Stevens vs Danielson rewatch

Again it was good, but I don’t think I believed the final result in the end. Stevens selling of the leg was good, but it didn’t really feel like a serious match to Danielson to me. No.

Strong vs Stevens Fight Without Honor RIE2 rewatch

That stiffness. I do not feel it is MOTY level but it is high end very good. The hate was amazing, but they did slow it down at points with getting plunder. This is the better match between them, because it was more match then angle, but the three-way had Necro in it that brought an even crazier dynamic to it. I have no idea how this list will be, but this gets a good spot for now. #5.

AOTF vs Steen/Generico rewatch

I actually did like the way it was structured, but I think the individual segments didn’t live up to its potential until the end. Part of it was that both teams fought twice earlier and the crowd seemed out of it by the end. The early brawling section just seemed to meander until we get to the good control sections that lead to Steen being alone. I would have cut part of that control section and turned it into a finishing run because I felt it went a tad too long. With a few tweeks and a better crowd, I could see this being very good, but as is, it’s just good match that felt like a missed opportunity. No.

Richards/Romero vs Steen/Generico rewatch

I’m comfortable in calling this very good. Structured just right with the callback spots and the story of Generico’s arm. Generico’s selling was more good then “off the charts”, but I’ll take these hot 10-15 minute matches, over 30+ minute epics, any day of the week. #6.

MCMG vs AOTF rewatch

Not a MOTYC, but certainly very good. The hate and stiffness really carried this, but this was still a 30+ minute tag and not much direction outside of it. It was still a very good spotfest, but the positioning on the spots could have better at points. #8.

McGuinness vs Steen rewatch

This looked like more of a house show match on rewatch. Steen’s was still entertaining and sold well, but Nigel’s formula was in full effect here even when the match didn’t call for it. Worse of the rewatched matches. No.

AOTF vs Briscoes Relaxed Rules rewatch

I feel this match is good, but it feels a bit off to me. I dug both halves of the match with the early street fight in the first half and the FIP section in the second half, but I don’t think I liked the bridge between the two halves. Necro or Matthews interfereing, fine, but some random follower we never see again is kind of a jip. I also think Mark got injured on that table bump because he didn’t come back until the end. They did cover it up well if that wasn’t the plan. In the end, the fatigue from the garbage brawls, some spots that didn’t come off well, and an unnecessary kick out of the super contra code cuts this from the list. Slight no.

Strong vs Stevens SOH3 08 rewatch

Not the MOTYC like the three way, but still ungodly stiff. More angle then match, but it had all the makings of a very violent bar fight. The best I’ve seen today. #5.

McGuinness vs Black rewatch

Not as outstanding as last time. I still feel like the crowd and Black made this match. I know Nigel Nigel is supposed to be the heelish ace champion, but his no selling at points was really aggravating. And I’ll also add that the Nigel’s setup for Tyler’s superplex was really embarrassing. I don’t think this is even better then the Street Fight, but because of the significance of elevating Black to a main event player, I will list it barely. #7.

Briscoes vs Matthews/Butcher Philadelphia Street Fight rewatch

Held up pretty well, but not as good as the last 3 way. It was a clinic in good punching and brawling with an awesome atmosphere. The women fighting should have still been dropped and I wasn’t feeling the selling especially after Matthews took the Doomsday Device. It’s in, but it is last right now. #6.

Strong vs Butcher vs Stevens No DQ rewatch

This was crazy and messy enough to be considered a MOTYC. Pretty much all the stiff, brutal, and unorthodox spots that you could ask for. Granted not all the spots were the cleanest and some may not be high on Necro’s no selling at points, but he makes up for it by dying several times at points. You just can’t ignore this. #2.

Jacobs/Black vs. Romero/Richards vs. Aries/Danielson vs. Albright/Whitmer Ultimate Endurance rewatch

This held up way better then I would have thought. This should not have worked with two mediocre teams and AOTF going out early, but the consistent story of the two mediocre teams working over Danielson’s leg and Danielson’s selling of that leg really put this over the top. The structure and lack of bs get this on the list. #3.

Generico vs Claudio rewatch

Held up real well, although not the very best they have done (but with these two it would be an impossible task). Just good simple work on the leg with the beautiful spots coming when it matters. Generico’s selling was outstanding throughout. It feels like a match that is in between MOTYC and high end very good. This will be the match to determine what is a MOTYC and what isn’t. #2.

McGuinness vs Hero Steel Cage rewatch

This felt like a MOTYC although granted there will be more of those in 08 then 07. Hero and Sweet and Sour carried the majority of this with the brilliant comedy, escape attempts, stiffness, smart spots, story, and blood. Nigel’s selling was good, but did kind of had to no sell it a bit at points when he was trying to stop Chris from escaping which I can live with. Legit second best cage match for ROH this decade and a possible top 5 match for ROH this year. #1.

Black vs Danielson Breakout rewatch

Very good, but not as great as it could have been. They based the whole match on Black disrespecting Danielson and was probably a better base then limb work. The finish did come off as cheap in the end however. I liked it enough, but there isn’t any reason this should be top 10 by the end of the year. #1 for now.

Black/Butcher vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe Street Fight rewatch

This match was good, but was more based around booking for the show. The first part with the Briscoes was ok and then the stuff with the Vulture got better and crazier but kind of lost it in the end with the crowd dying. I feel there have been better street fights done before and after this match. No.

Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson Fight Without Honor ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

Second best match in there rivalry. Probably would have been even better if it happened in 07 with a hotter crowd. Still they brought the best out of each other with Bryan’s fire, and Takeshi’s methodical ass kicking. This worked better then the Bryan/Claudio blowoff because hasn’t beaten Takeshi unlike Claudio. I don’t think it is great, but it could get a decent ranking. Rewatch I have a 6GB torrent on Respect is Earned 2 which has JBriscoe/Necro and may have to get lucky in finding Joe/Black. So I will start rewatching.

