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MOTYC: Kento Miyahara (c) vs KAI, Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, AJPW, 3rd January Overlooked a bit because of the dome and stuff: this was a very good match that stands up against anything at Wrestle Kingdom.
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Jan 5, 2019 14:13
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I would like to nth Okada/White, Dragon Lee/Barbaro Cavernario, All In-#StrongHearts, Meiko Satomura-Reika Saki and the Ishii-Goto-Ospreay vs Nagata-KUSIDA-Cobb six man - all very good matches. This one is an Honourable Mention rather than a MOTY; but I'd like to recommend Maki Ito vs Miyu Yamashita from the 1/4 Tokyo Joshi Pro show. In terms of pure in-ring work this one probably ought to not be suggested - its a little sloppy at times and there's nothing that stands out - but its brought up by the charisma of the people involved and the success of the story that they told. The story of the match is very simple: Ito does everything she can and tries as hard as possible but she's not really got a chance in the world of beating Miyu; but that effort almost got her there and the effectiveness of what they did and the charisma of everyone involved meant that I really really enjoyed it and had to suggest it. Ito losing also didn't really cost her anything here: its part of a wider story that they are telling with her that I imagine leads to her eventually knocking Miyu off to win the Princess of Pricess title at some point soon. Not a workrate match but pro wrestling is more than that; and while I'm sure that its only me that dug this as much as I did I just felt the need to recommend it here.
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Jan 10, 2019 00:39
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I don’t think that it was a MOTYC but I’ll add an HM to the Lucha Bros-LAX tag from Homecoming. Fun match: LAX keep on being the best tag team in wrestling.
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Jan 14, 2019 14:58
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moytc: Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi; New Beginning in Osaka very very good match; reminded me a lot of the Tanahashi-Suzuki match from Sapporo last year which I also really enjoyed.
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Feb 11, 2019 12:21
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HM: Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Yuma Aoyagi; Giant Baba Memorial Show 19/2 Technically this was not the best match but for pure entertainment it was the best; certainly better than perhaps it might look on paper to the untrained eye. The bits with Aoyagi and Kanemaru were alright wrestling but the highlight was Fuchi, as it often is when he's wrestling. He has about three spots, does them all very well and the crowd loves him for them and Taichi is the perfect foil for that and the finish makes me want Taichi/Fuchi in a singles match which will never happen. All in all it did what wrestling is supposed to do and that is entertain and therefore while I'd never call it a Match of the Year since, frankly, it wasn't anything like that I think that it deserves some sort of recognition as its a match that I'll remember in the future! Literally only going through the show now, I imagine that I might second the main but we'll see
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Feb 20, 2019 22:09
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Going to nominate a match I saw live because why not: MOTYC: Command Bolshoi (c) vs Leon, Pure-J Openweight Championship, Pro Wrestling EVE “She fights on Saturday”, 9th March 2019 Might be some live bias here but I thought this was fantastic: a match between a Legend who can still go and an incredibly good opponent working very hard led to a very good match. I’m sure they’ve had better in Japan but honestly I don’t care; it’s the best live match I’ve ever seen. Was going to go HM but gently caress t, I doubt that it’ll get the votes so let’s increase the chance that it makes the HM list.
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Mar 10, 2019 00:31
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I hastily watched that match over my lunchbreak and while I need to watch it again to actually get a good rating for it I’m confident enough to second it: ASUKA is a very good professional wrestler. I’ll also nth the Kengo/Nomura All Japan match as well.
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Mar 29, 2019 17:13
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I'm aware that most of these have probably been nominated so please count these as seconds: I'm too lazy to go through the thread and check. This is the stuff I've seen from this weekend - need to watch all of the DDT show and Bloodsport as well: MOTYC: Utami Hayashishita/Momo Watanabe, Stardom (match of the weekend in my eyes even if the initial viewing was RUINED) Ibushi/Naito, MSG Okada/White, MSG HM: STARS vs Oedo Tai elimination tag, Stardom Maki Itoh/Miyu Yamashita, DDT Takagi/MAO, Weapon Rumble, DDT Bandido/Dragon Lee/Taiji Ishimori, MSG Ospreay/Cobb, MSG WMOTYC: The Bully Ray thing from MSG
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Apr 7, 2019 20:14
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Using my work from home day to catch up on Mania (and also do work bar the stuff that grabs me) and: MOTYC: Daniel Bryan (c) vs Kofi Kingston, WWE Championship, Wrestlemania 35 This is the best WWE main roster match in an incredibly long time; possibly since Punk/Cena although I'd have to rewatch that. I'm also argue that it is better than any NXT match since Gargano/Almas. Its the Bryan Danielson at his ROH peak against an incredibly over, very talented firey babyface. The crowd were living and dying on every near fall at the end, you had a heel interference spot which actually added to the match in my eyes (usually I hate them; that one I think worked because it wasn't overdone and it didn't make Kofi look silly like they all tend to do) and it all built up to a perfect finish and the great post-match. If I were to give it a star rating I'd say 4.5; third best match of the weekend for me. One thing that I thought was GREAT that might have not been noticed by other people were Big E and Xavier Woods on the outside during that match: it shows the value that good allies can have on a match even in a singles match. There are NXT matches that are technically better and athletically more impressive but a good story can counterweight all of that and this is a perfect example of that. Only just finished that match and everything else has been... good but not great. I'm working so I've not been watching intently but nothing really grabbed me other than some spots in the Miz match.
