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.

Forever Forward Fridays

Jason Cade/Veda Scott...? VS Shane Strickland/Adrian Alanis - FEST Wrestling 2/9/2018

CJD: I wanted to find Leva doing her own thing more so than doing someone else's schtick this week. But the more I dug the more obvious it was that that's exactly what her thing is. This match reminded me a lot of your Veda/Mike Bailey tag match from a little while back, ironically, since Leva is cosplaying as Veda here. Or is she?? (Yes she is). I really liked how slapdash this felt, and I also like using the word slapdash for the first time in my life. Everyone had great chemistry for something you could tell just got thrown together in the back. I feel like I should have seen a lot more of Cade over the years but I think this is only the third or fourth match of his I've watched. He may have been my favorite part of the match, and you know I'm a Swerve mark. The greenhorn more than held his own (that name has gotta go though). Also dug how we had a little FEST Wrestling fest these past couple weeks!

JJZ: Would have killed for the full Strickland entrance. This was a fun rag tag match. I loved your comments on this match btw. The announcers going back and forth about Leva being Veda was funny. And the ref getting into it was great. Stuff like this is was makes indy wrestling so fucking appealing. A little one off story like that includes everyone down to the ref. Action was solid throughout, the intergender aspect is there but doesn't overpower the psychological of the match. We're both Shane Strickland marks and I'm not super familiar with Cade but he was great too. Leva always is a treat to watch. You're 100% right on that name but Adrian definitely added more than he took away. Nice pick baby cakes.

I Hope This Night Will Last Forever

 

Shane Strickland (c) VS Brody King - DEFY Championship 11/10/2017

CJD: This match is like the champion of a kingdom defending it against an invading beast he's not sure he can slay but he doesn't dare show any fear. You know I've been excited to share with you some of Swerve's run as Ace of DEFY. Well if this isn't the match I wanted to play you most, it's number 2 with a bullet. I really can't say enough about Strickland's time In DEFY. There aren't many Aces in wrestling history that made me watch every second after every match to see what sort of promo they'd cut or punctuation mark they'd close the show with. That's that Onita level shit. And for my money, that was Swerve in DEFY. On first watch I thought this match was fantastic but outstayed its welcome by the slimmest margin. On second watch I'm not so sure. I'd go so far as to say this might be a little more of a JJZ match than a CJD match. Either way I loved it the first time around and it only got better with age. This is a war where the damage only builds and builds. We've been crashing hard at Swerve's House lately and I'm a little sad it'll be time to pack our bags and go. But what a stay it's been.

JJZ: Man do I enjoy watching Defy. The production quality is so well done for an independent promotion. I literally know nothing about this match going in but the feel is so intense that I know this is huge. Commentators can say that a match is the biggest of all time but it don't mean shit if the feeling of the match isn't jumping through the screen. This match had all of that and more. The crowd was vibrating. The heat between Brody and Shane was steaming. In that moment in time that was the biggest match in the world. It is what wreslting fans want to watch and what wrestlers want to create in that ring. Brody King and Shane Strickland for the Defy title was a special match. The story was excellent. The execution was excellent. Everything was excellent. I'm embarrassed to admit the first time I tried to watch this I feel asleep. It had nothing to do with the match and everything to do with working too many hours and not getting the proper amount of sleep. On second watch you better believe my eyes were wide open. Thank you for playing this forward to me. Thank you Swerve for these four great matches we've shared.

Forever Forward Fridays

Darius Lockhart (c) VS Shane Strickland - PWX iTV Title Match 3/25/2018

CJD: When we came up with the concept for Forever Forward Fridays Darius Lockhart was one of the top names I wanted to feature. I never would have guessed Ophidian the Cobra would be the gateway to lead us down that road but here we are. This match was brought to my attention by the incomparable _sasukespecial_ on Instagram a while ago and I really liked it on first watch. Well I don't know what it was between now and then but this time around I didn't like it. I loved it! I feel like we've been playing forward some really high level stuff lately and even with that in mind this match fogged my glasses up even more than my mask already did. Young Darius just won his title earlier the day of this match and Shane is once again the outside talent coming to face the local star, only unlike against Ophidian he's the subtle heel this time around. There's so much depth to how he works one compared to the other. He doesn't add any tired sneaky tactics, he just modifies his character and his work ever so slightly, and it opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Lockhart does so much right in this match that I don't even want to talk about him, I want him to be a revelation to you if you haven't seen him before. And I don't know if you'll recall but PWX is a promotion I've been talking up for a while. I played you and the guys a match or two but nothing compared to this. This is a statement kind of match. Stick around for a few minutes after it's done too. These guys say so much with a few facial expressions and a few gestures. I don't like to hype my choices up too much when I send them over to you so I hope this match didn't just catch me on the perfect day and fall flat for you. But man am I glad FFFridays lead me to revisit this.

JJZ: These announcers need to shut the fuck up so I can fully enjoy Swerve's entrance. I started watching this match on my phone and quickly realized I need to watch this on a bigger screen. Knowing that Lockhart won the title earlier in the show and he gave this kinda performance on his second match is career making. Strickland coming into your promotion and you standing your ground was such  simple but excellent storytelling telling in a short amount of time. Fantastic indy booking. I really liked the 50/50 in ring work because it gave Lockhart credibility and also showed that Strickland doesn't have a big ego despite being the much bigger talent coming in. The match itself is very good. Everything is hit crisp and looks strong. The crowd is super hot and feeling every emotion. This is a great match baby. Thanks for sharing.

To The Moon

Young Bucks VS Trevor Lee/Shane Strickland - International Wrestling Federation 1/23/2015

 JJZ: I heard somewhere that you should never cross the streams but screw that noise. Let's fuck around and find out. Dream tag match here. Young Strickland, hot ass Lee, prime Bucks. How do I not play this forward. I've been watching a ton of wrestling this week but haven't really seen a car crash match and knew this would scratch that itch. We're talking go go go here baby. Dragon Gate style timing with a crowd that was eating it up with a spoon! I enjoyed watching this match very much. You can see Strickland's potential shine. Lee lived up to his building hype. And the Bucks did what only the Young Bucks can do. I feel like timing is everything in life and I needed this match at 11:30PM on a Friday night.

CJD:  Car crash, Dragon Gate style tag is exactly how I'd describe this match. The Young Bucks in this era could do this in their sleep and there were moments in the first half of this that it did feel a little cut and paste. But by the end I was hooked on this one just like the crowd was. And could you imagine seeing something like this live in your tiny local indie at the time with two relative unknowns like Lee and Strickland putting on this kind of performance? That's a match that would stick with you for the rest of your life. This was a cool little footnote in the career of all 4 men and definitely not what I expected to get back when I played you a Trevor Lee match forward. Now do I swerve the streams next Tuesday or do the Bucks become the first ever 2x MDTSOCWWKD Tag Team Champions?? Let's fuck around and find out indeed.

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.