Nigel McGuinness vs Naomichi Marufuji ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

God was Nigel awful in this. I’m not high on Marufuji, but he at least tried to take the match in a direction with the neck work that wasn’t sold in the least. Add Nigel taking a sliced bread on the floor and apron and it was horrible overkill on top of that with Nigel taking the match way too easily. No.

Tyler Black vs Austin Aries ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

Not as good as there last match. They were trying to accomplish a double turn in this match, but I didn’t feel like Tyler brought anything to the table because he’s not comfortable at being a face. Aries had to carry the duration of this and did good, but you need more then one good performance to stand out. No.

Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

Too much of a fighting spirit fest. I don’t really care for these matches unless they are really bringing the stiffness and it just didn’t show up. No.

American Wolves/Go Shiozaki vs Roderick Strong/Brent Albright/Erick Stevens Street Fight ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

Good street fight, but in the context of that year, it just wasn’t crazy enough of a street fight and not as hard enough of a strong style grudge match. It did want me to really see the Wolves and Go team up in six mans because they were really awesome shitkickers here. So of course Go is back in Japan by 09 trying to pick up the pieces of NOAH when Misawa dies. The face team wasn’t much and was pretty invisible. Good for what it was, but nothing great. No.

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jimmy Jacobs/Delirious ROH Final Battle 2008 12/27/08

Good match, but could have been better with someone other then Delirious in it. You had the early midsection work which was fine, but didn’t go anywhere and then the eventual leg work which had the usual great selling from Steen. Delirious was involved with leg clip in front of the ref, the no selling of the sharpshooter, and the stuff involving Haze. Those took me out of it enough to say no.

Jerry Lynn vs Bryan Danielson ROH All Star Extravaganza 4 12/26/08

This happened. They worked it as they were both equals, but its hard to take it seriously when Jerry is gassed out. Can’t see any reason why people thought of this so highly. No.

Austin Aries vs Naomichi Marufuji ROH All Star Extravaganza 4 12/26/08

I thought this sucked. Everything you hate about Marufuji’s strikes is in this match. Hell No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Jerry Lynn ROH Southern Hostility 12/6/08

This was actually better then it should have been and may be even good. You get a little arm, but that ends up meaning nothing and should have never been there in the first place. The stuff with Nigel putting down Lynn and trying to win by countout was pretty damn good. You still have the usual Nigel no selling and Lynn not being the best bumper. Better then it should have been, but not listable. No.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Bryan Danielson No DQ ROH Southern Hostility 12/6/08

I don’t know I would call this the underrated classic as its been touted as, but a case could be made that it is very good You had good aggression, a good blade job, good build and some smart spots. I think my issue is that Bryan didn’t get enough offense to make me feel satisfied even though Claudio got choked out with a belt. Maybe if Claudio bladed then it be different, but it felt a bit unsatisfying. I’ll still give it another shot, but something is missing in this.

Nigel McGuinness/Claudio Castagnoli vs Bryan Danielson/Jerry Lynn ROH Wrestling at the Gateway 12/5/08

This was pretty damn good. Really dug Nigel/Claudio as a team. Especially Claudio who was really entertaining. Nigel’s no selling tendencies caught up with match at the end, but this was still a damn entertaining house show tag. You know what, fuck it, Ill rewatch it.

Tyler Black vs Austin Aries ROH Wrestling at the Gateway 12/5/08

This looked very good on first watch. Each attacked the other’s neck for there head drop finisher and both seemed to sell reasonably well. Timed everything well enough and went the right amount of time. Nothing to complain about and is getting rewatched.

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson ROH Rising Above 2008 11/22/08

Pretty much in the same category as all the other Danielson/McGuinness matches; awesome. Probably will be Nigel’s last great performance. He actually targeted the leg the entire match and came up with many different ways to attack it. Danielson’s selling was good, but not as out of this world as I remember. The blood loss selling was phenomenal however and this didn’t have any no selling back and forth in it like the Driven match. This may be there best match honestly. I would probably have to rearrange the other lists, but this felt like there peak. Rewatch. Black/Joe match is another PPV bonus match I need to find at a later time

Jimmy Jacobs vs Austin Aries I Quit ROH Rising Above 2008 11/22/08

Gotta be a top 10 match for 08 and maybe higher. Hotter crowd, better payoffs, and a better overall Jacobs performance overall. Everything also escalated just right. Defineatly in the running for #1. Rewatch.

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe ROH Bound by Hate 11/8/08

I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this before, but this kicked ass. It’s these two teams hating each other’s guts and it ruled just as much as it did in 07. The crowd could have been better, but it was also a smarter Briscoe matc that wasn’t reliant as much on moves. Rewatch.

Tyler Black vs Kenny Omega vs Bryan Danielson ROH Bound by Hate 11/8/08

Pretty damn fun 3 way. Maybe be slightly overrating it, but there were enough fun wrinkles to it to keep me invested in it without overstaying its welcome. Probably won’t stay by the end, but I dug this. Rewatch.

Jimmy Jacobs vs Austin Aries Dog Collar Match ROH Bound by Hate 11/8/08

Not the underated classic it could have been, but still very good. Jacobs makes every effort to not put the collar on and pretty much controls Aries for most it until Aries makes Jimmy bleed. A lot of cool spots with the dog collar even though some may not like the pace of the match, but that’s just how these matches work. Rewatch.

Nigel McGuinness vs El Generico vs Go Shiozaki vs Kevin Steen ROH The French Connection 11/7/08

I thought this was a legitamately crappy match. Go was pretty bad in this and it just had a house show feel to it. There was a story there of Nigel being a sneaky bastard but the execution was horrendous. Don’t know why this was recommended. No.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries ROH The French Connection 11/7/08

This happened. This is a match that they have done in the past was sort of in house show mode here. Same story with the Aries/Jacobs issues but with a real lack of highlights until the end. No.

Roderick Strong vs Davey Richards ROH The French Connection 11/7/08

It was alright. Tried to go somewhere with rib selling, but didn’t end up mattering anyway. Whatever. No.

