RIPPA Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 SAMI CALLIHAN http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3o0eh7_chris-hero-kassius-ohno-vs-sami-callihan-solomon-crowe-aaw-the-chaos-theory-2016_sport vs. Chris Hero http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3iwlgs_sami-callihan-solomon-crowe-vs-david-starr-czw-cage-of-death-17-sami-callihan-s-czw-return_sport vs. David Starr KAZUCHIKA OKADA https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3elu31_genichiro-tenryu-vs-kazuchika-okada-on-11-15-15_sport vs. Tenryu * http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2wt1an_aj-styles-vs-kazuchika-okada-in-new-japan-on-7-5-15_sport vs. AJ Styles * - Indicates a 1001 matches selection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Too bad this isn't the worst look in professional wrestling today tournament, Sami would make the semis at worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Man Known as Dan Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I just strongly prefer Sami's in ring style to Okadas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I'm going to watch some more recent Sami stuff when I get home, but he was secretly really good his last few NXT matches. I just don't know what the hell they were trying to do with his look, character, or anything else. I'm going to vote for Okada though. Okada is like an actor who is a better movie star than he is an actor. He isn't technically great, but I still want to watch him more than a lot of people who are. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sami Callihan was not just terrible in NXT, he was SO terrible that EVEN THOUGH he was an indy darling and NXT crowds are pre-disposed to love anyone who came from the indies, they STILL couldn't give a shit about Solomon Crowe. When you're so bad that even as an indy darling, the NXT faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving NXT aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make the indies look that much worse than NXT was this year. Okada in a walk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sami Callihan was not just terrible in NXT, he was SO terrible that EVEN THOUGH he was an indy darling and NXT crowds are pre-disposed to love anyone who came from the indies, they STILL couldn't give a shit about Solomon Crowe. When you're so bad that even as an indy darling, the NXT faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving NXT aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make the indies look that much worse than NXT was this year. Okada in a walk. This is such a dumb statement. It makes no sense since you could apply it to anyone and it requires no proof. What about Chris Hero? He's had great matches this year but got cut from NXT. Does that mean the indies suck? If I think Johnny Mundo has been better in Lucha Underground than he was in WWE, does this mean LU is no good? The amount of mental gymnastics and indy disdain needed for this to make sense is amazing. Hey, let's rewrite this using Okada, who was a flop in TNA: When you're so bad that even as a puro darling, the TNA faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving TNA aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make New Japan look that much worse than TNA was this year. Callihan was a bad fit for NXT from the start and it seems he had trouble adapting his style. He was also injured for much of his run there. And by the time he was ready, many more "indy darlings" (fuck I hate that term) had come in and he got lost in the shuffle, not really given a chance. Fuck it, I'm voting for Callihan just out of spite. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Yeah, I defy you to go back through Callihan's NXT work and provide examples of him being objectively bad. He absolutely failed to connect with the Full Sail crowd, but 1) that's one crowd, and that crowd in particular has proven conclusively that they shouldn't be the sole gatekeepers determing who's hot and who's not, and 2) I believe much of that failure to connect had more to do with the context in which he was presented as any failing on his part. I mean, it was always going to be tough for a guy his size who works his style to find a spot in WWE, but when your "big" debut is booked against a guy too big to lock your finisher on and then said fat guy gets to take 75% of the match...you're starting in a deep hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsey Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sorry, "Solomon Crowe" killed any chance Sami had with me. Okada for the win. More entertaining for me in the long run. Mind you, a lot of that had to do with his opponents more than him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Yeah, I defy you to go back through Callihan's NXT work and provide examples of him being objectively bad. He absolutely failed to connect with the Full Sail crowd, but 1) that's one crowd, and that crowd in particular has proven conclusively that they shouldn't be the sole gatekeepers determing who's hot and who's not, and 2) I believe much of that failure to connect had more to do with the context in which he was presented as any failing on his part. I mean, it was always going to be tough for a guy his size who works his style to find a spot in WWE, but when your "big" debut is booked against a guy too big to lock your finisher on and then said fat guy gets to take 75% of the match...you're starting in a deep hole. His promos sucked too. Going to watch the Bailey match before voting but even his return to the indies hasn't lived up to the hype for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sami Callihan was not just terrible in NXT, he was SO terrible that EVEN THOUGH he was an indy darling and NXT crowds are pre-disposed to love anyone who came from the indies, they STILL couldn't give a shit about Solomon Crowe. When you're so bad that even as an indy darling, the NXT faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving NXT aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make the indies look that much worse than NXT was this year. Okada in a walk. This is such a dumb statement. It makes no sense since you could apply it to anyone and it requires no proof. What about Chris Hero? He's had great matches this year but got cut from NXT. Does that mean the indies suck? If I think Johnny Mundo has been better in Lucha Underground than he was in WWE, does this mean LU is no good? The amount of mental gymnastics and indy disdain needed for this to make sense is amazing. Hey, let's rewrite this using Okada, who was a flop in TNA: When you're so bad that even as a puro darling, the TNA faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving TNA aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make New Japan look that much worse than TNA was this year. Callihan was a bad fit for NXT from the start and it seems he had trouble adapting his style. He was also injured for much of his run there. And by the time he was ready, many more "indy darlings" (fuck I hate that term) had come in and he got lost in the shuffle, not really given a chance. Fuck it, I'm voting for Callihan just out of spite. Things like this are the REASON I have that indy disdain. The fact is, Callihan did suck in NXT. Everything about him did, and it was during this exact year. Using "Well, Okada sucked in 2010 but is a different performer five years later" is a world of difference. Solomon Crowe's run wasn't just "injury", or "his style couldn't adapt" (and if he can't adapt to a world outside deathmatches, maybe he wasn't as good as everyone claimed with the "well, he was a big fat deathmatch guy, but he lost so much weight he became one of the best juniors in the world!" claims beforehand may have been overstatements- plus, uh, they happened in THIS time period, not years ago like the Chris Hero/Johnny Mundo/Okada claims. The only reason Solomon Crowe was seen as worthwhile in NXT by the end of his run boiled down not to his own talent, but rather all of Crowe's fans/indy snobs not wanting to accept that maybe, just maybe- they were WRONG about him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sami Callihan was not just terrible in NXT, he was SO terrible that EVEN THOUGH he was an indy darling and NXT crowds are pre-disposed to love anyone who came from the indies, they STILL couldn't give a shit about Solomon Crowe. When you're so bad that even as an indy darling, the NXT faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving NXT aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make the indies look that much worse than NXT was this year. Okada in a walk. This is such a dumb statement. It makes no sense since you could apply it to anyone and it requires no proof. What about Chris Hero? He's had great matches this year but got cut from NXT. Does that mean the indies suck? If I think Johnny Mundo has been better in Lucha Underground than he was in WWE, does this mean LU is no good? The amount of mental gymnastics and indy disdain needed for this to make sense is amazing. Hey, let's rewrite this using Okada, who was a flop in TNA: When you're so bad that even as a puro darling, the TNA faithful don't care about you, that's just a bad year. No, his good matches since leaving TNA aren't proof he's returned to glory, they just make New Japan look that much worse than TNA was this year. Callihan was a bad fit for NXT from the start and it seems he had trouble adapting his style. He was also injured for much of his run there. And by the time he was ready, many more "indy darlings" (fuck I hate that term) had come in and he got lost in the shuffle, not really given a chance. Fuck it, I'm voting for Callihan just out of spite. Things like this are the REASON I have that indy disdain. The fact is, Callihan did suck in NXT. Everything about him did, and it was during this exact year. Using "Well, Okada sucked in 2010 but is a different performer five years later" is a world of difference. Solomon Crowe's run wasn't just "injury", or "his style couldn't adapt" (and if he can't adapt to a world outside deathmatches, maybe he wasn't as good as everyone claimed with the "well, he was a big fat deathmatch guy, but he lost so much weight he became one of the best juniors in the world!" claims beforehand may have been overstatements- plus, uh, they happened in THIS time period, not years ago like the Chris Hero/Johnny Mundo/Okada claims. The only reason Solomon Crowe was seen as worthwhile in NXT by the end of his run boiled down not to his own talent, but rather all of Crowe's fans/indy snobs not wanting to accept that maybe, just maybe- they were WRONG about him. Your timeline is completely off. Callihan was never a big fat death match guy. He lost all the weight and became a junior before doing the death match stuff. He stopped doing death match stuff and worked the strong style gimmick and was had a legit claim as a top 3 wrestler in the world when he got signed to NXT. He was kept off TV in NXT and got hurt right before an initial debut and then was given a dud of a character that he had zero interest in and the crowd shit on immediately because it was so out of place in NXT. He had a few bad matches to start off his run in NXT, and clearly never really caught on. There is no disputing that. He unquestionably did have decent matches in NXT once he was put in his jobber role. He was the first person to drag anything worthwhile out of Crews. He asked for his release and got it, and immediately became a candidate for best wrestler in the world. He's been great everywhere. The narrative that he was always a terrible wrestler that somehow became an indy darling, was exposed in NXT and then went back to the indies makes zero sense, as his matches before and after his time in NXT have been outstanding. Okada is fine. You can like his stuff better than Callihan. I won't argue with you even if I disagree, but your reasoning for disliking Callihan is unsound. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanWaco Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Callihan has already had more matches I think are great or near great since coming back to the indies than Okada has had in the last three or four years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Callihan has already had more matches I think are great or near great since coming back to the indies than Okada has had in the last three or four years. Welcome to March Madness Dylan, I hope this is the first of many absurd pieces of hyperbole I'll read from you this year. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 He's already hit us up with a dozen or so. I agree partially with some of them but man there is no middle ground and everything he says is fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I actually laughed out loud when I read it so that's worth some bonus points Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 That Callihan/Hero match did nothing for me. I also didn't like Hero/Pentagon. Maybe I'm posting this too soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sorcesessknight, please point to the place on this doll where indy fans touched you 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concrete Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Callihan has already had more matches I think are great or near great since coming back to the indies than Okada has had in the last three or four years. Welcome to March Madness Dylan, I hope this is the first of many absurd pieces of hyperbole I'll read from you this year. How is this hyperbolic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I agree totally, Callihan actually has offense that connects which should count for something. He is a big part of two of my favorite matches of this year already and been pretty great in a bunch of other matches. Hell I saw him have the best FInn Balor match I have ever seen the one time I caught him live in NXT, so the whole anti-Solomon Crowe stuff seems to based on one bad 5 minute match with Bull Dempsey. Okada is in the forefront of the Shawn Michealization of Japanese wrestling so fuck that guy forever. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Callihan has already had more matches I think are great or near great since coming back to the indies than Okada has had in the last three or four years. Welcome to March Madness Dylan, I hope this is the first of many absurd pieces of hyperbole I'll read from you this year. How is this hyperbolic? In every way possible. I'm not saying it is an invalid opinion, people like what they like. Stating that a guy who has been in the indies for a month or two having more great matches than someone who has been at the top of the card putting on critically acclaimed matches over a series of years is a hyperbolic way to say, "I prefer Sami Calihan to Kazuchika Okada." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zheroen Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 I feel that Sami had about as good a run on the independent scene as one could have had before he got to NXT, and I'm encouraged by reports of his since returning to indies, but man...he spent way too much of 2015 just meandering and not doing well. I really hope that he gets a chance to work out some of the flaws in his character work and style that were exposed on the big stage, and makes a return as formidable asset to NXT someday down the road. On the other hand, Okada has firmly established himself as a viable new ace for New Japan, and someone I'd probably put in my Top 10 overall at this point. He has continued to improve and solidify his standing as a main-eventer even as he becomes more exposed to the spotlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubbymark Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 Sami Callihan is someone I just have not "gotten." The most he has ever entertained me was a YouTube video of CZW fans trolling him with airhorns. He looked completely lost in NXT and was passed by a litany of dudes, most noticably Barin Corbin who six months ago I could have given a flying fuck about. Okada to me is the Japanese version of Randy Orton: he has a "look" that the office likes but he is so bland and boring in the ring that the height he gets on dropkicks cannot take away. And don't get me started on his "finisher." I picked Okada in the Pick 'Em pool but I'm not sure I could vote for either guy in this poll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanWaco Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Callihan has already had more matches I think are great or near great since coming back to the indies than Okada has had in the last three or four years.Welcome to March Madness Dylan, I hope this is the first of many absurd pieces of hyperbole I'll read from you this year. How is this hyperbolic? In every way possible. I'm not saying it is an invalid opinion, people like what they like. Stating that a guy who has been in the indies for a month or two having more great matches than someone who has been at the top of the card putting on critically acclaimed matches over a series of years is a hyperbolic way to say, "I prefer Sami Calihan to Kazuchika Okada." No. It's just an opinion you don't agree with. I will say that it may have been ill considered because I forgot about the AJ matches and one of those I really liked a lot. I'd also say that while I don't really get what is supposed to be great about Okada I've argued for a long time that his value to NJPW has been drastically underplayed by Meltzer and others. So I freely concede that he's a star. I'm just largely indifferent to him as a wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Awful look, terrible promos, okay wrestling. That's not enough to beat Okada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Wow some people overrated the hell out of Sami. Searching through this thread, nothing stands out about him at all. He's a 1 above Ziggler Replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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