Wrestling fans! Welcome one and all to a very special edition of the Weekly Watchlist!
I was brainstorming the other day and knew I wanted to do something unique for the 10th edition of the review, I know it may not be a huge milestone but keeping this consistent with something I really started on a whim is big for me, trust me. I'm proud of myself and want to have a little fun.
So, without further ado, let me present to you:
The Weekly Watchlist Wrestling Roulette!
As I've stated many times here on the blog, I keep a spreadsheet of matches I've either watched or want to watch, with my own personal rankings for each one. We have just crested 900 entries with the additions slowing down recently as I haven't had as much time to peruse Cagematch like I'd like to. But, I've also found myself getting in a pattern with my watching recently, working through DPW, watching classic All Japan, or whatever hot match is popular this week. And while there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, I can watch whatever I want dammit! It does make reviewing different matches a bit of a challenge when every week feels like the same rotation.
So, I'm leaving it up to random chance!
Wrestling Roulette will let a random number generator decide what match from my spreadsheet will be watched. It's as simple as that! I'm going to tweak the rules as the weeks go on but I have these in mind:
1: I am allowed to pick 5 matches of my own from the list/not on the list I want to watch
2: I am allowed as many rerolls as necessary until I land on a match I have not watched yet.
3: I am allowed 3 rerolls total if I land on a match I do not want to watch.
I might eliminate rule 3 in later editions as it kinda defeats the purpose of this whole practice, but I don't want to subject myself to too much of one thing or a match I'm really not interested in viewing this week.
Either way, I am very excited for this concept and can't want to see what it brings!
I'll also attempt to do more than the usual 2 reviews I've been doing since the beginning. Maybe a few shorter reviews to try and include more of what I landed on for the week. This is all living in my head as a concept and could change completely by the next Wrestling Roulette.
Now, lets get all this chatter out of the way and get onto some wrestling, shall we? Here's what the RNG gods blessed me with this week;
I've opted to format this weeks review similar to how I did Weekly Watchlist 003 from a few weeks ago. I'm going to go over most of the matches "on the card" but not in nearly the same amount of detail. Some thoughts, a few highlights from the match, things I really liked or didn't like. That sort of thing.
Also, for the sake of transparency, I added 0 matches of my own choice and used 2 out of my 3 rerolls after landing on matches I'm saving seeing (again) for a later date.
Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff - WWF The Big Event - 08/28/1986
 |
| Check his boots brother! I don't trust him dude! WWE |
Pretty low score for this one because not a whole lot was going on here. Watched this match on Orndorff's YouTube channel and every comment talks about how amazing this match was and how it "saved the show."
The entrances threw me off right from the get go because they played "Real American" (they were still using "Eye of the Tiger" at this point in 86 right? Real American wasn't until later?) as Orndorff came through the crowd. They didn't stop playing it but took a couple extra seconds to get the camera on Hogan and then it kinda made sense to me. Why they gave Orndorff Hogan's music instead of nothing at all kinda boggles the mind but whatever.
Maybe I'm showing my hand with how young I am, but this just doesn't leap off the page to me as an "instant classic" type match. Hogan get some offence in early on after Orndorff jumps him at the bell but its all Hogan selling from that point on until the finish.
Maybe I'm just not a born Hulkamaniac and the electricity when Hogan finally lands a punch on Orndorff or takes him down is lost on me all these years later. I can't even say that I like or dislike Orndorff anymore after this match because its not a good showing of what he's capable of. Hit the Hulkster, walk around the ring, hit Hogan again, argue with the ref, rinse repeat.
The finish comes about when Orndorff tries to pin Hogan with his foot under the rope, he's down long enough for a 3 to register but the referee doesn't count anything. Despite that, Orndorff gets up like he's the new champ, peacocking around the ring until Hogan runs behind Mr. Wonderful and puts his knee right through his back, knocking both Orndorff and the referee down.
