The Wrestler's Arsenal #2: The Dropkick

Hey there readers! Spurred on by the positive reception of the first of this series, its another addition to 'The Wrestler's Arsenal'; the dropkick. If you thought the last one was crammed with gifs, get a load of this!

The dropkick is a move you are sure to see and good handful of times on a show, and to varying levels of success and beauty. Last time we looked at the lariat, and the visual appeal of that is very different to the dropkick. The lariat is a much more visceral action, and whilst dropkicks can be just as brutal to witness, the athleticism needed to pull one off adds a layer of poetic spectacle to it. Don't get me wrong, there's a fair few downright ugly dropkicks out in the world, but seeing someone leave their feet always has an air of excitement to it.

Following on from the point of the setup of the move, this also allows for a whole lot of variation and innovation. Again using the comparison to the lariat, that move essentially requires you to be on the same level, but with the dropkick, you can be on an entirely different plane of existence and still connect with the bastard.

Personally, my favourite dropkicks are always emphasised with height; a point made even cooler by the fact it gains the term 'missile' as a descriptor. 

Neville's are especially beautiful - the hang time is just graceful and the slight popping of the kick right before connection makes the impact shine and the move on a whole look much more effective. Springboards in general really add a lot to the dropkick. I cannot fathom how difficult it is to get the balance to steady yourself on the ropes, let alone pulling off a dropkick from it.

With that in mind, seeing what Gran Metalik can do to prime himself for one is insane. 

'King of the Ropes' is a well earned moniker. 

So, those are the flashier examples of what a dropkick can be, having both a pageantry to them, as well as being used as efficient and effective weapons of squared circle warfare. Changing pace a bit though, there lies within the essence of the dropkick the ability to be used for pure destruction. 

That's Conquest, War, Famine and Death all in one. With this, the devastation for me comes from both the connection of the kick and the victim being pinned down. In that one above, Honma is stuck between a rock and a hard pair of feet flying at his fucking face, not a lot of give there I don't think. As horrific as that is, probably a more vicious variety of dropkick comes when the victim is sent flying into something. 

You don't have to look too much further than the audience in that clip to see the sort of reaction that generates. It must really fucking suck to be hit with that; not only does Balor properly knock him back, that connection of the head and turnbuckle is not a pretty sight. They don't come much nastier than that.

Looking across the modern world of wrestling, as well as the above examples, there are some performers out there with some stellar dropkicks, and few get me more hyped than Braun Strowman's;

Those fan-dangled dropkicks ain't just for cruiserweights, brother. Even with a silent gif I can vividly hear Braun screaming at Mark with every loop.

Making it 2-for-2 in the shoutouts for this series, Kazuchika Okada also lays claim to one of wrestling's best dropkicks, mixing height and connection to create a jaw-jacking manoeuvre to put down any bastard that just so happens to be hurtling towards him.

Gedo's little cheer at ringside is probably my favourite part of that gif.

Doing my research for this, I like to have a look at who Wikipedia cites as popularising and innovating the moves. Okada was up there for the standing dropkick, but there was another name alongside him, one that caught me off guard. I knew this guy was awesome, and I guess its probably down to limited viewing of his work, but goddamn looking it up made me see the truth.

Ladies and gentlemen, Hardcore Holly. 

However, with money riding on it and in spite of Okada's majesty, I would say that the best dropkick in wrestling today goes to 'The Phenomenal One', AJ Styles.

Everything about it is beautiful, but for me, its the leap and the landing that makes it. AJ's not the tallest of lads, and for him to get the verticality needed to nail his opponent in the face is, well...phenomenal. On top of that, the landing at the end is slick as anything, essentially making the move more of a dropsault variation.

In conclusion, the dropkick is a thing of beauty. Whether you're dropping out of the sky, barrelling down at a poor fucker sat in the corner or laying in wait for perfect interception, connecting with two feet is an ideal way to rock some heads. With a lot of strikes, there's a general feeling of 'I could do that', but a dropkick is something to aspire to. I can't tell you how many times I've jumped on my bed going for a dropkick, but I can assure you each time they've looked like pure shit. So with that in mind, the next time you see a dropkick in action, look beyond the common spot it's become, and appreciate the athleticism needed to perform such a feat.

Well that's gonna do it from me for this time folks. I hope you've enjoyed this part of The Wrestler's Arsenal, and if you've any requests on what should be covered next, please do let me know, and whenever that may be, I'll see you guys there!

The Wrestler's Arsenal #1: The Lariat

In an ever continuing movements of me coming up with new ideas for series, I call this 'The Wrestler's Arsenal', where we look at moves that have become a standard in modern day pro wrestling, looking at the overall impact and coolness of these moves. Starting us off, its a beast of a move; the lariat.

Quoting the truest of internet sources, Wikipedia, the lariat is 'often confused' with the clothesline. According to that treasure of a website, the clothesline is done with a straight, outstretched arm whereas the lariat is done with a swinging arm, plus it looks a whole lot cooler. In effect, the clothesline is done to takedown, and the lariat is done to attempt murder.

