70s Joshi on Wednesday: Ripper! Kumi!

23. 1979.02.XX1 - 02 Monster Ripper vs. Nancy Kumi

K: This was pretty similar to the last match we covered. I will just throw out now that it’s a fair critical of this era of AJW that the matches were quite repetitive. The company had been running since 1968 (and the Matsunagas had been involved in promoting women’s wrestling since the mid-50s) but they didn’t get a TV deal until 1975, so I feel like they were still treating it as a touring show performing in front of a different audience each time who wouldn’t realise they were doing almost the same match as the one on the previous town. It’s not until they get the prime-time TV deal for the second time in 1984 that it feels like they’d gotten their act together to book a week-to-week wrestling TV show.

This was a slightly better version of last week’s match though. Ripper does actually come across as intimidating and dangerous, and seems to be putting effort into getting this all over. There’s a cool spot where she traps Nancy in the ropes and repeatedly bounces her off them onto her own body like a forced running body attack. Nancy Kumi just looks like she’s here to get thrown around for the most part to. There is more of a logic to how she’s working, she keeps going for a takedown and then to work Monster’s leg, but she struggles to really ever get going with it because Monster’s too big for it to work. She only gets anywhere when Victoria Fujimi interferes, and again, I don’t like this psychology of the babyfaces illegally double teaming the monster heel, especially when I’m not sure Monster even did anything illegal herself. She was just winning.

Thankfully justice is done when Monster hits Nancy with a seated senton off the top rope that did look pretty devastating. My nick-pick is I’m not sure why she felt the need to get off her but then pin Nancy with a normal cover when she could have just pressed down on her shoulders staying where she was as it was already a pinning position anyway, but maybe I’m being extra there. It was a good and memorable finish and I wouldn’t buy many wrestlers kicking out of that move if Monster were to pull it out again. Victoria running in and trying to push Monster off but totally failing to break up the cover was kinda funny.

Also, I noticed very briefly someone the commentary identified as “Takahashi Masami” getting involved right at the end. It’ll be a while before we see her wrestling, but that’s the first time we’ve seen her get physical on Zenjo TV that I’ve spotted anyway.

*3/4

MD: This was not dissimilar to some of the other Ripper matches we’ve seen where she was up against one of a pair. We’ve seen our share of Kumi but nothing has stood out in the least in her matches so far. This wasn’t much different to be honest. She got mauled here from the get go. In general, Ripper was protected perfectly and knew exactly how much to give. Hope spots for Kumi were her getting a go behind waistlock, that sort thing, basically just a sign of life. Or she might somehow stretch around for an abdominal stretch only to get shrugged right off.

Meanwhile, Ripper dismantled her with slams and body blocks (including multiples in the ropes) and gnarly legdrops to the belly. After Fujimi interjected, Kumi finally got something of a real comeback, including getting to slam Ripper a couple of times, but she got cut off quickly and Ripper hit a vertical splash off the top to squish her. Post match, the Golden Pair tried their luck together once again but really just held Ripper at bay.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 7/15 - 7/28

AEW Rampage 7/26/24

Royal Rampage

MD: Let me try to cover a lot of ground quickly. I wrote recently about the difference between plot and story. The only bits in this one I'd actively call "plot" along those lines would be Darby winning in general to set up the Grand Slam title match and Hangman coming out to eliminate Jarrett. There was a ton of story though.

To confuse matters further, I'd break down the story here into explicit story and implicit story. Implicit story is everyone working together to eliminate the Butcher because  he's known to be a beast in battle royales. It's Darby going right after Brody because Brody eliminated him at a prior one. It's character driven, history driven, not necessarily something to set up further matches (though it could be). It's the fact that these characters live together in a shared universe and are fully formed and fleshed out. That comes into play in a setting like this.

More explicit story would be the rivalry between the Conglomeration and the Kingdom or the backstage segment between Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne that set up their interaction here. So there were smaller stories, larger stories, a bit of plot, and then a baseline of wrestlers and characters dipping in and out. Sometimes it was for a brief burst of entertainment like with Menard or Cutler. Sometimes it was to play into that Forbidden Door feeling of a few months ago like with Lio Rush or Mortos. Or it was steak and sizzle in one like the opening stretch with Claudio and Komander.

The simple fact of the matter is that a lot of the blue check or old carny criticisms of AEW when it comes to plot and story (implicit and explicit) are either lies or fully ignorant from people who don't watch the product. Sometimes I think that it might be that these people existed in a 90s world where there were multi-month feuds with partners that were married to one another on house shows town after town after town and AEW is instead a TV product. That's probably giving them too much faith though. I don't see how you can watch something like this match and not see a plethora of character, story, and plot. Every AEW Battle Royale is like this.

ROH Death Before Dishonor 7/26/24

Dustin Rhodes/Ross Von Erich/Marshall Von Erich vs Dark Order (Evil Uno/Alex Reynolds/John Silver)

MD: I'm still getting a sense of the Von Erichs. At times they seem moderately generic, as if they've traveled around so much that they haven't really been able to specialize. They've been working since 2012 but only have ~130 matches in Cagematch (the comparison point is Nick Wayne or Billie Starkz who have double or quadruple that respectively). You'll see Ross do something like a slingblade and kind of go "Ehh" on the idea that maybe he should be leaning harder into who and what they are and who and what makes them stand out against others. Then sometimes, I'm certain that Marshall, despite the size, is sort of the Bobby Fulton of the two, the more charismatic and theatrical, and Ross is really more the Tommy Rogers, hitting stuff sharp and clean. Then you have a match like this where they both get a face-in-peril bit and I just need to see some more. Thankfully, I've got another match coming up after this one.
 
Anyway, this worked really well. The underlying story was that the Dark Order kept taking Dustin out from the floor, primarily Alex Reynolds, who is great at playing a trolling shitheel which is probably something he should stick with as he's a competent and hard-working babyface but not one that stands out on the roster. That meant that the Von Erichs had to wrestle from a 3 vs 2 deficit. It also meant that the fans were denied Dustin (other than the opening brawling) until it was time for the hot tag. The fans could relate to the IDEA of the Von Erichs, but they're still building up familiarity with Ross and Marshall as individual entities (just like I am, I guess). Dustin they know as well as any wrestler in the world. Very smart layout, but then that's one of the hallmarks of Reynolds/Silver. They're the only guys I've ever seen that can make controlled chaos consistently compelling.

Once Dustin did come in, everything broke down in a satisfying way with Dustin hitting his big stuff on everyone before the numbers overwhelmed him. I bought the kickout on the wombo combo as he's tall enough that they couldn't hit it exactly the way they wanted to. Then it all built to the claws and shattered dreams and the ref being just out of position at exactly the right time, and this was all really satisfying in the end. I don't know if Dustin and the Von Erichs will just have the titles for the residency or what, but this is much more of what I want out of a six-man tag, using the extra players to lean harder into ideas like double heat and isolation on the floor instead of just maximizing the number of possible spots.

AEW Battle of the Belts 7/27/24

Dustin Rhodes/Ross Von Erich/Marshall Von Erich vs Roderick Strong/Matt Taven/Mike Bennett

MD: A big feel-good, celebratory title win in front of the home crowd at the residency, the sort of thing that was all but destroyed in mainstream wrestling in the 2010s. This stayed grounded for the most part until the end and then went over the top with bells and whistles for the last couple of minutes.

In general, it was a little more of a standard shine/heat/comeback than the Dark Order match which started with brawling and went into double heat instead. There were similar themes though. Here, things broke down on the floor at the end of the shine and led to Dustin being taken out by a pile-driver leaving things 3 on 2 and letting the Kingdom press their advantage. It's a good model and they can definitely continue to run with it over the next few weeks so long as they can find ways to believably take Dustin out of the matches. Then they can start inverting and tweaking and seeing how that looks like. With just two data points, we'll call it coincidence for now.

I liked the point of transition with Bennett hitting his bounce back shot on the apron before the pile driver and then Strong sealing the deal with a backbreaker. There wasn't necessarily that same anticipation for Dustin on the hot tag (as he was taken out but not repeatedly like in the Dark Order match), but the Kingdom fed for him like pros; it's what they're best at. No one in wrestling can take a nut shot quite like Matt Taven; it's his best quality other than the fact he's still throwing punches instead of forearms. Then the finish maybe got a little silly with the cowbell hitting this time (it missed in the Dark Order match) and all the interference, but when you're going to send everyone home happy, sometimes you can get away with that. Great to see Dustin with a belt again, and yes, 91 WCW and the York Foundation as six-man champs is a sweet spot for my youthful wrestling watching, so I absolutely want them to lean more into that aesthetic than the spot-heavy Elite idea of trios tags.

AEW Collision 7/20/24

Darby Allin vs The Beast Mortos

MD: Playing catch up here. There's story and there's plot and then there's purpose. Usually, if you look at a match through the lens of purpose, the other things come into focus. What was this one trying to accomplish? It was the first televised match for the residency so it was setting the (somewhat literal) stage for that in tone and look and feel. It was Darby's first singles match since March and had to heat him up to a degree for Blood and Guts and for all other things to come. He's in a slightly different spot now. Despite being a ragdoll who can sell and sell and sell and then come back, he may have to be presented as more of a force and take more of his matches in a post-Sting (and soon to be Post-Danielson) world. He's more of the face of the company now. That meant he ended up taking closer to half of the match here, more than you might expect.

Then you had Mortos. He needed to be heated up a bit for his ROH match as he's going to be a player there and kept strong enough to put over Hologram on the 27th on Collision to make that meaningful. I had previously thought that he shouldn't be doing the top rope press slam and the spinning dive in every match, that these should be held back a bit because they stand out so much against everything else happening (which says a lot!) but since he needs to be used to put over others right now and can't be fully protected, it's one way to keep him strong and formidable. I think maybe it sacrifices potential growth in the long run but there are a lot of short term goals where he fits perfectly and keeping him spectacular in every match helps it feel special. It just comes at a cost and that should never, ever be forgotten or minimized. Even here, Darby won by hitting the crucifix bomb off the top and it was a bit of a banana peel protecting Mortos even if he ate the coffin drop and was pinned cleanly. The other thing about him that maybe I've discounted, is that he's wider than he is tall. I see him as a Killswitch like monster, but he's really not. He's more of a LA Park and that changes the dynamic somewhat.

AEW Dynamite 7/24/24

Blood and Guts

MD: I'm kidding. I'm not going to review blood and guts too. This is already enough words. I'll just say this. Next year, I would very much like the people in the match to watch the first few War Games and try to figure out what made those special and tap into that instead. No plunder. No big set pieces. No crazy bumps. Blood, guts, crazy selling instead. It would stand out against the competition. It would stand out against Anarchy in the Arena. It doesn't have to be all the time. It could just be once. Just try it. This is established now. There's nothing to lose.

