AJ Styles vs. Amazing Red, NWA:TNA 10/30/02

 

This was for AJ’s X-Division Championship. 

This was the first ever counter between the two of them in anyway. They’re a few months away from their ROH team. They have another singles match in TNA in about 6 weeks from now, and then they don’t face off again until a HoG match in 2014 or 2015. 

I don’t know if there was ever a plan to have them square off in ROH at some point other than I think AJ couldn’t make Round Robin II and was replaced by London…I think. But other than that, who knows? 

The match itself is a lot of fun. Lotta flippy shit but incredible flippy shit, such as this fun exchange:

AJ stays on top of Red but you wouldn’t know it! Turns out Red can’t sell worth a damn in ROH OR TNA. 

They start to work a story with AJ being better than Red, but Red being more unpredictable than AJ, leading to AJ miscuing a lot of stuff that gives Red a clear advantage, but he doesn’t have that extra umph to be able to put AJ away. 

AJ works smart finally catching Red and grounding him with basic holds to wear him out and eventually control the match his way. But again, Red won’t even sell exhaustion so that gets thrown to the wayside. Red wouldn’t sell death, I bet. I mean he no sold his own career ending knee injury in real life so it makes sense. 

Red hits all of his signature high spots sans the Red Star Press, and it’s all fun. The pace picks up some. Styles capitalizes on his manager, Mortimer Plumtree, yanking on Red’s ankle during a ropes sequence by blindsiding him and taking him up top. 

Styles sets up for a super Styles Clash, but Red impressively lifts himself up and turns it into a Frankenstein…BUT AJ REVERSES IT IN MIDAIR INTO A SITOUT POWERBOMB AND GETS THE WIN!

Fun flippy shit. Fun finish. Probably couldn’t have gone much longer. Red’s lack of selling definitely hurt this but it was still a blast. Would’ve loved to have seen Red get a chance to mature as an overall performer, sans knee injury, and have this match happen again in a more serious setting like 3-4 years from now. 

Match rating: ***1/2

Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Young Bucks, AEW Revolution 2020, 2/29/20

 

This was for Omega & Page’s AEW Tag Team Championships.

This match. This match. This fucking match. 

Revolution 2020 was the only AEW PPV (starting in the Dynamite era) that I had never seen. All Out 2020 was briefly in this category due to me ordering it on cable, setting the DVR, going to an all day BBQ, and coming back to realize the DVR didn’t record it, so I had to watch the last half of the replay and then the next day watched the first half online. 

For some reason, I just never got around to watching Revolution 2020. It’s arguably the beginning of AEW’s hottest run of its existence (Feb 2020-Feb 2022), and a lot of people cite moments or matches on this show when referring to some all time AEW moments. 

With the top one being, of course, this match. 

This fucking match. 

I’ll be the first to admit I am guilty of recency bias to a staggering degree. It’s something that I’m trying to curb in my life between my use of Letterboxd for movies and this site/twitter for wrestling matches. But it doesn’t erase the recency bias completely, and it absolutely cannot erase the recency bias one would’ve suffered in real time. 

Like I would’ve suffered with this motherfuck of a match. 

If I had watched Revolution 2020 live on PPV, I could’ve seen myself drooling my way onto Twitter, and typing out some four tweet soliloquy about how this match changed my perception of what a true alternative to WWE could be, how it fully introduced me to the work of all four men at their peak and how it would be responsible for elevating both tag team wrestling and stories in pro wrestling forever more. I would’ve probably wet myself in my lil panties when I saw Uncle Dave’s 6* rating drop. I would’ve made AEW my home promotion, we would’ve all been bestest friends foreverest, COVID would’ve never shut the world down, 1/6 would’ve been avoided, and I would be taking part in #RestoringTheFeeling all the way here in the year of our lord 2024. 

But this fucking match.

Let’s get the obvious crap out of the way before we begin: this isn’t a bad match. I don’t hate this match. I have major Elite fatigue, but I’ve gone on record numerous times in saying I don’t even hate the Elite, even post Brawl Out. 

This, on the surface, is a perfectly fine, somewhat exciting tag team wrestling match that accomplished its two main goals: giving Page/Omega a remarkably big win to legitimize their tag title reign, and to further along the story they were telling (that still had about 21-22 months left on it, but I digress). There was some good work on Matt’s back as the focus, Hanger/Matt’s growing tension, Omega being frustrated with both sides because he wants to keep his belts and the friendships, and some cool flippy shit. And that’s all a-okay. 

But the insane temerity the majority of you people have to call this the greatest tag team match in US wrestling history is worrying. And a special god damn you to the specific type of pervert who had the impertinence to even bandy about the notion that it may be the greatest tag team match in wrestling history. 

Let a match breathe. Let a moment fucking sink in. Less than 24 hours after this show aired, the reaction on Twitter was like cavemen had just discovered fire. Part of me does understand it! There’s two generations of wrestling fans who wanted a legitimate alternative to WWE so bad, that when they finally got one, they willed themselves into thinking “AEW can do no wrong” (which has gotten them into a lot of the messes they’ve had, but that’s a different topic for a different time) and that is DETRACTIVE thinking. 

You’ve forced this tag team match, among a lot of other good to great AEW matches, into this once-elite (no pun intended) pantheon of all-time wrestling bouts simply because — and stick with me here since a lot of are just willingly blind, dumb or ignorant — simply because “it’s better than what WWE has to offer.”

Oh okay, so, I had a ton of fun once watching Meng vs. Norman Smiley in a late era WCW Hardcore Match. It’s a blast, it’s funny. I enjoyed it. But does that make it an all time great match? Does that it rank it ahead or even neck and neck with literally any other major hardcore/deathmatch that’s ever taken place? Simply because I enjoyed this more than the hardcore stuff WWF may have offered that night, that should then erase the efforts of ACTUAL, GREAT MATCHES?!

Can’t we just all as a community learn the difference between objectivity and subjectivity?!

Sure, these are some extreme examples and I’m probably going a little too hard on this subject. But to tie back up together, I think what I’ve just said should make perfect sense! Stop calling matches these objectively all time great matches. Not because it pisses me off, not because someone on Twitter or Reddit disagrees, but because it devalues the match you’re speaking about and almost any other match like it. 

Let a match breathe. Let a moment breathe. Learn to differentiate objective facts vs. subjective likings. Know that it’s okay to call this match, this fucking match, or any other match at all, your FAVORITE match, but also know that does not make it the greatest match ever. 

I’m yelling into the void, I know. Because at the end of the day, AEW-only fans are going to do what they’re going to do. My whole final point is, there’s not as many “all time great” matches as you’d actually believe. Not because there hasn’t been an array of incredible matches, but because if we held so many of them up to this near impossible standard, suddenly they don’t look as great anymore. 