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Apr 10, 2019 15:07
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I would like to second MOTYC for Momo/Kyona and Tsukasa/TinTin as well if I haven’t already.
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Apr 20, 2019 14:24
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MOTYC: Sareee vs Meiko Satomura, 16th April 2019, Sendai Girls A vicious, bitter war between two very good wrestlers; it’s a match that hit a very high level but still left you thinking that they still had stuff on the table to try for the rematch that they’re bound to do at some point. Something well worth going out of your way to see. Some other things from that show: HM: Jordynne Grace vs Chihiro Hashimoto HM: DASH Chisako and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs Hikaru Shida and Killer Kelly (this had the misfortune of following the Sareee/Satomura match) HM: Manami vs Millie McKenzie (so in a bubble this match isn’t anything very special but when you consider that it’s a 14 year old person who’s been wrestling for 18 months against an 18 year old person who’s on her second Japanese tour and who’s not really been wrestling for much longer it’s remarkably good)
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Apr 28, 2019 21:26
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Nice to see Sareee/Meiko making the list! Anyone who liked that should also like the Sareee/DASH Chisako match that's on the Sendai Girls youtube. That whole show is good; its like just over an hour long but paired right back to only be the matches so Pretty sure that one of these has been nominated before but I can't be bothered to look through the thread to see - both of these are from the Sendai Girls 27th April show from Sendai: MOTYC: Sareee vs DASH Chisako (not quite as good as the Meiko match but not far off: it has the same sort of fire as that match did.) HM: Beauty Bear (Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata) vs Manami & Yuu (this match was very fun although not quite top tier. You had the hoss fight between Chihiro and Yuu which were great and not that common a thing in women's wrestling and Manami is incredibly good considering that she's 14)
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May 11, 2019 00:31
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This will get buried in the BOSJ stuff I fear; but MOTYC: Wonder of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe (c) vs Arisa Hoshiki, STARDOM Gold May 2019, 16th May I was borderline on this one I admit and the MOTYC vote is partially because it helps it get to HM status at least since it deserves that. I'll try not to spoil too much since its just up and I'd rather not give away the result or the finish so this might be a little vague. The story of the match was simple: before the show Arisa talked fairly consistently about how Momo's kicks are fake and so Momo, being the arrogant sort-of heel-Ace that she is, tries to prove her wrong and that she's better than her. Its a simple story and very well executed. There's no spectacular high spots or anything (but its BOSJ season so if there were it'd probably mark the match down since you'd get obvious comparison) but its just a well worked match with a good story, a few great false finishes and both women came out of it elevated. Only went 12 minutes but that's fine: it didn't need to go any longer and it'd have been worse if it did. It was very strong also when you considering that it ended a record-setting reign with the belt, without making Momo look any lesser than she was going in.
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May 16, 2019 22:52
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frankenfreak posted:I'll give it an HM. As IceAgeComing said: it builds well on the story going in and is good on its own, too. One of the false finishes (suplexing too close to the ropes) was particularly neat. Its also good how that set up for the finish: she was winning the match before that point; hit the Peach Sunrise but Arisa ended up in the ropes and that small mistake opened up an opportunity for Arisa: its one of those finishes where a person is losing a match but takes advantage of a chance to win which doesn't make everyone involved look like a geek.
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May 17, 2019 08:21
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Big Huski Boi posted:Is there any reason not to just watch all of BOSJ? Any real snoozers in there? I've watched every match and I think there's been nothing outright skippable: the stuff that I'd go 2.25-2.5 stars on are quick and fun at spots but a bit messy rather than being outright bad and I'm fine with that in the undercard of a show. The one outright bad match was Scurll-Ishimori since it went too long and was the bad sort of sloppy mess but having only one of those at this point is great!
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May 23, 2019 21:01
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MOTYC: Virus vs Metalico; CMLL Juicio Final, 31st May 2019 I’m not a Lucha dude and didn’t really know these guys other than them being older guys but that match was great and the story sucked me in. Crowd was hot (they need to mic it better since it didn’t really come through) and were biting on every near fall by the end and as was I. Benefited from being a one fall match I think; and the story of two dudes fighting as hard as possible because their career was on the line was great.
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Jun 5, 2019 21:05
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Bard Maddox posted:finally watched and agreed. a really lovely sendoff for Metalico, sloppy in places but in a way that added to the desperation inherent in the story they told That’s the thing for me: it had the sort of sloppiness that added to the match; it made the thing feel more real and like you said it demonstrated the importance of the struggle.
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Jun 5, 2019 23:26
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gently caress it: WMOTYC: Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi, NJPW Dominion I’m not a squeamish person but this was far too much for me. Not just the German Suplex spot but the other many head drops and other dangerous moves that didn’t add anything. When you are watching a match and am spending a lot more time worrying about the welfare of both dudes over the match itself then it isn’t a good wrestling match. While I’ve definitely watched worse worked matches this year (I watched the whole Junior Battle of Glory so there’s a load of Black Tiger singles matches in that number) but none left a worse feeling with my afterwards.
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Jun 9, 2019 15:50
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Pretty sure that this match won't make the list but last time I recommended a Sendai Girls match it did so who knows! HM: Meiko Satomura and Mei Suruga vs Sareee and Yuu, Sendai Girls, 18th May 2019 This match was only days after the Sareee/Satomura match which is my personal MOTY and liked by a lot of people here and was building off of that and also building towards a Meiko/Yuu match which frankly was disappointing and not really worth going out of your way to see. Naturally due to the rather fragmented way that Sendai Girls distributes their show (the Meiko/Yuu match was on their youtube, this was a nicopro show) this ended up being broadcast after one of the matches that it was building to but oh well. Meiko doesn't need an introduction: Sareee wrestles for Pro Wrestling Diana and is having a killer 2019 so far in terms of both match quality and success in rung; Yuu is a power wrestler with a Judo background who came out of the DDT/Tokyo Joshi Pro system, leaving last December to go freelance and after an extended European tour officially signed some sort of deal with Pro Wrestling EVE to work semi-regularly in Europe while doing tours of Japan as a freelancer. Mei Suruga is one of the large number of Joshi rookies who've been wrestling for less than a year but are already good: she comes from Gatoh Move and debuted last June. I'm probably the only person who dug this as much as I did but it had a nice mix of everything I really enjoy: it started quite fast paced with Mei doing a load of her signature spots that are very good (comedy but the sort that fits in a serious match like this early on); you had a fairly long grappling section with Meiko and both Yuu and Sareee that I was really into: the sort that looks like a struggle rather than overly worked and then that ended when Sareee started using strikes and the pace picked up from there - one of the key things in the match in my eye was the fact that despite being an inexperienced rookie in a match between two vastly more experienced wrestlers Mei hung on in there until the end and it times was able to best her bigger and more experienced opponents with strategy. Wasn't Match of the Year level or anything; the finish wasn't great 20 minute time limit draw that sort of just happened rather than coming at a big point in the match but it was a nice very fun tag match that is worth a watch. HM: Medusa Complex (Millie McKenzie and Charli Evans) vs Beauty Bear (Chihiro Hashimoto and Mika Iwata), Sendai Girls, 18th May 2019 Need to rewatch the tag titles match from a week later but I also really enjoyed this. Millie McKenzie is just so incredibly talented and her decision to turn down NXT UK so he can still do Sendai Girls tours is something that I think was an incredibly good decision of hers: I imagine that she's having the time of her life there, plus also its exposure in front of a totally new audience where she's gotten over with the crowd (and the office: its very clear that Meiko really likes both her and Charli) rather than wrestling a match a month on a TV show that no one watches and also she's only 18 so she'll get better from this sort of thing. Match itself was incredibly fun - again not a Match of the Year Candidate but just a very fun match that's only 12 minutes long so worth checking out.
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Jun 9, 2019 23:41
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:MOTYC: Nanae Takahashi (c) vs. Takumi Iroha for the SEADLINNNG Beyond the Sea Singles Championship - SEAdLINNNG Stay Tune 2019 (5/29) I’ll second this and stick a HM on the Maria vs Mei Suruga vs Mei Hoshizuki High Speed match from that show because it is probably the funnest match I’ve seen this year. Perhaps not the best but certainly the most fun!
