Get Rich Or Die Hard Trying

KENTA VS Eddie Edwards - NOAH 11/25/2007

CJD: First of all this is the first upload we've shared from Jahmale Hepburn, aka RealHero, since he passed away in August. RIP to a member of our community who helped make major strides bringing puro to the rest of the world. Second, I'm sure after you gave me the options to play Gulak, Busick, or Edwards, the last thing you expected was for me to make Eddie a 2x MDTSOCWWKD Champion. But here we are! I was really in the mood to watch some NOAH so this was an easy choice, and this wasn't the only match of his I watched. Edwards definitely had more quality output in Japan than I give him credit for. This match is interesting to me, because clearly KENTA is on a higher level, but it's really built around getting Edwards over. Part of me wondered if KENTA was maybe a little too giving overall? He certainly enjoys messing around with Eddie (wow that hair is a look!) and this match in general has a nasty edge but a fun energy to it that make it a really easy watch. And it looks like they had a rematch the next year for the GHC Junior title which I've never seen but now I'm really curious to. Here's hoping this match puts a big smile on your face.

JJZ: First off, I'm pretty shocked at how 50/50 this booking was. Also at how the match played out. Mid 2000s NOAH junior heavyweight matches usually were shot out of a cannon. This played more like a late 2010 NOAH juniors match. Deliberate pacing, a lot of build to bigger moves. Now I'm not saying any of that is bad. I was just taken by surprise. I really enjoyed this little gemeroni. I don't recall ever seeing Eddie in NOAH at this time. Now I did know he was there. You can see him second Kobashi at that insane match with Kensuke. Anyway. This was a treat, and that Go 2 Sleep at the end was fucking brutal. Nice find my friend.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Roderick Stronger

Dojo Bros VS Biff Busick/Drew Gulak - Beyond Wrestling 9/15/2013

JJZ: As you know CJD, I have certain feuds that I truly love and don't rush watching all the matches because I want to enjoy them as they come to me. Point in case. Biff Busick and Eddie Edwards' feud from Beyond Wrestling. I could easily buy the DVD from Smart Mark and burn through all their matches. But I haven't yet so when I'm searching for a Roddy match and I see Dojo Bros vs Biff/Drew, I was a 5 five year old on Christmas morning. Chris. I was fucking giddy when I added this match to my watchlist. So here we got Eddie bringing in his PWG partner Rodderick Strong and Biff brought in his friend/rival Gulak. Side note, I know Eddie's more popular tag team partner was Davey Richards in the American Wolves but I always thought his partnership with Strong was the better team. So I know I'm supposed to be playing a Strong match forward and this feels more like a Biff or Eddie match but Roddy still shines bright like a Diamond in a mine in this one. With the names in this match you know it's gonna be stiff, aggressive and technically sound. Which we got in spades. This was a great match that added to the amazing feud between Biff and Eddie and I love that both Drew and Roddy worked it like they would do whatever it would take to help their partner win it.

CJD: There's a lot to this match and it made me feel a lot of feelings. At its best moments it reminded me of an early 90s All Asia Tag Title match with Kobashi & Kikuchi, character driven, hierarchy based, pure octane fun times. At other times I thought it was a bit of a bit of cluster, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. But it never came even close to taking me out of it. Basically this is a really ambitious match that loses its way a bit here and there, but it hits way way more than it misses. Gulak is the odd man out in story, in the psychology of the match, but also is hesitant at times and maybe plays the unfamiliar partner/teaming rival card a little too often. It works and boy does Biff's star shine bright as a result but I didn't think this was a great Gulak performance, which surprised me. His style isn't perfect for this kind of match but I know just a few years later he'd find much better ways to slot himself in it. Side note I did love Chuck Taylor's reaction to everything he did. The Dojo Bros were great in their role and I give Beyond a ton of credit for making this Eddie/Biff rivalry feel so monumental. This is a match I'd love to revisit down the line so despite any criticisms I might have, for a match this long that's a big stamp of approval.

Thinking about it more, I want to add that I did love the way Gulak wrestled in the home stretch, and this finish was big time rewind material. I guess all I'm trying to say is this was a really good match???

JJZ: Glad you liked it. I didnt think it was a classic but a good chapter in a great story.

CJD: That's the perfect way to describe it.

A Good Day To Die Hard

Eddie Edwards VS Timothy Thatcher - Beyond Wrestling 9/26/2015

CJD: So I alluded to not loving everything about Edwards and one of my problems with him for a long while is he didn't always look like he knew who Eddie Edwards was in the ring. Jack of all trades master of none and all that. I will say that the more recent matches of his I've seen he's gotten much better at developing what makes him die so hard. And here he's up against someone in Thatcher that has as clearly defined presence in the ring as you can imagine. The result is a match that is laser focused in the strategy both guys implement. The way they move, the way they sell, the way they execute, this is a beautiful piece of pro wrestling right here.

JJZ: This was the first match of the night for these two in a 4 way Round Robin including Drew Gulak and Biff Busick. I think Eddie does a great job of keeping up with Tim on the mat considering the way they had to pace the match since they would be wrestling 2 more times that night. I love the Indy feel from this match. Fans around the ring in this awkward room with no commentary and you can see the merch tables in the background. The sweat shooting off the wrestlers with every strike that shows the heat in that place is probably off the charts. The psychology and finish of the match was perfect for a RR imo. I am a Thatcher fan but I'm not over the moon for him so picking the next MDTSOWWKDC will hopefully take me over the big cheese.

For A Few Seconds, This Place Was Armageddon

Roderick Strong (c) VS Eddie Edwards - ROH World Championship 3/19/2011

JJZ: This match. I've drug my feet watching this match for no reason at all and I regret it. Wow. This is a classic ROH title match. Great build with great falsies and a great story told. I've always had a soft spot for Eddie. His Art of Wrestling really made me keep an eye out for him plus he was trained by Killer Kowalski and in the NOAH dojo. Double tough imo. This title run of Roddy's is under appreciated. He did some great heel work and worked some great matches.

CJD: It's crazy that Strong has been wrestling a decade at this point but he still looks like such a baby compared to now. I love heel Strong and "...the Other American Wolf!" with that shit eating grin of his is such a great way to start this one off. This match would have been a blast to see live. I know you're a big ol' softy for Edwards, I can take or leave him and there's some stuff he does here that I don't love. But this is the sort of match that by the end has won me over enough that I'm not going to bother nitpicking. It was a fun ride and damn was that one hell of a finishing stretch. And finally, the Mason-Dixon Tri-State Outercontinental WWKD Championship is around the waist of a god fearing red blooded American!