It's such a visceral and carnal strike, using a limb and throwing it at another person's head, and it adds a touch of anger and tenacity that always lends to building a lovely bit of drama into your graps.

Now, whenever I see lariats used in rotation of a moveset, when executed well, they became more of a statement than anything else. The action and motion of a lariat just screams 'raw power', either coming from a position of dominance and reasserting the power dynamic, or coming from the back foot to re-shift the battlefield and make us question the progression of that match-up. A proper lariat can act as a high spot all on its own, a turning point that can change the trajectory of a wrestler's plight, or in some instances, finish the war.

The challenge of pro wrestling is making the combat look like a legitimate contest, which with strikes is a very unique problem. Safety should always be at the forefront of the mind when wrestling, and luckily the lariat being targeted at the upper chest allows for some room for stiffness. And by some room, I mean you get some people throwing them like a fastball at the World Series (I assume that's a relevant metaphor I am British remember), hard and stiff as a wooden corpse. In regards to this, making him the undisputed king of this is probably the man known as Stan 'The Lariat' Hansen; it's his goddamn nickname he's that good. I suppose being partly blind gave the man the ability to leave his fucks at the door.

The slight adjustment of the elbow pad makes it for me. Here's another, and make sure to shout 'BAM' or any interchangeable illegible scream when it connects;

And just to really hammer this point home, just take a gander at this one, the epitome of telling someone to 'fuck off entirely'.

Even the bloody ref feels the energy being exerted.

In today's landscape of pro-wres, there are some top class throwers of lariats around the world. Probably the most renowned and kayfabe powerful in the business today must be the Rainmaker Lariat thrown by the ace of New Japan, Kazuchika Okada. It's a match ender, a tool of chaos and the move that has protected his lengthy title reigns over hundreds of days, flooring any bastard that steps up to face the man.

One that is perhaps a touch underrated may be that of Luke Harper, throwing a rotation in there to make his Discus Lariat a weapon of wrath capable of forest clearing.

And whilst we're here talking about lariats the equivalent of a 12 gauge to the sternum and turning a man into a ragdoll, Satoshi Kojima's name is readily available for nomination 

To conclude, the lariat is a wonderful thing. 

Need to stop a man in his tracks? Throw a lariat.

Need to level the playing field? Throw a lariat.

Need to remind your opponent who the fuck you are? Throw a lariat.

Need to kill a man? Throw a lariat.

If you have a mean lariat and you're not afraid to throw it out there, you're definitely gonna make an impact in your match, on both your opponent and the audience. Such a simple motion of swinging an arm can have cataclysmic effect, and 29,000 times out of 29,001, it's cool as shit.

That's gonna do it from me for this one folks, thank you for supporting me in my more relaxed approach to wrestling writing. Let me know what you think of the premise of this series, I just thought it was a nice little fun something I can whip up and share with you guys. Plus, watching wrestling gifs is always a joy. See you all in the next one!

BWOTW: 14/8/17 - 19/8/17

Hey graps fans! Come on in, sit down and get ready for this newest edition of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'The Climax of Climaxes'

It's been pretty hectic for us, with a blockbuster week of news!

1. The G1 Climax is done and dusted, and the winner of the series was none other than Tetsuya Naito! He's on his way to WrestleKingdom 12, now its just a matter of who it is he'll be facing...
2. Championship news now as we have a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion in the form of Akira Tozawa! The rematch is set for SummerSlam however, and it looks like Neville is desperate to reclaim his title. Also, The Young Bucks have lost thier IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag titles to the team of Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet!
3. In what could have been championship news, Baron Corbin cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on SmackDown!, but it would result in failure after some distraction from John Cene lead to Jinder Mahal being able to roll Corbin up and retain. I can't help but feel sad for Big Banter Baron.
4. It has been reported this week that not only has Adam Cole (baybay) now officially joined NXT, but also FUCKING FINALLY SHELTON BENJAMIN HAS SIGNED WITH THE WWE! Ain't no stoppin' him, just a few year+ delays.
5. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have reunited, and are challenging for the RAW Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam. God I hope we get to hear the 'Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta' intro.
6. Southpaw Regional Wrestling is back with a second season, and they've got even more characters and even more merch! Be sure to check it out.

Also, before we get going, I want to send my best of wishes to 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair, we're all pulling for you, champ!

And now for the frosting on this wrestling blog of a wedding cake, it's the matches!

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (14/8//17): Neville vs Akira Tozawa - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Starting off the week we're on Monday Night RAW with Neville defending his WWE Cruiserweight Champion against Titus Worldwide representative, Akira Tozawa.

These guys put on a great show here on RAW, with both guys having great performances and telling a lovely story. The shoulder injury of Tozawa still lingered and was the main target for Neville, with arm wringers and just all levels of nastiness to deliver as much pain as possible. The Rings of Saturn was attempted in the hopes of tearing the shoulder up to the point of submission, but Tozawa managed to wriggle out of it.

Tozawa attempting the diving senton was another layer in this match, with him attempting it a couple of times unsuccessfully, with Neville interrupting him on the top and later Tozawa missing it all together. The third would be the clincher though, after Neville resorted to going back to his flashy way in going for the Red Arrow, only for it to backfire spectacularly.

