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[MM15] FINALS: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. RUSEV


RIPPA

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. RUSEV  

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  1. 1. CHOOSE YOUR WINNER



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I have to say that even though I voted for Nak, I would be delighted with Rusev winning. Actually, I would have been happy with Zayn or Cavernario winning too (on the latter, I trust the lucha fans here to have good taste in wrestlers of that style and would have been okay if he had won). This has been the best final four ever: Three guys I actively like, one whose work I respect, no shitty-ass CM Punks gumming up the works and being a threat to win, etc.

 

It's been a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen. 

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Nakamura has made the finals. Shit is ON now.

 

tumblr_na43oj13tR1ti6gxco1_500.gif

 

Jesus Christ.,  The name of Nak's finisher references The Rumble In The Jungle.

 

WHAT MORE DOES HE HAVE TO DO TO EARN YOUR LOVE~??

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I have to say that even though I voted for Nak, I would be delighted with Rusev winning. Actually, I would have been happy with Zayn or Cavernario winning too (on the latter, I trust the lucha fans here to have good taste in wrestlers of that style and would have been okay if he had won). This has been the best final four ever: Three guys I actively like, one whose work I respect, no shitty-ass CM Punks gumming up the works and being a threat to win, etc.

 

Rippa picked some winners this time around for the brackets.  Voting was tough.  I had to watch lots and lots and lots of footage.  I did not want to be that guy that voted for workers just because.

 

I had legit reasons for voting for and against Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn.  I think my only just because moment was Fuck Randy Orton but yeah.. Fuck Randy Orton.

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see, if it was that Nakamura against Rusev, I would vote for Nakamura. That Nakamura was an amazing fucking character, just so aggressive and nihilistic about his talent. He was terminally bored by the competition, but when they tried to mount up and beat him he would turn shit up to 11 and show people what that talent was.

 

But it's not. It's this weird jiggly nakamura, acting like a CIMA cosplayer living in the Beat It video, and wrestling matches that are getting over blown. He's like someone trying to act cool, which sucks because he actually used to be cool.

 

On a side note, It's frustrating it is to see new people roll up on New Japan now and acting it's perfect gold every show now that they have access to it.

So yeah. I voted Rusev. It helps that I like more Rusev matches from the voting period than Nakamura matches, and I think Rusev's character work is stronger than Nakamura's. I just happen to also be tired of the bandwagon.

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Shh.  He hates that word.

 

He's also got a legit point to a certain extent.   Some folks's first exposure to Nak may be because of this tournament.  I wouldn't refer to their new found admiration as bandwagoning, though.  That's got a negative connotation that doesn't really jive with me.  Better late appreciation than none at all, I say.

 

And has been mentioned before, Rusev is a quick study.  He's really getting a good grasp on the little things it takes to sell matches from mannerisms and body language to intelligent use of spots.

 

Not good enough to make me vote against Nakamura, though.

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As lukewarm as I was to Rusev when he first showed up, the guy has really grown on me. He could very well have turned into another Tensai or Muhammad Hassan, but is now, arguably, the best heel in the company.  

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I really like Rusev. Obviusly everyone does. But honestly the idea that he was the best wrestler in the world in the time period just boggles my mind. If Zayn had beaten Nakamura-fine. I wouldn't have agreed with it, but he has performed on a very high level and the NXT bias would've made it reasonable (and I'm also a huge ska/punk nerd as well and that's his entire gimmick). If Harper had defeated him-fine. He's an amazing worker and probably the most consistent one. There were plenty of reasonable arguments for him. What makes Rusev better than those guys? A gimmick? Rusev has certain strenghts-like limb selling and using Axe Kicks as dramatic transitions. And I saw glimpses of him becoming as good as some here consider him in the Big E and Sheamus matches. The Sheamus matches, while not hyped much because of happening in a non-PPV setting, showed the true potential of Rusev. They had a sense of struggle and a level of stiffness you don't usually see in WWE. However a big problem with Rusev has been that he hasn't really mastered working long control segments yet which was painfully evident in the Cena match. Looking at his stuff I really liked (as in-I like him killing Heath Slater in Zack Ryder but there's not much merit in that), there's:

 

The Sheamus Title win match (Rusev's best match, almost great)

The Sheamus rematch (very good)

The BIg E matches (good-very good)

The Swagger matches (solid)

 

other matches of his people liked include:

vs Big Show (thought it was dogshit and asked myself "Did anything actually happen in this match prior to the finish?" when it was done)

vs Mark Henry (better than the Big Show match but still pretty poor, I'll just write it off with Henry and Show being a bad stylistic match for Rusev)

vs Cena

vs Ryback on a throwaway Smackdown (Did anyone except Dylan actually like this? It was a completely throwaway match)

vs Reigns on......Smackdown as well I think (which was solid).

 

So I can't really see anyone vating on Rusev based on the output of quality matches. I'll listen to an argument but I don't see it. I know Titus O'Neil got shit on inexplicably but his best matches were eerily similar to Rusev's and pretty much on the same level of quality. Now he doesn't have anything as good as the Sheamus matches, and I think Rusev has far greater potential and obviusly gets far more recognition due to where he performs, but the biggest difference between the two, whom I both considering good workers, would be in how they are presented and wouldn't have much to do with their performances.

