GET OUT OF MY HEAD, WWE.
I just want to post this here for posterity because it took forever to find a good version of it online, and now WWE is just like "Oh, here, an HD perfect copy on YouTube for free."
And yes, it's a ***** match.
GET OUT OF MY HEAD, WWE.
I just want to post this here for posterity because it took forever to find a good version of it online, and now WWE is just like "Oh, here, an HD perfect copy on YouTube for free."
And yes, it's a ***** match.
I bought the Punk blu-ray for several reasons, but a pristine HD copy of this match was a big contributor. Just amazing stuff. Reminds me a lot of Austin/Bret from SurSer 96 - a technically enthralling masterpiece with tons of innovative spots that will revolutionize mat based work for years to come.
ReplyDeleteScott, I know your star rating for this is fluid, but are you being facetious in that its 5 stars? Its great, and a definitive show stealer, but I dont think its 5 stars or even 4.5. Not to nit pick but id go 4-4.25. Off the top of my head I can think of 5 matches that were better over the past handful of years.
ReplyDeleteMaybe WWE figured out following the NBA Web strategy of giving out some content to keep people watching is more fan-friendly than the MLB hoarding policy.
ReplyDeletePhenomena match. I'm still slightly bitter this wasent the main event
ReplyDeleteTruly a classic. That Surfboard is Brutal!
ReplyDeleteWatch it again. Its basically perfect.
ReplyDeleteCome on now. How could this possibly have main evented over Johnny Ace VS Cena with Big Show turn #938?
ReplyDeleteI really hate the ending now watching it again.
ReplyDeleteI was one of the guys bugging Scott to review that match for weeks in the comments. His "refusal" and original low rating he would bump up a little each time he did the joke was one of my favorite things ever.
ReplyDeleteOoooooohhh dude I so disagree. I've been a fan of the submission reversed into a pin ending since I saw it in the Bret/Owen match at wmx. This is a great great example of it. I thought the finish was great.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely 200% believe these guys are getting 30 minutes on one of the next 3 wrestlemanias. The ceiling on that match is off the chart.
ReplyDeleteIt can't be a 5 star match. Shawn Michaels wasn't trying to convince CM Punk to give up, after Daniel Bryan hit three spinebusters. You know, because spinebusters are lethal. THAT would be a five star match.
ReplyDeleteMLB now has a MLB Classics channel on YouTube featuring full-length classic games. And it is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteI would even build it as a face vs. face encounter. At the pace Punk and Bryan are going, fandom wise, they wouldn't need to turn either of them heel to still have a great "respect" match and the fans buy into it.
ReplyDeleteYea, thats one of the reasons im not a huge fan of this.
ReplyDeleteAgreed 100%. I thought it was the perfect ending to the match,
ReplyDeleteWhy would he be facetious if he thinks it's a perfect match? You know these things are completely subjective, for the most part. I thought it was one of the most innovative matches in the WWE in a long ass time. The submission sequences are worth the 5* alone imo.
ReplyDeleteThey could do it at Wrestlemania 30 easily enough. The two biggest fan favorites who have been raging against the Corporate machine for a couple years, meeting for the title at the "biggest show ever" might be a nice way to tie together the whole Corporation angle. It creates some other booking issues though, as far as what to do with Orton, HHH, and Lesnar.
ReplyDeleteCena. You know he'll find a way to shoehorn himself into that feud and take over for Bryan. Also see - Big Johnny/Punk.
ReplyDeleteHe doesnt say it was perfect, just that its 5 stars. I thought he might be being facetious based on the running gag of him having given it different ratings at different times.
ReplyDeleteOf COURSE it was a ***** match. The internet said so.
ReplyDeleteEven though the whole thing is great, I particularly love the ending. Punk proving the "Rock 2000-2002 Theory", that if you are an over face, you can show some ass and not lose heat. Punk wins the match by a split second, putting over the YES-Lock as a lethal submission that one inevitably taps to.
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna pour one out for Johnny Ace.
ReplyDeleteI don't give it a perfect rating only because it feels like the first part. Or even the second part. Like there was some epic conclusion that was to come after this match that we have yet to see. They had the match at MITB but it was missing something, and too bogged down with AJ at just about the nadir of her overexposure.
ReplyDeleteApparently he's back, too.
ReplyDeleteI loved the ending. Punk got the clean win, but Bryan looks great by essentially making Punk tap out (just got himself caught in a pin while doing it).
ReplyDelete[insert NO! chant here]
ReplyDeleteThe lack of review/rating for this is one of my favourite running gags ever, and I mean in any media. The ***** payoff feels damn good!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I understand it, but knowing that nothing came of it, it feels a little anti-climatic.
ReplyDeleteWas this in reference to the Batista/Michaels stretcher match, where Jericho randomly comes out and tells Shawn to keep fighting?
