2016 Ongoing MOTY List: Styles v. Sabre

3. AJ Styles v. Zack Sabre Jr. Revolution Pro 1/16

PAS: This was very indy juniors dream match style, which isn't really my thing, but this was a pretty great version of that match. I really liked the opening scramble sections of this, which were functionally Guerrero v. Malenko roll up, but with completely different spots. Styles has very powerful and aggressive take downs which really add interest to any jockying for position. I also really dug all of the different ways both guys got into there submissions, very creative stuff, Styles especially has a bunch of nasty ways to work in his ankle slicer. They did a strike exchange section which was a bit superfluous, but the finish run was pretty good, and I liked the finishing submission a bunch.

ER: I liked this even more than Phil. The lost the narrative a few times and you could argue they almost did too much stuff, but damn do I love the stuff that they do. Phil is spot on with the Malenko/Guerrero new era stuff, as it doesn't totally go anywhere and it only serves as a pretty way to jockey for control, but it's far more interesting that tests of strength and collar/elbows. They do a bunch of cool snapmares rolled into wristlocks, they scramble into and out of perilous positions, they move at an alarmingly fast pace that would leave me wondering which way is up. Sabre clearly has glue on his hands as Styles needs to always be careful not to leave a limb hanging. They do too much cool stuff like Sabre catching a single leg during a leapfrog, or the nastiest moment of the match: Sabre grabbing Styles wrist and violently bending it down and back, wrestling Styles to the ground to stomp on his folded under elbow. Styles goes after the knee, Sabre goes after the arm and wrist, and while selling can get convenient they always remind us that the damage is there. I liked that the Styles Clash plays into Sabre's strength, as it's a move that required a bit of set up, requires Styles to be a bit vulnerable in the moments he's maneuvering Sabre into position, and they play up those moments of vulnerability by having Sabre grab an arm, grab a choke, leaving Styles to decide if he wants to finish things another way or find a quicker way to lock on the Clash. The ankle slicer is a painful sub that looks painful, and I would have been fine with that ending things, but we get gifted with a wild Sabre multi-layered sub that just screamed. Both of these guys are very clever and know their way around an indy workrate epic. Awesome stuff.


2016 MASTER LIST