 

For Nakamura you've got:

vs Devitt-New Japan Cup (Devitt's faux heavyweight run symbolically ends with Nakamura punching him in the face-TWICE-and then Boma Yeing him into oblivion)

vs Minoru Suzuki-New Japan Cup (more of a Suzuki performance but Nakamura carried his end of the match well and brought good looking, believable comebacks)

vs Bad Luck Fale-New Japan Cup (as good of a match as anyone could've gotten out of Fale, with some questioning if it would've been as good without Nakamura busting himself open on a Flying Jujigatame)

vs Tanahashi-Invasion Attack (a match held in the same esteem as only a few other top New Japan matches)

vs Bad Luck Fale-Dominion (Nakamura gets a maybe (in my opinion definitely) even better match out Fale and it's a carry job if there ever was one)

then comes the G1:

vs Shibata-a somehwat fascinating match, in the sense that they esentially structured it, worked it and paced it like it would've been twenty years ago. In a tournament where one of the strongest complaints was how similar matches were (I swear if Goto irish whips someone onto the guardrail one more fucking time.....) here was something completely unique. It felt special. A criticism I saw against this match was "legwork going nowhere". Well, there was no legwork. They never insinuated legwork was happening. Yes, a figure-four leglock was used, but more as an efficient offencie maneuver than something directly targeting the legs. This was a normal occurrence in New Japan in the past and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

 

Good matches I don't feel inclined to dwell upon match:

vs Honma

vs Nagata

vs Kojima

 

vs Tanahashi-they deserve praise for managing to constantly differentiate in how they work their matches while keeping a certain standard of quality

vs Fale-he did it again.

vs Ishii-great

vs Okada-great

 

a match I forgot to mention earlier:

vs Daniel Gracie-this DID NOT COMPLETELY SUCK! Actually it was a somewhat compelling shooter vs pro match. I am inclined to overrate matches that are worked in that vein but THIS DID NOT COMPLETELY SUCK! Which is a huge accomplishment if you know much about Daniel Gracie-pro wrestler.

 

 

post-G1 you've got:

vs Fale AGAIN and by this point I'm just staring in awe at how he's doing everything by himself basically

vs Shibata for the IC title

the infamous WK match vs Ibushi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honestly the reason why Rusev is getting so much support is probably because of the quality of the show he's on. NXT and New Japan are very hot products and the majority backlash that they get is based on how much people like them and not the actual shows themselves (not saying the shows are perfect, because they're not). Raw is shit. It's not fun. The Raw threads are filled with endless perfunctory debates on the morality of watching a shitty wrestling show. Rusev is good, and has been booked and presented extremely well. Pretty much EVERYONE watches Raw. It's easy to latch onto something good and that's exactly what Rusev is. He comes off as a saving grace. But as a performer he's nowhere near a finished product and definitely not on Nakamura's level.

 

It would be quite ironic if, in the year where the international competitors finally break through, the winner would be as conventional as Rusev, especially after Nakamura went through the best workers in WWE and NXT to get here, both of whom have great physical charisma and mannerisms, which have been brought up as Rusev's strenghts. But, pretty much anything Rusev excels at Nakamura does as well. And, let's take a moment to compare why they are over. Both guys have been super-pushed since day one so that cancels itself out.

 

For Rusev, we have:

-circumstances unrelated to wrestling

-WWE ACTUALLY CAPITALIZING on said circumstances and modiying Rusev's gimmick

-a classic gimmick that will draw a certain amount of heat by itself

-other performers getting the most out of his act

-good booking and timing in terms of opponent selection (Swagger)

-Rusev's performance itself (which is good, no doubt about it

 

For Nakamura, we have:

-sheer talent

And that's where it ends. And he is the most over guy in New Japan right now. Tanahashi is well respected, but he doesn't really get pops. He isn't given main events against Bad Luck Fale. Part of the reason why he probably isn't on top of New Japan is that he doesn't have to be. He does too much good business as a #2 or #3 without ever losing credibility or popularity. For Rusev we don't even know where goes after a hard working American finally slays him.

 

 

 

Finally I will end this with quoting Dylan because I think he raised an interesting point:

 

 

Imagine if Rusev was brought into New Japan as a modern day Zangiev?  

 

Now imagine Okada went "wild and young" and was brought in to NXT to be the worst possible combination of Yoshi Tatsu and Randy Orton?

 

None of that is a particularly good reasons to vote one way or the other, but yeah.  Rusev is awesome and Okada is...well I don't like watching Okada wrestle.

Right now, there isn't any reason to believe Rusev would turn out any better than Doc Gallows. Gallows is also a very capable brawler, but put Rusev in the same situation he is in and it would highlight his weaknesses a lot more than his strenghts. Yet, if you put Nakamura into pretty much ANY situation right now, I don't see it not working out. Japanese assassin in Lucha Undergroun? Works. International signing for NXT? Works. TNA..........ok nothing works out in TNA, but you get the point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rusev will probably win. But I'd be interested to see someone make an argument for him over Nakamura. Plenty of arguments have been made FOR Rusev, but I haven't seen ONE that would argue he is THAT good RIGHT NOW.

 

 

 

(also apologies for any spelling errors this post may contain but do you see how huge it is? I ain't double checking everything)

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