Board 8 > Board 8 Match of the Week - Week 2 (G1 Special) [wrestling]

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Steiner 09/14/20 4:59:33 PM #1:	Hi, and welcome to week 2 of the Match of the Week! If you missed last week, it's a simple concept - our team of Iceman, Bidoof and myself will each pick a match for everyone's viewing pleasure, and once we've all given them a good watch we'll have a little vote on the winner and repeat. Let's start with that: Last week's matches 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, if you could leave a vote for your favourite match of last week (I think it was kind of settled already but i want to establish the format and give people really two weeks to get everything watched and their vote in) and in the meantime, we've got ready for you a timely special - as this week, we'll all be presenting you matches from NJPW's G1 Climax, with the next edition starting next week it seemed appropriate to spend this time revisiting some highlights of years' past. And we'll have those for you.... soon~! --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944603284] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Hi, and welcome to week 2 of the Match of the Week! If you missed last week, it's a simple concept - our team of Iceman, Bidoof and myself will each pick a match for everyone's viewing pleasure, and once we've all given them a good watch we'll have a little vote on the winner and repeat. Let's start with that: Last week's matches <quote>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.</quote> <quote>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. </quote> <quote>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.</quote> So, if you could leave a vote for your favourite match of last week (I think it was kind of settled already but i want to establish the format and give people really two weeks to get everything watched and their vote in) and in the meantime, we've got ready for you a timely special - as this week, we'll all be presenting you matches from NJPW's G1 Climax, with the next edition starting next week it seemed appropriate to spend this time revisiting some highlights of years' past. And we'll have those for you.... soon~! </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/14/20 5:00:29 PM #2:	So my vote for last week is Monster Express vs. Millennials --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944603331] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>So my vote for last week is Monster Express vs. Millennials </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Bidoof 09/14/20 5:27:27 PM #3:	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. <cite>Bidoof posted [p:944604424] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>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. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
NBIceman 09/14/20 7:14:48 PM #4:	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. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights <cite>NBIceman posted [p:944608262] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>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. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/15/20 5:36:23 AM #5:	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 --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944624478] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>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 </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Eddv 09/15/20 1:05:56 PM #6:	Steiner posted... So my vote for last week is Monster Express vs. Millennials I finally ended up watching it and concur - solid 4.5 stars lots of drama and the work was great --- Board 8's Voice of Reason https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy <cite>Eddv posted [p:944635133] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Steiner posted... </cite> <quote>So my vote for last week is Monster Express vs. Millennials</quote> I finally ended up watching it and concur - solid 4.5 stars lots of drama and the work was great </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Eddv 09/16/20 12:39:33 PM #7:	Bidoof posted... 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. 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 --- Board 8's Voice of Reason https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy <cite>Eddv posted [p:944674487] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Bidoof posted... </cite> <quote>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.</quote> 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 </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/16/20 12:46:51 PM #8:	Eddv posted... The story is simple. Kensuke Sasaki is a bad man. Yoshihiro Takayama is an older bigger stupider looking bad man. the accuracy --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944674794] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Eddv posted... </cite> <quote>The story is simple. Kensuke Sasaki is a bad man. Yoshihiro Takayama is an older bigger stupider looking bad man.</quote> the accuracy </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/16/20 12:47:19 PM #9:	not gonna tell takayama he's stupider looking but like, kensuke might --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944674814] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>not gonna tell takayama he's stupider looking but like, kensuke might </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/16/20 12:55:40 PM #10:	Eddv posted... 