Weekly Watchlist 002 - June 23 2024

Back with another Weekly Watchlist!

Getting ready to round the final week of June and still rolling around the idea of doing a monthly recap of the matches I liked best. The only hangup I have is that, I've probably already gone over the matches I liked the best in my Weekly Watchlist. Would there really be a reason to do a monthly list too? I mean, I could absolutely include stuff I haven't already done reviews on... I dunno. Gotta let that idea simmer for a bit longer before I commit to anything.

Here's what I watched this week;

Jon Moxley v Josh Barnett - Bloodsport: Bushido - 06/22/2024

 

 

A pair of tigers circling each other. Bloodsport: Bushido

I've been a fan of Josh Barnett's Bloodsport shows since his very first show all the way back in 2019. The blend of MMA and Wrestling in an insane worked-shoot style is so compelling and they always deliver in some way. I kinda forgot that this Japan special was around the corner, so when I saw people tweeting about the show I knew I had to watch it as soon as possible. 

With it being a japanese based show, a lot of the names are unfamiliar to me, but the names I do know delivered just like I expected they would and then some. Santino Marella and Kazushi Sakuraba put on my favorite match of the night, and Suzuki and Thatcher had a fun match that fels closer to a "traditional" wrestling match than an MMA grapple.

But it was the main event that was really compelling to me. Jon Moxley, a guy who I believe is one of the absolute best in the world right now and is a genuine complete package, taking on Josh Barnett. Barnett has helped to train Mox in BJJ in recent years, honing his already dangerous efficiency in the ring to a razors edge. Barnett is an extremely accomplished grappler and fighter, so it makes sense that he'd get top billing. 

Y'know, aside from the show being named after him.

Mox and Barnett spend the opening moments of this 20 minute main event match (keep that little detail in mind for later on, it'll be on the quiz) tying each other up and going hold for hold. Catching limbs and flowing around each other with a disturbing amount of ease, given what they are both trying to accomplish. Absolutely no holes.

Barnett is the first to take the advantage when him and Mox rise to their feet, he snatches him in a double underhook and rips Mox off the canvas and back down hard.

Gravity can be a cruel bitch, especially is you have no control. Bloodsport: Bushido

Barnett keeps the advantage and is able to get a scarf hold in on Mox and starts absolutley drilling him with forearm smashes. The ref is quick to ask Mox if he's ready to give up, and Mox is quick to answer "fuck no." Punctuating his answer by saying "good day to die ref, I don't give a fuck." That's my champ right there, getting his brain drilled by a 300 pound grizzly bear and refusing to give in. What a stud.

Bone on bone. A deadly game. Bloodsport: Bushido

Mox rolls out to the floor after his triangle choke is countered with a powerbomb, which starts a 10 count (faster than what I'm used to seeing in most Japanese matches with a 20 count). He rolls back in to break the count, only to roll back out. Barnett chases out after Mox and gutwhench suplex's him onto the floor. If Mox wants to get counted out, Barnett is happy to help.

Gaining the advantage again, Barnett does his best impression of Blackpool Combat Club's resident coffee afficionado and giant swing's Mox into the ring post torso first. An absolutely disgusting impact that could have gone a whole lot worst if Mox hit at a different angle and crashed into the eyelet on the post directly.

Claudio needs to find a way to add this to his arsenal yesterday. Bloodsport: Bushido

Now, I really wanted to rate this match higher. This has been one of the most difficult matches for me to rate out of the Bloodsport: Bushido matches I did watch for what happens after this spot alone (the finish didn't really help either but it feels less egregious than this).

So, we all can see that Mox clearly takes the ringpost flush on his torso, correct? Which would lead me to belie that he'd be suffering damage, maybe something really visual, from that part of his body. Yes?