Because maybe it hasn’t yet (and maybe it has, which I think it has, but…) one day soon, another match is going to happen and suddenly the torches you all carried for this match for these last four years will fall to the ground, igniting a wall of flames behind you, sparked by all the bullshit you’ve spewed since February 29th, 2020. 

Enjoy this match. Stop being an asshole about it though. 

And go watch Steiner Bros vs. Sting/Lex Luger from SuperBrawl I, you lazy, vulgar, rancid, little philistines. 

Sorry, my Giamatti is showing. 

MATCH RATING: ***1/2

ROH: GLORY BY HONOR II - 9/20/2003

ROH: GLORY BY HONOR II

Murphy Rec Center
Philadelphia, PA
September 20th, 2003

ROH World Champion: Samoa Joe (Since 3/22/2002 - 6 Defenses)
ROH Tag Team Champions: Vacant (Since 8/20/2003 - 0 Defenses)

In the back, Colt Cabana cuts another one of his goofy ass promos about his four corners match tonight and how he’s also going to make history outside of the ring tonight. He's gonna make home video history tonight. Home release ROH videos, the biggest thing since Steve Guttenberg's double disc.

Dan Maff cuts a pretape in a neck brace, still recovering from the injury by Low Ki last show which is a pinched nerve. He tries to cut a real slow spoken word promo and it comes across like he’s doped up (maybe he is? pain meds?) and it doesn’t come across well. He promises vengeance on Low Ki and tells Daniels good luck tonight.

So tonight is the very last ROH show at the Rec Center. They’re at the beginning of becoming very popular and they’ve seemingly outgrown the Rec Center and probably a couple of other venues. But this was their home base for these first 18 months.

REC CENTER MEMORIES: Low Ki vs. Dragon vs. Daniels

Backstage, AJ Styles is again hyping up Jimmy Rave before his match tonight. He says that Whitmer is bigger than him so to target his arm early and often so the cross face pays off in the end.

Punk is on commentary. Fuck yeah.

Match #1: BJ Whitmer (0) vs. Jimmy Rave (0) [Field of Honor Block B]
Punk shits on Whitmer the entire match, and Jimmy gets some residual shit as well. Jimmy does some solid arm work, taking AJ’s advice. BJ works out of it and does his usual run thru em style head drop offense and it’s whatever. He controls a large portion until Rave is able to make his comeback by abandoning any arm work and trying to beat Whitmer at his own game with the big throws and suplexes. He gets Whitmer up top for something and Whitmer surprises him with a Blonde Bombshell to win. With that loss, Rave is mathematically eliminated from the tournament since he’s already lost to Colt, too. Solid little match though. Rave is developing nicely. And BJ didn’t annoy me as much.
**1/2

UPDATED BLOCK B STANDINGS:
WHITMER - 1
CABANA - 1
MAFF - 0
RAVE - 0

Backstage, Whitmer puts Rave over but promises victories over Cabana and Maff too.

Jimmy Rave is recuperating backstage and a disappointed AJ Styles comes over, questioning Rave’s decision to put Whitmer up top? He could’ve capitalized on the arm work with the crossface and won, and he needs to start thinking things through.

Elsewhere, Samoa Joe cuts a promo. He says that some might say for Christopher Daniels that it is his destiny to take the ROH World belt away from Samoa Joe. Few months back, Doug Williams knew that it was his destiny to take this, and he choked the life out of his him. Same with Homicide. That wasn't his destiny. Dan Maff, mere hours after burying his father, summoned all his heart because he thought it was destiny, but it wasn’t. Glory by Honor is an event that he made famous with Low Ki, and proved it was HIS destiny to be the top guy in this company. Is this destiny? Or is Christopher Daniels just destined to be another victim? They do the signature “ROH end of promo cut” even though the camera keeps rolling, and then Steve Corino comes in and sits next to Joe. Corino asks if he can believe CM Punk, putting him in a match with Raven. Joe says Punk is rough around the edges and antisocial, but it's not like Corino's never beaten Raven before, which makes Guillotine LeGrande yell that Joe knows Corino's never beaten Raven. Corino says he brought Joe into ROH and he's happy for him being champion, but the idea was for HIM to hold the belt, not the big guy enforcer. But hey, destiny is what it is, and Corino quickly wishes him luck and leaves. Seeds planted for another Corino match that’ll probably never happen.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Eddie vs. Super Crazy!

Before the next match, Lollipop from TNA is seen in Xavier’s corner. Allison Danger comes out pissed off and Xavier orders her away, and Lollipop stays.

Match #2: Xavier (0) vs. John Walters (0) [Field of Honor Block A]
Xavier still stinks I don’t care what anyone says. And Walters is boring. Xavier does some new stuff with his strikes and knee work which is alright. Punk uses Xavier’s dominance in this to mock Whitmer some more, saying Whitmer would lose to Xavier offense. Walters gets some hope spots and they even continue the bastardization of the RVD/Lynn roll up spot. They work their way back to their feet where Xavier sneaks in a low blow by swinging his leg back and he gets a quick roll up to win and Gabe SCREECHES.
**

UPDATED BLOCK A STANDINGS
XAVIER - 1
STRYKER - 1
WALTERS - 0
SABIN - 0

Backstage, Christopher Daniels cuts a promo with Allison Danger by his side. He says he can smell it in the air tonight. He can feel it in his bones. Tonight, his destiny will come to pass. Ever since ROH began, it's been evident that the ROH title belongs around HIS waist. Tonight, on his first one on one match for that belt, how ironic is it that it's Joe? He was the one who brought Joe into ROH to beat up Low Ki, and he made himself a star in the process. Destiny has taken them in two different paths since then. In March, Samoa Joe fulfilled his destiny by beating Xavier for the belt, but that started him on the road to his. He laid him out after his first title defense. They fought in an empty arena. They fought in the ring, and The Group was disbanded. He even saved Jim Cornette from a beating from the Prophecy. There's been one true thing throughout, and that is that Joe's title is HIS destiny. All roads have led to Philadelphia and the Murphy Rec Center tonight. Samoa Joe and the Fallen Angel. He will be the ROH World Champion, and the only thing Joe can do about that is SAY HIS PRAYERS. And THAT is the gospel according to the word of the Fallen Angel.

