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The 2012 MOTYC thread

340K views 3K replies 192 participants last post by  Alan4L 
#1 ·
#55 ·
Zero-1 Championship 1/1/12
Kohei Sato(c) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

This was awesome. Sekimoto gets his ass handed to him early on by taking a brutal bump onto a pile of chairs. This control segment by Sato was so great because it just looked so painful, his strikes were stiff and threw out some nice power moves. There was this odd segment where Sekimoto got in some offense but he kept it slow which I wasn't expecting. Later on we got that awesome comeback that I was expecting from him. Good finishing stretch too with a few nice nearfalls and more brutal strikes.

Sekimoto was awesome here. He came across as a total badass that took all sorts of punishment before he went down for the count. And because Sato managed to survive with his title he ended up looking great. I'm hoping they have a rematch down the road very soon. First Zero-1 match that I've ever seen and I have to say that it was really really good.
****


So I'm trying to make an informed decision on what gets my MOTY this year and I'll try to do a write up for anything that I give over 4*s. Wrestle Kingdom had a few that I gave ***3/4 but that was the highest so I didn't include any of them in here.
 
#61 ·
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama
AJPW; 2012/01/02


Only two days into the new year and Sekimoto already has three matches that could be considered MOTYC material. What a worker. This was a rare powerhouse match that I really got into, something that doesn't happened that often. Suwama, aware of Sekimoto's freaky strength, takes out his back and leaves him helpless. Locking in a crab, whipping him in to the barricade, just making him his bitch basically. This is all fuel to Sekimoto's comeback. He sells the back well and leaves you on the edge of your seat whenever he attempts a big power move.

Rating: ****¼
 
#63 · (Edited)
Sekimoto vs Suwama - AJPW 02/01
Wow I loved the hell out of this, incredible heavyweight match! Great workover by Suwama and selling by Sekimoto with some awesome comebacks and finishing stretch and a hot crowd to boot. Holy shit at the dead lift german to Suwama. Sekimoto is probably my favorite guy to watch in Japan right now. This was only the second Suwama singles match I've seen along with the Akiyama match, and I've seen him get some shit from some people but he's been so impressive with what I've seen of him. Awesome match.
****1/2

I just realised, did Sekimoto work the BJ and AJ shows on the same day and produce two MOTYC's? Man is too good.
 
#73 ·
SmackDown -- 1/13/12
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. The Big Show
***1/2

One of my favorite TV matches of the year thus far. Not really wrestling-heavy, but it told a fine story and both Bryan and Show more than played their parts. For a modern no DQ match, it featured a HELL of a lot of chair shots, probably the most I've seen since Austin's insane barrage on Lita and the Hardys a decade ago. I loved how even after Bryan hit Show with the chair like, 15, 20 times, Show still fought back and looked strong. Bryan played the underdog/douche heel to perfection, and Show's reaction after knocking out AJ was nicely done. WWE doesn't normally do these David vs. Goliath matches too often, or too well, but last night's match definitely was above-average and entertaining, and it showed that Bryan is capable of being more than the submission specialist WWE had him pegged to be from his debut. Great character work and story. It's fun to see a different kind of champion -- one who isn't the top dog or leader of the pack, and won't win cleanly or overpower their challenger. Bryan is scraping by, but doing so intelligently and more importantly, entertainingly. He has all the tools to be a great heel: A lack of size, precedent (Cole never believing in him and Bryan proving Cole correct by gathering cheap wins), skill, etc.

Like the Bryan/Henry cage match, this one wasn't heavy on the wrestling, but it was a fun, well-booked, smartly conducted main event with a big, title match feel to it. Matches like these mean so much more when it's the little guy wearing the title.
 
#115 ·
Cabana and Richards having a MOTY? I call shenanigans.
 
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#116 ·
Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Yamato - AJPW Jr Heavyweight Championship 3/1: ****
What a good match. I found myself asking myself the whole match how Kenny Omega hasn't been signed by either WWE or TNA. I know he was signed to a development deal at one point but he is just so good right now. He is able to portray his character, either a really good heel like he was here or an over-the-top babyface, better than almost anyone else out there and he does it within the confines of a match. Yamato beats up Nakazawa every time he tries to get involved which I thought was great. I saw Yamato's match vs. KAI last year which is my only familiarity with him and I thought he was phenomenal in that match and this just proved it wasn't a fluke. A very good match and being I have only seen a few WWE matches so far this year, this must be my MOTY so far but it will probably stay in my top 5 for a couple of months.
 
