Day 25 2022

 

Texas Death Match

Fritz Von Erich vs. The Great Kabuki

WCCW Christmas Star Wars 1981

I was going to review the show, then I decided not, then I decided to review the show, the I decided not to, ugh.

This sucked. That may seem harsh but it really did. First of all, it takes forever to get started because Fritz is mobbed by autograph seeking fans from ringside. He signs a lot of autographs until someone gets in the PA and more or less tells fans to sit the fuck down. 

Kabuki tries to jump Fritz but the veteran telegraphs it. Immediately Fritz attempts to go to the Iron Claw and eventually succeeded locking it on Kabukis mid-section. This went on for a while…a quiet, boring while. Fucking omen this proved to be. The rest of the match is a plodding, slow brawl that leads to another long Iron Claw spot. 

Fritz gets a three count off of this Claw but it’s not over. Now Kabuki has a thirty second rest period, and after that he has a ten count to answer. Which he does. More chicanery from Gary Hart leads to both being knocked out and counted out. There must be a winner however so the ref decides that the first person to their feet in the ring wins. Kabuki suddenly finds enough energy to stand for long enough to be declared the winner to like no reaction. 

When the highlight is one of the refs getting tossed from one ring to the other like a soccer ball something has gone awry. Slow, boring, this was rough. Neither man seemed interested in trying too hard or selling for that matter. Not that they no sold, oh no. They just laid there and stumbled around. It feels like it goes on forever at points and you just want something to happen, a mist spot, interference just something exciting. It never comes though and this eventually ends in unspectacular fashion. Maybe it’s not so bad that Vince took over the business after all…

Day 24 2022

 

PWG Tag Team Titles Match

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) vs. The Kings of the Black Throne (Malaki Black and Brody King) (c) 

PWG Nineteen

Davis and King start us off with fun but basic hoss shenanigans. Fletcher and Black tag in and shit gets fancy. They’re both the respective smaller guys and they work some quick, smooth sequences. Chaos reigns as the two teams batter each other with a variety of strikes. We don’t get much in the way of double team moves or anything really noteworthy to be honest. Sadly this is one of those that while it’s really good, is lacking in things to talk about for a shit tier reviewer like myself. 

Aussie Open are great and KotBT are awesome. They kind of forgo the fancier part of their respective playbooks for a more basic brawl. There really is a lack of anything big, so to speak. The strikes are the big moves in this match and maybe it was just me, but the crowd didn’t seem super into it. I was though, like I said a great match but with its share of flaws. 

Day 23 2022

 

Iron Survivor Challenge 

JD McDonagh vs. Axiom vs. Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Joe Gacy

NXT Deadline

First I need to address an elephant in the room. JD was named in Speaking Out by an ex as being physically abusive. I obviously I can’t say whether it was true or not, however I will say that any praise I give of JD during this review is not me condoning his alleged past behavior or saying that he should be forgiven or let off the hook. Now back to business.

Same rules as the women’s equivalent with a shot at the NXT Championship on the line. JD and Axiom start and there’s actually some bad blood going into this between the two. Unlike the women, they don’t start slow. JD tries to jump Axiom during his entrance but Axiom knows his opponent too well. From there the two hit the ground running. 

Hayes is out next and what follows is fucking incredible. The spots these three pull off are all smooth, sufficiently brutal, and just so good. All in five minutes too. Awesome! Out fourth is Waller who immediately picks up two falls on Axiom and JD, I really liked that. In a nice little moment, Axiom goes back into the penalty box to wail on JD some more. Gacy is out fifth. The dude just starts wrecking everybody, it’s great. I’m such a sucker for wrestlers that are just destroyers like this. He quickly picks up two falls as well. 

The action is moving like lightening and this never feels like twenty five minutes. It flies by and all of it is awesome. The booking is also really well done. Carmelo, Waller, Axiom, and Gacy all pick up two falls leaving JD in the dust with none. With time running it out, it becomes a mad dash for that divisive third fall. Even though you probably already know who wins, I won’t spoil it here and will just encourage you to watch this if you haven’t already. Awesome match and possibly among my all time favorites. 

Day 22 2022

 

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

Roxanne Perez vs. Zoey Stark vs. Kiana James vs. Cora Jade vs. Indi Hartwell

NXT Deadline

This is a unique and brand new match up, kind of. While a new match, Vic Joesph says it best, it’s basically a combo of an Iron Man and a gauntlet match. You have 25 minutes to score falls, the person with the most falls at the end of those 25 minutes is the winner. The match starts with 2 wrestlers and every five minutes one of the remaining three join the fray. If you’re the person that the fall was scared against you go into the penalty box for 90 seconds. The winner gets a show at the NXT Women’s Championship. 