After the cut, Steve Corino shockingly comes over and says he comes in peace. Corino admits Daniels is number one in ROH, and they're never going to have a feud again. He wishes him luck tonight, and offers a handshake but Daniels doesn’t reciprocate, and Corino leaves. Daniels is spooked.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Danielson/Ki on 3/30/02

Match #3: Teddy Hart vs. TJ Wilson
Oooh boy. For what it’s worth, this wasn’t HORRIBLE. But it’s still a pretty green TJ against batshit crazy Teddy Annis. They exchange some of that DUNGEON~ matwork to start and it just dawned on me that Stu Hart passes away like a month from this point in time so maybe ol’ Stu got to watch The Ring of Honor. Anyway, this slowly turns in to a showcase for Teddy Annis and he gets the win with a Flying DDT. Honestly? Not the worst match.
*1/2

During that match, CM Punk cut a promo on Terry Funk on commentary, saying Funk has no knees left, he relies on narcotics to get out of bed in the morning, and that Funk quit on national TV in 1989 like a coward and is somehow still around, and he promises to end his career for good tonight because this match is offensive to him as a competitor.

After the previous match, Teddy Hart went backstage and Special K tried offering him drugs a chance to party with them, and while he seemed intrigued, he walked away. HILARIOUS in retrospect.

Raven cuts a quick pre match promo explaining why he chose Funk to face Punk, and also challenges Corino to make their match tonight Raven’s Rules.

REC CENTER MEMORY: The insane Natural Born Sinners/Carnage Crew bunkhouse match.

Corino comes out, flanked by his young boys, LeGrande, Simply Luscious and Bobby Cruise. Cruise gives the big ring introductions for LeGrande and Luscious. He then says in the corner to his left, from Sea Isle City, NJ, weighing in at 106 kilos which is 232 pounds to YOU, THE IGNORANT MASSES. The man who has defeated such stars as:

• Doink the Clown
• Big Vito
• Razor Ramon
• Tom Brandi
• The Headbangers
• Nova
• Scotty Riggs
• David Flair
• Pat Tanaka
• Paul Diamond
• Gerard Gordeau
• Devon Storm
• Yoshiaki Fujiwara
• Minoru Fujita
• Kid Kash
• Mikey Whipwreck
• ROH Champion Samoa Joe
• Simon Diamond
• The Sandman
• (Takes a break for water)
• Spanky
• Super Crazy
• Tommy Dreamer
• Yoshihiro Tajiri
• Rob Van Dam
• Jeff Hardy
• Jack Victory
• Mike Awesome
• Barry Windham
• Vampiro
• TAKA Michinoku
• Homicide
• Low Ki
• Val Venis
• Shinjiro Otani
• Masato Tanaka
• CW Anderson
• Jerry Lynn
• Rhino
• Mitsuharu Misawa
• The American Dream Dusty Rhodes
• Terry Funk

“…and I dare say if Jesus came back in a pair of tights, he’d beat him too.”

INTRODUCING THE KING OF KINGS, THE EXTREME HORSEMAN, AND THE FUCKING GOD OF PRO WRESTLING, STEVE CORINO.

Raven comes out for the match and his head is shaved due to the TNA angle with, I think, Larry Zbyszko?

Match #4: Raven vs. Steve Corino [Raven’s Rules]
If you know me, you know that this has always been a dream match of mine and something I once painstakingly fantasy booked on the old BQ. So as long as it doesn’t shit the bed, don’t be surprised if I overrate this. UPDATE: It didn’t shit the bed but it was just kind of whatever. Neither man really seemed into it and other than some light usage of the chair and Luscious getting involved, there wasn’t much about this that was Raven’s Rules. Punk is commentary still until Raven puts Luscious over his knee to spank her. Punk “leaves commentary” and as Raven has Corino pinned, Punk is there to pull the ref out of the ring. Raven chases after Punk on the outside and right back in the inside where Corino cuts Raven off with an Old School Kick to win. Honestly they really haven’t done much to make Raven look credible at all in the second half of this feud, and now he’s out here just playing keystone cops. wtf.
**

Post match, Corino seems pissed at Punk for helping him. Punk beats on Raven but then Corino pulls Punk off of him and shoves him! Punk gets right in Corino’s face until LeGrande and the young boys get in and Punk bails since he’s got no back up. Raven and Corino then shake hands. Weird segment.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Low Ki becomes the first ROH Champion.

Match #5: AJ Styles vs. Colt Cabana vs. Chris Sabin vs. Matt Stryker [Four Corner Survival Match]
Obnoxiously long at 20+ minutes and a complete fucking misuse of 2003 AJ Styles. It’s one thing to waste him in a match like this, but then he’s not even the one that really gets to shine here. It feels like Gabe is fully behind making Colt a top guy at the expense of a lot of others. Nobody does anything outwardly offensive in this, in fact, it is enjoyable at points but only in spurts. There’s longish periods in this of stuff not really happening, at least not interesting stuff. The finishing run feels like it’s missing something, like it’s just artificially done. Stryker becomes Cabana’s target and he beats him with the Colt 45. Whatever.
**1/2

At his home, we see footage of Dan Maff getting his update call from Allison Danger. He seems nonplussed about Xavier seemingly leaving the Prophecy but gets worked up when it’s implied ROH may remove him from the FOH due to his injury. Maff tells Danger to tell Convicted Sex Offender Rob Feinstein that he will be at the Baltimore show for his FOH match.

In the back during intermission, GMC finds Colt Cabana. He’s celebrating and says he's excited. He beat three guys and like the egg whites he does in the morning, he's cracking that top five. What. But even better is the something special he has planned later and it's gonna make history. CM Punk then walks on and says history is now his favorite subject in ROH. Now it appears he and Steve Corino have some history too, but first, he has to take care of Raven. Tonight, it's kind of ironic that Raven has chosen a man in Terry Funk who needs to be on ALL kinds of medication to even step foot in to the ring. This might as well be Terry Funk's hometown, and he's known for beating the odds. He won't say he's a legend killer, because Terry Funk is no legend. He might be Raven's father figure though, so it'll be even better when he cripples him. He then gives Colt props for winning that match.

REC CENTER MEMORY: London/Shane street fight.

Match #6: Backseat Boyz vs. Special K (Angel Dust/Deranged/Hydro) vs. The Briscoes vs. Special K (Izzy/Dixie) vs. Carnage Crew (DeVito/Loc/Credible) vs. Dunn & Marcos [Tag Team Gauntlet Match] [Vacant ROH Tag Team Championships]
So in a complete mess, this gauntlet match starts with Carnage Crew vs. Special K, but as a six man grudge match tag with DeVito/Loc/Credible against Dust/Deranged/Hydro. Whoever wins will then drop down to two members. BUT, there is a second Special K team in this gauntlet too. Whatever. This is meant to really heat up the feud between the two stables and it does its job. DeVito gets a hot tag and clears house. So Special K start sneakily using leather straps to attack him. The Crew get a hand on the straps and begin using them on Special K and get CAUGHT, so they’re DQ’d.

So now the gauntlet continues and Special K Black & White will be represented by Deranged & Hydro. And their first opponents are the Briscoes! Hell yeah. All that cheating previously led to nothing because the Briscoes demolish them in short order and move on in the gauntlet after Jay beats Hydro with the Jay Driller.

