And They Call Him Mr Wonderful

Bobby Barnes/Sid Cooper VS Big Daddy/Danny Collins - Joint Promotions 7/14/1984

CJD: I know what you're thinking John. But listen to this crowd. Watch the masterful heel performances from Cyanide Sid and Mr Wonderful Bobby Barnes (what's Paula going to have to say about that??). Watch Danny Boy Collins play his super rookie role so well. And watch Big Daddy... be Big Daddy. I honestly think I've seen one Big Daddy match previously, but this is exactly how everyone describes every Daddy match. It's predictable, it's simple, but man the crowd LOVES it. And I'm not going to lie, I popped a few times too. Barnes and Cooper are so good milking that heat for all it's worth. This is the epitome of a match we'd never have imagined playing forward 4 years ago. And you might not be as charmed by it as I was tonight. But this caught me at the right time and was too ridiculous not share with you.

JJZ: Well, this was a match I did not expect to be reviewing. Ever. This is my first Big Daddy match and your right this is everything I heard it would be. Regal talked about being in Collins' position before and how it was a good spot but he couldn't grow in it. Big Daddy had Hulk Hogan love going on for him. After the match I thought about when Colt Cabana had Truth Martini on his podcast and they both joked about not bumping in their match together. Big Daddy didn't bump once of even get punched or kicked. But yet the match had great energy. Danny, Bobby and Sid did a great job of making 11 minutes a complete story. I came out of this liking Collins, Barnes and Cooper a lot and I'm on the hunt for a more competitive Big Daddy match!!!

Flat In The Affect

Jon Cortez VS Bobby Barnes - Joint Promotions 4/11/1981

JJZ: Cigar, check. Lager, check. Finally having time to watch this match, check. I have no clue who Bobby Barnes is. But this motherfucker is smooth as silk. And if I could describe this match in one word it would be smooth. My beautiful wife who is sitting next to me me says this match feels flat in the affect. She isn't sure if the crowd is in amazement or numb to it. Just wanted to add her outsider's opinion. This match has a lot of reversals to reversals in it which leads me to believe this isn't the first time Jon and Bobby have danced in the squared circle. Love how after the first fall the aggressiveness picked up. The Bad Boy wasn't playing around in the later rounds, really trying to out tough Cortez. Really enjoyed this one baby. Hope you do also.

CJD: The original Bad Boy! Joey, eat your heart out! I also am totally ignorant of Bobby Barnes but I am instantly a fan. He is like a great character actor out of a Scorcese movie. He looks highly annoyed to have to actually wrestle, unathletic, full of himself, and dangerous all at the same time. After watching a good bit of Cortez these two weeks I'll admit, I really don't like his body contortion reversals and one upsmanship very much. However his natural babyface instincts are great otherwise, he has an uncanny knack for slow selling that builds over the course of the match. He's also great at switching momentum when you least expect it. This match was a lot of fun, it had slow chunks that I didn't love but they built meaningfully to a very satisfying conclusion. I'll agree with AZ in that I don't think this crowd is riveted but I do think they're along for the ride by the end. Now where is Quadruple B going to take me next??

Forever Forward Fridays

Myzteziz Jr VS Puma King VS Sammy Guevara - AAA 6/16/2019

JJZ: Get your popcorn ready CJD! This is one action packed contest and if you blink you're gonna miss something. I'm super familiar with all three of these gentlemen so when I saw this I said out loud, here we fucking go. This match really showed that all three are at the top of the high flying game. Puma was such a nice add to bring a little something unique to the floppy dips. The control that the wrestlers have in their aerial attack is really impressive. They make it seem effortless. This would be a prefect match to throw on to impress a non wrestling fan.

CJD: I'm not super familiar with Puma King or Myzteziz Jr, and after these two weeks of matches I'm going to keep an eye on our current FFF Champion for certain. We throw a lot of lesser known high flyers up on the blog and some stick with me more than others. Myzteziz Jr isn't the most polished but he has something about when he pops spots off perfectly that has a wow factor a lot of other high flyers are missing. I enjoyed how different this 3 way was than last week's even though they're both quick car crash style matches. Sammy's very American antics brought a different energy that was a lot of fun. He's very good at positioning everyone in busy matches like this. I didn't love the selfie spot. But I'll admit that my thought immediately was "if he can post a reel or a story while the match is still going that's super fucking impressive." I don't think he did but that has to be a spot that's happened in a match before, right? Next thing you know wrestlers will be on Zooms in the middle of matches. Has anyone ever recorded a podcast while they wrestled?? I need to get on the phone with Conrad Thompson ASAP.

Forever Forward Fridays

Myzteziz Jr VS Argenis VS La Parka Negra - AAA 10/17/2020

CJD: So my options with Parka Negra were limited. I feel like we say this a lot when backed into a corner but I really don't think it was his fault. He's probably the best person in this match for example. We started this AAA FFF rabbit hole with Auto Luchas and I doubt this is where it ends, but bring on more Auto Luchas!! This was paced well for a 3 way, had a few spots that popped me, and didn't do anything too dumb. That was about the best I could hope for this week. You know I'm not big on star ratings but this is **3/4 territory for me but the type of **3/4 you throw on a comp for the novelty of it.

JJZ: I had to stop and start this three times. Trying to watch a ten minute match while having family duties sometimes isn't as easy as you'd think. But the good thing is I got to rewatch that ridiculous Sasake Special into an insane moonsault like 10 times. So good. This match reminded me so much of an ECW THREE WAY DANCE!!!! A little sloppy, no real psychology, brutal spots and super fucking fun. This was just a fun junk food match that needs not to be over analyzed. It was enjoyable. Don't overthink anything about this one.

No Cracks, No Breaks

Jim Breaks VS Jon Cortez - Joint Promotions 2/2/1981

CJD: The tough thing about following that absolutely classic Grey/Breaks match was coming back with something that was different enough and not a total drop off in quality. I think this checks both boxes. Jon Cortez is one of the great classic British wrestlers that I'm far too ignorant of. Let's do something about that! I watched an earlier match between these two also which was yet another great Breaks heel performance, but this one was a bit more satisfying and special to me. Such a grinding, nasty match, with a methodical build and excellent timing with the falls. I hate the post match booking although everyone executes it in a way that's still entertaining. Joint Promotions gonna Joint Promote I suppose. I do believe Steve Grey is the greatest babyface in British wrestling history but man if this is a taste of what Cortez is capable of he might be a contender. This doesn't have the fireworks of the last two weeks of British matches we've featured but I love that about it. Three wonderful light heavyweight matches of a very specific style with three totally different approaches. These are some of the all-time greats indeed!

JJZ: I'll tell you what. Im'ma whoretez for Cortez my guy. This match was delightful. I was also excited to see that the ref for this one was our dear friend Mr H's favorite official. Dude. I loved the finish and the aftermath. Jimbo could not get that pinfall without some underhanded tactics. But I Ioved the announcer getting involved at the end. But for the body of the match (and what a body am I right?!?) this was such a entertaining story. Move for move spot for spot. This was beautiful. I'd highly recommend this to anyone. I can't remember seeing Cortez before but I'm so excited to burn through a few more of his matches. Jim Breaks is a top level heel. Was he the top heel in British wrestling at one time? And if he wasn't he should have been. Love it all baby.