AEW Five Fingers of Death 10/7 - 10/13 Part 3

AEW WrestleDream 10/12/24

Darby Allin vs Brody King

Consequence is everything. That's why selling matters. Selling isn't checking a box and doing something because you're supposed to. Selling is the means to show consequence of action. Without it, pro wrestling is meaningless. It's pure sensation without substance. Imagine watching a movie where no one registers any of the events, reading a book where none of the characters seem to care about anything that happens. Wrestling is a physical medium. The events that take place are primarily physical. The impact of them must be registered and cared about, must be shown to be consistent over time and between matches. Otherwise, what's the point of any of this? Without that, what's makes wrestling stand out from any other sort of physically impressive athletic exhibition. All of the storytelling in wrestling is found here. Things have to have consequences.

Darby Allin is the human embodiment of consequence. He is transcendent. Nothing he does in the ring is for the sake of it. Nothing he does in the ring is simply to impress. If he is creating action, then that action is with the simulated intention of hurting his opponent. Given his size, the best weapon he has to do so is his own body. There are wrestlers who will do a series of three dives one after the other, and it's obvious that they are meant to thrill, to pop the crowd, to show off. When Darby does a series of multiple dives, a few elements are at play. First, he HAS to do this. He has no other way to hurt his opponent. He has no choice. The impact has to look like it's doing real damage and not just pushing his opponent backwards. He has to be a primed cannonball, not just a wrestler hitting a spot. Second, things could go horribly wrong with any dive. This isn't some inputted video game move where once the first dive hits, the second two will automatically follow. This is not a looped gif. At any point, something can, and so often will, go horribly wrong for Darby. Yet he presses on because he has absolutely no choice. There is a heavy sort of pressure that weighs down upon the viewer as they watch Darby wrestle. Nothing is light and fluffy. Even the things that involve some level of set up do not feel prearranged. Each moment is a hinge point, Schrodinger's spot, where everything could go right for him (at great cost nonetheless) or everything can go so, so wrong.

And Brody King is in many ways the perfect partner for this. Brody, like few others in wrestling today, lives and breathes that Hansen-ian mentality, always driving forward with the violence of the moment. It feels at any point that he surveys the scene like some unholy, bestial terminator and calculates in a heartbeat what would be the most impactful, the most hurtful, the most violent act. Then he does it. If Darby embodies consequence, Brody is more than happy to cause it. He's the beautiful and horrible butterfly flapping its wings. He's the grubby, wart-covered thumb that causes the first domino to fall. Together, they're a two man demolition crew, demolishing the ring, each other, and the feeling of safety and security that we call normalcy.

Therefore, the drama in any Darby match isn't about how many counters he can skillfully pull off. It's about survival. What is going to break first, his body (for his spirit will never break) or his opponent's? How much devastation can he take vs how much can he cause, knowing full well that every bit that he causes also hurts himself. Does his opponent have enough to push Darby over the limit, to leave him in such shambles that he can't get a shoulder up, that he can't twist and contort his body to escape just one more time, that he can no longer pick himself up and throw himself like a blunt object into the face of his enemy? When your body is your only weapon, everything matters. When there's a chance that you are going to crash and burn at any and every moment, everything matters. Darby is the human embodiment of consequence and a king of anticipation. The fans believe in him, believe in his resilience, believe that even though he registers every bit of pain, there's always a chance he can fight back, that he can persevere. They believe in him all the more because he registers everything that happens and it matters so, so much more when he does overcome and even when he doesn't.

And what mattered here? What mattered here was that this was a war, and not a war of posturing and preening. This was a war with casualties, bruised skin, battered bones, blood between the teeth. When the smoke cleared Darby was victorious, but there was no shame in Brody's loss; there was glory in he even making it back into the ring to beat the count after the coffin drop onto the stairs. There was a handshake that actually mattered. There was even a tiny taste of hope for what Darby and Brody might be able to do together given the darkness falling upon AEW. Sometimes you have to fight darkness with darkness. And none of this exists, none of it matters, none of it catches in your throat and pumps your heart without consequence. 

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 10/7 - 10/13 Part 2

AEW WrestleDream 10/12/24

Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley

MD: Wrestling is about hope. It's about creating the need for it, building up anticipation for it, cutting it off after every tiny taste of it, and then paying it off at the absolute right moment and in the absolute right way. Hope is everything. What hope has meant to the wrestling fan, both within the confines of a match and in general, has changed over the decades. If we go back forty years, it was about the heel being punished at the hands of the babyface. If we go back twenty years, it might be more about the company pushing a favorite wrestler to the top. And now? A lot of times, it's about being lucky enough to see something great, a match that picks up as many stars as are in the sky.

Ironically, the milestones of Bryan Danielson's career have run the opposite path for me. A little over twenty years ago, I sat at an ROH show hoping I'd see an all timer as he wrestled an ironman match against Doug Williams. Ten years ago, I hoped beyond hope that WWE would let him break the glass ceiling and win at Wrestlemania despite all the odds and all the plans. And yesterday, as I watched him wrestle Jon Moxley, even though I knew deep down that the end was upon us, I hoped that he would get his hands on his enemy first. What was beyond my wildest hope, however, was what the two of them would create for us before it was all said and done. They left us with one last amazing gift, one that has provided me just a bit more hope for the future.

I do not expect to see Danielson in a ring again any time soon, not even with the high heat angle that sent him off. I do expect to see him in the ring, even somewhat regularly, at some point years down the line. I know a thing or two about having a daughter, and eventually she won't be quite as eager to have him around the house all the time. When that time comes, I hope (so much of that, see?) that he returns, not as the Bryan Danielson we've always known, but as an older, wiser one ready and willing to lean upon all of the old tricks of wrestling and to cash in the fans' desire to see him again, to wrestle a completely different style, one that cares less for athleticism and more for the illusion of the same. I truly think that someday he will have a real chance of restoring something that right now feels like it might be forever lost.

That was too big an ask for one night and far too much to hope for on his last night as an active wrestler. What he and Mox managed instead was to show that something else, something related, was not forever eradicated from this earth as well. You see, I wasn't the only one who wanted him to get his hands on Jon Moxley. 8000+ in that arena wanted it too. There were so many things at play. There was Moxley's turn and the violence around it, the build to the match itself: the promos, the recrimination, the fight over the heart of Yuta, the unforgivable offense of Moxley doing this to Danielson right now when he was so close to leaving on his own terms. In some ways there were years of build to this. In other, more tangible ways, there were just weeks. They were powerful weeks, however and Bryan was here in his home region, in an arena that meant something to him, fighting against a brother that betrayed him, fighting over the ending of his story and the very soul of pro wrestling.

And this crowd, a crowd that had already been sated by a three-way that was deemed as "a different level of incredible" by you know who, a crowd that had every reason to be exhausted... this crowd, maybe for the first time in years in the United States, was made to want blood. To expect Bryan Danielson, who has gone on record recently as feeling like he no longer understands wrestling and wrestling fans, to have all the answers on this night would be impossible. But he and Mox did all that they had to; they provided a proof of concept that can be built upon, they showed that wrestling on a big stage can still touch people in the way that it once did, that it can overcome post-modern cynicism and grip a crowd by its collective heart and squeeze all of the emotion out of it.

There was no posing, no preening. People talk about wrestling being cinematic, but I can't imagine anything more cinematic than Moxley rushing right at Danielson as he started to enter the ring and the two of them fighting for every advantage, big or small, as the Final Countdown played over them. You could watch a thousand pro wrestling music videos, and they might all be artful and perfectly timed in their own way but none could possibly move you more than watching the violence unfold to this ultimate soundtrack. It took my stomach and lurched it up towards my throat in a way that I've only felt recently watching Mad Dog Connelly battle Demus, that I thought would have been impossible in an arena setting. And they managed it with a song playing in the background. That’s how deeply they threw themselves into the struggle at play, how completely they gave in to the animosity they were portraying. When two wrestlers are able to manage that, everything around them becomes additive, becomes a positive part of the equation.

Moxley is unquestionably cool, but he did certain things to make sure the fans would never even inch his way. Some of that was having Shafir at ringside and drawing the ref so that she could attack. He didn't need to do that. He had control. She hit hard; he could probably hit harder. While he was going to win the match clean, he made sure to fight it dirty. The pile driver on the table that shifted things from shine to heat was preceded by an eyerake. Later on, he'd rip the tape off and bite where it had been. That's not the most damaging thing he could have done, but it was one of the most symbolic. He took his time, let it all sink in. He jawed with someone in the front row (someone who thankfully had the wherewithal to remind Moxley that Danielson was his brother). He shoved Nigel's headset off for daring to say that Mox didn't care what any ref had to say. Interestingly, he DID care what Bryce had to say. The whole point of this was to win the title, and while he'd choke Bryan with a wire for the four count, he had til five and he used it.

Mox is a different sort of cat. Bryan and Eddie were on message boards, were trading tapes. Mox was digging through the dumpster behind Blockbuster to see if they tossed out an overwatched King of the Deathmatch commercial tape. He wasn't playing Oregon Trail in fifth grade. He probably still types with two fingers. He's not like us in the same way they are, and he can lean into that to be the other that can get under everyone's skin. Meanwhile, Bryan is of us, one of us, the paragon that we all look to, in some ways the very best of us, and as he took his advantages, he made sure to appeal to the crowd, to first conduct and then channel its energy and power.

And to their credit, these fans did not waver. Oh, there was a moment or two where I started to worry. They counted along with a ten count as both men were down. When things devolved into strike exchanges (but one where everything registered and everything was felt and sold) they were eager to yay and boo with each strike. But those were small imperfections and excusable ones. Knowing what to do with this level of engaged emotion is new for a 2020s crowd; there was bound to be (re)growing pains. They came through where it mattered, led by the wrestlers to the promised ground of chanting expletives at Moxley, buzzing for Danielson's comebacks, booing Mox's dirty fighting, as opposed to chanting "This is Awesome" even and especially when what they were seeing was in fact awesome.