And so, the lengthy reign of Neville as Cruiserweight Champion is over. Tozawa probably was the best option to go with dethroning Neville. Another thing I wanted to write about this match was how good Titus O'Neill is at ringside. I much prefer him shouting and hollering on the outside rather than on commentary, helps liven up the crowd for the cruiserweight division they usually aren't massively interested in. Whilst this was a good match, I'd say that Neville's battles with Austin Aries over the title were better. However, this is probably the best we've gotten from Tozawa since the Cruiserweight Classic last summer, but, now that he has the gold silver around his waist, he'll have plenty of chances to prove his worth in the coming months.


SmackDown! LIVE


Best Match on SD! (15/8/17): The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)

Ahead of their match at SummerSlam, we have The New Day, represented by Kofi and Xavier tonight taking on the down since day one-ish brother of The Usos.

Things started off hot, with Woods and Kingston unleashing a flurry of double teams onto their opponent, letting out the anger they didn't get chance to last week;

The rest of the match did see a fair few New Day doubles, but their hot streaks were routinely cut down by The Usos, a nice touch with them dismantling Woods' attempt at his rope walk elbow, the move that beat them at Money in the Bank and took away their titles.

The Brothers Uce would dip into the playbook of taking down Kingston by the knee, enabling them to channel their inner Jacksons and deliver a double superkick to his jaw and secured the pin. 

A nice fun match here on SmackDown!, with some good stuff in the time they were given. With how much I liked their match at MitB, and the placement of them on the preshow possibly allowing them a fair chunk of time (what the fuck else are they gonna do with those two hours), they're my dark horse to steal the show.

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (15/8/17): Cedric Alexander & Gran Metalik vs Tony Nese & Drew Gulak

We're on 205 Live now and bloody hell they've got Gran Metalik on TV two weeks in a row! He's got his old mask back (yay!) but no more tassles (fuck), and here he is teaming with Cedric Alexander going up against the sort of only tag team the cruiserweight division has, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak.

Once again, Metalik is doing insane shit that really should grant him a better place on the card. I mean, just look at it!;

I could train for 12 years to just do that one move exclusively, and I still wouldn't be able to do it. Give this man a push, WWE.

Everyone else was their usual good selves; Cedric was slick as all hell, Tony's getting better and better at his cocky heel side, and Gulak persisting with the 'No Fly Zone' thing he's got going. Fuck it, put him and Metalik in a feud for a month and watch some magic be made.

So yeah, fun bouncy match this one. Nothing too spectacular, with the main focusing point of this episode being on Neville/Tozawa fallout, so no real main event on the show. Oh, and how cool is new psycho brawler Jack Gallagher?

NXT

Best Match on NXT (16/8/17): Roderick Strong vs Drew McIntyre
Honourable Mention(s): Billie Kay vs Ruby Riot


We're on the path to TakeOver: Brooklyn III and this week we have a real good episode of NXT, main evented by Roderick Strong going up against Drew McIntyre, with the agreement being he would get to challenge Bobby Roode again sometime after Brooklyn.

An interesting set-up to this match that played out here. Going into TakeOver, we've had McIntyre parading around as the 'for the people' babyface, but here in this match, he played much more of the dominant, big bastard Strong had to overcome. Strong showed some great fire in the match, really taking it to Drew and mustering up several horses worth of power to muscle him up and break his back. He got to do his awesome catch out of the corner one, as well as dropping the fucker right on the apron.

As I said, Drew was the intimidating hoss of the match, delivering some powerful blows to Strong and rocking him. I've always thought McIntyre is better as a heel, but I'm willing to see where they go with him at the minute.

The match would culminate to a dirty finish with Roode storming the ring and picking off both of the weakened men, getting some momentum as he looks to defend in Brooklyn. This was a good match, and whilst the ending did prevent it from being better, everything leading up to it was great and should be recognised as so. I'd definitely recommend it.

Ring of Honour 

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 307): KUSHIDA & Kenny King vs The Bullet Club (Marty Scurll & Hangman Page)


An impromptu match here on Ring of Honour; after the Television Title match between KUSHIDA and Kenny King (which was also rather good) was thrown out following run-ins from 'The Villain' Marty Scurll and Hangman Page.

Kenny King as a singles competitor like this probably doing the best out of everyone that was in The Rebellion, though I suppose Rhet's only had one match so far (on this episode against CHEESEBURGER) and Shane Taylor just attack Josh Woods a couple weeks ago, but I would definitely say that King has the most promise, especially if he keeps these sort of performances up. 

I'm a big fan of Scurll and Page, with the latter's appearances on ROH TV being something I look forward too. Page is criminally underrated, and he had a great performance this week, having more ring time than Scurll I think, and getting his coolest shit in. Every time he does that Shooting Star shoulder block its a thing of beauty, as well as the Buckshot Lariat.

KUSHIDA continues to be awesome at damn near everything, and with the G1 now over, we'll hopefully get to see him defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship some more.