Now, I'm no doctor, but can someone tell me why Mox came up from the floor after this spot bleeding like a faucet from above his eye? (Any serious answers will be ignored, this is called a rhetorical question)

The wounds of war. Bloodsport: Bushido

Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with guys bleeding in matches. I think it add so, so much to a match. I don't even have an issue with Mox and his tissue paper skin, bleeding from a gentle cross breeze on a cool spring morning. But when its so obviously a blade job done with no relation done to the move he was hit with, in a main event match, on a high level show, that's entire premise is "this shit is as real as it gets," I'm taken out of it.

Anyway...

Mox and Barnett continue to go at it, with Mox even landing a Paradigm Shift to no avail. Its at this point that my second issue with the match comes about, and this more has to do with the language barrier than the match itself. There are multiple announcements over the PA system that seem to be calling for how much time is left, with it seeming to get closer to zero. What I failed to realize, was this match had a 20 minute time limit and we were in the final moments. The bell sounds and the ref breaks Mox and Barnett up, sending them to opposite sides of the ring. 

Not long after that, the ref motions to the pair that they can re-engage, and Mox flies across the ring to crack Barnett with a running knee. Its these final minutes that Mox is completely in control. No more back and forth, no more fighting from underneath. Mox is fully in the drivers seat and is gunning this ride down the freeway.

Knee. To. Face. Bloodsport: Bushido

What I failed to realize, until I went back and translated the text at the start of the show, was that the main event match had 5 extra minutes available if there was not a definitive winner. We are now effectively in sudden death. As if the 20 minutes prior were not sudden death. 

All gas, no breaks. Front facelock keeps Barnett in perfect position for Mox to drill him with knees. A massive german suplex plants Barnett onto his head. Mox rushes to a kneeling Barnett, trying to recover from the assault, and punts him in the face. Over and over. Repeated elbow's driven into the crown of Barnett's skull while he's fading in a triangle choke and a massive DDT plants him onto the canvas one more time.  

The end comes when Mox hooks him up for a massive Tiger Driver, followed up with a double stomp to the chest. The referee calls it off and raises Mox's hand in victory. A TKO over Josh Barnett in 22:26.

Misawa would be proud. Bloodsport: Bushido

The killing blow. The heartstopper. Bloodsport: Bushido

I'm sure a lot of you are having the same thoughts as me when I finished this match, "holy shit! That was brutal! Amazing! I loved it!" and your right! On all markers, it was! Maybe on repeat viewings my negatives will mean less and I'll enjoy it more, but those little issues still stick out too much for me to give this match the proper 5* treatment I want to give it. 

Like I said earlyer, Marella and Sakuraba put on my favorite match of the night, and they kept it almost entirely on the ground. You don't need crazy blood, huge moves and gnarly bumps to have a fantastic match. While all those things help, don't get me wrong, sometimes you can keep it simple and do a whole lot more.

If you like this kind of stuff, Bloodsport: Bushido is a show worth seeking out. Absolutely.

Oba Femi v Ivar - NXT Spring Breakin' Night 2 - 04/30/2024

The big boys are ready to play. WWE NXT

Oba Femi and Ivar have been two of my favourite WWE wrestlers as of late. Oba had one of my favourite matches of Wrestlemania weekend, one that could be a contender for my match of the year when he defended his NXT North American Championship against Dijak (ratio) and Josh Briggs at Stand and Deliver in an insane 3-way-dance. Ivar has had to strike out on his own with his tag partner Erik being out with injury and has quickly become one of the best TV wrestlers on the roster. Seriously, find any of his matches over the past 3 months on RAW and watch them. They all go about 10 minutes and are absolutely amazing, no lie. If I'm wrong, email me, I'll be waiting. 

So the idea of this match had me absolutely salivating. Two of the best big men on the brand, hell, the best mid card guys in the entire company were gonna go head to head? Sign me up! Unfortunately, I didn't check this match out live or close to when it happened, stuff happened, you know how it is. But, in digging through my spreadsheet (now with over 600 entries) for something else to watch, this match stood out to me. How had I neglected to give this one a watch? And at just a hair over 10 minutes? A bargain, if you ask me! Lets get into this.