Dunn & Marcos come in and hesitate doing their schtick out of fear for the Briscoes. And it turns out their suspicions were correct as the Briscoes beat the FUCK out of them. Springboard Doomsday Device ends it. COME ON GIVE THE BRISCOES THE BELTS.

Special K Deluxe (Izzy/Dixie) are in next. This actually gets a few moments and is a blast! SKDX are such a good wormy lower card heel team that are able to get under the Briscoes skin and cause them to overreact and almost lose it beyond comprehension. All of Special K start to get involved in their usual games behind the ref’s back and the Briscoes clean house, BUT THEN ANGEL DUST SURPRISES MARK WITH A SPRINGBOARD DIAMOND DUST! AND THEY SCORE THE UPSET!

Last out are the Backseat Boyz. Gross. I smell where this is going. It’s a fun enough spot fest but far from the normal fun shit these matches tend to USUALLY put out. Izzy gets nailed with the T Gimmick and the Backseats are your new champs.

I don’t like this. I enjoyed the Backseat Boyz when I’d watch CZW on cable access here in the Philly area when I was a teen but while I was looking forward to seeing them in this review, they are one act that did not stand the test of time for me. Whatever.
**1/4

Post-match, all of Special K attacks the new champs, but the Briscoes run back out to make the save! It's a big brawl on the floor. And MARK BREAKS OUT HIS SHOOTING STAR PRESS DIVE ON TO EVERYONE! Teddy Annis also runs out because he’s clearly upset about being offered drugs earlier and hits everyone with a big flippy corkscrew moonsault dive. Dopey.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Joe/Ki fight without honor one year ago

In a pretape, Homicide cuts a promo from Japan. He says he's kicking ass for Zero One. BBBDAT. MY FLESH MY FLESH MY BLOOD MY BLOOD. Homicide says he's here to kick ass and take care of business, and he knows Julius Smokes will hold it down back in ROH. He says behind closed doors and in public, Low Ki's disrespected him. He knows who he is, he is the strong style thug. And he trained Low Ki, don't forget that. He's a superstar, but HE trained HIM. If he wants to fight, they know where each other lives. If he wants to fight, he needs to come to him, because he forgot where he came from. AND SPEAKING OF THAT, Samoa Joe beat him because of Low Ki & J Train arguing. He should be the ROH World Champion. He wants one more match, and it doesn't even need to be for the title. Non-title, title, street fight, Joe's rules, he doesn't care. It needs to happen.

Alexis Laree comes out to a big ovation, streamers and all, because WWE’s signed her to a developmental deal in OVW. Crazy that she was in developmental for close to two years but given how far she still had to go, it also makes sense. The Alexis Laree you saw in ROH is NOT the Mickie James you see come 05-06. She becomes one of the best women’s wrestlers that company’s ever had which, after watching this ROH run, is insane to think about it but it’s true. This will also thankfully end Gabe’s creepy commentary about her.

Special K interrupt her celebration and go to beat her down but then JOEY MATTHEWS RETURNS! It’s noted he’s fresh out of rehab and he was the one who brought Alexis in to ROH. He scares off Special K, so Mickie plants a big wet kiss on him. I think this is post Mickie/Punk and right around when Mickie/Joey started dating. And I believe Punk was with Daffney but that would be ending soon once he meets Traci Brooks. Whatever. AND JOEY THEN CLOTHESLINES HER DOWN! YOU RAT! “TURNS OUT REHAB DIDN’T DO THE JOB” Gabe yells as Joey reunites with Special K. BUT HERE COMES SLUGGA, the now former head of security for Special K. He’s got J Train and Benny Blanco with him. They chase Special K off and Mickie plants Hijinx with a quick spinning DDT and Smokes counts 1-2-3, and they parade Mickie around the ring for a final farewell. What a mess.

OH AND IT ONLY GETS WORSE. CORNETTE’S BACK. FUCKER. He says he's back in ROH because of what Daniels and Maff did to him in Ohio. Well you deserved it shit head. Nobody screws over Jim Cornette and gets away with it, According to Jim (no not the cool tv show). Recently, he heard Ric Flair tell a young man that he'd had more championships than that guy had had women. Daniels and Maff, he's had more main events than they've jerked off. WHAT ARE YOU, AN EARLY 2000’s E-FEDDER? HORRIBLE. They bring HIM to ROH and embarrass him with their mediocrity. Then they tried to kick HIS ass? He's gonna come back to do two things. Number one, to get even with The Prophecy. Number two, there's a lot of money to be made with a new talent, and he wants some. Oh fuck off asshole.

CM Punk comes out for his match, and he gets on the mic. He says that in ‘83, he was just a four year old Punker, Terry Funk retired, for the first time, in All Japan Pro Wrestling. FOREVER. He can come out here and call him old, call Terry's old man a piece of shit, talk about how Terry's brother never amounted to a god damned thing in his entire life (CORRECT), make fun of his wife, make fun of his daughters, shit on his career all night, but it's all been done before. EVERYBODY has claimed that they will take Terry Funk out, but he keeps on keeping on. Why? BECAUSE HE'S A DRUNK, HE’S PILLED UP, HE’S SCHIZOPHRENIC, HE’S A MULTIPLE PERSONALITY HAVING DICKHEAD. Punk says he’s none of that and needs none of that, he’s part animal and part machine, and 20 years after he retired for the first time, Terry Funk will be dismantled. FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER.

Match #7: CM Punk vs. Terry Funk
Listen, you’re never going to hear me disparage Terry Funk. By all accounts, he was still working a pretty full schedule at this point between MLW and Japan. So it’s not like he’s coming off a long stretch of inactivity. Hell, in the prior and proceeding 30 day periods, Funk will have the following matches:

•     A 15-20 min match with Credible
•     A match with Lawler
•     A 20+ min War Games match 24 hours before this night
•     A match against Homicide in a week
•     A second barbed wire match against Corino about a month from now, which is about 60 days after his last barbed wire match with Corino

So the Funker is still going. A part of me just gets bummed because nobody could tell him to stop. But whatever. Sad shit out of the way. This is really fun, better than some of contemporaries have it rated, which is fine. Punk tries to go the mind games route but it backfires so Funk just starts beating the hell out of him inside and outside the ring. He even pulls off, for apparently the first time in over 3 years, his patented moonsault…

