POLL 5/13 - 5/21 - WHAT WAS THE BEST FREE TV MATCH OF THE WEEK? with an entire TWO bonus days of action!

[John E. Dynamite]

Good week. Maybe every week is a good week and this is the best way to come to know it.

I gotta PIMP and SHILL some of these YouTube exclusives because this was a heavy week with some insanely time-deserving deep cuts.  PARKs vs. Pirata/Alebrije is amazing. Trinity Fatu is a star. CMLL is an unending treasure trove. Derby City is your trailer park hot AEW DARK rebound. Plus a really neat GLEAT midcard match - more on these after the sleep.

EDIT: ALL THOSE YOUTUBE MATCHES

DOUBLE EDIT: GENERAL NON-BASIC CABLE SHILLS POSTED BELOW

Spoiler

GLEAT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgba9VoxUF0

NWA vs. AAA World is a Vampire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5JL8avHwYc

Los Parks vs. Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Hijo de Alebrije - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXI63oqQGIc

Hijo de Pirata Morgan vs. Hijo de Canis Lupus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCczapj8HDM

Ingobernables vs. PARKs - https://youtu.be/9Vu7gYhHxKA?t=3780

WXW Kinoshita vs. Marik - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2fbMsFWUEs

CMLL Arena Mexico Aniversario - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgi1K-gZ0EM

CMLL Viernes Espectacular - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTroBHxoC4o

DERBY CITY last week - https://youtu.be/g6J-13Q2bYE

DERBY CITY this week - https://youtu.be/ler-waU4_q4

AAA TRIPLEMANIA MONTERREY Lucha en Jaula - https://youtu.be/C0K22RE7mRM?t=908

AAA WORLD CUP Men's Final - https://youtu.be/uRa4ovQFPh4?t=1936

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Boydy]

I went for Jericho Vs Strong from Dynamite. I also really enjoyed a few of the matches on ROH including the Rey Fenix Vs Gringo Loco.

[John E. Dynamite]

Some real real good deep cuts this week. I watched them, and they made me happy. So happy that I had to tell you about them.

ISSEI ONITSUKA vs. YUTANI - Issei Onitsuka has apparently been the fourth member of STRONGHEARTS for years now. He is lithe and wild-eyed and vocal, a rather loud lad who’s more beagle-ish-ly yowly than yappy. A capable athlete, too. Yuntani is a skinny fit kid with cotton-candy colored hair and CIMA’s old facepaint, who’s gear includes a t-shirt he’s slow to remove and isn’t averse to putting back on. He unironically comes out to BLIND by KORN and the intro is still fifteen seconds too long and loses the crowd JUST LIKE YOUR REMEMBER from indie shows twenty years ago. Onitsuka’s offense is snappy and hot. Yutani hits a mess-with-the-ref fake injury sell that is too real. These kids are good. I’m assuming they’re CIMA’s favorites. https://youtu.be/Dgba9VoxUF0?t=2235 (match w/ timestamp)
By the way, the main event of this show is T-HAWK making his return to his home company after losing in the Champion's Carnival Final (you should see the other guy!) and it is quite good. 

SATANICO, AVERNO y MEPHISTO vs ATLANTIS, BLUE PANTHER y SOBERANO JR. -  This match felt very DVDVR. Or maybe very Segunda Caida, or whatever. Grittyswank~ in that way, in that special way I've been lucky enough to osmose an understanding of throughout all these years, exciting and reverent in equal measure and the oldheads brought their steel-toe'd's. Young Soberano clicked in this one real good - and they set up the GNARLY Soberano vs. Averno match that happens the next week (also on this poll!). Satanico is one of the least exhaustible sources of joy in the history of wrestling. He just rules forever in a way that mortal men don't even get to dream of. Atlantis and Blue Panther were extra-motivate old men and it's no surprise given that this was an Arena Mexico anniversary show and they were working with the best fundamentally perfect motherfuckers in the game. Averno is a Quiet God.
https://youtu.be/Mgi1K-gZ0EM?t=1730 (Infernales vs. Atlantis, Panther, Soberano w/ timestamp)
https://youtu.be/jTroBHxoC4o?t=2838 (Averno vs. Soberano w/ timestamp, if you liked the above. Which is just another way to say "if you watched it"!)
 

