I've been catching up on a lot of 2011 wrestling these past couple of days. I'm way behind a lot of people right now on my MOTY candidates (boot camp has put me behind on my wrestling), but I will catch up these next couple weeks. Let the reviewing commence.
Bad Intentions vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (NJPW) ***3/4
I'm not a big fan of either Tanahashi & Goto. To me they are the HHH and John Cena of NJPW, and are both vastly overrated. That said this was a pretty decent old school kind of tag team match up. There weren't any big spots, but the crowd helped me get into this match. The crowd was really hot, and there were a couple of near falls towards the end of the match which helped raise my interest for this match. The first halve though is too slow and plodding for my taste. The action does pick up though, so if you can get past the slow start it's definitely worth a view.
Cole & O'Reilly vs. LDRS Of The New School (wXw) ****
Not the big MOTY candidate everybody is making it out to be, but definitely an excellent tag team spot fest to check out. This is the first time I have seen LDRS Of The New School wrestle, and they really did impress me with their tag skills. Both teams went out balls to the wall, and the match was non stop action. The Spike Tombstone Piledriver by the LDRS Of The New School was fucking sick!!! I really did enjoy this match, but I couldn't rate the contest any higher then ****. This match was a very fun tag team spot fest. Nothing more nothing less. But, like I said the match was really fun to watch so I definitely recommend everybody check this match out.
John Cena vs. CM Punk (WWE Summerslam) ****1/4
As a lot of people know I really did not enjoy Cena and Punk's MITB match last month. The wrestling felt off, the match was really sloppy, and I just thought the match is one of the most overrated matches in recent memory. The rematch to the critically acclaimed Money In The Bank match was an much better overall match in my eyes. This match was nowhere as sloppy, the wrestling was much cleaner, there were many great reversals, and the near falls had me on my feet. What I liked about this match the most is how different it is from their Money In The Bank match. Punk vs. Cena 1 is an much more emotionally charged contest with an excellent story to back it up, while Punk vs. Cena 2 serves as an much better overall wrestling match. Not to mention the post match shenanigans had me marking out like a school girl. Sooo the theme of the story is Punk vs. Cena 2 > Punk vs. Cena 1. The end.
Dick Togo vs. Kota Ibushi (DDT) ****1/2
Can somebody please tell me why people are not talking about this match? A very underrated excellent match which somebody on some other wrestling forums recommended to me. I was skeptical to check it out, because I have not seen anybody mention it on these forums, but I'm really glad I did take the time to watch this match. The match had some really great near falls, great high flying action, some great strong style, and was just an overall great wrestling match. I'm a big fan of both of these wrestlers (especially Dick Togo). These two wrestlers hit one another sooo freaking hard. There were numerous times throughout the match I was marking out and pressing the rewind button to mark out again and again. The biggest spot of the match for me was Kota Ibushi's STIFF flying dropkick to Dick Togo on the outside. Sadly Dick Togo has already wrestled his last match in Japan, and is currently on his retirement world tour. After watching this match I still think the guy could wrestle another 5 years, and put on awesome matches just like this one. Dick Togo leaving wrestling makes me a sad panda
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NO DQ- Randy Orton vs. Christian (WWE Summerslam) ****1/2
Holy fuck what a match. I could watch these two wrestle another 100 more matches, and never get tired of the matches these two are putting on. Every match these two wrestle feel's different and fresh. Both men served their roles really well in this match. You could feel how pissed off Orton was in this match, and he wrestled a very intense style. The facial expressions, and actions Orton was acting out was excellent. Christian on the other side of the spectrum was very cocky, and arrogant throughout this match (which serves well with his current character.). Numerous times throughout the match Christian had the upper hand, but his arrogance would end up being his downfall. For example, when Christian arrogantly tried to hit Orton with the RKO on the announce table just to get RKO'd by Orton was a perfect spot for this match. This match is another example that two wrestlers do not need blood, or an PG-13 rating to wrestle a very intense hard hitting match (The first being Undertaker vs. HHH at Wrestlemania 27). The crowd were really into this match, and I don't blame them. This is my second favorite WWE MOTY, and rated as number 3 on my MOTY candidates. And, while I'm thinking this match is the big blow off with Orton going over; I'm really hoping these two have one last match at WWE Hell In A Cell.
39) Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes (WWE Wrestlemania 27) ***3/4
38) Christopher Daniels vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Only The Strong Survive) ***3/4
37) Randy Orton vs. Christian (WWE Smackdown) ***3/4
36) Bad Intentions vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (NJPW) ***3/4
35) Falls Count Anywhere-The Miz vs. John Morrison (WWE RAW) ***3/4
34) Cage Match- Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle (TNA Lockdown) ***3/4
33) Ladder Match- Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Extreme Rules) ***3/4
32) The Briscoes Bros vs. WGTT **** (ROH 9th Anniversary Show)
31) Dolph Ziggler vs. Edge (WWE Royal Rumble) ****
30) Cage Match- John Cena vs. John Morrison vs. The Miz (WWE Extreme Rules) ****
29) Takashi Sugiura vs Giant Bernard (NOAH) ****
28) Kenta vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH) ****
27) LAST MAN STANDING- Randy Orton vs. CM Punk (WWE Extreme Rules) ****
26) Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ikuto Hidaka (Zero-1) ****
25) Davey Richards vs. Low Ki (PWG KurtRussellReunion 2) ****
24) Daisuke sekimoto vs. El Generico (wXw) ****
23) LAST MAN STANDING- Bully Ray vs. AJ Styles (TNA Slammiversary) ****
22) John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE RAW) ****
21) Raw Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimanation Chamber) ****
20) Eddie Edwards vs. Christopher Daniels (ROH 9th Anniversary) ****
19) Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt (NJPW 01/04/11) ****
18) Chris Hero vs. Davey Richards (ROH Only The Strong Survive) ****
17) John Cena vs. CM Punk (WWE Money In The Bank) ****
16) El Generico vs. Eddie Kingston (CHIKARA Chaos In The Sea of Lost Souls) ****
15) Cole & O'Reilly vs. LDRS Of The New School (WxW) ****
14) Kotaro Suzuki vs Ricky Marvin (NOAH) ****1/4
13) Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Sanada & Soya (AJPW 02/06/11) ****1/4
12) Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (PWG KurtRussellReunion 2) ****1/4
11) Roderick Strong vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH Only The Strong Survive) ****1/4
10) Christian vs. Randy Orton (WWE Over The Edge) ****1/4
9) John Cena vs. CM Punk (WWE Summerslam) ****1/4
8) smackdown Money In The Bank (WWE Elimanation Chamber) ****1/4
7) Omega and Ibushi vs. Devitt and Taguchi (NJPW) ****1/4
6) Eddie Edwards vs. Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH) ****1/2
5) Smackdown Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimanation Chamber) ****1/2
4) Dick Togo vs. Kota Ibushi (DDT) ****1/2
3) NO DQ- Randy Orton vs. Christian (WWE Summerslam) ****1/2
2) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW) ****1/2
1) NO DQ- Undertaker vs. HHH (WWE Wrestlemania 27) ****3/4