…but he missed! He lands awkwardly on his knee and that immediately becomes a target for the vicious Punk to attack and it’s really good. Gabe is freaking the fuck out on commentary which is fun at first but then he says some dumb shit that doesn’t make sense when you remember he’s the Booker of the fucking show. Punk does the Spinning Toe Hold to add insult to injury. Then he drops it down into the figure four for a WHILE, but Funk fights to get the ropes! Punk keeps the hold on but instead of the ref counting him out at 5, THE REF SHOVES PUNK OFF! But that just pisses Punk off more so he RE APPLIES THE FIGURE FOUR, REALLY SYNCHING IT IN BY TURNING TO THE SIDE A BIT. Funk AGAIN gets the ropes and the ref is forced to keep his cool. But Punk still DEFIANTLY refuses to take the hold off and the ref DQ’s him!
***ish

Post match, Punk keeps the hold on to some hot heat from the crowd. Cabana comes running out and he peels Punk off of Funk and yells at him. BUT THEN CABANA PUTS FUNK IN THE FIGURE FOUR WHILE PUNK STOMPS ON FUNK! Raven finally runs out and the heels bail…UNTIL TOMMY DREAMER RETURNS AGAIN! Punk evades him but Dreamer catches Cabana and throws him back in the ring. Raven hits Cabana with an Evenflow and then Funk hits him with an Ace Crusher. Dreamer gets in the ring to hug his pseudo father and pseudo brother and he even gets Raven and Terry to finally hug and I gotta tell ya that was nice.

Tommy stays behind and grabs a mic. Oh no. Luckily it’s quick. He just says that if it wasn’t for his other job he’d be right here in ROH joining Raven and Terry. He puts over Philly, ROH, the young talent, ECW and Funk and thanks everyone. Tommy let’s not pretend you didn’t have a six figure a year office deal at this point that quite frankly you could’ve probably easily walked away from if you really wanted to do so. Nerd.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Bryan/AJ I!

Match #8: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Christopher Daniels [ROH World Championship]
This feels like a really big deal, like ROH’s first huge world title match really since the initial four way to crown the first champion. But idk man. It was a damn, damn good match. But it needed some more time, I think. I don’t know if they’re protecting Joe or what. I know he doesn’t have the stamina to go 30-40 mins and that’s fine. But I don’t think a single title defense of his has even come close to, let alone surpassed, 20 minutes? This gets 15 which is probably why it’s so good. But I don’t know. I’ve been pretty disappointed with the Joe title run thus far if I am being completely honest. It lacks the umph and intensity I was promised, and some of the booking has been kind of baffling at times, too. I mean he’s been pinned clean at least two times since he’s won the belt and he’s only been champ for a little over 5 months. That probably shouldn’t happen. But okay fine. Whatever. I know I’m probably in the minority and people will get mad at me even daring to question The Reign. Joe does the Ole Ole kick stuff for a bit too long and it starts to become goofy when he’s got the ref doing shit like clapping along to the chant or doing the “ITS GOOD” Field Goal hand gesture after one of the kicks. Like cmon. Daniels fights back and has a really really good control segment that just eats in to Joe’s fairly low (in comparison to Daniels) level of stamina and commentary toys with the idea of maybe this has been the way to beat Joe all along. Joe stays in it though. FANTASTIC finishing run. Joe has Daniels reeling and gets him up on top of the ropes to end this shit, BUT DANIELS BLOCKS THE SUPER MUSCLE BUSTER WITH A HURRICANRANA AND IMMEDIATELY HITS THE ANGEL’S WINGS WITH A COVER, AND JOE JUUUUUUUUST KICKS OUT AT A COUNT THAT WAS SO DAMNED CLOSE, THE TIME KEEPER RANG THE BELL BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WAS THREE. IF that was part of the bit? That was brilliant. If that was a mistake? It’s a beautiful accident. Hell yeah. Joe rolls out of the Last Rites attempt that follows, and Joe locks on The Choke.  BUT MY GOD, DANIELS GETS TO THE ROPES IN THE CHOKE AND HE BREAKS IT! COME ON CHRIS! But damnit. Joe then hits the Island Driver to win. Fun shit. Match of the night by far.
***1/2

Post match, Joe doesn’t observe the code of honor for once and instead flips the bird to Daniels who’s down in the corner. Joe leaves and Daniels gets a huge standing ovation which surprises him.

REC CENTER MEMORIES: Danielson/London 2 out of 3 falls!

Back at his home, Maff cuts another really bad promo. He tells Daniels he did great and he knows he’ll get him next time. He then rambles on more about Low Ki and the FOH and honestly who cares?

Elsewhere, the Carnage Crew and Credible are lamenting their loss tonight. Loc’s loud recaps of what happens that night are starting to annoy me, I won’t lie. Just get to the promo. DeVito says they got their revenge tonight by whipping them back with belts but now they’ve got no titles and that pisses them off so they’re gonna kick Special K’s god damned asses. Credible then drops his shitty lil catchphrase with his big stupid teeth.

Backseat Boyz cut a pretape putting over being the new champs. I don’t really care. They’re going to AC to get hookers and drink lean. Alright.

REC CENTER MEMORY: Joe/Cide May 2003

And now it’s time for GOOD TIMES GREAT MEMORIES WITH COLT CABANA! YEAAAH!

He has his own talk show, “LIVE FROM CHICAGO”, the Windy City or the Second Ciry. He's reading his Tribune and has Twiggy on the water skis, Gumby’s here to help out, and he's a journalist now! They're going to have a lot of guests and his partner, CM Punk, will be here a bit later on. But his first guest is the J Train, Julius Smokes!

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH ELEVATE YO HATE MY FLESH MY FLESH MY BLOOD MY BLOOD.

He has Slugga and Blanco with him too. Cabana's first question is interrupted by J-Train yelling BBBBBBDAT BELLY OF THE BEAST CONCRETE JUNGLE again and again, and Cabana is confused and says he doesn’t speak Irish. Smokes says that's real language, that concrete jungle language, and Mike Tyson and Joe Frazier speak it so Colt should know how to speak it. He then just yells out HIP HOP. Cabana asks if "The Man", being Rob F, is holding him down. Smokes says he ain't Bob Dole, now and he ain’t gonna be railroaded. Cabana asks what The Rottweilers are and Smokes says to let him give a formal introduction and sings that his name is the Devil's Son in Law, Julius Smokes and sings YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Smokes says they're wolves in sheeps' clothing, building this dynasty. LOOK AT THESE GOLD TEETH. KNOCK EM OUT IF YOU CAN. THE ROTTWEILERS TWO THOUSAND AND THREE IS COMING. He then just snarls like a dog and leaves. A clearly disturbed Cabana moves on and says they're out of time, so they'll get CM Punk on the show next time, starting that fun bit.