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 I'm just going to add to this for my own thoughts - the thing that struck me about this match was not just that they hit each other very hard, but that they had to hit each other very hard - neither would move an inch, in the face of some of the meatiest strikes you'll ever see. also a big fan of the moment early on where takayama decides he's had enough of the wrestling bullshit and he's just gonna knee the shit out of kensuke. I mentioned it in the discord already but the staredown at the beginning really adds a sense of "shit is about to go down", with both men reckoning with what they're gonna have to do to the other here. 4.25 from me --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944675128] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Eddv posted... </cite> <quote>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</quote> I'm just going to add to this for my own thoughts - the thing that struck me about this match was not just that they hit each other very hard, but that they had to hit each other very hard - neither would move an inch, in the face of some of the meatiest strikes you'll ever see. also a big fan of the moment early on where takayama decides he's had enough of the wrestling bullshit and he's just gonna knee the shit out of kensuke. I mentioned it in the discord already but the staredown at the beginning really adds a sense of "shit is about to go down", with both men reckoning with what they're gonna have to do to the other here. 4.25 from me </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Eddv 09/17/20 11:22:37 AM #11:	Giving this a bump to queue it up for lunch --- Board 8's Voice of Reason https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy <cite>Eddv posted [p:944724851] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Giving this a bump to queue it up for lunch </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Eddv 09/17/20 12:55:06 PM #12:	NBIceman posted... 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. I don't believe I ever watched this but if I did I had no memory of it while watching this time. So as I was watching this, I had wondered if these two had bad a pre existing issue because the two seemed to be pursuing wildly different goals in this bout. Shibata seems to be pissed off he has to share a ring with a clown like Ibushi. He seeks to, pretty much from the word go, completely emasculate the guy. He wants to prove he's bad and that Ibushi isn't. And he doesn't seem to like that the crowd is into Ibushi. Ibushi is just like here to win a match until about 8 minutes in where he decides Shibata is pissing him off. Conversely Shibata seems pissed off from the very moment they had kinda cheesy kick sword fight to start the match. These guys kick the unholy hell out of one another and as things go on I realized that Shibatas goal was to embarrass Ibushi. He beats the shit out of him on the guard rail and Ibushi is selling like death and rather than go for the countout and points he goes and gets Ibushi to keep trying to embarrass him. This dynamic reaches its peak where Ibushi gets some offens, whips Shibata into the corner and does a running drop kick to the face and Shibata when he goes on offense makes a point of repeating the spot but louder as a big fuck you. And then Shibata decides he wants to tap this clown out and goes for a submission at the end of every victorious exchange of blows - and make no mistake Shibata wins most of them . This comes to a head at the finish where he goes for the sleeper again...gets pissed off Ibushi isn't passing out and so just kicks him in the fucking head. Ultimately Ibushi's lack of psychology or plan or emotion holds this back for me (as it does frankly in a lot of Ibushi matches) but Shibata was firing on every single cylinder here. Awesome stuff. 4.25. Really a lot like the Sasaki match but less cerebral and faster/better work. --- Board 8's Voice of Reason https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy <cite>Eddv posted [p:944728963] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>NBIceman posted... </cite> <quote>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.</quote> I don't believe I ever watched this but if I did I had no memory of it while watching this time. So as I was watching this, I had wondered if these two had bad a pre existing issue because the two seemed to be pursuing wildly different goals in this bout. Shibata seems to be pissed off he has to share a ring with a clown like Ibushi. He seeks to, pretty much from the word go, completely emasculate the guy. He wants to prove he's bad and that Ibushi isn't. And he doesn't seem to like that the crowd is into Ibushi. Ibushi is just like here to win a match until about 8 minutes in where he decides Shibata is pissing him off. Conversely Shibata seems pissed off from the very moment they had kinda cheesy kick sword fight to start the match. These guys kick the unholy hell out of one another and as things go on I realized that Shibatas goal was to embarrass Ibushi. He beats the shit out of him on the guard rail and Ibushi is selling like death and rather