2014 Ongoing Match of the Year List

47. Zack Sabre Jr. v. Timothy Thatcher EVOLVE 34 9/13

PAS: Really great stuff, I think this is my favorite Thatcher match of the year. Sabre is a little faster and flashier then Thatcher, more of a babyface British worker, while Thatcher works more like a bruiser British heel, so this felt kind of like a Robbie Brookside v. Fit Finlay match. As one would expect very heavy mat work early, with both guys working on the arm, Thatcher to set up a Fujiwara, Sabre for a cross arm-breaker. There was also a cool little dynamic with Thatcher using his strength and Sabre countering with his speed. When the match got chippy it really got rolling. The holds really got wrenched, Sabre stomped on his elbow really nastily and started throwing kicks, and Thatcher really unloaded with forearms. Finish submission was awesome with Sabre trying for a cross arm-breaker, floating it into a weird hammerlock wrist twist and added some kicks to the back of the head for the tap. Just great stuff, another feather in Thatcher's cap, and got me really high on Sabre Jr.

ER: I did not see this at the time (Phil did, and wrote it up several months after it actually happened), but I thought it would be fun going back to a time before this kind of style was so much more commonplace on a given indy card. This is just 3 years ago, which doesn't feel like a long time, so it's neat to me to see them working this match 2nd match on the card, when this would go on to be the main event style not long after. Parts of this felt like an evolution of the American Dragon/Low Ki match style. I don't think I thought that just because they did the headstand/leglock spot that I first saw those two do in 2001. It felt like a toned down evolution, taking bits from those matches and updating some of them while bringing their own skills. At its core, it was two nasty fuckers trying to leave the match with an arm that wasn't their own, and that's almost always going to be worth seeing. We don't get a lot of striking (Sabre throws some kicks late in the match, including the vicious shots to end it), we get a couple nasty throws (Thatcher's gutwrench is always cool), but mostly this was violent arm manipulation. Thatcher was kind of a bully and Sabre was more slippery, so you'd get Thatcher committing to a wrenched in Fujiwara, or hyperextending Sabre's arm against his own shoulder, and Sabre would be able to slide into some mean wrist control, wrenching in a hammerlock at one point that felt like it would completely pop Thatcher's shoulder out of socket or pop an elbow. Both guys are tough, and I hate the complaint against Sabre that "his opponents let him apply holds". It's demonstrably false and the way he slides into and out of holds can be hypnotic. But there were moments of him changing strategy mid-move that illustrate how silly the "exhibition submission" tag is, like the first time he goes to stomp Thatcher's elbow only to notice Thatcher move while he's already throwing the kick, so he merely extends his leg more and thrust kicks Thatcher in the head. It looked like he genuinely prepped to stomp elbow and changed the angle of his kick midway. This had many more World of Sports type exchanges than later (current) matches in this style, and it's a nice breath as we get a minor playful vibe occasionally shining through all the ligament tearing. The playfulness has definitely been overshadowed by the current grittiness of the mat style, so I appreciated those moments. The finish sub was something that definitely seemed like the finish, as it easily was the nastiest thing in the match, with Sabre hooking the arms in a painful enough sub to get the tap, but then firing machine gun thrust kicks right to the back of Thatcher's head. Awesome little scrap.


2014 MOTY MASTER LIST