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Post by ronnie2hotty on Jan 18, 2019 7:11:42 GMT -5
I thought about this a bit more last night. If you give me a great match that is totally clean I'll probably prefer it to something that had some shenanigans. It's why I would prefer Bret/Bulldog from SS 92 to Savage/Steamboat from WM 3. Yeah, I know the George Steele stuff played into the previous Macho storyline but it is still ever so slightly overbooked. The one match I'd probably give a pass to on this is Warrior/Savage from WM 7 (which had a decent amount of Sherri interference), but that is probably the greatest storytelling match I've ever seen. And it gets extra points for the post match angle. As far as Gargano goes, I suppose it's just this NXT style of booking someone that I just don't especially care for. The whole "Let's job someone, job him more, job again, maybe give him one big win, then job some more" style of booking just doesn't work for me. They did this with Zayn when he was there and over time he came off like a loser. They also did that with Bayley, but she at least won the title before becoming a total goof. In both cases they just started jobbing again right after that. In Gargano's case he even did a heel turn, which in theory is done to spark someone on a series of wins, and then he just jobbed to Black anyway, haha. Again, he was booked like a loser and fans eventually responded in kind with "Johnny Loser" chants. He'll probably job to Ricochet at the next Takeover, but hey, it'll be a MOTYC. Gargano is like the 1980s Cleveland Browns, putting in great performances only to be foiled by Elway in the end after doing something stupid. This makes me hope that Ciampa interferes in the match at TakeOver and throws a Bernie Kosar jersey at Gargano ala Zelina Vega throwing the DIY shirt at him.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
Posts: 27,935
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Post by chazraps on Jan 21, 2019 0:33:04 GMT -5
22. The Golden Lovers vs. The Young Bucks – NJPW Strong Style Evolved 3/25/18
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| For some fans, here may not have been a hotter match in all of 2018. To get it out of the way, this was in no way the two best tag teams in wrestling facing off. They billed it that way, but it just isn’t true. With that behind us, it’s time to appreciate all that this match did well. The Young Bucks were once my least favorite act in all of wrestling, but over the past two or so years, they’ve improved vastly. A perfect example was here. Gone are the overly grating personality traits. Instead, we get stuff like Matt Jackson selling a back injury for MONTHS. It played a major role in this. While both teams brought out their biggest guns, it never felt like moves were being done with no purpose. Kenny Omega was conflicted about taking it to his friends, but Kota Ibushi was happy to hit them as hard as he could. Going back to Matt, I loved how much of an antagonist he was here. He yelled at both opponents and basically dared them to bring it on several occasions. When Kenny got Matt up for the One Winged Angel, he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. Matt demanded he do it and when Kenny did, that should’ve been the finish. Instead, the pin got broken up and the match went on for a bit longer. The Lovers won with the Golden Trigger on Matt after 39:23. It was a long match with great spots and story elements, but it would’ve been better and tighter had it ended on the note it needed to. Still, one of the best tag matches all year. [****½] |
*This is the final appearance of the Young Bucks. *It is the last match from Strong Style Evolved.
2017 Match #22: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3/17 2016 Match #22: NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11/16 2015 Match #22: Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher (c) vs. Johnny Gargano – Evolve 51 11/6/15
Watched this tonight. So, so good. Loved it. Best JR commentary performance this decade as well!
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Post by Mister Pigwell on Jan 21, 2019 0:36:42 GMT -5
I don't watch a whole lot of wrestling any more so threads like this really help me try to stay current.
Just wanna slip in and say how appreciated it is that you do this thread yearly.
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,272
Member is Online
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Post by The Ichi on Apr 23, 2019 19:04:40 GMT -5
15. WWE Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins [c] vs. The Miz – WWE Backlash 5/6/18
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| Seth Rollins made a strong case for being WWE’s top wrestler of 2018. So did The Miz. Actually, The Miz has been doing that for years now. Put them together and you got magic. The Miz had just moved to Smackdown, which had the United States Title. Add in how Seth only just won the Intercontinental Title about a month earlier and the outcome to this encounter was obvious. That often takes away from a match because it lacks drama. Nobody told these two. They completely made me believe Miz was walking out as champion on more than one occasion. Both times he nearly won with the Skull Crushing Finale were fantastic. He found creative ways to hit the move each time. I loved the spot where Seth missed the Kingslayer knee and hit the post. It looked and sounded brutal. Miz took instant advantage with a Figure Four and it came late enough in the match that Seth had already done some of his offense that required the leg so there was no selling issue. The finish was tremendous, with Seth finding a way out of a series of rollups to hit the Curb Stomp, complete with him stopping to sell, and retain in 20:30. An underrated gem. One of the best Intercontinental Title matches to ever happen. It was that goddamn good. Both men are incredible wrestlers. [****½] |
*This is the final appearance of Seth Rollins. *It is the last match from Backlash. *There are no more WWE Intercontinental Title matches.
2017 Match #15: NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The Authors of Pain [c] vs. #DIY – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 5/20/17 2016 Match #15: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. AJ Styles – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 1/4/16 2015 Match #15: Open the Dream Gate Championship: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Shingo Takagi – Dragon Gate The Gate of Destiny 11/1/15
So I've been catching up on some 2018 PPVs and just saw this match. You're right in saying it's one of the best IC matches ever.
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