The Wrestling Framework 12.23.11: Undiscovered Title

Psychology: This is one of those matches that I really didn’t have to pay much attention to notice the in-ring psychology. Right from the first exchange the chemistry between the two was evident. They worked really well with each other and have similar styles which helps out a lot. They were able to work together to show that they are both evenly matched and it made the match more exciting because you didn’t know who was going to win. And Taichi working over Ibushi’s leg was a nice touch. Ibushi sold it nicely and there was added continuity with that as well. While there were times that Ibushi did something that would seemingly put a lot of stress on his leg, there was a point where Taichi remembered the leg and hit it and Ibushi immediately went down and sold the leg. Not the greatest of continuity, but it was there and it’s something that seems to be missing often times from the American mainstream matches. And another thing that added to the match, or at least to me, was the back and forth yelling and screaming. I don’t know why, but it just made the match a little more enjoyable to me. It made it seem like this was a legit contest. Perfect score for this aspect.

Work Rate: The work rate in this match was phenomenal. Well, mostly. There were points that were off and it hurt the match. There were a few botches and misses and some parts that were just slow for reasons that I can’t explain. This is what the Super J’s are all about. The in-ring work. You watch any Super J match and I guarantee they will never fail to show you something you may have never seen before or something that you have seen before, but better. While it may not always be the best for storyline advancement or even to get the point across about a character, it is something that fans can get in to and get excited about. And this match was pretty damn exciting. Albeit, slow at times, but still a generally fast paced and exciting match. But I should also point out that this was a standard Super J match in Japan. This is the usual for them. The heavyweights usually wrestle a more hard hitting style as I’ve shown previously here. And just to clarify, the Super J’s are about the equivalent of the Cruiserweights I believe. I might be wrong on that one. Anyone want to verify that for me? I’m a little lazy there.

Crowd: The crowd here was tough to judge. I’ve gotten better at judging Japanese crowds, but I don’t I’m not so sure when it comes to a small Japanese crowd like this. They were really in to the match, at least I think. They seemed to be. They popped for spots when they should have and they cheered loudly during the introductions and at the end. So with that in mind and considering the size of the cheers during the match and with the size of the crowd, I have to say that it was a really good crowd, but not the best. There was a little crowd interaction by the wrestlers which helped the score, but not much. That’s about all I have to say about the crowd here.

Spots: There were some good spots here, but then again, they were rather plain. I liked the deals like when they did the simultaneous dropkicks or even Ibushi’s dive to the outside. The little exchanges at the end were a nice touch, too. But at the same time, the final exchange spot was a little too slow and it hurt the match. If it had been a faster paced back-and-forth that led right to the finish, that would have been epic. But, that wasn’t so. The score for the spots got docked hard because of the nature of them. As you know, I like to second guess myself, so maybe I’m being a little too hard on the match. Or, to some, too lenient. But I think a point and a half is perfect for the spots provided in this match.

Finish: That finish was just not that great. It seemed like they were way more tired than they should have been. The ending, while it was a nice little ending, just wasn’t as good as it should have been. I’m not second guessing myself here, I know I’m being lenient on that finish, but I think that there was no way around it. They may have just tired themselves out in the exciting match and thus we got that slow ending. Or it could be that they just wanted a very decisive style of finish. It just wasn’t as good as I was expecting. Maybe that’s it. Maybe I set my expectations too high and they were shot out from the sky. That happens a lot with wrestling these days. Especially WWE. They kill my hopes constantly. Same with TNA, while I’m at it. But overall, this finish was decent, it got it’s point across, but it could have been much better.

Overall: It’s not exactly one of the classic like what I usually have, but it’s a damn fine match. This is the kind of wrestling that a lot of the fans in America are missing out on. This stuff is fun and fast paced. It keeps the heart pumping and the people watching in awe. You always are left wondering what they’ll do next. But at the same time, there is a reason for the American mainstream style. It’s low speed and it reduces the risk of injury to the wrestlers. But the slower pace also keeps things in better order. The wrestlers have time to set up and think about what they’re doing. And it’s a little easier to tell a story through the AMS style. We’re gonna call it the AMS style now. If no one has already done that, I’m totally copy writing that.