Overall, another very missable show by ROH. I’ve got to be honest, ROH 2003 has kind of been down hill for me post NYC riot. Corino not being around much for half the year, Low Ki being hurt, London leaving, Danielson in and out, and Punk/Raven starting to overstay its welcome it’s just…I dunno. I was told 2003 was the beginning of ROH’s glory years and I’m hoping that’s true and it just gets better deeper into 2003 and then 04-07 which I know is the period everyone raves about typically. But aside from time crunch/other reviews, the real reason I’ve slowed these ROH reviews down is that this last string of shows in 2003, since probably like April, have been mostly boring as hell. Praying it gets better soon because I am determined to finish this project!

NEXT MONTH: JOE/JAY I; FOH CONTINUES; STYLES/PUNK!!!!

Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW Super Power Series - Day 14, 9/11/82

This was the main event of the last of the Super Power Series run of shows in 1982. 

This feels like a big deal. Besides the fact that it’s these two — I mean, *it is* these two after all — it was, by my account, the first time these two ever locked up in a singles affair, and they’re doing it in what is essentially a pseudo home promotion for both of them (more so for Hansen than Funk, as time passes). 

They’d met earlier in the year in a somewhat disappointing bout where the Funk’s worked together to take on Hansen and his sometimes partner Jimmy Snuka. The Funk’s scored what was billed as somewhat of an upset victory over Hansen/Snuka. 

Terry would continue to make tours in Japan throughout the year while Terry focused seemingly mostly on his commitment to the Eddie Graham territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida, for the majority of 1982. 

That brings us to the Super Power Series string of events. Earlier on in the two week period on 8/26, Hansen teamed with Outlaw Ron Bass to defeat Terry and his partner, Ashura Hara. A few days later on 9/8, Hansen now teamed with Blackwell to take on Funk, and someone a little more imposing than Hara…Giant Baba! With Baba’s help, Funk was able to beat Hansen and his partner. It’s important to note in the same day of the event, Ron Bass squared off with Jumbo Tsuruta, explaining why he wasn’t tagging with Hansen. And on this show tonight, while Hansen squares off with Funk, Bass is teaming with The Destroyer to go against the super team of Baba/Tsuruta. 

And that brings us up to date! We get the first singles meeting between two of the best Texans and best gaijin to ever grace the squared circle. 

Going back to earlier when I noted how this felt big, if everything I just explained isn’t enough for you to get that “Big Fight Feel”, just watch the match. Funk is MOBBED on his way to the ring. And I don’t mean people just rushed to the guard rails hopping for a hand slap or a hug. It was one of those cool clips you see in wrestling documentaries where the fans are literally ON TOP of the wrestler, making it almost impossible for him to move and enter the ring. I’m still relatively new to a lot of the Japanese scene, and I haven’t seen too many crowds like this so far. 

Funk enters the ring to a great ovation and chant of “TER-RY TER-RY!” Since this is the main event, all the young boys are out as well as the geisha girls with the ceremonial bouquets of flowers for the competitors. A nice scene. 

And that scene is immediately thrown to hell, as Stan Hansen storms into the arena like a bull in a china shop, destroying any and everything in his path. When he gets in the ring, he destroys the entire ceremonial set up and chases out all of the extras, because him and Funk are gonna do some FIGHTING. 

What follows is a fantastic brawl. Not the greatest I’ve ever seen. But you need to watch matches like these through the lens of its time. Funk keeps stalling to avoid the vicious onslaught and eventually it leads to Hansen going after him on the floor and into the crowd. Chairs are being thrown around, fans are in harms way — this is stuff that’s sort of watered down and commonplace nowadays, but in the early 80’s this is insane to see! 

Hansen gets Funk in the ring, and while Funk is squirrelly early on, Hansen hits him with some slams and drops to daze him, and then focuses his work entirely on Funk’s neck. Funk keeps finding ways out of it, heading to the floor, but then remembering how brief those reprieves tend to be when you’re facing Stan Hansen. 

At one point, Hansen fumbles the lead and Funk starts making a fiery comeback. Sensing that delaying this any longer could result in serious damage, Funk goes for the kill shot almost immediately by trying to lock on the Spinning Toe Hold, but in the set up, Hansen delivers an errant kick to Funk’s neck which he sells incredibly with a delayed spin and collapse. 

Hansen is back in charge and brutalizes Funk with strikes, eventually sending him to the floor. The ref tries to keep Hansen from going out, and Funk tries to recover quick. Out of desperation, he grabs one of the fans chairs in the front row and just tosses it backwards hoping for a lucky strike, but as luck would have it:

Incredible. 

The match starts to wind up when Funk reverses an Irish whip attempt that sends Hansen barreling in to the referee, knocking him down and out to the floor. The two men continue to brawl, and the outside official comes in to try and maintain order. Funk grabs him and tries to move him out of the way, in a way only the Funker can, but Hansen has a more barbaric approach, as he simply lariats the officials head clean off his shoulders. 

With both referees down, this allows Hansen’s buddy OUTLAW RON BASS to make his way out for a dastardly two on one attack. What I loved about this attack was, it wasn’t just these two aimlessly throwing shots. They came in with a purpose, like this was the plan all along. They beat Terry down, and then Bass holds Funk up by the legs from behind so Hansen can hit Funk with a lariat, that then sends Funk collapsing backwards with an awkward arch over top of the kneeling Bass. Think of the Simpsons episode where Homer became a chiropractor. 

Only there was more searing leg pain for Funk, as he lay on the floor almost completely motionless, save for his hands and legs twitching like his neck was broken.

Bass hightails it to the floor as the official gets in and, unbeknownst to Hansen, starts counting Funk out. Hansen’s too busy yelling at Funk from the ring to get up and fight him. Funk is OUT. Hansen realizes the ref is counting Funk out, so he quick pulls him in under the bottom rope and tries to pin him, BUT IT WAS TOO LATE. The ref has counted out Funk. 

An irate Bass and Hansen go to continue the beatdown on Funk, BUT TO TIE EVERYTHING TOGETHER HERE COME BABA AND JUMBO OUT TO CLEAR HOUSE TO A WILD REACTION. The heels bail out and the faces help Funk up. 

The war was not over. Because in three months time, both men would do away with the temporary allegiances they’ve made in AJPW throughout 1982 and focus on “who brought them to the dance”. Both men would enter the Real World Tag League in December, and they would meet once again. But this time, Terry would bring back his brother Dory Jr, and Hansen would make a call to none other than Bruiser Brody. And the Real World Tag League Finals explodes in one of the craziest brawls in wrestling at the time. What a scene. 

Overall, as much fun as this was, it was basic set up to get to the super blow off match in December. Not to mention, the feud would pick up and continue in Spring of ‘83 leading all the way to Terry’s first and famous retirement in August of ‘83 (FOREVER! FOREVER! FOREVER!). So in reality, if there’s a modem set up, this match would’ve taken place on RAW or SmackDown or Dynamite to set up the next leg of the program. And there’s nothing wrong with that when it’s done right, and this was done right. 