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Jun 11, 2019 20:33
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This might have been suggested by someone else but I'm going through the backlog: MOTYC: Kagetsu vs Konami, Konami's Homecoming, STARDOM, 26th May Stardom don't do long often which makes the rare times that they do feel special - its something I like about them: the night before they did a five minute main event for the High Speed Title which was a great five minute match and felt satisfying and that diversity is great rather than knowing that your main event is going 30+ anyway. Add in this being Stardom's first ever show in Konami's home town of Fukuyama with the whole show built built around that and you get a very different feeling match. There's a clear dynamic here: with Konami being the hometown favourite and Kagetsu being the sort of person who's open to ruining everyone's fun. The first six or seven minutes is the sort of grappling that I'm into: back and forth stuff that looks and feels like a competition rather than an exhibition: then the match gets more heated with stiff kicks and then when it spills to the outside Oedo Tai get involved just enough to add a little fire to the match without making it feel like a mess. The chemistry between the two is great and collectively it built this match that felt significant and which delivered on the hype. I'll still a HM on the other one: HM: Hazuki (c) vs Death Yama-San, High Speed Championship, STARDOM Shining Stars, 25th May: a match that shows that you can build a great little match in five minutes if you time everything perfectly (indeed this is actual Hazuki's longest title defence by time; the average is like four minutes). Hazuki is great at these fast paced matches and the Death Yama-San thing (as goofy as it sounds) has I think really helped Yoneyama here and this match (and a lot of others outside Stardom that people are less likely to see) show that she is really rather good. As silly as it sounds it felt like two people trying to win the match from moment one: there were cradles early that people bought as possible finishes because of the fact that Hazuki's main finish recently has been the Magistral and because of the short time of these matches; there was always something going on and the finish worked perfectly. Not a Match of the Year contender but my favourite five minute match of the year so far and an example of a short match that feels the perfect length.
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Jun 19, 2019 21:34
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HM: Mayu Iwatani vs Kagetsu, Pro Wrestling EVE Wrestle Queendom 2, 30th June 2019 This wasn't the best match between this two: went unsurprisingly to a time limit draw and I think because it was an offer match it didn't have the stakes that past matches have had which makes it feel less important. However what this match did have was that it happened at a show that I was at live which automatically makes it great - I don't know whether I can go MOTYC in earnest until I've watched the match on tape but I'm going to post it here regardless. Probably match of the weekend; and a great match on what was a very good and incredibly fun show.
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Jul 1, 2019 12:48
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:MOTYC: Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs. Sareee (c) for the Sendai Girls World Championship & W.W.W.D. Singles Championship - Sendai Girls Big Show in Niigata (6/8) don't think I need to nth this for it to count but its great so I shall anyway. will also nth the Emi Sakura vs Riho: Gatoh Move, 2nd July match for MOTY since its also great and you should watch it. Just watched the Fyter Fest 3 way women's match (Nyla Rose vs Yuka Sakazaki vs Riho) and I'd like to nth HM for that: it was a very fun match and Nyla Rose is very good at a lot of things where she needs to be very good: and the other two, well, no need to really say anything about how great they are. Really hyped for the Riho-Yuka singles: the tag that they were involved in in January owned and based on that this should. e: oh also HM: Sendai Girls World Junior Championship: Mikoto Shindo vs Manami, Sendai Girls Big Show in Niigata, 8th June: as much as I really like Utami on a pure technical level Mikoto is probably better and is the best rookie in wrestling at the moment: and this was a very very good rookie match. Manami isn't at the level of other Joshi rookies at the moment (no insult; she's like 14 and the level I'm talking about is super super high when you consider Mikoto and the other Marvelous rookies, Mei Suruga, Utami, Suzu Suzuki etc etc) but she's still good and in a rookie match like this it leads to something that's very very fun. IceAgeComing fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jul 7, 2019 |
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Jul 7, 2019 20:00
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:MOTYC: Tetsuya Endo (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Championship - DDT Wrestle Peter Pan (7/15) So I missed the first minute of this because I'm on holiday in a place with poo poo internet but I agree with this: incredibly good match. I'd also like to nth the MOTYC for the Asuka/Akito match which was very fun and perhaps the most clever match of the year in terms of how they made it really really work.
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Jul 15, 2019 17:04
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I shall second that match; I changed my lunch break at work just to watch it live and it ruled. Three legit WOTY candidates (Nanae Takahashi perhaps a slight reach but she’s had great matches, the other two certainly) against the three best rookies in wrestling today that have been booked perfectly manage to shockingly have an incredibly good match. Unless they get hurt or decide to retire young all three of the Marvelous rookies should be fantastic wrestlers long term and it’s incredibly exciting.
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Jul 22, 2019 17:57
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MOTYC: Aiger vs Martina, Sendai U.K., 27/06 This was the best comedy match and loving ruled
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Jul 27, 2019 18:45
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Jerusalem posted:Can I just confirm if this was 27/06 or 27/07, please? it was yesterday i was incredibly excited and drunk when i posted that
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Jul 28, 2019 09:25
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Pinche Rudo posted:All from TripleMania I'd like to second these and also give a HM to the Copa Triplemania as well: at this point it was 430am and I fell asleep so I'll pick the rest up later but it was on track to be a very good show
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Aug 4, 2019 13:51
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NickRoweFillea posted:MOTY Wagner v. Blue Demon Jr AAA Triplemania XXVII this is correct
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Aug 4, 2019 21:19
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MOTYC: Hazuki vs Arisa Hoshiki, Stardom World Big Summer In Tokyo, 24th July This could possibly be my match of the year and is right up there on my rewatch list with Meiko Satomura-Sareee. It was everything I like in a pro wrestling match: fast-paced, compelling, great story, went no longer than it needed to with a clean finish. Got lost in the G1 shuffle but everyone should go out their way to watch it if they can: its a great great match. Also would like to give a HM to Bea Priestley-Momo Watanabe from the same show: overshadowed by the match before but they got the crowd into it by the end and it was a very fun match.