Then, at the end, after the expulsion of Shafir, after the comebacks and kickouts, when Danielson finally could go no further and Bryce called for the bell; and then, as the belt was stored away safely by Claudio and the plastic bag arrived, and as Yuta, his own hope drained from him by Bryan's loss, made the only choice he felt he had left to him, the crowd fell to a stunned hush. This was their reward for allowing themselves to be led (as if they had any choice in the matter), to feel one last overwhelming wave of emotion, to be moved by the art in front of their eyes in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, to feel more alive in shock and despair than any performance has ever made them feel.

So they gave me something more than I could hope for and they dared me to hope even further still. I hope that this is just the beginning, that even though Bryan Danielson is gone, that Jon Moxley understands what he's brought forth, the small ember that he has reignited, and can carry the flag forward and restore honest, earnest feeling (not "the Feeling" of 2021 AEW but something even more primal that speaks to the human heart), can bring the most valuable facets of mythology back to a post-modern word. The pieces are on the table. Darkness reigns. It's up to the babyfaces to foster hope in the hearts of the AEW faithful, to achieve meaningful wins even if the ultimate goal is deferred and deferred and deferred until the time is right. Let Orange Cassidy conglomerate. Let Darby Allin be the crow that feasts upon their nightmares. Raise Daniel Garcia to be the centerpiece of a new Super Generation Army of young lions. Lean hard into the stakes. Make it matter. Show that the wrestlers care. If they care, the fans will care. Darkness has fallen over AEW, but within it and through match that heralded its arrival, I've found more hope for pro wrestling than I've had in years.

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Found Footage Friday on Saturday: LAWLER~! IDOL~! RICH~! BAM BAM~! ROSE~! HENNIG~! SHEEPHERDERS~! NIGHTMARES~!

Sheepherders vs. Nightmares CCW 1/17/87

MD: Charles has received a new set of DVDs in the mail. He's going through it and has already identified some very interesting sounding lost matches. Be sure to follow his work in general. Here's one of the matches and it's a very straightforward, very solid tag. Got to love Solie here, first calling the Sheepherders "twisted steel" which made me wonder where he was about to go with that, and then refusing to differentiate Butch or Luke or Davis or Wayne for the entirety of the match, just calling them "A Nightmare" etc. Thanks Gordo.

This hit all the right notes balancing being grounded and maintaining a slightly chaotic feel throughout. During the shine, the Sheepherders kept rushing out of the ring every time the Nightmares got the better of them. It put a certain sort of punctuation on everything and really got across the slickness of the Nightmares. I'm pretty sure it's Wayne that works FIP here, and the transition was this great over the top bump due to the rope being pulled down. He got color as time went on and had some really well timed hope spots. When the fans started to chant USA, he'd reward them by giving them hope. That's exactly how these things should work. Always be struggling to get back into it but struggle the most when the fans are getting behind you. Some nice cutoffs too, including him going to the wrong corner. Plus a missed tag due to drawing the ref. They did a bit where the Sheepherders chair use backfired to set up the hot tag and had everything thrown out on the comeback as they used a chair successfully this time. The Nightmares got the best of them on a subsequent attempt and everyone brawled to the back. A good use of thirteen minutes of your time.

ER: Love this kind of 10 minute forward moving simplicity. When I think of Nightmares tags I think of minimum three great Danny Davis bumps. This had no Danny Davis bumps and instead had one great Ken Wayne bump that built to a great Davis hot tag. In between that bump and that tag we got the Sheepherders clubbing and kicking ass. Aggressive Sheepherders were a thing man. What a cool team. I would have loved to see heel Bushwhackers in WWF. Heel Bushwhackers during that couple month of '93 when Rock n Roll Express was in. Do we have any of the Well Dunn house show tags? They have such a great asskicking look here. I've always appreciated how clean Butch Miller's bald spot was. He had that young Bob Hoskins cut. Luke Williams had great pop and execution that you'd never expect even if you were familiar with some of their best brawls. He had this nice missed Hitman elbow off the middle buckle (more like a diving forearm smash) and paid it off later as they're cutting off Wayne when he hits a truly excellent falling elbow on him. You don't think of "precisely worked offense" when you think of the Sheepherders or Bushwhackers. Ken Wayne's backwards bump over the ropes to the floor was a cool Big Bump of a match to set up the nice long heat, which had one of those really well done moments when a ref cuts off a freshly tagged babyface with a near spear, making for a waist tackle and actually holding Davis in the air for a moment as Davis is reaching past his shoulders to join the fray. The eventual hot tag was hot, Luke bumping these nice careening pratfall bumps while getting punched around by both Nightmares. As they fight to the floor, Butch monkey flips the ringside commentary table onto himself in the chaos after getting smashed into it. It's all hot. 

Jerry Lawler/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Austin Idol/Tommy Rich Memphis 3/9/87

PAS: Lance Russell saying "Tommy Rich is split wide open" is my love language. Incredible stuff, one of the best matches we have unearthed in the history of this project. Wild bloody Memphis brawling with three of the greatest ever to do it in Rich, Idol and the King. Add in a green but game Bam Bam Bigelow, who came off as such a force of nature. 9 minutes bell to bell with the wild pushed pace of a bar brawl. So much of this feud was built around nasty ball shots, and I loved how they teased the posting on Lawler, and then had Lawler finish Idol with a top rope fistdrop to the nuts, an awesome NO DQ finish. Bam Bam flying through the hard ringside wood table was wild and unexpected and the post match beatdown and bloodying of Lawler was tremendous, especially considering how rarely Lawler bled. Pure joy, the platonic ideal of what I want from wrestling and a hell of thing to wake up to. 

MD:  I feel like you could watch this a dozen times and see something remarkable that you hadn't noticed yet each time. It's great that Russell is not looking on some sort of monitor but calling what he's seeing, so we hear different tastes of chaos than what's right in front of us. I've seen this a couple of times now but on my last watch the things that stood out the most were the way the heels just charged into every bit of offense, Lawler's ability to create organic and interesting violence from all sorts of obtuse angles at any point, and how well a guy as relatively early into career as Bigelow knew when to give and when not to give. There was a sense that Rich and Idol really needed to get either Lawler or Bigelow (the latter being more of a challenge) down and out of the match to control 2-on-1, but they simply couldn't. Lawler was too savvy and Bigelow was just too much. The big moment in that case was when Lawler more or less blocked the chair shot and came back to even the odds. Maybe my favorite bit of all of this from bell to bell is when Lawler scoots up from the second rope to the top to hit the very low fist drop as Solie notes it's legal in this match. The way the table bounces and contracts as Bigelow hits it post match is a wild bit of physics to really cap everything off. You can read about this one but it's really best experienced yourself.

ER: Our 1980s DVDVR sets were so comprehensive. The first time Phil and I met, we hung out in his parent's apartment watching 4 hours of handheld 1989 Memphis footage and made the historic decision to each vote YES to include the match that would go on to place 125th out of 125 matches on that set. The Memphis set was better for having Jerry Lawler, Jeff Jarrett, and Freddy Krueger vs. Dutch Mantel, Master of Pain, and Ronnie P. Gossett. Just like it was better for including Buddy Landel vs. Freddy Krueger. Also, what kind of idiots were voting on that thing who thought there were 121 matches better than Jackie Fargo vs. Jimmy Hart? Anyway, if that Ronnie Gossett trios match had been unearthed in 2024, you would be reading about it on Segunda Caida. Instead, we're talking about a match that could have placed in the Top 10 of that Memphis set if we had it then. If we had it then, one of the Freddy matches wouldn't have made the cut, so this is for the best. It's incredible we're still getting new matches of this caliber. What a powerhouse, even better than it sounds on paper. 

I've watched this thing three times now and I've come away with a new favorite thing each time. Well, that's not true. My favorite thing ever single time is Lawler piledriving Austin Idol and dragging him spread eagle to the turnbuckles, climbing to the middle buckle, doing that perfect pause that Lawler does to build suspense on whether or not he thinks he needs to come off the top rope, then doing that perfect no look step to the top rope he does (that is one of my favorite signature movements of any wrestler in history), before flying off with the greatest fistdrop ever committed to tape. If there was one man in the world I trusted to safely fistdrop me in the balls from the top rope, it would be Lawler, but it's still a real Wheelbarrow on a Tightrope situation and I don't know if I can name a wrestling finish I've ever loved more. Look at the way Idol straightens and kicks his legs! Look at the way Idol holds and rubs his balls with his left hand during every second of his post-match spike attack on Lawler! I might have been too bearish in thinking this was only a Top 10 Memphis set match. 

So my favorite thing is locked in. But Matt's right about seeing something remarkable each time you watch. By the third viewing I was wondering if I had ever seen a babyface physically chasing a heel through the crowd during a brawl. I've seen a hundred ECW matches where guys walked together in the crowd while holding each other's hair, but I don't think I ever saw anyone getting punched in the face and running from the back of the arena for the safety of the ring only to run directly a Bam Bam Bigelow punch. God I wish I could have seen Chris Candido do just that, even if Candido was no Tommy Rich or Austin Idol. Rich and Idol took offense, ran into offense, and turned violent as great as any heel team of the 80s. Lawler and Bigelow were great at surprising them with a punch or a knee, and it's incredible how well everyone in this match had a constant innate sense of where everyone else was at all times. I've never seen such precise, out of control chaos. 

Everyone in this match was constantly turning around into a punch or turning around to punch someone, and there was more struggle in these 10 minutes than I see on entire wrestling cards now. Not every punch came easy, a face didn't get smashed into a guardrail every time someone tried. Lawler held onto the ropes to prevent Idol from pulling his balls into the ringpost like he was fighting against being pulled into hot lava. Bam Bam shoved Idol's head back by the chin before punching him and it looked like violent mafia shit. I couldn't believe Bigelow's bump through the ringside table, and was astounded that a match that ended with The Greatest Finish Ever wasted no time moving into the biggest bump of the match and some of the most violent sharp stake work we've seen. If Lawler punched one ball of Idol's he was going to take it out on his face with a broken piece of wood, and Lawler's gusher after being run face first into Idol running at him with a stake tells me that fistdrop crushed nuts. Tommy Rich is like Bobby Eaton for me, a guy who I love more with literally every new match I see. If there was a wrestler today who moved in and around and through a brawl the way Tommy Rich does here, I'd show you my favorite wrestler in the world. I watched this match a fourth time while writing about it. 

