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The 2012 MOTYC thread

340K views 3K replies 192 participants last post by  Alan4L 
#1 ·
#1,290 ·
TNA - Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries for the TNA World Championship
Aries vs. Roode is the only match on the show worth watching actually. Everything else seemed bland, paint by numbers, or just good. I would say Daniels vs. AJ is the only match that stands out if we weren't counting Aries vs. Roode but I'd take the Main Event over that by a mile......actually make that 3 miles. Considering I had to wait 10 hours and watch this match blind to the result today proves how much I was looking forward to it. That being said, this is my TNA MOTY. My only issue is that armdrag mishap and Aries wasn't really selling his ribs during his comeback but that last really didn't hurt the match. What I love about this is that it focuses on storytelling and unlike every other match that night, it focuses on substance. What I mean by that is almost everything means something and has a reason something may or may not work in the future. Like Aries's IED in the corner. The running theme tonight was that Roode had Aries big moves scouted. When Aries went for the Suicide Dive, he'd dodge it. When Aries went for the IED, he had a Oklahoma slam just waiting for it. When Aries is able to hit the IED, it's because Roode got distracted with arguing with the ref and even then it was almost had he gone through specific hardcore training to instinctively be ready for Aries's Brainbuster. It's simple storytelling but one that made Roode look like he was almost in a different league than Aries was(Which he should look like considering he is the World Champion).

Then there was just little things that made Aries look like a thorn in Roode's side. Always being resilient and not being this push over that Roode keeps thinking he is. The best part about Aries's second comeback is that Roode's bullying gets him into a brawl with Aries and A Double is the guy who went toe to toe with Bully Ray and beat his @$$. It's simple basic stuff but the presentation of it was badass. Reason being was because Roode was actually fighting back against Aries instead of doing the typical punches comeback and they were just laying into each other. It felt big because Aries overcome a Roode that wasn't just going to let him roll over him like that. You could feel that Aries was going to make this a win no matter what Roode had to say about it. That brings me back to everything having a meaning.

Remember when Roode speared the nonsense out of Aries? Well Aries has a counter for it the second time around into the Last Chancery. Remember when Roode was targeting Austin's ribs with a Kitchen sink? Well Aries has a counter for it the second time around with a school boy. It's basic little stuff but it works because it helps drives the match. Roode is one step ahead of him and Aries has to make up for those lost in steps. One awesome bit that nobody but me probably loved was when Aries rolled up Roode when he attempts the Crossface, Roode has the immediate and well thought out counter to when he really gets it in deep. He stops Austin from rolling into a pin two freaking times and honestly made it believable in my view. Awesome psychology as well as just staying consistent with being on the absolute top of his game. Then the dirty finishes came after that.

This is why I never cry about heels cheating because when you get the proper pay off for it, the full circle of "Oh n0ez! Anodur cop out wen" to "OH MAI GOODNESS! HAY KICKED OUT!". Roode using desperation tactics to put away Aries felt like a cop out but that's what heels are. They are big, disgusting, self masturbating, cheating dip$#its that take the easy way instead of earning it. He has won this way many times before and that's why you get your believe from that it'll work again. So you already have this match where Roode has went toe to toe with Aries and he still could possibly win(Because Roode does contain some clean wins in the past) but he has MAJOR wins by cheating as well. So needless to say when Roode did this dirty tactics, it was in the books. I, watching blind mind you, bought them and marked out whenever Aries defied the statistics. That is how you make a match......when all the BS before hand doesn't get the job done this time around. Best thing about this whole deal? Not one finisher is sacrificed.

One of my biggest things I dislike about wrestling now is when the whole window is thrown out. Now don't get me wrong, there are times when it is done right(Richards/Elgin) and there are times when that was just done to make your match seem "OMG grate"(Angle vs. Joe that night). If you have the right substance and the storytelling is consistent, then Roode won't have to kick out of a 450 or Aries have to kick out Roode's finishers. You'll have that over dramatic moments when they do try to go for them because everyone recognizes them as big deals. This is what happened here and when Austin was going for the Brainbuster, you bet your bottom dollar that everyone was going bananas for it. Proper psychology, fantastic storytelling, and you had the crowd going molten lava for it. That's my kind of wrestling right there. ****1/2

Far and beyond the best match of the year and one of MOTYs. Feels glad to put TNA up there again considering last year I don't think I had TNA in my MOTYs.
 
#1,291 ·
Destination X

Joe/Angle - ***
AJ/Daniels - ***3/4
Aries/Roode - ****

Legit mad that I had the finish to Aries/Roode spoiled to me this morning by a friend (knocked half a snowflake off due to it) b/c it was a really, really good match and some of the nearfalls would've been hella believable if I didn't already know how it was gonna go down. Aries is continuing to have a pretty great year ring wise.
 
#1,292 ·
ROH Border Wars
Davey Richards vs. Kevin Steen
****

ROH Best In The World: Hostage Crisis
Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly - Hybrid Fighting Rules Match
****1/4
 
#1,293 ·
I might actually watch Destination X. Some matches are very intriguing , the main event in perticular. I haven't watched a full TNA even since God knows when. It had Johnny Devine as X champ so that put me off. My God I randomly hate him. :lmao
 
#1,295 ·
Really enjoyed Destination X, such a watchable show from start to finish. Styles/Daniels was my MOTN actually at ****, great intensity with spots that built up perfectly to the epic finish. Again, I had the Roode/Aries finish spoilt for me which may have affected things, I went ***3/4.

As a side note, LOL at Sonjay Dutt being a total retard in the Ultimate X match. His opponent was CLEARLY right by the ropes, why on EARTH would you attempt a standing shooting star press? So typical of the kind of 'get-your-shit-in' wrestler that he is, and it bit him in the ass as he got injured. Obviously, I'd never wish injury on anyone so that sucks for him, but still...what an idiot.
 
#1,306 ·
Well, I feel cutting it down to ten is kind of harsh on some matches, so heres everything I've rated over **** this year for what it's worth.

Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 04/03) ****1/2
Bobby Roode vs Austin Aries (TNA Destination X) ****1/2
CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Over The Limit) ****1/2
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama (AJPW 02/01) ****1/4
Davey Richards vs Michael Elgin (ROH SITS Night Two) ****1/4
Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus (WWE Extreme Rules) ****1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW Dontaku) ****1/4
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs SHINGO (D-Ring 11/02) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI) ****1/4
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sasaki (BJW 26/03) ****1/4
Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH Best In The World) ****1/4
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (WWE Extreme Rules) ****1/4
Prince Devitt vs Pac (NJPW 06/06) ****1/4
Go Shiozaki vs Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 22/01) ****1/4
Suwama vs Seiya Sanada (AJPW 04/03) ****1/4
 
#1,309 ·
ROH Best In The World 2012

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly (Hybrid Rules) ***¾-****

TNA Destination X

Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles (Last Man Standing) ***¾-****

Dug the hell out of Daniels/Styles. Easily Daniels best performance since his match at BITW with Generico last year and the best match between the two since their TNA world title match in 2009.

Thank god it wasn't like the I Quit match they had and more full on bloody awesomeness.
 
#1,311 ·
I've actually been trying to pin down a decent top ten seeing as how we're about halfway through the year now. Here's mine, totally skewed to taste for which I make absolutely no apologies.

1. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan - WWE OTL
2. ***** Casas vs Blue Panther CMLL Hair vs Hair
3. Kevin Steen vs Davey Richards - ROH Border Wars
4. Austin Aries vs Bobby Roode - TNA Destination X
5. Shingo Takagi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - D-Ring
6. Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus - WWE Extreme Rules 2/3 Falls
7. Prince Devitt vs Low-Ki - NJPW Dontaku
8. Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Yamato - AJPW 01-03
9. Chris Jericho vs CM Punk - WWE WMXXVIII
10. Sara Del Rey vs El Generico - Chikara Hot Off The Griddle
 
#1,313 ·
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - Last Man Standing - TNA Destination X 2012
Great little match. Thought Daniels was particularly super in this. Dug the stalling at the start and he rocked his control segment even if it was brief. Looked in total control and showed off about it. Dislikeable but awesome. Liked AJ's selling. Thought Daniels threw some great punches ringside. Steps bump looked brilliant. Thought everything once they got up to the stage was great. I normally hate fighting on the stage because it feels phony and there just because. Didn't here. They built the tension so well on the stage. Kaz's run in was great, bump could have been a bit better though. Great near fall. Finish rocked. First big spot which I dug because it needed to be more of a fight than a match with wrestling spots and it was. Really strong stuff.

