2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Sullivan v. Lorcan

57. Lars Sullivan v. Oney Lorcan WWE NXT 9/14

PAS: Man alive are three minute Oney Lorcan sprints about the best thing going in wrestling. Every match is like the first round of Hagler v. Hearns all action, shocking violence worked at a unsustainable pace. Sullivan is great as NXT Braun, really good as a brick wall and great at dishing out shots. The Lorcan bullet over the top rope tope which Sullivan caught is one of my favorite spots of the year. Watching Lorcan slap a guy, when I am so used to shitty US indy slap exchanges is a revelation. That final clothesline by Sullivan looked like a car crash. I could watch a version of this 100 times

ER: I got to see this match-up live about a month earlier, and it's a real doozy. Sullivan has a total freakshow physique from another era, and the leaner Lorcan gets the meaner he gets. Sullivan brick walls Lorcan with a shoulderblock, and I don't know if there's anyone in wrestling today who whips themselves harder into the mat than Lorcan. Lorcan takes a rough bump over the top and is able to kick Sullivan off, then hit a couple of sharp back elbows before flying over the ropes...only to get caught. Lorcan was moving at absurdly fast speed and Sullivan barely looks like his body moves when catching him. Press slamming a guy back into the ring is always a cool spot, and Sullivan has gotten good at these big lug spots. Phil is right about Lorcan's slaps, he has single-handedly breathed new life into wrestling slaps. These slaps could play against former sumos in WAR. Lorcan always dies for lariats (he should market bumper stickers that say "I bump for lariats") and Sullivan throws one worth bumping for. Best 3 minutes of my day, right here.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST