Would You Kick Me In The Face, Please?

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ims4n

Rey Mysterio Jr (c) VS Tajiri - WWE Cruiserweight Championship 9/4/2003

JJZ: Staying with the shorties. Staying in 2003. Staying with Smackdown. Staying in the Ruthless Aggression era. This was the first match I watched for our new MDTSOCWWKD Champion, then I watched about 7 more matches and nothing was this good and highlighted how well Tajiri could hang with the greats. This car crash of a match kept the crowd on the edge of their seats and made you feel like you got your moneys worth. For me there was a couple "I've never seen that before!" moments which still shocks me with the amount of wrestling I've watched in my lifetime. These last 3 matches have really shown the art of having a great TV match. And damn, Tajiri was over. His spots got huge pops. He'd be worth a deep dive during this time. Excited to see where you take us next.

CJD: Something about this match existing puts a huge smile on my face. I was watching blue trunks Yoshihiro Tajiri in BJW in the late 90s thinking "this guy is going to be great," and Rey wasn't exactly a diamond in the rough but to go from the Filthy Animals to this in less than 5 years is remarkable. We've pretty much covered the blueprint for how to have a great 10 minute TV match in the past few weeks and it's no surprise considering we've had 3 of the best TV wrestlers of all-time between Eddie, Tajiri, and Rey. I'm sure one of those spots that popped you here was that tope Rey uncorked. Jesus. Sometimes I feel like calling a match "fun" is a cop-out because you don't have to get any deeper than that, but what can I say, this match was really fun. If every week could be a Cruiserweight Championship match between Rey Mysterio Jr and Tajiri the world would be a better place.

Got A Average Of Being Excellent, The Median Just Dope

Eddie Guerrero (c) VS Tajiri - WWE US Championship Match 7/31/2003

CJD: We're sticking with the short and sweet theme this week. It's refreshing after featuring some big, violent, plunder-filled matches recently. As with most Eddie matches, there's so much to love here. One of the qualities that made him an all-timer was that he was much more than the sum of his parts. There's great character, there's great action, things that surprise you, things that play out exactly how you're hoping. I didn't want to stop watching him wrestle and pick a match, but as soon as I saw how this one started, and that it was given a chance to shine, I knew it was going to win out in the end. But man do I hope we double back this trail on our journey. When it comes to Ruthless Aggression these guys might not be the names you first associate with it. But this Smackdown crew was absolutely the reason WWE was still worth watching in this time period.

JJZ: Hot start with Eddie getting a taste of his own medicine. Loving all these refs with the early 2000s blonde highlights. Tajiri had some great matches in WWE. Well, again Eddie shows why he is among the greatest. A complete story with flawless psychology, a call back to the beginning of the match, and a great finish. All under 10 minutes. Jesus. And Tajiri adds great high spots and excellent strikes that made me believe he could win the match beating Eddie at his own game. Loved this match. No matter if anyone is in the seats I wish Smackdown would produce this kind of stuff today.

Editor's note: This match has been taken down since we originally shared it. We'll check back periodically to see if we can find a new link. We apologize for the inconvenience!