As always, you can catch ROH TV for FREE on either www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current, on the Fite TV app, or at www.fite.tv,

Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E31): Fenix vs Prince Puma

It's the semi-final round of the Cuerto Cup this week and as well as Pentagon Dark versus Mil Muertes, we have this awesome clash between Fenix and Prince Puma.

Flippery-fuckedy-doos here in this match. The opening couple of minutes had a deeper feeling out process than I was expecting, with the two luchadores going hold for hold, but still busting out some agile escapes to keep it exciting. However, it would not be long at all before things started to heat up, with a deadly superkick from Fenix setting the tone for the action there on. It was very back and forth, both Puma and Fenix wowing the crowd, me included, with their insane high flying capabilities.

Some muddying of the match happened when Marty 'The Moth' Martinez came to be a creep towards ring announcer, Melissa Santos, distracting Fenix who did a scary Asai moonsault that nearly spiked himself on the apron. That then allowed Puma to take advantage and proceed to the finals against Pentagon Dark.

This was a great match with high octane action, making it another one I recommend checking out from this week. 

NJPW: G1 Climax

Finals

Best Match on G1Finals: Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega
Honourable Mention(s): Rysuke Taguchi & Ricochet vs The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), The Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Cody Rhodes) vs War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe)

Holy fuck.

Holy fuckeroo.

Holy fuckerooni patooti.

Crikey O'Riley this was a belter of a match, I think I even liked this better than Omega/Okada III. There was just tonnes of stuff happening in this match, I have a load of gifs and clips here for you to try and illustrate it but I doubt it'll be able to do this match justice.

piledriver, ring post, powerbomb drop, super steiner, tons of triggers, tranquilo fake out, croyts wrath, spinny destino, 

Since watching Naito lately, it gave me the idea of 'hey, people must assume by now he's gonna fake out on the suicide dive, so why not hit one and surprise them?'. Little did I know that Naito's tranquilo powers gives him telepathy.



Outside the ring saw arguably this matches nastiest spot, with a piledriver to the outside off of a table - not through a table, off of it. Omega caught the top of his head on the edge of an adjacent table that put the fear of God in me, and this marked the first in a series of blows he'd take in this match, with Destinos and frankensteiners from various heights landing on the bulls-eye of Omega's head. Having the top of the head as a worked target is not something I've seen before, and I can see why because it all looked fucking brutal. The other pants shitting spot saw both men perched on the top rope and Kenny essentially DDT-ing Naito right onto the post. I believe these were intentional moves, but Christ it certainly didn't feel like it watching it.



Talking about nasty blows, the number of V-Triggers Omega landed in this match was crazy, and all of them were harsh. Like proper, full on, thunder clapping hits. How Naito's head remained on his shoulders, I have no idea, and how he managed not to die is another miracle.



With this match and Okada/Omega the night before, I am pretty sure that Omega's 'Croyt's Wrath' has become my new favourite move in all of professional wrestling, hands down.

These guys threw everything at each other, and as we've seen, some unexpected and heart stopping spots that made me shift in my seat from the thrill of it all and out of shock that they were willing to put themselves through that sort of punishment. The end would come about from Naito finally landing a full and proper Destino after this ultra-cool spinning one;

What a fucking match readers, bell-to-bell awesomeness, and in case you haven't figured out what wins this week...

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega - G1 Climax Finals

This is a match of the year candidate, be sure to check it out and I guarantee you it will be on your list come December as well. After being booed when he won in the G1 in 2013 when he was a babyface, this rebirth from the Los Ingobernables de Japon journey looks like it's about to come full circle. Shoutouts to Strong/McIntyre and Fenix/Puma, but they didn't have a chance against this.

With another MOTY contender under his best, Omega continues to dominate the leaderboard, but with the G1 finished and New Japan's presence on the blog taking a bit of a break, can someone rise through the ranks and take him down?

All that's left now is to give out 'The Best Promo of the Week' which goes to arguably WWE's best talker (outside of Southpaw Regional Wrestling), Neville in his dishevelled, demented state on 205 Live;

Welp, that does it from me for this week folks. I hope everyone enjoys SummerSlam weekend, as well as the rest of your time in the space between we speak again. Be good to yourself as well as each other out there, I'll catch you ass down the road.

BWOTW: 7/8/17 - 12/8/17

Hello there readers and welcome to this newest post on this here blog, 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Okada/Omega III'

Give it up for Day 18 of the G1 Climax!

But before we jump into things, lets have a quick look at the news;

1. The block winners of the G1 have been confirmed! A-Block has been won by Tetsuya Naito, and B-Block has been won by Kenny Omega! HE BEAT OKADA! What a ride it has been.
2. It's being reported that Scott Dawson's injury is going to keep him out until December. Motherfuck.
3. I don't know the validity of this, but apparently Ronda Rousey is about to begin training for pro wrestling soon with Brian Kendrick. If Kendrick can manage to train Eva Marie to work a match, lord knows what he'll be able to do with Ronda.
4. Bayley's shoulder injury seems to be legit, and it's taken her out of SummerSlam. I don't think there's been any reports on a timeframe for her return to action, so we'll just have to watch this space.
5. In perhaps the most disturbing news we got this week, The Rock has had the Brahma Bull covered up. The Attitude Era is dead.
6. More new music! Baron Corbin has a new theme I'm yet to make my mind up on, and debuting on NXT TV this week, it's the Street Profits. Just when I thought Usos had the best theme for a tag team, these guys swoop in and take it;

And now for the rice in this wrestling blog plate of sushi (I assume that's an okay metaphor), it's the matches!

