Forever Forward Fridays

Ophidian The Cobra (c) VS Shane Strickland - Demand Lucha Premier Championship 8/26/2018

JJZ: I not exactly sure what IT is but Shane Strickland has IT. Fuck man. That entrance on paper isn't anything special but when you see him coming to the ring it is attention grabbing. And Ophidian really carried himself like a champion in the match. And this match was a main event to a T. Slower start with a build to the highspots. Both wrestlers got to highlight their skills. The crowd was super into the face and hated the heel. I really liked the finish because isn't a typical indie finish and built to keep the local talent at the forefront. I don't recall seeing too much of this promotion but I like that they focus on their own talent.

CJD: We've never talked about this before, but 9 times out of 10 when you play a match forward to me I watch it before I read your comments. You know me and you know how I want to go into everything with as few preconceived notions as possible. And after watching this match my first comment was going to be how these guys carried themselves like absolute stars in this one. So it made me laugh that your main takeaway was how Swerve has that It Factor. There's no doubt, I think he could get over anywhere with any presentation, but in this era coming out to Chaka Khan he was magic. He demands your attention. And really even playing heel with a significant size difference Ophidian is no slouch here either. He feels like the Champ with a capitol C, like that belt is his and it means something. I've wanted to check out Demand Lucha for a while but I think this is my first exposure. Great atmosphere, great presentation, great match. I get what you're saying about the booking and I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I will say I thought they reached the peak of this one and went a good bit longer. But it didn't really frustrate me as the match had such great energy and the stakes felt high. If anyone is on the fence on this match because it's on the longer side but it interests you on paper I'd say make time for it. I thought it was something special.

Forever Forward Fridays

Lee Moriarty VS Ophidian The Cobra - Ryse Pro Wrestling 5/10/2019

CJD: Man my journey to crown Lee Moriarty our first 2x Forever Forward Champion was not a brief one. Which is not a complaint, I got a much more well rounded opinion on him as a wrestler, and I really like all the facets of his game. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer this version of the Apex of Combat, when he's going hold for hold with someone who is good, giving, and game on the mat. I was bummed reading up on Ophidian that he retired last year after CHIKARA shut down due to feeling his relationship with wrestling was unhealthy. Hopefully he can look back on his career with a little pride still, he was always a bright spot on every CHIKARA show he was on. And it's really cool here to see him outside of that setting. We're going to have to start cutting Ryse royalty checks with all these matches we've featured from them on Fridays lately. Well we would if we ever saw a dime from this blog. I've really enjoyed their promotion and I dig everything about this match. It's maybe a little too cooperative at times but I'm okay with it. There's so many slick sequences, twists and turns, and such a fun finishing stretch that I'm willing to see a glimpse of how the sausage is made here and there.

JJZ: If I had to describe this match in one word it would be impressive. Super bummed to hear Ophidian retired. This was an extremely memorable match for him. He was smooth as silk at times. Lee as always looked like he was wrestling above his pay grade for his experience level. If I was live for this match I know I'd be talking about this match a lot on the car ride home. It might not have been the ace of the night since it didn't have a ton of big falsies and super duper highspots BUT dammit if it didn't have instant replay in my head. Ryse has been such a treat and a promotion that is locked on my radar at this point. Very nice pick homie!