Chris Hero vs. Pelle Primeau Lights Out Match ROH Vendetta 2 6/28/08

Good big vs small sprint. Unique to other LMS standing type of matches where Hero destroys Pelle with strikes and Pelle has to use his lucha to get any offense. Close to rewatching it, but I wanted it to go a bit longer and ingterference at end just felt unnecessary. Slight No.

Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs LAX ROH Ring of Homicide 2 10/25/08

Pretty good. You had mostly the good Homicide with him being a troublemaker and being stiff especially on that headbutt to Mark. Nothing too memorable, but it was fun. No.

Tyler Black vs Jerry Lynn ROH Ring of Homicide 2 10/25/08

This was decent, but like everything else today, there isn’t anything to get excited for. Felt like another storyless match. No.

Go Shiozaki vs Austin Aries ROH Return of the 187 10/24/08

About on the same lines as there 6th Anniversery match which means it was interesting early on, and then the rest ending up being boring. No.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jerry Lynn ROH Return of the 187 10/24/08

Good simple match. Claudio works the leg and Lynn sells it well. Otherwise, not that heated of a match nor anything to make me remember it. No.

Delirious vs Mark Briscoe vs Necro Butcher No DQ ROH Return of the 187 10/24/08

It was a good match, but this type of match has been done better in the past. More of a cool oddity. No.

Austin Aries/Briscoe Brothers vs Age Of The Fall vs Necro Butcher Steel Cage Warfare ROH Glory by Honor 7 9/20/08

Clusterfuck. This dragged a lot. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs El Generico Glory by Honor 7 9/20/08

Blah. Sure Generico’s selling was really good, but this was a Nigel defense where he takes control the whole match instead of the unique match at Age of Insanity where they went with Nigel underestimating his opponent with Generico getting offense in to make him look good. This did nothing interesting that you haven’t seen in other Nigel defenses. No.

Bryan Danielson vs Katsuhiko Nakajima Glory by Honor 7 9/20/08

Far from perfect, but I dug this enough. I wouldn’t say it was a great Nakajima performance minus his kicks, but Danielson had some really damn good leg selling in this and the match didn’t really overstay its welcome. Nakajima’s selling was fine, but could have been better. Considering how dry this year has been, stuff like this stands out more this year then in other years. Rewatch. And with that, I think I want to rewatch Erick Stevens vs Bryan Danielson at Battle for Supremacy 6/27/08 because in hindsight it may have been a better Danielson carry job.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Kevin Steen/El Generico Driven 2008 9/19/08

This was a tale of two matches. You had one part where they were having a plodding match with no direction and a quiet crowd, and then you have the molten finishing stretch. The more I watched this match, the more I thought this was neither teams best showing. Both are pretty slow paced wrestlers in the first 2/3rds, but without the angle surrounding the injuries at Up For Grabs, you have nothing to hook you in. I say good match, but overrated. No.

Go Shiozaki vs Kevin Steen Glory by Honor 7 9/20/08

I’ll get to the tag main event from Driven, trust me. Good match. Go attacks the leg and Kevin attacks his leg in revenge. The selling wasn’t as up to snuff as it could have been, and there were points where they weren’t on the same page in between the stiffness. If the match and selling were a little bit cleaner, then I could see it on here, but like most of 08, it just falls short. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Roderick Strong ROH Driven 2008 9/19/08

Crap. Nigel does arm work, Strong barely sells it. Strong does back work and Nigel doesn’t sell it. Hell No.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Jacobs ROH Tokyo Summit 9/14/08

I’ll say this much about this crappy match, I understood why they ran it here as a means of Nigel being face in Japan. But having an American style match in Japan was the wrong type of match to do. No.

Naomichi Marufuji/Katsuhiko Nakajima vs KENTA/Kota Ibushi ROH Tokyo Summit 9/14/08

This was honestly better then I remembered years ago, but more because I hated this match back then. This had three wrestlers I dig and Marufuji and they had a house show match where they just kind of did there moves without many attempts at there finishers. They do the NOAH staples with people getting kicked off the apron and they don’t waste our time with limb work. Its still stuff that has been done better in Japan, but it was surprisingly good. No.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Bryan Danielson ROH Tokyo Summit 9/14/08

Danielson made this as good as it was with his incredible arm stretching, but Kanemaru will not sell shit. I guess they were also trying to do a DDT vs uppercut story along with the arm work, but Kanemaru’s cluelessness killed this. No.

Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness Battle of the Best 9/13/08

This was a greatest hits version of there other matches, but in Japan. This is still good, especially the mat wrestling in the beginning, but this is still a house show performance. No.

BxB Hulk/Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino vs El Generico/Shingo/Dragon Kid Battle of the Best 9/13/08

It was stupid fun. I was probably not as aggravated with this because this match doesn’t have any sort of great rep, they actually tried to get somewhat of a story with the issues between Hulk and Shingo, and it had Generico playing a FIP. It’s still a Dragongate match and the issues are still in full effect here. No.

Davey Richards vs Roderick Strong Battle of the Best 9/13/08

I think I would have dug this more if they didn’t drag this out as long as they did. Some great striking, but too long. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs El Generico ROH Age of Insanity 8/15/08

Generico makes this match as good as it is. I mean Nigel did play a good cocky ace early on to show he didn’t take him seriously, but this was a forumula Nigel title defense. Except for the fact that Generico actually sells the arm work does just as well as Steen did a couple months ago and better. Just a brilliant performance from him. Rewatch.

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson vs Tyler Black vs Claudio Castagnoli Elimination ROH Death Before Dishonor 6 8/2/08

This was one of those matches that got better as it went along. The stuff before the eventual singles match was meh although it did have the story of Nigel tagging in and out and had one of his better all around heel performances during his reign. Add a heel turn and you have a very good match. Rewatch.

Motor City Machine Guns vs Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH Death Before Dishonor 6 8/2/08

This has been the best match today, but I’m on the fence on whether to rewatch this. The hate between Shelley and Steen was amazing and made the time in the beginning go by quickly. I think what’s throwing me off is that the finishing stretch wasn’t as hot as it could have been. Like the crowd lost interest in the end. I’ll rewatch since I don’t have as many matches on the rewatch list then I thought, but I don’t think it will hold up. Rewatch.