than go for the countout and points he goes and gets Ibushi to keep trying to embarrass him. This dynamic reaches its peak where Ibushi gets some offens, whips Shibata into the corner and does a running drop kick to the face and Shibata when he goes on offense makes a point of repeating the spot but louder as a big fuck you. And then Shibata decides he wants to tap this clown out and goes for a submission at the end of every victorious exchange of blows - and make no mistake Shibata wins most of them . This comes to a head at the finish where he goes for the sleeper again...gets pissed off Ibushi isn't passing out and so just kicks him in the fucking head. Ultimately Ibushi's lack of psychology or plan or emotion holds this back for me (as it does frankly in a lot of Ibushi matches) but Shibata was firing on every single cylinder here. Awesome stuff. 4.25. Really a lot like the Sasaki match but less cerebral and faster/better work. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/19/20 1:06:27 PM #13:	NBIceman posted... 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. i'll lead off by saying i've no idea what your particular nitpick is, but my takeaway from this match is disappointment that this is their only meeting. the action was as hard hitting and intense as you expect from these two, but there appears to be an added story wrinkle of Shibata consistently underestimating Ibushi here and getting punished for it, something indicating a longer term rivalry could have been in the works had Ibushi stayed around the next year. That would have been a treat but what we got was still pretty special - fast paced, violent, just what you want from these two. It did feel like a match where Shibata was very much Ibushi's superior at this point, which is the exact match to do for the first time meeting of these two, and that's what left me very much wanting to see the chapters where Ibushi would come closer. 4.5 i think --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944818884] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>NBIceman posted... </cite> <quote>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.</quote> i'll lead off by saying i've no idea what your particular nitpick is, but my takeaway from this match is disappointment that this is their only meeting. the action was as hard hitting and intense as you expect from these two, but there appears to be an added story wrinkle of Shibata consistently underestimating Ibushi here and getting punished for it, something indicating a longer term rivalry could have been in the works had Ibushi stayed around the next year. That would have been a treat but what we got was still pretty special - fast paced, violent, just what you want from these two. It did feel like a match where Shibata was very much Ibushi's superior at this point, which is the exact match to do for the first time meeting of these two, and that's what left me very much wanting to see the chapters where Ibushi would come closer. 4.5 i think </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/20/20 4:39:20 PM #14:	Bump in case anyone else was gonna watch before tomorrow --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944865029] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Bump in case anyone else was gonna watch before tomorrow</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Bidoof 09/20/20 7:18:05 PM #15:	Steiner posted... 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 I see what you did here. >_> This has got to be one of Tanahashi's finest performances. Ishii already had a rep going into this G1, but it was this match that really made him to the wider NJPW audience. The most impressive thing to me about this is just how incredible Tanahashi is at reading the crowd and adjusting his performance to perfectly match their expectations. The people in Korauken this night were rabid for Ishii and not happy about potentially seeing him lose to the Ace. So, what does Tanahashi do? He turns himself on the spot and works the match as a cocky asshole. Ishii, for his part, is a great defiant babyface who is taking everything Tana throws at him while giving it his all in the hope of catching the biggest win of his life. And, boy, does Ishii throw everything at him going through every finishing move he had at that point before finally getting the win. I recommended this match for people to see why Tanahashi is the greatest of all time and I still believe this to be one of his greatest masterpieces. In one night, he made a guy and created a narrative that carried Ishii through the rest of the G1. He may have finished at the bottom of the block, but with every match you had the feeling that he could pull off that upset. This is still one of my favorite matches and I can't recommend it enough to everyone. <cite>Bidoof posted [p:944870907] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Steiner posted... </cite> <quote>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</quote> I see what you did here. >_> This has got to be one of Tanahashi's finest performances. Ishii already had a rep going into this G1, but it was this match that really made him to the wider NJPW audience. The most impressive thing to me about this is just how incredible Tanahashi is at reading the crowd and adjusting his performance to perfectly match their expectations. The