TRINITY FATU vs. KILYNN KING - Based on this one match, it's completely possible that the former Naomi could have been a savant this whole time and our dumb eyes/her dumb boss were too DUMMY DUMB DUMB to see it. Or maybe you haven't seen KiLynn King do her thing since her AEW stint. Maybe you know she's been showing up just about everywhere and you haven't checked in? This is a really good time to check in. I don't even think the crowd was sold on this one when the bell rang, this is (for better or worse) a classicly *great* TV women's match where, due to having to win the crowd over in a certain way, has this wonderful heat crescendo. Hot nearfalls. A completely earned "THIS IS AWESOME" chant. This blew my expectations out of the water and I think this is better than Mercedes' re-debut vs. KAIRI. Make of that what you will, but watch this first. (maybe you DVR'd this, maybe you know how to pirate it?)

The 30-minute Ingobernables vs. La Familia Parka is awesome extracurricular viewing if you're a Rush head (and if you aren't what are you even doing here) BUUUUT the free lucha brawl of the week has gotta be the other Parkas' match...
EL HIJO DE LA PARK & LA PARK JR vs. EL HIJO DE PIRATA MORGAN & EL HIJO DE ALIBRIJE. I guess the hook would be that it's La Parka's kids doing their violent as fuck thing in front of a rapt indie crown. If you're one level of hip beyond that you know that Hijo de Pirata Morgan is emerging as THE main guy of IWRG and not only is super charismatic, tough and talented, but he *absolutely looks like the Mexican MJF knockoff that you had no idea you needed*. He's becoming one of my favorite YouTube dudes in the world, I'm clicking him every time I see him. But this isn't even his jam This is a statement match for El Hijo Del Alebrije. The blood is MULTIPLE HOMICIDE CRIME SCENE in this one and it only needs to be offa one forehead to get there. The shit-ass rudo to the marrow Park kids march in here so entitled and masochistic... there's the laziest pinfall breakups I've ever seen in my life in this match, to a point where I don't know if it causes me the most confounding dissonance I've ever felt in my life about wrestling rules OR it's this perfectly lazy new-money rich kid spot that I should be lucky to see. GOD FUCKING DAMNIT does Hijo de Alibrije bleed a lot. I'm probably gonna rewatch this and write more about it. This is my "I wish DEAN were here" Match of the Week by a mile. , https://youtu.be/eXI63oqQGIc?t=383 (match w timestamp, cutting out some early audio issues)  

SHAWN DEAN & CARLIE BRAVO vs. BOY #1 & BOY #2 - I'm lucky in love and lucky in wrestling but I miss DARK like I miss more than a few old lovers. I understand why they had to leave, and I've thanked the heavens that I'm capable of persisting their absence. No malice, no intentional bitterness... but they were GOOD. They made me HAPPY and they aren't around to make me that certain kind of HAPPY they used to make me and I think we all gotta collectively learn howta deal with that grief! So here's you're rebound, everybody, it's DERBY CITY WRESTLING who are maybe probably putting out the best weekly free, English language, episodic wrestling on all of YouTube. Is it any coincidence that this match has the damned booker? of AEW DARK, Shawn Dean, calling all the shots? Isn't it just perfect that we're getting to see Dalton Castle's BOYS do their thing all on their own in such a compelling matchup? Taz & Excalibur are obviously missed but the production is still above average, plus this is twice as long (at least) by virtue of happening in Louisville and this is a great entry point to the consistently worthwhile stuff Derby City is putting out. WE'RE GONNA GET OVER THIS BROKEN HEART TOGETHER, ONE DERBY CITY MAIN EVENT AT A TIME! - https://youtu.be/ler-waU4_q4?t=2514 (MATCH! TIMESTAMP!)

