2019 Ongoing MOTY List: Zayne vs. Makabe

63. Daniel Makabe vs. Alex Zayne 3-2-1 Battle! 10/18

PAS: Both of these guys are 321 Battle regulars who have broken out into more high profile indies in the last year, and this was their big return match. This was a very cool contrast in styles, with Makabe being a technician and Zayne being a really dynamic highflyer, and they had a bunch of nifty variations on those tropes. I loved when Makabe goes to the floor and instead of Zayne hitting a dive, he has to bail mid dive and then turns around a gets blasted by Makabe breaking out his own dive. Zayne does hit some crazy shit, including an inside out spring board Phoenix splash and a flip dragon rana, but this match was made by Makabe's selling. He gets dumped with a side suplex and comes up with a stinger, and for the rest of the match he has to compensate for the bad neck, including switching up a bridge on a German suplex and failing to hold a roll up. Zayne dumps him one time again on the neck, and that's a wrap, no 2.9 kickout and fighting spirit, his neck is fucked and he is done. My only quibble is the strike exchange stuff, Makabe looked good, but Zayne's forearms were pretty dainty and he should cut them completely out.

ER: I was there live for two of those high profile Makabe indy breakouts, his WM weekend match against Yehi, and obviously his SCI tournament victory (Road Report coming by 2022!), and I always love a good The Man Returns story. This one started a little slow for me, but even in some of the off moments there was gold. Zayne stumbled a bit on the ropes, leaving Makabe waiting a hair too long for him, so Makabe does the Bring It On hand motions before catching him, the same way Tracy Smothers used to do while waiting an eternity for Nova to set up a dive. And Makabe's small detail selling added a lot to this, especially in a moment where he caught a Zayne springboard in a triangle attempt and still sold the fact that Zayne had landed hard on his inner thigh and groin. I love Makabe against fliers, as he's a good base who you also always expect to come out on top after a flying move, waiting for him to catch an errant limb. This match really kicked up another level for me on the dive, with Makabe going over the top to the floor and immediately taking a powder into the shadows, the camera helping with the illusion, as Zayne whips fast over the ropes to stop his dive only to find out too late that Makabe had sprinted back into the ring to hit a great tope con giro of his own, flying into Zayne sideways and flattening him. Things felt really tight after that, with that dragon rana spot looking fantastic, and set up uniquely, with Makabe fighting off a couple of attempts at something else before Zayne surprised him with the dragon rana. And the neck injury really cemented this. Zayne's side suplex really whipped Makabe over, and Makabe is someone who is really good at integrating an injury into a match in interesting ways. Hit hits a German but can't hold the bridge, so leans into the cradle with his side; he tries to lock in an STF but the torque on his neck means he can't close it, allowing Zayne to grab the ropes, and he can't even hold his trademark legs trap roll up. The finish was perfect, with Zayne catching Makabe in a quick fisherman's driver, scooping and dumping him before anything could be stopped, and that's all that was needed, and with Makabe's selling it surely looked like all that was needed.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST