Wrestling Forum banner

The 2012 MOTYC thread

340K views 3K replies 192 participants last post by  Alan4L 
#1 ·
#1,920 · (Edited)
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode vs. James Storm (11/11/2012)- ***3/4
Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries (11/11/2012)- ****1/4

Another strong outing from TNA yet again, though I will admit that I'm" getting burnt out on Ladder Matches it seems like every promotion is using it this year.
 
#1,922 ·
Yeah I could definitely understand why you wouldn't look past that, especially considering that he took the brunt of the bumps during the match. I guess for me the chaotic nature of the match and what they were trying to accomplish with it really bumped it up for me.
 
#1,926 ·
Karl Anderson vs Shelton Benjamin - NJPW 05.08.2012
Yeah I'm seriously nominating a Shelton Benjamin in here. Conclusion? Anderson + New Japan is a winning formula for sub 10 minute matches. Benjamin's good in it tbf actually. Hits his stuff well and doesn't drag the pace down. Anderson is brilliant once again. Kinda funny how people were worried how he might progress this year after Bernard left. One's main eventing Ryoguku and the other is main eventing Superstars. Wrestling is a funny business. Anderson's totally got this sub 10 minute sprint type match nailed down to a tee.

****

Toru Yano vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 05.08.2012
Is there anyone as consistently entertaining as Yano in 2012? Seriously. Dude delivers everytime. Isn't a technical masterpiece but he doesn't try to be. He has his shtick and he works it perfectly. Really there was no way this match wasn't gonna be good in a New Japan midcard but even with my expectations they raised the bar that bit further. For those who watched the Yano/Marufuji match from G1 and wanted someone that didn't suck working that match with Yano well this is it. Yano's in full on troll mode and MiSu aint taking none of it. Yano's reaction when Suzuki first goes for the arm is amazing and sets up him cowering away from Suzuki at every opening Suzuki has. Totally works with Suzuki's background too as he's credible as a guy who will kill a guy like Yano in a wrestling ring. The count out near fall absolutely ruled. That's the type of spot I want in my wrestling, not Davey Richards kicking someone in the head 20 times to get a near fall. I much prefer Yano having his own dastardly deeds turned around on him to produce a near fall. Finish reflects the match perfectly along with the reactions. Another great reference for Suzuki being sleeper WOTY in New Japan too. 8 minutes of literally everything I want from a midcard match. Minute for minute maybe my favourite match of the year.

****

Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 05.08.2012
I think everyone knew this was probably gonna be really good and alas it was. It's another example of a hot New Japan finishing stretch taking a good match and turning it into a great match. They're the fucking best. Full of counters until one guy finally hits his finisher and does what it says on the label, finishes it. Some neat character work in there too. Loved Nakamura's reaction to punking Okada out at the start and Okada receipts it later on in equally great fashion. I really hope Okada gets a long title run in 2013 because New Japan needs fresh main events after giving Tanahashi another year on top and having to resort to weaker opponents to keep his matches fresh like Tanaka, Marufuji and Yujiro. These 2 will probably main event a show next year and it'll be awesome. If Okada gets that long title run next year then you may as well hand him WOTY straight away because there's no way he wont deliver main eventing with guys like Tanahashi, Naito, Nakamura, Anderson and Nagata all year.

****
 
#1,927 ·
Is there anyone as consistently entertaining as Yano in 2012? Seriously.
Archibald Peck, Mr. Touchdown, Icarus and the Young Bucks. And I'm glad someone finally recognizes Yano's awesomeness.
 
#1,933 ·
I hated the Finals, though, the moment where UMB superplexes Matt onto like 545 guys waiting ringside ruined the joys for this viewer.
 
#1,937 ·
I loved the spot. I think it was my view point that made me not realize it was coming. I was sitting in the second row on the opposite side of the ring so I wasn't really looking at all the guys that were standing under them. I was just watching the two guys on the top rope. The camera work should have been better to hide everyone waiting on the floor.

Even if you hated that spot you have to admit that the rest of the match was really good. Delirious showing up was really surpsiring as was the Cross Bones appearances, I loved how the crowd just seemed to deflate when they showed up because we all assumed that ROH was going to win Delirious and company got involved. Chikara winning is pretty close to the top of the list for the happiest I've felt while watching a match all year (I think Rock beating Cena at Mania still has that beat).
 
#1,938 ·
Nah, I hated it. I hate when it happens in ROH, PWG, DGUSA, CHIKARA, it doesn't matter. It ruins matches. I just can't suspense my disbelief that much. Way too fake.

But yeah, the rest of the match was really good, the Envoy guys finally overcoming the odds was great moment and feel-good moment. The best moment was Maria getting superkicked right in the mug, lol.
 
#1,940 ·
Maria getting kicked in the face was a pretty great moment. When she interfered I really thought that the Envoy was done for so her getting kicked in the face was great both for just seeing her get kicked in the face and for the fact that it gave me hope for the Envoy again.

That spot literally happened right in front of me and I was too busy looking at the guys in front of me so I didn't know the suplex was really coming.And now two cases for my Chikara DVDs are slightly busted and I will forever remember that spot because of it.
I didn't have anything damaged during the spots to the outside. I did narrowly avoid having either Kobald or Ophidian thrown on top of me. Thankfully Mantis was nice enough to yell, move, and give me maybe 2 seconds to get out of the way before throwing someone onto my chair.
 
#1,946 · (Edited)
About NJPW G1 Climax Night 4 (8/5/12)

Out of all the matches, the three MOTYCs were as Seab said, Shelton/Anderson, Yano/Suzuki, and Okada/Nakamura. Which is funny, because two of these matches were heel vs heel, a so called no-no in promotions like WWE.

I was REALLY surprised by Shelton/Anderson. It was such a quick match, but fun one nonetheless. It even told a story, one that definitely benefited both wrestlers even if one ultimately won. It made Shelton look like a athletic beast, and Anderson a underdog with a very dangerous weapon. The ending caught me by surprise because you don't see spots like that very often in NJPW, but it's been done plenty of times in WWE. But the difference in how NJPW did it was that it wasn't just a cool moment; it was also a "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" moment. It fit the story to a tee. So yeah, it didn't set the world on fire, but I'd recommend it. Definitely a four star.


Yano Toru vs Minoru Suzuki was just plain awesome. Part of the remarkable thing about this match and Nakamura/Okada is that it was a heel vs heel match. Yes, Japanese fans don't cater to the whole face/heel dynamic as much as Western fans do, and they were siding with Yano throughout, but still, both wrestlers played up their character specific heel antics throughout this match. Yano was trolling hard, Suzuki aimed to make him pay big time. There were so many hilarious and great moments in this match from beginning to end. The near count-out (a serious taste of your own medicine moment), Yano apologizing, and of course, the reactions to the ending. This match was definitely a highlight of the G1 Climax tourney, and is well worth watching.


And then there was the battle for CHAOS supremacy. Ok, not yet, but it will happen next year IMO. Nakamura vs Okada was expected to be fantastic. And it was, for the reasons I expected. The character quirks, the tension (even though they are in the same stable), the one-upmanship, and of course, the finishing stretch. It was Nakamura being Nakamura, and Okada being Okada. I wouldn't want it any other way.


Out of these three, bias aside, I think Yano/Suzuki was the best match.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top