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (7/8/17): Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose
Honourable Mention(s): Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns - Last Man Standing Match

We're getting things started here on RAW with a really good match, one I would say is probably the best match the show's had yet this year, with Cesaro taking on Dean Ambrose.

Simply put, this was a great wrestling match. These guys locked up and in the first few exchanges, as well as peppered in throughout, we saw some lovely pure technicalities, at some points going lucha with a knuckle-lock monkey flip sequence. 

Despite not being the main event, which was also really fun by the way, these two made this have a big fight feel. Helped by the fact this seemed to go longer than most TV matches, the moment that secured that feeling for me was the first instance on the top rope, teasing a superplex to the outside. If Dynamite Kid has taught us anything, it's that that is a bad idea, however, knowing how insane Dean is when it comes to bumps I wouldn't have been totally surprised by it. It got the crowd to their feet, who were great in general on RAW and SmackDown! this week; 

Cesaro got made to look a beast in this match, though Ambrose would play the plucky underdog that would somehow find it in him to keep kicking out and the like. Cesaro's uppercuts are the best in the business in my opinion, and in this match he got to do some real damage with them;

The end would come through Ambrose rolling Cesaro up for the victory, though Cesaro properly dominated this match so he looked good in defeat. Real good match here on RAW, give it a look if you've got the time.

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (8/8/17): The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs Tye Dillinger & Sami Zayn

DOWN SINCE DAY ONE-ISH! LINE 'EM ALL UP, KNOCK 'EM DOWN LIKE THIS!

I love that theme, and here they are, The Usos heading up against a pair of Canadian's in front of a Montreal crowd, Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger.

This was a fairly standard tag match, with everyone involved being on for the fans in attendance with a good showing. Usos continue to put on stellar tag performances, plus Tye got to show his worth in the role of gaining the hot tag and pumping up the crowd, with Sami being the partner to take the brunt of the damage. 

It's been a fair while since we've seen The Usos win with their brutal Tequila Sunrise after the assisted dropkick, a finisher that would prove fatal to Dillinger as he would join the list of those who have succumbed to it.

Overall, a decent fun match to kick off SmackDown!, giving Usos more momentum as we head towards their rematch next Sunday. Also, the post match gave us a new side of The New Day, vengeful and fully prepared to kick ass with steel chairs in hand. Usos/New Day is my dark horse to steal that Brooklyn show, let's hope they do well!

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (8/8/17): Tony Nese vs Cedric Alexander

It's 205 Live time here on the blog, and this week we have 'The Premier Athlete' Tony Nese back at it again against Cedric Alexander.

I can't really remember a whole lot about this match. I'd safely say that I preferred Nese/Metalik from the week before, seemed to be more bouncy and better paced, with this having a couple of lulls here and there that disrupted the pace a little, whereas these guys could have gone hard for longer. It's good if you're looking for a little something to watch, but I feel there are better options for that sort of thing this week, such as...

NXT

Best Match on NXT (9/8/17): Oney Lorcan vs Danny Burch

It's the rematch from the shit-kicking match a couple weeks ago, its Danny Burch taking on Oney Lorcan.

I will say that I liked their first match more than this one. I felt it had more varied offence, probably went a little longer too which allowed for that, but this was still good. Burch was looking to get a win back, so they played out that he had gained some counters and know how to take on Lorcan, such as working a way out of the single leg crab that made him submit before. The strikes were as stiff as ever in this one, open hands aplenty, the two brawlers smacking the piss out of each other.

Burch would gain the equaliser through a roll up pin on Lorcan, setting this mini-feud to 1 fall a piece. They played up the handshake in the post match, with Lorcan being resistant at first but eventually coming round to it. My money is on these guys joining together and taking part in this year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They've built the tag division to a good standard as of late, and pretty under the radar too. I feel like I'm one of the few people who really like the Dusty Classic, and I think this year's has the potential to be the best yet. I'm tempted to do another tournament guide for it depending on the teams we get. 

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 306): Cody Rhodes vs Christopher Daniels - 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the ROH World Championship

Switching gears now as we turn the channel to Sinclair Broadcasting as we find ourselves in Ring of Honour territory. This week was a strange episode. We had Daniels cashing in his rematch clause from losing the title at Best in the World, with Cody adding the stipulation. With 2 out of 3 falls typically being quite long, I can understand this being the only match on the show, but from what I remember, all but one segment was dedicated to the Daniels/Cody feud. 