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2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Darby vs. Takeshita

 

4. Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita AEW Dynamite 1/3/24

ER: I spent most of this match thinking "this is way too much damage for Darby to be taking, Takeshita is a big guy expending way too much energy and taking far too much time to beat this guy and it's only making Darby Allin come off like the ultimately undefeatable babyface and only making his own offense look weak because......"

But my brain was operating on the premise that of course Darby was going to win this match. Darby is such a good babyface that my brain doesn't necessarily expect victory in every match, it just expects him to...not lose. We know he's going to take punishment, and we're not sure if we've seen someone who can take punishment like him. Takeshita punished, but I believe in my little guy so much that he's just never out of any match. Takeshita is a big guy and I wish he commanded his size better. It's easy to forget how large he is because he still works toe to toe with smaller guys. Every Darby Allin opponent seems to understand that no matter what size they are - from Mike Bennett up to Brian Cage - that Darby is the ultimate Small Guy and they are The Big Guy. Takeshita seemed to understand this less than the others and wanted to work more of a Black Taurus/Hijo Del Vikingo match with Darby, but luckily Darby is great at working that match too while bringing drama to all of the spills and kickouts and Takeshita is good at stunt bumping just like Darby. Not just like Darby, but a guy who is willing to do stupider things than he needs to be doing. Takeshita could get by without doing an Estrada bump into the timekeeper's pit but I'm glad he doesn't. 

Takeshita's Match doesn't work if Darby isn't Darby, so in that fact he knew his opponent. Even if the match didn't hit its peaks or put some of the parts in the right order, once Darby tope'd into a Takeshita jumping knee and Takeshita timed the thigh slap so well that it sounded like a quick snap of Darby's jaw breaking? I knew the cool shit in this match was likely going to make most of the structural failings seem foolish to complain about. Not everything has to be To the T. I want Darby to survive moves he shouldn't be able to be kicking out of, because I want to see Darby survive to take more moves he shouldn't be kicking out of. I thrill at the damage, and I thrill at the perfectly crafted moments of Darby almost pulling out a 3. Darby is so good at taking damage and making moves look as painful as possible, that no matter how many of his frequently excellent matches I see, he still has a way of surprising me with an out of nowhere 3 count. Darby Allin is the master of pulling out a win and a master of placing nearfalls in his matches. He reminds you just often enough that he will weather any avalanche suplex or suplex on the ramp or suplex on his head and pull out of your soul an entirely plausible 3 seconds of distraction that we still don't see coming. When Takeshita took that Akiyama knee into the timekeeper corral and barely made the 10 count, only for Darby's expertly timed Code Red to hit him in exactly the right way at the exact perfect time? I thought this shit was over. I went from not seeing how Darby could pull this one out to being shocked again when ol' Darby Allin wriggled his way out of this skeleton damage. Takeshita selling a knee wouldn't have been able to make me believe, the way Darby's nearfall set ups and close 3s make me believe. This kid has the best babyface instincts since Rey and it's a beautiful thing to watch. What else could matter. 

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: MORISHIMA~! O'CONNOR~! CARPENTIER~! NICOLI~! ANTONE~! NOBLE~! HAAS~!

70s Central States Footage

Betty Nicoli vs. .Jean Antone Central States Mid 70s

MD: This was for the "Kansas Girls" championship. That's the name of it apparently. First I thought it was billed as two Kansas girls going for the championship but Nicoli was billed from New Orleans. The belt in question is basically a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper with turquoise and purple diamond shape glinting in the middle and not much form to it. A brief aside, because I can see it in the comments here. The most annoying match I've ever posted from the French collection is the one with Lola Garcia vs Brigitte Borne. People just go on and on about how they want more of this and how horny they are for the women basically. Just shut up and talk about hammerlocks or something people. You can see some of the insipid comments on this too but only a few thankfully

Anyway, we get a solid 7 or 8 minutes before this blips out and it's interesting as a snapshot of women's wrestling in the territory in the 70s. It doesn't really look like what we've seen from the 50s nor does it entirely remind me of 80s Moolah-ism. Nicoli ambushed Antone (dubbed "the Mighty Mite") to start, but Antone turned her around. Lots of punches and stomps but the punches were weird sweeping things that hit from odd angles. Nicoli took over quickly and didn't look back, with lots of slams and tossing Antone out and picking her up at two. It was building to a come back of some sort but we don't get to exactly what. It was mean overall but with some real question about the strike execution; I imagine they were instructed to hit that way but it didn't help matters unless the point was to take it all less seriously (which it probably was).

Pat O'Connor vs. Edouard Carpentier Central States Mid 70s

MD: We get the last half of a fifteen minute draw here and it's really high level stuff in its own way. O'Connor is just sound, quick when he needs to be, but what draws the eye is his positioning, the way he plants his legs when pressing in on a hold, the way he'll stymie Carpentier's slick stuff with something as straightforward as possible. If it needs an extra twist or turn, it's done clinically and effectively.

Carpentier, on the other hand, knew how to present himself as a star. My take on his French work was that he was a decade or more ahead of everyone else, and you can see that here too. He was tanned and sculpted and everything he did was big and sweeping. He'd flip to get out of a hold, would do a cartwheel before getting a takedown. He was theatrical but able to ground it in the illusion of technique. As O'Connor met him halfway, all of this worked and was just a great example of the two putting on a show for a television and studio audience. 

Takeshi Morishima vs. Jamie Noble WWE 8/19/08

MD: WWE Vault has given us this. At the time I'm writing this, they haven't given us much else, but this is interesting at least. He was doomed from the start given his look and the era and the memory of Kenzo Suzuki and the Gordy comparison. If this had worked out just enough to get him hired, however, I see him landing in 2009 ECW and then he could have ended up part of Regal's Roundtable with Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson and feuded with Christian and that probably would have been great.

Here he was paired against Noble, who fought valiantly from underneath, ducking and dodging and going after Morishima's legs. Noble got caught in the corner and Morishima got a few seconds pummelling in before the ref pulled him off. Noble ended up in a neck vice eventually and the fans went for him, but it wasn't like he was playing to them in any meaningful way; he was just familiar and Morishima was a monster. It ended a little anti-climactically but was a good performance overall; the babyface got over, the fans were awed by his offense. They might not have liked it in the back but this worked fairly well. 

ER: I remember when this happened, remember reading the reports online of Morishima getting a tryout, remembered hearing that backstage thought he looked like a big fat Japanese schoolgirl, and I was still young enough that I was upset that they "didn't get it". If Morishima had been hired I'm thinking it would be because they wanted him to be a big fat Japanese schoolgirl character and then maybe it would turn into a dancing character. His incredible hair - on the shortlist of wrestling's greatest heads of hair - is tied back in a ponytail and his fringe is parted down the middle. I'm not blaming him for inviting the schoolgirl comp but maybe it would have led to him in a romance tag team with Santino or something. 

The crowd responded to Morishima's violence even though he wasn't working as an overt heel. He was the heel because he was the foreign monster but he was not seeking boos. It was 3 well spent minutes of Morishima hammering Noble hard enough that every Morishima impact got an impressed reaction, and it all looked impressive. His kicks to Noble's body are as painful sounding as his high speed shoulderblock. There were so many people Morishima could have worked this stiff against. I wish WWE leaned more into heavyweight vs. heavyweight for their dark match tryouts than the played out heavyweight vs. cruiser.  Sure he could throw Noble at will but lets see what he could do with Shad Gaspard or Manu. I was a Manu guy for a month in 2008. 

Takeshi Morishima vs. Charlie Haas WWE 8/18/08

MD: Much shorter match with Morishima positioned as the face. He got to hit some of his big stuff (the sudden Boss Man Slam, the legdrop), but no pummelling in the corner, nothing like that. Haas had cheapshots and stayed on him doggedly and Morishima was able to sell. The fans were certainly impressed as he started up the top for the missile dropkick he won with but they didn't see to know what to make of it when he was trying to appeal to them.

ER: Morishima saved his best hair for the babyface match. It was a common thing for WWE to have a guy  work two tryout matches over two nights of tapings, one as a heel and one as a face. He was smart to save his greatest babyface hair for his babyface match against the opponent we all wanted to see him against. I am not sure how many guys on the 2008 roster I would want to see less than Charlie Haas. I can't believe I was still watching Charlie Haas matches in 2008. I bet Morishima/JTG would have been worse. Morishima vs. Deuce probably worse. Who was the worse Highlander? Haas steps up and hits Morishima hard enough to make this work and he also tells enough people to shut up that it pushes Morishima's reaction up a bit. You could hear the buzz building for his missile dropkick. Check out how perfectly Lilian Garcia nails the pronunciation of Takeshi Morishima. Tony Chimel couldn't. 

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2023 Ongoing MOTY List: Kingston vs. Danielson CC Semi

 

2. Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson AEW Dynamite 12/27/23

ER: A couple weeks ago I wrote about Bryan Danielson's match earlier in the Continental Classic against Daniel Garcia, a very good match that somehow left me a bit uninspired. We're so used to seeing Danielson have the same kind of good matches that even liking his wrestling can still leave me dry. It's the least exciting result of anything you consume: when you are forced to honestly break it down into uninspiring technicalities. "I think that movie deserves an Oscar but I can't see ever watching it again" or "That pizza was good but I doubt I'll ever go out of my way to have it again" are perhaps internal looks in the mirror that you are not appreciating life enough, or perhaps you are too bored with having it so good. 

Maybe you deserve to go without for a stretch, to re-center, to realign. To learn to be thankful again. In my review of that Danielson/Garcia match I was more negative than I typically am when writing about something I thought was good enough to recommend, but I suppose there is always room for humdrum within nirvana. I said that Danielson couldn't just will himself to have a match like 2013 Cena or 2018 Brock with a He's Good wrestler like Daniel Garcia. He elevates matches with lower guys to a certain level, but gets transcendent against Legends. Big Match Danielson is so much better than Great Match Danielson. And while Eddie Kingston, my boy, is not a legend in the same way John Cena or Brock Lesnar are, he has never been more a pro wrestling legend than coming into this match. Other than after this match. Because that's the kind of run Kingston has been on, making each match feel like his biggest battle. 

Kingston's AEW run has been such a necessary late career revelation, crossing over to the biggest crowds of his life with a charisma that makes every next match feel like one of the most important matches of his career. He has denied haters and spoken directly out into TV screens, the best years of his life happening in his 40s. He knows how to connect with people, and Danielson knows how to transcend with others who can connect to crowds. Kingston can make moments out of anything - I enjoy every era of Kingston's career, even Shabby Hair and Beard Pandemic Depression Kingston and TNA Flak Jacket Kingston - but this is a man who knows how to shine especially bright in Big Matches. Danielson transcends to Legends, Kingston is one of the all time great Everyman Legends. 

This was a semi final in the Continental Classic and had real tournament implications, as a Kingston win meant he would be the one fighting for 3-7 of the various belts that AEW gives everyone upon completing a one year probationary period. But the great thing about the best Kingston matches - and this is certainly one of those - is that you can strip away any of the match's implications and the Kingston performance stands alone. This would have played just as big had Kingston already beaten Danielson a couple of times, or if there was not a straight-faced Larry Sweeney amount of fake belts on the line, because Kingston has that power. 

