Forever Forward Fridays

Riho VS Jamie Hayter - AEW 12/8/2021

CJD: I know my JJZ, and I know there's one thing he loves here at PIF above all else. When two matches we share show very different sides of a pro wrestler! And while Hayter's big personality shines through no matter if she's working under or in top, the nuts and bolts of how she works this match are very different than our last match VS Ayesha. With an opponent like Riho that's no surprise, but I was still super impressed with how well Hayter did in very different settings. There's also one big slice of pizza in this match that Jamie scoops right off the ground, dusts off, and says "5 second rule!!" I thought with the story it told they needed to deliver one hell of a finish if I was going to play this one forward. The match kind of hinged on it. Well I'm playing it forward, so you know how I feel about that. And it's nice getting a non-pandemic AEW match up in here, at least for as long as TK allows this upload to exist.

JJZ: So CJD, I actually watched this one live! Side note my wife walks in during the match and says "oh shit Chun-Li!" I did not pick up on the cosplay. This is a fantastic TV match man. Playing up on the size difference is basic math. Baker's antics on the outside were great but not over the top to take away from the work going on in the ring. I didn't think the pizza was that bad. Loved the finish. That bump was nasty. I remember not expecting much from this one at the time and liking it. Very nice pick

Rock Star, Flip Into The Crowd Like TAKA Michinoku

TAKA Michinoku VS Papi Chulo - ECW 4/3/1999

JJZ: Redo! So with this match I just wanted some late night junk food  goodness. We got all the hits in this one. The best thing about this match that was they hit everything on point. You know with ECW that matches like these, it can go off the rails sometimes. Now I know we both have seen this before but I'm 100 percent positive that we've never reviewed it before. Love me some ECW and their ability to let wrestlers be themselves. It made a lot of wrestler's careers. Watching ECW is like putting on an old pair of shoes. It just feels good man.

CJD: I'll be honest, I remember a few matches from this show, but absolutely nothing about this match. Not even that TAKA came back to ECW at all. So this was a pleasant surprise! The execution was good in this one indeed. It was a little your turn, my turn, but looking at where it was in the card and the time they had that kinda makes sense. The crowd was totally along for the ride. In some ways it was just fascinating to see what a match like this looked like in ECW in 1999. One guy on his way up to WWF. One guy on his way out. International talent colliding which ECW loved. And the two standouts from our last MDTSOCWWKD match going one on one! This was meant to be JJZ.

Forever Forward Fridays

Ayesha Raymond (c) VS Jamie Hayter - GWF Women's Championship 11/3/2018

JJZ: Baby cakes. How you doing! I'm doing great I'm on vacation, drinking a cold one and watching this plucky underdog baby face in Jamie Hayter vs the monster Ayesha Raymond. This match was all about working from under for Hayter and trying to take advantage of Raymond's mistakes. Really good little indy match here. Love the build and psychology. Super impressed with the smoothness of the match. These women showed they were above their pay grade in this one.

CJD: If I wrote you a recap of the last 3 weeks of my life this would be the longest review in the history of PIF. I'm sitting in a camping chair in the only bedroom clean enough in a slumlord apartment that I'm paying an arm and a leg for, one beer in the holster, pizza in my lap, laptop on my fold out twin mattress that I'm about to get a terrible night's sleep on. I'm in a new state starting a new job, trying to move my family up, to give my daughter a home that she will hopefully really thrive in for years and years to come. And I say all of this because if there's one thing I love about pro wrestling above all else, it's that it's the constant that I can always rely on in times when I can't even imagine what to do next. This match was so fundamentally sound, the atmosphere was so electric, and I don't think it could have found me on a better night than tonight. Both of these ladies crushed it. The shifts in momentum and cut offs were perfect. The hesitation and execution of the finish was even better yet. And this promotion and venue were so so on brand for FFFridays. This match was the sip of cool water I needed in the middle of the oasis that is my life right now JJZ. Well played.

Astral Projector, Super Astros Projector

TAKA Michinoku/Sho Funaki/Tiger Mask IV VS Papi Chulo/Super Loco/Apolo Dantes- WWF Super Astros 5/30/1999

CJD: I didn't know which way I was going this week. And maybe the weird stuff is just catching my eye right now, but after watching a few okay matches this one stood out because it was just so damn unique. If we watched this in 1999 our minds would have been blown. If you cut out the intros and the Owen Hart memorial stuff this match might not even be 5 minutes. But for what it is, on a WWF show at the time, and with the guys involved... this is fucking bonkers. Pro wrestling is so weird. It's hard to really critique something like this but I will say TAKA and Papi Chulo both came off like stars which was clearly the intent. And our boy TMIV held his own in the process! We've had plenty of weird detours over the years here at PIF and this is one of the weirder ones. Enjoy my friend.