What made things even more confusing is the suddenly newly heel turned Daniels, and the hard to place heel/face allegiance of Rhodes. Cody is up there as being one of the most heelish current member of the Bullet Club, yet he played this match as a face. However, in some of the promos the showed, he had the makings of a main ROH heel, in one saying he's not a pro wrestler, he's a sports entertainer, something sure to attract boos from the ROH faithful. At the same time, Daniels is suddenly going back to his heel way, delving even deeper in being a dick, berating the audience, with lots of censorship needed for his language. I get that this is probably what they had in mind for a while, but this seems to have come out of nowhere, especially considering how extreme they've gone with it.

I'd have to say that the match itself wasn't too spectacular, most of it felt like character work, putting over Daniels as a new reinvigorated heel and making Cody have more face appeal. I will say that I liked Daniels sneaking in a chair shot between bells after Cody won the first fall, but I can't recall much else really standing out.

This is probably the first match of this type I can remember being won 2-0, with Cody retaining his championship after some involvement from Kazarian and Marty Scurll in opposite roles from Best in the World, which was admittedly a nice touch. However, the rest of it didn't do much for me.

As always, you can catch ROH TV for FREE on either www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current, on the Fite TV app, or at www.fite.tv, I feel like this week is probably good to get a grasp of the new heel Daniels, but it is kinda confusing.

Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E30): Jeremiah Crane vs Mil Muertes

We're looking at Lucha Underground now, the Cuerto Cup continues, and this was just an all out, hardocre brawl as we have 'The Lucha Death Machine' Sami Callihan taking on Mil Muertes 

Things got quickly underway as Muertes attacked Crane in his entrance. There was a commercial break fairly soon, and we'd next see Crane as he was thrown through a door towards the camera. From there, there was less of a wrestling match and more of a fight, with the two men tossing each other into the rows of seats, using chairs and tables - one not breaking on the first attempt but quickly redeemed by Muertes warpath powerbombing Crane through it.

Crane got a real good showing in this, managing to hold back Muertes, deal some considerable damage and kick out of a few pinfall attempts. He also did something I can't remember seeing before, having Muertes laid out, a chair in position, the support of the legs across the throat, and using another chair to smash the seat, forcing the whole thing down. Badass.

Things would eventually come down to Muertes winning, putting Crane down with his big cool spear. This was a pretty good match, and if you like your mad, arena wide brawls like the old WWE hardcore division, you'll like this for sure.It looks like it's Muertes versus Pentagon Dark in the semi-finals then. Sounds awesome.

NJPW: G1 Climax

Day 16

Best Match on G1D16: Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada

In the penultimate day for B-Block, it's the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, taking on the man he faced at The New Beginning, the man that haunts my nightmares, the NEVER Openweight Champion, Minoru Suzuki. 

Okada started off this match with his neck taped, so Suzuki didn't hesitate in his attack, not going for the limb targeting of their previous meeting, instead just using his brute force. The champion still looked strong in this match, more so than New Beginning I'd say, despite his injuries sustained over the past couple of weeks. 

The ending sequence was an interesting to choice, with neither man getting the pin, neither taking a loss, in an ending reminiscent of Okada/Omega II at Dominion;

I thought this was a really good match, however I feel both of these guys had better matches in the tournament before this. The time limit draw ending I liked, starting to show cracks in the champion that would come out on full show just two days later (keep on reading!), and giving us the possibility of another Suzuki/Okada match as well.

Day 17

Best Match on G1D17: Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Finishing off A-Block, we have the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi taking on one of, if not the most popular man in New Japan, Tetsuya Naito.

This match was the spectacle of the night, with both guys putting on a hell of a performance in a battle to the end. From all accounts of the wear and tear sustained in this tournament, with Tanahashi's pre-existing bicep tear, and reports of Naito also breaking down, I was concerned that we wouldn't get these guys at their best, which is always a risk in events like this. However, I feel that both men had their best showing of the tour in this match, helped tremendously from the roaring crowd in the Sumo Hall who ate up every bit of it.

It felt like there was a lot of counters to each man's respective playbooks, especially the Destino, with Tanahashi managing to stop seemingly no end of attempts at it. However, Naito would end up getting the win, taking top spot with 14 points, winning the block, and heading to the finals.

Dare I say this was the best match of A-Block? A great performance overall by both men, putting on an awesome match to close out the league table. I really recommend this match, but you know what I recommend more.....?

Day 18

Best Match on G1D18: Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada

The trilogy is complete, and what a way to finish things off here in the final match of B-Block in the G1 Climax. Right off the bat, I want to say that I think this is my favourite match of the three. The 30-minute time limit of all G1 matches made for more concentrated action, though left plenty of room for storytelling and psychology. Add to this, the points system with Omega needing a win and Okada able to win the block with a draw, and there's another layer to the story.

So, going into this, we have both guys beaten from enduring the previous 8 G1 matches, with Okada especially damaged from the Suzuki match. Okada had a fucked up neck, taped up and boy oh boy did this come into play in this match. Omega working the neck of Okada was kind of hard to watch at points, not only seeing Okada coming down on it, but lord above Kenny got some nasty strikes in. I couldn't put my reaction to a stiff chop right on the top of the neck quite like Don Callis did; 'JESUS CHRIST! JESUS CHRIST!'. This eventually led to a reverse frankensteiner on the floor that put the champion out on the floor for a good minute or two, but Omega would not be content;

From there on, Okada would somehow make his comeback, starting to take to Omega, rocking him hard and making the time limit draw looking like more and more of a possibility. However, that neck would be ever-present, with Okada being taken down regularly, face full of pain, Gedo looking on like a distraught father, I actually thought he was gonna throw in the towel. Each V-Trigger was nastier than the last, and every one looked like it could have ended it.