Hogan decides this is the perfect chance to drill Orndorff with his own move, the piledriver, but Heenan has other ideas, charging the ring with a barstool and cracking Hogan on the back of the head to knock him out cold. The referee takes so long to crawl over and count that Hogan has already slammed Andre in the Silverdome brother but just taps Orndorff on the shoulder instead of counting anything, and Paul thinks he's won!
 |
| Ha, get stool'd brother. WWE |
He celebrates with Heenan and the title, the wonderful mr.... uh, wonderful has beaten Hogan for the gold! Hogan is declared the winner by DQ and Orndorff is pissed! He tries to crack Hogan with the belt as he gets to his feet but Hogan has found his second wind, dropping Orndorff with the boot but he rolls to the floor before getting the big leg drop, dude.
Again, not a horrible match, and maybe if I was an oldhead or watched during the 80's I'd appreciate the match more but I just don't, sorry to say.
Thankfully, Wrestling Roulette improves drastically from here.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue - AJPW Champion Carnival 1995 Day 19 - 04/15/1995
 |
| What a final match this is. AJPW |
You guys had to know a Misawa match was gonna show up on here at some point right?! C'mon! Who do you think I am, some sort of fake wrestling fan?!
By this point in All Japan, the Kings Road style was at the forefront and the Four Pillars were leading the charge. A year removed from that match, 06/03/94, and only 2 months away from the Holy Demon Army squaring off against Misawa and Kobashi in one of the single greatest tag matches in history, its safe to say All Japan was rocking.
Now, with the finals of All Japan's most prestigious and longest running tournaments (in wrestling as a whole, mind you) we find 2 of the 4 pillars facing off against each other. The story for this one goes as such: Taue was able to get victories over Kawada and Kobashi, the other 2 Pillars of Heaven and had managed to make it to the finals. During the tournament, Misawa damaged his orbital bone (this will be an important note for later, take notes class) but was still able to make it to the finals. Now, Misawa and Taue face each other in the most important matchup of the tournament, made even more important for Taue who wanted desperately to beat Misawa to prove he was worth of being considered a pillar, having beaten the other 2 members.
Despite the language barrier, the drama in this match is palpable. Both men have each others best moves scouted, Misawa's elbow is blocked by Taue and the chokeslam (fun fact! It was named "Ore ga Taue") is countered with an armdrag by Misawa. The orbital injury is aggravated early, and Taue locks in on that weakness whenever he's able. Grinding his forearm into his face with the stretch plum over and over and big boots to try and rearrange Misawa's face.
Despite it all, Misawa is still in top form. His kicks are precise, the elbows still hit like hammers, the stoic Emerald Emperor holds his ground and refuses to give in, struggling to not show the signs of war on his damaged face.
You can see it as desperation, as frustration, or the willingness to do whatever he can do to win, but Taue starts to get dirty. A thumb to the eye drops Misawa as he stands on his face, crushing the wounded bones. A modified belly to belly suplex with his arm trapped drops Misawa face first on the top turnbuckle.
The finish comes after 27 minutes of all out war, with neither man giving an inch but taking everything they can. Misawa's eye is practically purple by the end, with Taue's repeated gouges, strikes and drops showing its effect. Misawa shoves Taue away after he goes for the eye a second time and starts firing at him with elbow strikes, rocking him longe enough for him to go behind, hook the arms, and send Taue up and over for a tiger suplex, but only 2!
Misawa wastes no time at all, dragging the lifeless Taue up off the canvas, hooking his arms once more and drilling him with a second tiger suplex. The referee's hand falls for 3, and Misawa is the winner of the Champion Carnival for 1995.
 |
| Not a driver, but a suplex. Tiger style. AJPW |
What more can be said about this match? About any Misawa or Four Pillars match? They're wrestling at its most perfect, most pure and brilliant. If you can't watch a Four Pillars of Heaven match and not feel something, you might want to get your heart looked at. Another perfect match.
