Board 8 > Board 8's Wrestling Match of the Week - The Return, Short Gems edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hey all!

Following the G1 straight up murdered this project in much the same way that Ibushi murdered most everyone's G1 pick ems.

Steiner is experiencing a bit of burn out so I am taking over the project for the time being.

The concept here is simple - a lot of us on this board love wrestling, we want to watch wrestling matches that are good, and we definitely aren't gonna seek them out ourselves. So we have gathered three hardcore wrestling aficionados in myself, Bidoof and Iceman who will be recommending matches to each other.

I will almost always nominate something mainstream involving talent that got a pretty notable turn in one of the major american companies, so even for slightly more casual fans who aren't necessarily looking for a deep dive there will be something accessible, though so far every match nominated has certainly been something worth watching.

Some weeks will have themes. Some weeks won't.

We are also open to having guest spots on this topic to recommend matches so if you have something you want to share with the class, say so and we'll slot you in for a future topic.

Today IS a themed topic and the theme is Short Gems - a collection of fun and interesting matches that clock in under 15 minutes long, just to get us going and lower the bar of entry for at least this week.

My nominee is:

Dean Malenko vs Scotty Too Hotty, Backlash 2000 April 30, 2000
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3bid0s or use the WWE Network, it's easy to find.

This is one that came onto my radar via the Voices of Wrestling patreon where Rich Kraetsch recommended it to a fan of Dean Malenko's. I just watched it and it fucking rules.

You have Malenko here at the height of his heel powers and Scotty Too Hotty coming down from the hottest bit of his Too Cool run. The match starts with Scotty Too Hotty showing his speed and athleticism as Malenko, in full bastard mode attacking the leg methodically, keeps cutting him off and working him over. Malenko sometimes truly lacks ring charisma, but this is not one of them. He has the crowd in the palm of his hands building the support for Scotty to a near fever pitch towards the end. As an aside, I love WWF Attitude Era crowds and have missed them.

A lot of the way this match is worked will feel familiar, it's a pretty typical match formula for today, but was pretty innovative for the time. It is a hell of a showcase for the way Malenko worked. Scotty for his part actually sells the leg well and it builds logical and fun little story.

and with that I give the floor to Doof and Iceman.

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Bidoof's Match of the Week Recommendation (Week 4)

Super Shisa and Naruki Doi vs. Masato Yoshino and Milano Collection AT
Toryumon: Feliz Ano Nuevo 2004 - 1/31/2004
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Zs411P7mY/

Man, Dragon Gate is getting more representation in this than I thought it would. I originally had a different match in mind but it's just hard to recommend a match that only goes about five minutes, even with this format. It's a great five minutes and if this gimmick makes a return then maybe I'll use it.

Anyways, welcome to Toryumon! For this exciting bout, you'll be watching a tiger man team with a baseball player to take on two dastardly fake Italians. Anyone who has followed Dragon Gate over the last few years might recognize a couple of the names here as both Doi and Yoshino have been pillars of the company for over a decade. But I'm mostly recommending this because of Milano Collection AT, who I don't feel gets talked about much anymore outside of being LIJ's announcer in NJPW. Milano looked and felt like such a future star at this time, kind of sucks that he never quite got there. This match is an example of what I feel is the best of an undercard Dragon Gate tag - good pacing, solid technical work, fun comedy spots, and it doesn't drag. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Iceman's Match of the Week Recommendation (Week 4)

Eddie Edwards vs Timothy Thatcher
Beyond Wrestling, Greatest Rivals Round Robin - September 26, 2015
Match Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oa1IcmHekU

This is... Somewhat far afield of the sort of match I generally enjoy, I suppose you could say. I'm rarely a Beyond Wrestling fan. I'm only sometimes a Tim Thatcher fan, because I think he needs the right opponent that both really jives with his style but also has enough of a difference in his work that he keeps Thatcher from some of his worse tendencies.

Enter Eddie Edwards, who I'm always a fan of. If you want to see a match where every move matters, this one should strike your fancy. You won't see a whole lot of impact moves in the way we tend to think of them today, although there's certainly one or two of those, but these guys do a fantastic job of making every chop and well-placed kick seem like it's a hair's breadth from absolutely wiping out the other man.

Aspects of this bout probably aren't for everyone, but it's also the kind of match that will appeal to most fans in at least some way. It's quick, it's violent, it's well worked with a simple story, and the finish is great.

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NBIceman posted...