people in Korauken this night were rabid for Ishii and not happy about potentially seeing him lose to the Ace. So, what does Tanahashi do? He turns himself on the spot and works the match as a cocky asshole. Ishii, for his part, is a great defiant babyface who is taking everything Tana throws at him while giving it his all in the hope of catching the biggest win of his life. And, boy, does Ishii throw everything at him going through every finishing move he had at that point before finally getting the win. I recommended this match for people to see why Tanahashi is the greatest of all time and I still believe this to be one of his greatest masterpieces. In one night, he made a guy and created a narrative that carried Ishii through the rest of the G1. He may have finished at the bottom of the block, but with every match you had the feeling that he could pull off that upset. This is still one of my favorite matches and I can't recommend it enough to everyone. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Bidoof 09/20/20 9:39:59 PM #16:	NBIceman posted... 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! At least I know you and Steiner weren't eyeing my backup. I'll be holding onto that match for a future week. =) 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. That's kind of the beauty of Shibata's style. Outside of the occasional match you could tell was cut short for event timing (like his match with Goto at the Tokyo Dome one year), you never feel like he's holding anything back. There's no lingering sense of "oh, he's saving something for the rematch"; Shibata is a very in-the-moment kind of wrestler. We all know where that eventually went, but at least we will always have wonderful matches like this. One of my favorite things about this match is that you could tell the crowd had no idea what they were going to get with this match. Ibushi was a former junior finding his place in the heavyweight division, which hasn't always been a successful endeavor (hi Wataru Inoue). Shibata was also a guy trying to establish his spot and earn the respect of his peers backstage. What you got was a really crisp, real fast strike battle between two guys who seemed to feel that they had nothing to lose. I can definitely see why you were thinking about either this or Sasaki/Takayama as they are very similar matches. Personally, I prefer the type of brawl you get from Sasaki/Takayama as it feels more novel today but this match is still great. Another strong recommendation. <cite>Bidoof posted [p:944876195] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>NBIceman posted... </cite> <quote>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!</quote> At least I know you and Steiner weren't eyeing my backup. I'll be holding onto that match for a future week. =) <quote>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. </quote> That's kind of the beauty of Shibata's style. Outside of the occasional match you could tell was cut short for event timing (like his match with Goto at the Tokyo Dome one year), you never feel like he's holding anything back. There's no lingering sense of "oh, he's saving something for the rematch"; Shibata is a very in-the-moment kind of wrestler. We all know where that eventually went, but at least we will always have wonderful matches like this. One of my favorite things about this match is that you could tell the crowd had no idea what they were going to get with this match. Ibushi was a former junior finding his place in the heavyweight division, which hasn't always been a successful endeavor (hi Wataru Inoue). Shibata was also a guy trying to establish his spot and earn the respect of his peers backstage. What you got was a really crisp, real fast strike battle between two guys who seemed to feel that they had nothing to lose. I can definitely see why you were thinking about either this or Sasaki/Takayama as they are very similar matches. Personally, I prefer the type of brawl you get from Sasaki/Takayama as it feels more novel today but this match is still great. Another strong recommendation. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/21/20 1:26:21 AM #17:	wait what did I do here --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944883377] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>wait what did I do here</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Bidoof 09/21/20 10:06:37 AM #18:	You used a match I recommended for Tanahashi in Greatest Wrestler Ever. I'm just teasing, man. It's a tremendous match and I like seeing it recommended everywhere. <cite>Bidoof posted [p:944892000] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>You used a match I recommended for Tanahashi in Greatest Wrestler Ever. I'm just teasing, man. It's a tremendous match and I like seeing it recommended everywhere. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/21/20 10:55:45 AM #19:	was extremely not deliberate or conscious haha --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944893860] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>was extremely not deliberate or conscious haha</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Eddv 09/21/20 11:18:57 AM #20:	I lack the time to really get into this but I went 4.5 on Tanahashi/Ishii making it my Match of the week. --- Board 8's Voice of Reason https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy <cite>Eddv posted [p:944894660] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>I lack the time to really get into this but I went 4.5 on Tanahashi/Ishii making it my Match of the week. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
