The Wrestling What I Watched in 2007 Pt. 1, by S.L.L.

So it's late September, and there is much hyped wrestling from this year that I have not watched. In support of Phil updating his 2007 MOTYC list, I too shall watch a lot of potentially great/disappointing wrestling in the hopes that it favors the former over the latter. And because I can devote a lazy Saturday afternoon to the wrestling, I think I can devote it to reviewing the wrestling IN REAL TIME! Starting with....

Shuji Kondo vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
AJPW - 2/17/2007 - Tokyo, Japan
AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match

I have paid very, very little attention to puro this year. Last time I checked, the Voodoo Murders were the only reason left to watch All Japan. We shall see if that still holds true. We shall also see if Nakajima still displays the potential for greatness that he had when I last saw him. Nakajima fought his mentor Kensuke Sasaki in the build-up to this match, and he is psyched and ready to go for Kondo. His enthusiasm is infectous, as I too am ready for the Jap wrestling to the point that I have to struggle not to sound like I'm directly jacking Dean Rasmussen's writing style. C'MON GUYS! DELIVER THE GOODS! Slow start, as they feel each other out. Kondo does 70's style headlock control spots, which are fine, but I know why I like Shuji Kondo, and it isn't for his scintillating matwork. Nakajima gets fired up and dropkicks Kondo out of the ring. Kondo takes a breather, but Nakajima will have none of it, diving out after him. Kondo playing it safe against fiery babyface Nakajima is an interesting choice for him. It doesn't last, though, as he palms the back of Nakajima's head while fighting on the apron and dives off to drive his face into the guardrail. Kondo controls, while Nakajima gets off some shots on his arm to weaken the King Kong Lariat. Nakajima dropkicks to offense, and dives off the top rope to the outside with a crossbody. Back in the ring, he starts teeing off on Kondo's arm with kicks and knees, including a neat triangle jump kick off the turnbuckles. Kondo catches a kick and slams him for two, then hits the Lanzarse for two more. Kondo does a piledriver out of a Canadian backbreaker that may have been the most heinous head drop in All Japan since the NOAH split. And right on cue, this turns into a bad NOAH main event, as Nakajima Hulks up, and they both take turns dropping each other on their heads and popping up and kicking out of finishers and what have you, and the enthusiasm is sucked out of me. Nakajima wins. I lose.

John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley
WWE - 7/22/2007 - San Jose, CA
WWE Heavyweight Title Match

Lashley's remixed theme is a lot better. The original version always felt too small time for a main eventer, especially next to Cena. Crowd is overwhelmingly pro-Cena. This and the Orton match really screwed with the theory that Cena gets booed against faces and cool heels and cheered against genuine heels. He's getting cheered heavily against strict babyface Lashley here, and a month later, he'd be booed against straight-up heel Orton. I think it might just be a question of empathy with the characters. I normally wouldn't accuse Phil and Tom of overestimating Cena's detractors, but I think when you put Lashley, Umaga, Khali, and Cena himself on one side, and Orton, HHH, Angle, and Michaels on the other, there's something else that would likely attract the aging frat boys to the latter group, and it isn't face/heel alignment. Then again, the crowd is pretty into Lashley, too, so maybe it's just a really hot crowd. Very back-and-forth match. Cena dodges a corner charge and hits a pair of Protoplexes and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Lashley escapes the F-U, however, and drops Cena with a powerslam off the ropes. Hot finishing sequence ensues, leading to a Lashley superplex being turned into Cena dumping him off of the top rope with an F-U for the win. Great, great match. Cena continues to solidify his claim to being the best in the world, and Lashley proved he can go when he really puts his mind to it. Apropos use of the respectful post-match handshake closes out the show. I know Phil has something written up on this match that he'll put up later. I can understand him not putting this in his top 25. Of all the big Cena matches this year, I've got it behind the LMS match with Umaga, the RAW match with Michaels, the first Khali match, and the Orton match from SummerSlam. It's not a high-end MOTYC. I'd believe there are 25 better matches this year. But it is a great match.

TO BE CONTINUED....