****

Thought Aries/Roode was good but not great or anything. AJ/Roode was a lot better. Roode's control segment really took me out of it. Same thing happened at Lockdown. He doesn't look assertive enough controlling a big match like this. Finish made it. Felt big and important. That was a crowd who actually cared about the product unlike what people try and convince themselves the ROH fans are. Doubt I'll remember anything from the match come the end of the year bar the result.
 
#1,320 ·
I think that's why you might be pleasantly surprised; those 99 other matches have predominantly been 'wrestling' matches. They both bring the hate in this one and it provides for a very fresh encounter from the two of them. I don't need another rematch, but it's cool to see them do something a bit different.
 
#1,316 ·
It's really entertaining match. Daniels is amazing with a great heel performance in it which really elevates it above a lot of their more recent singles matches. Cool spots too, simple but effective.

I think me and Capone are the only ones to have rated Aries/Roode as high as we did. I loved everything about it. Who knows, on a re-watch I could lower my rating but for now it's my second favorite match this year.
 
#1,322 ·
Yeah, Aries/Roode was bloody great, MOTYC easily. ****1/4

It was an old school strategic/psychological war, I dug the hell out of it.
 
#1,317 ·
I have to watch a lot of puro but right now this is my top 10 this year

1. ROH World Heavyweight Champion: Davey Richards vs Michael Elgin - SITS Day 2
2. Hybrid Fighting Rules: Adam Cole vs Kyle O´Reilly - Best in The World 2012
3. WWE Champion: Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk - Over The Limit 2012
4. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI
5. ROH World Heavyweight Champion: Kevin Steen vs Davey Richards - Best In The World 2012
6. 2/3 Falls: Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus - Extreme Rules
7. Kota Ibushi vs El Generico - DDT Max Bump 2012
8. Last Man Standing: AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - Destination X
9. Mask vs Hair: Tim Donst vs Hallowicked - Chikarasaurus Rex
10. SMASH Title: Tajiri vs Finlay - Smash 19/02/12
 
#1,318 ·
Haven't seen every PPV match or a whole lot Indus but here's my list:

15) Ziggler/Punk- Royal Rumble
14) Kidd/McGuillicutty- NXT
13) Henry/Punk- RAW
12) Aries/Roode- Destination X
11) Bryan/Kane/Punk- NWO
10) Ziggler/Sheamus- NWO
.9) AJ/Roode- Impact
8) Richards/Edwards- ROH
7) Bryan/Punk- Super Smackdown
6) Aries/Joe- Slammiversary.
5) Bryan/Punk- Over the Limit
4) Lesnar/Cena- Extreme Rules
3) Elgin/Richards- Showdown in the Sun
2) Undertaker/HHH- Wrestlemania.
1) Steen/Richards- Border Wars
 
#1,319 ·
NJPW/AJPW 7/1/12

Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada vs Suwama & Shuji Kondo
Okada/Nakamura SWAG . Suwama . Oh yeah and Kondo is there as well. We get Suwama and Nakamura trading holds, Suwama takes a cheapshot at Okada, Okada tags in and he is OVER! Good stuff. Suwama and Kondo playing the dominating team was great with a really good control segment, and when Nakamura eventually got the tag in he was even more over than Okada! Basically just breaks down in to the finishing stretch which was loads of fun. Any combination of these guys in singles matches would be awesome. I thought the Okada/Suwama exchanges were great, but then along comes the Nakamura/Suwama exchanges and they were even better! Suwama was a beast in this. The right guy went over the right guy too which was a bonus. This was further comfirmation that Okada is indeed legit. Really fun stuff, just what I wanted from a match with three of my favorite guys in Japan right now. ****

Haven't seen the main event yet but Sekibayoshi/SMOP and Akiyama/Kea are both good matches from the show too, around the ***3/4 mark.
 
