Strong-Arm Robberies, Flee With The Lottery

Brian Pillman VS Brad Armstrong - WCW 10/3/1992

JJZ: I've watched seven Brad Armstrong matches before finally landing on this one. All the matches were good. Any one of them would've been worth playing forward. But this match just had a little extra. And that was Armstrong working with much more fire. It was a nice change of pace. Pillman is the guy to bring it out of you. Brian plays such a good dickhead. I do wish this was longer but I think they told a great story in a short amount of time. I know we talked about finding a masterpiece Brad Armstrong match. This is not that, but this is really good and showcases the talent of both Brad and Brian. I would love to watch more from these two. Hope you enjoy it

CJD: I'll be honest, I don't think that masterpiece Brad Armstrong match exists on tape. At least not a singles that we've seen. But I totally get why this match spoke to you. They accomplished so much without very much to work with here. Even Larry was buying in hook line and sinker on commentary. So many classic TV match tropes were packed into this one and everything was done so well. Pillman was the more dynamic of the two but I loved what Brad brought to the table too. Great chemistry between these two, great choice!

Forever Forward Fridays

Chris Hero VS Keith Lee - Beyond 12/29/2016

JJZ: 2016 was an incredible year in professional wrestling. Maybe Chris Hero's best year ever. Every weekend he was just producing bangers across the independent scene. Also in 2016 Keith Lee was starting to make a lot of noise. So this match was so highly anticipated. Not sure if this was the first time they worked but it definitely was the first time in Beyond. The crowd was so hot for this match that the boys didn't really need to do much to deliver. They both hit hard and showed way more athletic ability than men there size should be able to. The psychology was what you'd expect for a hot vet vs a hot rising star. Kind of a look what I can do vs I'm smarter than you. Really liked this match. Well worth the wait.

CJD: I'm pretty sure this was the first match Hero and Lee had, and it's pretty special with that in mind. You know how much I love their gritty, John Carpenter fight scene style match in EVOLVE. This is isn't that, but it does tell a complete story and escalate beautifully considering the circumstance and how long they go. The last few minutes of bombs are what you pay for and you get your money's worth for sure. These beef slappers knew their audience in Beyond and played to that room perfectly. Really glad you gave me a reason to sit down to this one, and I'm looking forward to digging into Lee considering we might be watching the tail end of his career currently.

You Can Call Me Al

Al Perez VS Brad Armstrong - NWA 8/12/1988

CJD: Speaking of never reaching your full potential, here we have Exhibit B to Al Perez' Exhibit A. Armstrong was supposedly one of the most well liked and funny guys backstage, but for whatever reason that never translated into how he presented in the ring. For Perez, I thought this run with Gary Hart was his best work by far, and you could hear with this crowd just how much potential these two guys were bursting with. These types of matches would come on when I was a kid channel surfing searching for pro wrestling or cartoons, and it felt like such a different world than WWF. So believable and athletic but still so entertaining. This match never hits that next gear unfortunately, but I loved what we got, and thought it was a very fitting MSDTOCWWKD Champion to follow the Latin Heartthrob!!

JJZ: Baby cakes! This match is such the classic 80s TV match. I could totally picture you sitting on the floor like a preztel watching this. So good. Perez never worked ECW to my knowledge. He seems like a perfect fit. Reading up on him he did do a number of tours of Japan but I'm having a hard time finding stuff besides the Akiyama match. Brad Armstrong. I really enjoy all the Armstrongs and feel like there are a bunch of their matches waiting for me one day. If I had to pick out one thing that I enjoyed the most it was the early chain wrestling. These guys really put on a show. Some ahead of their time moves. I could watch a whole series of matches between these two guys.

Forever Forward Fridays

Kassius Ohno VS Mike Dalton - NXT 4/7/2012

CJD: Staying within our FFF themes with Breeze was difficult, and this match doesn't exactly fit the bill, but I know Chris Hero will give you bountiful options for indie wrestling goodness to get us back on track. And this curious pit stop on our winding Friday roads is a fascinating one for two Hero marks like ourselves. Man did he ever look primed and ready to take on the world as Ohno here. Breeze to his credit does an AAA+++ job as the enhancement talent. I don't want to say too much since there's not a ton to say about a match this short. But if you're a fan of either of these guys this is well worth a watch to give you insight into a lesser celebrated era of both of their careers.

JJZ: Wow, this match took me back man. Since I had Hulu, I was actually watching NXT around this time. I remember the not sold out crowds and more minor league feel before it turned into one of the greatest eras of wrestling ever. Onno played a huge part in developing a lot of the talent that would go on to become pretty successful. Breeze being one of them I'm sure. I picture after the match Chris and Tyler in the back talking about the match. Hero giving Dalton tips and props for what was an above average jobber match. This week's match was more about remembering a time than the match itself. Nice pick baby cakes.