Tag Archives: chopfest

Apr 28 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Punk Pays Tribute to Chris Candido

by Daniel Johnson

CM Punk vs. John McChesney

It is tough to believe, but it has now been eight years since the man who needed no gimmicks, Chris Candido passed away. Usually, I don’t post about wrestlers on the anniversaries of their deaths, but I found this match on IWC’s official YouTube channel a while back and figured I’d share. Outside of Punk’s tribute which consists of having “Candido” on his arm tape and an after match promo the bout itself is nifty.

Punk opens it up by going after McChesney’s legs. McChesney gets taken down, but not for long. After a while Punk really gives it to McChesney by laying in a total chopfest. McChesney will not just lean against the corner and take that so before long he is firing back. He hits a sweet looking dropkick off  the second rope to really exclaim this. Punk comes back with another chopfest and to counter this McChesney delivers a monster big splash. McChesney’s win comes off as a fluke when he slides Punk onto the mat for the win. This was really the only way McChesney could convincingly beat Punk at the time because McChesney wasn’t exactly Samoa Joe and Punk was red hot on the indies.

Speaking of Indies, IWC’s Super Indy tournament has really grown since this match took place in the forth installment of the event. The next one will be taking place in just a couple of months.

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Mar 01 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Deathpoof and Insane

by Daniel Johnson

Justin Sane vs. Johnny Wave

Here is some more exciting action from Deathproof Wrestling with this clip being notable for featuring Justin Sane. With a name like that he’ll be playing second fiddle to Sean Waltman or be in the main event of a dying company in no time!

Sane does the first noteworthy spot of the match by smoothly landing on his feet when Wave attempts a hip toss. Not to be put down, Wave then fights back by delivering a stiff chop. When a chopfest breaks out between the two the hecklers then really get into it. The line of the match goes to the guy who shouts, “That’s always been a fantasy of yours hasn’t it Johnny? Except in the shower!” Just stand back and analyze that line for a second. Regardless of sexual orientation is there anyone on Earth that fantasizes about being brutally chopped in the shower by a guy who ripped off his name from Justin Credible?

Getting back to the action Wave misses a Stinger’s splash then gets kicked in the face and jumped on for two. Wave next botches an attempt to jump off the ropes and lands on his face. He also hits a DDT that would make Jake “The Snake” Roberts vomit (which actually isn’t that tough to do these days). Wave sloppily bounces off the ropes for a slightly better DDT and goes to the top to hit a flippy floppy move. Sane dodges Wave and puts him away with a jackhammer.

All in all Wave is incredibly sloppy, the picture quality is terrible and there is one fan making death metal growls throughout. Well, enjoy.

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Feb 20 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Failure to Launch (A Title Match)

by Daniel Johnson

Muzlem vs. Ron Jeremi

The way incidents like the Fingerpoke of Doom are built up and picked apart you’d think that only major wrestling companies can bomb in delivering major title matches. Not so as this match shows. Although this bout is a good deal longer than the infamous fiasco that featured Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan it couldn’t have sent the fans home happy.

The scheduled bout was to feature Scottish School of Wrestling (SSW) super face Ron Jeremi cashing in the SSW Money in the Bank briefcase against the villainous Muzlem, the SSW World Championship holder. As with Nash/Hogan fans got the match they were promised…technically. Prior to the fight at SSW Superclash 2011 Muzlem sends in a goon to attack Jeremi. From there Muzlem cuts a promo and the match begins. The action consists of Muzlem hitting a chopfest that spans three of the four turnbuckles and…not much else. Muzlem delivers a CM Punk inspired high knee followed by a bulldog attempt, Jeremi gets in a brief comeback that is stopped by a super kick and after about five minutes Jeremi is left looking at the lights.

At least the post-match shenanigans are a tad intriguing with Muzelm attempting to pull a Brian Pillman by sticking Jeremi’s head into a chair and stomping it before all heck breaks loose.

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Feb 02 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Choshu in His Fifties

by Daniel Johnson

Riki Choshu vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Here is a nifty exhibition from yesteryear. In this case the yesteryear of 2007 is not that long ago though this clip features current 61 year old grappler, Riki Choshu. He is in his mid fifties here, but aside from the gut he barely looks it. The action is methodical with not a lot of fast paced action, but plenty of Choshu and Ishii feeling each other out.

Choshu gains the early advantage by pushing Ishii to the ground with a shoulder block. Ishii’s first successful offense is pretty weak as he performs a light chopfest in the corner. Tomohiro then adds insult to injury by placing Choshu in a sharpshooter, which of course Choshu helped innovate in the East. From there Ishii gets Riki back in the corner and this time comes alive with his blows. He must have thought of Kenta Kobashi because the forearms and Kenta-esque chops he lays in are vicious!

All these attacks eventually cause Choshu’s temper to go off. Choshu begins his comeback after Ishii fails to deliver a top rope move and instead gets punched to the mat by the wily veteran. From there Choshu wallops Ishii with not one, not two, but three lariats! The last of these moves looks like they nearly take Ishii’s head off! After the bout Choshu no doubt celebrated his spot as one of the cornerstones of modern Japanese wrestling and also as master of the Asian shake weight.

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Jan 28 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Tanaka and Ishii Live Strong Style

by Daniel Johnson

Masato Tanaka vs. Tomohiro Ishii

For American wrestling fans the smoke is still clearing from WWE’s 2013 Royal Rumble. While there was plenty of entertaining action and even more for people to complain about there was no match quite like this on the card. The entire bout is Tanaka and Ishii trying to one-up each other while being as stiff as possible. First they begin by slugging it out. From there the two move onto chops. This is just one chopfest of several that leads both competitors with beat red chests. Before long both are on all fours and are headbutting each other in an attempt to see who is tougher. Really, this looks barely like a worked match.

