Bidoof's Match Recommendation (Week 1)
Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Eita & T-Hawk for the Open the Twin Gate Championship
Dragon Gate, 15th Anniversary Kobe Festival, July 20, 2014
Match Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x44y7e8
Let's start this with a match that I thought got overlooked during the year it happened and has been forgotten over time. In a promotion that always seems to deliver when it comes to tag team action, this match still stands out in my mind as one of the best Dragon Gate put out in the last decade. You have two established pillars of Dragon Gate in Shingo and Tozawa taking on two men who were being groomed to be the future of the company. While I don't think I ever saw what they did in T-Hawk, this match really got me onboard with Eita (who finally won the Open the Dream Gate Championship last month). I hope you guys enjoy this match as much as I do and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about it.
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 1)
Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
EVOLVE, EVOLVE 45 - July 10, 2015
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av19712863/
These two wrestled a few times in 2015, and while they were all fantastic matches, two of them took place in PWG and had a completely different dynamic, laden with story and emotion and animosity because Strong was playing a fairly long-reigning shitbird heel champion there at the time and Sabre was the most popular act in the promotion.
This match was, on the other hand, thrown together at literally the final hour. Another talent booked on the show had travel issues, so the whole card had to be reconfigured. This bout had no feud, no story, not even any real stakes. It was just two great wrestlers trying to decide who was better. And ordinarily, that would tend to be a bad thing. But in this case, what all those missing pieces actually did was give them freedom. Without any confines, they could literally just do whatever they wanted.
And what they did was to put together one of the smoothest and cleanest matches I've ever seen, in the conversation as one of the best indie offerings of all time. Roddy Strong has spent his entire career being the most unassumingly incredible wrestler in the world - unbelievably consistent but never flashy or popular enough to be widely thought of as one of the greats, 2015 was his magnum opus, and outings like this made him my personal pick for 2015 Wrestler of the Year. Zack, for his part, was smack in the middle of his big breakout period - he won his first Wrestling Observer award for Best Technical Wrestler the year prior and has picked up five more since. All of those considerable talents were on display here between two consummate professionals who knew exactly how to play to each other's strengths and build a match with all the brutal beauty that makes up pro wrestling.
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 1)
WALTER vs. Timothy Thatcher
Progress, Chapter 62 - January 28th, 2018
Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av19282140/
Obviously I have to throw some European flavour in there, and after the past few months especially in Brit Wres it's certainly nice to be reminded that some of the best wrestlers to come over here aren't certified pedophiles or abusers - for my money, this is the greatest match in Progress history, and serves as a reminder of how great they can be. For those of you who don't know, Thatcher and WALTER are regular tag team partners as Ringkampf, but at this point WALTER is the Atlas (over 200lb) champion and Thatcher earns this title match here on Chapter 62 and with gold on the line, these two go at each other in one of the stiffest, hardest hitting matches ever contested on European soil. Matches like this especially go a long way to explain why Timo is so beloved in Europe, compared to his EVOLVE work in the States.
So my vote for last week is Monster Express vs. Millennials
Bidoof's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
NJPW, G1 Climax 2004 - August 8, 2004
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1pz4y1d7h4
I'm sorry in advance for the quality. Get NJPW World if it really bothers you. Heck, just get NJPW World in general.
Watching WALTER/Thatcher is partially the inspiration behind this pick from me. Also, I wanted to recommend something that's VERY different from last week. Instead of graceful, fast-paced junior tag action, I'm giving you a war between two of the hardest-hitting heavyweights in New Japan's history. From the opening staredown, you can feel that this match is going to be special and, by the end, you're going to be feeling it as some of the strikes from these men will be so loud that you might even begin to believe you are there. I hope everyone enjoys this gem from the company's dark ages and I look forward to seeing what Steiner and Iceman suggest this week.
EDIT: As for my vote for last week, I liked Roddy/ZSJ the most between my fellow contributors' picks.
The story is simple. Kensuke Sasaki is a bad man. Yoshihiro Takayama is an older bigger stupider looking bad man.
Pro wrestling is so simple you guy. I think there's like...3 real bumps? in this entire match. And it fucking bangs anyway.
The story is simple. Kensuke Sasaki is a bad man. Yoshihiro Takayama is an older bigger stupider looking bad man. They have an epic staredown. They do the tests of strength. They do the big strong guy spots. The forearm the shit out of each other. And Takayama wins every single exchange.
Sasaki gets the advantage when he does by using things other than pure power for the most part. He's willing to go up to the top rope and jump. He's willing to use technique. He ends up, subtly, realizing he's not going to be able to overpower Takayama but....he hates it. When he takes the advantage he really goes right back to trying prove he's the tougher son of a bitch.
