[Ownage™]

Angle/Styles - Slammiversary - ****

[bubz123]

mcmg vs speed miscle was awesome for a 6 minute match, the crowd was red hot for joe/kaz aswell and is the most iv seen joe popped for in a while

[TheUnholyDragon]

I don't see **** for Speed Muscle vs. MCMG.

It was a lot of fun, and very good for a short match, but it utterly lacked the kind of driving story or dramatic finish that pushes such matches above the rest. ***1/4 is what I'd put it at.

In more detail, it was basically a formula tag with pretty and impressive spots. Were they cool? Sure. Was there a structure? Yes, but it was pretty basic. Was there a dramatic finish? Yes, after a short burst of nearfalls. Did they do anything (impressive spots aside) to make this match stand out above a standard formula tag match? Not really.

Really, it felt like an shortened version of a ****+ spotfest, but it wasn't that match and it wasn't that good. ***1/4 from me.

Want to see a **** match in the five minute range? Check out the Shelton Benjamin vs. Bobby Lashley beat the clock match from Raw last year. Dynamic storytelling and a dramatic finish. Not only did it have all the keys (plus Shelton being a GREAT heel) but it actually BENEFITTED from being that short, as the time limit provided a story for them to work with.

[Ownage™]

***1/2 for Speed Muscle/MCMG.

[- Styles -]

^That's why I gave it, a fantastic short match though. If these 2 teams meet in the Ultimate X final I'd be shocked if it was under ****+ tbh.

[vivalabrave]

If they meet up in Ultimate X, I'll be mighty upset because I probably won't be able to go to VR.

[volcanic]

(ROH) McGuinness vs. Aries - Supercard of Honor III - **** 3/4
(ROH) CIMA, Dragon Kid, Saito vs. Horiguchi, Yoshino, Doi - Supercard of Honor III - **** 1/2
(NOAH) Misawa vs. Morishima - 03/02/08 - **** 1/2
(WWE) Flair vs. HBK - Wrestlemania 24 - **** 1/2
(BJW) Masato Tanaka vs. Sekimoto - 04/28/08 - **** 1/4
(ROH) McGuiness vs. Black - Take No Prisoners - **** 1/4
(NOAH) KENTA, Ishimori, Saito vs. The Briscoes, Chris Hero - Second Navigation 02/21/08 - **** 1/4
(NOAH) Marufuji, Sugiura, Morishima vs Kobashi, Honda, Taniguchi - Second Navigation 02/21/08 - **** 1/4
(ROH) Aries vs. Danielson - Take No Prisoners - **** 1/4
(DG) Bxb Hulk, Shingo vs. KENTA, Ishimori - The Gate of Generation - 03/20/08 - ****
(ROH) Speed Muscle vs. Steen-erico - Dragon Gate Challenge - ****
(WWE) Edge vs. The Undertaker - One Night Stand - ****
(ROH) BxB Hulk, Shingo vs. Steen-erico - Supercard of Honor III - ****
(DG) KENTA vs. Doi - Dead or Alive - 05/05/08 - ****
(ROH) - McGuiness vs. Morishima - Undeniable - ****
(ROH) Stevens vs. Strong - Supercard of Honor III - ****
(AJPW) Styles vs. Tanahashi - 02/17/08 - *** 3/4
(AJPW) Tanahashi, Mutoh vs Kawada, Kea - 03/01/08 - *** 3/4

[vivalabrave]

You need to see Danielson-Nigel from 6YA. Easily my MOTY (although I haven't seen DGCII, SOHIII, or TNP yet).

[TheUnholyDragon]

Originally Posted by AjStyles>GOD

^That's why I gave it, a fantastic short match though. If these 2 teams meet in the Ultimate X final I'd be shocked if it was under ****+ tbh.

I actually have concerns about whether it would be any good.

Keep in mind, the Dragon Gate wrestlers are basically trained to work crazy sprint style matches filled with a lot of nearfalls that wouldn't be present in Ultimate X. Not saying they couldn't adapt, but I think a standard match with about 20 minutes in length would be MUCH better.

Actually, the MCMG's would probably do quite well in DG. Their style is similar enough.



Also...

RoH Title - Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Tyler Black - ****

This was a really strong underdog style match. Black sold the arm and the nearfalls perfectly and really made you feel that even though it wouldn't be his night, he'd go down swinging.

That said, it was very by the books. Specifically, by Danielson's books. This match pretty much spotlighted everything that pisses me off about modern McGuinness in one fell swoop. He's working like a poor man's Danielson, but lacks the focus to really drive him through. He worked the arm alright early on, but after the big bump he pretty much just ran through his finishers on autopilot and let Black kick out of them with short comebacks in between. Yes, the finishers escalated nicely and there was a decent amount of work in there, but aside from the London Dungeon, Nigel barely even used the injured arm he'd tenderized in the early going.

As an aside, I HATE the Jawbreaker as a finisher. Much like Shelton Benjamin's Dragon Whip, it worked when it was a counter to a counter as it initially was, but watching him run back into the ropes and doing a silly flip at any excuse is just absurd...especially when the end Lariat isn't always the most powerful he's thrown. Just a thought.

So yeah, Black carries Nigel above **** and looks like a star doing it, but he never looked like he could beat Nigel so much as survive him...for a while. Booking and Nigel aside, this WAS a really great match and deserves to be credited as such, but Nigel has a lot of work to do before I'll be able to buy into him as champion.

[The Maloney]

Originally Posted by volcanic

(ROH) McGuinness vs. Aries - Supercard of Honor III - **** 3/4
(ROH) CIMA, Dragon Kid, Saito vs. Horiguchi, Yoshino, Doi - Supercard of Honor III - **** 1/2
(NOAH) Misawa vs. Morishima - 03/02/08 - **** 1/2
(WWE) Flair vs. HBK - Wrestlemania 24 - **** 1/2
(BJW) Masato Tanaka vs. Sekimoto - 04/28/08 - **** 1/4
(ROH) McGuiness vs. Black - Take No Prisoners - **** 1/4
(NOAH) KENTA, Ishimori, Saito vs. The Briscoes, Chris Hero - Second Navigation 02/21/08 - **** 1/4
(NOAH) Marufuji, Sugiura, Morishima vs Kobashi, Honda, Taniguchi - Second Navigation 02/21/08 - **** 1/4
(ROH) Aries vs. Danielson - Take No Prisoners - **** 1/4
(DG) Bxb Hulk, Shingo vs. KENTA, Ishimori - The Gate of Generation - 03/20/08 - ****
(ROH) Speed Muscle vs. Steen-erico - Dragon Gate Challenge - ****
(WWE) Edge vs. The Undertaker - One Night Stand - ****
(ROH) BxB Hulk, Shingo vs. Steen-erico - Supercard of Honor III - ****
(DG) KENTA vs. Doi - Dead or Alive - 05/05/08 - ****
(ROH) - McGuiness vs. Morishima - Undeniable - ****
(ROH) Stevens vs. Strong - Supercard of Honor III - ****
(AJPW) Styles vs. Tanahashi - 02/17/08 - *** 3/4
(AJPW) Tanahashi, Mutoh vs Kawada, Kea - 03/01/08 - *** 3/4

I dont know, I have to agree with this list. It pretty much sums up what I was going to post.