LogFAQs > #944522569

Similar to how Eddv echoed my feelings on WALTER/Thatcher, I'm going to somewhat agree with his thoughts on Roddy/ZSJ. Both men aren't exactly "Mr. Personality" themselves, especially at this point. Zack doesn't really have the fire to be a captivating babyface but Roddy. . . I don't know. He's not exactly a font of charisma either but all the things he does and how hard he goes helps hide it more than Zack and Thatcher's style.

As for the match itself, this is probably the best you could get for a match thrown together at the last minute. Both men are definitely working this match like they know someone from WWE or NJPW is watching. Roderick, in particular, looks like he's trying so hard to rise above the good indy worker rep he'd had for almost a decade by that point. For an exhibition, I thought it was a damn good showcase for both men and I'd probably put it at around 3.75-4 snowflakes. Definitely liked it more than Thatcher/WALTER if only because both men felt like they were contributing to this match being great.

Eddv posted...

This is man vs obstacle here and while Tim plays the role of obstacle well....I dunno he feels like just an interchangeable cog.

The story of a man meeting that seemingly insurmountable obstacle isn't a new one and it can be done well under the right conditions (Omega/Okada in the G1 where Kenny needs the win to make the finals, most of Vader's best matches) but I never really bought Tim as being that for WALTER. He didn't have the physicality to really sell me as being someone who was going to outstrike him nor did the structure of the match make me feel that WALTER was just hopeless in a grapple war with Thatcher (which I can't say bothered me too much since Tim's grapplefests have never been captivating in the past).

Steiner posted...

well, this was f***ing awesome. but kind of similar to your thoughts on Walter vs Thatcher, this mostly served to reinforce what I already knew - Shingo Takagi is one of the best of all time. All of the highlights of this match were shingo based to me, with a few of them coming from the wonderful relationship between him and Tozawa. The communication between tags, Tozawa shouting up at Shingo when Shingo is laid out on the ramp, the hug after a double dive - these are the Best Friends but like, actually kicking ass. And then the traditional hot Dragon Gate closing stretch, highlighted by first the struggle to land the Made in Japan, and then when it's finally hit the 1 count kick out had me losing my mind. Great start to this, 4.5 from me

Shingo, indeed, is amazing but I'm happy to see that Tozawa gets his credit. That Twin Gate run with Shingo and Tozawa was excellent because of how close they were and that relationship is a big part of what makes certain events in Dragon Gate so much more compelling down the road. I don't want to give too much away there because there's some stuff later that I might put up for later weeks.

But as good as Tozawa and Takagi were, I think Eita and T-Hawk went out to show that they could hang. There's a lot of fantastic spots to this match, but I'm still blown away by Eita's moonsault to the floor as T-Hawk had Takagi up in the electric chair position.