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Aug 18, 2019 23:10
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I'll nth the DASH-Sareee match as well if I haven't already I shall advocate for a match here since I think its legit MOTY level - the Rookies (Mikoto Shindo, Mei Hoshizuki, Maria) vs Grumpy Vets (Takumi Iroha, Nanae Takahashi, Sareee) match from the 22/7 Marvelous show loving ruled and I think really needs to make the list. They uploaded a clipped version on youtube that I think is enough to make a good judgement from: here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viV75EHK_JI
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Aug 21, 2019 19:06
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MOTYC: Mei Suruga vs Lulu Pencil, Gatoh Move, 29th September 2019 There's probably about five people on this world that are high on this match as I am; but this is up there on my favourite matches of this year - there are a few Gatoh Move matches I'd have to think about (Emi Sakura-Riho from Riho's farewell show; the Mei Suruga-Emi Sakura match from the one night tournament in May and I've not yet watched the Mei Suruga-Riho Title match yet since I've not watched the DVD but it has to be good) but this is unironically up there with them. To explain for non-Gatoh Move fans: Mei Suruga is the young up and comer that's clearly the person that they're going to build the company around in the future. Her 'graduation' from rookie status there was earlier this year: with a victory over company owner and trainer Emi Sakura in May, followed by a hard-fought loss against Riho in June; and then her being clearly presented as one of the people that trained the new rookies, of which Lulu Pencil is one of them. Apparently she was in charge for this show since Emi Sakura was in the UK at EVE: which is funny since I imagine one year pro 20 year old 4 foot 10 Mei Suruga trying to boss around long-time pros Masahiro Takanashi and Antonio Honda. Her style is very fast paced: she uses the unique location that Ichiyaga Chocolate Square is to peak advantage in almost every match and I'd argue that having to work without a ring most of the time is to her advantage: it means that she has to be more creative with her offence and also rely more on things like making basic mat wrestling exciting which I like. She's someone who has everything: star presence, charisma, in-ring work and should be a star in wrestling. Lulu Pencil... is slightly different. A free-lance writer who didn't do anything physically active before starting to attend the Daredemo classes (which is an open-to-all pro wrestling school ran by Gatoh Move); she debuted in August at the start of the new era of Gatoh Move although really she won the hearts of everyone (well at least the corner of Western Wrestling twitter that follows Gatoh Move) in a series of pre-debut exhibition matches where she lost 8-0 in basically a three minute Ironman match tapping out to wrist locks and all sort of things. Her character is that she's endearingly bad at pro wrestling: they've taken her physical disadvantages and just ran with it and it rules. And it clearly worked - basically everyone that went to speak to Emi Sakura after the EVE show mentioned how much that they loved Lulu Pencil and her matches seem to draw international viewership numbers to the point where they mention it all of the time on commentary and Emi tweeted it out: which I think Lulu found a rather humbling thing. Which leads to this match: the future ace against the comedy wrestler: most people would make this a short and sweet match; but not Gatoh Move where it goes within seconds of the 10 minute time limit. What makes it a great match to me is just that its so incredibly entertaining in that uniquely Gatoh Move way: there's a spot early on where Lulu Pencil chases Mei Suruga around the back to the window (if you've never seen Gatoh Move this probably makes no sense) and Mei expertly jumps onto the ledge and does a forward roll back onto the mat while Lulu gingerly tries to climb onto the ledge and then loses her balance and falls over the ledge; half in and half out. The story of the match is basically that: Mei is the experienced veteran: the superior talent who's in control for most of the match but Lulu Pencil, usually by luck more than skill, manages to come back at short periods and even manages to get a near fall late in the match which is a first. It takes the deadly drop kick for Lulu Pencil to lose: a hard-fought contest that demonstrated the fighting spirit of the rookie. Its also a match where the commentary helps it: Pumi comes out with some great lines that help to sell the story of this match. The key thing that makes this work is that inherent clumsiness that she has that they're pushing: there are other wrestlers that have that (Sakura Hirota is a big one) but few where it feels as raw and as real as it does here and that's perhaps because it is: its an entirely self-aware thing that she's never going to be the best wrestler ever but to work with what you have. And its the joy of Gatoh Move: the same system that developed Mei Suruga, one of the best one wrestlers around who debuted after two months of training and was immediately great, is open to all so you get people like Lulu who're never going to debut in any other Joshi company; but within the Gatoh Move system it just works. If you're not a fan of short comedy matches; or Gatoh Move then you'll not like this match. Some will say that comparing this match to big main event level things isn't fair and that they are better - but I'd argue that this match suits being nominated since it entertained me more than almost any other match I've seen this year. Holy poo poo I went long: but I just had a lot to say about this match: please give it a go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpMu1NMX4xQ
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Oct 3, 2019 19:02
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MOTYC: Riho vs Nyla Rose, AEW World Women's Championship, AEW Dynamite, 3rd October 2019 Not going to go into massive detail on this since pretty much everyone has seen it: I will just say that it feels so special to see two wrestlers that I've watched a load in tiny small buildings in Japan be in this big a match in a major arena and for them to win the crowd over was great. People elsewhere were talking about 'botches' and there was one very awkward moment which I think they did a good job recovering from but other than that it seemed fine: perhaps slightly messy but its a fight: they shouldn't be entirely smooth. Riho winning was very special and that's something that'll live on in my mind. The other thing is something that someone on twitter said about this match: it stands out significantly to me that the Joshi wrestlers who work WWE matches feel like they're trying to work a totally different style to what they are used to and it makes all of those matches big let downs to someone who's used to that style (especially main roster stuff): here they clearly let the two put together a match that they wanted with a time and a finish. And that's the difference between AEW and WWE in my eyes and why I get super nervous and annoyed when WWE sign, say, Sareee while if AEW did I'd care less: the latter in these matches have earned the trust that they'll at least do good matches with their Japanese talent and I love that. Shockingly it works better at taking a tepid crowd and making them very hot if you let the two wrestlers put together their own match.