Kenny pulled out his bag of tricks to continue the torture, busting out another Tiger Driver, doing the first Croyt's Wrath I've seen since properly following NJPW and also, showing The Rock what's up;

Great googly mooglies that impact was harsh. Okada would have glimmers of hope, hitting a couple of Rainmakers in this time, but ultimately, Omega would prove to be just too much, and finally proclaim that he could beat the man that has had his number since January;

Omega's wins B-Block and is on his way to face Naito to decide who will reign supreme over this tournament. 

What a fucking match guys, like I said, my favourite of the three so far. So, with that in mind, it might be easy to guess where this is going...

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Day 18

What can I say really? With talents like these, working with and developing on the story they've created over the better part of the year, they were bound to deliver something special, and that's exactly what we got. Also, shoutouts to Naito/Tanahashi for another great block finale, as well as Suzuki/Okada and Cesaro/Ambrose.

The results are in, and this is how they affect the leaderboard. Omega continues to push ahead, but Okada has leapfrogged a fair few thanks to his two matches this week, THE FEUD CONTINUES!

As for 'The Best Promo of the Week', it has to go to the newest, and in my opinion best, Fashion Files to date. The mystery of 'Dango is solved, along with some great co-stars making appearances too!

That's gonna do it from me for this week friends, be sure to come back next week for the G1 Finals, as well as the go home shows as we head towards Brooklyn for TakeOver and SummerSlam. Here's to wishing you all good health and good times over the next few days, treat yourselves, and I'll catch you on the next one.

Pro Wrestling Case Studies #1: The Great Sasuke

Hey there readers! We've reached 100 posts here on this little blog of mine, and I thought this would be a great time to finally experiment with this idea I've had for a little while, called 'Pro Wrestling Case Studies'. Combining my love of pro wrestling and history, we will look in depth at someone, or something, in particular. I was thinking I could use this to expand my knowledge, looking into things I might not have much prior knowledge to. So, here is the first in the series, taking a look at one of the best juniors of the 90s, the wrestler known as The Great Sasuke.

The image above is what sparked my interest in The Great Sasuke to begin with. I first saw it in a YouTube video on the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling (its more of a music video showing NJPW over time, but its still a good watch anyway), and it struck me, because the only wrestler up until then I've seen to be that decorated was Ultimo Dragon. To me, Ultimo is one of those fabled competitors who just kicked ass everywhere he went (less so in WWE I guess), in Japan, Mexico, Canada, the US, anywhere that has a postcode. So, I wondered why I had no idea who this guy was and decided to look into him, and boy oh boy did I find some goodies with this one.

After becoming a pro in 1990, Sasuke would head off and spend the first couple of years wrestling in Mexico for a company called UWA, the Universal Wrestling Association, possibly one of the most generically named promotions in existence. Sasuke would return to his native Japan in 1993, founding his own promotion, Michinoku Pro Wrestling. Notably, this was the first independently run Japanese promotion to not be based in Tokyo, rather, setting up shop in the north eastern area of Japan's Honshu Island. Michinoku Pro would centre its style on that of lucha libre, something Sasuke would have studied and visibly became proficient in during his time in UWA. Also in this year, Sasuke would also compete for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), a hardcore based promotion known for its stipulations containing the words; 'exploding', 'barbed wire', '15,000 Volt', 'bomb' and 'Six Man Loser Eats Dog Food Ladder Scramble Match'

It was in 1994 that Sasuke would make his first appearance for New Japan Pro Wrestling, taking part in that year's Super J Cup. Taking place over the span of one night, the tournament hosted competitors from various promotions other than New Japan, with Sasuke, Super Delfin and Taka Michinoku representing Michinoku Pro, Ricky Fuji and Hayabusa for FMW, Gedo for WAR and Masayoshi Motegi for SPWF.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer AKA Big Money Meltz AKA Big Dick Dave AKA Grandaddy Meltzer has called this the best wrestling event of 1994, as well as ranking highly with some of the best ever on recent episodes of Wrestling Observer Radio. On the night, The Great Sasuke had 3 matches, rated by Metlzer at 4.5, 4.75 and the illustrious 5 stars. 

The 4.75 would come in the form of Sasuke's first match in what would go on to be one of his greatest rivalries, taking place in the semi-finals up against Jushin 'Thunder' Liger. Here's a lovely match link for you (Dailymotion). Whilst this match is great, it is worth noting that it did give us this legendary gif.

Defeating Liger, Sasuke advanced to the finals, facing off against Wild Pegasus, AKA Chris Benoit, in a losing effort, but cementing himself as one of the best junior heavyweights in Japan, as well as the world at large. Again, got a lovely match link for you here (Dailymotion).