It would easy to say that this was Danielson's WWF UWFi style vs. Kingston's Kings Road, because both of those elements were there in the match-long build, but this felt like the first time I've seen these two work an Ikeda/Ishikawa match, and it was like this beautiful Venn diagram of three of the greatest Big Match styles. Danielson took after Eddie with the kind of surly glee that comes with the best Ikeda matches. Danielson grinned so many times the way Ikeda would when he would collapse Ishikawa with a kick, and Eddie is one of the most sympathetic salesman since Ishikawa. Eddie knows how to weather damage the way Ishikawa could, Eddie just sets up his comebacks like Kings Road and not like a Fujiwara Follower. Kingston catches Danielson several times the way Ikeda would get caught, when he would start having too much fun with his sadism that he ends up losing balance and control. I love when Danielson similarly commits too hard to something, enjoying the punishment too much, tipping control back when he goes harder than needed. I'm so glad the ringside camera got such a perfect angle of Danielson missing that running corner dropkick that led to Kingston fucking him up with a clothesline. What a shot. Eddie endured an Ishikawa level of punishment in this, maybe his defining AEW match. As if the match needed it to make his win feel like a big deal. This was the best of modern wrestling, while loudly shouting out the days of tape trading. 45 years of combined experience both in the ring and on the brain. 

2023 MOTY MASTER LIST

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (And Friends) 7/8 - 7/14 (Part 2)

Athena vs Masha Slamovich Prestige 7/12/24

MD: I'm lacking keyboard access currently as I'm writing this one ahead so I'll have to double back for Darby vs Mortos. I'd been looking forward to this match for ages though and wanted to get some thoughts down about it now that it's come and gone. Let's start with Masha. I was most familiar with her from watching her Northeast indy stuff a few years ago. My big takeaway then was that she was a bit of a victim of circumstance. She was positioned in a lot of intergender matches where she was supposed to come off as a real force, equal, maybe even superior. No problem with that in theory. In practice, the issue was that it repeatedly led to escalation too early in her matches. Before she was fully established there was a need to make a splash in those matches and show immediately that she could hold her own against any sort of opponent. As she became more established, having been rewarded for doing too much too soon in her matches led to what felt like bad habits that bled into more conventional settings (or the same sort of unconventional settings but long after they were necessary as she was fairly quickly established). That clashed a little with her positives, the biggest of which is her ability to just jump off the screen and be absolutely electric, which just happens to be one of Athena's biggest qualities, that unpredictable intangible that makes her stand out from everyone else. I was expecting sort of an unstoppable force vs immovable object type war here. Life sort of got in the way though. 

I've written a ton recently about how Bryan Danielson (the person) likes to lie. This was a tangential sort of situation where it was actually Athena (the character) who is living something of a lie. We're just not sure how much of one, which made for a fascinating, committed performance. She was injured against Viva Van in a Proving Ground match a month or two ago in a fluke moment of hitting the floor. She hasn't wrestled since but they've been playing it up as part of the storyline on ROH TV. Obviously, for her to have a serious injury in the middle of this generational run would have been devastating so it's good that they've made an angle out of it and she's keeping dates and working the PPV, etc. It definitely put a different tint on this one though. No longer was it a godlike clash of the titans. Instead, this was a different sort of Masha, more wry, more subdued, and an Athena that oscillated from scheming to desperate to vulnerable to vicious, that was always on her back foot, whether it was due to the character actually working injured or just being forced to portray that injury as more serious than it was because of the longer term issues at play and a #1 contender breathing down her neck for the ROH PPV. That's a lot at play for what is, in a lot of ways, an inter-promotional sort of dream match. You didn't usually have that many things in play for Backlund vs Race or Flair vs Bockwinkel for instance. 

Athena started with a pre-match promo putting over her accolades and presenting a mission statement, to prove that she was the best champion in wrestling. Masha, a tag camp in TNA, sort of handicapped herself in return, spending the entire match refusing to touch Athena's leg once. If Athena was trying to prove A, then she would prove B instead without any question. Considering that Athena had no intention of fighting fair, it was a fairly successful big of goading that spoke to Masha's confidence and pride. Again, this was a fairly remarkable performance by Athena, always hobbling, always hopping, always off-balance. Early on, when they stayed on the mat, it seemed challenging but not impossible, but later on as she was throwing strikes and kicks and hitting bombs, I don't think there was a moment where I wasn't conscious of the boot on her leg because of how into the moment she always is. That's not normal. It's the ideal, but so few wrestlers ever reach it, and it was all the trickier because we're not supposed to know how injured Athena actually is. She's an unreliable narrator even in her physicality. Eventually, as Masha pressed her natural advantage and started to take over, Athena feigned even further injury to lure her in for the magic forearm. That let her take over for a while, but either the need to portray the injury or the actual injury gave Masha a wedge to keep coming back, and it all led to first bombs and then a ref bump, a phantom pin to allow Masha to save face and Athena ultimately using the boot. This wasn't the match I anticipated or expected, but that's still on the table for a rematch somewhere down the line. As it was, it was Masha being reactive in very impressive ways and Athena being as impressive as always with living in the moment, just for an entirely different and challenging sort of moment.

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Found Footage Friday: SANTO~! PARK~! MIL~! GARZA~! DAMIAN~! AGUILA~! CEREBRO~! FELINO~! SILVER KING~! FUERZA~!

IWRG Retro 28 IWRG Retro 3/8/2001

Halieen/Ryo Saito vs. Siky Ozama/Bestia Rubia

MD: Undercard lucha made fun more for the visuals of Halieen and Bestia Rubia clashing than anything else. Halieen is a little green man gimmick, like nothing I've ever seen, just really leaning into the notion, including some sort of weird Power Rangers collar. Bestia Rubia has a wolfman mask, but it'd be as if Bowie did Thriller instead of Jackson and turned into a Wolfman at the end, or if they made the Ron Perlman Beauty and the Beast ten years earlier and it was the people making Buck Rogers that did. They need to make more masks like these.

Saito and Ozama are fine and do simple straightforward stuff well enough. Saito has fire. Ozama's a bit of a jerk. But you spend the whole match waiting for the wolfman and the alien to get back in there and see lucha sequences you've seen a thousand times, but never from a wolfman and an alien. Pretty solid finishing stretch (this was 1 fall and went around 16 minutes) with the teams trading falls and trying for Last Rites style pin attempts. This was more of a novelty than anything else but you can't imagine these guys didn't get over just on their looks alone.

Hijo del Santo/Dr. Cerebro/Felino vs. Silver King/Fuerza Guerrera/Cirujano

MD: Star-studded, talent-packed trios here. Rudos ambush to start. At some point, Cerebro really gets opened up. I wouldn't say any rudo particularly stands out here. Fuerza's going to sneak in low blows as you will. Cirujano brings a bit more heft. Silver King looked sharp even post-prime (he had a very smooth figure-four in the primera, for instance). Things picked up in the segunda as Santo ran right through Fuerza for an initial comeback. I loved Cerebro's selling here as he was fumbling about punch drunk even in the midst of the comeback. The tecnicos got swept under again and Santo had to mount a second comeback before Felino was able to hit a moonsault on Silver King to set up Santo's big tope off the top and the caballo on Fuerza.

The tercera was short gave us a little bit of the pairings we had missed in the primera but was primarily cycling through until the big finish. Santo hit an absolutely mammoth tope suicida onto Silver King, just a head-crashing, head-crushing impact. It was so good that they reshowed it in super slow motion so that the action missed the finish (Cerebro getting a submission on Cirujano). I don't usually say that something's worth just seeing for the dive, and this has other things going for it too, of course, but people should see the dive.

Hijo del Santo/Mil Mascaras/LA Park vs. Hector Garza/Damian 666/Mr. Aguila Monterrey 2/3/07

MD: Very odd one on paper. Perros del Mal vs. three of the biggest stars ever, in 07 Monterrey. It's a night show and you can see their breath. Park's in blue. Mascaras has a matching bengal body suit and mask. We come in at the start of the segunda after what seems to have been a Perros beatdown. Garza immediately crashes and burns in the corner allowing Santo to pull his pants down and send him to the floor. Chaos ensues. Park is the guy to watch here, hitting a jumping body slam off the apron onto Damien, putting him through a table. Then he hits a suplex on Aguila on the floor splitting a plastic table. Finally he hits a huge dive through the ropes. Meanwhile, Mascaras hits a couple of ginger atomic drops and things and Santo more or less does his "vs the world" routine against everyone. The finish of the fall is Damien creating motion for Mascaras and ending up in an abdominal stretch.

The tercera starts with almost seven minutes of shtick, and it's Hector Garza shtick, and LA Park shtick, and your mileage is going to vary on this, but for me, it goes real far. It all hit. Garza gets funnier and funnier as the decade goes on but even in 07, he had a lot of the act down. They run a minute or two of Park trying to pull his tights down and Damien saving him until Garza accidentally kicks Damien and Damien pulls Garza's tights down and it's unapologetically hilarious. Then they get the ref in on the act with him doing dual spots with Park and the commentary say he looks like "a crazy panda from Chapultepec" and for a spotlight match like this, it absolutely works. Things broke down pretty quickly after that with Mascaras pinning Aguila and Park clowning Damien before Garza, a cooler lid in hand, chose to attack Park instead of Santo. Santo got it from him and threatened but Park turned around and thought Santo had gotten him and attacked Santo who was quickly pinned before Park laid down for Garza as well. It was a little silly, but Garza was the perfect guy to be in the middle of all this and I'm sure it set up something great (or didn't, because Monterrey). What a show. 

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On Ospreay, the MJF Match, and Selling (with a bonus extra)

MD: I wasn't initially going to talk about this match here, so I figured I'd jot down some words before an all day training I had (I had seen the match on the bus on the way in). You guys who follow the blog know that this really is "a few words" relative to some of the stuff we post! So I thought I'd just take a screenshot as I am old and do not understand technology and post it in case anyone wanted to read it. But I guess the rest of the internet felt otherwise about it being a few words. Anyway, even though it went viral on Twitter for some crazy reason, I'm going to put it here for posterity and because this is my home to talk about wrestling (and because Eric told me to). For those who have already read it, I've got a call to action for the other participant at the end. You can skip to the last two paragraphs.