MATCH RATING: ***

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase, Houston Wrestling, 7/29/83

 

This was a Street Fight. The feud itself belong to Mid-South, but this specific show is a Paul Boesch Houston Wrestling promoted show, with co-promotion by Watts and Verne Gagne’s AWA. 

So, how did we get here?

In 1982, Duggan came into the UWF as a heel, working a paid assassin style gimmick, under the employment of Skandor Akbar. Soon thereafter, he joined up with fellow heels Ted DiBiase and Matt Borne to form “The Rat Pack”, the top villainous act in Mid South at the time. Running side by side with DiBiase’s rather famous feud with JYD was Duggan feuding with newcomer Butch Reed over the rights to the Hacksaw name. 

As time passed, Borne left the promotion, and the Rat Pack and its allies drifted. DiBiase, needing a new direction, took on Skandor Akbar as his manager. DiBiase wanted Duggan to join them, citing their friendship and Duggan’s past allegiance with Akbar. But a lot had changed in the world in that short period of time. The US is freshly removed from the Iranian hostage crisis, and Ayatollah Khomeini was labeled as Public Enemy #2 (after “The Russians”, see: all). Duggan, citing his patriotism and the fact that he “lost a family member in the hostage situation” (no, he didn’t. Pro wrestling, baby!), had no interest in aligning with Akbar. Akbar wanted DiBiase to attack Duggan, but he refused, citing their friendship. DiBiase made a pact with Duggan that they would remain friends and have each others backs, but they’d do business separate. And all was well. 

Until it wasn’t. 

Duggan, while never attacking DiBiase, made it a point to make Akbar’s life and those in his Army’s lives a living hell. Akbar pleaded with DiBiase to take his friend out, offering “many great riches”, but DiBiase continually refused, saying there was NO PRICE for him to attack his best friend. 

Until there was. 

Because apparently…everybody’s got a price. Nice! (Fuck you!) During a match where Duggan faced Akbar’s protege, Kendo Nagasaki, and continued to embarrass and humiliate Akbar, DiBiase finally bought in, attacking his now former friend with his main weapon: the dreaded loaded coal miner’s glove!

And thus, another Mid-South blood feud was born. 

These two spent the first half of 1983 trading victories back and fourth, mostly with Duggan on the winning end, but with DiBiase and Akbar exacting their revenge at all the right moments. That brings us to July 29th, 1983 in the Sam Houston Coliseum. 

What I loved about this “match”, if that’s what you want to call it, is how real it felt. No, not because of any sort of aura of it being even close to a “shoot”, but in the entire match aesthetic and layout. DiBiase and Duggan show up “as they are”, in regular street clothes and boots. No gear, no merch, nothing wrestling related. There’s no big introductions. And the minute the bell rings — one of the few wrestling moments over the next ten minutes — these two throw themselves at each other with every bit of force they have. 

I’m assuming most of your reading this have seen some kind of physical, real fight in your life. There’s real anger and even hatred that gives it an almost surreal feeling. That’s what this match oozed from the very beginning. This is a fucking fight, and it sells itself as such. 

I’ve oft been a critic of modern hardcore based wrestling as being too unrealistic with its weapons choices. The WWE’s incredibly lazy leaning on Singapore canes, constant contrived table spots, and the use of weapons that simply just wouldn’t be available in an actual fight. While those matches are certainly not without their charm, after 20+ years of seeing the same cookie cutter weapons spots across a very popular sub-genre of wrestling becomes boring. In this match, there’s very few weapons used. But the ones that ARE used mean something. It’s practical use of practical weapons. Whipping each other with their belts, wrapping the belt around your first to get a solid punch in with the buckle, even some light use of the chairs that doesn’t look so choreographed. Hell, one of my favorite bits is that the heel of Duggan’s cowboy boot legitimately snaps off on a spot, so DiBiase quick grabs it and uses it as a weapon to bust Duggan open. Fantastic! 

Akbar played his role perfectly at ringside. Coaching on DiBiase from a distance, but staying far away from Duggan at all costs. He finally does get himself involved when Duggan is starting to really mount the offensive, and Duggan is finally able to get his hands on Akbar! He lights him up in the corner, bites him repeatedly, and even shoves the referee away so he isn’t stopped. DiBiase quick grabs a chair from earlier to stop the mauling of his manager, but:

The gif can’t convey it, but the crowd went apeshit there! Big punch from Duggan and that’s it, he gets the win. 

Short and sweet. Less than ten minutes, and that’s not a bad thing. Sure, maybe these two have a 20+ minute hardcore style epic in them, I’d believe that. But this feud didn’t need that.I mentioned earlier how the layout and aesthetic of this match actually added more to the stipulation rather than detracting from it, and the same goes for the length the match went. These two HATE each other, they want to hurt the other one and get out. And that’s exactly what they accomplished. It’s not a feud ender, and it leaves the door open for rematches. It checked off every box it needed to check. 

There was ONE actual wrestling move the entire match, and that was DiBiase’s standing fist drop. I’d highly recommend watching this match in order to see what two greats were capable of without needing a 1/3 of an hour, 20 different unbelievable weapons and a ton of crazy spots. 

Again, as charming as those types of matches can be, when something like a street fight can be striped down to the bare minimum like this and STILL over deliver? That’s beautiful pro wrestling, baby.

MATCH RATING: ***1/2

Terry Funk & Dory Funk, Jr. vs. The Road Warriors, AJPW Giant Series 1986 - Day 16, 10/20/86

 

This is a match I can’t even call a dream match, because it’s something I would’ve never even considered to exist. 

Plus, to be a dream match, I think you have to like all of the participants, and I could really take or leave Dory Jr, if we’re being honest. But that’s not with this reviews about!

Again, AJPW’s production value and overall “feeling” feels so much bigger than pretty much any other American promotion at the time outside of obviously the WWF, and maybe Crockett. So to have this whole, complete package PLUS an insane match like this? Hell yeah dude. 

Terry & Dory make their entrance and, well, just look…

Terry’s flavor saver era is absolutely unhinged. Meanwhile, Dory looks like a school bus driver who’s fled to the Far East to avoid catching a charge. 

And now the Road Warriors come out, AND HELL YEAH. 

The match begins and it’s not completely clear who’s working what role at the start, but I think once they got a feel for it, the Funks decided to work heel although not overtly. As a side note, Terry looks to be in the best physical shape of his career, but standing next to the Road Warriors at the peak of their steroid usage makes him look like a sickly, old man. 

The Road Warriors dominate early on. Standard fare, nothing you wouldn’t normally see. A cool moment was Hawk hitting Terry with a piledriver, and Terry no-selling it like Hawk would normally do, and Hawk actually sells being spooked a bit by that! 

