FUTEN is For The Children, We Teach The Children. Puffy is good but FUTEN is the Best-Futen 11/24/10

Ryuji Hijikata v. Kazuki Okubo

These are two of more pedestrian FUTEN guys, and we got a solid if unmemorable undercard FUTEN match. We got some nice looking grappling, some stiff, but not FUTEN stiff kicks. Hijikata is a guy I remember enjoying in BattlArts, but he was kind of juniory with some kind of goofy no selling. They slapped each other for a while and Hijikata hit a suplex and a choke.

Mitsuya Nagai v. Madoka

Madoka is a Beiber haired hairless junior who has irritated me in previous FUTEN shows, Nagai is an ex-RINGS crowbar who almost killed Iziuka a decade ago. This was Nagai cracking the fuck out of Madoka which is exactly how it should be. Madoka didn't bug me that much here, and I actively liked how he sold Nagai's kicks. Finish felt a little flat as it felt they were building to something bigger.

Daisuke Ikeda v. Manabu Suruga

Just a brutal mauling, Ikeda is a threshing machine in this match, by the end of it Suruga's face looked like domestic abuse victim. Surgura was great in this, he was completely overwhelmed and brutalized, but he wanted to go out on his sword. He was winging bombs but in a really desperate frantic way. He hits about a third of them, although he lands some thudders including a couple of square hooks right to Ikeda's jaw, and a Reggie Roby punt which has Ikeda checking his jaw. Still it just temporarily slowed down Ikeda who was Vorheesian, the final beating was uncomfortable to watch. Ikeda is on top of Manabu landing square right hands right to his forehead and nose. At one point Suruga is lying on the mat clawing at Ikeda's leg like Connie Corleone when Carlo got mad. I am not sure if it is an EPIC match, but it is an EPIC spectacle.

Takeshi Ono v. Katsumi Usuda

Ono's amazing 2010 just keeps on rolling. This is our first taste of BattlArts guys returning to FUTEN, it has been a while, but this certainly not the first time Usuda and Ono have tangled and it is great to watch them do a dance. Really awesome workrate match, which had the intensity and pace of a Bantamweight MMA fight. Both guys knew the counters to each guys counter, and they were scrambling for holds and winging shots. It is hard to pull off this kind of back and forth shootstyle without it seeming like some bullshit NOAH juniors match, but these guys did it. The matwork was awesome, feeling like Benzedrine Fujiwara. Usuda was pulling out some sick counters, including a crazy reverse figure four, and Ono wasn't as slick, but in more of a frenzy. Finish was awesome with Ono missing a kick, Usuda grabbing a wastelock, and Ono just spinning around into an Octopus which he took to the ground and pulled Usuda apart like a crab leg. Total blast, everything you would want from this match, maybe the FUTEN singles of the year.

Kengo Mashimo v. Makoto Hashi

A solid back and forth main event between two good wrestlers, but doesn't having the sickening violence or breathtaking technique of previous two matches. Mashimo focuses on landing kicks, and lands some nice ones, while Hashi works headbutts and backfists. There are some crackers, but nothing at the level of Nowitski specials Hashi has thrown in other FUTEN matches. Pretty much houseshow FUTEN, I enjoyed it fine, but even after watching it a couple of times it didn't do anything to stand out.

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Wednesday Night Bootleg- Sheamus/Randy Orton v. Christian/Mark Henry

Sheamus/Randy Orton v. Christian/Mark Henry Paris France 9/3/11

Really fun house show tag. Henry is pretty undeniable at this point, I think he has been excellent for years, but this run has pretty much converted everyone. I really liked his selling for Orton, just enough to look vulnerable, but still coming off like a beast. Christian and Orton have their shtick down, and Sheamus looked fine. Neat stuff.

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Wednesday Night Bootleg- Punk v. Del Rio

CM Punk v. Alberto Del Rio Trenton NJ 9/3/11







Really good main event title match. Punk and Del Rio are two of the most expressive guys in wrestling, and really do a great job both with the early heat building horseshit and the crazy hot finish run. Del Rio is great in this match, all of his offense looks great, he takes some big bumps (including the Fuerza/Hamrick which is nutty at a house show) and eats everything Punk does super well. I especially loved his post match taking of the GTS. Punk really comes off like a star, it is too bad that bag of shit Helmsley has dragged him down so badly.