Naomichi Marufuji vs Go Shiozaki ROH Death Before Dishonor 6 8/2/08

Good. From what I gathered, the story was Go controlling Marufuji with chops while we got some eventual neck/head work on Go. Go sort of sold it, Marufuji’s neck work was more interesting, but not enough to rewatch it. No.

Adam Pearce vs Brent Albright ROH Death Before Dishonor 6 8/2/08

The phrase “Better then it had the right to be” is about as accurate of a statement that you can make about this match. Great, however, is pushing it. Right crowd, and not too much bullshit, but it’s still these two. It was serving the purpose of trying to make Brent into a made man, and it worked for this night (but didn’t work in the long run). It was a normal match with some surprising finisher overkill in its place in the card and without the selling to take it to that next level. Good and that’s it. No.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Naomichi Marufuji/Go Shiozaki ROH Feuling the Fire 8/1/08

Wasn’t digging this. They just didn’t seem to be on the same page and it bored me through most of it. No

Motor City Machine Guns vs Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries ROH Fueling the Fire 8/1/08

Good, but it could have been so much more. Not really any story except them building up the eventual Aries/Shelly matchup without drumming up any interest during the match. Some animosity would have been nice considering there history. No.

Bryan Danielson vs Tyler Black ROH New Horizons 7/26/08

This was a very good match, but it was also frustrating because of Bryan’s neck selling being crap. It has similar themes to there other matches with Tyler being a dick and Bryan making him pay for it by twisting his limbs. But this has some swank neck work by Tyler and the fucking turnbuckle power bomb that broke the ring. But as I said, Dragon doesn’t sell the neck damage for the long term and puts it out of MOTYC consideration. Still being rewatched however.

Nigel McGuinness vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH New Horizons 7/26/08

As far as matches where Nigel doesn’t do arm work, this was better then the Steen match. But it seems to be replaced by match where Nigel works the head, but isn’t really sold as such. So it’s a storyless match and as such it was just good. The ending result is infuriating for the fact that Nigel survived two Ricola Bombs and didn’t really sell any of it. No.

Roderick Strong/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Chris Hero/Go Shiozaki ROH New Horizons 7/26/08

Damn good sprint. Not a lot to say except the match was stiff and went by in a flash. Although Hero getting taken out by one backbreaker was really eyerolling. No.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Jay Briscoe/Austin Aries No DQ Match ROH Northern Navigation 7/25/08

Another good brawl. This one has the Necro Butcher and returning Mark Briscoe in it so this was good times. This also was part of an angle where Necro leaves AOTF which ends up deflateing the rest of the match. Too many better brawls this year. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Kevin Steen ROH Northern Navigation 7/25/08

I’m not on the bandwagon for this being great. Sure this has a hot crowd in Canada, but most of the stuff done in this match was in there first two title matches, but with back work instead of arm work. The back work was fine, the selling was ok, but I thought that Nigel controlled too much of the match and that it affected Steen’s performance. No.

Naomichi Marufuji vs Roderick Strong ROH Northern Navigation 7/25/08

All you need to know is that Strong worked the back, Marufuji didn’t sell it, and you had that no selling back and forth that everyone hates these days. No.

Bryan Danielson vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH Northern Navigation 7/25/08

I really dug this although I’m not sure this is a MOTYC. This was an arm work vs back work match and with the hot crowd elevated this above other matches. Bryan’s back selling will determine your enjoyment of this. It was good, but not as consistent as I wanted it. Still a top 10 match in all likelihood. Rewatch.

Jimmy Jacobs vs Austin Aries ROH Vendetta 2 6/28/08

A very good match, but a bit too long. I really dug the hate between these two which eventually leads to Austin’s back being lacerated and Jimmy working on it. I don’t know if it is something that will hold up by the end of the year considering there other matches, but I dug this on first watch. Rewatch.

Jerry Lynn vs Nigel McGuinness ROH Vendetta 2 6/28/08

Just a back and forth, no selling, pain in the ass of a match. The only thing of note was Nigel’s fancy roll up to be Lynn. No.

Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli ROH Vendetta 2 6/28/08

The match was split into two halves. The first was mostly comedy with the Airplane Spin and Giant Swing and the second half was a regular going nowhere match with no heat because of the comedy in the beginning. The comedy in the beginning was good, the rest, not so much. No.

Chris Hero vs Roderick Strong ROH Battle for Supremacy 6/27/08

I know a lot of people have pimped this match, but I would barely qualify this as good. I thought there would be more a story to it unless they were basing the story around the Hero’s elbows. If that was the case, then you probably shouldn’t be throwing that many of them in the first place. Since I see this as storyless, the match had the usual good stuff between these two with the tricky mat work and the chops. Too bad the ending felt very deflating. No.

Erick Stevens vs Bryan Danielson ROH Battle for Supremacy 6/27/08

Good in a paint-by-numbers Danielson match sort of way. Bryan works the leg and Erick sells it OK. They didn’t really make with the strikes until later on, and even that was brief. I get that they were trying to build the match, but it took away from Erick’s strengths. It made the final result even more nonbeleivable. No.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries ROH Respect is Earned 2 6/7/08

I guess this was good, but I’m not seeing a great match here. They put the Jacobs/Aries feud in the forefront and then eventually Danielson/Black in the homestretch. Jacobs/Aries was good, but underachieved with the hate while Danielson/Black was the usual good stuff. I’ll say it was good while doing nothing to stand out from other better tags. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Go Shiozaki ROH Respect is Earned 2 6/7/08

Sucked. No.

Roderick Strong vs Erick Stevens Fight Without Honor ROH Respect is Earned 2 6/7/08

Kind of messed up on the Briscoe/Necro Street Fight. I thought it was a part of the ppv but it was a bonus match, so shit.

