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MoChatra

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Posts posted by MoChatra

    1PW shuts up shop

    in UKFF Gold

    Posted

    yeess..... and I think a lot could be done to repair that perception, based on how their trip goes.Did you even read what I wrote??

    Yes I did. And my point is, they might well judge the trip on the turnout this Friday. If only 300 people turn up, they'll think the British scene is dead, must be shit and won't go away with a good impression, even if they get taken out on the town and get treated like A-list superstars.

    1PW shuts up shop

    in UKFF Gold

    Posted

    Ummm... So is everyone conveniently overlooking the fact that he is actually still coming over to Britain next week?Sure, they might be a little wary because they got burned... but I would've thought a lot could be done to repair the relationship if their trip over here goes well.

    Oh definitely. A lot of that depends on the show getting a decent turnout. If RQW draw their usual attendance to York Hall, All Japan's opinions on the state of British wresting will only be confirmed if Muto has to work in front of a quarter-full venue.That's why I'm taking the day off work to attend the show.

    1PW shuts up shop

    in UKFF Gold

    Posted

    I hope nobody who's moaning about having paid for tickets they are unlikely to be refunded didn't read Moj's posts over the last few months. He clearly warned people that this would happen, so anybody that went and bought tickets regardless has only themselves to blame.I feel bad for Dean. Firstly, as the 1PW booker, the Gauntleys should have the courtesy to let him know before going public with this news. Dean's a resilient character and he'll bounce back to benefit another promotion with his creative capabilities.There's really little to add about 1PW's demise that hasn't already been commented upon. From day one, the business model was clearly not sustainable, and anybody with half a brain could've realised that. Unfortunately, it seems that those that did had their warnings/advice/guidance ignored, and instead the Gauntleys find themselves in a terrible financial situation. I wouldn't wish such misfortune on most people but they only have themselves to blame for ending up in this mess. Was putting on star-studded shows and having wrestlers and fans kiss their backsides for eighteen months really worth it in the end?All I can hope is that British wrestling, and budding promoters, can learn lessons from this debacle. However, as history has shown, somebody else will come along and repeat the mistakes of the latest great hope of British wrestling to bite the dust.

    Official ROH Discussion Thread

    in UK Fan Forum

    Posted

    I'd strongly recommend you purchasing Dragon Gate Challenge, Supercard of Honor and Better Than Our Best; the three shows that took place during WrestleMania week.The first two shows are both excellent and feature a bunch of matches which are both different and better than anything that occurred at WrestleMania. As you can see from my sig, the hottest match was the Dragon Gate six-man, which long-time wrestling writer Bruce Mitchell described as the greatest match he'd ever seen. Meltzer, Alvarez and Mike Johnson have also been waxing lyrical over it, and for good reason. It's impossibly good and probably in my top five matches of all time.I haven't seen Better Than Our Best yet though Gabe Sapolsky's been telling everyone that it's the best ROH show ever, in his considered opinion. Between those three, you'll get a flavour for ROH, its workers, feuds and in-ring quality. You won't go far wrong.

    While we're here there's something I've always meant to ask you. How do you view NOAH shows so quickly? I've noticed you have the Suguira Vs Kenta match from last weekend rated. I have a source in Japan but even then, it's at least 2 weeks before I receive the shows.
    NOAH's internet TV service usually upload matches from TV tapings within five days of them occurring. Nowadays, that service is usually trumped by individuals posting these matches on Far-Eastern message boards within a day or two of them taking place, only for people to then post them on western-based message boards.It was available at the F4W message board only two days after the match happened. When I was your age, I likely would've had to wait six months before a tape of such a show would've made it to our shores. Which means a) I'm getting old and b) wrestling fans have never had it so good. :)

    Official ROH Discussion Thread

    in UK Fan Forum

    Posted

    I'd strongly recommend you purchasing Dragon Gate Challenge, Supercard of Honor and Better Than Our Best; the three shows that took place during WrestleMania week.The first two shows are both excellent and feature a bunch of matches which are both different and better than anything that occurred at WrestleMania. As you can see from my sig, the hottest match was the Dragon Gate six-man, which long-time wrestling writer Bruce Mitchell described as the greatest match he'd ever seen. Meltzer, Alvarez and Mike Johnson have also been waxing lyrical over it, and for good reason. It's impossibly good and probably in my top five matches of all time.I haven't seen Better Than Our Best yet though Gabe Sapolsky's been telling everyone that it's the best ROH show ever, in his considered opinion. Between those three, you'll get a flavour for ROH, its workers, feuds and in-ring quality. You won't go far wrong.