Towards the end at the conclusion of another big segment where Takayama beats the snot out of this dude i legit bit on a running knee to the chest as the finish. Sasaki had been taken down by Takayamas overwhelming power and why not have that be the end.
Sasaki makes a comeback from there and gets exactly 1 near fall off a suplex. He goes for another but.... again for the tenth time this match Takayama overpowers him. He says fuck you. And then captures him for a pretty damn good German suplex considering everyones size here and puts away Sasaki
So simple. So good. 4 stars
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi
NJPW, G1 Climax 25 - July 29, 2015
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hs411W7UA?from=search&seid=16498732861684611450
NJPW World Link: https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00333_7_07#
I had two matches in consideration for this week, and the other one was posted by Bidoof. Glad to end up with an easy decision after all!
Part of me wanted to stay away from relatively recent NJPW stuff since I figure most everyone has seen it, but 2015 probably predates the point where the company really exploded with wrestling fans enough that I imagine this match is still a fresh one to at least a couple sets of eyes here. Really, it flew a little bit under the radar even when it happened - there was a lot of high-end stuff in G1 25 just like there is every year and neither competitor was ever a threat to win the block.
This is the only singles match these two ever had, and though they couldn't have known that then, they sure worked like they had nothing to leave on the table for the future. It's not long, but they pack a lot in, kicking the absolute hell out of each other in the exact manner you'd expect out of the two. I mentioned in my review of WALTER/Thatcher from Week 1 that Thatcher always seems to have a particular plan. Conversely, this is two guys who never have a plan at all, at least beyond "hit the other guy until they fall down." And that's the kind of thing that makes for an awesome G1 offering.
Anyway, I went 4.75 stars on this when it happened, and I can pinpoint the exact spot that kept me from the full five. I'll be curious to see if anyone else nitpicks the same spot the way I do.
EDIT: Oh, and in what will accidentally complete the circle between our three hosts, my vote goes to WALTER/Thatcher from last week.
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi
NJPW, G1 Climax 25 - July 29, 2015
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hs411W7UA?from=search&seid=16498732861684611450
NJPW World Link: https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00333_7_07#
I had two matches in consideration for this week, and the other one was posted by Bidoof. Glad to end up with an easy decision after all!
Part of me wanted to stay away from relatively recent NJPW stuff since I figure most everyone has seen it, but 2015 probably predates the point where the company really exploded with wrestling fans enough that I imagine this match is still a fresh one to at least a couple sets of eyes here. Really, it flew a little bit under the radar even when it happened - there was a lot of high-end stuff in G1 25 just like there is every year and neither competitor was ever a threat to win the block.
This is the only singles match these two ever had, and though they couldn't have known that then, they sure worked like they had nothing to leave on the table for the future. It's not long, but they pack a lot in, kicking the absolute hell out of each other in the exact manner you'd expect out of the two. I mentioned in my review of WALTER/Thatcher from Week 1 that Thatcher always seems to have a particular plan. Conversely, this is two guys who never have a plan at all, at least beyond "hit the other guy until they fall down." And that's the kind of thing that makes for an awesome G1 offering.
Anyway, I went 4.75 stars on this when it happened, and I can pinpoint the exact spot that kept me from the full five. I'll be curious to see if anyone else nitpicks the same spot the way I do.
EDIT: Oh, and in what will accidentally complete the circle between our three hosts, my vote goes to WALTER/Thatcher from last week.
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW, G1 Climax 23 - August 2, 2013
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7sy1iz
NJPW World: http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00211_1_10
Like everyone else, I did decide to travel back to somewhat before the NJPW boom - not as far as Bidoof, but slightly further than Iceman. And then I have chosen two wrestlers who everyone, by now, is intimately familiar with and expects this sort of performance from in the G1. But, in August 2013, people didn't expect this from Ishii. this is Ishii's first great New Japan match - and set the tone for the rest of the decade for him.
This is a new to NJPW, underestimated, undersized Big Tom vs. Peak Powers, God King Tanahashi. And Tanahashi absolutely plays that up, working as an arrogant dickhead from the outset. Two days later Ishii would go on to have maybe my favourite match of all time , but this is wonderful setup for it that showcases two of the best workers in the G1's history, playing their roles to perfection
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi
NJPW, G1 Climax 25 - July 29, 2015
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hs411W7UA?from=search&seid=16498732861684611450
NJPW World Link: https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00333_7_07#
I had two matches in consideration for this week, and the other one was posted by Bidoof. Glad to end up with an easy decision after all!
This is the only singles match these two ever had, and though they couldn't have known that then, they sure worked like they had nothing to leave on the table for the future.
My only criticism of this match was that I felt the finish was too abrupt. I thought they could teasing the finish a bit more.