Very good although it went too long. They stiffed the shit out of each other and bloodied each other up. Just no holding back especially the head shots to Stevens. So yeah this feud was awesome. Keep.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH Up for Grabs 6/6/08

I don’t know how to feel about this one.  Steennerico are coming in with injuries which eventually leads to Generico being taken out and Steen having to fend for himself which is a chunk of the match.  This is comparable to the Steenerico vs Stevens/J. Briscoe match.  I feel this needs a rewatch because I felt the crowd wasn’t feeling it at times and it affected my viewing of it.  Rewatch. 

Roderick Strong/Davey Richards vs Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries ROH Up for Grabs 6/6/08

Second god damn match where the match goes 19 with an instant tap out.  This was worse.  No. 

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness/Go Shiozaki ROH Up for Grabs 6/6/08

Fuck what I said of the last match, this I’m really on the fence on.  Nigel and Go do a number on Generico’s arm (like the NRC match) and Generico sells it amazingly.  I just don’t think that the beginning and ending are as great as that NRC match especially with the 20 minute time limit which was distracting.  Just a lot of time wasting until it was one minute left until Nigel taps which felt way too easy in my mind.  Probably the better middle, but not as good as a whole.  Slight no.     

Jay Briscoe/Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black No DQ ROH A New Level 5/10/08

I’m on the fence.  The match takes a while to get going, but then Jay gets spiked and does a gigantic gusher and gets really good.  But I felt Aries was MIA in the match and that the double team finishers being kicked out of was ridiculous.  I’ve seen too many better garbage brawls this year.  No.

Bryan Danielson vs Naomichi Marufuji ROH A New Level 5/10/08

Didn’t care.  Pretty much the standard dream match epic that I just don’t care for.  No.

Davey Richards/Rocky Romero vs Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH A New Level 5/10/08

This maybe because I haven’t seen this before, but this was very good.  Steenerico carries it of course, but the NRC actually have focus on Generico’s arm.  I would have to rewatch to see how well it was sold, but it is worth another look.   

Takeshi Morishima/Naomichi Marufuji/Go Shiozaki vs Roderick Strong/Davey Richards/Rocky Romero ROH Southern Navigation 5/9/08

Well…the comedy was fine.  Other then that, it was a match with four wrestlers I don’t like and two that were good.  No. 

Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson ROH Southern Navigation 5/9/08

This is good, but pales in comparison to there first match.  The first match had the feel of the young gun trying to take out the ace, this was a match.  Albeit with the usual awesome Dragon stretching, but I wanted something more memorable.  No.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Kevin Steen ROH Return Engagement 4/19/08

This did nothing for me. Sure Nigel had better focus on the arm, but Steen’s selling wasn’t up to par and there wasn’t as much memorable Steen dickishness. It was also done in front of a colder crowd then there last match. No.

Kota Ibushi vs El Generico ROH Return Engagement 4/19/08

Good match but a useless beginning. They just kind of do shit very slowly until its time to turn it on. Really fun in the end, but I feel they should have just let this be a sprint. No.

Motor City Machine Guns vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe ROH Return Engagement 4/19/08

Some have this great, some have called this terrible. For a formula Briscoes match, this was good. This was more of a reason why the Machine Guns were awesome. The Briscoes had a match without direction so it is what it is. No.

Motor City Machine Guns vs Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black ROH Tag Wars 2008 4/18/08

This is no doubt a very good match in the least. This is very hate filled and stiff because of the past issues between Shelly/Jacobs and the crowd’s really hot. This is a long match however. It felt like there was finisher overkill and that there were times where they had to get in to position, but this is the best match so far today. Rewatch.

Austin Aries/Kota Ibushi vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe ROH Tag Wars 2008 4/18/08

I’d say Kota’s best match so far, but not really because of him. All the good stuff seemed to come after the hot tag with Aries. Other then that, nothing noteworthy happens. No.

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness/Claudio Castagnoli ROH Tag Wars 2008 4/18/08

Good, but I feel the matchups have been done better in the past. You have the storylines of Steen/Nigel and the Injustice finish and Nigel/Claudio where if they win Claudio gets a title shot. The Steen/Nigel and Claudio/Generico matchups were both good, but not very good or out of this world. Fine for what it is, but I won’t anything about it in the end. No.

Davey Richards/Rocky Romero vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe ROH Injustice 4/12/08

It was fast paced if anything, but it was just too back and forth of a match.  No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Kevin Steen ROH Injustice 4/12/08

I think I liked this way more then others. Although you could argue that Steen’s antics were out of place in a title match, its those same antics and arm selling that carried the match. But Nigel, although very hated, chooses not to have a focus in his match. Steen sold his arm the whole match, but wasn’t really worked over for a lengthy period of time by Nigel. So I feel Kevin carried this match. Worthy of rewatch, but not because of Nigel.

Kota Ibushi vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH Injustice 4/12/08

Same old Kota match from last show. Not even worth talking about. No.

Kota Ibushi vs Davey Richards ROH Bedlam in Beantown 4/11/08

It was better then I thought. It looked like they were going for an arm story on Kota, but then they kind of dropped it and just elected to have a normal match which I can’t really complain about. Kota’s strikes are actually pretty good, but choreographed flying isn’t going to age well. No.

Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino/Genki Horiguchi vs CIMA/Dragon Kid/Ryo Saito ROH Supercard of Honor 3 3/29/08

This was a DG match with lots of moves, people doing nothing in the middle, and moves being no sold during the home stretch. It played off the first SOH match in 06, but other then that, it’s a DG house show match. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries ROH Supercard of Honor 3 3/29/08

It was ok. It had some callbacks to there Rising Above match, but the match was the usual for each wrestler. Aries works the neck (Nigel doesn’t sell it), Nigel works the arm (Aries does fine in selling it, but is forgotten by the end). Same shit, but in a title match. I just don’t for Nigel’s reign at this moment. No.

Shingo/BxB Hulk vs Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH Supercard of Honor 3 3/29/08

Like a lot of the DG vs ROH matches this weekend, good but not outstanding. It did have Steen being a dick, but Steenerico had matches in 07 that were better then this. No.

Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe Relaxed Rules ROH Supercard of Honor 3 3/29/08

Another very good brawl in this feud. People getting hurled into chairs, stiff shots, and a table spot which means the usual Briscoes match. Getting a little hard to distinguish between these matches, but this on the rewatch pile.

Roderick Strong vs Erick Stevens ROH Supercard of Honor 3 3/29/08

Very good non match angle, which I feel should have been a match. They both chop, elbow, and bloody the shit out of each other and it so fun. I wish it was more quicker paced and urgent, but there enough there to rewatch this.

Roderick Strong/Davey Richards/Rocky Romero vs CIMA/Go Shiozaki/Erick Stevens ROH Dragon Gate Challenge 2 3/28/08

Christ even matches like this are turning out to be good. Go and Stevens are in for about 90% of this and they mostly chop the shit out of the NRC or sell there beatdown. Plenty of fun moments, but for each good thing the NRC does, Davey or Rocky does something that looks botched or horrible. CIMA did his shit in the end and it looked stupid. Still, considering that this was close to 30 minutes, it could have been so much worse. No.

Shingo/BxB Hulk vs Jimmy Jacobs/Tyler Black ROH Dragon Gate Challenge 2 3/28/08

It was fine I guess. The best way I can describe it is that I won’t remember anything from this match tomorrow. No.

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino ROH Dragon Gate Challenge 2 3/28/08

Good, but the same old aimless BS beginning with the DG wrestlers. Works as a spotfest especially near the end, but I’ve seen them done better over the years. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Tyler Black ROH Take No Prisoners 3/16/08

I think this was an outstanding Tyler performance. Nigel beats the dog shit out of him and Tyler sells the beating and the arm like a champion. Nigel’s usually lack a focus, but it actually fit here as Nigel treats him like trash and gathers more heat from the crowd which leads to some amazing nearfalls down the stretch. On.

Bryan Danielson vs Austin Aries ROH Take No Prisoners 3/16/08

Just when you feel that this is another formula match, the finishing stretch happens and the match ends up being on the fence. Aries works the arm with his usual offense he was working in 08, and Danielson was fine selling it, but could have been better. Danielson goes after the arm by the end of the match and Aries is great selling it. Although this is good, it was too formulaic and back and forth at points that in a strong first three months, this can be dropped. Slight no.

Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Joey Matthews/Necro Butcher Philadelphia Street Fight ROH Take No Prisoners 3/16/08

Another gritty street fight. Pretty much has all the staples of a Briscoes and Necro match that you would expect and Joey is pretty damn good himself. The ladies street fighting could have been dropped altogether since they served no purpose, but this looks like another very good match in 08. Keep.

Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries vs Nigel McGuinness/Go Shiozaki ROH Double Feature (night 2) 3/15/08

Perfectly fine house show match (they were shooting The Wrestler movie on those two nights), but nothing more then that. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08

Great angle, problematic match. The story with Nigel’s concussion and Bryan not striking the head is great along with Nigel getting more pissed off and finally turning heel by the end and finding out he was faking. Then you have Nigel working the arm, and yet Danielson doesn’t sell it. So you have one great story attached to one bad story in one match which essentially makes this a good match. Too bad there are better versions of this matchup. No.

Roderick Strong vs Necro Butcher vs Erick Stevens No DQ Match ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08

Well this brawl was lunatic. The Strong/Stevens are actually getting really good, but then you add the Necro Butcher and it gets even crazier. It was messy at points, in a Necro match kind of way, but this is a 3 way that actually sticks out from the others. Rewatch.

Go Shiozaki vs Austin Aries ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08

This was a formula match in that they don’t really do anything of substance except for the chopping. So much better shit I have seen today. No.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong ROH Without Remorse 1/26/08

Good, better then I thought it would be. The match had a good bit of spite, hate, and stiffness despite failing on an arm work vs back work storyline. If they just dropped the arm vs back story then I could see nominating it, but it is just too jarring for me to ignore. No.

Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards vs. Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer Ultimate Endurance ROH Without Remorse 1/26/08

1st- Scramble
2nd- I Quit/Submission
3rd- Pinfall

I’m surprisingly on the fence on this one even with the wack booking. Danielson brings the incredible selling and my hypothesis that 08 was Danielson’s best overall year is looking good even in January. I mean his performance carried the 2nd and 3rd falls. Probably won’t age well on rewatch, but it’s worthy of another look.

El Generico vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH Without Remorse 1/26/08

Very good again. You have the early headlock vs leg work match which was interspersed with comedy. Then the leg is finally worked on and Generico sells like a wounded animal. Did not see the time limit coming and still had me buying near falls near the end. Rewatch.

Nigel McGuinness vs Chris Hero Steel Cage Match ROH Breakout 1/25/08

This is one of the more unique cage matches I’ve seen. This match was kind of an algorithm of comedy, escape the cage, technical wrestling, blood feud, and Sweet and Sour bullshit all wrapped up in an amount of time that I didn’t think was going to work. Yet the match was tons of fun. Hero was the better wrestler, but Nigel did well in selling the leg. Hidden gem of the year so far. Rewatch Pile.

Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson ROH Breakout 1/25/08

This was very good. Black plays the cocky young prick who constantly pie faces and slaps Danielson while Danielson gets slowly pissed off. The match was great in making Black to be on Danilson’s level. Can’t wait to see there other matches. Rewatch.

Tyler Black/Necro Butcher vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe Street Fight ROH Transform 1/12/08

Well, this is going to be difficult to rate. I know what it says on the title, but it really isn’t. If anything, it is a lesser version of the Philadelphia Street Fight from 07. Everything was in silent awe throughout including myself. I doubt this is listable, but I feel that this worthy of rewatch.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Austin Aries ROH Transform 1/12/08

Formula Aries match with a crazy ass ending showing why Claudio was even a freak of nature back in 08. I guess Aries was showing shades of heeldom evenbefore he turned by the end of 08. I will just say he is not as fun here (or even fun at all), then today. Just bland at least here he is. No.