A few words about Ospreay's selling that I'll probably regret later. First and foremost, I appreciate the attempt that was made, I really do. There was huge effort to sell here. Good for him. Let's break it down though. Let's say that there are four different levels of selling. The first is in the moment. Something happens to you. You sell it. Then there's selling based on momentum. While your opponent is working on you, you continuously sell what's happening; that means between moves that are being done to you. The third is to sell between moves on your comeback. That is, you hit something clean, then you sell. That's the level that Ospreay, for the most part, reached in the long match with MJF. He'd hang on tight to that shoulder not just while he was moving around the ring but even while he was climbing to the top. I hate to say it, but it felt a little box-checking to me as opposed to being immersive. That's because there's a fourth level. That's total, immersive selling. I got the sense that Ospreay was having some trouble getting from Point A to Point B. I never, ever, felt like it was hindering his ability to actually do anything once he got to Point B. Some of that is his own natural athleticism, yes. This is going to sound crazy to some people, but for all of the creative opportunities Ospreay's preternatural athleticism provides him, it can be a hindrance when it comes to the art of pro wrestling. If he is so smooth and so clean and so crisp, it means that he has to find a way to introduce physical struggle to his execution when the narrative match calls for it. I'm loathe to invoke MMA, but it's a bit like having someone with trained and honed reflexes have to figure out how to work what they're doing in a way that suits pro wrestling and its needs. Down the stretch, his stuff should have seen more reckless and haphazard and clumsy. It's counterintuitive on some level, if you want to go out there and have the perfect match, but it's that last level of immersive selling: the idea that you're not just reacting in the margins but that there are no margins, that there is simply life and life's not treated you particularly well over the span of the match.

So why does this matter? Maybe it doesn't matter as much in 2024 when we're checking boxes on a scorecard and figuring out how many stars to give it based on that. Maybe it doesn't matter when the fans want to see people fight forever and just want an excuse to cheer (and brag) as opposed to having an excuse to let go and feel. But maybe it's a chicken and egg sort of thing too, most especially over time. Selling is by far the most important aspect of pro wrestling. Selling bestows meaning upon action. It shows the stakes. It creates the consequences. Selling is how a wrestler makes the crowd care; not cheer, not clap, not chant, but care. It is what allows for the suspension of disbelief. Selling composes the strands of the web that captures the hearts and minds of the crowd and prevents them from falling back into their own reality. Wrestling isn't about being real. It's about being immersive and consistent and holding up under its own weight. That means not just remembering how to check boxes and make sure you're doing something in the moment, or with momentum, or in the margins. It means that in every moment of the match, the price and the cost and the weight of what's happening is made to matter as much as humanly possible. It's maximizing the meaning of moments. Ospreay's athleticism may be a burden when it comes to this, but it's also a gift. Wrestling is about creating baselines and then pushing against them. If Ospreay's baseline is to be the most athletic person in the world, he can push against that, not just in the set up but in the execution as well and play against the expectations of the fans. There's another argument about how so much of the actual conflict in the match are counters and reversals as opposed to gritty struggle (there can be a balance), but that's another two paragraph rant for another day. One last bit of credit to give him at the end here: the times where he's most engaging to me, where he draws me in the most, aren't those times where he hits the craziest, most athletic, most impossible things. It's when you get the glimpse of a tiny wink or earnest smile, where you can tell he's absolutely tapped into the moment and not just hitting the next spot but instead living it. If he can figure out how to channel that same connection to the beating heart of pro wrestling to those times when the weight of the world is pressing down upon him, then maybe he'll really be one of the greatest one day and not someone whose greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses. 

So, what's next? I'm pretty sure it's Wembley. I bet it's a rematch. Maybe Garcia's All Out? I don't know. What I do know is that this was yet another match where Max felt the need to show the world that he could hang, that he was just as good and athletic as any other wrestler. We'd seen the Darby match. To me, that was overkill given his character. To me, that, if absolutely necessary, should have been the absolute end of it. It wasn't. The roster's full of guys that can go. They don't need another guy who can go for the sake of going. It's all about where Max can get, and at Wembley, I hope that he gets back to that other side of Piper, back to a modern take on the guy who had every single wrestling fan in the northeast wanting to absolutely kill him during the Snuka feud. 

That's the thing, though? How do you do it in 2024? Bloodying someone as well meaning and representative of wrestling (which is what AEW stands for) as Garcia is a good start. But at the end of the day, you have to take something from the fans. You have to wrong them, directly or indirectly. And what do modern fans want more than anything else? They want to be part of something special, to be able to brag that they were there for something you weren't. They want to be part of a match of the year, or night, or decade, and boy do those UK fans want that more than anyone else. They want to be part of that six star Ospreay experience. They've waited so long. They're entitled to it. They deserve it. So maybe it's not Roddy Piper that MJF ought to be shooting for at Wembley. Maybe it's Larry Zbyszko. We saw it in the Petit Prince matches where someone like Genele or Noced would grind Prince down for minutes upon minutes, cutting off hope spot after hope spot and escape after escape, bringing the fans to a wild froth so that when they finally got to see the athleticism unleashed, it meant so much more than if the whole match contained it. Maybe, just maybe, now that Max got this need to show he's as good as anyone out of his system, he can finally be truly great, withhold the gratification that they so desperately crave and that wrestling fans eat up like candy on a week in and week out basis, and cause an actual riot on the biggest show of the year. I'm not asking for much here, just everything that pro wrestling ought to be.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Silk! Fujimi!

22. 1979.02.XX1 - 01 Indian Silk vs. Victoria Fujimi

K: I don’t have a whole lot to say about this match as I thought it was very mediocre without being awful or anything. Indian Silk totally dominates the first few minutes, but it doesn’t really build up much heat because compared to the antics of the Black Pair etc her heeling is incredibly tame. It comes across like she’s just winning the match. Indian Silk is working like she’s a big monster, but she isn’t that big, so that aspect doesn’t work well either.

I was also thrown off with how Nancy Kumi was constantly interfering to help Fujimi; it felt completely unwarranted the first few times, I’d expect to have seen some egregious cheating from the heels before a babyface second would actually attack their mate’s opponent. The referee did start heeling it up later in the match, maybe Nancy knew he was going to that, but the sequence of events was backwards.

The few seconds where Indian Silk did a pendulum backbreaker hold where she’s pulling Victoria’s head up and down was pretty neat though. But otherwise, pretty dull and weird match.

*1/2

MD: Most notable thing about this one was that we had a leaning rudo ref. That meant that Nancy Kumi (Fujimi’s Golden Pair partner) felt it perfectly acceptable to dash in to interfere now and again. It gave everything a bit of a weird tonal feel overall. Maybe the other side of it was that Silk (who had an Indian gimmick, yes, but that they said was Mexican) was supposed to be a monster.

She manhandled Fujimi through a lot of this. A lot of choking her over the bottom rope or lift up drop down flapjacks. She had a really nasty deep cobra clutch which she pressed over her knee repeatedly as well. Whenever Fujimi got an advantage, she was equally fierce, including a fairly brutal gourdbuster and cobra twist, but the ref contrived to cut it off. Finishing stretch had a bunch of bombs by Fujimi, including this great running press off cross body in the corner and high vertical splash sentons before winning with a deep roll up. Maybe it was just me but I felt a disconnect here. Anyway, post match Fujimi got to beat up the ref so this felt somehow years before its time.

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2023 Ongoing MOTY List: Danielson vs. Garcia

 

11. Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia AEW Rampage 12/8/23

ER: Matt already wrote an insanely in-depth analysis of this match back when it actually happened, touching on storyline elements that wouldn't have even crossed my mind while watching the match, and does one of my favorite wrestling review things (that I am mostly intellectually incapable of doing) which is to look inside - and perhaps beyond - the possible intentions of what two wrestlers were working towards. As in, reading Matt's reviews, I often find myself thinking that he knows more about the match stories and intentions behind structure and build than the actual wrestlers in the matches. Importantly, he manages to do so without ever coming off like he thinks he knows more than them. He can take visuals in front of him and apply meaning to them where, perhaps, the wrestlers themselves had no meaning, and gift them something deeper. Our brains all view wrestling slightly different, and Matt has an ability to go a bit deeper in viewing wrestling. My mostly useless little review is going to be more like "DaMn DaNiElSoN KiCkS HARD!!!!!"

It's safe to say I am likely spoiled by Bryan Danielson matches, because I am kind of tired of Bryan Danielson matches. They are so repeatedly good in so many similar ways that, stepping back from it, makes me wish we actually did get any of these Danielson Style Changes that he has been hinting at over the years. We get teased with different Danielsons but at the end of the day his matches still feel like the same quality of Danielson work we saw in 2013. We could have gotten full Danielson BattlArts - he is clever enough to work BattlArts style violently and safely - but we only get part of it and never the full commitment. We could have had maestro lucha Danielson, we know he's capable of doing compelling mat matches with some basing, but it has only been teased. These styles have been sacrificed at the altar of Reliably Great Matches. This was a great match, but to me these Great Danielson Matches have felt like by and large the same match for a very long time now. There are standouts and next level exceptions, but to me it feels like every Danielson match passes a certain quality line while staying below a next level experience. 

It's impossible to get to that level of the 2013 Cena or 2018 Brock match. You can't get to that level with a good wrestler like Garcia, and so, Danielson gets the Garcia match to his expected level. And yes, every single Danielson leg kick looked brutal, even match finishing. He was not holding back on Garcia's hamstring. Every hit looked severely damaging, and the match easily could have been built around Danielson just demolishing this leg. But it wasn't built like that, and instead the vicious kicks made every single miss look weaker and mapped out, not throwing misses anywhere near the same as he throws hits. But this isn't really a vet stomping out an upstart, it's more a vet who almost allows an upstart to try some things and then responds with something worse. When Garcia tries to mimic something Danielson did it never goes quite as effectively. It felt like too many things looked worthy of finishing the match, and I think the more they went to those extremes the more it weakened the match after. When Danielson hit a Gotch piledriver and rolled it into a triangle choke, ending with him holding a triangle while sitting on Garcia's chest and throwing punches...I don't know how that didn't end the match, let alone wind up leading to an entire third act after. It didn't come off - to me - like Garcia weathering and persevering, it felt like an escape that was necessary to continue the match and get to the other plans. 

There's been a distinct lack of selling in a lot of AEW Danielson matches, and he tends to encourage it from his opponents too. When Garcia was leaning allllll the way back on the "Dragontamer", making Danielson's heels touch his ass, I was left wondering what damage at all he had weathered. Nothing Danielson did seemed to have any effect on Garcia, and vice versa. Anything done to accumulate damage, didn't. The effective things were the ways they left themselves open, like Garcia leaving his chin open during that Dragontamer, allowing Danielson to hook it. The damage didn't ever seem to lead to anything, but the openings while delivering damage lead to the best parts of the match. In the theme of paying receipts back more viciously, Danielson delivers his trapped arm stomps to the jaw FAR meaner, and I love this meanness. I guess I just wish this meanness felt like it was in service to something bigger, and not in service to checking off the list of things happening in his Great Matches. 

