Looney Low Ki, OG, Been Banging From The Jump

Low Ki VS Drew Galloway - House Of Glory 8/19/2016

JJZ: Alright alright. So this match really piqued my interest when I saw it. Drew had a great Indy run before he went back to WWE and he looked like a million bucks in this match. Not gonna lie, not a big fan of this suit thing Ki does but the SOB can still bring the heat. I wasn't familiar with this fed even though it looks like they draw and bring in top talent. This match starts fast and keeps the pace until the end. Good back and forth with a ton of "OHHH" moments makes for a match I got to play forward to you my friend.

CJD: I don't know a ton about House Of Glory either but from what I do know my first thought was "there's going to be some sort of horseshit in this match." I wasn't wrong, but man did they pack some awesome stuff in as well. I agree that unless your name is Irwin R Schyster you shouldn't wear a tie in the ring, but this was one of the first times I didn't mind the get up on Ki... until the end. At its best moments Galloway was working like Akira Taue when he was overmatched by a smaller faster opponent, right down to the "fuck you" release vertical suplex. For an impromptu match this really delivered. Nice find.

Mason-Dixon Tri-state Outercontinental WWKD Champions #11-20

Another ten champs up, another ten champs down, a couple of firsts here at PIF, a couple of interesting stories week to week, let's get into it!

11. Takashi Sugiura
We started with one of the most successful modern transitions in Japan between junior to heavyweight, and highlighted matches from both eras of his career. Which really set the tone for the next six champs.

12. Shinsuke Nakamura
13. Katsuyori Shibata
14. Yoshihiro Takayama
What a monster run of Japanese heavyweights! I wouldn't want to meet these three in a dark alley.

15. Hayabusa
16. the Great Sasuke
17. Ultimo Dragon
Which is somehow topped by an even more epic run of Japanese juniors! Make sure you don't miss the match that transitioned between the two weight classes beautifully between Hayabusa/Shinzaki and Takayama/Omori.

18. Alex Shelley
19. Claudio Castagnoli
These two have a special place in our hearts, and it was an especially strange coincidence that Shelley got the strap (something we usually plan weeks in advance) the week he announced his retirement.

Also of note in the match where Shelley became champ, Jushin Thunder Liger became the first ever wrestler at PIF to appear in multiple matches but not hold the MDTSOCWWKD Championship.

20. The Usos
And then we closed things out with another first, our first ever tag champs! Play It Forward, where the rules are made up but everything matters!

A Long Way From The Super 8

Kaval VS Bryan Danielson - FCW 7/2/2010

CJD: How many times have we watched these two go at it? And still there are matches out there between them that I had no idea existed, such as this one. This is exactly what you'd expect from a FCW debut of Danielson VS Ki and with that expectation I thoroughly enjoyed it. At times it reminded me of their Final Battle 2004 match, but obviously with a more satisfying finish.

JJZ: Bryan has had so many great feuds with so many great wrestlers. The Low Ki feud probably seems unimportant to most people, but it was the feud that made me fall in love with both wrestlers. Watching them wrestle during the early 2000s was the medicine I needed to heal the pain of ECW folding in 2001. It gave me hope back then because they weren't another ECW rip off and this match felt so much like a match from that era. This match is short but tells a nice story and the commentators did a good job of talking about their history. Good stuff Chris.

We Work Hard In The Paint, We Play Hard In The Paint

Tag Team Turmoil WWE Smackdown 2/12/2015

JJZ: So this is match is all about story telling and feud progressing. The Usos part of this match is the best wrestling during the gauntlet but the main vein of this ride is the back and forth of Reigns and Bryan. This is just two weeks before your pick and it's a fantastic build to the singles match at Fastlane. Roman shows great struggle while working his cousins and I love his facials in the corner. I'll never argue his in ring ability but wish he was allowed to play this character more and not the Big Dog shit. Bryan's heelish aggressive work with the Usos is excellent and the Usos are such good faces. Chris I'm really hoping you give the King his crown in your next pick.

CJD: Even when WWE does their best at telling stories, they typically aren't as story driven and focused as this match is. We discussed a little the logistics of whether a gauntlet counts as one giant match or not and my answer is almost always YES! Because of the way WWE television is produced though this felt fragmented to the point where I'd understand picking it apart match by match. But the overriding story is what carried everything so I'd still consider it a long, ongoing match. And what a match it was! This will warrant a lot of rewatches over the years. It's a little slow starting and the ending was a bit predictable but that portion between Bryan/Reigns and the Usos was classic.

Most Money Making Man, Man

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3s8kdq

The Usos (c) VS Cesaro/Tyson Kidd - WWE Tag Team Championship 2/22/2015

CJD: Claudio has had so many really good eras of his career but they often get cut off or aren't fully realized. His team with Kidd was definitely one of them, but they still had some excellent matches. We both watched this PPV but I remembered almost nothing of this match and was glad to rewatch it. It has so many little touches that are easy to miss out on and I know you're a man who appreciates attention to detail.

JJZ: This was another great era of Cesaro's career. It's interesting that he's been part of three very successful and very different tag teams. Haven't watched the face paint Usos in a while. I really hope they are a career long team. Good basic tag team psychology to start, with the heels cutting the ring off and working a body part on Jimmy. I know I watched this PPV when it happened but didn't remember this match at all. Really fun watch with a some good spots along the way. Sadly though I do remember this was the last run of Tyson Kidd before his terrible injury. I became a big fan of Kidd from this tag team and his work in NXT. Love that Claudio still does the Sharpshooter in honor of his friend.