#1,321 · (Edited)
EVOLVE 10: A Tribute to The Arena
Super Smash Brothers vs Ronin ****
Chuck Taylor and Rich "Swann Hansen" Swann made for a very exciting team and SSB are always on their game.

AIW: Straight Outta Compton
AR Fox vs ACH ****-****1/2
Crazy match with a great story behind it. ACH had to replase a injured Uhha Nation in this 30min iron man match and ACH cut a great promo pretty much explaining how he never got to get the ball and run with it.
 
#1,323 ·
I dug a lot of Roode/Aries, Capone was bang on about the love for Aries countering Roode's offence on the second attempt, and finding ways to hit his signature offence on the second attempt. I particularly dug the spot where Roode got pushed back by the ref which led to the corner dropkick, basically played off of Roode's arrogance and attitude undoing a lot of his good work in scouting Aries' offence.

Still Roode's control segment just dragged and felt like a whole lot of nothing to me, I realise that by being a fan generally of the WWE style I shouldn't be one to complain about standard punches/kicks during a workover, but Roode just doesn't have that presence to me when watching him work someone over and as a result I was just sitting there waiting for the spot where Aries would make a comeback and enter the finishing run (which was indeed very well booked to continually tease the fans regarding a screwjob and Aries potentially winning). Aries blowing off the ribwork also irked me, though not as much as it could have done, hitting the dive for example didn't bother me since it felt like a big moment in the match, but the set up of him effortlessly landing on the apron from the attempted back body drop, then flying up and over the ropes and landing perfectly and sprinting into the dive felt like something he could have done avoided since it did render the ribwork obsolete given how effortlessly he was moving. I understand why he did it, and it didn't annoy me as much as other matches where body part work has been ignored, but that set up spot did feel quite unexpected from Aries who's usually a smarter worker when it comes to adding substance and story to his matches.

Crowd being alive did help however, I wouldn't call it a MOTYC but I can certainly appreciate why fans of Roode or bigger fans of Aries would look bast the plodding middle section and call it a MOTYC, its certainly a better TNA match than I generally expect from the company with more attention to substance and build instead of cool looking offence and transitions.


Daniels/Styles was far better than I expected, especially after they ditched the hold for hold wrestling in the beginning and just set about brawling (which was something I honestly figured they wouldn't bother with). Styles did have a few brief moments where I would have wanted him to headbutt/punch Daniels rather than attempt his enziguri's and pele's but on the whole I bought the hate in the match and it wasn't littered with high impactful spots and regular counts reaching 8/9. I mean unless I've forgotten I barely recall the referee issuing a count to one of them before they got onto the stage, which is something I wish was seen more in LMS matches these days, both men beating the crap out of each other rather than regular spots leading to the referee counting far better gets across the hatred in the match. I did kind of dislike Daniels moving after the 5 count from the big spot at the end, that felt like the sort of finish that should have seen him barely move, or at the very least wait till 8/9. Seeing him up moving about barely 5 seconds after impact did kind of make the spot seem a bit less brutal, but given how well they set it up as the big spot of the match, rather than merely one of 7/8 'awesome' spots it felt like a match ender and for that I give them credit considering who's involved.

I wouldn't put either match ahead of Cena/Lesnar, Bryan/Sheamus, Bryan/Punk or a few other matches but its the first time in ages I'm not baffled as to why the praise is strong for two TNA matches.
 
#1,324 ·
Yeah the fact that there was hardly any 10 counts attempted in the match apart from the end felt really fresh. Segunda have you been watching TNA recently? It's been rather good I have to say. There's still problems with the product (as there is with most) and they could cut down their roster because they have too many guys who are mid carders with piss all to do and too many guys they want in the main event scene, but the turn around they've made since about 4 months ago has been impressive. Storlyines are good and looks like everything has a direction, also most of the matches on tv happen for a reason which is good and the belts are being put over as big deals. They are pushing the right guys too. The AJ/Daniels storyline was shit, but it still seemed like it had a direction unlike the AJ/Bryan/Punk love triangle in WWE. Hopefully that's over now anyway so AJ/Daniels can be involved in something better than that shit.

