Forever Forward Fridays

War Marchine VS Pretty Boy Killers - ROH No Rules Tag Match 11/4/2016

CJD: This is, for my money, a really good match that has a few extra factors that make it great. I can't say I've watched a lot of wrestling from Texas outside of the territory days, and there's an unique atmosphere here for ROH I was way into. This is the earliest I've seen Lee and Taylor and they exceeded my expectations going this far back. I especially liked watching our FFFriday Champion, the Limitless One, as more of a roleplayer this week. I thought he was awesome as the breakout "heavy" on the Pretty Boy Killers. And the last bit of extra pizazz this match had going was the way this feud was portrayed and the way these two teams carried it. They were larger than life in every sense, much more than just their stature. All that wrapped up in a damn good plunder blowoff kind of match made this choice an easy one. Dig into a meat platter this Friday my man!!

JJZ: Talk about a hoss battle. This match was big in every sense of the word. Big spots, big strikes, and big men. Big men doing things that they had no right doing. I got a ton of ECW feels (minus the blood). It was like they had a BOGO sale on tables at Home Depot. They went through them like tissues when you have a cold. Honestly I've never been a Shane Taylor fan, so this match is definitely the best one I've seen from him so far. Lee and War Machine did their expected ridiculousness that they always do. This was a great blowoff for a feud. I'm sure they had some other bangers a long the way too.

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.

Forever Forward Fridays

Keith Lee/Shane Strickland VS Zack Sabre Jr/Matt Riddle - AAW 10/13/2017

JJZ: I was so goddamn excited to watch some Shane Strickland magic! So I've watched several Strickland matches and all of them were worth sharing but I just flat out was marking out to this one. I get it's rich with tip top indy talent but they are top indy talent for a reason. This match is just entertaining. Fun ass spots. Close falls. Crazy bumps. I know we're watching this for free but if I paid for it I'd say I got my money's worth. I appreciate the color coordination from both teams. Not gonna lie, I was surprised who took the fall. Also didn't know Keith Lee and Shane Strickland tagged before AEW. Enjoy baby cakes.

CJD: I had no idea Lee and Swerve tagged together previously either and I love that little bit of continuity and storyline thread! Man this rocked. Dream tag matches on paper often feel like less than the sum of their parts in reality, but this felt king sized and delivered colossal action. My only criticism is there was a good amount of standing around and trading double teams late, but that's not surprising in this kind of setting. And there was a well developed and really satisfying psychology to the match with Strickland's stubbornness and perseverance. And the color coordination!! There's a reason these guys are top talent indeed, and part of it is talent, but I think effort is an even bigger factor. This match had it in spades and they delivered something extremely memorable as a result.