Phil's Ongoing 2008 MOTY List

1. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/19
2. Yuki Ishikawa + Alexander Otsuka + Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda + Katsumi Usuda + Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26
3. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer IWA-MS 3/1
4. Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show WWE 3/30
5. Mike Quakenbush v. Johnny Saint WXW 3/8
6. Teddy Hart v. Eddie Kingston v. Homicide JAPW 1/19
7. Yuki Ishikawa v. Carl Greco BattlArts 6/1
8. Necro Butcher v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 10/4
9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17
10. Bull Pain/Todd Morton v. Jerry Lawler/Chris Michaels XCW-Midwest 8/9
11. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
12. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
13. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
14. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
15. Meiko Satomura v. Aja Kong SENDAI 10/26
16. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
17. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
18. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
19. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
20. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
21. Hayato Jr. Fujita v. Yoshitune MPRO 12/12
22. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
23. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
24. Finlay v. Chuck Palumbo WWE 5/20
25. Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30


Previously on the List

Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30
El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30
Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4

21. Hayato Jr. Fujita v. Yoshitune MPRO 12/12

Yoshitune is a guy with a bunch of nutty spots, but I had no expectation that he had a real singles match in him. This pretty much ruled though, Fujita is a Battlartsy junior, lots of nasty kicks and triangle chokes, I hadn’t seen a ton of him before but he looked good here, especially his selling. Most of the match is built around Yoshitune finding crazy ways to rupture Fujita’s abdomen, lots of nasty looking kicks and double stomps, including one off a balcony, and Fujita spent the entire match about to puke. Fujita meanwhile is just trying to knock Yoshitune out, and kicks him really hard in a bunch of ways. You had a big puro juniors finish, but their wasn’t any kick outs which made me scoff, and there was some really awesome looking spots, including a couple of variations of Yoshitune’s rope running. Match kind of came out nowhere, which is kind of the theme of 2008 wrestling for me.

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Phil's Ongoing 2008 MOTY List

1. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/19
2. Yuki Ishikawa + Alexander Otsuka + Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda + Katsumi Usuda + Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26
3. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer IWA-MS 3/1
4. Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show WWE 3/30
5. Mike Quakenbush v. Johnny Saint WXW 3/8
6. Teddy Hart v. Eddie Kingston v. Homicide JAPW 1/19
7. Yuki Ishikawa v. Carl Greco BattlArts 6/1
8. Necro Butcher v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 10/4
9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17
10. Bull Pain/Todd Morton v. Jerry Lawler/Chris Michaels XCW-Midwest 8/9
11. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
12. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
13. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
14. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
15. Meiko Satomura v. Aja Kong SENDAI 10/26
16. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
17. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
18. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
19. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
20. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
21. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
22. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
23. Finlay v. Chuck Palumbo WWE 5/20
24. Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30
25. Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30

Previously on the List

El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30
Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4

10. Bull Pain/Todd Morton v. Jerry Lawler/Chris Michaels XCW-Midwest 8/9

This is a match I had big expectations going into, and it totally exceeded them. Morton and Pain are a tremendous tag team, they take huge bumps, really violent offense, great at cutting off the ring, pretty much everything you want from a Southern Heel tag team. Morton really looks like one of the top 10 wrestlers in the world, his stuff is so crisp and athletic for a guy who has to be in his mid 40s, and his bumping is crazy. Usually in a tag match like this your big indy legend will hang around the ring apron and come in for a spot or two at the end, Lawler however worked about 70% of the match, bumping around the heels early, taking a big beating (including a ring post bump which is as good as the best post bumps on the Memphis set) and delivering the big comeback. Michaels looked good in his spots, but this was a Lawler showcase and it was awesome. Finish totally ruled with your big revenge spot by the crutch wearing Tony Falk son at ringside, and a Lawler Fireball. Hit up XCW Myspace and pick this up.

23. Finlay v. Chuck Palumbo WWE 5/20

This whole Palumbo v. Finlay mini series was great, and this was the highlight. Palumbo has a pretty simple batch of things that he does, but his punches and Yakuza kicks looked super violent, you don't see many people who out stiff Finlay, but Palumbo really looked dominate. There were multiple strikes that made my shout expletives. I love how Hornswoggle worked in this match, irritating Palumbo with the water gun only to sucker him in time and time again. The POISON MIST was an awesome finish, and Finlay blocking the ref's view with his shoulder during the cover was a great little touch which Finlay matches are full of. Totally enjoyable match

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Phil's Ongoing 2008 MOTY List

1. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/19
2. Yuki Ishikawa + Alexander Otsuka + Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda + Katsumi Usuda + Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26
3. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer IWA-MS 3/1
4. Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show WWE 3/30
5. Mike Quakenbush v. Johnny Saint WXW 3/8
6. Teddy Hart v. Eddie Kingston v. Homicide JAPW 1/19
7. Yuki Ishikawa v. Carl Greco BattlArts 6/1
8. Necro Butcher v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 10/4
9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17
10. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
11. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
12. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
13. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
14. Meiko Satomura v. Aja Kong SENDAI 10/26
14. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
15. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
16. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
17. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
18. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
19. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
20. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
21. Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30
22. Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30
23. Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4
24. El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30

14. Meiko Satomura v. Aja Kong SENDAI 10/26

I am pretty much completely uninterested in current Joshi wrestling, but I did love GAEA back in the day, and this was my favorite match-up. Pretty cool story with Satomura returning after a long absence from a broken orbital bone. She comes into the ring wearing an eyepatch like a sexy baby dike Pirata Morgan and Aja goes right after that eye, which is a cool match structure you don’t see a ton of. Aja welcomes her back with a spinning back fist which propels her out of the ring, and Meiko spends the rest of the match dodging and countering that back fist. Stiff, great selling, emotion and cool moves, fun fun stuff.