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Oct 4, 2019 00:40
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MOTYC: Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt, WWE Hell in a Cell, 6th October 2019 That was the funniest loving match I've seen this year. From the stupid lighting to the ludicrousness of the back half which was just Seth Rollins beating up the scary murder clown who always kicked out at 1; to the incredibly dumb finish where a HELL IN A CELL MATCH ended by DISQUALIFICATION to the incredibly funny post-match where the murder clown came back to murder Rollins in a chorus of boos and AEW chants. No DDT comedy match, no Yano match, no Fuchi old man comedy All Japan match, no Sakura Hirota or Aiger or Martina match, no Gatoh Move match can top this one for pure comedy and laughs.
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Oct 7, 2019 04:00
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Jerusalem posted:Got a date for this? aired on NicoNico 3rd October, actual show happened 18th September
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Oct 9, 2019 10:04
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:MOTYC: Antonio Honda vs. Lulu Pencil - Gatoh Move (10/27) yes to this; the match is incredible Jerusalem posted:"She doesn't have much power but she always tries her best" The thing with Pumi's commentary as well is that I'm pretty sure he's doing it in his third language; which makes it all of the more impressive and might be the reason why its so good and so different: he's not been infected by the disease of listening to English wrestling commentary over the last however many years IceAgeComing fucked around with this message at 11:50 on Oct 31, 2019 |
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Oct 31, 2019 11:47
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Artelier posted:I have never heard of either wrestler, or the company, but definite nth! That ending pushed it over the top for me, I cackled like a madman. Gatoh Move is a relatively small Joshi company ran by Emi Sakura who you might have seen on AEW TV recently if you watch it. She formerly owned and ran Ice Ribbon (another Joshi company although one slightly bigger where she trained a load of people, including Riho and Hikaru Shida) but left in 2012 to form Gatoh Move and Riho went with her before leaving earlier this year for bigger things. Its a promotion that mostly runs this venue which is basically a shopfront in Tokyo with no ring and the matches are very different to anything else you get: they do a lot of comedy but you also get straight matches which rule because they use the limitations of the venue very much to their advantage and its great. Antonio Honda is a long-time veteran: debuted in 2005, mainly works for DDT and Gatoh Move. I find it very hard to really explain him in short words: he works primarily comedy matches and this sort of thing isn't typical. The fairy tale bit in the middle is his signature spot: he'll find a way to 'injure' his knee (in tag matches its always tripping over the bottom rope when getting into the ring) and then claim to be about to give up but want to tell everyone a little story first about Gon the Fox which ends in either him taking control of the match or a smart opponent seeing Gon coming and reversing it. He's wrestling Kenny Omega in a mixed tag match on the big DDT show in Sumo Hall next week and that should be a load of fun. Lulu Pencil officially debuted in August; although before that she wrestled a range of three minute 'exhibition' matches which were basically little ironman matches where she'd lose like 8-0; get pinned easily and a few times submitted to a simple wrist lock: they were great. She's a freelance writer (which is a real thing apparently: does games writing) who didn't do anything physically active prior to encountering the Gatoh Move-linked school which is open to any woman who want to give wrestling training a go as a way to get fit and from that debuted earlier this year. Her character is that she's just a bad pro wrestler: she struggles with simple things, her signature moves are the rolling pencil which is literally rolling on the mat to knock people over and the pencil dive which is her dive thing where she'll always try to do it from a high position (the chair in that match, the window-sill in other ones, in ring matches even the middle rope) only to jump down and go it from the mat because she's scared of heights. It all sounds incredibly silly but it really works and there's a reason why a lot of people genuinely are fans of her including me. She had another great match against Mei Suruga which I've already nominated and I'll share it again here since while I think its a little behind the Honda match its also great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpMu1NMX4xQ
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Oct 31, 2019 16:13
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Pumi has seen a few of the posts from this thread and is very thankful for them https://twitter.com/pumi_gtmv/status/1190215638209290240
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Nov 1, 2019 13:08
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HM: Rika Tatsumi and Miu Watanabe vs Sakisama and Misao, DDT Ultimate Party 2019, 3rd November 2019 The best built match going into Ultimate Party (unless something big happened to build the BASARA matches but I don't watch it): this match felt like an appropriate end to what has been a six month long feud. A bit clunky in places but not enough to really detract from the match and the post-match visual ruled: both Tatsumi and Watanabe being incredibly emotional after winning (Tatsumi was already crying during the closing stretch) but it also had bitter sweet elements to it as well: Tatsumi may have won the match and become tag champion but she went into this crying to get her friend Hyper Misao back and she appears to have failed there: with Misao leaving with Sakisama after the match. There were other good matches on this show that are certainly worth nominating: I actually had something to say on this one and its intermission so why not.