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't exactly be shoehorning.
ReplyDeleteCena did offer the title shot at Summerslam to Bryan after all.
I sure hope not. I'm hoping he makes his big return, fails to win the Rumble, then says "since I won't be challenging for the title this year, I'm challenging the Streak instead" or something to that effect. He's already go the marquee match for Wrestlemania 30, if Taker-Cena is indeed happening, so he doesn't need to be anywhere near the Punk/Bryan/Orton stuff
ReplyDeleteIt made Bryan look fairly strong in defeat and set up a re-match, but I can certainly understand the desire for a stronger finish to a nearly flawless match
ReplyDeleteThat's how I took it too. Not sure if he really thinks its the full-monty now or not
ReplyDeleteWe MUST get a Punk-Bryan marathon one of these days. Not necessarily an actual "60-minute Ironman" match, but at least a long main event where they get to go as long as they want. Somewhere on the Wrestlemania card would be ideal, since Taker-Cena is inevitably going on last anyway. That way Punk and Bryan aren't restrained by the end of the PPV broadcast and can go as long as they want. Then some divas match can get shit-canned if they go really long. Seeing as Bryan has been bumped before on WM and all
ReplyDeleteWe also need one more, well built Cena/Punk match. The chemistry between those two is off the charts, and throw in the WM main event element and there's potential for an [another?] all time great match.
ReplyDeleteCena will be busy with Taker. This is actually the perfect time for it. Then 31 could be a final Punk/Cena match.
ReplyDeleteYeah...I challenge someone to find non-subjective problems with this match.
ReplyDeleteNBA and WWE both have many faults, but use of youtube to get their stuff out there is not included. They're both on the cutting edge of using the Internet to keep fans coming back for more.
ReplyDeleteI assumed it was in reference to HBK crying during the second HHH/Taker match.
ReplyDeleteNo joke, Big Johnny is one of my favorite WWE personalities in years. His awkwardness, monotone delivery, and dry humor just kill me. Ill be thrilled if hes back.
ReplyDeleteYea, from the thread it looks like he's serious though.
ReplyDeleteIn pog form?
ReplyDeleteDid they rematch though?
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of Big Johnny fans out there. He really was their best authority figure since Bischoff's time in the mid 00s.
ReplyDelete3 way with Kane at the next PPV and another one at MitB the month after in 2012.
ReplyDeleteBret/Owen ended with a reversed Victory Roll. A Victory Roll is not a submission move.
ReplyDeleteIt's truly the zenith of smark thinking that somebody can watch a nigh-on perfect wrestling match which is visually stunning, technically flawless and emotionally wrought, and complain about the context. And, as ATL2013 pointed out, it did make a point and it did establish SOMETHING.
ReplyDeleteHey man, I don't want to feel this way, I just do.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer the short hair and controlled beard on Bryan.
ReplyDeleteI think the old-school grizzled grappler look was super cool. Plus the dragon motif is way better than the beard shit. And while I know he's supposed to be the anti-superstar, Bryan is not an ugly man and covering up his face excessively is putting off a potential draw.
I have always been partial to shaved head/beard/cape combo, with Danielson
ReplyDeletehttp://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/2465/2267834-amdrag_cape.jpg
Yeah, the one with Kane. The Triple Threat
ReplyDeleteFoley wore a mask and did pretty well. He also was missing an ear and some teeth.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they stop uploading games years ago?
ReplyDeleteI saw that. Was not a fan.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they haven't uploaded anything in two years time, but with the sheer number of games, you spend ages going through it.
ReplyDeleteBut Foley is ugly. Bryan is not, and needlessly uglifying a man who is not ugly for a cartoony gimmick that makes him harder to take seriously is stupid IMO.
ReplyDelete...
ReplyDeleteI want Bryan to be the face of WWE, and I think he can. You don't get widespread appeal by looking like a member of the Manson family.
Austin had a bit of a serial killer vibe, especially before he started cutting comedy promos.
ReplyDeleteAnd Austin didn't have widespread appeal. He had very specific appeal to a very important demo.
ReplyDeleteBryan is also a better looking man than Austin. Shave That Beard.
I'm with you, to a point. As I'm watching, I'm loving it and enjoying myself, and I'd give it an extra 1/4* for Punk's "I have 'til five" there, but it's still 4 to 4.5 stars. Of course, star ratings are subjective bullshit, so it don't really matter. I still very much enjoyed the match.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the match before now. Although these are my two favorite guys, and they're the only reason I watch WWE now (because I loved them back in '04)... I don't think this is five stars. I'm going lower than most and saying 3.75. It's a flawless match, but never got to kick into high gear. I feel like it was the first half of the greatest match ever.
ReplyDeleteThose 25 minutes FLEW by though.