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Frontenac Chateau, Baby, Pirata Morgan Crosses the Frontier at Ten

Pirata Morgan, Pierroth, & Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Huracan Ramirez, Blue Demon Jr., & Atlantis EMLL 1989 - FUN

Interesting match in that it had a great opening, a spectacular second fall, and a cool segment at the finish, but still doesn't feel any more than FUN. I don't know offhand which fake Huracan Ramirez this is, but he looks really good here, having a neat exchange with Dandy at the start of the match and a great one in the segunda caida with Pirata. He sends our man tumbling all over the ring with a series of great-looking headscissor takedowns and armdrags, really eye-popping stuff. The Atlantis/Emilio exchange that immediately precedes it is also really great. Also, fake Huracan has a really nice hurricanrana, which is important to have with that gimmick. Pirata's main contribution to the match - aside from eating all of Huracan's cool stuff - comes in the exchange at the end with Atlantis, where he takes a really high back body drop, followed by a crazy no-hands flip bump to the floor. And as soon as he gets up, he's met with a really amazing Atlantis tope. Lots of cool segments in this match, but unfortunately, the rest of it is just kinda solid, and Blue Demon Jr. stinks as usual. Enough to keep it enjoyable, but not to reach any higher than that.

Pirata Morgan, El Hijo del Gladiador, & Hombre Bala vs. Ciclon Ramirez, Javier Cruz, & Blue Demon Jr. EMLL 1989 - SKIPPABLE

There's a moment here and a moment there where this match is kinda cool. Pirata's performance isn't a standout by his standards, but he generally acquits himself well. Ciclon looks pretty good here, too, and appropriately enough, they share the big moment of the match, as Pirata bodyslams Ciclon off of the apron to the floor, which was just nasty as fuck. Still, Gladiador was a pretty poor substitute for Jerry Estrada or Verdugo, and outside of a nifty exchange with Ciclon in the second fall, I thought Hombre Bala's performance was disappointing. Not terrible or anything, but aside from the slam of death, pretty forgettable.

Pirata Morgan vs. Aguila WWF 2/17/1998 - FUN

This was Pirata's other WWF match, and like the first, it's inconsequential but entertaining. Pretty straightforward sub-five minute match with Pirata using his size and power to dominate and Aguila using speed and agility to overcome him. Pretty wild to see Pirata busting out more juniorish high-end offense to try and fit in with gringo expectations about what a junior is supposed to work like, but he does it very well. He uncorks a crazy rolling legbar here, as well as another tilt-a-whirl powerbomb which looked really hurty and felt like something that should have been a regular part of his offense if it wasn't already. Aguila's highspots all looked nice. Him armdragging Pirata off of the top rope was really cool. As mentioned, this was really short, and it didn't have the awesome heeling of Brian Christopher, but I thought both guys looked sharper than they did in the tag, and overall, this felt like the better of Pirata's two WWF outings.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE PIRATA MORGAN

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The King Don't Like To See Your Face, He Don't Like To Hear You Talk At All

Jerry Lawler/Zack Ryder v. Michael McGillicutty/David Otunga WWE 9/5/11 - SKIPPABLE

Lawler threw some nice punches, and Otunga landed a nice elbow smash, but this was two minutes long. They can keep talking about how everyone loves Ryder, but I am not seeing it.

Jerry Lawler/Dory Funk Jr./Johnny Magnum/Cory Weston vs Luke Spencer/Shane Chung/Blain Rage/Jayson Falcone BANG 9/10/11 - FUN

This is a 30 minute plus match which give Lawler plenty of room to do some stuff. Unfortunately we get a fair amount of Dory student vs. Dory Student stuff too, which doesn't make me want to track down BANG DVDs (also feels like you get can plenty of BANG stuff online for free.) I thought Shane Chung was the best of the heel squad and he had some fun punch exchanges with Lawler. Dory looks like a more desiccated E.B. Farnum, but he did throw a nice forearm or two. I wish The King would mothball the stunner and bring back the piledriver.