Miyu Yamashta vs. Mizuki - TJPW Wrestle Princess 4 - 10/09/2023
 |
| About to lock up to see who will be the next Princess of Princess Champion. TJPW |
This match was definitely a surprise when it popped up on my roulette for this week. I remember adding a few Yamashita matches to the spreadsheet after her match against Miyuka Takase and DPW No Pressure and was blown away by their match. I needed to see more of what these women were capable of. I could've sworn I'd seen Mizuki wrestle in AEW a few times before but Cagematch tells me she only had one match and it was a Dark Elevation match against Emi Sakura, so what do I know.
This also happens to be my first Tokyo Joshi Pro match as well! I've wanted to watch a few TJPW matches over the last year or so, most notably some of the Wasteland War Party's matches. Even if they aren't that great.
The beginning of the match is fairly evenly matched, with Mizuki being nimble on her feet and quick to avoid the much more striker, wrestling based Yamashta. It really does end up being a contrast of styles, with some of Yamashta's kicks sounding like gunshots against the torso of the far smaller Mizuki.But, she can't be counted out so quickly, her aerial moves are precise and deadly, and her tenacity means that Yamashta needs to put in a serious shift to not only survive, but also get the upper hand.
This match was really exceptional, after going back a few days later and rewatching clips of it for this review. Yamashta is a deadly striker and vicious grapples, Mizuki pulls out some seriously cool moves such as a double stomp through a Yamashta draped across the middle rope and a dropkick that sends Yamashta through the ropes and to the outside. The selling is top notch too, for some reason the spot where Yamashta is caught in a LeBell Lock and starts crawling and climbing her way out of it but her feet slip from the exhaustion really, really stood out to me. Its not like it was an unbelievable sell or something super unique I've never seen before, but just the way she collapsed stuck out to me. I really liked it a lot.
Something else I kinda like about a lot of Japanese matches is that wrestlers will generally come to the ring with a few other wrestlers. Some of them will be stable mates, others are "young boys" or the wrestlers training under the person they are flanking. We see a fun little cameo of Maki Itoh! The internet's favourite joshi wrestler! Maki is howling and screaming at Yamashta to get back in the ring after Mizuki flies from the top rope to the floor with a meteoric double stomp.
With vicious precision, Yamashta cracks Mizuki in the back of the head with a skull kick and covers for 3, but its only good enough for 2! Somehow! She pulls up Mizuki for the killshot, hitting the ropes and charging back only for Mizuki to fall into a heap, exhaustion taking over completely.
Mizuki gets back up and is able to take down Yamashta with whirling candy (what an insane move by the way, how does she spin like that in the air?!) She climbs to the top rope and drills Yamashta with a double stomp but gets caught when she tries to pick Yamashita up for a suplex. Yamashta straight up spikes Mizuki with a powerslam/bodyslam/driver of some kind, finally catching Mizuki with a pair of stiff knee strikes for the final pinfall.
 |
| Get yo teeth knocked out with that one. TJPW |
I don't know if this match really falls in the "match of the year" contendership like other people have claimed, but I really enjoyed what these ladies did! Yamashta continued to show her aggression and stiff style and Mizuki used her size and speed as a weapon at every chance she had. Genuinely really impressive.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston - AEW Dynamite Grand Slam - 09/20/2023
 |
| With colours like these, how can they have a bad match? AEW |
I'm gonna be completely honest with you folks, I don't know how this match escaped me for so long. I've had it at the top of my list of matches to watch since it happened but just never got around to it. Sure seems like a common theme for me, eh?
This is a really exciting match for me, Kingston and Claudio are two of my absolute favourite wrestlers and seeing them reach the top of the sport has been a total blast. As someone who spent a great deal of time watching these 2 toil it out in armouries around Pennsylvania in CHIKARA, seeing Claudio win his first world title in Ring of Honor and Kingston finally win that same title a couple years later is something I never thought would happen.
