IWRG 12/3/09

Only one match from this show has shown up. Pretty good match though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDTZEnsogeg

Oficial 911 v Bushi: Mask v Mask

TKG: Bushi opens the match with two huge dives right off the bat and a top rope armdrag. Bushi is going all out with huge make or miss moves from the start as everything is on the line. Of course the nature of all make or miss moves is you are going to leave openings for opponent and the stronger 911 has some spots but is unprepared for Bushi’s onslaught. He’s unable to take control as he can’t keep up with Bushi’s pace. Bushi wins first fall with backcracker into the same shoulderbreaker he used to win the title. Then he goes into the second fall working over that shoulder. The third fall is pretty epic with a crowd brawling section which includes a dive off the ring ramp, Bushi trying for another pin off the backcracker-shoulderbreaker combo, 911’s shoulder being so fucked that he faceplants off the apron brawling, 911 hitting a huge dive, 911 hitting his big bread and butter power move on the floor sending Bushi into the ring post and the floor and a bunch of other shit. I’m not a fan of most big move lucha, and this is big move lucha. But normally the problem with big move lucha is it’s just two guys trading moves. This match was all about actual guys dominated and controlling with the big moves, really neat transitions and openings for transitions, and lots of continuous selling of impact of the moves. It feels like a match that if I gave play by play description, or put it in some type of wrestling simulator game---would read like a MOTYC. But it didn’t feel quite that good to me watching it. It registered as really good but felt like something was missing. Often times when there is a match that feels like a MOTYC on paper but doesn’t register as such it’s because of poor execution. That isn’t the case here as the execution is all really good. Sometimes it’s because of lack of heat, and well this had heat. There is something about Bushi’s performance here that felt really emotionally detached and took me out of the match. He didn’t come across as emotionless or mechanical. Instead there is this Bill Murray in Lost in Translation feel to Bushi’s performance. He’s there but emotionally elsewhere. Bushi knows he’s leaving Mexico soon, and while he’s trying to save his mask, he can’t help but let his mind wander and worry about the child he’s leaving behind in Mexico and the child he left behind in Japan? His thoughts are on his garden? The lost dreams of his youth? He’s distant. The emotionally disconnected character is a great fictional type: the distant husband who has mentally already checked out of his relationship while still fighting to keep it; the guy who is mentally at home while at work; the guy mentally at work while at home, etc. I guess I can tack on backstory to make this all work. And on some level Bushi as a husk of a man whose soul is broken still trying to hold onto the dignity of his mask while his heart is elsewhere is kind of compelling and relatable. But I think wrestling may require that it’s characters be “in the present”. This is such an intangible thing that I may be seeing something that isn't there and I am curious to see what other people feel about this match, but everytime I watch this I get the same vibe.

PAS: I really love the highflyer going immediately for dives, it really gets across the recklessness of the techinco and his willingness to go all out from the beginning. Very cool start and engaged me right from the jump. I really wish that IWRG would steal a second move from the indies, as multiple backcrackers in every match can be a bit much, Sami Callihan's headlock driver seems pretty simple, steal that, mix it up a bit. I agree with Tomk on Bushi, I think the problem is that he throws pretty loose and weak kicks, elbows and punches. This match is set up to be this epic violent battle, but Bushi's shit is too dainty, and it takes me out of the match. Great performance by 911 though, and a pretty damn good match overall.