Jerry Lawler/Sheamus v. Michael McGillicutty/David Otunga WWE 9/12/11 - SKIPPABLE

Not sure what the point of these matches are. Basically a Sheamus squash, at some point Otunga busted Lawler's nose. I get the sense that Lawler and Otunga could have a fun singles match on a Corey Maclin promoted show at a casino.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE KING

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NEW EPISODE of Segunda Caida Radio!

Phil, Eric, KrisZ, Dylan Waco, Goodhelmet and Bix did PART 2 of their Hall of Fame discussion, covering Japan, Mexico, Europe, Islands, and Non-Wrestler candidates. Show went about 2.5 hours and has tons of great discussion about all the candidates, and some pretty sound arguments for and against candidates. Awesome show.

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Dick Togo has Two Bitches Going Down Like the Two Towers

Dick Togo vs. James Mason ASW 8/2/11 - GREAT

Pretty cool that Togo's wrestling encore is working European shows in front of enthusiastic little kids. James Mason is this amazing wrestler who showed up a couple of times in the beginning of the decade, worked one TNA PPV match and fell off the radar. He has been all over youtube lately, and he feels like one of the best wrestlers in the world. He is as slick on the mat as Johnny Saint or Johnny Kidd, but still athletic enough to move around the ring and take big bumps. Togo is working as a foreign evil heel, taunting the fans, talking trash, cheap shotting Mason. Mason is great as a babyface using guile and slickness. Early stuff is very cool with Mason working over Togo's wrist. Togo keeps it pretty simple, nothing flashy, but really plays the crowd well. There are a couple of moments where they speed it up, and Mason really hangs athletically with Togo which isn't easy to do. Not really the kind of match which ends up EPIC, but man did I enjoy this, lets hope we get some more Togo Euro footage, I am not ready to say goodbye.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DICK TOGO

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SLL's All-Request Thursday Night

Daffney vs. Mickie Knuckles (ACW, 2007)
Requested by Jingus

I always found it a little strange that Daffney did so little for me in...certain regards in WCW but did so much for me afterwards. I guess Vince Russo really can ruin anything. Anyway, this is a good little match, and I thought Daffney gave a good performance in it. She is a fun, hammy villain who bumps, sells, and stooges well, and can throw a punch. That's a performance choice I won't really argue with. She's like the kind of wrestler some people wanted me to think Victoria was, but wasn't. Her early "smaller guy trying to lift Andre" spots were cool, and for her own part, Mickie was a pretty good Andre, standing there nonchalantly with her hands on her hips while Daffney struggles to suplex her. Then Daff punches her in the gut, and that throws her off-guard so she can whip off a northern lights suplex, which was pretty cool. When that doesn't get a pin, she tries to smother Mickie in her sizable chest, which gets treated as a sleeper. Really? Because that seems like an air choke. Daffney has her in the clinch...is she applying a sleeper with her forearms while just pressing Mickie's forehead/bridge of her nose into her cleavage to hold her in place? Mickie escapes and tosses Daffney across the ring by her tits as revenge, and we laugh and laugh and laugh and look around the room uncomfortably to make sure no one else is watching and laugh. What keeps this match from really kicking into a higher gear is that - booby toss aside - Mickie really isn't that impressive offensively here. She carries herself well as a big, tough broad, but when it's time to bring the hammer down, she doesn't really come across as the threat she's supposed to be. The announcers build her up as someone who is going to beat the shit out of Daffney when she gets the chance, but then Daffney ends up working stiffer. Also, this has kind of a weird finish with Daffney ducking a Helms-style shining wizard, but Mickie still recovers first and grabs an Oklahoma roll for the pin. Still, this was pretty solid.