Buddy Rose vs. Curt Hennig Portland 7/2/88

MD: This was a special "Curt Hennig returns" episode of TV. He commentated on a match, cut a promo with the babyfaces, wrestled Buddy, and then came out at the end to explain to the ref how the heels cheated to have a result overturned. The appearance was setting up a match against DeBeers who he said was part of why he lost the World Title two months earlier. My memory is a little iffy on that one though. Rose was primed for a loser leave town match with the Assassin. The stakes on this particular TV match, however, was that the loser would end up a dunk tank later that weekend. Curt would be in WWF by the end of the month after a few more AWA shots, but here, he felt like a very big deal. In some ways it reminds me a little, thematically, of that post-world title match between Martel and Race right before Martel goes to WWF. Just a last burst of someone being a certain sort of star before they ended up stamped by the WWF machine for the rest of their career.

The match was very fun but obviously, coming in at just ten minutes, wasn't going to live up to the previous Hennig vs Rose feud. Some of the usual brilliance though. Buddy started by turning a rear bearhug into a dropping body scissors. Then after Curt escaped, Buddy dodged something with a cartwheel only for Hennig to get him in that self same drop down body scissors. They did a tit-for-tat bit with Buddy bumping off the top with a press, only for Curt to turn it into a great small package when Buddy tried to get him the same way. Cute finish where Hennig was able to eat a Superplex but hook the legs at the last second and get a shoulder up. That meant Buddy thought he won and started to gloat only to realize what had happened and that he had a dunk tape in his future. Just a fun glimpse of something that had been out of our reach for a long time.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 10/7 - 10/13 Part 1

MD: Brief programming note. We'll have Found Footage Friday up on Saturday or Sunday this week as a one time thing. It's worth the wait. We've got some fun stuff you've almost certainly never seen before. Also, thanks to everyone for the support this week (even Max.....). If you haven't seen it, I'm back up at https://x.com/mattd_sc/ now, so give me a follow.

AEW Dynamite 10/8/24

Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta vs Claudio Castagnoli/PAC

MD: What put this over the top for me was the characterization at play. Let's break it down. Danielson's motivations have been all over the place in his last few matches, but believably so. He's a man haunted by betrayal, carrying the weight of destiny, knowing the Sword of Damocles is over his head, knowing that he's on borrowed time, but also knowing that paradise awaits. Instead of being conflicted, he's of singular vision. There is no conflict within him, only before him. He was detached against Nigel and frustrated but engaged against Okada. Here he was consumed by the need to punish Claudio for his transgressions. Yuta's the opposite, a six man champion at odds with his partners, split between two mentors. He chose his side but now he has to live with it and it's easier to die for someone than to live for them (and despite how I'm going to end this review, I'm not convinced he doesn't have reason to doubt his choices after having seen Danielson so blinded by rage). Claudio was cool, collected. Bryan would throw himself at him. Claudio is a constant. Eventually, Claudio would catch him, bend him, break him, soften him up for Moxley. And Yuta? Claudio is confident in his cause, comfortable with his decisions. He'll lean on Yuta until he understands. He has the luxury in a match like this. That leaves PAC: PAC just wants to see the world burn. He finally has a purpose, finally has a home, finally is surrounded by people who aren't just posing and preening, finally with people who will let him light the match. Maybe Moxley wants to burn it all down to build it back up again. Frankly, PAC doesn't care. He just want to see the glow of the embers and feel the heat on his cheeks.

It all played out in the match, with Danielson bursting forth, looking away from PAC and crashing into Claudio on the outside, with Yuta and Danielson, in matching gear, with matching dives. It made me wish we had a few more months of them together, that we could see them against FTR or in a dominant 8 minute tag against Nese/Daivari. That's not the world we live in though; this is, and here, everything is coming apart at the seams. Danielson had not been reckless against Okada, not even with a time limit counting down. He had not been reckless against Nigel, no matter how badly McGuinness deserved it. Here though, he was nothing but reckless. Yuta was poised, focused, driven, and locked PAC in the Cattle Mutilation. Claudio casually, patiently walked over and broke the hold. Danielson was incensed. He dove at Claudio once more, but this time Claudio caught him.

With Danielson Neutralized (literally) on the floor, the dynamic changed. Now Yuta had to live with his decision in the most painful of ways, as a face-in-peril with a partner who had, for all intents and purposes, taken himself out of the match. He fought valiantly, but the odds were against him. Even if Claudio wasn't actively trying to hurt him, that didn't mean he couldn't punish him, couldn't teach him a lesson, and PAC, who lately has been wielding a hug like another man might wield a battle axe, well.. he had no qualms about hurting Yuta: lesson, punishment, none of the above; it was all good to him. But Yuta fought on, even made it to the corner, made it to the corner only to find Bryan not there, not yet recovered.

It was a moment of heartbreak, a stark, symbolic reminder of what is ahead of us all. Pretty soon, Bryan will not be there. Maybe he beats Moxley, but if you watched him here, driven by rage, out of balance for the first time since the Eddie Kingston match earlier this year where he found peace in defeat... you don't get the sense that he can beat Moxley. You can't beat Jon Moxley with the World Title on the line with rage. There's not enough rage in the world for that. Maybe he's lying about his injury. He does that, right? I don't think he is. What I think is that after Wrestledream, we won't see Bryan Danielson for a good long while. We're going to reach out for that tag on a Wednesday Night in cold, dark December, like we've been able to do for the last three years, and he's not going to be there.

So Yuta crumbled, suffered. Hope started to leave him. Then he felt it, the hand come down upon his back, a tag so blind that he couldn't even have imagined its arrival. Because that's the thing, for those of us who have known the love of pro wrestling in this century, Bryan Danielson will always be there. He's part of what it means for us to love this, whether it's him helping to define a brand new style in the early 00s, him demanding the full five count from a ref, him kicking someone's head in, him bursting through glass ceilings that were supposed to be impenetrable, him goofing around (on a Saturday morning kid's show, on the JBL and Cole show as the Dazzler, or at a Dark taping in a lucha mask), or him defining his last year of pro wrestling by facing every compelling opponent imaginable, he's never going to be far from our memories of pro wrestling, and I speak for everyone reading this that we think about pro wrestling way too much.

So some day a few months from now when things seem bleak in the dead of winter, you're going to take a breath, pull up some random ECCW match on YouTube, or find the 2/3 falls Sheamus match from Extreme Rules 2011, or hop onto Honor Club and watch him against Morishima, or HOPEFULLY by that point, be able to watch the RUSH match from Dynamite on Max. And you'll feel that slap on the back, and he'll tag in, and you'll get twenty minutes where everything feels just a little bit better, because that's the power of pro wrestling, and no one who made his home primarily in this current century of ours could wield it quite like Bryan Danielson.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Return of La Pareja Increible

Week 37: The Return of La Pareja Increible

EB: It has been chaotic the past few weeks in CSP, with debuts and returns, title changes galore, violent attacks perpetrated on members of El Ejercito de la Justicia, and what may be a huge turn back to the tecnico side. The Texas Hangmen and Eric Embry have only been around a month or so, but they have been agents of chaos and violence, with Embry getting his hands on his former valet Sasha and physically hitting her, and the Hangmen severely injuring Invader #1 with a prolonged hanging. We’ll soon follow up on the fallout from that chaotic October 17 day in Miramar, but before doing so, it might be a good idea to take a moment and recap where everything stands as we head towards the end of October..

First, one detail we missed in all of the chaos is that it appears that CSP has moved TV stations. They are no longer on Channel 2 (Telemundo) and instead are now on Channel 4 (WAPA), with programs on Saturday and Sunday. WAPA will become their permanent TV home and remains as such to the current day. 

We also had quite a few title changes in the past month and half, so let’s do a rundown of who the current title holders are. Carlos Colon remains the Universal champion, having recently held back challenges from TNT, Kim Duk and Roadblock. Colon’s attention now seems to be focused on the Texas Hangmen, even more so now that they have put Invader #1 on the shelf. Kim Duk is the current Caribbean title holder, while Huracan Castillo Jr. is the World Jr champion, having regained it after it switched hands between Ron Starr and Invader #4. Sasha finally got some payback on Monster Ripper and won the Women’s World title in the process. As for the two sets of tag titles, they both are in the hands of the rudos of the moment, as the Texas Hangmen are the World tag team champions and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine are the Caribbean tag team champions. One final note, the Puerto Rico and TV singles titles are currently inactive or vacant, with the Puerto Rico title being in limbo since Manny Fernandez left with an injury and the TV title has been inactive ever since TNT vacated it after winning the Universal title. We’ll have to see if any of these titles come back at any point.

We also had a bit of wrestler movement, although some were only coming in for short tours.  We’ve already mentioned Eric Emrby and the Texas Hangmen, but we also have the notable returns of Sasha and Monster Ripper. In addition, the tecnicos have added the Giant Warrior to their ranks, someone they view as an equalizer against the larger monsters that El Profe could bring in. We had some short term arrivals with Kamala, Mr. Pogo and Roadblock all making appearances on the rudo side. We also got the return of Ricky Santana for a few weeks in October (who we saw trying to make the save for Invader #1 during the hanging). There was also another new arrival there running interference with the rudos, a wrestler by the name of Skywalker (also known as Nitron), we’ll talk about him in a bit.