    Official ROH Discussion Thread

    in UK Fan Forum

    Posted

    I caught Supercard of Honor a few days ago. It's the second of three shows that took place over three days prior to WrestleMania 22, and the first of two in Chicago. The line-up of the show, and my star ratings are:

     

    1. Ricky Reyes vs. Delirious vs. Flash Flanagan vs. Shane Hagadorn (Four Corner Survival) **1/4

    2. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Jimmy Yang **1/2

    3. Ace Steel vs. Chad Collyer (First Blood Match) **

    4. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries & Jack Evans ***3/4

    5. Do Fixer (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi, & Ryo Saito) vs. Blood Generation (CIMA, Naruki Doi, & Masato Yoshino)*****

    6. MsChif vs. Cheerleader Melissa vs. Allison Danger vs. Daizee Haze vs. Lacey vs. Rain (SHIMMER 6 Way Match) ***1/2

    7. Homicide vs. Mitch Franklin 1/2*

    8. Homicide vs. Colt Cabana *

    9. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jimmy Jacobs ***1/4

    10. Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong (ROH World Title Match) ****1/2

     

    Thoughts

     

    The prior night's show in Detroit was ace. This show, in front of one of ROH's biggest ever crowds, was perhaps even better.

     

    The opening three matches were pretty bog-standard. Delirious being Delirious was the highlight of the opener, with the pre-match bog roll bombardment being the most notable moment of a slightly disappointing second contest. Match three was the continuation of a feud nobody gives a shit about. What Collyer and Steel did was OK, but the ROH fans don't care about either of them.

     

    The next match was miles better. It was handshakes all around as both teams played face in an athletic and action-packed effort that was nearly as good as the February match between Aries, Strong, Styles and Sydal. Both teams had lengthy periods where enjoyed offence before it all melted down into an unashamed spotfest. Generation Next fell to the Styles and Sydal alliance, though, when Jack Evans was pinned by Matt Sydal following a shooting star press. As hot as the action was in this tag match, it paled in comparison to what followed.

     

    Do Fixer's Genki Horiguchi, Dragon Kid and Ryo Saito fought Blood Generation's Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi and CIMA in one of the classic matches of this decade. In fact, the only match I've seen since the dawn of the millennium that I would rate above this one would be the amazing Kobashi vs. Misawa contest on March 1, 2003. It was that good.

     

    I've followed the evolution of the Dragon Gate style since Ultimo Dragon launched Toryumon years back. Since then, Toryumon and Dragon Gate has proved to be one of the finest proving grounds for junior heavyweights in all of wrestling, with a progressive style that mixes state-of-the-art moves with what Gabe Sapolsky describes as 'advanced psychology'. All six guys involved in this match work a full-time touring schedule with one another, and this regularity of work has allowed the Dragon Gate roster to become an extremely polished and talented crew of performers. And boy did they perform in Chicago.

     

    The match started out at a relatively pedestrian pace, with an initial feeling out process leading into sustained spells where both teams enjoyed the advantage. The second half of this twenty-minute scorcher was something else as both teams shifted through the gears until they hit sixth gear for an incredible crescendo of amazing moves and near-falls. Really, matches with this much happening really shouldn't work but this was far from overkill because the style is so smart and sophisticated, moves can be sold properly whilst the pace is maintained because the action switches around between performers in a seamless manner.