Tigers Mask, PSYCHO, Kota Ibushi, & Shanao vs. Makoto Oishi, Katsuya Kishi, Shiori Asahi, & KAGETORA (Indy Summit, 12/9/2005)
Requested by Brandon-E

You know, if I watched Osaka Pro more often, I'd probably be bored stiff of Tigers Mask's baseball shtick by now, but this was actually the first time I've ever seen it, so I got a kick out of it. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the match. This is spot-fu, and not even particularly exciting spot-fu. I know interpromotional stuff has been run into the ground in Japan, but you'd still think that this is the place to crank things up, not dial them back. Shanao/Yoshitsune/a gajillion other names is the one guy who kinda comes through on that front, and even he has cringeworthy moment where he tries a springboard double backflip double back elbow on Oishi and Asahi that ends up falling way short of it's intended targets. In the words of Don West, "it missed, but boy, was it smooth". Depressing current IWGP Junior champ Ibushi probably takes the prize for shittiest guy in this thing, being the subject of one of the more heatless heat segments I've seen recently, and generally looking like an ineffectual dweeb. There was also a weird part in the stretch run where Tigers Mask did some fighting spirit no-selling, and man, if you're a comedy worker, you really need to earn the right to do that shit. I just don't get this at all.

John Cena vs. C.M. Punk (WWE, 7/17/2011)
Requested by Kostka

Seeing as how this is the most hyped and talked about wrestling match to happen in a long, long time, I'm not sure there's really much clever new analysis I can provide here. That's probably a good thing, because I'm running way behind schedule on these, and I can speed things up a bit, but there is at least one thing I should say about it. Last All-Request, I wrote about how the Savage/DDP match from Spring Stampede '97 represented a microcosm of what WCW should have been at that point, but ultimately wasn't because the company was run by morons. This match, more than anything from any of the other failed summer angles WWE has run the last few years, represents a microcosm of what WWE should be right now, but ultimately isn't because the company is run by morons. I mean, I was as psyched by the initial Nexus angle as anyone. But let's be honest, even before Danielson got pseudo-canned, even before Barrett got completely exposed as a guy not ready for prime time, we all kinda knew deep down that this crew could only accomplish so much. Even considering that, it was fumbled embarrassingly, but we knew that angle could only go so far regardless of that. But Cena/Punk shows a WWE where anything and everything is truly possible. John Cena...well, hell, I've been saying the same damn shit about Cena since 2007, and very little has changed since that time, but never has that been more apparent than it was here.

"What does Cena believe? What does he do? What does he represent? Cena's character is that of a basically good, well-meaning wrestler who would have belonged in Hogan's world, but was placed by cruel fate in Austin's world. His general good nature and drive to win endears him to children and women, while the adult males distrust him the way they distrusted every other "moral" figure from the Attitude Era. It's kind of hard to make the show reflect that kind of character without casting a good chunk of your fanbase as heels. His equivalent story is a passion play: the virtuous, hate-free Cena being crucified by a lecherous mob who would rather do away with the man challenging their warped views and continue heaping unearned praise on "heroes" like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Kurt Angle, than reconsider their current ways. It's a good story. As Kevin Cook pointed out, it produced one of the finest matches in wrestling history. But I'm not sure you can turn it into episodic storytelling. Not sure you can build a TV series around The Passion of the Cena."

I wrote that days after Mania 23, when the future of mainstream American wrestling was actually looking pretty bright for a moment. A lot of the stuff I wrote in that post blew up in my face, but this still holds true, and I bring it up because, at long last, Cena got to play Casas in his take on the Santo/Casas '97 super classico. Obviously, it's not the first time Cena was getting booed out of the building while playing face, I'm not even sure it's the most Christ-like performance he's ever given, but it's up there. But just as - if not more - importantly, this was Cena finally getting to play Casas against a wrestler worthy of playing Santo. Punk isn't trying to bury Cena like some of his other opponents have. Punk is playing a great heel in front of a crowd that just happens to love him, and that he loves in return. The acknowledgement on commentary that "Cena is in enemy territory" says it all - the face/heel dynamic remains clear cut, only the setting has changed, and they adjust appropriately without forgetting who their characters are.

The three-way conflict between Cena's world, Punk's world, and McMahon's world is the story of WWE today, and the exploration of that could have been just the thing WWE needed to reignite the spark that's been missing for so long. And once again, they fucked it up. But we'll always have Chicago.