#120 · (Edited)
It's not a moty but bryan vs. henry this past smackdown is really showcasing bryan's heel character and how great he is right now.

Bryan from the start of the match was trying to get on the nerves of the lumberjacks, saying You can't touch me multiple times and just constantly berating them. Bryan realizes he can't beat henry because he's dominating him throughout the match. Bryan attacks a lumberjack and gets back in the ring after he's attacked. When henry's outside the ring bryan starts kicking at the lumberjacks. Then all hell breaks loose and bryan is the guy who smartly started all the chaos.

Bryan then sneaks out the back door with his title because the match is ruled a no contest due to the lumberjacks.

Bryan right now is playing an absolutely fantastic heel right now. He calls himself in a wwe.com promo after the match not only the best wrestler in the world but also the smartest wrestler in the world.

I love his character right now, the smart heel is such a great character for bryan. And wwe is booking his reign to perfection right now.
 
#135 ·
Punk/Danielson that just happened 10 minutes ago was amazing. What I loved so much about it was that the crowd wasn't into the match at all when the match started. Now I know this usually isn't something that you would call a good thing but the way the crowd went from dead to getting really into the match was so impressive. It kind of sucked how there a commercial break but judging how the crowd was acting I think we missed a control segment from Bryan that got him a ton of heat because when the show came back I heard a "CM Punk" right away and saw Bryan working over the arm.

Punk did a great job selling the arm. When he hit the knee to the face in the corner and set up for the bulldog but had to stop and switch arms I was so happy. Punk did really well as the face here and he made Bryan look amazing, something that the big guys on SD haven't been able to do so well since Bryan got the title. In fact I would say both guys came out looking stronger.

I didn't like the ending all that much but at least Bryan kept in character and celebrated like he really won something. I can only hope that some day they will get the chance to steal the show on a PPV.
 
#193 ·
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. SHINGO (D-Ring, 2/11/2012)

And there you go, this is your first D-Ring main event. Awesome, kick-ass match, so easy to wacth. They went back-and-forth style mostly, but we got few control segments too. SHINGO is such a great powerhouse, but he has no chance against Jima's M-16 strikes, so he works his legs, but not for long enough to be efficient. Jima still strikes like a motherfucker. The finishing stretch was very exciting, SHINGO was on the verge of victory, but Jima used his strikes as a defense this time, and after few blows won the match with German Suplex Hold. Awesome, awesome match, they really stiffed the hell out of each other, the storytelling was very simple and nice. MOTYC, easily, and great showcase for D-Ring's first main event.
Rating: ****1/4
 
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#194 ·
Yeah, I was just about to mention this match so everyone would make sure to check it out. I don't really care for analayzing matches too much anymore because it takes the fun out of wrestling (seen so many people sadly fall into this trap over time including myself to a degree somewhat) as I'd rather concentrate on the ring. action. wrestlers. what they're going through and escape into it so let's just say this was freaking awesome fun. Love. love. love Nakagima's kicks and work ethic. Awesome crowd and the TV production made everything feel even more alive.
 
#196 · (Edited)
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs SHINGO (D-Ring 11/02)
Awesome match. Nakajima worked Shingo's arm at first and he did a great job selling it. There was an apron spot quite early on in to the match, and at first I thought it was a bit early for a sick spot like that, but the way it played out worked great as it was a really good comeback spot for Shingo. Shingo worked the leg of Nakajima for a bit until he made his comeback which was transitioned really well. I loved the spot where Shingo keeps going for the lariat but Jima keeps kicking his arm away causing more damage to it, but Shingo is determined to hit it. Eventually he hits one with the other arm, it's less efffective because it's not his usual arm but it works because it catches Jima off guard after he runs the ropes. Loved that spot. The finishing stretch was awesome with a lot of near falls but it didn't seem like overkill at all. If Nakajima had sold his leg for a bit longer this would have been even better. It didn't really take much away though because nothing is going to stop Nakajima from throwing those kicks, and he did sell his leg the first few times until he knocks some sense back into it. Great match, my new MOTY just ahead of Sekimoto/Suwama. ****1/4 - 1/2


Also watched the tag match...

Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya (D-Ring 11/02)
I loved this. It had such a great story that was always going to be good, but when you have Akiyama and Kobashi in there to tell it, it's great. Kitamiya looked good here playing the underdog really well and getting owned by Akiyama especially. Akiyama was amazing in this match, he came off as such a boss. Akiyama/Kitamiya did most of the work since Kobashi can't do all that much these days, but we got Kobashi/Kenskay chop wars and some other cool moments that played off of their match in 2005. A great story and good action to boot. ***3/4 - ****
 
#202 ·
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. SHINGO (D-Ring 2/11-12): ****1/4
This is the kind of match that you want to have as your main event for your first show. Amazing action. I really enjoyed the fact that you could watch this match and have no idea who Nakajima and SHINGO were and you could make complete sense out of everything. Starts off with violent kicks by Jima. So what does SHINGO do, works the leg just long enough to faze Jima but not long enough to have any lasting effect.Then there is the spot where SHINGO wants to murder Jima with a lariat so what does Nakajima do, kicks the shit out of the arm everytime SHINGO wants to do it. This match had high expectations and these guys fully met them. Never a dull moment in my eyes. D-Ring is Nakajima's company to reign over and it will be interesting to see how they top this match.
 
#214 ·
Go Shiozaki vs Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 22/01)
I hadn't read a great deal about this and I definitely didn't hear anyone praising it much, so I was seriously surprised when I saw what I would consider a strong MOTYC. I loved Go getting frustrated and going after Mori's injured head, and the nearfalls were really good in the finishing stretch, I don't think anyone expected Morishima to kick out of the Go Flasher. I knew the result but still got pretty drawn in despite the dead crowd. The finish was awesome and thankfully didn't go into extreme overkill mode like a few of NOAH's recent heavyweight matches. The spot leading up to Morishima finally hitting the lariat was ace. I think I remember hearing something about there being too many lariats, but I didn't think that was the case, and I think it worked in getting Mori's lariat over as more powerful than Go's when he finally hit it. Some of the shots from Go were sick and intentional or not it made it seem like a big deal with how stiff a few of them were. Morishima is clearly more over than Go so it was probably a good decision even though I was liking pretty much all of Go's title defences. I really dug this match even if it did take a while to get going and imo it felt like a big time match even though the crowd was shit. ****1/4

It appears I'm in the minority but this is up there as a contender for best match of the year for me.
 
#216 ·
Suwama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto(AJPW 01/02/12):****1/4
Daisuke Sekimoto really wants to be a front runner for WOTY doesn't he? Now, I don't know a lot about Suwama but I kept seeing his name in the MOTYC thread last year so I'm going to assume he kicks ass. The match definitely helped prove that. Suwama looks so big next to Daisuke but he learns pretty quick that he may not have a power advantage so he kills Daisuke's midsection which is bandaged.They worked such a good match and made Sekimoto's comebacks feel important which is always good. I don't really know how to describe it but these guys just had a weight about them. Where Nakajima vs. SHINGO is to Dragon Ball Z, Suwama vs. Sekimoto is to Transformers, if that makes any sense at all. If you don't get what I am saying then let me just say this match is awesome and you probably should watch it.
 
#233 ·
I just found this thread, believe it or not. Very, very informative. I like it a lot and have watched 2 matches from it. Morishima vs Shiozaki, and the above mentioned Tajiri/Finlay match. I'm not sure of the protocol here, and it was a tv match, but I have to think that Jay Lethal/Davey Richards was at least a decent candidate off of a tv show. I have been trying to grasp how the ratings work, and for that match, i'd have to give it at least a *** 3/4. The brawl at the end took away from the match a bit, but with Tomasso Ciampa just sitting there concentrating on the match while a huge brawl went on all around him was a good touch. He just concentrated on Lethal due to the upcoming title match. As I say, I'm new to this thread, but I have to say that match is an early candidate.
Lethal/Richards ***3/4.
 
#235 ·
I'm relatively knew to this thread concept, too - having only come in towards the end of 2011, I believe.

Just from what I've learnt is that you're going to have moments where you're going to look at something and wonder why you rated it in a certain way when a newer match was heaps better and you're going to have to give it a similar rating. Reflection is always key, and continually evaluating your previously rated matches as you go along will help keep a Match of the Year list as close to your ever changing standards as possible. Like myself, for instance, I had to readjust my entire list the other week when I realised I was being too lenient with my ratings (and knocked about .25 to .5 stars off all my ratings).