2023 MOTY MASTER LIST

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 7/8 - 7/14

AEW Dynamite 7/10/24 

Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Page

MD: There are so many bad faith criticisms of AEW: bots, grifters, tribalists, just kids who are getting their kicks off of it like kids have always done since the start of the internet. It makes it hard to parse through what's real and what isn't, what's meaningful and what's not. For instance, the notion that AEW doesn't tell stories is patently ridiculous. Sometimes something on Rampage slips through, but in general, every match is there to further a rivalry, to heat someone up for something else, to set up a post-match, to reinforce a theme. Where I think that throws some people who are acting in good faith, is that story is not necessarily plot, and many of them have been conditioned to look for plot. This is an issue with serialized storytelling across a bunch of different genres, mediums, and properties. There's the idea that if there's not some sort of worldshattering permanent change then nothing worthwhile happened, even if characters were developed and explored in meaningful, heartfelt ways. It's an immature way of consuming fiction, one maybe a bit too focused on canon and lore. Look at Danielson vs Kingston from earlier in the year. It was full of story, full of emotional, character stakes. Bryan Danielson wouldn't see the change in Eddie, the value in him, the merit. Kingston just wanted the proof of a handshake from someone held to such high standard, that held him to such high standards. They played it out in the ring and Eddie got his handshake and Danielson found peace in himself. It's wonderful. It's brilliant. It's maybe some of the best character development that can happen through wrestling. Danielson moved on to other things. Kingston lost the Continental Championship soon thereafter. So maybe for all the great story, it didn't have canon-shaking plot. Plot is having the fate of the company at stake in a ladder match. It's who's going to join the NWO next week? (It's Who's the Devil? by the way). Story should be enough because story takes you on a journey but fans have been conditioned otherwise and as much as I hate to say it, sometimes plot does hit just right.

What made this match so special is that it was bursting with plot that was underpinned by story, by character motivations. The stakes couldn't be higher. This was the finals of the Owen Hart tournament. The winner gets to main event at the biggest show of the year and go for the title. (That's the plot; here's the story). Last year, it was about friendship. That was well and good and fits AEW well. This year though? For Page, it's about justice, about hatred, about the gratification of tearing something down that should not stand. It's about punishing the fans for rewarding (or at least forgiving or ignoring) evil deeds. It's about being the hero of your own story when the entire world is more then villain every day. It's about reclaiming what was lost and putting reality back on track. It's about crossing a line and knowing you crossed a line and knowing further that the only way you can justify it, that you can make it right, is to win. Only then can you put things right by taking that title and setting the company right; otherwise, you did all of it for nothing and you're left a villain. Page needed to win. But then, so did Danielson. For him, it's about the end of the road, the final countdown, a retirement for the sake of family. Page would tear down the world for his family; Danielson would build one up instead. He needs closure. He needs to show the world that this is on his terms, that he is the best, that he would be the best, that he will always be the best, that this isn't him running away from wrestling, but this is him running towards love in the name of a promise with nothing else to prove. This is him showing the world that now because he has reached the absolute pinnacle of pro wrestling, he can climb the mountain of being the best dad imaginable. It's about leaving no regrets so that he can look ever forward towards his daughter and not back towards his grappling past. And all the while, the end is snatching at his heels (or in this case, his neck), threatening to take every decision out of his hands. For Jarrett, it's all about the past, it's about the decades when he didn't look back, when he didn't properly grieve, when he let the demons consume him instead, about the peace he's subsequently found and about doing one last good thing in wrestling in the name of his friend and his friend's family. Jarrett has nothing left to prove; all of his wrongs have been righted and all of his rights have been wronged. He still has agency though. Blood still flows through him. In the name of his friend, he can still change the course of history one last time, a last ride of the Last Outlaw. It's not his story anymore; he knows that. He can do his part to make sure that the story ends how it should though. So you have these three characters, three worldviews, forced into a pressure cooker where each has to reach their destiny but not all can.

Then it's just the simple matter of turning all of that into a wrestling match, right? Bots, bad faith grifters, good faith kids, they all get to say that something is all good or all bad, something's the best or the worst. Unfortunately, I'm too old to have that luxury. This stuff is complicated, and I have a complicated relationship with Adam Page's wrestling. He's put up on a pedestal by a lot of well-meaning people who have bought into the many qualities he has to offer. I like the idea of him. I like a lot of about his act, plenty about his presence. I just struggle with how he structures so many of his matches. To me, wrestling should be about build and payoff, about gratification delayed. He sure likes to gratify people and people, in turn, like to be gratified. Too much, too soon, (and I know how this is going to sound) too cool. There's something to be said about making art that you and your friends would like; it's an art student's mentality and it often drives the form forward. There are drawbacks though and a time to be disciplined as well. He does so many individual things well. He emotes so well. He wears his heart on his sleeve in the ring in a way that creates deep engagement. And now, finally, as a heel, he's slowing down and creating a different sort of mood, imposing, stifling, unrelenting, but also methodological. He's sharing his pain with the world, rubbing his knuckle into the wound of life, and it's a slow, measured twist of the knife. This Adam Page is creating atmosphere instead of just shooting off fireworks. (And, as an aside, I still think one of the biggest attainable money matches in wrestling is Page, worn down to raw, bitter fury by the weight of the world vs a carefully built-up Mad Dog Connelly, the mysteries of soulful eternity trapped behind his eyes; this is attainable for 2025. This is attainable! It can happen!). 

So here we had this match, at the intersection of plot and character, with every stake imaginable, not just hints but entire swaths of the real underpinning the fiction, an uncertain outcome, with wrestlers ready to bring everything they had to make it work. Everything played out to its logical conclusion, from Page walking out the babyface tunnel, Jarrett looking the other way, and the subsequent spit, all the way to Danielson pulling out one last miracle roll-up to survive and push forward to Wembley. Along the way, Page, seething, took every advantage, and Danielson, bleeding, pulled out every stop. He was the whimsical master early with the Lance Storm rolling half crab in Calgary, but when his back was against the wall later on, he whipped out his ROH flip dive that he hadn't done in years and years. And it all built to Jarrett standing tall between them, refusing to sink to Page's level, forcing the match to end in dignity. Page, in his current state, perhaps couldn't triumph in a situation held up by dignity and honor. He was the hero in his own mind, but one has to be true and pure (as Eddie had been) to slay the dragon on his final ascent towards the heavens. There are people who will refuse to see the value in this match; for those who choose such a thing, I have nothing but pity. For the others, who can't yet see the glory within, I have envy instead. Someday they'll find it and see it as if for the first time. They'll get there in time and this will warm their hearts and rouse their spirit, just like it did for all of us that were living and breathing it last week.

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2023 Ongoing MOTY List: Orange Cassidy vs. Angelico

 

21. Orange Cassidy vs. Angelico AEW Rampage 12/8/23

ER: I'm not sure I could have possibly predicted how much of a Modern Orange Cassidy Lover I have become. I am old and much more forgetful than I used to be, but I cannot think of another wrestler who went from one of my least favorite guys on the scene to one of my absolute favorites to watch. If Doc Brown had shown up at my house with a dot matrix print out of AEW's 23/24 roster and asked me to guess My Future Favorites, it would have been pretty easy to quickly pool Darby, Danielson, and Kingston. That hasn't changed. But I'm not sure how I would have explained to myself that in the future we will come to love Orange Cassidy. Liking Trent Beretta is one thing (I do), Wheeler Yuta is another (his improvement isn't a real shock I guess), but I really did not like Orange Cassidy. My hate for him was the kind of hate that was coupled with him as the masthead of a whole Type of wrestling I did not like. 

Every time I write about OC I am still framing it around my actual shock that he connects with me as much as he does, but I shouldn't be shocked anymore. It's been too consistent. I was probably on board with OC by the pandemic Jericho match, but that felt like me occasionally liking a Johnny Gargano match rather than me coming around on his style and gimmick. But now he is must watch for me, a perfect babyface. Maybe I like Jefferson Starship more than Pixies and that shifted my mental balance. Maybe my tastes have changed so much that I no longer recognize my tastes. I don't know. But I'm great at recognizing just what works for me, and he works. 

He's just an excellent babyface, and that's that. He defies the odds such, that here I am writing about a truly enjoyable match against one of the Top 50 IWRG Wrestlers of 2010 and plenty of Danhausen at ringside. If this is slop, I guess I'm a slop swiller now. I liked every little part, even the stupid stuff. I loved OC tying up Angelico's arms and the exhibition rope running and avoidance they started with, the fighting over Angelico keeping Cassidy's hands out of his pockets, and the 1-2 of Orange finally getting those hands in his pockets but hurting his knee while showing off. The pocket hands headscissors looked great, the knee buckle on the pocket hands kip-up perhaps even better. 

Angelico's work on Cassidy's knee was good, and I loved the way Cassidy was able to sell that leg convincingly while still hitting big offense. It's not easy to sell well while still building to the hot part of the match, and while I don't need every match to feature someone limping around and grabbing at their knee, I like when Cassidy does a limb selling match. Angelico had some great asshole stuff on OC's leg: running around the ring to kick his leg out, knocking him back on his face with an inside ankle kick after Orange had just fought to his feet, twisting hard into the Grapevine, and an awesome moment where he lifted Orange for a knee breaker and instead ran him knee first into the top turnbuckle (spinning him around nicely into a back suplex). Would I have wanted less of Danhausen and Serpentico at ringside? Probably. But I liked when Serpentico was throwing punches at Cassidy's kneecap, and the payoff to Danhausen punching Serpentico in the dick was well done. Angelico's fall after catching the Orange Punch right after is a beauty, takes it on the chin and goes sideways and stiff on the fall. I eat-a the slop now. It's delicious. 

2023 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: MACHO PUMP~! KOMACHI (MISTICO)~! TOGO~! ORIHARA~! SABU~! TAKA~! SASUKE~!

Masao Orihara/Macho Pump vs. Sabu/MIKAMI Michinoku Pro-Wrestling 10/16/03

MD: We come in a little JIP here but you get the idea quickly. Orihara and Pump grind down on Mikami and it's ok. It's consistent and competent but it's lacking the pep of havint Togo in there. You're just sort of waiting for Sabu to get in. That's the point though, because once he does get in, it's electric. They try to double team him and he just is having none of it. Then he puts the chair in the center of the ring and hits a jumping knee into Macho Pump in the corner; Pump immediately falls throat first onto the opened chair and it's brilliant. Eventually Mikami ends up back in and this turns into an Andre tag where the partner keeps getting dragged down to build up the anticipation for a little bit of Andre. After the second Sabu showcase we get the finishing stretch which has Mikami finally getting to shine with a ton of interesting and seemingly physically impossible roll up attempts on Orihari before Sabu has his final burst and wins the day. Pretty fun stuff once it got going. 

Dick Togo/Masao Orihara/Macho Pump vs. Kesen Numajiro/Hayate/Komachi (Mistico) Michinoku Pro-Wrestling 10/19/03

MD: We've got people kicking and screaming and begging to see a sparring content in front of no crowd between Malenko and Mistico and they can instead watch baby Mistico get beaten on by Togo, Orihara, and Macho Pump. People's priorities are all messed up. This was very good. Bad guys ambushed right from the start and took the first three-fifths before things broke down for the rest. It was a near-perfect balance enabled by the lack of a shine or a feeling out process.