Anyway...

NJPW/AJPW 1/7/12

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe IWGP Title
A great start to Tana's reign (again). Tana going after the legs, as usual, but hearing that the crowd was strongly on Makabe's side he went heel with it and that was great. crowd was majorly on his case on occasions. I liked Makabe's first comeback a lot, the transition was well done from the powersalm, and it allowed the comeback without Makabe having to use his leg. Tana didn't work the leg that much and he became too involved in taunting the crowd so Makabe shook it off and started his work over after that which was all fine and dandy for me. He worked Tana's neck nicely but then Tana made his comeback and didn't really sell anything. Tana went back after the legs again with more intent this time before they went in to the finishing stretch and then it was Makabe's turn to no sell :(. Saying that, the finishing stretch was fucking awesome, the crowd was really in to it and it felt really bloody epic in parts, especially when Makabe kept blocking the dragon/german suplex attempts and the crowd was going nuts. Makabe did aim everything at the neck which was cool, but Tana like usual forgot about the leg work and went to his usual spots and moves. Overall I really liked this match, Makabe not really selling his legs and Tana forgetting the leg work let it down, but it had a great finishing stretch if you're able to get past the aforementioned stuff. ****
 
#1,326 · (Edited)
Yeah the fact that there was hardly any 10 counts attempted in the match apart from the end felt really fresh. Segunda have you been watching TNA recently? It's been rather good I have to say. There's still problems with the product (as there is with most) and they could cut down their roster because they have too many guys who are mid carders with piss all to do and too many guys they want in the main event scene, but the turn around they've made since about 4 months ago has been impressive. Storlyines are good and looks like everything has a direction, also most of the matches on tv happen for a reason which is good and the belts are being put over as big deals. They are pushing the right guys too. The AJ/Daniels storyline was shit, but it still seemed like it had a direction unlike the AJ/Bryan/Punk love triangle in WWE. Hopefully that's over now anyway so AJ/Daniels can be involved in something better than that shit.
Yep, nothing more annoying than a supposed grudge feud where both men 'hate' one another and the majority of the match features overly choreographed/telegraphed spots and regular counts reaching 8/9 instead of a wild brawl occasionally broken up by the referee counting. That's partly why I always loved the HHH/Jericho LMS, they just go all out against each other and there's quite a few moments where the referee only begins to count when both men are lying on the ground feeling the effects of the match. Communicates a much stronger sense of hatred.

Nope, I keep a track of spoilers/general overcaps of the shows in case there's a match/angle/promo worth keeping track of, but there's far too few guys in the company I have any vested interest in (Bully Ray, Aries (and not even a 'huge' fan of him), Doug Williams, Storm can be ok but I'm not really a fan of him as a face) and the wrestling style will never really win me over unless they alter it. Too many matches where there's little to no substance behind the impressive moves and athletic spots, in some ways that does allow for matches like Aries/Bully, Bully/Styles and Roode/Aries to shine compared to the rest but I doubt I'll ever be a regular watcher aside from checking out the best pimped matches.

Their video package presentations however are superb, I watched the before the bell hype video for Storm/Roode at Lockdown and Aries/Roode and both were superb in creating a pure sports build for the match. From what I've seen the shows post Russo look more structured and coherent, and any comedy (Eric Young etc) seems to be used in the right doses to balance out the more serious angles, but aside from Joe Park/Bully Ray and Aries' booking the past couple of months there's very few guys in the company I'm interested in watching week in week out.

That being said they've had Raw beat the past few weeks, and this is coming from someone who's enjoyed the AJ saga (admittedly more around NWO time rather than the past 2 Raws with her antics getting a bit ridiculous).
 
#1,325 ·
Roode/Aries had the perfect combination of people wanting DESPERATELY for Aries to win, but at the same time not expecting him to, so there was genuine passion and excitement with every nearfall towards the end. When Aries kicked out of all the vintage Roode shenanigans and then hoisted him up for that brainbuster , just awesome. There is something to be said for sticking to long term plans with Roode/Storm but you have to credit TNA for striking when the iron is hot , espcially after Aries has been built so well in the previous year which is a rare thing in 2012.
 
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