maciej

Here's a few from days when I was keeping better track of my viewing: - with Solar vs. Negro Navarro & Caifan from AULL in 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEeIJTbjy4 - vs. Satanico from Lucha Memes in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHOsswv-bJY - vs. Aramis from Lucha Memes in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BPlYxoupdQ - vs. Stuka Jr. from CMLL in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/live/zyMg6nJOKwo?si=ZynFxxFi2auDeiLA&t=5724

the amazing variety of wrestling that Dean felt and so clearly and infectiously conveyed enthusiasm was always an inspiration. RIP, man.

I felt similarly by the end, though tuning in for the last 15 minutes of the pre-show (followed by McAfee on the announce table) I was scared that barely watching any of their TV since the Rumble had worn down my immunity to their presentation so much that I wouldn’t be able to stand it for the whole show. And jesus fucking christ, the video packages; the match previews for night 2 are long enough, you’re also throwing in random packages for individual wrestlers (some of whom, for example, you have in a 4-team scramble tomorrow)?? That said, the last 4 matches were a good time (the Cody/Seth match isn’t exactly my cup of tea as a match, but obvi a fun moment). Happy to see most folks here don’t hate the Charlotte/Rousey match, as I was kinda getting that vibe off Twitter yesterday. Aside from the weird do-si-do before the tornado flatliner (?) and the miss on the Andrade moonsault spot I thought this was firmly on the side of looking cool because it doesn’t look every other wrestling match (as opposed to looking bad because one of them’s not a real wrestler or whatever). Not actually sure which one of the two title matches I preferred, though obviously Bianca/Becky leaves a bit of a better aftertaste considering its more satisfying finish (though the Charlotte kick was a hell of a kick).

A whole world of shame on me for being surprised that a very rich man who runs a wrestling company can be a dumb asshole.

One thing I loved right off the bat was AEW realizing hey, Hobbs and OC have faced each other before, and even if we didn't have any long term booking in mind when we did that match, it exists, so why not use it to add something extra to this one.

yeah, i also had no idea who all those folks were live, but context clues and such i guess

The GCW tonite was so fun front to back. Suzuki/Homicide was just every hard hitting thing you’d want from it. Deppen/Ishimori was dope. Mancer/Justice vs Dickinson/Starboy was a fun southern tag. Dante Leon, who I haven’t seen much of, does flippy cutters where the rotation actually kinda makes sense! the (unannounced, I think?) match that I really think DVDVR folks would like, tho, is AJ Gray vs. Yoya, which has really effective size mismatch strike exchanges and might have gotten the biggest spontaneous mid-match pop of the night (aside from the main event at least).

anybody know what the plan is for taping tomorrow? Are they doing Elevation (or part of Rampage maybe??) at 7pm, or does it just start with Dynamite at 8?

Haha that GCW ending was complete nonsense but also so much fun. Would have loved to have been in the crowd for that (both of those things basically go for the war games match as well). The Filthy Tom/Alex Shelley match and lucha 4 way from the GCW/BLP show the night before are worth checking out as well.

Suzuki gets Dom Garrini in Fargo! I'm maybe even more excited for that than any the other ones (I mean, excluding how excited I am for Homicide cuz I'll be at that one). Taiji Ishimori announced for that Friday night NYC GCW show too.

yeah that was certainly an odd way to follow up your most talked about tv episode ever. maybe this is a bad sign of how hard I was looking for bright spots but, I actually thought Callis and Omega were quite funny?

now that is a dive that looked like it hurt the recipient

Just saw that on Twitter, that's so goddamn shitty. What a hugely impactful part of our community.

god, what dickheads

I wonder if MJF annoying Gage during the match and Gage just assaulting him and walking out for a count out might not be a way to book this.

Just popping in for the same reason I usually do, to say that the recent DDT shows are worth watching. The first two rounds of the King of DDT tournament are in the books, and it being a tournament, it's especially easy to get into even if you're not a regular DDT watcher, or one of those folks that likes the good wrestling but not the comedy (though night two also has some terrific stuff for regular DDT watchers who do like the comedy).

Just got the book in the mail and already reading about and watching a few matches here and there; good stuff, Phil. Just watched that Johnny Valentine/Bull Curry match and it's terrific.

Fun list! I stopped keeping my usual spreadsheet last year because, you know, last year, so I'd have to do some rewatching, but I think your #2-4 matches and your #19 would probably make up my top 4 with the Rosa/Britt match at #1. Two that I think would make my top 10 that I haven't seen mentioned yet: Nyla/Riho from 2/12/20 and the Darby/John Silver match from 3/24/21.

even better than I expected, too, tbh. I don't know whether I was doubting Akiyama's commitment to the bit or whether that would translate to an actually dramatic match, but either way, my doubts were unfounded. The tag title match between Eruption and HARASHIMA/Okabayashi team was quite good too, though I do think that matchup has another level they could get to.

The sound of that hair whip, goddamn.

Watching Japanese wrestling on and off for over 20 years, I'm pretty sure that DDT show was the first time I've watched a show from Japan live, so that was fun. Top to bottom very fun show, which I honestly think DDT provides more consistently than any other company in the world, probably, especially if you can follow along with @ddtpro_eng on twitter and get some translations to make the comedy stuff make a little more sense. The relevant comedy stuff here was Makoto Oishi claiming that, now that he's in Akiyama's stable, he wouldn't participate in Dieno's shenanigans anymore, even if they're teaming. This led not only to some good fun in their match (Oishi is a hell of a physical comedian), but now feeds into the upcoming Akiyama/Dieno match. Even if you're not into the comedy stuff, the main and (even more so) the HARASHIMA/Sakaguchi match are well worth checking out. The latter has a big striking exchange that actually leads to something aside from proof of fighting spirit, in 2021, imagine that!

hahahahahahahahahaha fuck poor eddie and mox

It got posted in the Internet Matches thread, but just in case anyone here ain't checking for it the Arisa/Nanae/Riko Kawahata vs. ASUKA/Makoto/Tsurushi Haruka main from the 2/26 Seadinnng show totally rules. Lots of hate and out of control brawling, and outside interference that actually adds to the chaos instead of being a distraction.

it'd be weird if he won a match involving Cody, Penta, and Archer, but if the ladder match person is Ethan Page, it might be worth noting that the series of matches he had against Darby in Evolve a few years back was pretty damn great

The Eruption vs. Sauna Club (Takeshita/MAO) Tag Title match from the 2/23 DDT show is well worth watching - typically unique stuff from MAO all around, and Higuchi kinda goes next level emotionally towards the end, which works well both in the match itself and with an eye towards his singles title challenge coming up.