JJZ: So much flavor in this banger baby. I think everyone really shined in this match. It started at a 10 and never stopped honestly. I'm always super impressed with matches like this when the energy is so high and every crazy spot is hit perfect. The chance for shit to go off the rails is very high but all six wrestlers kept it on track. That T Mask backflip kick thingy might've popped me the most because it was hit right on target and that could of easily fanned. Nice pick baybay!

Forever Forward Fridays

Nikki Storm VS "Amazon" Ayesha Rae - LCW 3/1/2014

Match Link

CJD: I watched a lot of Nikki Storm era Nikki Cross to decide what to play forward to you this week. I honestly don't know if this was the best match. But it was the most interesting. You know I've been listening to a lot of WTF with Marc Maron, and on the episode where he goes to a pro wrestling event for the first time and meets a bunch of the AEW roster he talks to Jericho about performing in front of small crowds. And they both agree the secret to being great at any type of performance is mastering the art of playing to an audience of 7. I count more than 7 in this crowd but if there's more than 30 I'd be surprised. It's very awkward at times. But in that you see these two young ladies growing leaps and bounds in this relatively simple and shortish match. Ayesha is totally new to me but she impressed me quite a bit. I don't think think either lady really nailed this match but they were dealt a tough hand that night and I appreciate what they did out there. I might just be digging this match because I'm exhausted bouncing around rentals in Vermont trying to build a new life for my family and just generally in a weird head space. But I dug it none the less.

JJZ: Marc Maron and Jericho aren't wrong. It's an art playing to such a small crowd. So many art forms are mastered playing to mostly empty rooms. The lack of bodies in the building didn't stop these ladies from putting out an effort and energy that would have been the same if 20,000 were watching. Speaking of podcasts, I remember Sami Zayn saying recently that he felt like he never mailed it in no matter how many people were watching. Nikki and Ray mailed nothing in. This is also my first time watching Ayesha and even though this match was only 12 minutes I got a really good sense of how good she can be. She uses her size really well with her moveset. Nothing over complicated. Storm always delivers. I think she is totally underrated. Really excited to dive into some Ray!

Bred For His Skills In Magic

Jushin Thunder Liger/Tiger Mask IV VS Kenoh/Hajime Ohara - NOAH 8/2/2014

JJZ: This was part of the 2014 NOAH Jr tag league and this is as far from a traditional Jr's match as you will see. It's wild to watch Liger getting out heeled when you think about his nuclear heated run in the past with NOAH. There is a time to wrestle and there is a time to fight. And all four of these guys came to that arena that night for a fist fight. Sometime you watch a match and it is totally opposite of what you expected. Usually you're disappointed. Not in this case at all. I was so taken aback at what I was surprisingly seeing and kept saying to myself, this is so good. How did I not see this before. And I hope you've never seen this before either. Little side note. I know I live and drink at NOAH's well and probably should avoid it for a while but damn I'm glad I took a sip this week.

CJD: This match was such a breath of fresh air. Everyone brought so much to the table but the main thing I was thinking was "fuck me, Jushin Thunder Liger is great." When people think of Liger they probably think of his colorful technical precision and groundbreaking matches. But the thing that is so impressive to me about the thousands of matches he had in his career is how much purpose he put into almost every single one. This feud is such a great example. Neither one of us were aware of it and it's yet it's another in an endless list of great storylines Liger and company built and paid off over his career. Like how many times have you seen Liger, even in a throwaway undercard 6 man like last week, just have "a match?" There's always so much intent there. That's the stuff I love in pro wrestling. And I love Jushin Thunder Liger!! Also Tiger Mask's gear was fire.

JJZ: Yes it was.

Forever Forward Fridays

Nikki Storm VS ASUKA - SHIMMER 4/13/2014

JJZ: So this was the first match that popped up when I typed in Kana on YouTube. You know how much I loved this feud in NXT. So this was a no brainer for me. I loved Nikki's mic work in the beginning, Dave Prazak is such a comfortable voice to hear. And this crowd wanted this match so bad. They really showed up and out. So right off the bat I'll say I was hoping for a little bit more piss and vinegar out of the bout. I realize that is because I had expectations from the NXT matches. Resetting my thoughts they did an excellent job of building this match. Solid base, good story throughout with a hot finish. I'm not sure how long after this match these women went to NXT but watching them reminded me of watching guys like Claudio and Danielson on the indies before they went to WWE. You knew it was time for the next step. They were way above everyone else. Not sure if this was the only indie match Kana and Storm had but I'd love to see a bunch more.

CJD: I think both ladies went to NXT about 2 years later. With how heated their rivalry there was I get wanting a little more oomph out of this match. But I thought this was a fascinating look back at how these two built such terrific chemistry here that when they had the chance in NXT, they knocked it out of the galaxy. I think the best thing about this match was how every little component came together so nicely. If you were really excited to see this live at the time I bet you'd leave extremely happy even though no one aspect of the match especially stands out. Two very talented pro wrestlers from opposite ends of the world coming together in the Berwyn Eagles Club to do pro wrestling things. Ain't nothing wrong with that!