Dory tries to work an actual match with the Road Warriors, and I don’t know man. I know I’m hard on Dory, but I just don’t get how this man got away with spending his 40’s and 50’s working like he was in his 60’s and looking like he was in his 70’s. He never really changed up his style, and sure, he’s a seasoned vet, former World Champ — it’s clearly worked for him. I think I just compare him too much to Terry, who obviously changed with the times constantly and, in my opinion and I’m sure others, made him way more of a legend than Dory. 

LOD continue to dominate using sheer power, but eventually the Funk’s are able to wear them down some and start working a regular wrestling match. However, it’s clear via their displayed strategy that they’re working on the fly and have to work quick, because they know that their kill shot is going to come from a technical wrestling maneuver. So with that, they break down and start trying to FIGHT the Road Warriors, even going dirty trick for dirty trick with them, as shown by this:

And that’s where this breaks down! You think okay, hey, they’re going to the floor, they’ll do a quick brawl and that’ll be it. Double DQ or whatever. 

But what follows is an absolutely INSANE arena brawl!

As you can see in the below gifs, what starts out as throwing fists turns into Funk throwing a guard rail at Hawk, and Hawk throwing Funk into a randomly placed desk. AND NOW THE REAL FURNITURE STARTS GETTING THROWN!

This was CRAZY to watch at just after midnight, I got all pumped up. It was one of those moments where, for a second, I go “Okay I’ve watched wrestling for 30+ years, I know this is a work, but…” because this looks like a LEGIT brawl. 

But then you’re brought back down to earth by remembering that Hawk and Terry Funk are two of the most certifiably insane people to ever wrestle, and they both fall into a pro wrestling schtick coma when they’re at their best. And I will always love that. 

Match ends in a double count out, the crowd is a mix of loving it and kinda horrified, and that’s that. 

This was not a great match. But it was a fun as hell spectacle, and I would strongly recommend this if you’re having a few beers or maybe just need a pick me up. Pro wrestling 101, baby. 

MATCH RATING: ***ish

GUNTHER vs. Dominik Mysterio, WWE Raw 3/4/24

This was a non-title match. 

When I was thinking about more matches from 2024 that I could write about, a few had crossed my mind, but most of them have been covered ad nauseam at this point since I’ve waited so long. But whether this one has or hasn’t, I was willing to make an exception. 

I was looking forward to this match from the moment it was announced over the weekend leading into RAW. And boy did it deliver. 

Now, there’s been a lot of discourse on Twitter over the past year or two regarding Dom and if he’s actually good or not. Most of it, on the Pro-Dom side, was perpetrated by my comrade Simon (@ElHijoDelSimon on Twitter / Handwerk Reviews linked on side bar). I’ve never really gotten into a deep discussion with him about that, mostly because we’ve known each other for over 15 years and I don’t know if we’ve ever actually exchanged any words with one another (kidding, of course) (?). BUT, I’d have to believe that Simon’s original point (which was in regard to Dom being better than a specific amount of the G1 field in that specific year. Classic thread) may have been made partially in jest, but with seeds of truth planted within that then began to grow with more evidence over time. Because I dare say that at this point, Simon’s opinion has become even more prevalent. 

And Dominick Mysterio *IS* actually good!

Now, I mean look, he’s not rewriting the how-to on pro wrestling just yet, but he’s way better than people were giving him credit for, and over the last 18 months has really found himself not only in character work, but in his in ring work. He doesn’t need to emulate his father’s move set (other than for the obvious heat grab), and he’s developed a new move set that suits him well. 

Turning him heel was brilliant beyond just for the reasons regarding his character, but also because of how easy it is to come along in this industry with a solid heel run underneath you first and foremost. You ask a large majority of wrestlers who’ve been on weekly TV, and I believe a good amount would back up the idea that working a basic heel style is so much easier than anything else in the industry. And for someone who was being judged harshly on his in ring work because of who his father is, this has been the perfect style for Dom’s development. 

What this turn has done is not just sharpen his basic fundamentals and allow him to grow into his move set, but it’s begun preparing him for the inevitable face turn, working as an underdog babyface going against bigger heels, ala his father in his prime, Spike Dudley or Sami Zayn, etc. 

When the report came out that originally Dom was set to face Brock Lesnar at Elimination Chamber in February, it struck a lot of people as odd. Why do what would’ve been a glorified squash on a major stadium PPV event? And the more I’ve thought about it, especially after this match with Gunther, the more it’s started to make sense in relation to my aforementioned point of them preparing Dom for the next step in his career. “Let’s see how the kid fares against our biggest and best monster, and we’ll go from there.”

Just watch this match against Gunther. On the surface, it would appear Gunther is the situational babyface for the evening due to commentary, Dom’s storyline, and the overly ridiculous enhanced crowd boo’s that they pump in for Dom. But when you break down the way the match was worked, this was Dom as the plucky, brave, underdog babyface trying to find a way to step up to this unstoppable monster Gunther and bring him down. 

Never once did Dom truly back down or try to backtrack on the words he said to Gunther in the previous weeks promo segment. He worked a SIMILAR style you saw someone like Gable work, and I reckon that you’ll see Sami work at WrestleMania. 

Dom ducks, dodges and evades everything Gunther throws at him, not to avoid his punishment — he never once gets cocky during this match — but to wear the Ring General down. A chase ensues on the outside because Dom needs to regroup and catch Gunther in a precarious position, which he does exactly with the wrist spot on the ring post! He’s working the champ over, trying to not only find a weak spot, but try and prevent the big chops and some of Gunther’s submission arsenal by injuring that hand/wrist of his. 

Gunther stays on him, keeps the punishment up, finding ways to work around the hurt hand/wrist and he makes Dom pay dearly. Dom sells INCREDIBLY well here, dying on everything Gunther nails him with, including this fun spot:

Dom continues to kick out. He could easily just lay down and take the pin fall as the cowardly heel he typically is, and the pain would be over. But he wants to prove a point and get this big non title win over the dominant Intercontinental Champion. 

However, Gunther’s too much for him. Big delayed Powerbomb and an extra brutal looking Boston Crab ends it, and Gunther wins. 

Now, I don’t think this was some sort of 4D chess maneuver by the “savior of the WWF Booking Committee” Triple H. But I do think this was a low key covert operation, which was originally intended for Elimination Chamber before Brock’s piss texts, to see how Dom would fare in the next logical step in his career. And I think he passed with flying colors. 

I originally rated this on Twitter (@phillyleotard0) as part of my 2024 Match Rankings Thread, and I will continue to honor that rating. But just know that for a 9 minute TV match, this comes highly recommended, and is — for my money — the best WWE TV match of the year 

MATCH RATING ***1/4