Iceman's Match of the Week Recommendation (Week 4)

Eddie Edwards vs Timothy Thatcher
Beyond Wrestling, Greatest Rivals Round Robin - September 26, 2015
Match Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oa1IcmHekU

This is... Somewhat far afield of the sort of match I generally enjoy, I suppose you could say. I'm rarely a Beyond Wrestling fan. I'm only sometimes a Tim Thatcher fan, because I think he needs the right opponent that both really jives with his style but also has enough of a difference in his work that he keeps Thatcher from some of his worse tendencies.

Enter Eddie Edwards, who I'm always a fan of. If you want to see a match where every move matters, this one should strike your fancy. You won't see a whole lot of impact moves in the way we tend to think of them today, although there's certainly one or two of those, but these guys do a fantastic job of making every chop and well-placed kick seem like it's a hair's breadth from absolutely wiping out the other man.

Aspects of this bout probably aren't for everyone, but it's also the kind of match that will appeal to most fans in at least some way. It's quick, it's violent, it's well worked with a simple story, and the finish is great.

I brought this up in the Discord server, but watching 2015 Eddie Edwards just makes me hate his last couple of years in Impact so much more. THIS is the Eddie I want now - crisp, hard-hitting, "never say die" Eddie Edwards not this weird ECW character that calls himself Eddie Edwards. I can kind of get why Eddie might feel like he needs to distance himself from his American Wolves self, but his hardcore crazy guy stuff isn't the right move.

As for the match, sorry. I still don't like Thatcher but this match was one of the more bearable ones because of how short it is. The time helps keep him from dragging it down and, well, Eddie's refusal to let Thatcher turn it into a grapple****fest. Eddie isn't really known for being Mr. Personality but I thought he was very engaging throughout the match and that also helps this out since you know Thatcher isn't going to do it. Good stuff.

Bidoof posted...

I still don't like Thatcher

Boo this man.

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Taggage

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Bump. Will be posting more detailed thoughts on Scotty/Malenko after work but I liked it. Well wrestled match and it's probably the most personality I've seen from Malenko outside of his infamous feud with Jericho in WCW. It's also helped by this being around the peak of Too Cool.

Malenko/Scotty
This match is very, very similar to one from some 15 years later that I have on my shortlist to use for this topic series in the future. The underdog face challenger comes out swinging and starts really hot, taking the overconfident heel champ by surprise, but once the latter sees his chance and gains control, he never lets go of it again. Scotty gets his hope spots, sure, and it takes a lot to finally put him away for good, but Malenko never feels like he's in legitimate danger of losing the match. It's a great structure and one that isn't used nearly enough today in my opinion.

Malenko is a guy who I've never watched a ton of, mostly due to a good portion of his career taking place in companies and/or company eras that I just don't have a lot of interest in, but I do always enjoy him. He has the kind of simple violent streak that makes matches very easy and pleasant to watch without ever getting too self-indulgent.

It's not a match I'll ever be inclined to think much about ever again, but it's definitely quite good and I enjoyed my time with it.

Stray thoughts: Malenko's clothesline that shifts the match in his favor is awesome. I love that he gets caught cheating and then just wins legitimately afterwards anyway. And why can't we get camera work like this anymore, where you actually see moves impact and can follow the action? I miss that so much in mainstream American wrestling.

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Shisa/Doi vs Milano/YOSSINO
As much as I will forever hate that he brought the Paradise Lock into existence, it's always been easy to see what everyone saw in Milano Collection back when. (Side note: One of my favorite little pieces of super obscure wrestling trivia is the fact that he trained in my hometown of San Antonio for a while, randomly.) The man is smoothness personified, even more so than a lot of DG guys and that's saying something. Blend that with all of the creativity he exhibited and it was just impossible not to have at least some fun when you watched him wrestle. Injuries have derailed a lot of promising careers and he's no exception.

And all around, this is just a light, breezy good time of a match. Yoshino is one of my all-time favorites, Doi is a top-five all-time tag worker, and Shisa always seemed to do stuff that you'd never see anywhere else. None of these guys save for maybe Shisa were anywhere near what they would become in the future and there's only so much you'd do on an undercard tag anyway, but nevertheless, an undercard tag in a Toryumon style at any point in history is a pretty safe bet to bottom out at "good." Lots of good stuff here for sure and no wasted time whatsoever in its short run.


