays it smart and uses leverage to take him over with an arm drag, and he controls the arm for a while, which is fine, but Bret always just kinda sits in his armbars rather than making them really engaging. Also, great spot where Bret smashes Fatu's face into the mat, and Fatu pops right up and hits a nasty looking superkick. Fatu has a fairly lengthy control segment, working over Bret's neck and getting help from Afa and Samu and all that, and it's all plenty good. They hit some headbutts and distract the ref. And then Bret hits his streak off offense and locks in the Sharpshooter, and it looks like it's just going to be a little formulaic comeback until Afa gets on the apron to distract Bret, which allows Samu and Fatu to switch places, which was really cool. They switch back a second later, and you really get the sense that the odds are loaded against Bret. He has to fight two different guys with a cheating manager at ringside. But then he gets a fun miracle comeback, knocking both extraneous guys off the apron and locking in the Sharpshooter for a win. Finish was satisfying and good, and the match was quite good.
On a side note, I'm not sure how much I like Bret. I mean, I know how good he could be, and I know he had plenty of great matches, and the Owen match from Mania and the Austin matches and the Perfect match from KOTR are all top tens for me. But as an ace defending his title in formula matches like this, I'm not sure I'd take him over, say, Christian. I mean, I don't know if Christian had a title defense that was as good as Bret/Kid, but assuming this match was kinda an "average" Bret defense, well, I can't think of a Christian defense from 09 (bar the 8-second Regal match) that I didn't think was better than this. Basically, it comes down to the fact that Bret's face isn't very expressive, which makes his FIP segments less engaging than they should've been. Basically, I feel like I don't like Bret as much as I should, considering how smart he was and how well he laid his matches out, and the main reason is that he doesn't appeal to me as a character. He does all the big things right, but, like I said, he just kinda sits in his holds, and he just kinda rolls around while taking a beating, and there's nothing to really put it over the top.
Still, ***
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - Raw 8/1/1994
Been a few days since I watched this, but I remember enough to know I loved it. It's Shawn's first match since the ladder match at Mania, and it has everything you want in an early Shawn heel performance. He starts out talking trash and getting in the face of a guy with a major size advantage. He walks up and shoves Razor and then eats some big right hands and spits in the air, and Razor tosses him around, and Shawn gets major elevation on some back drops. Razor throws Shawn into Diesel and catches him coming off the ropes and really plays the bigger guy well. But Shawn has backup and he finds ways to take control for sections, and then Diesel really adds to the match at ringside, cheating and sneering and looking like a mean motherfucker. Match is probably even better when Razor's in control, though, as Shawn is totally willing to get tossed around, and they get in a really good bearhug spot, which Shawn wriggles out of to tease a sunset flip spot, only for Razor to punch him in the face. Shawn's selling is mostly good, and there's a nice spot where he goes for a scoop slam but can't. Razor kicks out of a superkick, which still isn't treated like much of a big spot. Shawn goes for a Razor's Edge even though we all know he can't get Razor up with his back-- he's Shawn and he doesn't know how small he is. Savage and Vince do a good job of putting that over on commentary. A part of me always admires heel Shawn in matches against big guys-- he doesn't know he can't go toe-to-toe with them, so he just launches himself at them with no regard for his own safety, and it's really cool. Diesel gets up on the apron toward the end, and Razor punches him for a while, and it all results in a good finish where Shawn whips Razor into a big Diesel boot and then gets a school boy for the win, and then they beat Razor up. Great match.
****
Also watched Owen/Kid from 8/15 and thought it was really fun. Couple blown-ish spots early on, but still really good. Kid got some fun kicks in, which Owen took really well, and they had some fun grappling exchanges early, and then Owen took control with a suplex to the outside and worked the back for a while, and then Kid came back and had the upper-hand and roughed Owen's knee up and looked in position to win with a half crab, so Neidhart came in. Really good little match, probably ***1/4.
Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair - Loser Leaves Town - Raw 1/25/1993
I was interested to see this because I've only seen the clipped version from the 15th anny set, and I hadn't seen that in a while. I found this disappointing on the whole, but there were still some things I liked. Opening segments were smart, as both guys, knowing the stakes, played it slow and tentative. Flair frequently went to the outside to take breaks, and it was clear he was waiting to pick his spot. Perfect rocked him early, throwing some chops and some really crappy punches. His punches were terrible in this match. Flair finally takes control with an eye poke, which rocked, and then he tossed Perfect over the top rope, which also rocked, and then he grabbed a chair, so Hebnar tumbled off the apron to take the chair, which was awesome. Flair kept control of the match anyway, which meant Hennig got to bump around like a total goof. Now, I'm a guy who generally likes dramatic bumping, but the last couple times I've watched Hennig work with anyone other than Bret (this match and the Tito match from 7/28), he's really annoyed me. His stuff looks ridiculous, which isn't a bad thing on its own, but it's not even really fun. Like, he takes a whip to the corner, and he hits it kinda slowly, and then he turns and does a little front flip, and I'm not impressed. He also took an awkward looking bump over the corner and down to the ground, and it hardly sizzled. As for Flair, he's mostly fine. I mean, he acts like heel Flair, cheating and grabbing the ropes for leverage and using a foreign object out of his tights (really impressive-looking & sounding punch there) and begging off. Nothing I'd call standout-ish though, which is kinda what I expect from Flair. Maybe that's not fair, but he seemed fairly routine here. Heenan was probably my favorite part of the whole thing, as his desperation on commentary really added to the drama. There's a backslide struggle spot, which should've been meh, but Heenan yells at Flair to drop to his knees so Perfect can't get him over, and it makes it seem like a legit dramatic moment. Little stuff like that really raises the stakes.
I've probably been a bit too negative so far. For all its flaws, this was still something I generally enjoyed. There's an awesome moment during Hennig's comeback where he starts shaking and shrugging off Flair's strikes in the corner, and he walks toward Flair, trembling and bleeding and limping (he sells the knee really well after the figure-four), and Flair begs off, and it's great. Finish stretch and the finish itself is really good. Felt out-of-nowhere and looked convincing. Still, something I'd call "good" before I'd call it "great."
***
Bret Hart vs. Fatu - Raw 3/1/1993
I thought this was really good, mainly because of the layout. This is shortly before Bret's Mania match with Yoko, so they put over the size difference early, with Bret failing to take Fatu down with a shoulderblock. Bret plays it smart and uses leverage to take him over with an arm drag, and he controls the arm for a while, which is fine, but Bret always just kinda sits in his armbars rather than making them really engaging. Also, great spot where Bret smashes Fatu's face into the mat, and Fatu pops right up and hits a nasty looking superkick. Fatu has a fairly lengthy control segment, working over Bret's neck and getting help from Afa and Samu and all that, and it's all plenty good. They hit some headbutts and distract the ref. And then Bret hits his streak off offense and locks in the Sharpshooter, and it looks like it's just going to be a little formulaic comeback until Afa gets on the apron to distract Bret, which allows Samu and Fatu to switch places, which was really cool. They switch back a second later, and you really get the sense that the odds are loaded against Bret. He has to fight two different guys with a cheating manager at ringside. But then he gets a fun miracle comeback, knocking both extraneous guys off the apron and locking in the Sharpshooter for a win. Finish was satisfying and good, and the match was quite good.
On a side note, I'm not sure how much I like Bret. I mean, I know how good he could be, and I know he had plenty of great matches, and the Owen match from Mania and the Austin matches and the Perfect match from KOTR are all top tens for me. But as an ace defending his title in formula matches like this, I'm not sure I'd take him over, say, Christian. I mean, I don't know if Christian had a title defense that was as good as Bret/Kid, but assuming this match was kinda an "average" Bret defense, well, I can't think of a Christian defense from 09 (bar the 8-second Regal match) that I didn't think was better than this. Basically, it comes down to the fact that Bret's face isn't very expressive, which makes his FIP segments less engaging than they should've been. Basically, I feel like I don't like Bret as much as I should, considering how smart he was and how well he laid his matches out, and the main reason is that he doesn't appeal to me as a character. He does all the big things right, but, like I said, he just kinda sits in his holds, and he just kinda rolls around while taking a beating, and there's nothing to really put it over the top.
Still, ***
Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon - Raw 8/1/1994
Been a few days since I watched this, but I remember enough to know I loved it. It's Shawn's first match since the ladder match at Mania, and it has everything you want in an early Shawn heel performance. He starts out talking trash and getting in the face of a guy with a major size advantage. He walks up and shoves Razor and then eats some big right hands and spits in the air, and Razor tosses him around, and Shawn gets major elevation on some back drops. Razor throws Shawn into Diesel and catches him coming off the ropes and really plays the bigger guy well. But Shawn has backup and he finds ways to take control for sections, and then Diesel really adds to the match at ringside, cheating and sneering and looking like a mean motherfucker. Match is probably even better when Razor's in control, though, as Shawn is totally willing to get tossed around, and they get in a really good bearhug spot, which Shawn wriggles out of to tease a sunset flip spot, only for Razor to punch him in the face. Shawn's selling is mostly good, and there's a nice spot where he goes for a scoop slam but can't. Razor kicks out of a superkick, which still isn't treated like much of a big spot. Shawn goes for a Razor's Edge even though we all know he can't get Razor up with his back-- he's Shawn and he doesn't know how small he is. Savage and Vince do a good job of putting that over on commentary. A part of me always admires heel Shawn in matches against big guys-- he doesn't know he can't go toe-to-toe with them, so he just launches himself at them with no regard for his own safety, and it's really cool. Diesel gets up on the apron toward the end, and Razor punches him for a while, and it all results in a good finish where Shawn whips Razor into a big Diesel boot and then gets a school boy for the win, and then they beat Razor up. Great match.
****
Also watched Owen/Kid from 8/15 and thought it was really fun. Couple blown-ish spots early on, but still really good. Kid got some fun kicks in, which Owen took really well, and they had some fun grappling exchanges early, and then Owen took control with a suplex to the outside and worked the back for a while, and then Kid came back and had the upper-hand and roughed Owen's knee up and looked in position to win with a half crab, so Neidhart came in. Really good little match, probably ***1/4.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Peanut Butter MNMs are the best
Batista & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM - Smackdown 12/16/2005
Match opens with a fairly lengthy babyface shine period, which I really liked. MNM are great at bumping around for babyfaces, and Rey and Batista complement each other well on offense. Rey flies around and hits his cool stuff and Batista comes in and thrashes both guys. But it's not like MNM just take the beating-- they're trying to cheat, trying to get control of the match. At one point, Nitro comes in and superkicks Batista as he's about to Batista Bomb Mercury. But Batista's up and clotheslining both of them to the outside to set up a slick Asai moonsault spot for Rey on both guys. Mercury's nose gets busted open-- dude has bad luck with that sorta stuff apparently.
The transition to MNM's control segment is really good-- Rey's going for a rana on Mercury, but Nitro grabs him from the apron and pulls him toward the ropes, setting up a slick slingshot powerbomb spot. MNM were really really great, btw. All 3 members. Mercury & Nitro can bump around and sell and just generally take a beating, but they can also cheat-- they always bring really fun old-school distraction tactics to their matches. Their facial expressions are good and they come across as legit dicks when they're in control. And Melina can scream and look angry at ringside when things go wrong, but she can also interfere when things start going well. At one point, she just grabs Rey and yanks him to the ground, and it looks vicious. Rey's FIP segment is very good. MNM focus on the neck, and Rey sells. Nitro hits a nasty-looking clothesline to the back of the neck. Couple great cutoffs, too-- at one point, Rey starts to channel his Eddie energy to hit that bulldog spot on Mercury, only for Melina to distract the ref so Nitro can come pull Rey back. Seconds later, Rey's punching both guys to get out of the corner and crawling around the ring to try to reach Batista. He crawls through Mercury's legs and then eats an enziguiri from Nitro. Awesome. Actual hot tag is good, too, as Rey hits a swank reverse rana from the top on Nitro, and Nitro gets all the way over and way across the ring. Batista comes in and rips people apart, and Rey hits a 619 that connects on both Melina & Mercury, setting up a Batista Bomb and a victory and a title change. Great tag match.