They started on Komachi (who was in matched gear with a matched act with Hayate), and he had one good bit of hope towards the end of this with a handspring but generally just got beat on and screamed. He was figuring it out though his natural instincts were pretty good. They spent longer beating on Numajiro though. Sharp stuff from the rudos though they didn't have a lot of tandem offense. It was more one guy setting up the next for something nasty. As always Togo stood out but everyone carried their weight.

Eventually Numajiro ducked for a heel miscommunication spot and Hayate and Komachi came in hot with big offense and dives. They cycled through a bit after that with everything feeling earned and most things having a little twist to them before Togo finally flattened Numajiro for the win. This went down smooth. Just real easy wrestling to watch and enjoy.



The Great Sasuke/Jinsei Shinzaki/Hayate vs. Dick Togo/Taka Michinoku/Macho Pump  Michinoku Pro-Wrestling 12/16/03

MD: The great thing about heel TAKA is that not only is he a total dick, but he makes everyone around him more of a dick as well. That means that you don't just get him paintbrushing Sasuke in the corner, but you also have Macho Pump playing with Sasuke's mask tassel at the same time. The match was full of stuff like that, but counterbalanced by the fact that the other side, most especially Shinzaki, weren't going to put up with it.

So you got that great mix of the bad guys being really bad and then getting justified and satisfying comeuppance, stooging and bumping and flying around the ring for the other side and taking all of their signature stuff. The video goes around twenty and is a little more back and forth than the other matches we're covering this week but doesn't feel nearly that long at all. Things would build to chaos and calm back down and build back up again until finally boiling over into a hot finishing stretch. We ended up with three different variations of the theme this week (as you might expect) but all three were very watchable. It's so easy to just drop into this stuff and visit for a bit.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Aniversario 1990 Part 2

Week 29: Aniversario 1990 Part 2

EB: So far we have reviewed five of the ten matches that occurred at Aniversario 1990, having watched three matches from Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez (Chicky Starr vs Chris Youngblood; Leo Burke vs. Invader #1; and Zeus vs. Abdullah the Butcher) and two from Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel (Mascarita Sagrada & Aguilita Solitaria vs. Espectrito & Piratita Morgan; and Scott Hall vs. Atkie Mulumba). The second part of our review will cover the remaining four matches included on the  VHS release. All four matches have titles being defended and, so far, we’ve had one title change happen with Invader #1 winning the Caribbean title from Leo Burke. Will any other titles change hands? We’ll soon find out.

Before getting to these matches, I do want to briefly mention the result of the one match not included on the home video release, as Rick Valentine defeated Mark Youngblood at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. So overall, the Youngbloods had mixed results in their singles matches.

Our first match for this second half of the review is the Caribbean tag title match where the Caribbean Express of Miguel Perez Jr. & Huracan Castillo Jr. defend the titles against the team of Los Mercenarios. The two teams have developed a bit of a rivalry since mid May and things are coming to a head here at Aniversario. Los Mercenarios usually go for sneaky tactics and also have El Profe with them but the tecnicos are ready for any potential chicanery since they’ll have Robocop in their corner. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dA4RPiTwpQ

We already have both teams in the ring, with referee El Vikingo obtaining the title belts from the champions and holding them up to show what is at stake. Robocop is standing stoically at ringside in the tecnicos corner, this is his second appearance of the event but the first at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel (so both live crowds get a chance to see Robocop in person). Eliud Gonzalez introduces Miguelito as ‘el idolo de Borinquen’ and Huracan as ‘la estrella de Borinquen’ (so we have the idol and the star of Borinquen). Huracan and Ron Starr start off, working an arm lock up. The lock up is broken when Ron is backed into the ropes, but a second feeling out process leads to Castill sending Ron into the corner for a clothesline. Ron tags Acevedo in, who locks up with Huracan. Castillo again wins that exchange and Acevedo tags Ron back in. Castillo and Ron lock up and, as they fight in the ring, we get a close up of a stoic Robocop in the corner. He starts throwing some air punches and we cut back to the ring where Miguelito has been tagged in for the first time in the match. Miguelito locks up with Ron and does a quick tag to Huracan, who repeats the same maneuver and tags out. Miguelito works a side headlock on Ron and we hear Eliud on commentary thanking the fans for their support for CSP across these 17 years. Ron momentarily breaks the side headlock by backing Miguelito into a corner, but Miguelito blocks Ron’s punches and puts the side headlock on again. Ron sends Miguelito into the ropes and Acevedo knees Perez in the back. Acevedo is tagged in, hits a few punches on Miguelito and tags out. Los Mercenarios double team Perez by ramming him into the corner. Ron hits a few blows on Perez, going for a pin attempt as the camera cuts to Robocop (who is just stoically staring at the action in the ring). Acevedo and Ron tag in and out while continuing in control. Perez fires off several punches on Ron, but an eye rake cuts off that potential comeback. Ron hits some punches, a snapmare and kneelift before tagging Acevedo back in. Los Mercenarios attempt a double clothesline on Perez, but Miguelito ducks the attempt and counters with a double clothesline of his own. Perez makes the tag to Castillo and attacks both Mercenarios, knocking their heads together. Castillo hits a high knee on Acevedo and knocks Ron Starr down with some punches. Castillo hits a back elbow on Acevedo and gets an inside cradle. Ron breaks up the pin attempt before the three. A backslide by Huracan is also broken up by Ron. A swinging neckbreaker leads to another pin attempt that Ron breaks up. This time, Miguelito comes into the ring and starts punching Ron. All four men are in the ring and the rudos reverse an irish whip collision attempt by the Express, leading to Perez and Castillo to collide with each other. El Profe jumps onto the ring apron for some reason, as Ron gets an inside cradle on Perez. As the ref is tied up with El Profe, Acevedo tries to suplex Castillo into the ring, but Robocop finally gets actively involved and grabs Acevedo’s leg. This causes Castillo to fall on top of Acevedo in a pinning position.The ref turns around and makes the three count as both pin attempts are in progress. The bell rings and both teams think they’ve won, but El Vikingo immediately raises Castillo’s arm in victory (the legal men were still Huracan and Acevedo). The ref gives the title belts to Perez and Castillo as we get one more look at Robocop starting to exit the ringside area.  

MD: This was solid but didn’t necessarily feel like a big show match. I’m not sure if they were stretched for time overall or if they had structural balance they had to achieve with the Medicos match to come but they went into the heat sooner than I was expecting. It was very good once they got there, with a hope spot and two and Assassin and Starr being the pros that they were. They did a short double whip into a Bret Bump in the corner that looked great and made me wish we had 1990 Mercenarios vs Hart Foundation match. Eventually Perez got the hot tag to Castillo and they went into the stretch. I had half thought we’d get a second round of heat here but it wasn’t to be. Profe got up on the apron during a roll up, and Robocop, who had spent the whole match just pumping his fists occasionally, asserted himself by grabbing Assassin’s leg as he was trying a suplex from the outside in and the Express got a pretty shady win if you ask me. What did the Cuban Assassin ever do to Robocop?

EB: We now go to the World tag team title match where we have a debuting team. Jacques and Raymond Rougeau have arrived to challenge the Super Medicos. How ill they do on this journey to Puerto Rico?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa6j8M5mrWc

We are at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez and both teams are already in the ring (it looks like the Fabulous Rougeaus have just made their entrance). The garbage is already flying into the ring as the Rougeaus start taking off their ring jackets, and the first thing you can hear is Hugo over the sound system asking the fans to please stop throwing objects into the ring. Hugo also mentions that this is the last match for Aniversario 90 (not clear if it is at this ovulation or for the event overall, leading me to believe that the match order has been switched around for the home video release). The challengers are announced as being from Tennessee. The crowd loudly boos the Rougeaus (and there are still some objects being thrown at them) while cheering the Super Medicos when they are introduced. The bell rings and the Rougeaus go for a hug, which the crowd immediately gets on their case for (remember that Chicky Starr and Leo Burke have been doing this same pre-match ritual for several months now). We have Jacques and Super Medico #1 starting off and Jacques immediately signals for Medico #1 to back off. Jacques showboats by showing off his athleticism with a couple of kip-ups and dares Super Medico #1 to show his athleticism as well. When Medico # 1 doesn't go for it, Jaqcues starts flapping his arms to call Medico #1 a chicken. As they start circling each other, Jacques sticks his hand out wanting a handshake, which Medico #1 also ignores. Jacques gets mad at the crowd yelling no at the handshake attempt and goes over to the turnbuckle to yell back at them. This sets the crowd off and they start throwing even more trash at the ring. Hugo again can be heard over the sound system pleading with the crowd to not throw objects into the ring. Jacques again sticks out his hand for a handshake and Super Medico # 1 responds with a hit machine punch combo to knock Jacques down. Raymond briefly gets in the ring to check on his brother but quickly exits. Medico #1 approaches and continues hitting punches on Jacques and then sends him into the ropes for a back elbow. Jacques crawls out of the ring, leading to the Rougeaus hug each other at ringside as the crowd boos and garbage is thrown. Hugo on commentary is apologizing for this behavior by the fans, commenting that there are fans that are respectful and know how to act but there are some right now being disrespectful. 

Raymond and Medico #3 are tagged in by their partners. As both men face off, Hugo again talks over the loudspeaker, sounding more agitated and reminding the fans that this match is for the World tag team titles and he asks the fans throwing objects to behave appropriately. As Hugo pleads with the crowd, Raymond starts pointing that something is wrong with his boot. The ref goes over to check and Jacques uses the opening to blindside Medico #3 from behind. The ref goes over to warn Jacques, as Raymond hits a few punches and rams Medico #3’s head into the turnbuckle. An irish whip attempt is reversed by Medico #3, but Raymond lumps on the middle turnbuckle to avoid hitting the corner. Raymond fakes a reveres body press attempt and tries to jump off with an ax handle, but Medico #3 catches him with a punch to the midsection. Medico #3 gets a headlock takedown for a pin attempt, but the momentum of Raymond’s kick out sends him rolling to the outside. Medico #1 immediately comes over to help his son back into the ring and the Medicos do a quick switcheroo in that moment. Medico #1 is now in the ring and Jacques starts protesting as Medico #1 slams Ramyond. The Medicos do a tag and Jacques starts yelling at the crowd that there was no tag before (and the crowd roars in response). Jacques continues adamantly complaining from the ring apron as the Medicos feign innocence (with the crowd backing them up). Medico #3 works a side headlock on Raymond, who backs Medico #3 into the tecnico corner. Raymond doesn’t see the tag being made and is surprised from behind by Medico #1 when he tries to punch Medico #3 in the corner. Jacques continues to loudly complain from the ring apron.