Age Of The Fall vs Hangman 3 vs Vulture Squad vs Briscoe Brothers Ultimate Endurance Match ROH Proving Ground 1/11/08

The falls:

1st- Scramble
2nd- No DQ
3rd- Regular

I know some are high on this Ultimate Endurance, but it was only good to me. I thought the way the match was laid out made sense in that everybody’s strengths were highlighted and you had the story of both heel teams trying to take the Briscoes out. It just felt good without anything being outstanding. The deal breaker was Jacobs recovering way too quickly after the doomsday device. No.

Erick Stevens vs Austin Aries ROH Proving Ground 1/11/08

Got good in the end, but it just felt like a match for most of it. Everything after the restart was fun, but I don’t really care for 20+ Stevens matches. No.

Best ROH matches of 2007

Definite step down from there prime years of 04-06.

1. Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson ROH Manhattan Mayhem 2 8/25/07
2. Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe Boston Street Fight ROH Death Before Dishonor 5 Night 1 8/10/07
3. Jimmy Rave vs Nigel McGuinness Fight Without Honor ROH Fifth Year Festival Finale 3/4/07
4. Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson ROH Driven 6/23/07
5. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Claudio Castagnoli/Matt Sydal ROH Respect is Earned 5/12/07
6. Matt Cross, Erick Stevens & Delirious VS Rocky Romero, Davey Richards & Roderick Strong ROH Driven 6/23/07
7. El Generico vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH Tag Title Match Race to the Top Tournament Night 2 7/28/07
8. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Kevin Steen/El Generico Ladder War ROH Man Up 9/15/07
9. Jimmy Jacobs vs BJ Whitmer Steel Cage Match ROH Supercard of Honor 2 3/31/07
10. Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness Pure Wrestling Match Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 8/10/07
11. Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jay Briscoe/Erick Stevens ROH Fighting Spirit 4/14/07
12. No Remorse Corps/Matt Sydal vs The Resilience/Delirious Philadelphia Street Fight ROH Death Before Dishonor 5 Night 2 8/11/07
13. BJ Whitmer vs Jimmy Jacobs Falls Count Anywhere ROH Fifth Year Festival Finale 3/4/07
14. Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs Kevin Steen/El Generico ROH Domination 6/9/07
15. Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries ROH Rising Above 12/29/07
16. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Bryan Danielson/Nigel McGuinness ROH Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 7/27/07
17. KENTA vs Bryan Danielson ROH Driven (bonus match) 6/23/07
18. Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe ROH Fifth Year Festival Finale 3/4/07
19. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Naruki Doi/Shingo ROH Fifth Year Festival Liverpool 3/3/07
20. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Kings of Wrestling 2/3 Falls ROH Domination 6/9/07
21. Jimmy Jacobs vs Colt Cabana Windy City Death Match ROH Fifth Year Festival Chicago 2/24/07

McGuinness vs Aries rewatch

Well, this is why we have rewatches to check if a match holds up. What I thought was top 10 wasn’t so much this time. There was sort of a story with the crowd getting on Nigel which led to the heat seeking missile and Nigel’s face meeting the guardrail. This leads to some arm and head work on Nigel which leads to some arm work on Aries. None of it was worked on long enough to be sold. Finishing stretch was light on selling. It’s listable, but not a classic. #15.

AOTF vs Vulture Squad vs Steenerico vs Hangm3n rewatch

I enjoyed it, but too much Pearce for my liking. Take them out, then maybe I would list it, but as is, no.

Jacobs vs Danielson rewatch

It was good, but Jacobs control sections were kind of boring. It just felt like he was being too deliberate when setting up simple stuff. Danielson was great in a WWE style match with his blood loss selling and making Jacobs look like a threat. Sadly, this just does not blow me away. No.

Morishima vs Danielson GBH6N2 rewatch

The best way I can describe this match is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. If you want it to be a hate filled match where Danielson is trying to take Morishima’s eye out, then fine. But when he is trying do get a pin with a sunset flip and a german suplex, then that is where they lose me. The finish was executed poorly by both wrestlers. I know people liked the stomping of the nuts, but Morishima didn’t really sell it the way it should have. No.

Danielson vs McGuinness SOTF 2007 rewatch

Good match, but probably the wrong two people to have a 20 minute draw with since they have went longer in the past. Danielson’s arm selling should have been better early on, while Nigel was great in selling the leg. At this point, this just doesn’t cut it. No.

NRC vs Vulture Squad rewatch

Good match, but a bit too no selly and some execution issues. I liked it better when this was NRC vs Resilience at Driven. No.

Steen/Generico vs Briscoes Ladder War rewatch

This is at the very least is the best of the very good matches. The same brutal war that I remembered with enough smartly set up spots to not be considered ridiculous. Jay taking forever to get the belts down is the only thing that hurts this one. #8.

Steen/Generico vs Briscoes 2/3 Falls rewatch

Good, but considering it’s this feud, it just isn’t anything incredible at this point. The control sections in the middle dragged and it just ended up boring me until we got to the spots in the end. No.

Morishima vs Danielson Manhattan Mayhem 2 rewatch

Fuck, maybe this is the MOTY. Danielson attacking the leg and gutting out the orbital bone injury and Morishima being stiffer and a better seller overall was awesome. Both this and the Boston Street Fight have some stuff that could have been taken out, but this one has the better overall story and is my MOTY. #1.

NRC/Matt Sydal vs Resilience/Delirious Philadelphia Street Fight rewatch

Not as epic as the last street fight, but still a hell of a lot of fun. Granted 30+ minutes was too long and the crowd dying was not surprising, but it wasn’t like it didn’t have a purpose. On rewatch, it’s 80% great with Stevens running out of gas in the end. #10.

Steen/Generico vs Briscoes Boston Street Fight rewatch

Still awesome. One of the most chaotic atmospheres I’ve seen in ROH that wasn’t the ROH vs CZW feud. Still could of got rid of the table spots, but this is probably the MOTY with only one other match having a shot. #1.

Hero vs. McGuinness Pure Wrestling Match rewatch

This was still a hell of a lot of fun and held up better. It stands out from all the serious business that was going on at the time. Hero and his crew were great and Nigel played a good foil for them. Hero probably could have sold a little better, but this match was a gas. #7.

