So, this is the first post to be published by me on here! I'll use this as a mini introduction to myself, although if you've made it here, you very likely already know a bit about me. After we get past that, I'll get to a couple random match reviews!
I'm Mike, although the alias that the person reading this is probably most familiar with is "mikeawesomemike" or some variation of that name. Started watching wrestling in the later 2000s when I was younger. This mostly came in the form of WWE, but sometimes my oldest brother would be watching TNA, so I'd take a peek at the shows when he did. I don't know exactly what made me stop watching, but I know I stopped a little bit after the Rusev v. Cena feud (which I remember liking at the time) ended. I would then start watching again around WWE Clash of Champions 2020 (I distinctly remember that being near the beginning of the Roman Tribal Chief stuff), but that didn't have to do with the return of my fandom. Around that time, a friend that was into wrestling had told me to watch Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi's G1 Climax match that had happened in New Japan, because it was their favorite match ever. I had never heard of Ibushi before, and Omega was someone that I knew of loosely because of the formation of AEW being so huge.
And so I watched the match, and it was unlike anything I'd really seen before. I was fascinated by not only that match, but the entire world of wrestling I had been missing out on outside of the WWE. And so, I began to watch more and more puro, which became more and more lucha, and then a little bit of everything else around the world. So by now, I feel I've been watching wrestling for a long portion of my life. Not as long as some of the fans that I'm inspired by (such as SegundaCaida, reverseviperhold, and Matt D, who's influences will hopefully be very prevalent on this blog) but I want to get there eventually.
"Introduction" aside, I feel it's only right to get to some match reviewing! These matches are somewhat randomly chosen, but I also felt that my thoughts on them might give some more insight on how I think about pro wrestling and the kind of stuff that I like and dislike.
Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Tomohiro Ishii (WEW 9/14/2002) - GREAT
Ah, what a place to start. While I'm sure I've watched matches from here before, I know little to nothing about WEW. If this match is the one thing I'll remember the company for though, then what a way to leave an impression.
Ishii, the most popular name here today, of course, but this was a much less experienced Ishii than the one most know now. I'd personally argue that there's things that I like more about this version of him more than his New Japan era. Firstly, he walks into the ring looking like Dick Togo. This is the second biggest compliment one could receive. Then, it actually feels like he wrestles like Dick Togo. This is the biggest compliment one could receive.
Maybe it's just me being blinded by his look, but it really does feel like Ishii does a good job at filling that chickenshit bastard role against the Akarangers' "pure" babyface energy. I think that also might be me being blinded by my love for Takashi Sasaki and (especially) GENTARO though.
GENTARO is another wrestler that has had very different styles throughout his career. My first introduction to him was his incredible match against Kenichiro Arai for Mutoha. While he is amazing both in that match and this one, they are for completely different reasons. In the Mutoha match, he displays so much struggle through what he goes through himself as well as the pain he inflicts on Arai. (Anyways, enough of that match; that'll be for another time.) Yet GENTARO here, in the best, most cartoonish way possible, makes his entrance late while Takashi Sasaki is getting jumped, proceeds to take a moment to take his glasses off before running towards the ring, just to still get bested on the ramp by Ikuto Hidaka. Fantastic start.
I've said this before, but I don't want my "reviews" to turn into just play-by-plays of what goes down in the match and that is especially the case for this one, because I think you, yes YOU, should go watch this right now.
I actually want to go back though to what I mentioned earlier about Ishii (and by proxy, Ikuto Hidaka) being the chickenshit heels in this one compared Sasaki and GENTARO. Ishii and Hidaka hit hard, to no one's surprise. But what's very noticeable is how GENTARO takes that offense. He is stooging HARD here. Comically BOUNCING around the ring whenever he gets hit. And yet, that's the perfect way to garner sympathy for yourself against guys like these. Despite how "ridiculous" it might seem, it genuinely really makes you feel sorry for him. Despite how different the selling is from the Arai match, it is still the selling that makes you feel in this match!
I know I've spoken about him the least here, but Sasaki is also sick here: He does his great tag spots with GENTARO, has an exciting comeback, and generally is just cool! Not much else to say about him in this match unfortunately, but that doesn't necessarily mean he did bad.
Finally, the match reaches it's conclusion with a DQ finish right when Ishii and Hidaka are about to lose the upper hand to the Akarangers. It hurts, but in the intended way. I'm mad that the match ends there and GENTARO doesn't get a chance to win it himself, but it was also the exact point that the match should've ended at so it didn't overstay it's welcome. Pretty neat match.
Xelhua & Valiente Jr. vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. & El Hijo de Stuka Jr. (CMLL 5/3/2025) - GOOD
The little things are what matter most in this match, and Guerrero Maya Jr. shows that the most. From the creative mind that decides to go for an elbow drop to the groin, to the way he performs each specific move, even to his shocked and distraught reactions to seeing the athletic feats of Valiente Jr. right before his eyes, he is shows so much character and personality without going too far and being "over-expressive". It might just seem like regular behavior to most viewers and that's fine! But damn does it mean a lot to me.
I especially enjoyed how quick the first fall changed momentum, with Xelhua only making one mistake that caused Maya Jr. and HD Stuka Jr. to get the opening they needed to claim the fall. Makes the other falls a lot more suspenseful and gives the feeling that any counter could realistically cause the match to end.
The finish fell flat for me, I can't lie. But that isn't to take much away from the rest of the match that was really really good.
Hope whoever got this far enjoyed! I wasn't really sure how to go about most of this originally, but I feel proud of how this came out! Let me know anything I could've done better, what you liked, what you didn't like, and generally any thoughts on my writing or the matches themselves!
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