We start with Stark and Perez. They take things relatively easy as in kayfabe it’s best to wear your opponent down while doing as minimal damage to yourself as possible when you have to be there the whole match. Kiana James is out third, and shit picks. The action becomes quicker and the moves get bigger. Cora and Indi join the fray and the chaos really comes full circle.

All five brought their working boots for this one. I thought this was phenomenal. The booking was really well done too. If I had any complaints, it’s that the first two intervals felt a little slow. But maybe that’s just me. The NXT women’s division is in good hands with these five around. 

Day 21 2022

 

Singles Match

Horshu vs. Daisuke Sekimoto 

Zero-1 Fire Festival 2001 Night 3

Note that the picture above isn’t from this match but how could I not use it. 

Well then this is certainly a match ain’t it? Not gonna lie, it’s short and that’s why I picked it.

Daisuke may have still been pretty new to the business, he’s smaller in size, and he’s decked out in the traditional Young Lions gear, which is basic black everything. He looks impressive though. He jumps Horsu with a Tope before the match even starts. He takes control for a bit then Horshu counters his attempt at something. There’s a quick edit and Horshu is working rest holds. Goddamnit. 

In between these rest spots, he does pull out a Bubba Bomb and a Double Underhook Suplex. Both look good for what it’s worth. Daisuke tries to rally back with a Spear and a number of Lariats but he has a role to play so that doesn’t last long. He kicks out of a Rolling DDT but a Rope Walk Elbow Drop and some type of Sidewalk Slam variation seals the deal a minute or two later for Horshu. 

Eh, good match. I don’t remember Luther Reigns from a in-ring standpoint so I didn’t have exceptions going into this. I was certainly hoping for a dumpster fire but it’s just a quick solid match. The Young Lion looks promising and Horshu looks dominant. Mission accomplished. 

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Day 20 2022

 

Singles Match

Ken Shamrock vs. Kazuo Takahshi 

Pancrase: Truth 1

Hey this is different. Which also means I’m way out of my element. I’ve been a pro wrestling since I was about 3 or 4. MMA, boxing…they just weren’t my thing. Nothing against either sport, I have just as much respect for what they do as wrestlers, but it just doesn’t hook me like wrestling did. But o try to mix these reviews as much as I can, so let’s see how bad I fuck this one up. 

At the time Pancrases rules forbade elbow, knee, closed fist strikes to the head as well as kicks and stomps fo the head while the opponent was on the ground. Each wrestlers has five automatic escapes but loses a point for each one and losses if they use all five. Getting too close to the ropes forces a small reset, and then from there it’s pretty standard stuff. You do lose a point however if you beat the 10 count cause that’s bitch shit in the eyes of Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki I guess. 

Anyway the match. It’s definitely a match. The two use a more reserved approach mainly keeping their distance while occasionally throwing strikes and going in for grapples. Takashashis strikes seemingly have no effect on Shamrock while Shamrocks strikes constantly send Takahashi into retreat. This Shamrocks match to lose. He’s constantly connecting with more strikes and even catches Takashashi in a couple of Guillotine Chokes. He also gets carded for a nasty knee strike while Takahashi is grounded. Takahashi is able to re-join the fight but for a few seconds the lights were flashing. 

I didn’t hate this. Being used to pro wrestling, or I guess sports entertainment if you prefer, and Kung fu movies there was a few points where I was begging for some action. It’s very strategic in nature,and both men are clearly skilled so nothing but respect there. Maybe you’ll dig this but it’s not for me. 

Day 19 2022

 

Tag Team Ultimate X Match

XXX (Senshi and Elix Skipper) vs. LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)

TNA Bound for Glory 2007

Pre-Jeff Jarret stepping down TNA really is something special. There’s just an air about the shows and the crowds that sets it apart. Not to mention top of the line at WWE was struggling in the work rate department. TNAs main attractions collide here. First of all, the crowd is rabid from the get go. This is the opening match but this crowd did not need to be sold, they were already fully into this. 

Ultimate X is a match usually renowned for high spots and dangerous landings. This one is more mellow because only one of them is really known to be a daredevil. Don’t worry though, Elix gets a two huge spots. The first by jumping off the tresses onto Hernandez, and the second taking a Neckbreak from Homicide from the Ultimate X ropes. 

Like I said, this is not your typical Ultimate X match but it’s still really fucking good. XXX take it to LAXs level making this a Pier 4 brawl (not quite as rowdy as a Pier 6.). Elix and Senshi are perfect follies for Hernandez, and they get tossed around quite frequently throughout this match. LAX isn’t a team lauded for their fancy moves and that leads to Homicide kind of just being there. Like Homicides highlight is almost getting his leg broken from a Corner Double Stomp. 

A really good match with not much for me to say. TNA in the mid-2000s was on a level all their own and if you’re not familiar with that period I highly encourage digging around their YouTube channel.