Generico/Castagnoli rewatch

Held up real well. The slow pace makes sense since they have both wrestled three matches the past two days, but the match just built accordingly with the moves getting bigger each time. Early on, Generico would go for the brainbuster and Claudio would go for pin attempts and do a little back work. The back was sold fine by Generico, but didn’t mean anything in the end. The end run with Generico taking huge bumps was awesome. The commentary does get this match over as much as it should, but this is still top shelf material. #5.

Briscoes vs Danielson/McGuinness rewatch

Held up pretty well. However the Danielson/McGuinness dissension wasn’t as prevalent as I remembered minus one Danielson comment and the ending. You still had the hierarchy in effect and still had everybody’s flaws hidden. #8.

KENTA vs Danielson bonus match rewatch

Still very good, but not as great as I would have hoped. Compared to McGuinness/Danielson, this just didn’t seem to have the crowd heat and energy. Still has the stiffness and limb twisting, and the ending was actually better in execution then on paper. #8.

McGuinness vs Danielson Driven rewatch

This is still a heck of a match, but I don’t necessarily think it was a great Danielson performance. He had these tendencies to shrug off offense and take back control too fast. I also was not in love with the back work. He should have either not done it or went full on with it instead of doing something in between. I’m only criticizing it because this is considered a MOTDC. This still has all the nasty stretching, hate, spite, and stiffness to make this rewatchable. #2.

Cross/Stevens/Delirious vs NRC rewatch

This was crazy fast with an insanely hot crowd. As good as this can be with the exception of Rocky coming back a little too easily in the end. Most certainly top 10 worthy. #3.

Briscoes vs KOW 2/3 Falls rewatch

Listable, but on the low end. Similar issues to there FB 06 match where it feels like it is going a bit too fast and thus the selling just isn’t as good. But like that match, this was a lot of fun. #9.

Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs Steen/Generico rewatch

Very good no doubt, but I don’t think it is quite great. Steen’s a dick, Quack is over, the masked men were fun, the crowd was hot, and it ran the right amount of time. Some moves could have been a tad bit better, but I still dug this. #4.

KENTA/McGuinness vs Morishima/Danielson rewatch

This just didn’t do it for me. It felt like a collection of each wrestler’s bad tendencies like Morishima going down too early and doing too many top rope spots, Danielson doing back and forth crap with KENTA and shrugging off the G2S finisher, and Nigel absorbing a dropkick and doing a fighting spirit lariat. If I wanted to watch a spotfest tag on the card, I would watch the Briscoes vs Claudio/Sydal match. No.

Briscoes vs Castagnoli/Matt Sydal rewatch

Really awesome on rewatch. This was a Briscoes match done right and went the right amount of time. And Claudio was in it which means quality. Sydal was a little tentative in the early going, but he was ruling it in the end. #2.

Marufuji vs. Romero rewatch

Not as good as I remembered, but still better then it had the right to be. Fine beginning, very good middle, ok end run. Good because of the middle, but nothing outstanding. No.

Briscoes vs MCMG rewatch

This had absolutely no right going 30+ minutes for a match that didn’t really have a story in it. They made the best of it and didn’t really have as much “your turn, my turn” stuff except for the Alex/Mark stuff at the end. As far as 07 Briscoes matches go, I think there are too many better matches. No.

Steen/Generico vs J. Briscoe/Stevens rewatch

Very good, but no where close to a MOTYC. Generico’s performance wasn’t really that good especially during the long control segment on Jay. Steen on the other hand was an awesome dick and his tuff on Jay was what kept it as interesting as it was. Stevens was ok in the little time he got and the end run with the surprise was great. #3.

Strong/Aries SOH2 rewatch

This was a really good Aries carry job. Strong was still getting his feet wet as a heel and he just didn’t have a compelling control section. He also took forever to get the guardrail set up for an important spot. The story they tried to establish was good, but Strong kind of sunk the match. Slight no.

Whitmer/Jacobs Cage rewatch

It is still a crazy match, but there are issues with this. The first section of the match was pretty awkward at points because Jacobs looked hurt at a point and BJ’s selling wasn’t that great down the stretch. I don’t think I would go MOTYC, but it will probably the highest rated of the very good matches in 07. #2.

Rave/McGuinness Fight Without Honor rewatch

Man did this improve on rewatch. What a carry job by Rave. Nigel has an injured groin and Rave goes after when he has the opportunity. Last time I thought he didn’t do enough, but Nigel is not a great seller anyway and he elected to try to finish him off. The greatness of it is that when the time comes, Rave will take some disgustingly great bumps to make Nigel look like a god. Especially the rebound lariat where his jaw was broken. Nigel probably could have sold a little better down the stretch, but I feel this is the first legit MOTYC, albeit on the low end. #1.

J. Briscoe/M. Briscoe rewatch

If nothing else, the story makes it better then the three listed matches so far. You have your usual learned spots and the back and forth actually serves a purpose. The back and forth between them slowly disappears the farther along the match is. Your opinion of this being a MOTYC depends on what you thought of the “your turn, my turn spots”. I say no, because I don’t think you need to do that in order to make a match great. Al though if it was two wrestlers tailor made for it, it’s these two. First.

Whitmer/Jacobs FCA rewatch

Now I see why this is liked more then there LMS match last month. Just more memorable spots, better crowd heat, and no terrible finish. Jacobs taking control and totally fucking up BJ’s shit really elevated this for me. The ending is good as a “I have to end this quickly or I’ll bleed to death”, but I could see some not digging it. I did think all the spots served there purpose better then Colt/Jacobs. #2.

Briscoes vs SHINGO/Doi rewatch

Best match so far, but not a MOTYC. This was a Briscoes style tag match with two wrestlers on the other side who are capable of keeping up with them. It helps that the better wrestler, Shingo was in it for most of it. It seemed to go a bit too long in the end because the crowd seemed to quiet down. Still very good stuff. #1 for now.