Now that we have gone over where all the titles are and who has been in CSP throughout these past few weeks, let’s focus on the fallout from the hanging of Invader #1.  As mentioned before, Invader has been severely injured and is out. He is going to spend about a week and a half in the hospital from the attack and there is no indication yet if he’ll be able to make a full recovery and return to wrestling. We also had Sasha put herself in harm’s way trying to help save Invader #1 and falling victim to a physical attack from Eric Embry as a result. This is not going to sit well with the Super Medicos. Finally, TNT appears to have had a change of heart, coming out to save Sasha and Invader #1. Right now the Texas Hangmen are public enemy number one after what went down (although Eric Emrby isn’t too far behind). Let’s go to Miramar, where we have a tag match in progress, as the Texas Hangmen take on the team of Migeulito Perez and Giant Warrior. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-5MBd1txWk

The match is already in progress, with Giant Warrior fighting off the Hangmen and tagging in Miguelito. Hugo and Eliud are your commentators. Perez works the arm of the Hangman in the ring. The Hangman fights out and makes the tag, but the Hangman that comes in (Killer?) ends up caught in an armdrag takedown. Hugo mentions that he heard from an anonymous source that apparently the Hangmen are brothers (not sure if this is something they’ll keep mentioning moving forward though). Eliud says he's inclined to believe it, they look very similar and it's tough to tell them apart (Eliud: El Profe claims that one has blue eyes but who's going to notice during the match). The tecnicos keep working the arm over with some quick tags, and Perez ends up hitting a handspring elbow on the Hangman (he must have picked up the move on of his recent foreign tours). Perez keeps the offense going with a slam and a legdrop, before tagging Warrior back in. As Warrior and the Hangman exchange chops, Hugo starts hyping that we might have an upset in the making. But as soon as Hugo mentions this the Hangmen start choking out Warrior and double team him in their corner. Hugo again mentions that it's really hard to tell the Hangmen apart but they are absolutely vicious. The Hangmen cheat with the bullrope and El Profe starts ringing the bell claiming that he was the one who moved it. Hugo is getting annoyed with the cheating Hangmen, wondering how they can be proud to be World tag team champions and act this way. Eliud thinks all the Hangmen care about is the money and hurting people. The Hangmen attempt a pin on Warrior but Migeulito makes the save. The Hangmen continue with the advantage on Giant Warrior, until a big boot by Warrior gives him the opening to tag in Perez. The match breaks down to a pier six brawl and El Profe distracts Miguelito. The Hangmen use the opening to grab the bullrope, nail Miguelito with the cowbell and get the pinfall victory.

Post-match, El Profe chucks Miguelito over the top rope as the Hangmen attack Giant Warrior and start hanging him like they did to Invader. Carlos Colon rushes the ring with a piece of wood and clears the rudos from the ring. Giant Warrior is down but not seriously hurt. The referee reverses the decision due to the post match attack and awards the win to the Perez and Warrior (Hugo: Justice is being done! If these Hangmen insist on causing harm, they have to be punished, they have to be fined, they cannot be allowed to continue to hurt wrestlers!).Carlos is thanked by Perez and Warrior as the video ends.

MD: The commentary suspects the Hangmen might be brothers. They can’t tell them apart so what hope do we have? Perez and Warrior make for a bit of a weird combo here but they work well together to start controlling on the arm. Perez actually hits a handspring into the corner which I don’t think we’ve seen him do much if at all in the 89-90 footage. Hangmen take over on Warrior with an eyerake and he plays face in peril, getting choked in the corner. Strange role for him but he does well enough with it, I guess. It certainly puts over the Hangmen as dangerous to be able to control a guy the size of Warrior. Not much in the way of hope spots either. He finally gets a foot up (falling over in the process), which worked as a visual and Perez comes in hot off at the tag. He zigs over to Profe when he jumps up on the apron and the ref, distracted in the other corner as things were breaking down, misses the cowbell shot. I think the post-match hanging attempt on Warrior might have been more powerful if he HADN’T played face-in-peril but Colon breaks it up quickly anyway.

EB: It’s clear that Carlos Colon  is looking to teach the Texas Hangmen a lesson after all of the attacks they have done. But with Invader #1 on the shelf, he needs a tag partner. Who will it be?

Meanwhile, the Texas Hangmen aren’t the only rudos with a target on their back. It's apparent that El Profe had the rudos organized to run interference to prevent El Ejercito de la Justicia from making the save for Invader #1. And Eric Emrby really took advantage of the situation when Sasha appeared. With the Super Medicos not around, Embry saw his chance to get at Sasha, grabbing her, dragging her around by her hair and just hitting her in a very nonchalant manner. The Super Medicos, particularly Medico #1, had indicated that they weren’t going to let tEmbry get at Sasha again but Embry had managed to do it in the chaos of the hanging. Let’s go to a scheduled TV match between the Caribbean tag team champions and the team of Huracan Castillo Jr. and Ricky Santana.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wjCcR5XE14

The ring introductions are made for both teams when the Super Medicos suddenly appear and start talking with the team of Castillo and Santana. Hugo and Eliud are on commentary, and they wonder what the tecnicos could be talking about. Eliud mentions that this looks to be an interesting matchup, with what Eliud describes as the dangerous pair of Embry and Valentine. Hugo mentions that it appears that the Super Medicos are asking Castillo and Santana if they will give the Medicos the spot right now against Embry and Valentine. Castillo and Santana seem to agree, shake the Medicos’ hands and leave the ring. It looks like the Medicos do not want to wait to get their hands on Embry and Valentine after their recent actions against them and Sasha. Hugo says this is not the official scheduled match as the Medicos start fighting with Embry and Valentine. The ref is confused as well, ringing the bell at first but then some moments later ringing the bell again as if to signal that this has been thrown out. It doesn't matter as what we have is a fight between the Super Medicos and Embry & Valentine. This is basically a street fight, as Valentine and Medico #1 start fighting on the outside of the ring, while Embry and Medico #3 are fighting inside the ring. Medico #1 rams Valentine into the wall but is stopped by Monster Ripper, who gets in between Medico #1 and Valentine. Medico #1 argues with Ripper for getting in the way but does not attack her (keeping true to himself by not stooping low in attacking a woman). 

Medico #1 walks away from Ripper and the fighting pairs switch locations, with Medico #1 and Valentine going into the ring and Medico #3 and Embry going outside. Valentine soon after tosses Medico #1 back to the outside and the fight continues on the floor as Valentine chokes Medico #1 with one of the production cables. Meanwhile, Embry is ramming Medico #3 into the ringside fence and into the ringpost. The Medicos turn things around, with Medico #3 blocking a ringpost ram attempt and countering Embry with one of his own. Medico #1 rakes Valentine’s eyes and starts choking Valentine with the same cable. Embry and Medico #3 exchange more punches, as Monster Ripper again interferes to save Valentine. Medico #1 again stares down Ripper, but Valentine sneaks up from behind with the cable to once again choke Medico #1. Eliud mentions that Ripper is taking advantage of the fact that Medico #1 is a gentleman and would not hit a woman. Ripper goes over to help Embry with Medico #3 as Valentine continues to choke out Medico #1 against the wall. Valentine finally releases the cable  and goes over to help Embry double team Medico #3. Medico #1 recovers from being choked and goes over to help his son. The video ends with Medico #1 tossing Embry into the ring and firing off a ‘maquinita de golpes’ as they go to the next segment. It’s clear that this rivalry is red hot and far from over.  

MD: Fun angle here as Castillo (wearing his Caribbean Express jacket) and Santana bow out with a handshake, letting the Medicos take over their match. It never really officially starts though as the ref doesn’t seem on board with this and it’s all chaotic brawling anyway. Embry and a Medico fight over the ringpost and who’s going to go head first into it. The other trades with Valentine choking each other with a wire. Monster Ripper makes the difference through distraction but this clip ends with Medico 1 rocking Embry in the ring with punches.

EB: With all of the chaos going on in CSP, there still is some wrestler movement going on. As the month of November begins, we get some quick visits from Vic Steamboat and Grizzly Boone. We also have the appearance of some Billy Joe Travis as a new challenger for the World Junior title. Perhaps the most notable appearance for our journey is that of a wrestler from the Dominican Republic named El Bronco #1. Bronco had been a top star in the Dominican Republic and was currently the champion in that territory. But it seems that he has decided to compete in Puerto Rico as well and makes his debut in early November. Let’s go to Miramar and get our first look at a wrestler that will be a key player in Puerto Rico throughout the 90s and beyond. Or maybe it’s our first look at two such wrestlers…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47KIT8OXftg

This is a short match featuring two masked men we are seeing for the first time. El Bronco #1 has arrived from the Dominican Republic and is taking on El Condor. Bronco fires off a few punches that send Condor reeling. Hugo and Eliud are on commentary, and are talking about how Bronco left everybody surprised with his upbeat entrance (he came out to some music from the DR and was dancing on his way to the ring). Hugo is excited to have this bit of flavor from the Dominican Republic in CSP and the commentators remark that the public seems to like Bronco as well. Bronco chops Condor into the corner, and then hits him with a backdrop when Condor charges out of the corner. The Dominican champion stands tall in the ring as El Condor decides to roll out for a breather. After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Condor gets up on the apron but Bronco catches him and suplexes Condor into the ring. Condor comes back with some punches and an eyerake, sending Bronco into the ropes. However, Condor makes the mistake of putting his head down too soon and El Bronco catches Condor with his signature move called the Bronco (it looks like a front facing bulldog). El Bronco gets the pinfall win and celebrates by doing his dance as the music starts back up. We’ll be seeing a lot more of El Bronco, who will definitely be someone to watch as we continue our journey through 90s Puerto Rico wrestling. We’ll also see more of El Condor in the future, as we have just had our first look at a young wrestler who will become a very important part of the Puerto Rican wrestling scene. You probably know him as Ray Gonzalez.

MD: This went about a minute and a half so not a ton to register here. Bronco had mass to him certainly and a unique way of playing to the crowd, all but hopping around at times. He hit hard. Condor is yes, our first look at Ray González, and he took stuff ok with a comeback that didn’t really get off the ground. He put his head down and Bronco absolutely flattened him with a straight down belly flop sort of DDT. 