illuminatusbubu 09/22/20 4:08:39 PM #21:	Sasaki vs Takayama was the only one of three matches here that I haven't watched before so I was looking forward to this. The match was exactly what I expected it to be big meaty men slapping meat. I always have a soft spot for Takayama and he delivered here. Simple yet effective. 4 Stars Shibata vs Ibushi was a showcase for action packed match. This was during the transition to heavyweight for Ibushi which had some success as he won New Japan Cup that year but failed to win the match when it mattered with his loss to Nakamura in Wrestlekingdom and AJ Styles with the IWGP title shot he earned from the cup. While Ibushi had something to prove. Shibata was trying to maintain the pecking order. Even during the fast-paced match, you can clearly see that Shibata was toying with Ibushi while Ibushi was trying his hardest to win the match. 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. I was surprised with the finish the first time I watched it and I was still surprised this time watching. I think it deserved a 4.5. Ishii vs Tanahashi was amazing!! Most of the time, I wouldn't take crowd reaction into match rating but I have to in this case. The crowd was hot from the start. Obviously, Tanahashi read the crowd perfectly and played the crowd to perfection. The reason I always like a sliding scale between face-heel instead of clean-cut face-heel was shown in this match and Tanahashi thrived in it. He played cocky heel to the beloved Ishii and he gave so much for Ishii that the crowd actually believed that the upset could very-well happened in this match without any doubt. I know that by the nature of G1, an upset can easily happens but this match exemplified it. Ishii is known today for his ability for great match but he was made here. Tanahashi managed to create a new star in 15 minutes and Ishii deservingly grabbed the chance and run with it. 4.75 stars. When I feel down with wrestling, this is one of the match that I will watch to make me fall in love with it again. <cite>illuminatusbubu posted [p:944951405] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>Sasaki vs Takayama was the only one of three matches here that I haven't watched before so I was looking forward to this. The match was exactly what I expected it to be big meaty men slapping meat. I always have a soft spot for Takayama and he delivered here. Simple yet effective. 4 Stars Shibata vs Ibushi was a showcase for action packed match. This was during the transition to heavyweight for Ibushi which had some success as he won New Japan Cup that year but failed to win the match when it mattered with his loss to Nakamura in Wrestlekingdom and AJ Styles with the IWGP title shot he earned from the cup. While Ibushi had something to prove. Shibata was trying to maintain the pecking order. Even during the fast-paced match, you can clearly see that Shibata was toying with Ibushi while Ibushi was trying his hardest to win the match. 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. I was surprised with the finish the first time I watched it and I was still surprised this time watching. I think it deserved a 4.5. Ishii vs Tanahashi was amazing!! Most of the time, I wouldn't take crowd reaction into match rating but I have to in this case. The crowd was hot from the start. Obviously, Tanahashi read the crowd perfectly and played the crowd to perfection. The reason I always like a sliding scale between face-heel instead of clean-cut face-heel was shown in this match and Tanahashi thrived in it. He played cocky heel to the beloved Ishii and he gave so much for Ishii that the crowd actually believed that the upset could very-well happened in this match without any doubt. I know that by the nature of G1, an upset can easily happens but this match exemplified it. Ishii is known today for his ability for great match but he was made here. Tanahashi managed to create a new star in 15 minutes and Ishii deservingly grabbed the chance and run with it. 4.75 stars. When I feel down with wrestling, this is one of the match that I will watch to make me fall in love with it again. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Steiner 09/22/20 4:12:33 PM #22:	illuminatusbubu posted... 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. to me this was one of the elements of it being the first of a planned series where ibushi might come closer next time, but this time once shibata decided to put ibushi away he just... did. --- Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see <cite>Steiner posted [p:944951554] in Board 8 Ma... [t:78974768]...</cite> <quote>illuminatusbubu posted... </cite> <quote>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.</quote> to me this was one of the elements of it being the first of a planned series where ibushi might come closer next time, but this time once shibata decided to put ibushi away he just... did. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Board 8 > Board 8 Match of the Week - Week 2 (G1 Special) [wrestling] (+) Yeah! (+)

Board 8 > Board 8 Match of the Week - Week 2 (G1 Special) [wrestling]