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Phil's Ongoing 2008 MOTY List

1. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/19
2. Yuki Ishikawa + Alexander Otsuka + Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda + Katsumi Usuda + Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26
3. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer IWA-MS 3/1
4. Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show WWE 3/30
5. Mike Quakenbush v. Johnny Saint WXW 3/8
6. Teddy Hart v. Eddie Kingston v. Homicide JAPW 1/19
7. Yuki Ishikawa v. Carl Greco BattlArts 6/1
8. Necro Butcher v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 10/4
9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17
10. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
11. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
12. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
13. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
14. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
15. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
16. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
17. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
18. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
19. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
20. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
21. Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30
22. Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30
23. Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4
24. El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30

9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17

In an area where most lucha trios match feel clipped even when they aren’t, IWRG is still a place where they let things draw out a bit. This didn’t have the matwork you will occasionally see in IWRG, as this was worked more like a classic 90’s AAA match then a classic 90’s CMLL match. Oficiales have awesome masks, and are like a trio of 1994 Psicosi, crazy bumps to the floor, a sick tope, and incredible eating of all of the flyers spots. They basically keep the AAA guys out of this match, outside of their big dives, and give us plenty of Freelance. If you aren’t on the Freelance bandwagon, jump on, as he is the single most spectacular wrestler in the world. It isn’t even his dives (although he bust out an insane springboard tope con hilo into the seats), but his rope running, headscissors and armdrags are as fast and slick as Rey Mysterio at his greatest. I think this would even appeal to the lamers who don’t “get” lucha, as this doesn’t take much getting.

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TARZAN GOTO OF THE DAY #3

Tarzan Goto v. Cactus Jack IWA 10/5/95






In 1995 Cactus Jack was my favorite wrestler, the insane ECW heel turn with possibly the best series of promos ever, the crazy matches with Sandman and Sabu, the IWA Funk matches. He basically got me into tape trading, as after catching the ECW TV show in my dorm, I needed to see all of his shit. The first comp tape I made was a incubatory Goodhelemet style career respective. So where the fuck did this match come from? I had never seen it before tonight, and it was as spectacular as any of the best Cactus stuff from that era. Cactus was completely insane here, hitting the elbow from the second rope to the floor, getting Flair hurled from the top to the floor, and getting smashed in the head with bottle. This was a Cactus show, but Goto brings the fight like he always does, he hits some nasty lariats and I loved his repeated headbutts. Some of Foley’s matches in retrospect looked a bit like stunt shows, but this felt like a crazy fight. I really think if this was in the ECW arena it would have been legendary, but it pretty rad to discover a hidden gem like this.

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TARZAN GOTO OF THE DAY #2

Atsushi Onita v. Tarzan Goto Exploding Barbed Wire 9/4/90





This is the first ever exploding barbed wire match. It is a gimmick Onita would later go on to perfect, this was pretty damn good as a stand alone match, and an especially good debut of this lunatic idea. Like most of these matches, Onita starts out eating a big beating, Goto attacks at the bell and drives him immediately into an explosions. Then we get a lot of bleeding and crazy facial expressions from Onita, as Goto works him over. Really nice powerslam and headbutts from Goto here, as he really is a bull. The match was really worked like the debut of a nutty gimmick, as Onita kept kind of accidentally setting off the explosions, like he hadn’t mastered the new ring positioning yet. Onita survives and survives, until he is finally able to Headbutt Goto into the barbed wire, after which he hits a batch of powerbombs and DDT’s until Goto can’t get up. Very weird to see a Puro match with so little back and forth, basically Ontia gets mauled, until he turns the tide and then Goto gets mauled until he loses. I really enjoyed this, it wasn’t a great wrestling match but Onita does these kind of Grand Guignol spectacles better then anyone ever.

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TARZAN GOTO OF THE DAY #1

So we here at Segunda Caida are all about reevaluating the hidden great matches and great wrestlers, previously we have talked up Dustin Rhodes and Yoshiaki Fujiawara and raised their profile and reputation among people who talk about wrestling on the internet. We have decided to do the same for the criminally underrated Tarzan Goto. Fat, greasy haired, face like the victim of a weasel attack, Goto has been derided by your average puro dude (if you check the DVDVR archives I myself coined the term Tarzan Scroto to describe him), but fuck that noise, Tarzan Goto is awesome, and we are going to talk about all of the awesome shit he has done

Atsushi Onita + Tarzan Goto v. Ashura Hara + Genricho Tenryu WAR 2/3/94

Interpromotional WAR matches are pretty much always spectacular, as Tenryu is never so great as when he defends his turf. Then have the invasion lead by Onita and you have two of the most charismatic motherfuckers ever facing off. Their match up was obviously the focus , but Tarzan Goto was really the workhorse in the match. All of his stuff looked crisp (especially in comparison to Tenryu and Onita, who awesome as they were tended to hit stuff awkwardly) ,and he really was vicious especially when the FMW team isolated Hara, He is surprisingly agile for such a fat grotesque, hitting some really nice looking superfly splashes. He even gets the biggest spot of the mach flapjack piledriving Tenryu on a table. Finish of course was all about Tenryu and Onita head to head, and it came off great, but you have to give Goto a bunch of credit for delivering the solid work around the flash.

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