EB: As we approach November 3, it looks like Carlos Colon has found a tag partner to face the Texas Hangmen and it is none other than TNT! This is a stunning turn of events after what has happened in the past months between Colon and TNT. We’ll have to see if both men  will be able to coexist as a team after what has gone down between them. Let's go to the November 3 Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre episode and hear some interviews from the Texas hangmen and this tecnico super team. We may also get an update on Invader #1’s condition.

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

One of the Texas Hangmen is partway through his remarks as the video starts, talking about how tonight it will be a war zone for Carlos Colon and TNT. Pain is their policy and hanging is their game.  

El Profe (at 0:20): Carlos Colon, when you look at this noose what you feel is panic, you feel fear. We can see the fear in your eyes Carlos Colon and TNT, because you're trembling right now. And tonight, when you step into the war zone against the Texas Hangmen, Carlos Colon. there will be no mercy for you. Take good notice of that hospital Invader's in, because that is exactly where you two are going. Or maybe it will be someplace worse.

Killer? talks and then El Profe speaks again.

El Profe (at 1:08): Carlos Colon and TNT, I repeat again, we can see the fear in your eyes. And tonight, Carlos Colon and TNT, we're going to make history. What we did to Invader, we merely did it for the pleasure, but tonight we have a motive for doing it. Because the two of you are trash! A traitor and a coward who picks up a traitor! So tonight, we'll make history when we finish with all of the legends of Puerto Rico wrestling! Then we'll be the only sovereigns, kings over the entire sport of wrestling! Today's the day TNT and Carlos Colon!

Hugo (at 1:44): Friends of WAPA television, with us is the Pareja Increible, "El Acrobata de Puerto Rico" Carlitos Colon. and "El Karateca Ninja" TNT. Tonight, in the Loubriel Stadium, they clash with the Texas Hangmen. Before talking about this match, there have been some fans, and I don't want to be a gossip but they have asked, Carlitos and TNT, how is it possible that, with all of the wars you two have had, with all the blood that has been spilled, that you two can form a team in professional wrestling?

Carlos (at 2.15): Well Hugo, all of Puerto Rico knows what happened between TNT and me. It's something that can't be denied. I've forgiven him, I believe the people of Puerto Rico have also, but forgetting about what happened, one never forgets completely what happened. If he's remorseful, he's going to have time to prove it and time will be the one to tell. The reasons for teaming up with him are two. One, he didn't have to do what he did. When he came out to help Invader, like I said last week, if it had not been for TNT, it's possible Invader would not be with us today. And I admire him for that. Second, TNT is a great wrestler, he's someone with guts, he's a tiger in the ring. That's exactly what I need to get the Hangmen out of Puerto Rico. That's my goal, to get these scoundrels out of Puerto Rico. They are criminals and they do not belong in wrestling, let alone in Puerto Rico. And that is why I chose TNT as my partner for this match.

Hugo (at 3:14): Well, at this moment we have TNT face to face with Carlos. Let it be his words that mark this moment.

TNT (at 3:20 in a subdued and emotional tone with pauses throughout): You know Hugo, Carlos and all of the fans, at this moment, for the first time in this world of wrestling, I've shed tears. (Takes a deep breath). I feel very regretful about everything that has happened. Because I was blinded in my quest for the Universal title. And that Wednesday, when they were hurting Invader #1, and they were also attacking a Puerto Rican woman, something that should never happen, my heart, the only thing it told me was to help my brothers. To help the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia, because they are all my brothers. They have never stopped being my brothers. And Carlos, this I say to you right from the heart, because if I could open my chest at this moment, take my heart out and speak to you with it in my hands Carlos, I would do it. Because I am very regretful about what happened a few months ago. And Carlos, I would like to take the opportunity right now to extend my hand out to you and shake it in honor Carlos, because I am very sorry. What I did will not happen again, because we have to finish the Texas Hangmen and all of these abusers that come to Puerto Rico. And this I tell you Carlos right from the heart, from a brother Carlos, because that's what I feel.

Hugo (at 5:20, with the camera zoomed in on Colon and TNT’s clasped hands): Tonight at the Loubriel in Bayamon, the Pareja Increible clashes with the Texas Hangmen. Let's relive that moment when TNT shocked the wrestling world and came to El Ejercito de la Justicia’s aid.

The video then cuts to the end of the program, where Hugo is hyping the tv shows on WAPA (Saturdays from 12pm to 1pm and Sundays from 11:30am to 1pm) and the night's card (there will be extra security inside and outside of the stadium to watch over the parked cars so fans can enjoy worry free the best wrestling in the world). He then introduces a special interview with Invader #1.

Hugo (at 6:13): How are you feeling Jose?

Invader: Well Hugo, I'm getting much better. I feel better because I'm at home, you know it's not the same thing to be in one's home than in a hospital. I was in the hospital for 11 days, and the doctor who released me told me those words I haven't forgotten, that I take care of myself and not stop following the program. And that's what I'm doing in this bed, trying everything possible to see if I can get better as fast as I can.

Hugo: Jose, are you still feeling pain at this time or is your situation more stable now?

Invader: Well the pain is minimal, you know, the pills the doctor gave me help, whenever the pain flares up I take a pill and I'm controlling it that way.

Hugo: Well, we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their calls, all those wonderful letters that we have received, and the great people at Doctors Hospital, all of the staff, doctors, nurses, they were really great throughout this whole ordeal with us and especially with Invader. Jose, sorry to talk about this, the fans already know about this, but tonight we have Carlos and TNT taking on the Texas Hangmen. Could we have a comment about this?

Invader: Well Savino, what I have to say about this is, I ask the people of Puerto Rico to give their support to Carlos Colon and TNT tonight. Because they are going to need it since they are facing these two bandits, because that's the word for them. And I ask Carlos Colon and TNT to be very careful of the Texas Hangmen, that what happened to me does not happen to them, that they do not suffer all that I have suffered.

MD: “Pain is our Policy and Hanging is our Game.” This gives us a chance to maybe tell the Hangmen apart. One seems to have more hair coming out of the back of his mask? Maybe. Carlos noting that if TNT didn’t save Invader, maybe he wouldn’t be with them anymore is quite the thing. TNT looks down, sniffs. It’s fairly powerful stuff. He notes he was blinded by wanting the title, but he really doesn’t give any other excuse. Just full on apology and noting they’re all brothers. It’s a powerful handshake between the two and they freeze frame on it. Invader’s ridiculously good at getting sympathy even just laying in a bed. Him giving the stamp of approval to TNT and asking the fans to back them probably put this over the top.

EB: The card for November 3 featured the following matchups: Grizzly Bonne defeating Victor Jovical; new arrival Billy Joe Travis winning the World Junior title from Huracan Castillo Jr. via the use of a foreign object; Invader #4 defeating Tom Burton; Giant Warrior vs Skywalker; a mixed trios match as Embry, Valentine & Monster Ripper defeated the Super Medicos & Sasha; Vic Steamboat defeated Kim Duk by DQ; and the main event of Carlos Colon & TNT vs. The Texas Hangmen.

As mentioned in the card lineup, we get a battle of giants as Giant Warrior faces Skywalker in what is billed as a rivalry of former tag partners. It seems that Skywalker has come to Puerto Rico looking for revenge on the tag partner that left him high and dry (according to Skywalker and El Profe anyway). Warrior and Skywalker have had a few matches between them and it looks like they are going at it once more. Because of the number of events run in Bayamon during these last months of 1990, we are not sure if this Giant Warrior vs Skywalker match is from November 3 or 10 (we don’t have the full card results for November 10 but know that they were in Bayamon that day as well). This match is definitely from the first half of November though, so let’s go to Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel for this bout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE2M5PPsL4A

Skywalker (or if you prefer Nitron) and Giant Warrior make their entrances, with Eliud Gonzalez announcing Warrior from the Land of the Giants and Skywalker from Oklahoma. The bell rings and Skywalker is pointing and berating Warrior to start, as Hugo calls this a clash of titans. Skywalker and Warrior continue exchanging words while standing almost nose to nose, and some shoves are given by each wrestler. They keep staring at each other and facing off, as El Profe gives the background on the issue between Warrior and Skywalker (they were tag team partners, had a lucrative contract to wrestle together, but Warrior abandoned his partner, opting to come to Puerto Rico instead to become the idol of the children). This is the reason Skywalker has come looking for revenge. Hugo explains that El Profe forgot to mention that Skywalker wanted to win by breaking the rules, something Giant Warrior did not agree with and that is why he broke up the partnership. In the ring, Skywalker backs Warrior against the ropes with punches, but a rope running sequence leads to several ducked maneuvers by Giant Warrior, ending with a back elbow to Skywalker’s face. Skywalker rolls to the outside of the ring to halt Warrior’s momentum. As Skywalker takes his time getting back in the ring, Hugo explains that in the previous match between the two men, Skywalker had attacked Giant Warrior with E Profe’s help and this is Warrior’s chance to get back at Skywalker for this. Skywalker gets a side headlock, one that he works for a while and is able to keep on by grabbing Warrior’s hair when he tries to break out of the hold. El Profe mentions that he thinks the only giant in CSP is Skywalker because he is taller and better than Giant Warrior (Hugo mentions that Profe thinks this because he also gets a percentage of Skywalker’s money). 