If their gear wasn't enough of an indication, Kingston and Claudio start laying bombs into each other early. Chops and elbows that would make Misawa and Kawada blush. The hometown crowd really help elevate the feeling and atmosphere around this match too, getting behind Eddie with every chop he throws and move he's able to shrug off and keep going. Kings Road lives on in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Nothing in this match is "light" or with the idea of "testing the waters," with Claudio eventually taking King out to the ramp and driving him into the LED's with a big back suplex! Claudio is an complete monster and keeps on Kingston, drilling him with elbows and uppercuts, picking up Kingston with ease to keep dropping him on the mat. But Kingston won't quit, he refuses to stay down. Always scratching and crawling to the ropes, doing everything he can to try and stay vertical.
Eddie starts to show some life and is able to get Claudio up for a couple of suplex's of his own, rocking the swiss cyborg (guess he can't be called that anynmore without his braces) into the corner where he starts to lay into him with machine gun chops. Claudio is able to walk out the corner and keep absorbing the shots, having less and less effect on him each time. He challenges Kingston in the centre who responds with a quick jab to the jaw, turning Claudio's legs to jelly as he falls to his knees. Loved that.
First countering, then kicking out of a Ricola Bomb, Kingston starts to get some momentum and keeps it going, cracking Claudio with 3 backfists and a big powerbomb, folding the Ring of Honor world champion in half for the final 3 count.
 |
| Man, these 1994 All Japan matches look a lot different nowadays. AEW |
This win felt so, so good man. Kingston is the type of guy to work his whole life to get to this position, be recognized by his peers as being worthy of it, but never go for it himself because he doesn't feel he's deserving of this kind of recognition. But he more than deserved this title, this win, this moment. While it may not personally be an all time, 5 star classic, this match was incredibly special for what it meant to the career of someone who has given his life to this business. Respect.
El Torito vs. Hornswoggle - WeeLC - WWE Extreme Rules 2014 - 5/04/2014
The smallest hockey fight in town. WWE
When this match showed up on the roulette wheel, I had some mixed emotions. On the one hand, this feels like a great way to cap off the week of watching. A silly, comedy match that is regarded as a smash hit by most fans, when the match had no business being as good as it was. On the other hand, I feel kind of gross enjoying the match knowing what I know about Vince McMahon and his reasoning for booking certain matches. I know for a fact that this match was created purely to make Vince laugh. Its no secret that he thinks little people are hilarious, in the same way that The 3 Stooges and fart jokes are still top tier comedy. But, despite knowing that everything about this match was created to make a sadistic billionaire laugh, it delivered in ways that go beyond pure comedy, and that's why it stands out to me.
Its also gotta be said, right off the top, its insane that 3MB consists of 2 former world champions, with one of them being one of WWE's current biggest names in Drew McIntyre. Just nuts to look back at 10 years later. Mascarita Dorada, or El Torito during his WWE run, is a veteran of lucha libre wrestling and is still active in 2024, and is highly prolific as far as mini-estrellas go. Swoggle, on the other hand, somehow managed to get outside the gimmick of Finlay's son/Vince's illegitimate child/an actual child/a leprechaun and make a sort of name for himself near the end of his WWE run and even now in the indies. He hangs out with Matt Cardona and the Major Brothers crew and seems to be pretty well liked and respected nowadays.
The match itself is quick and wastes no time, with tons of interference, big multi man spots, and little people jokes made by not only the team of Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry Lawler, but also their shorter counterparts. Dressed up like each of their respective commentary members, they even get a little commentary desk! Because they are children! Its so hilarious! In all seriousness, they put in a solid effort and seem to be having some genuine fun at the desk. Referencing other famous calls in WWE and making this match out to be a Wrestlemania main event calibre match, despite happening on the pre-show of a B pay-per-view. A commendable effort.
There's tope's to the horde of 3MB and Los Conquistadores, mini chairs to set up an impressive corner bronco buster, mini ladders and bigger mini ladders for diving and a mini commentary table, as previously mentioned, for Swoggle do drop the elbow onto Torito through! A mini table is set up and the entire 3 Man Band tries to put Torito through it, but he instead dives to the outside where a contraption of tables and ladders is arranged for Jinder and
 |
| I know this is probably something he can do in his sleep, but it doesn't make it any less cool. WWE |
No comments:
Post a Comment