     

    I've seen some fantastic Dragon Gate matches of a similar ilk in the past but this was at another level entirely. It appeared that all six had a point to prove and really wanted to show this foreign audience what Dragon Gate, its style and performers are all about. That's why the extra effort resulted in all six pulling out all the stops, and then some, in an effort to upstage those other Japanese wrestlers, such as Kenta Kobashi and KENTA, who had fought in some critically-acclaimed barnburners for ROH last year. Indeed, so great was the action, the assembled throng chanted in unison, "please don't stop". Even this jaded fan felt compelled to join them. This was something special and in my opinion, it's the leading contender for match of the year honours. Dragon Kid finally ended it with a beautiful Dragonrana on Doi.

     

    Six female wrestlers from the Shimmer promotion had the unenviable task of following that match. To their credit, they put in an admirable performance with relatively crisp and tidy work which was of a far greater quality than most WWE diva 'matches'. As a showcase for the Shimmer promotion, it was definitely a match which would encourage most viewers to check out the fledgling female league.

     

    The Homicide vs. Colt Cabana feud continued after this. Homicide squashed a nobody by the name of Mitch Franklin (presumably not related to Rich- sorry... I'll get my coat). Straight after this, Cabana came out and decided to go at it with his adversary of the last few months ahead of their final confrontation scheduled for the following night. Homicide overcame Cabana's attack and pounded Colt with the aid of a ladder and chair. A nice heat-up segment for the feud's finale.

     

    No sooner was that segment over, so CZW's Chris Hero and Necro Butcher invaded the ROH ring to keep this belter of a feud going. Needless to say, Hero didn't praise ROH for hosting an excellent Dragon Gate match; rather he blasted the promotion in his own cocky way. Naturally, this brought Adam Pearce, Claudio Castagnoli and Jim Cornette out to deal with Zandig's henchmen. Hero and Necro dealt with the ROH boys until Samoa Joe, a cast-wearing BJ Whitmer and a zillion ROH students headed to the ring to run the CZW contingent out of the building. Not surprisingly, this was the most heated segment of the show and kept the feud simmering until the next round of all-out warfare could resume in Philadelphia three weeks later.

     

    The penultimate three-way match was about what you'd expect, considering the participants. Really, the three were in a no-win situation, partly because of the short time allocation for the match (less than ten minutes- most likely because the show was running long) and the Dragon Gate and main event matches were always likely to steal the show. Not that that's a bad thing. It becomes numbing when an indy show has one match after another going for fifteen plus minutes with everyone trying their best to have a four-star-plus contest. Varying the pace of the show in this way works well for NOAH, and it's nice to see that ROH book their shows with a similar philosophy. Joe emerged victorious after choking out Jacobs.

     

    Onto the main event, then. Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong were no strangers coming into this one, with Strong having unsuccessfully fought Danielson last October and November in a pair of stellar outings. Expectations were high, with Danielson in imperious form since beating James Gibson for the ROH World title last September, and Strong having been consistently great in terms of in-ring for much of the last eighteen months.

     

    The match went 56 minutes, with the first twenty minutes fought at a slow pace, though it was never boring. The action began to pick up around the half-way stage as both guys began to bust out some of their bigger moves and the action spilled into the crowd. Going past the fifty-minute mark, the match was tremendously absorbing because the chance of an upset victory for Strong was, well, strong. That and the action itself kept the fans hooked on what was happening in the ring, even though the show had run well past midnight. Just when it appeared that the bout would go the distance, Danielson pulled off the title-retaining victory with a roll-up variation.

     

    Overall, this was a tremendous showcase for ROH, that had many people attending their first show produced by the company due to all the WWE fans in town that weekend. They surely must've been impressed with the event that featured a little something of everything. Hot wrestling of differing styles, interesting storylines and even a great promo (cut by Jim Cornette at the start of the show which ran down CZW and which also saw Samoa Joe and Adam Pearce beat up a pair of vanilla midgets dressed up as CZW workers). Even for ROH's most devout followers, this was quite the show and was amongst the company's best ever events. In an age when so many wrestling promotions are struggling both financially and creatively, it's refreshing to watch a wrestling promotion that has so many positive qualities about it. Long may this level of quality continue.

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