Skywalker continues working the side headlock despite the ref’s warnings about the hair pulls, but Giant Warrior breaks the hold with a back suplex. Skywalker rolls outside, with Warrior following him out. Warrior hits Skywalker with some punches and then rams Skywalker shoulder first into the ringpost a couple of times before the action returns to the ring. Warrior works over Skywalker’s arm in the corner and Irish whips him into the opposite corner, but Warrior ends up running into Skywalker’s boot. Skywalker takes over with several turnbuckle smashes and punches. Skywalker sends Warrior into the ropes and hits a back elbow, after which he taunts the crowd. Both men exchange blows but Skywalker stops Warrior with several shoulder thrusts to the midsection in the corner, followed by a suplex. A pin attempt only gets two. Skywalker starts choking Warrior over the bottom rope and as the camera zooms in on Warrior, we can see some blood on Warrior’s forehead (Hugo mentions that it appears a recent cut Warrior got when wrestling Abdullah has reopened). Skywalker continues attacking the prone Warrior with stomps to the back and then does another choke across the top rope. Skywalker guillotines Warrior across the top rope and again starts taunting the crowd. Warrior tries to come back with some punches but Skywalker continues in control with his strategy of working over Warrior’s throat area. Skywalker hits a slam but misses a follow up elbow drop, which opens the door for Giant Warrior to make a comeback. Warrior makes an unsuccessful pin attempt after a clothesline but continues on the attack. Warrior signals to the crowd that he is going for the big boot by stomping his foot against the mat. As Warrior sends Skywalker into the ropes, Profe on commentary starts complaining that he thinks Warrior must be loading that boot up. Skywalker is able to grab onto the ropes to avoid the big boot and charges with a clothesline. A cover is made and the ref counts to three, but Warrior got his foot on the ropes before the three count was completed. 

Skywalker starts celebrating his win, but the referee notices his mistake and starts telling Skywalker that the pin is invalidated. Skywalker argues with the ref, and after a few moments charges at Giant Warrior, but he runs right into a big boot. Giant Warrior makes the cover and gets the win. El Profe is complaining about the ref restarting the match but Hugo says the foot was on the ropes before the three so it was the right thing to do. Giant Warrior gets his hand raised and celebrates outside of the ring, while Skywalker gets on the turnbuckle yelling about what happened with regards to the restart. Looks like Giant Warrior was able to get some revenge after all. He will soon depart for a Japan tour, but we will see Giant Warrior  back before the year is out.

MD: Land of Giants explode! Actually, I don’t think they were teaming until the next week in AJPW, but you get the idea. Sky Walker comes out to Final Countdown, because of course he does. And no one’s going to believe me but this was actually pretty good!I think a lot of that was down to Nitron since he controlled for most of it but I was shocked. They didn’t quite work big enough but it was a solid conventional match between two guys. Nitron heeled it up, pulling the hair to keep the headlock, then grinding down on Warrior the whole way. He had an okay back elbow, worked on thim in the ropes and corner, even a decent punch, believe it or not. Warrior even bleeds. He got some hope (a belly to back out of that headlock, for instance), and finally came back big. His stuff didn’t look quite as well but it was fine; the crowd was ready for it. He set up for the big boot but Nitron hit him with a lariat out of nowhere. Warrior’s foot ended up on the rope and after thinking he won, Nitron ran right into said boot to end it. Little bit of a miracle match all things considered. That this was even good was a big surprise. 

EB: We have seen Carlos Colon and TNT make amends and now La Pareja Increible has returned to take on the hated Texas Hangmen. Again, we're not sure if this specific match is from November 3 or 10, although it likely is from November 10 based on some of the post match happenings. So let’s go once more to Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel for this awaited encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DAOISCIXU

EB: Right away you’ll notice that there is no commentary, this is straight from the master tape recording of the house show. So we’ll get all of the crowd and ambient noise. And the crowd is loud throughout. Both teams start fighting on the baseball field, with Colon and one of the Hangmen rolling around on the ground just fighting it out. TNT and Colon get the better of the Hangmen during this fight on the outside, with Carlos ripping one of the Hangman’s masks so he could better attack the Hangman’s forehead with blows. As Carlos rams one of the Hangmen into the ringpost, you can see off in the distance a ferris wheel and other carnival rides lit up, Around this time they would have a Christmas carnival  on the same grounds as Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel, so you’ll see the rides pop into view every now and then. After a couple of minutes of fighting on the outside, TNT gets the Hangman he is paired up with into the ring. Meanwhile, Colon rams the other Hangman’s head into home plate. In the ring, TNT hits a spin kick as the crowd gets loud. Finally Carlos and the other Hangman make their way into their corners and the match is now underway in the ring. 

Carlos and TNT make it clear they are not there to play by the rules, as evidenced by their use of double teaming in the corner, foreign objects hidden from the ref’s view (such as the object TNT takes out to stab the Hangmen with), and switches behind the ref’s back. This is a good summary of what I understand is the philosophy of Puerto Rican wrestling: ‘There is no point in dealing honorably with those that insist on acting without any honor.’  When Carlos is tagged in, he picks up where TNT left off with the foreign object. The tecnicos are out for revenge and payback. Colon keeps working over the head of Killer?, tearing his mask even more and attacking the forehead to draw blood. TNT is tagged back in and Colon hands the object back to TNT so he can continue using it on the Hangmen. The crowd of course is loving all of this. Even after the Hangmen switch out, the tecnicos remain in control, even causing El Profe to complain loudly at ringside at the tactics being employed by the good guys. 

For almost ten minutes, the Hangmen are at the mercy of Colon and TNT, getting paid back in kind for what has been their wrestling style up to this point in CSP. The tide turns for the Hangmen when one of them is able to get a low blow on Colon, allowing for the tag to be made and the Hangmen are able to implement their usual playbook. Carlos is sent into the rudo corner and is worked over by both Hangmen. TNT gets drawn intt eh ring and the Hangmen take advantage of the distraction to do more double teaming behind the referee’s back. The bullropes aren’t there (which El Profe makes a comment about needing the bullropes), so the Hangmen use the top rope to choke out Carlos instead. For the next few minutes, it’s all Hangmen, as they control the flow of the match and work over Carlos. Near the 14 minute mark, it looks like a missed charge might give Colon the opening to make the tag, but the Hangmen quickly grab Colon and continue working him over. Carlos counters with a sunset flip off the ropes, and TNT assists by kicking the Hangman over. That only gets a two count as the pin is broken up. The Hangmen work Carlos over with a chinlock as TNT pumps up the crowd. The Hangmen get a DDt but TNT breaks up that pin attempt. Carlos is able to briefly fight back and get the tag, but the referee misses it and orders TNT back to the tecnico corner. Carlos is bleeding and still tries to fight back, but the Hangmen remain in control. Another tag by Colon is missed by the ref, followed by the Hangmen delivering sone questionably low headbutts to Colon. 

Finally, around the 19 minute mark, Carlos responds in kind with a foul kick of his own and makes the tag to TNT. The crowd chants along (hwah! hwah!) as TNT takes it to both Hangmen. However, the two on one odds eventually overwhelm TNT and the Hangmen get control of the match as we hit the 20 minute time call. The Hangmen attack TNT in their corner and manage to toss him outside, where he gets thrown into the ringpost. TNT is thrown back in the ring and the punishment continues. Carlos has had enough and joins the other three men in the ring, causing the crowd to get loud as Carlos gets fired up. All four men end up on the outside fighting, similar to how the match started. They start heading in the direction of the rudo dugout as the referee continues his ring out count. The Hangmen, Colon and TNT are rolling around on the ground fighting and it looks like the ref has counted both teams out. El Profe is standing at a distance from the fighting teams, his body language showing concern about his team. As the tecnicos appear to have the upper hand in the fight, El Profe runs off into the dugout, emerging moments later with the bullropes. Profe hits Colon from behind with one of the cowbells and hands the other bullrope off. El Profe starts attacking the downed Colon with the bullrope as the Hangmen team up on TNT with the other bullrope. El Profe and the Hangmen just go off attacking Colon and TNT with the bullropes and bells. Suddenly, the crowd erupts as El Ejercito de la Justicia charges towards Profe and the Hangmen. Castillo and the Super Medicos get there first and chase off the rudos, with Invader #4, El Bronco and, holy cow, is that Jeff Jarrett? bringing up the rear. 

The tecnicos check on Colon and TNT, who have definitely taken quite the beating at the hands of the Hangmen and Profe. As Carlos and TNT start getting to their feet, TNT says ‘Carlos, let’s go after those #!#!s’. What follows is a few minutes of mayhem as Carlos and TNT try to charge into the dugout to go after the rudos and the rest of the tecnicos try their best to stop them (probably a good idea since they’d have the whole rudo locker room to contend with if they made it inside). The crowd of course is in favor of them charging in. It looks like the tecnicos have calmed down TNT and Carlos (although when Jarrett attempts to lift Colon’s arm up in victory he yanks it away, still mad about the Hangmen). El Ejercito de la Justicia starts walking back to their side of the ballfield, but TNT starts talking to Carlos and pointing in the opposite direction. It looks like they still want to go after the Hangmen. Colon and TNT stop walking and try to to turn back, but the other tecnicos and the ref keep trying to calm them down. All of a sudden, TNT and Colon make a break for the rudo dugout (as the crowd goes wild), with the other tecnicos giving chase and stopping them once more. This time, TNT and Carlos decide to head towards the timekeeper’s table, where TNT picks up a microphone. As the fans (and the piña colada vendor) watch, TNT speaks: ‘Texas Hangmen… today we couldn’t beat the crap out of you. But Carlos and I, we want wherever (Carlos yells ‘and whenever!’) and whenever a cage match with these two!’ And then Carlos and TNT make another attempt at the rudo dugout before being held back. Safe to say this feud is also not over.

MD: This was exceptional. Just a nearly perfect tag for what they were trying to do with a great crowd and awesome heat. Wrestling isn’t math but the closest thing to it might be a southern tag. This broke down as one minute of brawling, nine of shine, nine of heat on Colon, one minute of straight comeback, a couple of minutes of a second heat on TNT, and then Carlos recovering and things devolving into chaos. If it was going to have a real resolution you could tweak the end but otherwise, for what they were doing to keep things going, this was perfectly balanced. 

And the execution was pretty perfect as well. Colon and TNT controlled (after some TNT kicks) by hiding an object in their tights, the singlet, the boot, passing it between them. Just beautiful chicanery and everything the Hangmen deserved. You almost couldn’t imagine a better symbol for brotherhood now that TNT was back on the side of angels and justice. They shift to working on the leg for a few minutes and it almost feels like it’s going to be a rout. 

