Feast Your Eyes

 

Biff Busick VS Donovan Dijak - Beyond Wrestling 6/28/2015

JJZ: So Dijack is a wrestler that had to grow on me. And the seed started to crack when I watched a match of his from Beyond Wrestling against one of my favorites Biff Busick. I fucking LOVED that match. So when I had to play a Dijak match forward I right away looked to see if those two had any other matches. I came across this and man oh man did I enjoy this too. This match is very different than the other one I watched from them. That was just heat from bell to bell. This match was more of a three course meal. More traditional style wrestling match. Nice feel out to start, building to the highspots and a good closing stretch. I couldn't figure out who would get their hand raised in the end. But my favorite part of the match is the ambiance. A small ring that is too close to the floor in an obscure gym somewhere with around 100 people in attendance. Overhead lighting that was way too bright. Interaction between the wrestlers and the crowd. It was so independent wrestling and I so loved every single second of it.

CJD: Dijak was a slow grower for me too and I still think there's untapped potential there. But he did improve tremendously since those first Keith Lee matches I saw him in back when and judging from this match and the other one you mentioned Biff brings out the absolute best in him. This match was awesome. I didn't know Dijak could grapple like that, the early hold for hold stuff was really quality. Then some of the holy shit moments, like the dives and getting shit canned (is shit canned one word or two?) were all that much more impressive in that intimate setting. These two have that magic physical chemistry that makes for great rivalries. The comments mention they've had at least one more match, and I'm definitely adding that to my To Watch list. What a finish too, I loved seeing the fans react. This was a treat, great find man. I love when wrestlers help build the psychology of the match in the small moments. There were parts of this match in between lock ups that told you everything you needed to know about who the wrestlers are and what their strategy is. Nice little touches that put an already great match over the top.

You Down With TJP?

Dominik Dijakovic VS TJP - WWE When World's Collide 1/26/2019

CJD: I was really excited about this tournament when it happened. It seemed like a great concept and exactly the sort of content having multiple brands with distinctly different styles and your own personal streaming Network would lend itself to. Instead it was presented and executed with all the importance of a pickup basketball game. But this match at least was closer to what I was hoping for. I don't remember if I even watched it at the time but I thought it delivered on this watch. Dijak has constantly gotten better throughout his career which is a quality I highly value. TJP refuses to let himself get eaten up as the former first Cruiserweight Champion even though I think he can see the writing on the wall for his WWE run at this point. I liked the chemistry, the transitions, the little moments of this match. How they took a barely present convention crowd and drew them in whether they were planning on watching or not. And with the quiet brightly lit venue I think both guys really laid it in too. Mix all that up and I was happy to revisit a tournament I didn't expect to ever spend anymore energy on.

JJZ: Now this is how you book a 10 minute match between two guys with such a staggering size difference. Both wrestlers got such a shine from this match. Dijak looked like a true monster totally dominating TJP at every turn. While Perkins used his speed and agility to pepper in offense when he could. Smart and simply psychology by TJP to try to chop the big man down. The end stretch was really well done and I think both guys came out looking better than when they went in. I mean come on. It's hard to have a 10 minute match that tells a complete story like this one did.