Nobody Gets Higher

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4isctf

Rob Van Dam/Booker T (c) VS Ric Flair/Batista - WWE Tag Team Championship 3/22/2004

CJD: This match might seem like it's out of left field, especially when you give me a wrestler we spent a huge portion of our teenage years watching, but I think it's a pretty Chris Pick. Good tag team wrestling, clear hierarchy, everyone plays their role well, and definitely a "huh, never knew about that one" or "huh, totally forgot that happened" kind of match. I didn't appreciate the Flair/Batista team anywhere near enough at the time, it's such an effective use of both guys at that point in their career. RVD & Booker are a fun team that I'm a little surprised they didn't get more life out of. Also when you're picking the next MDTSOCWWKD champ, keep in mind a few weeks ago we were transitioning from Martin Stone to Jon Davis.

JJZ: Outta left field is an understatement my friend. At one point in my life I literally would have said I hate Dave Batista. But after a little help from our mutual friend Mr. H I have learned to appreciate him for his better qualities. Those were on display in this match, good psychology, pacing, and old school power wrestling. Flair is Flair which means tons of flavor to this match. The teaming of these two are such a compliment to each other and kinda make for a perfect team. Experience, youth, energy, psychology, power, technical ability. And across the ring! Had no clue this ever happened! Fun ass team. Booker T is someone I really need to focus on a little more. I know his WCW run but not so much WWE. Good stuff babycakes. Curious where this road will lead me.

A Matter Of Respect

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

Sabu VS Rob Van Dam - AJPW 3/3/2001

JJZ: Revisiting my favorite childhood feud for this one!!!!! This match took place about 6 weeks after ECW folded and you tell right way Sabu is nursing a leg injury. It still is such a surprise to me that AJPW booked RVD and Sabu. They do not fit the AJPW mold what so ever. With that said it was so much fun watching these two maniacs turn the kingdom of the four pillars of heaven into a bingo hall from Phila for 15 mins. They clipped about 2 mins out of this match but it doesn't even matter. I could watch them work all day. These two always brought a great combo of madness and grace to there matches that the crowd responded to well. I liked the ending and I'm So excited for you to watch this match baby cakes!

CJD: Wow. What an oddity of a match. This felt to me like they approached it as if the Shiek told them to get in the ring and give him 15 minutes, no bullshit. I think a lot of that has to do with performing in front of the Japanese crowd. But this was so focused while still capturing the feel of controlled chaos that made their feud and tag team work so well. I'm still just blown away I never knew this existed!

The Anarchist VS The Nihilist

Arik Cannon VS Sabu - Heavy On Wrestling 3/23/2013

CJD: Cannon does so much, so so much, to make this match as good as it is. And this isn't just a nostalgia fest, this is legitimately a really good match, way better than I expected. I would have loved to dive into Cannon's underrated feud with Hero instead but I'm almost more excited to watch a great Sabu performance from 2013. So what is it about Arik Cannon? He almost reminds me of Matt Borne, where you look at him and you don't see much. Then you see him in a wrestling ring and it looks like there's nowhere else in the world he belongs. He's the type of guy that just makes things click and just like Borne his career probably won't get the attention it deserves. But in the long run what's more punk rock than that?

JJZ: He came down to his ECW music!!! Fuck man. Legit happiness when I saw this match. With Sabu's age I'm shocked this made the cut. This has such an ECW feel! Cannon would of fit perfectly. Could have slid right in with Balls and Axl. Sabu's chair throwing is insane. So much could go wrong. Missed spot by Cannon when he threw the chair and after it hit Sabu it unfolded and was set up to sit down. I would of took a seat. Super enjoyable match man. And I'm telling you right now!! I'm picking an ECW match for my Sabu match!

The First Rule Of Dark City Fight Club

Jon Davis VS Arik Cannon - Dragon Gate USA 9/9/2011

JJZ: The quality ain't great but I thought "the best right hand in professional wrestling" needed a title run.  The way I feel about Cannon is the way you feel about Eddie Edwards. And since I always considered Arik one of your guys I thought it was fitting to pick him. Similar story with your match of hometown guy VS the heel. Jon again does a great job of pulling sympathy for the crowd while Arik does the little things well to gain heat. I'm not sure were this fell on the card but I think it would of been a great opener. Everything was hit crisp and tight. Hope Pinky Sanchez is okay after that bump!

CJD: No wasted motion is an expression that gets overused in pro wrestling. I saw Davis waste some motion here and there. But really there wasn't much of it in this match. It flew by but didn't feel short by any means and every minute meant something. Cannon is so underrated, he's definitely a CJD guy. I'll talk about him more next week when he technically gets the strap but suffice to say I'm happy to deep dive into his matchography. While we're at it the Dirty Ugly Fucks were a really great little stable that never really went anywhere. And as for Davis, he might be our least likely champ yet, but I really dug his two straight up babyface ass kicker performances. In an era where everyone wants to fly or be a mat general I'll still gladly take a brute strength bad ass. And the VQ, while rough at first glance, didn't even register with me by the end. But we did come from the VHS tape trading generation after all.

Simmering Up Some Stone Soup

Jon Davis (c) VS Martin Stone - USWA Elite Championship 6/25/2016

CJD: We've both watched an ungodly amount of indy wrestling in our lives. Well this is as indy wrestling as it gets. The venue, the crowd, the pace, the psychology, the hometown babyface champ that the fans cheer for on a first name basis. It has some warts which come with the style but on a whole I think this is a really quality performance from both guys. It also plays to the strength of your last match showing the heel side of Flip Gordon, with an excellent heel performance from Stone this week. Davis can be hit or miss so I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for him next week. I feel like I've given you a few curveballs lately!

JJZ: Loving this super indy feel right off the top. You described it perfectly. Strong baby/heel psychology in beginning. He's probably done it before but I totally popped for Stone's kip up. Davis is a solid seller and is really good at getting sympathy from the small crowd. Shout out to the women who non-stop tell Jon to come on. Fantastic, relentless limb work by Stone, great story telling, and I liked the ending stretch. It's sad to say but I was pleasantly surprised the modern indy crowd was into a match like this. These days it's usually go go go from the bell. I like that pace as well but it's nice to see a small crowd that's invested in a more methodical match. Good shit.