They start this match out already in second gear, with dueling shoulder tackles in an attempt to knock each other down. No lockups, no test of strength, just two "big meaty men slapping meat," - Big E.

Ivar gets launched into the buckle. Somehow the ring is still standing. WWE NXT

The match eventually takes the two of them outside, with Oba crashing into the stairs at ringside and rolling around on the floor in agony. He tries to catch his breath by sitting against the barrier, but Ivar seizes the opportunity and charges with a flying crossbody, crushing Oba and the barrier behind him.

I thought these barriers were supposed to make sure this didn't happen? WWE NXT

Ivar keeps going to the top rope to try and keep Oba down long enough for him to score a pinfall. He crushes him with a senton to the outside early on and goes for a moonsault inside the ring after being able to keep Oba down for just a brief moment. Half way up, however, Oba rises to his feet and picks Ivar up off the turnbuckle and carries nearly 400 pounds to the centre of the ring and drops him with an earth-shaking samoan drop.

This is what you call a "freak athlete" WWE NXT

Vic Joseph mentions on commentary during this match that when Oba is doing squats at the performance centre, he has trainers stand on the machine to add extra weight. Do we believe everything we hear in wrestling? No. Does it make it any less badass? Absolutely not! He's a freak!

Ivar drops Oba again with a spinning heel kick, a move that someone of his size shouldn't even be able to think about doing, let alone hit with the precision he does it with, and climbs the ropes again. This time, his moonsault connects, crushing Oba and making him roll around in the ring in agony. It does look like Ivar's knee landed flush with Oba's nose, but he seems fine after this move so it could have just been an extremely close call.

A Viking taking flight. 800 CE, Colourized. - WWE NXT

 

And a close call it was! Ivar pins a lifeless Oba who has to break the pinfall by putting his foot on the bottom rope. So, so close. Sensing the end is near, Ivar waits in the corner for Oba to charge him, and when he does, he jumps into the air and sits his full weight on Oba's chest. Kinda like Yokozuna's banzai drop but facing inside the ring, you know what i'm talking about. 

With the champion down, Ivar climbs the ropes again looking for one more moonsault, the final step in winning his first piece of singles gold, but Oba is too quick! Darting back up to his feet, Oba kneels beneath Ivar and picks him up on his shoulders and falls back into an electric chair drop.

Dazed, Ivar rolls back up to his feet, into a waiting and ready Oba, who pops the massive viking up over his head and flattens him onto the canvas for a massive pop-up powerbomb for the 3 count.

This should be impossible, honestly. WWE NXT

If Cagematch is to be believed, this is Ivar's last match before he had to take time off to heal an injury. There's never a good time to get injured, but when your having such a fantastic run of matches like Ivar was having, it really sucks to see that momentum halted so abruptly. Hopefully he's back on the road before too long and is back tearing up TV week to week, maybe with Erik too if he's healthy in time, get the raid back together! 

Oba, on the other hand, is set to be a huge name in the coming years. Having such incredible showings this early into your career is so, so special. He's just another name in a list of new stars that we'll be singing the praises for for years to come. Give this kid a world title and let him have the run with it for a good decade, whatever man, just let Oba run the territory. 

 

 

I wish I could have gotten more reviews done this week but I'm a bit pressed for time as I'll be leaving friday evening to go camping for a few days. My partners family go every year around Canada Day (that's right, your intrepid wrestling reviewer hails from the great white north) and I've been enjoying going up for a few days for the last few years now. Be nice to just get away.

Editors note: We found out at the eleventh hour the weather was forecasted to be bad all weekend and opted not to go. Was still rather busy by the end of the week so I didn't get to watch much else. Oh well!

But fear not! I shall return! And when I do, oh boy, will it be with exciting news and even more exciting matches! Drop me a line if you have a show you want me to check out or want to tell me I've got the worst website on the internet! cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com

 

 

Until next time wrestling fans, enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

Cliff Morgan