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Nov 3, 2019 09:48
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All of these matches are from DDT Ultimate Party 2019 from the 3rd November. Going to nominate a lot but hell it was a great show! MOTYC: Ironman Heavymetalweight Delayed Entry Battle Royal DDT are widely known for their comedy and while that isn't everything they do - and for these big shows even a fraction of what they do - it is usually very good. From the pre-match video satire of the WWE 24/7 title (really a callback to the titles roots as a pastiche of the WWE Hardcore Title; with no one at the time thinking it'd last the best part of 20 years but isn't that the story of DDT in a nutshell) resulting in two title changes before the match started with SHOTA being pinned by a chair, which was also being pinned by another chair; to Kazuki Hirata's early match run working with two inanimate objects (Yoshihiko was entrant 3) and then with the Pokotan, the DDT mascot, to Yuki Kamifuku accidentally becoming Ironman Champion by posing on the chair, to the glorious ending with Glorious Matsuno singing at the same time as wrestling, eliminating and throwing out others with his eventual loss to Hirata being timed exactly with the three count coming at the moment the last note of the song played: it was as good a comedy battle royal as you could get. HM: Keisuke Ishii vs Fuminori Abe Prior to this show I had never seen a minute of Ganbare Pro; I've seen Ishii in DDT and not knowingly ever seen Abe wrestle, so this match was a pleasant surprise. Just a very very good seven minute match: paced brilliantly and it felt like it ended at the exact right time which is often hard to do for a shorter match if people perhaps expect it to go longer. HM: K-OD Tag Title Four Way Hardcore Match This is a match full of great high level talent who didn't have a role elsewhere on a stacked card hence this match. Slotted between an emotional Princess Tag Title that I've already nominated; this was just a great hardcore brawl of the sort that DDT do regularly; but to a higher level. Plenty of "oh poo poo someone is going to die" moments; a load of crazy bumps, and ending with a clear, conclusive victory (often rare in these things) with Daisuke Sasaki hitting Daiki Shimomura in the head with a guitar while standing on a table propped between two ladders; before hitting the pedigree onto the table (and that gently caress that table didn't break) before submitting him with the cross-face. Great crazy match; the perfect thing to have between before the intermission. HM: Masahiro Takanashi vs Ryuichi Sekine I have also never ever watched a BASARA show in my life and my knowledge of them is random BASARA people showing up on DDT shows, and I don't think I've ever seen Sekine wrestle before - or at least if I have it didn't stay with me. Takanashi is one of the most underrated wrestlers in Japan: able to do straight wrestling and comedy in both big shows like this and also on tiny mat shows with Gatoh Move: with a large variety of different opponents. The crowd wasn't very reactive (possibly this being the first post-intermission match meaning that people weren't back yet, possibly it being BASARA, possibly just it being in hour four of a show with three big matches left) but I don't think that's on these dudes really. It was just a good mostly technical match; with a shock ending as Takanashi manages to steal the UNION Max title away from BASARA two months before they split from the DDT Group. If that's typical of a BASARA match then I'm interested in seeing more now since it was very fun. MOTYC: Shoko Nakajima vs Yuka Sakazaki Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling was started six years ago as one of those weird experiments that DDT do: no one ever expected it to become a proper Joshi promotion and honestly on foundation it wasn't meant to. It recruited people from some rather random spots and did shows that were more idol performances with pro wrestling matches rather than actual pro wrestling events. The shows didn't even always have a ring; mat shows were common in early Tokyo Joshi and while mat shows are great fun, they're not exactly a sign that you are doing well. There also hasn't been a women's title match by a Japanese promotion within Sumo Hall for six years: even since the one off Stardom Sumo Hall show that became a farewell show for Yuzuki Aikawa (which, ironically, was bolstered by DDT talent on the undercard including Kota Ibushi and Michael Nakazawa). Since DDT realised what they potential had they've been building for years to this moment; all of those random pre-show offer matches and appearances by TJPW wrestlers in mixed matches or battle royals (including on this show!) was all really building to this: a big Princess of Princess Title match on the top end of the biggest DDT show of the year; the biggest TJPW match in history. And it was also the best TJPW match ever - at least the best I've ever seen. A battle of two pillars of the company; two people who basically started with the promotion, who've been career long partners but also career long rivals: who've grown and developed along with the promotion they wrestle for. Yuka was looking to regain