Bret Hart vs. Jim Neidhart (WWF, 10/29/1994)
Requested by douchebag

This was the only singles bout between these former tag partners, and I can see why. Mind you, it's not a bad match. I'm quite a bit higher on Bret than my Segunda Caida compatriots tend to be, and I think he does enough to keep this one watchable. Still, Jim Neidhart circa 1994 is only gonna give you so much. He doesn't really do anything to embarrass himself, but he's pretty much just dull as dirt here. There's some good brawling around the ring at points, and I'll maintain that Bret's stompy punches are the best of all stompy punches, but this is not one of the highlights of Bret's awesome '94 run.

Steve Veidor vs. Al Hayes (WoS, 11/8/1975)
Requested by FLIK

As a guy who grew up watching early 90's WWF, the late Lord Alfred Hayes brings back many a fond memory, but most of them open with the phrase "promotional consideration paid for by the following". Between that and his goofy as all hell color commentary appearances, I have enough to get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I think of him, but as is often the case in these situations, I can't help but be intrigued when I get the chance to see if there was more to the guy than just nostalgia. And thanks to FLIK, I now know that there is. Turning the clock back from the days of our crazy old English Lord telling us that Mr. Freeze freeze pops were as much fun to freeze as they are to eat, we go to 1975, back to his Lordship's homeland, and back to the anything but gentlemanly Judo Al Hayes.

Of course, it might be a bit of a misnomer to call England his homeland. This is Hayes' first match back in the UK after a four-year tour of duty in the States, and he's now billing himself as being from the U.S., sporting red, white, and blue wristbands, and wrestling more of the American "all-in" style, much to the consternation of all involved. Forgoing classic British technique for fisticuffs and repeatedly trapping Veidor in the ropes illegally (and trying to take advantage by swinging wildly at Veidor when he doesn't do the same), he pisses off the crowd, flusters the referee...even the always unflappable Kent Walton makes his displeasure known, even slipping in a comment about how "if he wants to wrestle all in, perhaps he should go back to the United States". I can't tell you how happy I am that jingoism is a universal wrestling trope. Veidor is a cool, Britastic matworker, but he starts losing his temper, too, and isn't afraid to take a few wild shots at Hayes to put him in his place. He takes control of the match with more sportsmanlike methods, but Hayes escapes a cravate with a hard forearm to the gut. He follows that with a nasty right hook to the face, earning him his first public warning. He tries to press the advantage, but Veidor cartwheels around a double thrust chop attempt and pastes him with a forearm. Hayes bails to the outside, and god damn does this crowd hate his guts. There's some fun stuff with him jawing with an old fat lady in the aisle, distracting him while Veidor comes out and blasts him from behind with another forearm. Hayes turns back as Veidor gets back in the ring and just stares in disbelief. Cute spot when Hayes gets back in the ring, as Veidor tries to corner him, but Hayes keeps begging off every time. Veidor seemingly gives up on it and starts to walk away, and Hayes charges in to attack while his back is turned, but Veidor quickly turns back and Hayes backpedals again. Hayes does retake control of the match, but he's really pushing his luck, using a sleeper/nerve hold at the base of the neck that looks an awful lot like a chokehold, and throwing a lot of hard clubbering forearms. Walton also starts intimating that one of Hayes' wristbands (worn in part due to injury) may be loaded, and in the penultimate round of a one-fall match where Hayes already has one public warning, he reasons that the match will either end via a draw or via Hayes getting DQ'd. Meanwhile, Hayes repeatedly tries to score a knockout with boot scrapes. Boot scrapes for nearfalls? I approve! Veidor gets saved by the bell, but comes out of his corner guns ablazing in the final round. Hayes has no answer for him, and out of desperation, chucks him over the top rope. This leads to our cooler than cool finish, as Hayes keeps attacking Veidor as he tries to re-enter the ring. The ref tries to hold him back, but with a DQ all but imminent, Hayes shoves him aside and charges Veidor once more...who slingshots over Hayes and grabs him with a sunset flip for a clean pinfall victory, "the way he likes to win". Great, great match, and an amazing look at Hayes when he was great for non-ironic reasons.