A couple years later in 1996, The Great Sasuke would compete in another New Japan orchestrated tournament, with the very premise being to decide the greatest junior heavyweight in the J-Crown Tournament. This comprised of 8 junior champions coming together, with each bout being a title-for-title match to the point where the finalists each had 4 titles going into it. The contestants and their belts were;

• British Commonwealth Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Jushin Thunder Liger
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, The Great Sasuke 
• NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Masayoshi Motegi 
• NWA World Welterweight Champion, Negro Casas 
• UWA World Jr. Light Heavyweight Champion, Shinjiro Otani
• WWA World Jr. Light Heavyweight Champion, Gran Hamada 
• WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, El Samurai 

Just a quick note, this WWF Light Heavyweight Championship is the one that WWE do not acknowledge as existing, with them remaking one in 1997 after they demanded this be removed from the J-Crown and returned to them.

After defeating Motegi and El Samurai, Sasuke faced off against Ultimo Dragon, another of Sasuke's esteemed rivals in the final round of the tournament. Papa Meltzer would rate this match a no laughing matter 4.25 stars, and again, I've got a lovely link for you (YouTube). Sasuke was on top of the junior heavyweight world, he had the trophy, he had the titles, and he had the bitches;

1997 saw Sasuke take his shit-kicking, handspring-ing ways to the United States of America, including a match just one day after facing Jushin Thunder Liger at the Tokyo Dome, at ECW Barely Legal. This 6-Man Tag, with Sasuke teaming with Gran Hamada and Masato Yakushiji to take on the Japanese contingent of the Blue World Order, Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy and Dick Togo. That ECW ring makes it all sound much more painful, with the link to that match being right here (Dailymotion). Sasuke would make more appearances for ECW, facing off against the likes of Al Snow, Lance Storm, Justin Credible and even Tiger Mask. Most of these were on house shows, so probably exist somewhere on tapes, but all of Sasuke's appearances on Hardcore TV are available on the WWE Network!

The Great Sasuke would also make a couple of appearances for the World Wrestling Federation in their Light Heavyweight division in the lead to them reintroducing the Light Heavyweight Championship after pulling it from the J-Crown. Both of his matches would be against Take Michinoku at In Your House: Canadian Stampede (4 stars from Big Dick Dudley Meltzer, Dailymotion link here!) and on the following RAW.

Story has it that Sasuke was heavily pushed to be the winner of this new belt, but after he bragged to Japanese media, saying he would only defend it in Japan and wouldn't drop it on WWF television, ties were cut, as well as the working agreement between the WWF and Michinoku Pro. 

Sasuke continued to wrestle at a high level around the world until 2003, when he left the operating of Michinoku Pro to Jinsei Shinzaki and went to focus on his political career. In April of '03, Sasuke would win the election for the Iwate Prefectural Assembly, being the fourth Japanese wrestler to be elected into office, as well as the only masked one. Masked wrestlers in suits will forever be the best kind of pictures.

The following years saw him taking some years slow, but mostly he's been battling like anything, with 2011 seeing him take part in the Best of the Super Juniors, as well as Chikara's King of Trios along with Dick Togo and Jinsei Sinzaki to represent Michinoku Pro. Though he may have slowed down a bit in some areas, Sasuke has been wrestling for a wider array of companies than ever before in his career, including Pro Wrestling NOAH, the Kaientai Dojo and All Japan Pro Wrestling. However, as always, Sasuke continues to wrestle for his home promotion Michinoku Pro, having wrestled 954 matches for them since their creation, and is still going strong today at the age of 48.

Over his career, Sasuke has over 20 title reigns and won several tournaments. Sasuke is also seen as innovating the Michinoku Driver I, as well as the Senton Atomico, plus all of his various Sasuke Specials are sure to keep his legacy going for many years to come. After writing this and doing the research, I certainly now hold The Great Sasuke to high acclaim, ranking him up their with the best juniors in history. As a big fan of the Japanese junior style, it has been great to watch Sasuke in the class matches I've managed to find off the web, and I'll be sure to look out for more as well!

That does it for my retrospective on The Great Sasuke. Let me know what you think of it, as well as the concept of this series. I would like to give the How2Wrestling podcast a shout-out as being a big inspiration in the creation of this and I fully recommend you check those cats out, if you're a fan of the graps, you'll be a fan of them too. If there's anyone you'd like to be covered in this series, go ahead and suggest them! I am aiming to go with those who are more obscure to the mainstream pro wrestling audience, and I'm not too sure on the frequency that these will be put out. I do have an idea for who's next, my favourite Ring of Honour champion, Nigel McGuinness. Until the next one, I'll catch your ass down the road.

Further Viewing

The Great Sasuke vs Hayabusa - FMW: Year End Sensation, 1996 (YouTube)

The Great Sasuke, Masato Yakushiji & Gran Hamada vs Dick Togo, Terry Boy & Take Michinoku - ECW House Show, 14/2/1997 (YouTube)

The Great Sasuke vs Ultimo Dragon - Michinoku Pro: 4th Fukumen World League, 2007