***3/4
Batista & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM - Smackdown 12/30/2010
Babyface shine period is slightly shorter here but still good. Batista roughs both guys up in the corner, setting up a double Brono Buster from Rey. Tazz informs us that Rey wants to rename the move the 1904 or something. Rey also hits a sweet headscissor spot on I believe Nitro. Transition spot to MNM control segment rules-- Rey's on the apron about to springboard, but Mercury distracts him long enough to allow Nitro to catch him with a superkick just as he's coming of the top rope, and Rey drops down, hitting his head on the apron and getting his leg tangled on the ropes. MNM then proceeds to rip his knee off. Mercury (not the legal man) locks the leg up in the ropes and then pummels it. When he comes in, he sort of figure-fours the injured knee while going for a pin, which I thought was a nice touch. Rey's selling is great, too-- at one point, Mercury Irish whips him and he just collapses, and Mercury points and smiles like an asshat. Great stuff. They do their usual good stuff, cheating and distracting and focusing all their offense, and it's perfect. Maybe even liked the FIP segment here better than in the last match.
Really great hope spot where Rey crawls around again and then tries to jump over both of them. They catch him, and there's a great visual of Rey's hand inches from Dave's. He counters with a double-DDT. Don't think the crowd really got that spot, though, because their pop didn't quite correlate to its awesomeness. They actually got quieter when he hit it. Then there's another awesome video of Rey crawling toward Batista with both guys right behind him, reaching out to grab him... but he makes it, and Big Dave starts thrashing dudes and Rey climbs to the top to 'rana Nitro from the apron to the ground, selling his leg the whole time and smacking his head on the apron. Didn't really dig the finish though-- ref bump looked really forced, and then Mercury has a chance to sneak attack Batista while the ref is out, but he doesn't cheat at all. He just jumps on Batista. KICK HIM IN THE DICK, JOSEPH. Mark Henry (hired by Melina) comes out and hits an awesome-looking World's Strongest Slam, which Batista sells like a champ, leading to an MNM victory. Good way to set up a Dave/Henry title match, I suppose, and the finish hardly took away from the total awesomeness of the match. Not really sure which match I prefer-- they both had tons of positives.
***3/4
Match opens with a fairly lengthy babyface shine period, which I really liked. MNM are great at bumping around for babyfaces, and Rey and Batista complement each other well on offense. Rey flies around and hits his cool stuff and Batista comes in and thrashes both guys. But it's not like MNM just take the beating-- they're trying to cheat, trying to get control of the match. At one point, Nitro comes in and superkicks Batista as he's about to Batista Bomb Mercury. But Batista's up and clotheslining both of them to the outside to set up a slick Asai moonsault spot for Rey on both guys. Mercury's nose gets busted open-- dude has bad luck with that sorta stuff apparently.
The transition to MNM's control segment is really good-- Rey's going for a rana on Mercury, but Nitro grabs him from the apron and pulls him toward the ropes, setting up a slick slingshot powerbomb spot. MNM were really really great, btw. All 3 members. Mercury & Nitro can bump around and sell and just generally take a beating, but they can also cheat-- they always bring really fun old-school distraction tactics to their matches. Their facial expressions are good and they come across as legit dicks when they're in control. And Melina can scream and look angry at ringside when things go wrong, but she can also interfere when things start going well. At one point, she just grabs Rey and yanks him to the ground, and it looks vicious. Rey's FIP segment is very good. MNM focus on the neck, and Rey sells. Nitro hits a nasty-looking clothesline to the back of the neck. Couple great cutoffs, too-- at one point, Rey starts to channel his Eddie energy to hit that bulldog spot on Mercury, only for Melina to distract the ref so Nitro can come pull Rey back. Seconds later, Rey's punching both guys to get out of the corner and crawling around the ring to try to reach Batista. He crawls through Mercury's legs and then eats an enziguiri from Nitro. Awesome. Actual hot tag is good, too, as Rey hits a swank reverse rana from the top on Nitro, and Nitro gets all the way over and way across the ring. Batista comes in and rips people apart, and Rey hits a 619 that connects on both Melina & Mercury, setting up a Batista Bomb and a victory and a title change. Great tag match.
***3/4
Batista & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM - Smackdown 12/30/2010
Babyface shine period is slightly shorter here but still good. Batista roughs both guys up in the corner, setting up a double Brono Buster from Rey. Tazz informs us that Rey wants to rename the move the 1904 or something. Rey also hits a sweet headscissor spot on I believe Nitro. Transition spot to MNM control segment rules-- Rey's on the apron about to springboard, but Mercury distracts him long enough to allow Nitro to catch him with a superkick just as he's coming of the top rope, and Rey drops down, hitting his head on the apron and getting his leg tangled on the ropes. MNM then proceeds to rip his knee off. Mercury (not the legal man) locks the leg up in the ropes and then pummels it. When he comes in, he sort of figure-fours the injured knee while going for a pin, which I thought was a nice touch. Rey's selling is great, too-- at one point, Mercury Irish whips him and he just collapses, and Mercury points and smiles like an asshat. Great stuff. They do their usual good stuff, cheating and distracting and focusing all their offense, and it's perfect. Maybe even liked the FIP segment here better than in the last match.
Really great hope spot where Rey crawls around again and then tries to jump over both of them. They catch him, and there's a great visual of Rey's hand inches from Dave's. He counters with a double-DDT. Don't think the crowd really got that spot, though, because their pop didn't quite correlate to its awesomeness. They actually got quieter when he hit it. Then there's another awesome video of Rey crawling toward Batista with both guys right behind him, reaching out to grab him... but he makes it, and Big Dave starts thrashing dudes and Rey climbs to the top to 'rana Nitro from the apron to the ground, selling his leg the whole time and smacking his head on the apron. Didn't really dig the finish though-- ref bump looked really forced, and then Mercury has a chance to sneak attack Batista while the ref is out, but he doesn't cheat at all. He just jumps on Batista. KICK HIM IN THE DICK, JOSEPH. Mark Henry (hired by Melina) comes out and hits an awesome-looking World's Strongest Slam, which Batista sells like a champ, leading to an MNM victory. Good way to set up a Dave/Henry title match, I suppose, and the finish hardly took away from the total awesomeness of the match. Not really sure which match I prefer-- they both had tons of positives.
***3/4
Sunday, August 22, 2010
More 2010 WWE
(#15) Luke Gallows vs. Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 3/5/2010
(#31) Luke Gallows vs. Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 3/19/2010
Both matches were really good, but the first was definitely the standout and a really testament to how good Gallows is on offense. He hits tons of great stuff, and Rey takes it all really well. None of it is overly complicated, but Gallows has really good punches and clotheslines and he busts out some cool slams and a really great-looking splash. Really awesome spot in the first match where Gallows shoves Rey into the ropes from his knees and then hits a devastating clothesline, still on his knees. Second match is a step down, but still good. Rey comes out with more fire, but there's still a whole lot of Gallows on offense. He's not quite as interesting here, and the match seemed to end fairly abruptly due to interference, but there's a good teased count-out spot early on, and plenty of stuff to like. Also worth noting that Punk is fantastic at ringside in both matches. In the first match, he tells Rey to "Get back in the ring, Rey!" when he goes to the apron. In the second, his reaction to Rey getting back inside is awesome. Really satisfying out-of-nowhere finish in the first match; somewhat dissatisfying finish in the second, I thought.