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Wednesday Night Bootleg- Bryan v. Henry

Daniel Bryan v. Mark Henry- Nimes France 9/1/11



Really fun 6 minute match between two of my favorite WWE guys. Henry looked awesome in this, just brutal in all of his offense, chucking Bryan around the ring, but when it was time to sell, he really put over his stuff. I especially loved the KO sell for the high kick. Lots of neat work with the guillotine choke as well with Bryan being very sneaky putting it on, and Henry throwing him off. I would love for this to be the Wrestlemania match when Bryan cashes in his briefcase. http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=32047426#

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No Potato Famine Here- Fit Finlay's Indy Tour

The most exciting wrestling news of the year has been the third coming of the great Fit Finlay, as he has returned to the indies like MacArthur to the Philippines. We are going to list the dates as he takes them and review the matches

beat Sami Callihan - EVOLVE *available on iPPV* in NYC, NY, 7/26/11.
beat Jon Ryan - WXW in Oberhausen, Germany, 8/13/11
beat Big Van Walter - WXW in Oberhausen, Germany, 8/14/11
lost to Kevin Steen PWG in Los Angeles, CA, 8/20/11
beat Mason Beck- Dreamwave in La Salle IL 9/10/11
vs. Mohammed Akbar-AWE in Woodstock, VA, 9/17/11
beat Tommaso Ciampa- NEW in Waterbury CT 9/30/11
beat Kaleb Conley- NEW in Poughkeepsie, NY, 10/1/11
beat Dick Togo- EWP in Rendsburg, Germany, 10/7/11
beat Michael Kovaks- EWP in Hanover, Germany, 10/8/11
beat Alex Silva - AWE in Fisherville, VA, 10/15/11
beat Timothy Thatcher - Pro Wrestling Bushido in Stockton, CA, 10/16/11
vs. Rob Holte-VPW in Stoke, England 10/25/11
vs. TBA- VPW in Basingstoke, England 10/26/11
vs. TBA- VPW in Portsmouth England 10/27/11
vs. Chris Raaber - Top Catch Spezial Event in Dinslaken, Germany, 10/29/11
beat Al Snow- Crossfire Wrestling in Nashville, TN, 11/5/11
lost to Harry Smith- Stampede in Ontario Canada 11/6/11
beat Dave Taylor - A Tribute to CWA in Wittorf, Germany, 11/12/11
with Dr. Kliever beat Ugly as Sinn - DOA in Portland, OR, 11/19/11
beat Starbuck SMASH in Tokyo Japan 11/24/11
beat The Bodyguard SMASH in Osaka Japan 11/25/11
beat Kid Nikkles- Traditional Championship Wrestling, AR 12/3/11
vs. TBA- EWP in Rendsburg Germany 12/17/11
with Murat Bosporus and Big Boy lost to Hajime Ohara, TAJIRI, Yoshiaki Fujiwara SMASH Tokyo Japan 12/30/11
vs. Ethan HD DOA in Portland OR 1/21/12
vs. Colt Cabana PWS in Los Angeles CA 1/28/12
vs. TAJIRI SMASH in Tokyo Japan 2/19/12
beat "Superstar"Mal Sanders LDN in London England 2/23/12
beat Sami Callihan WXW in Oberhausen, Germany 3/2/12
lost to Johnny Moss WXW in Oberhausen, Germany 3/3/12
beat Johnny Kidd WXW in Oberhausen, Germany 3/4/12
beat Jon Davis EVOLVE in Charlotte, NC 5/11/12
lost to Davey Richards AAW in Merrionette Park, IL 7/21/11

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Wednesday Night Bootleg- Another Punk v. Cena

John Cena v. C.M. Punk Chile 2/23/11









The 2011 Cena v. Punk feud reminds me a fair amount of the 1989 Flair v. Steamboat. Two guys who just match up perfectly with each other having a ton of great matches in a short amount of time. Really happy to see another house show matchup between the two. We start with some really fun Punk stalling, he is my favorite house show worker to watch, he is just great at riling up a crowd. He has all of Nexus at ringside with him here and they nicely build to the spot where the ref chucks them all out. The do some cool matwork here as normal, building to Cena deadlifting Punk out of a headscissors. Ref bump leads to Nexus coming back, jumping Cena, getting run out by Santino, Kozlov and Bryan. We get some neat nearfalls, which ends with Cena drilling Punk with a Super FU which I can't remember seeing in a while. Another classic encounter, these guys can do no wrong.

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