A side headlock is countered with Medico #1 being sent to the ropes, and Jacques reaches out to yank Medico #1 down from behind. An irate Medico #1 lunges at Jacques but is hit with a knee to the back by Raymond. Jacques is tagged back in and baits Medico #3 into the ring. With the ref distracted trying to stop Medico #3 from getting in the ring, the Rougeaus double team Medico #1, finishing with a double team hotshot on the top rope. The crowd starts throwing objects again. As the Rougeaus do some quick tags and maintain the advantage, Hugo again laments that there are fans throwing objects and showing a lack of appropriate behavior. Raymond goes for a pin attempt that is broken up by Medico #3. Raymond complains and shoves Medico #3, causing another ref distraction and another double team opportunity for the Rougeaus. Jacques mockingly complains about the tag to the fans and hits a nice jumping back elbow on Medico #1. Jacques raises his arms to the crowd and again objects start being thrown. Jacques throws Medico #1 to the outside and Hugo starts putting over the bravery of the wrestlers, especially the Rougeaus, in giving it their all in front of a crowd that insists on throwing objects at them. As Medico #3 is baited back into the ring, Rayyond takes the opportunity to ram Medico #1 back first into the ring apron. Back in the ring, Raymond is tagged in and puts Medico #1 in a Boston crab. As the hold is applied you can see one of the security guards use his weapon to try to clear out the debris on one side of the ring. On the ring apron, Jacques moves over to where Medico #3 is and starts laughing and taunting him over what’s happening in the ring. Medico #3 again takes the bait and, as the ref is held up with Medico #3, Jacques enters the ring and hits a jumping kneedrop to the back of Medico #1. Raymond releases the Boston crab and taunts Medico #3, as Medico #1 is lying prone on the mat but shaking from the impact of the move. The Rougeaus do a cheer to hype each other up, hug and then Raymond goes for a cover (as some objects are thrown again). Medico #3 breaks up the cover and Jacques yells from ringside about it. 

Raymond puts Medico #1 in a camel clutch as Jacques starts chanting USA from the ring apron. The crowd starts getting louder and yelling at Jacques. A tag is made and Jacques comes in doing a shuffle and then kicking Medico #1 right in the face. Medico #1 is in a bad way and holding his back. Jacques sends Medico #1 into the ropes and locks in an abdominal stretch, immediately reaching out for Raymond’s outstretched arm to add more leverage to the hold. Objects start being thrown again and Medico #3 tries to make the save but the ref stops him. The Rougeaus take the opening to do an illegal switch, with Raymond maintaining the abdominal stretch. The ref notices that it is Ramyond in the ring and asks Jacques if they tagged. Jacques claims yes and turns to the crowd making the tag motion (which again causes the crowd to start yelling at him). Jacques is tagged in and looks to be setting up for another kick, but instead moves near Medico #3 and slaps him in the face. This again draws Medico #3 in but the double team backfires as Medico #1 dodges the attempted knee strike from Jacques and instead Raymond takes the hit. As Jacques checks on his brother, Medico #1 slowly crawls over to his corner. Jacques tries to cut him off but Medico #1 is able to make the tag. Medico #3 stares down Jacques, who starts begging off. Medico #3 corners Jacques and fires off several punches and then hits a backdrop. Raymond comes in and is met with a dropkick. Medico #3 follows up with another dropkick on Jacques, as Medico #1 enters the ring. The Medicos knock the heads of both Rouageus together. Medico #1 starts signaling to the crowd, but an attempted irish whip ram is countered by one of the Rougeaus, leading to Medico #3 and Jacques knocking their heads together. As Raymond and Medico #1 leave the ring, the ref sees that the two wrestlers are out on the mat. It looks like Raymond is going to get into the ring, so Medico #1 charges in first to cut him off. However, the ref catches Medico #1 and tells him to go back to his corner. While the ref is distracted, Raymond sneaks in and drags Jacques on top of Medico #3 in a pin attempt. Raymond turns to the crowd and starts celebrating, but makes the mistake of not leaving the ring. The ref sees Raymond in the ring, and instead of making the count, goes over to chastise Raymond and get him to exit the ring. As the ref is tied up with Raymond, Medico #1 gets into the ring and rolls Medico #3 over Jacques. The ref turns around, sees the cover being made and starts the count. On the ring apron, Raymond has his back turned and starts taunting the crowd, kissing his bicep in celebration. The three count is made and the Medicos retain the titles. Raymond turns around too late to realize they have lost the match. The crowd cheers, objects start being thrown (including a toilet paper roll and a chair) and you can see some fans start to enter the ring. The video cuts out as it looks like everyone in the ring is trying to leave and head for cover.    

MD: I’m not sure that words can do this one justice. It was wonderful, just everything you’d want from a tag match with these guys in this setting on this card as an absolute attraction. The Rougeaus, especially Jacques, were absolutely fearless, completely fearless. Maybe it’s because they knew they were losing, but it’s as fearless a performance I’ve ever seen, straight from the start with Jacques doing kip ups and goading Medico 1 as trash flew around him. When they finally took over on Medico three, they leaned as hard into it as humanly possible, cheating, posing, preening, chanting USA. I thought they might have a riot on their hands when they hit the Boston Crab/Knee Drop combo. 

They place popped huge for Medico 3 getting out of the way of a jumping knee causing the two of them to crash into each other, and it became a celebration scene (including kids storming the ring mid show) when Medico 1 turned over the pin (whereas Jacques had rolled Raymond onto Medico 3) so the Medicos won. All this just for basically an attraction match with a flown in team who hadn’t done a whole lot before the show to get heat. I don’t think this was overall better than the Invader 1 boxing match, but it probably pops onto my (honestly nonexistent) list of 100 favorite matches of all time. I was smiling the whole time through, even as poor Hugo was apologizing for the behavior of the fans.  

EB: Up next is a match that was originally announced as Monster Ripper challenging Wendi Richter for the WWC Women’s title. Richter was replaced a week or two before the event by Candi Divine, the reigning AWA Women’s champion and the match is being promoted as Ripper challenging Divine for that title. Let’s go to Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez for this bout. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPgsvoQPRw

Hugo does the ring introductions (making sure to announce that this is for the AWA Women’s championship) and also is on commentary. He puts over that the crowd at both locations is anticipating this match due to knowing the reputation of Monster Ripper and also having heard about Divine’s exploits. Hugo asks Moyano who he thinks will win the match and Moyano says that, while Candi is the champion for a reason, it looks like she will have a really tough time with Monster Ripper due to Ripper’s size and temperament. Ripper starts off by sending Candi to the mat off a lockup (and it looks like she pulled some hair there). Candi complains about the hair being pulled but Monster denies it. Based on the commentary, it looks like this match is taking place after the minis match at Juan Ramon Loubriel, which explains why the mat looks as clean as it does (and it confirms that the match order has been switched around for the home video release). Both Hugo and Moyano put over the minis match as being a great showcase and Moyano then jokingly warns Eliud that he better be careful when going to the bank on Monday and having his check clear after comparing Hugo to Espectrito. Hugo says that Espctriot is in better physical condition than him. Back to the match, Ripper does another hair assisted take down and again denies it. Candi fires back with a hair pull takedown of her own, with the crowd cheering and Ripper looking annoyed. Ripper complains about the hair pull and, after being taken down with a hiptoss, about her tights being pulled. Candi looks pleased with herself as it looks like she’s taking control of the match with an armbar, but Ripper  simply shoves Candi off of her. Hugo says that Candi has to figure out how to handle Ripper, who he refers  to as ‘the Abdullah the Butcher of the women’s division’. Ripper does a couple of hair pull takedowns and just takes over the match with several offensive maneuvers (including some leg drops). Candi briefly gets a respite by countering with a hiptoss at one point, but it’s basically all Monster Ripper. The announcers keep mentioning that Ripper’s size and power advantage is proving to be too much for Candi. Off the ripes, Candi is able to get a sunset flip for a near fall but Ripper counters a second sunset flip attempt with a senton for a two count. Ripper regains control and hits a corner splash, but Divine dodges a second attempt. Candi tries a cross corner whip and charge, but Ripper just runs at Candi and steamrolls her with a Ripper Attack. A leg drop leads to a three count and we have a new AWA Women’s champion! Monster Ripper celebrates with the title belt as the video ends. Title lineage historians, you may have to revise that AWA Women’s title lineage if this title match is accepted as a legitimate one.  

MD: We realize now that the commercial tape likely moved matches around so this likely didn't actually follow the Medicos tag match. I would not have wanted to have to follow that last tag match so that's a small mercy for them. Even so, it’s sort of hard to care too much about the 1990 AWA women’s title among this card. This match was fine. The work was fine. It didn’t go too long. There were some hand motions I didn’t quite get, as if Candi was calling for the mandible claw. I liked the finish which was Ripper missing a corner charge but then coming back out of the corner with a Ripper Attack when Candi whipped her, followed by a legdrop across the stomach. And all props to Hugo for being excited about the title change, but this one didn’t really have a chance to hit. 

EB: It is time for the main event of Aniversario 90, the titular ‘Un Reto Para la Historia’ between Carlos Colon and TNT. We’ve seen how this match came about with TNT being named the number one contender and deciding to challenge fellow El Ejercito de la Justicia member Carlos Colon for the title. This was a breach of the gentlemen’s agreement the tecnicos operated under and it was seen as a betrayal by TNT. Whether you view TNT’s decision as a case of putting passion before principle or a case of a competitor being within his rights to strive for the top prize in his sport, there is no question that there has been a noticeable change in TNT’s demeanor since the decision was made.. Whether it's been due to TNT lashing out for the way the tecnicos have reacted to his decision, someone getting into his ear or a combination of these and other factors, TNT has become more aggressive and abrasive in his quest for the Universal title. He has recently taken to not waking up his opponents from the Cobra Dinamita and he has really amped up his comments on Carlos Colon being old and  past his prime.
On the other hand, the tecnicos have also been a bit aggressive towards TNT after the decision he made. Their position has been one of ‘if he’s not with us then good riddance’ and of saying that TNT will be taught a lesson for daring to break the code. Not helping matters has been Chicky Starr, stirring the pot as usual and trying to get into TNT’s good graces. Chicky had promised to sign on as TNT’s manager by tonight’s event and be in his corner, but there has been no confirmation as of yet if Chicky had succeeded. TNT had continued denying he was with Chicky, but it’s clear that he is not in sync with the tecnicos either. Both Colon and TNT have been training intensely for their upcoming match and the moment has arrived.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzeq5ot6YBE

TNT comes to the ring accompanied by ninjas and martial artists, but Chicky Starr is nowhere to be seen. It seems that TNT has been telling the truth about not being aligned with Chicky Starr. Carlos Colon makes his entrance accompanied by who I'm almost certain are two of his children as flag bearers (it looks like Stacy and Carlito). Eliud Gonzalez does the ring introductions and both men get a good reaction from the crowd, it seems that TNT still has his supporters going into the match. The ref gives instructions to both wrestlers and the match begins with a series of lockups and a feeling out process between Carlos and TNT. Colon gets the better of these initial exchanges, although TNT is able to hold his own for the most part. As these exchanges occur, you can see that the ring mat is pretty dirty, likely a consequence of rain making the surrounding area muddy (of the two locations for Aniversario this match is taking place in the open air one). Carlos is able to hit a dropkick on TNT off the ropes after another exchange and it looks like TNT is sliding out the ring as the camera cuts to a close up on Carlos Colon. A freeze frame sends us further ahead in the match.