the POP title and really avenge what happened last time: she is the only person to hold that title that failed to successfully defend it in the first defence and that is something that she knows about.. I think all of that history really helps this match: this isn't just a random match: but something that really has been years in the making on all sides and the wrestlers involved in the match really knew it. It was a back and forth battle with almost everything: some good mat wrestling at the start; some great high spots in the middle; and overall it was paced very quickly as a good Joshi main event tends to be. There was also this intensity that made it feel like a big fight as well: none of those little funny mannerisms and character moments that got Sakazaki over big in Japan and recently in the US were there and nor should they have been: this was a serious match and there was no time for that stuff. The crowd - a lot of whom probably hadn't come to the show to see this match - were into it by the end and if coming off of this show Tokyo Joshi haven't made some new fans then it wasn't for lack of trying. The emotion at the end also really added to it: by the end Yuka was crying, Mizuki (her current tag team partner, who she'd had a decent length Tag Titles run with earlier this year) was crying, Shoko Nakajima was crying; I was crying: I think everyone was. Easy match of the night without putting any thought - you could nitpick and point out minor issues but they don't detract from the match and things like that with a match like this are sort of missing the forest for the trees. MOTYC: Antonio Honda and Miyu Yamashita vs Kenny Omega and Riho Sometimes a match surprises you, when in hindsight it really shouldn't have. This is one of those matches for me. I always expected it to be good: but to get this great a match from this I didn't expect even though it was silly not to. From the start this crowd was massively into this match: Kenny Omega was massively over as you'd expect for someone coming back to what was their home promotion after five years where he became a much bigger star (the reaction to Dr Wily starting to play, and the massive amount of streamers is proof of that): but the other three people in this match were hardly unpopular: Honda is the best comedy wrestler in the world and beloved by DDT fans, Miyu Yamashita is the ace of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling and because of that she's featured a lot on DDT proper shows: and Riho has a long history with DDT plus going to America and instantly winning a major Women's Champion is something that always gets you over. This match was everything you could want from this sort of semi-main event match. Although it looked like they were going to go very comedy heavy early they really didn't: Kenny brought back the STOP Enziguri and you of course had Gon the Fox and other standard Honda stuff but other than that it was a very good mixed tag match with some great comedy: the sort that DDT do better than anyone else in the world. Exchanges between Riho and Miyu Yamashita that made me really want to see a singles match between the two; Antonio Honda a couple of times a year will click into his big match mode which shows that he can go with anyone; some really good and creative double team moves with Riho and Kenny; and also the sections of the match that had Miyu and Kenny against each other made me really want AEW to do inter gender matches: if its done like DDT then its not something that should be a problem. Just a very very fun match: and not one that you'd see anywhere else. Plus Kenny wore his pink gear that matches with Riho's which automatically makes this a great match. MOTYC: HARASHIMA vs Konosoke Takeshita Not going as in-depth on this one: for those who don't know this is sort of DDTs Tanahashi/Okada equivalent with HARASHIMA as the ageing ace and Takeshita as the young person challenging for her spot (although he's not been accepted by DDTs fans at that level really). Not at the level of the prior two matches for me (has that big mens title match issue of starting slow and having bits that don't seem to play into anything although the mat wrestling early was good): but it really picked up towards the end. They really played up HARASHIMAs back being a weakness after the angles they did leading to the match (Takeshita beat him twice before this show with the Walls; once by submission, the other by corner stoppage) with a few big submission spots that worked. Watching live I was tired and count out on the matches before so I didn't see the finish coming but I didn't think HARASHIMA would win: it worked though and that was a live thing I think. Great match to end a great show - but not the best match on the card. All in all: DDT Ultimate Party 2019 was my 2019 Show of the year by a fairly long way: even above these matches nothing was bad: and the stuff that didn't hit was at least decent. A real feel good show as well: the very emotional TJPW matches, Kenny's return and HARASHIMA surprisingly toppling Takeshita before bringing everyone back to the ring for a big sendoff.
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Nov 4, 2019 16:16
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