(#17) Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 6/25/2010
(#26) Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 8/13/2010
First match between these two was when I first started to change my mind on McIntyre as a worker. These two had a pretty heated rivalry coming in-- Drew had tried to put Matt on the shelf for good, putting his head on the steel steps and then stomping on it, etc. And Teddy tried to fire Drew, and then Mr. McMahon reinstated him, etc. But then Nexus took Vince out, so Teddy stuck Drew in the ring with Matt. Match starts with fire, both guys throwing punches and going to the outside quickly. I <3 Matt Hardy's punches. Drew takes a cool bump on the outside, flipping over the ring steps. Then he takes control with an interesting spot where he takes Matt from the apron and smashes him into the turnbuckle from there. I couldn't decide if I liked that or not. Felt kinda iffy on Drew's control stuff at times, too. He busted out some really nifty stuff, like a Michinoku driver off the top rope. And Matt's really good at taking all his stuff. But it started to drag at times, I thought. Or maybe I thought it lasted a bit too long for what I thought should've been a more even slugfest-type match. But the finishing run is gold. They go the outside and Drew tries to repeat the steps stomp spot. Well, first he whips Matt into the steps, and Matt makes a great face. Then he tries to stomp him, but Matt sweeps Drew's legs out, and Drew just fucking flat-fuck draps, flat-backed on the steel. Bonkers. Then he makes a side effect look really good, and he takes a Twist of Fate look absolutely awesome. Loved the way he took stuff in the final stretch. Really impressive, and I dig how Drew is willing to take some nasty shit (like when he launched himself into the apron in the 7/30 match with Christian).
The 8/13 match is shorter but still really violent and good, with more awesome stuff involving the ring steps. I can't remember much of it for whatever reason, just that McIntyre stomped on Matt's leg and it looked nasty, and he came across as a legit threat here. He's been on quite the roll, and Hardy's having kind of a good under-the-radar year. He hasn't been in top form, but he was really good in both of these matches, and he had really good performances in solid matches with Carlito & DH Smith on Superstars.
(#31) Luke Gallows vs. Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 3/19/2010
Both matches were really good, but the first was definitely the standout and a really testament to how good Gallows is on offense. He hits tons of great stuff, and Rey takes it all really well. None of it is overly complicated, but Gallows has really good punches and clotheslines and he busts out some cool slams and a really great-looking splash. Really awesome spot in the first match where Gallows shoves Rey into the ropes from his knees and then hits a devastating clothesline, still on his knees. Second match is a step down, but still good. Rey comes out with more fire, but there's still a whole lot of Gallows on offense. He's not quite as interesting here, and the match seemed to end fairly abruptly due to interference, but there's a good teased count-out spot early on, and plenty of stuff to like. Also worth noting that Punk is fantastic at ringside in both matches. In the first match, he tells Rey to "Get back in the ring, Rey!" when he goes to the apron. In the second, his reaction to Rey getting back inside is awesome. Really satisfying out-of-nowhere finish in the first match; somewhat dissatisfying finish in the second, I thought.
(#17) Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 6/25/2010
(#26) Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 8/13/2010
First match between these two was when I first started to change my mind on McIntyre as a worker. These two had a pretty heated rivalry coming in-- Drew had tried to put Matt on the shelf for good, putting his head on the steel steps and then stomping on it, etc. And Teddy tried to fire Drew, and then Mr. McMahon reinstated him, etc. But then Nexus took Vince out, so Teddy stuck Drew in the ring with Matt. Match starts with fire, both guys throwing punches and going to the outside quickly. I <3 Matt Hardy's punches. Drew takes a cool bump on the outside, flipping over the ring steps. Then he takes control with an interesting spot where he takes Matt from the apron and smashes him into the turnbuckle from there. I couldn't decide if I liked that or not. Felt kinda iffy on Drew's control stuff at times, too. He busted out some really nifty stuff, like a Michinoku driver off the top rope. And Matt's really good at taking all his stuff. But it started to drag at times, I thought. Or maybe I thought it lasted a bit too long for what I thought should've been a more even slugfest-type match. But the finishing run is gold. They go the outside and Drew tries to repeat the steps stomp spot. Well, first he whips Matt into the steps, and Matt makes a great face. Then he tries to stomp him, but Matt sweeps Drew's legs out, and Drew just fucking flat-fuck draps, flat-backed on the steel. Bonkers. Then he makes a side effect look really good, and he takes a Twist of Fate look absolutely awesome. Loved the way he took stuff in the final stretch. Really impressive, and I dig how Drew is willing to take some nasty shit (like when he launched himself into the apron in the 7/30 match with Christian).
The 8/13 match is shorter but still really violent and good, with more awesome stuff involving the ring steps. I can't remember much of it for whatever reason, just that McIntyre stomped on Matt's leg and it looked nasty, and he came across as a legit threat here. He's been on quite the roll, and Hardy's having kind of a good under-the-radar year. He hasn't been in top form, but he was really good in both of these matches, and he had really good performances in solid matches with Carlito & DH Smith on Superstars.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Some More Good WWE Matches from 2010
(Added, # 21) Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 2/5/2010
Well, these guys have really great chemistry together, as evidenced by the quality of their bouts at Night of Champions and particularly SummerSlam last year. This was Elimination Chamber qualifying match, and it didn't disappoint. It was short and fun. Rey came in with injured ribs (not taped, but he was selling like they were sore already)-- I don't remember exactly what happened, but I'm sure Batista hit multiple Batista bombs, and Taker hit that monstrous Last Ride in their Rumble match. So Ziggler works on that, and Rey sells really well, and his facial expressions are choice. This was the first of a stack of matches I watched, so I don't remember everything, but I do know Ziggler hit a couple awesome cutoffs during Rey comebacks. At one point, he catches Rey coming off the top ropes with a beautiful dropkick. Later, he catches a springboarding Rey with an awesome powerslam. Really great spot. Finish was out-of-nowhere and awesome and looked like a really convincing flash pin, which I dug.