I'm not sure how many matches you've watched or how great your background is in different promotions (both American Indy and International), so forgive me if I seem to make you out to be new to this, but I'm very, very new to this, as well. Accurate reflection only comes from a greater depth in match-viewing where you've watched "the classics" and can then compare and contrast newer matches with what the benchmark actually is and it's there that quite a few posters in this thread work from. It's also why my ratings are probably a lot more liberal than them, as well. That's not to say, though, that you should change your ratings to reflect theirs (where is the fun in that? ;)) but just to also see where you differ to them and to, perhaps, spark debate on why you found it good/bad and they didn't.

Other than that, welcome. Don't be too overwhelmed with the amount of matches that will pop-up over the course of the year, but do try and use the nominations as a basis of what to actively look for in the hopes of watching - especially the Japanese matches. 2011 was an amazing year for me, quality-wise, and it's because of threads like these that help sift through the dirt and reveal the golden nuggets that would have slipped under your radar otherwise.

edit: This final part..well I just liked how it looked. During the introductions of each man streamers were thrown, Tariji the man fighting for the championship in the last match the title would be defended was COVERED in streamers. The champion Finlay had streamers thrown at him too, but not a single one touched him! I loved how that looked, the streamers just fell down around him. He just walked through them! Also did anyone mention how even the ref was going for Tariji and made it completely obvious(not a flaw) that he wanted Tajiri to take home the belt!? Great touch.
I'm not sure if it's a standard concept from SMASH but what was probably the greatest of the little touches was the playing of the anthems before the commencement of the match and Tajiri praying for the strength to pull out the victory.

It's always the little things that play the biggest role in creating a great atmosphere and, in turn, a great match, if you ask me.

shillelagh (if thats how you spell it)
I had to look the spelling up just to double check, too. It looks weird, but it's right. :p
 
#234 · (Edited)
Tajiri vs Dave Finlay-SMASH-02/19/12

"Tajiri stand up, stand up Tariji."

What a great piece of storytelling. This is pro wrestling. It's not just the in ring work which was great btw. It was...if I were to describe the entire match and post promo, I'd say "It was sort of like a movie."

Finlay's final words left Tajiri in a heap of emotion. Great ending, to a promotion that I hope returns in some entity.

"It's all starting new, you gotta start from the beginning again..."

edit: This final part..well I just liked how it looked. During the introductions of each man streamers were thrown, Tariji the man fighting for the championship in the last match the title would be defended was COVERED in streamers. The champion Finlay had streamers thrown at him too, but not a single one touched him! I loved how that looked, the streamers just fell down around him. He just walked through them! Also did anyone mention how even the ref was going for Tariji and made it completely obvious(not a flaw) that he wanted Tajiri to take home the belt!? Great touch.
 
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#237 ·
All Together 19/02/2012

1. Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori vs Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi ***
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga vs Captain NOAH (Mohammed Yone) , Captain All Japan (Ryota Hama) & Captain New Japan **
3. Yoshinobu Kanamaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI ***3/4
4. Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi vs Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya ***
5. Yuji Nagata, Kensuke Sasaki, Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji vs Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Masayuki Kono & Taichi ***
6. Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka ***1/4
7. Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori ***1/2
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi , Takeshi Morishima & Suwama vs Go Shiozaki , Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada ****

WWE:
WWE Championship: Raw Elimination Chamber: CM Punk vs Kofi Kingston vs Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz vs R-Truth ***1/4 19/02/2012
World Heavyweight Championship: Smackdown Elimination Chamber: Daniel Bryan vs Santino Marella vs Cody Rhodes vs Wade Barrett vs Big Show vs The Great Khali ***1/2 19/02/2012

TNA:
X-Division Championship: Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley ***1/4 12/02/2012
Kazarian vs AJ Styles *** 12/02/2012

AJPW
Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka *** 3/02/2012
Keiji Muto, Akebono & Ryota Hama vs Daisuke Sekimoto , Yoshihito Sasaki & Yuji Okabayashi ***1/4 3/02/2012
AJPW Jr Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega vs Kaz Hayashi **** 3/02/2012
AJPW Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori ****1/4 3/02/2012

DRAGON GATE
Blood WARRIORS vs. JUNCTION THREE Losing Unit Disbands Yoshida-Style Elimination Match: Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong, Yasushi Kanda Kzy & Fake Naoki Tanizaki vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Jimmy Susumu & Rich Swann ****1/4 9/02/2012
 
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