The Hangmen get a low blow on Carlos and start in on him. All the usual tricks. They draw the ref so a tag is missed. They draw TNT so that they can hit repeated low blows. Carlos gets a big hope spot in the middle with a TNT assisted sunset flip but they cut him off. He bleeds. It all builds to a big low blow of his own and TNT coming in hot before getting swept under by the numbers game. That’s just temporary though and the second Colon can recover, they start brawling to the outside and the ref calls it a no contest. Post match, Profe comes back out with a second bullrope and they lay waste to Colon and TNT until the babyface locker room empties to make the save. Even after that, TNT is super hot and wants to charge the heel locker room and it takes the combined might of everyone (people he was brutalizing just a few weeks before) to stop him. 

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, Carlos Colon and TNT want the Texas Hangmen in a cage and that’s just what they will get. Also, Billy Joe Travis and Huracan Castillo feud over the World Junior title. and the feud between the Super Medicos & Sasha and Embry, Valentine & Ripper marches on.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Kumano! Ikeshita!

33. 1979.05.XX3 - Mami Kumano vs. Yumi Ikeshita

K: This is a spiritually satisfying match. A trope of more recent times that I both dislike and don’t really understand is when heels are pitted against each other in round robin tournaments, you expect them to not take the match seriously enough. Well, I’m sure the idea is to get themselves heat by not giving the fans a good show. They’ll just dawdle about barely even pretending to make an effort against each other. Sometimes there’ll be a creative twist on it, like the Taichi vs. Taka Michinoku match where they did as much offense as you could possibly imagine without ever touching each other. It’s not for me though. I also don’t think it really even works as intended. Any heat generated is dissipated by the time it’s over anyway.

This the earliest heel vs. heel match we have from AJW, where they take the opposite approach. If anything, the take these matches as an opportunity to unleash all these bottled up resentments they stored up for the other. Right from the bell they’re not just trying to win, but there’s a nastiness to all of it. These two are just not nice people at all. But fortunately for us, it’s entertaining, and who doesn’t want to see these two maim one another anyway.

I’m not sure about this thought, but if there’s a slight nuance to the alignments here, I’d say Ikeshita may be working very slightly more babyface. She has more of an earned comeback about 5 minutes in than Kumano ever does. It’s done with a surprising kip-up, and a bit later she goes for what looked like the beginning motion of Sliced Bread #2, but instead of the neckbreaker motion she just lands on her feet behind Mami and then quickly hits her with that signature twisting slam. There’s a flicker of the spectacular with some of Ikeshita’s offense that we never see from Kumano.

But I may be reading too much into that, as before long Ikeshita is also upping the ante in terms of pure viciousness when she gets hold of the microphone cable and strangles Kumano with it like she’s just trying to murder her. The match descends into both wrestlers mainly just trying to strangle and choke each other actually. It’s really ugly stuff that part of you feels like you’re a bit of a sicko for watching this. Especially when you’re not rooting for either of them. But also, I feel like I have to watch it not just out of enjoyment of seeing the heels get hurt, but I want to see how far they’ll go. How much they piss each other off. Seeing them competing over who can be the most vile also benefits future matches, coz even if we’re not rooting for anyone here, the memories of this will be in the back of our minds when we next see this evil pair up against wrestlers we do like. So even if the match is only in the good - not - great range, it achieves something beyond that.

***1/4

MD: This was a league match to help pick the six women for the Japan side. And it is the Black Pair exploding. And it’s great. We don’t know what we don’t know and we don’t have what we don’t have, but these two really do come off as the prototypes for every major joshi villain for the next decade. They’re screaming, merciless, violent, dynamic, interesting monsters. I’d say that Kumano was stronger and fiercer but Ikeshita was more athletic, but it didn’t really matter. They were more than the sum of their parts and their parts were pretty formidable.

This was a war; no quarter was given. Kumano rushes right in with nasty hairpulls and she escalates soon enough to these rigid neckbreakers where she just tries to twist Ikeshita’s head off. Kumano does damage on the outside first but Ikeshita spends the first chunk fighting back whenever she can, going for a leg or a face or whatever in reach. She finally fires back with a slingshot body press followed by these pendulum power slams, but Kumano’s right back with the seated senton off the top.

When things boil over, they really boil over, with Ikeshita destroying Kumano with nasty chairshots on the outside and Kumano having a fit in return, grabbing a chair and fighting her way back in with it. She was able to get her dangling hanging chokehold on the apron but when she went for it again Ikeshita’s familiarity won out and she was able to make both of them tumble. She missed a death stomp to the floor and they ended up choking each other almost to death with a microphone cord and beating each other with the microphone itself. It all devolved into a double countout, but it was some beautiful chaos while we had it.    

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 9/30 - 10/6

MD: Brief note to start. For those who came to the blog through Twitter, yes, I got DMCA'd to oblivion by TV Asahi. I had a few strikes already from when I was first figuring things out, having initially not thought that 40 year old Inoki gifs were going to be an issue, but I had straightened up and was being more careful. What ultimately did me in was a handheld (a fancam, someone's personal recording from a show that has since been disseminated through fan circles) of a 1983 match, which does not seem like something that would be at all claimable. But here we are. I've an e-mail out to them. I am not expecting much. I'll make a call by Thursday on what I'm doing next. I've seen both kindness and indignation from people and both are pushing me towards dusting off and picking back up anew by the end of the week, but we'll see. The good news is that we have a blog and they can't shut me up here. For now, if anyone wants to let people know this week's AEW reviews are up, posting a link couldn't hurt! Thanks. - Matt

(UPDATE: I am over at https://x.com/mattd_sc/ now)

AEW Dynamite 10/2/24

Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada

MD: Believe it or not, I have been accused over the years of reading too much into pro wrestling. I've heard first-hand or second-hand that "they were just listening to the crowd" and no great thought was put into sequence a or match b. The great thing about art is that those things don’t have to matter. You can read into it any number of ways no matter the author's intent. You can dig at subconscious strands and universal themes. You can connect dots that were never meant to be connected. Sometimes that gets you deep into the seas of lore, annoying everyone around you. Sometimes it means your expectations go through the roof when they really shouldn't, ultimately doing yourself and the wrestlers both a disservice.

Some wrestlers are so good and have such a track record that you can walk on air so long as you don't look down. Bryan Danielson is one of those wrestlers. And you know what? I'm going to take a nice casual stroll off a ledge here. Why? Well, look, it's possible that Danielson finds some way to triumph over Jon Moxley and they blow things off in December or even later. It's possible that he's lying to us and he doesn't need surgery. It's possible that he does but he recovers quickly and gets to make a special appearance for a match at one of the big shows early next year. Lots of things are possible. All that's for certain right now is that we have next week's tag and the match vs Moxley. That's it. Even this match was a bonus that felt like it came out of nowhere and existed outside of the Mox vs Danielson storyline. So I'm going to have a little bit of fun with it and will ask for just a bit of your patience.

Let's break down Danielson's reasons for wanting this match. He could attack Moxley at the end of a match, sure. But Moxley isn't just a serial killer or movie monster. He's not just an underhanded jerk who wants money. There's some ideology behind it all. We're only starting to see it. Part of it, however, was to take autonomy away from Danielson, to define his reign as he means to define the fate of the belt henceforth. Danielson, here, decided to push back against that in the most decadent way possible, by naming an opponent here so close to the PPV and having a rubber match against Okada.

The match ended up under Continental rules for the first twenty minutes alone, a way to protect Okada to a degree (as he would smartly retain his title) and put over the different aspect of the belt. And for much of those twenty minutes (after an initial title match feeling out process), Okada wrestled cautiously, defensively. What was interesting to me is that Danielson didn't press nearly as hard as I would have expected him to. It was only in the last minute or so that he pushed, leading to the nice fakeout of him hitting the Knee only for Okada to roll out of the ring as time expired.

Let's play with that. Why didn't he push? Maybe he didn't push because he didn't actually want the Continental Championship. He demanded the match, had his reasons for it, but likely didn't control the stipulations. He knew about the Continental Championship. He had been one of the driving forces behind the creation of the C2 last year. He knew that if he won the Championship, no matter what happened with the World Title and Moxley, he would be obliged to defend it in the grueling tournament later this year. It was never his intention to win the title. He respected the tournament, revered it even, and he wouldn't want to let the fans and the company down, but he also didn't necessarily want the weight of it hanging over him. That would take away his freedom to call his own shots and finish on his own terms. It's a little counter-intuitive and certainly nothing that the announcers picked up upon, but if you watch how he wrestled and how he didn't press, if you squint, you can kind of see it.

If he didn't want the Continental Title, what did he want? He wanted to draw Okada out. He didn't want the underhanded cheater, the coasting heel. He wanted a warrior. He wanted the person who faced him twice so far, not the version of Okada (entertaining as he might be) that we've seen in AEW so far. Okada simply wasn't giving him that for the first twenty minutes of the match; he was too focused on retaining his belt, through hook or crook. At the same time, Danielson couldn't let Okada overly goad him because Bryan DID want to keep his title, because retaining the World Title was the path to fighting Moxley. Therefore, he had to endure Okada's defensive strategy, take the damage that went along with it, and wait things out until he could have the battle he actually wanted. It was only in the last minute of the initial period that he got caught up in the moment and almost accidentally won the Continental Title.

So do I think that was the intent. Nope. Could you read it from the text as presented and the characters as we know them in their current storylines? Absolutely. Is it primarily due to the richness of Bryan Danielson's work that we can do so? Yes. Yes (Yes), it is. Am I going to leave this write up at that? Mostly, I'm around 900 words already, not that anyone's counting, and unlike the service you get from other writers/critics, I don't rate or rank anything. No stars. I'm not even ranking this vs the other two Danielson vs Okada matches. I get to leave it as is... except, I guess I have one more (Columbo-esque) question that I unfortunately can’t leave unasked.