We continue with both men getting up from the mat and deciding to each bounce off the ropes for a dropkick. They both miss and go down again. The mat is dirtier than before and you can see some cups that have been thrown into the ring. Another rope running sequence leads to a shoulder block by Colon that sends both men down once again. It’s clear that the match has been going on for a while at this point, we’ll have to wait for a time call to get an idea of how much time has passed. As both men struggle to get to their knees, you can see that both are covered in mud from the mat and that TNT is bleeding from his head. A headbutt battle ensues between Colon and TNT, both men on their knees and trying to get the better of the exchange. Colon staggers TNT and is able to launch him into the ropes, getting a sleeperhold on TNT. We have all four announcers chiming in at different times throughout this match, and they highlight how Carlos is using a sleeperhold against someone who is a master at this type of hold. TNT looks to be almost out of it but answers the referee’s check of the arms and starts trying to fight out of it. Carlos keeps the hold on, but TNT manages to break it when the ref gets too close to check the hold and is grabbed by TNT to use as leverage to get Colon off him. Lysette Santiago makes the observation that TNT’s training came into play here, since he had done a bit of underwater training which requires being without oxygen for periods of time, and right now he had to withstand a hold where his oxygen was being cut off. Both men struggle to their feet once more (the exhaustion is setting in), and TNT is the one that is able to get the advantage with some quick blows and a roundhouse kick. TNT goes for a cover but Carlos gets his foot on the rope to break the count. Hector Moyano mentions that the match had been a clean one at first but things changed once TNT decided to grab the ropes (we missed it due to the clipping in order to fit the match on the home video release). As TNT starts hitting the prone Colon with some overhand chops to the head, Eliud Gonzalez makes the time call that 36 minutes have elapsed. Hector Moyano quips that if this match keeps going on like this that Hugo will need a two hour episode just to show this match on tv when the time comes. 

TNT sends Carlos into the ropes and knocks him down with another strike. Eliud comments that in the fan interviews leading up to the event, there were many people who said Carlos would win, but at this moment he notices the crowd is a bit quiet because right now they don’t know who will prevail. Hugo chimes in that it’s due to the level of respect the fans have for both wrestlers, they know the quality of both Carlos and TNT, and they are witnessing two men who are giving it their all. In the ring, Carlos and TNT exchange blows and TNT sends Carlos down with what may have been a thrust to the throat. TNT starts biting Colon’s forehead and continues on the attack with a dropkick that gets a two count when Carlos gets his leg on the rope again. As TNT continues pressing the advantage, Hugo reminisces about Colon’s past rivalries and feuds and how right now he is facing a young and hungry wrestler who knows Colon’s style very well from having shared a locker room with Colon for the past few years. TNT gets a snap suplex but Colon kicks out. TNT works a nerve hold on Carlos and we can now see that Carlos is also bleeding from his forehead. Carlos fights out of the nerve hold but is hit with a shoulder block. TNT makes another pin attempt but Carlos kicks out. The announcers mention that at this point, all thoughts of playing clean and fair are out the window and it’s going to come down to who can fight and claw their way to that win. TNT goes back to the nerve hold and we are now at the 40 minute mark. TNT starts getting a bit more desperate as he adds some eye and head rakes while working the nerve hold.

Carlos eventually fights to his feet and breaks the hold with a reverse foul kick to TNT. Carlos gets a slam and a leg drop for a two count (and you can see the mud fly off the mat when TNT hits the canvas after the slam). Colon starts working the leg and then gets a headlock on TNT, who reverses it with a headscissors counter. Colon bridges out of it and both men are locked on the mat trying to bridge out of the pin attempt. TNT is able to bridge out and counter with a backslide, but Colon again kicks out. Carlos does another headlock takedown on TNT. Both men fight for position on the mat, with TNT eventually getting control and decking Carlos with several punches to the face. Both wrestlers get to their feet and TNT lands a series of blows that knock Colon down for another unsuccessful pin attempt. TNT goes back to the nerve hold and we hear the 45 minute time call. Carlos fights to his feet and gets a brief offensive flurry on TNT that the crowd cheers along with. However, an attempted charge into the corner is dodged by TNT and Carlos ends up hanging upside down in the tree of woe position. TNT uses the opening to kick Carlos in the midsection and follow up with a series of unanswered strikes and punches. Hugo says that TNT’s strategy seems to be to make Carlos lose more blood and thus weaken him more.

TNT tries to put on the Cobra Dinamita a few times but Carlos quickly pushes him away on the attempts, his training kicking in. Carlos comes back with some kicks and punches that knock TNT down for an unsuccessful pin attempt. TNT is able to counter off the ropes with a dynamite kick and this time gets the Cobra Dinamita on Carlos. TNT tightens the hold and yanks Colon away from the ropes when Carlos briefly is able to touch the top rope to try to break the hold. TNT takes Carlos down to the mat and it looks like Carlos is almost out of it. But, as Colon’s arm goes down, it falls underneath the bottom rope. The ref calls for TNT to break and he mistakenly thinks that the match is over, that Colon was out and the ref had called the match. As TNT starts raising his arms in victory, Colon quickly is back on his feet and rushes TNT from behind, surprising TNT with a roll up that gets two. TNT goes back to the Cobra Dinamita as we are now at the 50 minute mark. TNT again yanks Carlos away from the ropes but the crowd starts amping up and cheering for Carlos. This time, Carlos manages to break the hold by running into the corner and ducking in order to ram TNT’s face into the top turnbuckle. Colon covers but gets only two. TNT hits a slam but misses a senton, with Colon then trying for another unsuccessful pin attempt. TNT sends Colon into the corner and follows up with a clothesline that sends Colon down. TNT makes a pin attempt and gets his leg on the ropes for leverage (with the crowd getting notably louder when this occurred). Carlos breaks this pin attempt by punching TNT right in the face. Carlos starts punching and kicking TNT on the left leg as Hugo mentions that time is starting to favor the champion (TNT as the challenger has to win by pinfall or submission). TNT cuts off Carlos with a kick and hits a flying clothesline, but Carlos kicks out. Carlos again starts focusing on TNT’s left leg and eventually takes him down to the crowd’s cheers. Carlos continues with several focused attacks on TNT’s leg and it’s clear he is setting up for the figure four.  We are at the 55 minute mark, there are five minutes left in the time limit.

TNT manages to block the first figure four attempt by yanking Carlos down using the tights for leverage. Carlos goes back on the attack (including a quick shuffle of his feet that amps up the crowd even more), but the second figure four attempt is countered by TNT with an inside cradle. Carlos kicks out and hits a suplex on TNT, as we now have four minutes remaining. Carlos is firmly in control but TNT keeps countering the figure four attempts. TNT gets to his feet, visibly favoring his right leg, but is able to hit a desperation spin kick on Colon. However, TNT is slow to follow up because his left leg is giving him trouble. TNT sends Carlos to the opposite corner but misses a knee charge, which leaves him completely open for Colon to put on the figure four. Carlos makes his fourth attempt of this closing stretch but TNT is able to kick him away. A fifth attempt at the figure four is also countered with a kick. There are now two minutes left in the match and both men are staggered but on their feet. A blow exchange is won by Carlos when he grabs TNT’s leg and shoves him down. Carlos continues attacking TNT’s left leg as we have one minute left in the time limit. TNT is able to get back on his feet, but misses a spin kick attempt. Carlos covers for a two count with 35 seconds left in the match. Carlos finally gets the figure four on TNT with only 20 seconds left in the match. TNT struggles in the hold as Eliud Gonzalez counts down the remaining seconds. TNT keeps emphatically waving no with his arms as the final seconds tick away and the bell rings. We have a sixty minute time limit draw. Carlos Colon retains the Universal title but we have no decisive winner. Both men are exhausted, bleeding and covered in mud. As the video ends, Carlos starts motioning at TNT to get up and looks to want to continue, but TNT’s leg is too hurt for him to stand up properly. .  

MD: We have a little over half of this by my calculations. From what we can see (and there’s so much we can’t), and for how this plays out in my mind, it’s a tale of two matches. They start out even, working holds. TNT will reverse Colon’s hammerlock, but then fall to the reversal to the reversal. They build to dropkicks and eventually to both going for dropkicks at the same time, both going for tecnico coded offense in the same way. When we come back from the cut, many minutes later, TNT is busted open. They throw headbutts and chops, fighting with all their hearts but still, as best as we can tell, fighting clean. Then, suddenly, Colon snatches on a sleeper. This is the end of the first match, the end of the clean match. TNT, in desperation, works towards the ref and sneaks in a foul. 

Everything seems to change from there, including the very nature of the ring. Maybe it’s just more noticeable in this back half. Maybe it’s the ultimate manifestation of the rain and dirt and grime and all the trash that had been thrown in throughout the night and all the more that was thrown in with TNT’s rudo decision. Both men are covered in it however, awash in filth held to their bodies by sweat and by their own blood. This is the true symbol of justice torn asunder, of their union brought down not through villainy but through jealousy and greed and pride and putting rules over people.

This portion of the match consists of small and tight shots, of gripping holds, of each wrestler fighting for every inch. On the other side of it, TNT tries for the cobra, is reversed, is countered, is foiled, until he can finally hit the Dynamite Kick and lock it in. For the first attempt, Colon gets his hand on the rope at the very last second. For the second, Colon, with a last gasp of survival instinct, charges forth and slams TNT’s skull into the corner post.  

Things have changed again. The Cobra failed TNT. He presses onwards and tries to damage Colon, tries to win with even more despicable forms of cheating like his legs upon the ropes, but Colon begins to poke and prod and punch at TNT’s leg in turn. The tide shifts and what has happened so many times before seems like it may happen once again. Colon will call upon an inner strength, will be lifted up by the crowd, will destroy TNT’s leg, will win the day. He tries for the figure four multiple times. TNT avoids it again and again, fights back, even hits the spin wheel kick but he misses a knee in a corner. All the while, the clock counts down, sixty minutes almost spent. Finally, with just twenty seconds to go, Colon locks on the hold, but TNT survives it and the two men are left in the dirt, having both survived the war, having nothing proven, having it all be for what?

EB: The next day (Sunday July 8) the Mayaguez card for Aniversario 90 was held. The Universal title match between Colon and TNT in Mayaguez also ended without a decisive winner, with the match being stopped due to blood. Carlos Colon remains the Universal champion but TNT has taken him to the limit. 

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we look at the immediate aftermath of Aniversario 1990. Where do Carlos Colon and TNT go from here? Will Scott Hall continue to be embraced by the fans? Is the rivalry over between Invader #1 and Leo Burke? And who is coming and going out of the territory after Aniiersario? All hopefully will become clear.

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