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Eddie vs Tim Thatcher

First of all the atmosphere here really played to Tims strengths. The audience being just right on top of the action, with the fans able to literally pound on the ring apron had the effect of making this fight feel almost like a fight scene from a 90s action film, you know the type with Jean Claude Van Damme and all that.

The style was very amateur in feeling with loads of grappling and strong strikes. You can almost feel Eddie bristling at not having the outside of the ring to work with as he is stuck in the fight pit with Tim Thatcher.

Thatcher sadly still has just absolutely no personality. He's just a guy. Probably the most technically proficient person I've ever said that about but its true. But as an obstacle for our Hero Eddie Edwards to overcome he performs admirably.

For a match this mat based it didnt have a lot of long drawn out spots which was nice. Eddie is such a compelling babyface that he makes this match work for me but it is a reminder of Tims limitations as well. I marked big for the Kojima Chops at the end. Definitely makes me miss the old Eddie.


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NBIceman posted...

Shisa/Doi vs Milano/YOSSINO
As much as I will forever hate that he brought the Paradise Lock into existence, it's always been easy to see what everyone saw in Milano Collection back when. (Side note: One of my favorite little pieces of super obscure wrestling trivia is the fact that he trained in my hometown of San Antonio for a while, randomly.) The man is smoothness personified, even more so than a lot of DG guys and that's saying something. Blend that with all of the creativity he exhibited and it was just impossible not to have at least some fun when you watched him wrestle. Injuries have derailed a lot of promising careers and he's no exception.

And all around, this is just a light, breezy good time of a match. Yoshino is one of my all-time favorites, Doi is a top-five all-time tag worker, and Shisa always seemed to do stuff that you'd never see anywhere else. None of these guys save for maybe Shisa were anywhere near what they would become in the future and there's only so much you'd do on an undercard tag anyway, but nevertheless, an undercard tag in a Toryumon style at any point in history is a pretty safe bet to bottom out at "good." Lots of good stuff here for sure and no wasted time whatsoever in its short run.

It's not the best Toryumon/Dragon Gate undercard tag match you'll ever see, but as I said in my original post I feel like it captures exactly the sort of spirit you'd want from their tag matches. It's always a treat to see Milano again before he left for America and got fat on Pringles. Shisa is kind of a guy who never did a whole hell of a lot in his career but he always holds his own in these sorts of matches.

Eddv posted...

Dean Malenko vs Scotty Too Hotty, Backlash 2000 April 30, 2000
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3bid0s or use the WWE Network, it's easy to find.

This is one that came onto my radar via the Voices of Wrestling patreon where Rich Kraetsch recommended it to a fan of Dean Malenko's. I just watched it and it fucking rules.

You have Malenko here at the height of his heel powers and Scotty Too Hotty coming down from the hottest bit of his Too Cool run. The match starts with Scotty Too Hotty showing his speed and athleticism as Malenko, in full bastard mode attacking the leg methodically, keeps cutting him off and working him over. Malenko sometimes truly lacks ring charisma, but this is not one of them. He has the crowd in the palm of his hands building the support for Scotty to a near fever pitch towards the end. As an aside, I love WWF Attitude Era crowds and have missed them.

A lot of the way this match is worked will feel familiar, it's a pretty typical match formula for today, but was pretty innovative for the time. It is a hell of a showcase for the way Malenko worked. Scotty for his part actually sells the leg well and it builds logical and fun little story.

Only took a couple of days to get back to this. <_<

As I said before, I liked this match. Malenko basically worked a WCW match with Scotty and, with this being around the peak of Too Cool, Scotty was a great face to throw in there for him. Iceman did have a point that you never feel like Dean is losing this but it didn't really bother me too much. It's almost what you need to do if you actually want Malenko to mean anything. Too bad he never really does in the WWF.

I always find it hard to have takes on matches involving talent I don't know. Doi looked much better here than he did in singles action.

Anyway this was a fun buttery smooth tag that ended just as fast as it got going. Solid.

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Eddv posted...

I always find it hard to have takes on matches involving talent I don't know. Doi looked much better here than he did in singles action.

That's kind of how Doi is in general. I think it's hilarious that you were able to see this after so little exposure to the guy's work and seeing him from two different stages. He's only in his fourth year as a wrestler in my tag match whereas in the Danielson match he's nearing a decade and is the top guy of the promotion. Doi is a really good wrestler as a singles but I feel he really shines in tags to the point that I would argue he's one of the top 20 greatest tag wrestlers.