(Added, #16) Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Masters - Superstars 5/13/2010
Two really awesome guys, who at the time weren't getting the treatment they deserved. Dolph is getting his push, but Masters is still way down on the card. Oh well, this was awesome. They billed this as a sleeper vs. Masterlock deal, but it was actually more about both guys taking awesome bumps. Dolph gets massive elevation and drops right on his face. Later, Masters dumps Dolph to the outside, and then Dolph jumps and kicks Masters in the face (really cool spot), and Masters just launches himself flat-backed to the floor. Fucking bonkers bump. Later, Masters hits a catapult, and Dolph goes face-first into the turnbuckle, and it looks nasty. Masters hits a better catapult than anyone.
But the match isn't just bumps. Masters does little things really well, and his facial expressions totally rock. He takes a little thing like a kick to the chest and makes it fun to watch, and he's really fun to watch in a hold, especially for a guy his size. His facial expressions and the way he tries to get out are legit great. Finishing stretch was good, teasing both guys' holds only to end with a Zig-Zag, which I don't think is a great finisher, but Masters makes it look better than anyone else has.
(Added, #18) Chris Masters vs. Luke Gallows - Superstars 6/24/2010
I think I'd take the Ziggler match as the best match of Masters's impressive 2010 run, but this was darn close. These are possibly the two most under-utilized/under-appreciated guys on the roster. They're both fantastic workers: both have great facial expressions and bump incredibly well for guys their size, and both have simple but credible offense. They trade blows early, and Gallows throws some great punches. Masters hits a big suplex and Gallows rolls out. Maybe not a super-significant spot, but it comes back into play later. Gallows works the back: Masters takes sort of a mini-version of the flat-backed bump he took in the Ziggler match, and then Gallows throws him back-first into the barricade, which looked really good. All of Gallows's offense looked really good, and all of his cutoffs worked well, too. Masters's selling is awesome, too. He goes for a scoop slam at one point but can't get Gallows up, which I thought was cool because we saw Masters hit that suplex early on. Great way of showing the effectiveness of Gallows's offense. Finishing stretch was great, too. Gallows's finisher starts with sort of a reverse full nelson, so it was cool to see them trade holds trying to get their finishers in. Striker also makes a good point about how the damaged back hinders Masters's ability to lock in the Masterlock, which makes his great selling even more important. Distraction by Serena was a great way to set up the Gallows Pole.
(Added, #32) Yoshi Tatsu vs. Primo - Superstars 5/27/2010
This was really fun. Heel Primo has been surprisingly good. He gets some nice shtick moments in, bowing to Yoshi and mocking him. But yeah, there's not much to say about it other than that I thought it was a really good 5-minute sprint that allowed both guys to showcase what they can do.
(Added, #13) Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder - Superstars 5/27/2010
I LOVE this match. I'm absolutely crazy about Bourne, and he's really impressive here. Ryder's offense isn't great, but Bourne makes everything look good and impactful here. It's really remarkable the way he can take an average-looking blow and turn it into something special just by launching himself in the ground. And when someone has something that generally looks pretty good-- like Ryder's face wash-- Bourne really puts it over the top, doing something like crumpling through the ropes to the outside. Awesome. Everything here looks so good, from a really cool crucifix counter by Bourne out of some hold, which Ryder the rolled through, keeping Bourne on his shoulders to throw him for an awesome hotshot spot, to an awesomely-timed spin kick counter by Bourne on Ryder coming off the top rope. Also, kudos to Ryder for taking Bourne's kicks really well early in the match. Some guys don't bother to sell his kicks, which is really stinky because he has good-looking stuff that can look credible against bigger guys if they're willing to cooperate (Sheamus is really great with Bourne, btw). Finishing stretch was awesome, too, especially on the live viewing, as I remember really buying into everything because they were butting up so close to the end of the hour.
Well, these guys have really great chemistry together, as evidenced by the quality of their bouts at Night of Champions and particularly SummerSlam last year. This was Elimination Chamber qualifying match, and it didn't disappoint. It was short and fun. Rey came in with injured ribs (not taped, but he was selling like they were sore already)-- I don't remember exactly what happened, but I'm sure Batista hit multiple Batista bombs, and Taker hit that monstrous Last Ride in their Rumble match. So Ziggler works on that, and Rey sells really well, and his facial expressions are choice. This was the first of a stack of matches I watched, so I don't remember everything, but I do know Ziggler hit a couple awesome cutoffs during Rey comebacks. At one point, he catches Rey coming off the top ropes with a beautiful dropkick. Later, he catches a springboarding Rey with an awesome powerslam. Really great spot. Finish was out-of-nowhere and awesome and looked like a really convincing flash pin, which I dug.
(Added, #16) Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Masters - Superstars 5/13/2010
Two really awesome guys, who at the time weren't getting the treatment they deserved. Dolph is getting his push, but Masters is still way down on the card. Oh well, this was awesome. They billed this as a sleeper vs. Masterlock deal, but it was actually more about both guys taking awesome bumps. Dolph gets massive elevation and drops right on his face. Later, Masters dumps Dolph to the outside, and then Dolph jumps and kicks Masters in the face (really cool spot), and Masters just launches himself flat-backed to the floor. Fucking bonkers bump. Later, Masters hits a catapult, and Dolph goes face-first into the turnbuckle, and it looks nasty. Masters hits a better catapult than anyone.
But the match isn't just bumps. Masters does little things really well, and his facial expressions totally rock. He takes a little thing like a kick to the chest and makes it fun to watch, and he's really fun to watch in a hold, especially for a guy his size. His facial expressions and the way he tries to get out are legit great. Finishing stretch was good, teasing both guys' holds only to end with a Zig-Zag, which I don't think is a great finisher, but Masters makes it look better than anyone else has.