Forever Forward Fridays

Kana VS Munenori Sawa - 

Triple Tails Re:Start 2/11/2011

CJD: This match is brutal. The only intergender match I can think of that I've seen that made me feel this way was Necro Butcher VS LuFisto. This was obviously a completely different type of violence but I wouldn't say it had any less of any affect on me. Both are intergender matches that feel like a straight up fight. And both leave me with so much respect for the female competitors in the match. Both are also great examples of niche styles of pro wrestling, and I bet when you hit me up with a FFFriday shootstyle BattlArts gem the last thing you expected was for me to come back with an equally good shootstyle intergender match! I know I'm preaching to the choir with you but ASUKA has to go down as one of the all-time greats at this point and I'd use this match as a prime example of how deep her career has been.

JJZ: This was a fight between two people. Gender be damned. I feel like I watched Kana and Sawa equally fight for dominance. This was a 50 50 match that drew a lot of emotions out of the crowd. More of a fight then a match but so entertaining. You know how much I love Kana/Asuka. I had a thought while watching this match. Is Asuka the most successful Japanese wrestler to make the transition to the states ever? If we are honest with ourselves she is probably a top 5 women's wrestler all time. Am I giving her to many flowers? I don't think so. Muta and Liger are the only other wrestlers from Japan that have come close to her success but neither have had this long of a run in America. I know I've totally ignored Sawa with my comments and that was not my intention when I began to write this. Sawa was a fantastic dance partner for Kana. Him treating her like an equal made this match feel like a must see.

YOH Gabba Gabba!

Rocky Romero/SHO/YOH VS Jushin Thunder Liger/KUSHIDA/Tiger Mask IV - NJPW 9/15/2018

CJD: So you've just been through the uphill battle that is finding decent NJPW matches up for free online. I guess they're cracking down more than ever. And this match has a lot going against it. Cheating a bit going right back to SHO. Also right back to KUSHIDA. And yet another extremely short match (don't let the overall runtime fool you, it's first up and flies by). But fuck, this is great trios action while it lasts. Even in its brief duration so much happens and everyone has such a clear role to play. YOH especially shines and you can feel Liger's influence on this division for decades in both directions just from his presence in this simple little match. The way he works with YOH for their interaction here makes me think about how he's done that with so many wrestlers over the years, no matter how small the promotion or how big the stage, he makes everyone he works with feel like you need to watch what comes next for them. I wish I could have found something a bit more interesting for you this week but there was a lot to like here despite the fact I wish it was triple the runtime.

JJZ: Baby cakes this was quite a fun little six man tag. I agree with you that YOH really did shine in this match. This is a match that if you were there live for it might think, this is just a filler match. But it definitely was not. It made the most for what it was. And big ups for the commentators. I really enjoyed the picture they painted for that time in all the wrestlers life. I would love to see that British J-Cup. I'm positive it's not on NJWORLD. I would've definitely watched the shit out of that. My favorite thing about this match was that the vets let the young guys get their shine while still looking good themselves. Nice match baby cakes.

Forever Forward Fridays

Ikuto Hidaka/Munenori Sawa VS Yuta Yoshikawa/Katsumi Usuda - BattlArts 7/2/2010

JJZ: It's Sunday morning and I'm sitting in my basement drinking coffee and watching Battlearts. Yumma dum dum. Well Chris, this match is exactly what you think it would be and that makes me so happy. These four wrestlers really bring a stiff ass aggression but then all of the sudden someone busts out with a really slick transition. I don't watch this style enough so when I do it feels like such a treat. Hidaka's versatility to do this style of match but then also have a match like he did with Alex Shelley in the same era is special. Crowd was good not great but came on strong in the end. Now my absolute favorite thing about battlearts and UWF is the fact that the match can end whenever. There is no real final stretch just make sure you don't take your eyes off the TV.

CJD: So first of all I really liked this match. I love this era of Battlarts, not exactly their prime but some of the coolest shit was going on in the years leading up to this. Yuta Yoshikawa was probably the main homegrown talent they were trying to get over, but his career was cut short and this was actually his retirement match. He brought a lot to the table as he always did, taking a tremendous beating and helping give the match structure and purpose. I don't think I've ever seen this before and I wasn't the biggest fan of Yoshikawa so that'd make sense. But I'm so glad you played it forward to me. I haven't watched any shoot style since our last journey into it and for guys like Hidaka and Usuda these matches have to be like jazz. No need to know where you're going next or how you're getting there. Just feel it out and let it flow through you. They built to some great hot tags even though you weren't going to get huge pops from the reported crowd of 156. I'd say that's probably generous. Very interesting footnote in pro wrestling history here, the match is definitely stronger for the first 2/3rds, but overall it's a quality ass kicking and a hell of a way to go out on your sword.