Edited May 23, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Eivion]

5 hours ago, John E. Dynamite said:

TRINITY FATU vs. KILYNN KING - I'm taking bets now. Based on this one match, it's completely possible that the former Naomi could have been a savant this whole time and our dumb eyes/her dumb boss were too DUMMY DUMB DUMB to see it. Or maybe you haven't seen KiLynn King do her thing since her AEW stint. Maybe you know she's been showing up just about everywhere and you haven't checked in? This is a really good time to check in. I don't even think the crowd was sold on this one when the bell rang, this is (for better or worse) a classicly *great* TV women's match where, due to having to win the crowd over in a certain way, has this wonderful heat crescendo. Hot nearfalls. A completely earned "THIS IS AWESOME" chant. This blew my expectations out of the water and I think this is better than Mercedes' re-debut vs. KAIRI. Make of that what you will, but watch this first. (maybe you DVR'd this, maybe you know how to pirate it?)

Trinity had the misfortune of coming up at the end of the Divas era where the women were least respected. She wasn't good starting off but had been putting in the work to improve for years while being given little to no chance to show it due to how management clearly viewed the Diva era women. She was probably good back in 2017 when she was champ, but they sure as fuck did nothing to let her show it. She and Charlotte never got big singles match together despite being the most over women on the roster back then. It took 4 years for them to finally get a big title match on Smackdown, and it was fantastic. Trinity has been this good for at least a couple of years now. She is just only now being given the chance to really show it. 

As for which match is better between it and Mercedes/Kairi, I would rate them about the same. The difference is Trinity achieved what she wanted and needed to in about half the the time. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Eivion

[John E. Dynamite]

ROH uploaded Zack Sabre vs. AR Fox on YouTube

https://youtu.be/hyrDYF4GlsA

I missed a Virus vs. Audaz match! This shoulda made the list.

https://www.youtube.com/live/ur52lS_gl3g (timestamp when I'm not on mobile)

 

[HarryArchieGus]

1 hour ago, John E. Dynamite said:

ROH uploaded Zack Sabre vs. AR Fox on YouTube

https://youtu.be/hyrDYF4GlsA

Really happy to see the Match of the Week poll march on. Thanks for this. I loved that Sabre-Fox match. It was a tough call this week. Fox-Sabre shortly had the blued in bullet, but before I submitted it I moved it to the spectacle that was Roosh v Jungle Boy. Whinin' Bryan Alvarez all butthurt about it on WOR kinda made it even better. Somebody mentioned in the Dynamite thread that this was as much as they'd cared about a Jack match in awhile. I feel the same, and I'm a generally satisfied (and patient) fan of his. He needed this encounter. I think he handled it quite well. Jericho-Roddy was also a ton of fun, and could have easily taken my vote. And I'm a high voter on White-Starks, DQ finish 100% included. Admittedly, I'm not making much time for current products outside of Khan Promotions. I'm too busy listening to old DEAN guest podcasts and reading his reviews, and in turn checking out the extensive history of King-approved matches I've missed.  

[John E. Dynamite]

Any way we can get last week's poll unpinned/this week's poll pinned? I ain't DEAN. I ain't got a pin button. No pinning at all would be preferred to keeping the old poll at the top of the page.

[John E. Dynamite]

It's Saturday and I'm still not sure if I'm voting RUSH vs. JJP or the Infernales tag. I'm lucky to be so torn.

[Eivion]

Still need to go through the IWGR matches, but right now Averno/Soberano Jr. is in the lead for me. The 6-man tag in the lead up was good, but I loved the actual singles between the two. Was good seeing Averno milk in the hate.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Eivion

[John E. Dynamite]

Truth be told I watched both episodes of Viernes Espectacular back-to-back and the two matches melted together in my mind. Obviously I defaulted to the one with Satanico in it for sentimental purposes, but Averno is just the best heat machine if you've got a mask to rip.

I'm short-selling Jericho/Roderick and PARKs/Pirata & Alebrije. Discovering the Mas Lucha channel, discovering the fact that I can find one truly great indy lucha bloodbath a week... by far the best thing to happen to my viewing habits in a long time. There's a mask match for next week that I'm stoked about.

[Eivion]

Voted for Averno/Soberano Jr. in the end. Nothing really came close to it though I dug the 6-man tag building to it, Creeds/Dyad, PARKs vs. Morgan/Alebrije, Trinity/King, & Finlay/Tama all a good deal. Those were all good and worth catching. My AEW viewing was sadly small due to missing the DVR for Dynamite and Rampage. A pity since I at least wanted to catch Rush/JB.