(Added, #18) Chris Masters vs. Luke Gallows - Superstars 6/24/2010
I think I'd take the Ziggler match as the best match of Masters's impressive 2010 run, but this was darn close. These are possibly the two most under-utilized/under-appreciated guys on the roster. They're both fantastic workers: both have great facial expressions and bump incredibly well for guys their size, and both have simple but credible offense. They trade blows early, and Gallows throws some great punches. Masters hits a big suplex and Gallows rolls out. Maybe not a super-significant spot, but it comes back into play later. Gallows works the back: Masters takes sort of a mini-version of the flat-backed bump he took in the Ziggler match, and then Gallows throws him back-first into the barricade, which looked really good. All of Gallows's offense looked really good, and all of his cutoffs worked well, too. Masters's selling is awesome, too. He goes for a scoop slam at one point but can't get Gallows up, which I thought was cool because we saw Masters hit that suplex early on. Great way of showing the effectiveness of Gallows's offense. Finishing stretch was great, too. Gallows's finisher starts with sort of a reverse full nelson, so it was cool to see them trade holds trying to get their finishers in. Striker also makes a good point about how the damaged back hinders Masters's ability to lock in the Masterlock, which makes his great selling even more important. Distraction by Serena was a great way to set up the Gallows Pole.
(Added, #32) Yoshi Tatsu vs. Primo - Superstars 5/27/2010
This was really fun. Heel Primo has been surprisingly good. He gets some nice shtick moments in, bowing to Yoshi and mocking him. But yeah, there's not much to say about it other than that I thought it was a really good 5-minute sprint that allowed both guys to showcase what they can do.
(Added, #13) Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder - Superstars 5/27/2010
I LOVE this match. I'm absolutely crazy about Bourne, and he's really impressive here. Ryder's offense isn't great, but Bourne makes everything look good and impactful here. It's really remarkable the way he can take an average-looking blow and turn it into something special just by launching himself in the ground. And when someone has something that generally looks pretty good-- like Ryder's face wash-- Bourne really puts it over the top, doing something like crumpling through the ropes to the outside. Awesome. Everything here looks so good, from a really cool crucifix counter by Bourne out of some hold, which Ryder the rolled through, keeping Bourne on his shoulders to throw him for an awesome hotshot spot, to an awesomely-timed spin kick counter by Bourne on Ryder coming off the top rope. Also, kudos to Ryder for taking Bourne's kicks really well early in the match. Some guys don't bother to sell his kicks, which is really stinky because he has good-looking stuff that can look credible against bigger guys if they're willing to cooperate (Sheamus is really great with Bourne, btw). Finishing stretch was awesome, too, especially on the live viewing, as I remember really buying into everything because they were butting up so close to the end of the hour.
More on Why Christian Rules
(#20) Christian vs. Cody Rhodes - Smackdown 8/13/2010
Yeah, this was definitely good. Cody immediately backs Christian into the corner, targeting the arm. When Cody charges, Christian gets his feet up, which makes Cody back off to protect his face, starting a really entertaining sub-plot, with Christian trying to hit Cody in the face and Cody avoiding it. Cody takes a good bump to the outside and then Christian hits a great plancha and looks in control at the break. They come back with Cody in control, which I didn't like because I don't like to miss transition spots, but they recapped it and it was fine. Cody works Christian's arm; Christian sells: it's really good. Awesome moment where Christian falls on his arm on the bottom rope and sells like crazy. Another really cool spot where Christian goes for his slap-in-the-face spot while Cody's on the second rope, only for Cody to walk away. Christian then hits a sunset flip from the outside, which I thought was a cool variation on his standard corner spot. Finishing stretch really rocks: Christian can't hit his finisher because of the injury, and Cody uses the injury to his advantage, but Christian does get to slap Cody in the face really hard (and Cody sells it really well), so they pay off on that sub-plot. I dug this, but it was a notch below the McIntyre matches, mainly because Cody only brought about 40% of the intensity that Drew brought. I think "Dashing" Cody Rhodes is a great character that totally suits him, and there are a lot of things to like about Cody, but I don't think he's quite firing on all cylinders as a worker yet. I am excited about his future though. He's 25.
(Added, #14) Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 7/16/2010
This is a notch below their last two matches because it doesn't have the awesome arm work and arm selling, but it's still great. It felt like a total slugfest, with tons of stuff stiff and great bumps, and lots of really nifty counters. It felt like both guys came prepared for the other guy's big stuff. There are some neat exchanges around the apron early on that felt totally fresh, and they resulted in a cool spot where Drew tried to slam Christian down into the apron, only for Christian to hold onto the top rope and hit his pendulum kick from a different spot than he normally does. I love the way he can vary his signature spots. And I also loved how they still delivered on the teased apron bump a little bit later when Drew shoves Christian off the top rope, and Christian shoves his own head into the mat. Absolute bonkers-ville bump, and I loved it. But Drew never really gets a lengthy control session here, as Christian keeps making comebacks and throwing bombs from the top rope, which I really liked. Christian takes some good-looking throat-first bumps onto the ropes; Drew takes a tornado DDT really well, and the counters during the finishing stretch are really fun, and the eye poke is awesome, and Christian's sell is even better.
Yeah, this was definitely good. Cody immediately backs Christian into the corner, targeting the arm. When Cody charges, Christian gets his feet up, which makes Cody back off to protect his face, starting a really entertaining sub-plot, with Christian trying to hit Cody in the face and Cody avoiding it. Cody takes a good bump to the outside and then Christian hits a great plancha and looks in control at the break. They come back with Cody in control, which I didn't like because I don't like to miss transition spots, but they recapped it and it was fine. Cody works Christian's arm; Christian sells: it's really good. Awesome moment where Christian falls on his arm on the bottom rope and sells like crazy. Another really cool spot where Christian goes for his slap-in-the-face spot while Cody's on the second rope, only for Cody to walk away. Christian then hits a sunset flip from the outside, which I thought was a cool variation on his standard corner spot. Finishing stretch really rocks: Christian can't hit his finisher because of the injury, and Cody uses the injury to his advantage, but Christian does get to slap Cody in the face really hard (and Cody sells it really well), so they pay off on that sub-plot. I dug this, but it was a notch below the McIntyre matches, mainly because Cody only brought about 40% of the intensity that Drew brought. I think "Dashing" Cody Rhodes is a great character that totally suits him, and there are a lot of things to like about Cody, but I don't think he's quite firing on all cylinders as a worker yet. I am excited about his future though. He's 25.