Is what we were actually presented as good as the story that I laid out in the paragraphs above through gluing together some unlikely (but plausible!) and disparate (but existing) dots? Is the match still as good if what I just said wasn't true and if the more likely, more straightforward possibilities/intentions were instead the truth? No. Sorry. That urgency just wasn't there. Danielson didn't get goaded into mistakes made because he was urgent. Okada was wrestling one match. Danielson was wrestling another. It didn't come together in the way it should have.

Unless you squint. If you squint, well then it was a hell of a thing. If we have only two more full-time Danielson matches after this, well, just this once, I'm going to squint and it's okay if you do too.

ROH TV 10/3/24

Dustin Rhodes/Marshall Von Erich/Ross Von Erich vs Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari/Mark Sterling

MD: I wrote a few days ago (and then reposted it here) about how some of the old ways need to come back, and I meant it, and this match was reminiscent of Heenan teaming with his family in 83 AWA for very entertaining matches. And this, I think, was an entertaining match that was worked well. The problem is that Sterling just isn't credible. It's not his fault. He works hard, tries a number of different things, is sufficiently irritating and punchable. He even goes the extra mile with some very well crafted, clever social media videos. But those are only for people that seek them out, basically. 

The bigger issue is that his guys don't win, not even on ROH. On Dark, they won. Nese didn't get big wins over big wrestlers, but he came off as dangerous enough with the shot in the corner and the pumphandle pile driver. He's absolutely selfless in the ring, willing to be one of the rawest, truest heels in the company. Completely unlikable. Theoretically valuable because there's only a handful of people who are willing to stooge. (That's why I'm ok with Saraya sticking around - super solid stooging, even if maybe they should stop using her husband's theme song and think of the optics of everything a bit more. AEW doesn't have as many comparative advantages vs 2024 WWE as it did vs 2019 WWE as the latter was a trash fire, but one that remains is to be more moral and progressive). As noted, Sterling did just about everything right here, but it wasn't getting the reactions it should. The fans only woke up when Dustin worked the corner with big slaps on the turnbuckles. They use the Premier Athletes almost every week. There should really be some way to fix this, even if it's just making Woods seem like more of a protected threat within each match and the other guys be the ones who lose the offense. Like Gordy with the Freebirds maybe? I'm glad they gave Sterling an opportunity in his homestate but for a guy doing everything right in there, this all should have been more heated.

AEW Collision 10/5/24

Darby Allin vs Johnny TV

MD: This was one of Johnny's best matches in his run. I do get the sense that he probably needs the right dance partner. Having seen him in Lucha Underground and given the lack of heels on top, I was confused when WWE brought him back in as Miz's second banana, but I guess neither of us were entirely right there. His issue is more the dissolution of QTV than anything else. They spun it a bit on the idea that he and Taya are "TV-Ready" and maybe they could lean into that a bit more with the new TV deal. Taya's off with her burgeoning faction here and without the stable and without Taya, I'm not entirely sure what Johnny even is right now. 

The backstage Darby/Evil Uno interaction really set up their match and I didn't quite get that here. There were some mitigating factors. Darby was potentially just a little more cautious after being goaded into losing his title opportunity. That explained the early feeling out process and them starting with a test of strength maybe. Darby usually throws himself right at his opponent to start in the best of times. As the match went on, however, they starting showing some of the aggression (or maybe we should call it counter-aggression) that he should be inspiring in everyone he faces right now in the arms war against Moxley and his ideology. 

Things got pretty wild. The Russian Legsweep off the apron was not something you see every day. Likewise Johnny's spinning Splash Mountain Full Nelson Slam or whatever the heck that thing was. Just by his nature Darby opens up opportunities. And the Coffin Drop at the end was to a standing opponent (a Coffin Drop Press) which you never see end a match like this. So it got there, and you can argue away why it didn't start there. This was clearly put together for the challenge at the end though. And while that's ok, story after the fact isn't as good as story before, during, AND after the fact. 

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On Action, Progress, Meaning, and the Need to Rebalance the Scales

Ricochet and Ospreay wrestled last week. There was a lot to like in the match. They did a good job feigning competition even in the face of incessant counters. It was meant to be a crowd pleaser, something celebratory. It fulfilled that goal. It built to a double pin, a restart, and then it all getting snatched out from under them (and the fans) by Takeshita to set up the PPV match. That double pin though... In a year that Ospreay had kicked out of so many things (sometimes multiple times) and in a match where both wrestlers hit things both bigger and smaller, it felt like it came out of nowhere; it took everyone out of the moment, and not just because no one likes a double pin. It didn’t feel earned. It didn’t feel warranted. How could it in a world with finishes stretches so elaborate and moves meaning so little? How would anyone even know?

Pro wrestling is a weekly serialized narrative of a shared universe. It's a fairly unique artform, akin to comics and soap operas and not a whole lot else. It follows a certain set of rules and norms; deviations from these carry consequences. Everything that happens, in ring and out, has narrative value in the moment, but also over time. That's on the feud level, the match level, and the move level. There's a cost and benefit to everything that's done and they affect more than the exact point in which they happen.

It's almost impossible to talk about this because of the bad faith arguments that happen generationally and lead to immediate dismissal of the notion. We've all heard the stories about old timers that thought Flair and Steamboat or Shawn Michaels were doing too much (not Kurt Angle though, because they all wanted to leech off of his credibility). As wrestling has survived and had its ebbs and especially flows in popularity, it becomes very easy to dismiss any such talk as jealousy and laziness and a selfishness over their spots and their legacy, even as ignorance. It becomes impossible to even invite the idea that a rise in action and athleticism might have forced something meaningful and worthwhile to be lost as well.

There's also the notion of a chemical change, that the goal of wrestling today simply is different: it was never about whether it was real or not, not in the last forty years at least, not in most places. Instead, audiences once wanted to see (vicariously experience) a babyface triumph over (or at least punish) a heel in the same way they would go to movie where the good guy won in the end. Or maybe they bought tickets to see a simulated sporting event (face vs face title matches for instance) where the winner was the most important thing, all the better if it was a hometown hero. In those cases, the athleticism at play and the moves being executed were much more the means than the ultimate end. Today, as a big chunk of the audience watch to see (conventionally) great matches for the sake of great matches, that dynamic (means and ends) has flipped.

Greatness is subjective however. When it comes to art, the idea of progress is as well. More is not inherently better. Craft is not only found in increasing excess, in pushing the bounds of athleticism. That doesn't mean there isn't inherent value in the idea of "more." It's complicated. Ultimately, however, all such things should be tools to serve an overall aim, to give life to a vision, and this vision has to be bigger than any one sequence or any one match. It's hard not to watch an older match and be amazed how much a wrestler could get out of a punch, a look, a hold, how much it all resonated and stuck with fans.

Wrestling has always had great athletes. At any point in history (maybe up until now), wrestlers could do more than what they chose to do. Restraint was often not a matter of what could be done, but instead what should be done. So long as narrative value was preserved, fans would meet the wrestlers halfway, suspending their disbelief and allowing themselves to be moved this way or that. The skill came not in what was done, but in the how and in how both wrestlers reacted to it. The more they showed they cared, the more the fans would care.

Throughout wrestling history, so many of the leaps towards increased action were driven by smaller wrestlers who weren't allowed to get over through more conventional methods. You could say that they offered the audience an exciting alternative. Usually though, it came at a cost. There's the most obvious consequence, the strain on bodies. If the notion of "more" is accepted as progress, is taken as the goal, the only path forward is towards ever increasing excess. It's just not sustainable. 90s AJPW showed a specific proof of that in a very specific way.

More than that though, it changes the internal dynamic of how matches work. In order to get something like a punch or body slam over, so much is reliant upon the reaction, the selling. It's reliant upon the set up, the struggle to even hit such a thing. It's reliant upon the execution in the moment. It has to be set up well and be seen as worth hitting (or avoiding). It has to look to be hit well. It has to be sold as having impact. With flashier moves, none of this is nearly as necessary. To keep things moving, they're often set up as part of a fast counter sequence and recovered from quickly. In order to enable this, more often than not, the dynamic has to shift from simulated struggle with real impact to a far more visibly cooperative series of set-ups and a lack of clear consequence.

Therefore, not only are wrestlers required to do more, but everything they do now means less in the moment. That doesn't mean there isn't any value to action or to athleticism. It doesn't mean they should do the bare minimum, no matter how much craft I personally find in accomplishing as much as possible with as little as possible. It's more a case of building to it, of having another gear to go to, of utilizing it when it matters most: in individual matches, on a show, or over multiple shows, of getting the most value and meaning possible from not just the least but also the most as well. 

As things are now, it's a cycle. Fans are conditioned to expect more, to value each individual spot less, to reward those who do as much as possible. The art of wrestling, if it is nothing else, is about manipulation, about training reactions over time, about establishing values (and moves) and cashing them in to achieve a greater goal. Right now we're in the midst of a spiral, a race towards sensationalism where each generation of wrestler and fan will expect more and more as the base standard, while each individual action means less and less until the bottom falls out.

It doesn't mean it's too late to grab the reins and pull back. It'll take a concerted effort from the top down, even from the people who have been rewarded the most by this cycle, by this notion of "progress." They have the goodwill now, have the influence, have the leverage. They can take a half step back now and try to make everything resonate just a little more, and then once that works, even more still. They can build to sensational spots, sensational moments, sensational exchanges, but the key is to build to them, that there will be a sense of escalation within matches and shows and over time. They can rebalance the scales, replenish the value of the smallest, most intimate moments so that the wildest, most athletic ones can mean all the more. A greatness can be achieved that isn't disposable, that lasts with the audience for more than a day or a week or a month, maybe even forever.

It may not be what the fans claim to want right now, not what would get the most immediate short term reward, but it's very much what they need, what we need, an investment in the future of the artform, a way to stop the spiraling and guide it forward in a steady, controlled manner, where the wrestler, not the audience (and yes, not even the critic) charts the course with purpose in mind.

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