Okay, first off, let’s get passed Bischoff, Hogan, and Russo. Let’s get passed the bad comparisons. Why? Because these are the ones that are going to cause problems. Let’s start with the three headed dragon. From what I understand, TNA isn’t completely ran by these guys. They don’t have quite the same amount of pull that they did in WCW. This can definitely be a good thing. But at the same time, they have enough pull to do some possible damage. Look at the treatment of the homegrown talent. Granted, I can’t blame that all on Bischogasso, but I’m sure they still have a slight say in all of that. Garret Bischoff is a good example. I haven’t really been impressed with him yet. I’m giving him a chance, but if he’s booked to win, regardless of how, it’ll get old. I’ll give them credit for creating a new star with Garret, but at the same time, I don’t know how much of a star he really is or will be. I like to think that all three men have the collective talent to make something really special. But there’s one huge obstacle they have to overcome. Ego. All three men seem to think they’re still God’s gift to pro wrestling. Bischoff has a truly creative mind and I know he has the ability to make some compelling TV. Hogan has a great mind for wrestling, but his ideals are a tad bit outdated. Russo…for every 20 ideas he has maybe 2-3 are good. But he needs a filter. Which I think TNA finally found in what’s-his-name. Yeah, I’m an asshole for not doing my research, but I’m in the heat of the writing right now. And let’s take a look at the world title picture. Before Roode and Storm, it was Sting, Anderson, Hardy, RVD, Jarrett, and Angle. Not a bad thing, but a lack of TNA established stars. And not to mention young blood. But they have been doing really well to make things a lot more interesting.

I will give credit to the fact that they have made new stars and even taken indy guys and make them big names. Look at what they’ve done for both Storm and Roode. They’ve gone to premier tag team to premier main eventers. That just doesn’t happen often. Besides the Roode/BFG fiasco, they have redeemed themselves in my eyes. Their wrestling product really emulates what WCW was doing before they got in to the Monday Night Wars. They have the ability to, and often times do, provide some outstanding matches. Sometimes their storylines are lacking the “umpf” needed to make them good, but at the same time they’re entertaining for what it’s worth. TNA has so much potential, just like WCW did. They can be the next big company to give WWE a run for their money. Who knows, someday Dixie Carter and Vince McMahon could be on the same show at some point for some reason. I’ll leave that reason to you.

Here’s also my final point in the comparison. That’s owner. WCW had Billionaire Ted. He didn’t know a damn thing about the wrestling business. He just wanted it to be on his broadcast network because he knew it was huge and could draw. I think, and don’t hate me for this, but I think that Dixie wanted a wrestling company because she saw the potential in it. I don’t know much about Dixie besides the usual scuttlebutt, but I’m above judging someone on stuff like that. Er, yeah, that’s a lie. Regardless, I’ll try to keep this unbiased. Dixie most likely doesn’t know a damn thing about the business either. Probably, it was her dad who thought TNA was a good investment and something nice to give to his daughter to keep her within the family business. But it’s the same story. Ted put the same people in charge of things that Dixie now has in charge of things. Only Ted was smart enough to keep himself off of WCW TV.

What are your thoughts? Am I wrong? Do I have good points? What’s up, readers?

B-B-B-BONUS ROUND!

This week I bring you….

Yeah, he gets the best entertainer, yet worst gimmick awards. And it’s simply because he has been the same white meat babyface for the last few years and I’m sick of it. He needs a character overhaul BADLY. He needs to take a hiatus to reinvent himself. He’s not really a “gimmick” but I still couldn’t think of anyone else.

From day one, I was not a fan of him. Really, he just does not appeal to me like TNA would like him to. Not to mention, TNA was kind of shoving him down our throats with that whole undefeated streak. What were they trying to do? Re-invent the Goldberg? It was just really awful, but luckily he’s in a team with Matt Morgan…er, wait…

Couldn’t really decide who would win this one. I originally thought about also including the Uso’s in this list, but they have actually entertained me a few times this year. It may be harsh to give it to these two teams as they haven’t really been together much longer than a month, but they have bored the hell out of me so far.

I love JR, I really do. I will always remember him as one of the greatest play-by-play guys ever…but lately he just needs to NOT be on my TV if he isn’t calling matches. That catastrophe at the Slammy’s was unwatchable. I can’t even watch it again for humor value it was so bad. And do I really need to say much about Michael Cole? Besides this…

It would be wrong to give Cole’s own award to anyone else. While Taz has been unbearable, he has been no where near as unbearable as Cole. Cole just tries so hard to be a heel that he’s going beyond heel heat and just gaining real hatred. XPac heat, right? Hell, I even have to turn the commentary off on WWE ’12 because I can’t stand his blabbering. Though listening to him talk about the digital Michael Cole is kind of funny.

Another guy who gets both awards! Yay! How imaginative! But really, Hogan had the best and worst return this year. I explained why it was the best, but it was also the worst because it didn’t live up to the hype. And that really made me sad. I’m a Hogan fan, but I was hoping he would be an on air personality that wouldn’t be in the spotlight for 30 minutes collective each Thursday. Lately, it hasn’t been so…but when he initially came back…it was just bad.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, that’s it for me this week guys. Hope you enjoyed the column because I enjoyed writing it. It’s another stinker in my books because I had to rush some things….like the awards, but I’ll make up for it next week. Maybe. Probably not. Anyhow, ladies and gentlemen until next week remember…