(Added, #14) Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 7/16/2010
This is a notch below their last two matches because it doesn't have the awesome arm work and arm selling, but it's still great. It felt like a total slugfest, with tons of stuff stiff and great bumps, and lots of really nifty counters. It felt like both guys came prepared for the other guy's big stuff. There are some neat exchanges around the apron early on that felt totally fresh, and they resulted in a cool spot where Drew tried to slam Christian down into the apron, only for Christian to hold onto the top rope and hit his pendulum kick from a different spot than he normally does. I love the way he can vary his signature spots. And I also loved how they still delivered on the teased apron bump a little bit later when Drew shoves Christian off the top rope, and Christian shoves his own head into the mat. Absolute bonkers-ville bump, and I loved it. But Drew never really gets a lengthy control session here, as Christian keeps making comebacks and throwing bombs from the top rope, which I really liked. Christian takes some good-looking throat-first bumps onto the ropes; Drew takes a tornado DDT really well, and the counters during the finishing stretch are really fun, and the eye poke is awesome, and Christian's sell is even better.
Thoughts on a Random Heap of Matches
Ted Dibiase vs. Chris Masters - Superstars 1/7/2010
I remember rolling my eyes when Chris Masters first turned into a pec-dancing babyface. Boy, was I wrong: his babyface run has rocked the big timez. First exchanges of this match are like a little preview of the awesomeness of 2010 Chris Masters. Ted targets the leg early, and Masters makes some average strikes look super effective. Ted takes Masters down and locks the leg up, only for Masters to come up with a cool counter to lock in the Masterlock early. Ted escapes; Masters sells the leg really well, shaking it off. So yeah, here's a guy who sells really well and works smart little matches with good crowd heat focused around a full nelson that he's gotten miraculously over in 2010. He's great. Rest of the match is good, though Ted's control stuff is somewhat pedestrian, which holds it back a bit. He does hit that cool clothesline spot he does, and though Masters obviously has no chance at making it look as good as Evan Bourne does, he takes it as well as a guy his size possibly could. And I mentioned that spot to point out that the second time Ted goes for it, Masters counters it into a Masterlock attempt, which led to a nice finishing stretch. I really dug Masters's counter there.
Mike Knox vs. Finlay - Superstars 1/7/2010
Here are two guys I miss on WWE TV. They had a few matches on Smackdown a year or two ago, and I'll need to track those down at some point to watch them again because this was awesome, even better than the Masters match from the same show. They open with good strikes and good selling. Both guys are big and tough and physical, which means they mesh well. It goes to the outside quickly, and Knox hits an awesome powerslam on the floor, which leads to Knox working Finlay's back and Finlay selling really well. I'm not remembering the match perfectly, but there's a great spot where Finlay catches Knox coming into the corner with his boot, and then he tries to come off the second rope only for Knox to catch him and hit a big slam. Sounds like a typical spot, but it looked really good here. Also, Knox hit his glorious cross-body. Striker yells a lot of ridiculous things, and I dislike a lot of them, but "flying bear" seems like a great thing to yell during a Mike Knox match. Finish was good and out-of-nowhere-ish, which I liked. Felt really sudden and surprising and convincing all at the same time.
Mike Knox vs. Rey Mysterio - Superstars 2/18/2010
I liked this even more than the Finlay match. Again, it's been a while since I watched all these, and my memory isn't the best, but I just remember gobs of great cutoffs from Knox. Rey would start to roll like Rey rolls, and the Knox would catch him with a boot or a clothesline, and it would just look absolutely vicious. Rey took them all like a champ. And there was a flying bear at some point. Great match.
Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 7/30/2010
Right, so I thoroughly loved the last two Christian/McIntyre matches. This was shockingly great on the first watch. Christian rocks Drew early, and Drew takes a great bump to the outside, and then he launches himself into the apron following a Christian dropkick. The transition spot to Drew's control segment is amazing: he crawls under the ring to draw Christian in, and then he smashes Christian's arm against the metal under the ring. You know that means? That means Christian sells arm work in this match. That means this match will be at worst really good. Turns out Drew's arm work is plenty good, which makes this match great. Really cool theme of metal vs. arm, as Drew repeatedly uses metal things around the ring to demolish Christian's arm. Shoulder breaker on the ring steps. Yeah. Christian gets good comeback spots in and all that, but it's all about him selling his ass off and making great faces and noises, which he does better than anyone. Finish was perfect and kept Drew looking strong even in defeat. Only a notch behind Rey/Punk for my TV MOTY.
Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 8/20/2010
I probably prefer their 7/30 match, but that doesn't mean this isn't great. It's a match where Christian takes an apron bump and sells arm work; of course it's great. Drew immediately works the arm, and Christian fights him off and hits a cool rana, which frustrates McIntyre. I really bought his frustration here, more than I usually do. Drew trips Christian on the apron to take control, and Christian makes the apron bump look nasty, like he always does. Then there's an awesome sequence outside around where the ring announcer sits that results in an awesome spot and Drew wrecks Christian's arm around a whole bunch of metal and shit. It's great. Drew's arm work is really good and Christian's selling is better. He gets some good comeback spots-- there's an awesome moment where he attempts a to mare his way out of a hammerlock, only for Drew to drop him right on his arm. There's another awesome jumping DDT spot that results in Drew taking a great DDT bump and Christian brilliantly selling his arm AT THE SAME FUCKING TIME. Might've been better than the 7/30 match. Finish is really smart, too, and reminded me of both their last match and Christian's 8/13 match with Rhodes. The Rhodes match is really good, too, and you should track that down. Not as good as the D Mac matches, but Cody works Christian's arm, so obviously it's good. Also, Cody does commentary, which is at times irritating because they cut to him instead of getting a close-up on Christian's great facial expressions, but if you haven't been exposed to the awesomeness of the "Dashing" Cody Rhodes gimmick, you're in for a treat. He gives Todd Grisham cotton swabs.
I remember rolling my eyes when Chris Masters first turned into a pec-dancing babyface. Boy, was I wrong: his babyface run has rocked the big timez. First exchanges of this match are like a little preview of the awesomeness of 2010 Chris Masters. Ted targets the leg early, and Masters makes some average strikes look super effective. Ted takes Masters down and locks the leg up, only for Masters to come up with a cool counter to lock in the Masterlock early. Ted escapes; Masters sells the leg really well, shaking it off. So yeah, here's a guy who sells really well and works smart little matches with good crowd heat focused around a full nelson that he's gotten miraculously over in 2010. He's great. Rest of the match is good, though Ted's control stuff is somewhat pedestrian, which holds it back a bit. He does hit that cool clothesline spot he does, and though Masters obviously has no chance at making it look as good as Evan Bourne does, he takes it as well as a guy his size possibly could. And I mentioned that spot to point out that the second time Ted goes for it, Masters counters it into a Masterlock attempt, which led to a nice finishing stretch. I really dug Masters's counter there.
Mike Knox vs. Finlay - Superstars 1/7/2010
Here are two guys I miss on WWE TV. They had a few matches on Smackdown a year or two ago, and I'll need to track those down at some point to watch them again because this was awesome, even better than the Masters match from the same show. They open with good strikes and good selling. Both guys are big and tough and physical, which means they mesh well. It goes to the outside quickly, and Knox hits an awesome powerslam on the floor, which leads to Knox working Finlay's back and Finlay selling really well. I'm not remembering the match perfectly, but there's a great spot where Finlay catches Knox coming into the corner with his boot, and then he tries to come off the second rope only for Knox to catch him and hit a big slam. Sounds like a typical spot, but it looked really good here. Also, Knox hit his glorious cross-body. Striker yells a lot of ridiculous things, and I dislike a lot of them, but "flying bear" seems like a great thing to yell during a Mike Knox match. Finish was good and out-of-nowhere-ish, which I liked. Felt really sudden and surprising and convincing all at the same time.
Mike Knox vs. Rey Mysterio - Superstars 2/18/2010
I liked this even more than the Finlay match. Again, it's been a while since I watched all these, and my memory isn't the best, but I just remember gobs of great cutoffs from Knox. Rey would start to roll like Rey rolls, and the Knox would catch him with a boot or a clothesline, and it would just look absolutely vicious. Rey took them all like a champ. And there was a flying bear at some point. Great match.
Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 7/30/2010
Right, so I thoroughly loved the last two Christian/McIntyre matches. This was shockingly great on the first watch. Christian rocks Drew early, and Drew takes a great bump to the outside, and then he launches himself into the apron following a Christian dropkick. The transition spot to Drew's control segment is amazing: he crawls under the ring to draw Christian in, and then he smashes Christian's arm against the metal under the ring. You know that means? That means Christian sells arm work in this match. That means this match will be at worst really good. Turns out Drew's arm work is plenty good, which makes this match great. Really cool theme of metal vs. arm, as Drew repeatedly uses metal things around the ring to demolish Christian's arm. Shoulder breaker on the ring steps. Yeah. Christian gets good comeback spots in and all that, but it's all about him selling his ass off and making great faces and noises, which he does better than anyone. Finish was perfect and kept Drew looking strong even in defeat. Only a notch behind Rey/Punk for my TV MOTY.
Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - Smackdown 8/20/2010
I probably prefer their 7/30 match, but that doesn't mean this isn't great. It's a match where Christian takes an apron bump and sells arm work; of course it's great. Drew immediately works the arm, and Christian fights him off and hits a cool rana, which frustrates McIntyre. I really bought his frustration here, more than I usually do. Drew trips Christian on the apron to take control, and Christian makes the apron bump look nasty, like he always does. Then there's an awesome sequence outside around where the ring announcer sits that results in an awesome spot and Drew wrecks Christian's arm around a whole bunch of metal and shit. It's great. Drew's arm work is really good and Christian's selling is better. He gets some good comeback spots-- there's an awesome moment where he attempts a to mare his way out of a hammerlock, only for Drew to drop him right on his arm. There's another awesome jumping DDT spot that results in Drew taking a great DDT bump and Christian brilliantly selling his arm AT THE SAME FUCKING TIME. Might've been better than the 7/30 match. Finish is really smart, too, and reminded me of both their last match and Christian's 8/13 match with Rhodes. The Rhodes match is really good, too, and you should track that down. Not as good as the D Mac matches, but Cody works Christian's arm, so obviously it's good. Also, Cody does commentary, which is at times irritating because they cut to him instead of getting a close-up on Christian's great facial expressions, but if you haven't been exposed to the awesomeness of the "Dashing" Cody Rhodes gimmick, you're in for a treat. He gives Todd Grisham cotton swabs.
Current WWE MOTY List
1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania 26 (3/28)
2. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio – Extreme Rules (4/25)
3. Batista vs. John Cena – WrestleMania 26 (3/28)
4. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio – Over the Limit (5/23)
5. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio – Smackdown 2/12/2010
6. Christian vs. Drew McIntrye – Smackdown 7/30/2010
7. Christian vs. Drew McIntrye – Smackdown 8/20/2010
8. Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger – Smackdown 6/11/2010
9. John Cena vs. Batista – LMS – Extreme Rules (4/25)
10. Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson – Royal Rumble 2010
11. Evan Bourne & John Cena vs. Edge & Sheamus – Raw 5/31/2010
12. Christian vs. William Regal – Superstars 1/14/2010
13. Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder – Superstars 5/27/2010
14. Evan Bourne & Yoshi Tatsu vs. Chavo Guerrero & Zack Ryder – Superstars 4/8/2010
15. Rey Mysterio vs. Luke Gallows – Smackdown 3/5/2010
16. Christian vs. Drew McIntyre – Smackdown 7/16/2010
17. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre – Smackdown 6/25/2010
18. Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Masters – Superstars 5/13/2010
19. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio – WrestleMania 26 (3/25)
20. Luke Gallows vs. Chris Masters – Superstars 6/24/2010
21. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox – Superstars 2/18/2010
22. Finlay vs. Mike Knox – Superstars 1/7/2010
23. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio – Smackdown 2/5/2010
24. Team WWE vs. Team Nexus – SummerSlam (8/15)
25. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes – Smackdown 8/13/2010
26. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre – Smackdown 8/13/2010
27. Christian vs. Zack Ryder – Superstars 2/11/2010
28. Evan Bourne vs. William Regal – Superstars 3/4/2010
29. Christian, Yoshi Tatsu, & Mark Henry vs. William Regal, Jack Swagger, & Zack Ryder – Superstars 3/18/2010
30. Evan Bourne vs. Carlito – Superstars 2/4/2010
31. Rey Mysterio vs. Luke Gallows – Smackdown 3/19/2010
32. Chris Masters vs. Primo vs. Chavo Guerrero – Superstars 1/28/2010
33. Goldust vs. Chris Jericho – Superstars 3/4/2010
34. Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero – Superstars 2/18/2010
35. Ted Dibiase vs. Chris Masters – Superstars 1/7/2010
36. Yoshi Tatsu vs. Primo Colon – Superstars 5/27/2010
37. William Regal vs. Yoshi Tatsu – Superstars 4/1/2010
38. Mike Knox vs. Goldust – Superstars 3/11/2010
39. DH Smith vs. Matt Hardy – Superstars 1/28/2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)