As far as wrestling moves go they appear rarely. Ishii delivers a powerbomb at one point that must bring up some memories of Mike Awesome for Tanaka. Tanaka also at one point is able to reverse a German suplex. Other than those and a few trademark moves used in Japanese strong style bouts (brainbusters, lariats, etc.) it all goes back to the striking. So who is more man? Only one way to find out, watch the clip!

On a random note also look out for one spectator trying in vain to start a Japanese ECW chant.

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Jan 27 2013
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Wrestling Clips

Why Not Throw El Generico In the Royal Rumble?

by Daniel Johnson

El Generico vs. Twiggy

We are just a few hours away from the most exciting hour of wrestling in the year, the 2013 Royal Rumble match. While there will no doubt be some great moments, nifty eliminations and even a surprise entrant (or a few) one guy who will probably not appear is recent WWE hire El Generico.

Now, I know what your saying, “You idiot, of course he’s not going to appear. He’s going to get sent to developmental and then probably show up months later unmasked with a name like Sean Rami. Why did you make such a pointless statement?” Well, you’ve got some nerve mister.

Unfortunately, yes there is about a 0 percent chance that El Genrico will pop up in tonight’s match. Despite the above ISW match showing that he is capable of some incredible moves and believably selling a hurricanrana and chopfest from a much smaller opponent like Twiggy he will probably be sent to developmental. If he appears in a Rumble match then the earliest it will be is the 2014 Royal Rumble. This is a real shame because WWE hasn’t taken chances like putting a guy like El Generico in the Rumble since they were the WWF.

Sure, chances don’t always pay off. Like at the 1996 Royal Rumble when The Headhunters showed up out of nowhere and didn’t appear in the WWF again until 1997. Yet, sometimes chances can make a difference. Diesel had a failing gimmick before going into the 1994 Royal Rumble and tearing the scene up. Of course in that case the WWF got carried away and we got 1995: The Year WWF Ran on Diesel Power Because They Had No Money to Run on.

As ridiculous as it may sound WWE throwing El Generico into this year’s Rumble would make some positive impression no matter what. I suggest having him come out in his regular El Generico gimmick and own the ring when it is filled with curtain jerkers before eliminating himself Randy Savage style. That way audiences get a taste of the lovable goofball that is El Generico while at the same time getting the idea that he can be an aggressive competitor. Smarks would love it and the casual fan would be left asking, “Who was that masked man?”

At the very least we would get a Headhunter moment that could be brought up 17 years later as an excuse to put some other indie guy in the Rumble.

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Jan 07 2013
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Wrestling Clips

A Gem from RWA

by Daniel Johnson

T. Phoenix vs. JP Hansen

RWA lists this on their official YouTube channel in their RWA Gems series. The match isn’t exactly perfect and it suffers from it’s atmosphere. While the RWA can put on decent matches no one ever accused them of drawing the best crowds.

Let’s look beyond that flaw and get to the specifics of the match. In one corner there is T. Phoenix who looks kind of like Bill DeMott if Bill DeMott was unable to pull off a moonsault. There is no word on whether or not Phoenix shares Demott’s interests in training nude. On the other side is JP Hansen, who has a decent build and comes off at the start as a solid face.

Hansen opens the match with a headlock and the most fiery spot of the match happens when Phoenix manages to get Hansen in a corner. Phoenix chops Hansen twice, but Hansen then swaps spots with his foe and rips off Phoenix’s shirt. Hansen explodes with a full blown chopfest. Hansen doesn’t stay in control long and soon enough Phoenix is working on his knee with a spinning toehold. The commentary team does a great job of selling Hansen’s past knee problems.

Hansen comes back, but his momentum is cut way too short. He manages to hit his finisher, which is a suplex variation called Valhalla on Phoenix, but that is it. Outside interference from JT Dunns leads to Hansen tapping out to the figure four.

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Dec 30 2012
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Wrestling Clips

Davey Richards/This is Sparta

by Daniel Johnson

Kyle Matthews vs. Davey Richards

With the tight, one-camera setup that Platinum Championship Wrestling (PCW) used for this match it is tough to tell how many fans were in attendance. What is known is that they got their money’s worth. From the opening dueling chants of “Davey Richards/This is Sparta” the crowd is 100 percent into this performance featuring than ROH World Champion/IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, Davey Richards and the man too bad ass to be in 300, Kyle Matthews.

Matthews sells like crazy for Richards who peppers Matthews with some stiff strikes throughout. First, the two trade punches and Richards comes out on top of that. Next, Richards just pummels Matthews with kicks. It looks like Matthews may finally come out on top of exchanging blows when the two enter into a good old fashioned chopfest, but no dice. Yet, Richards goes a step too far when he tries to contort Matthews into a pretzel. After a fiery comeback Matthews is ready to twist apart Richards’ body instead. He isn’t able to get a submission from Richards, but he hits his trademark dropkick into the corner. Matthews jumps on Richards and gets him in a small package. It looks like a three count, but the referee swears it is only two. Matthews is still holding strong, but can he do it?

The answer may surprise you. Better click on that video!

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Dec 05 2012
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Wrestling Clips

Honma Gets Caught in the Rain

by Daniel Johnson

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshi-Hashi and Rocky Romero

Tanahashi and Okada have been tearing it up this year and if there is any logic in this world then they will have a John Cena/Edge-esque feud. They should of course continue to move into feuds with others, but booking them so they are never too far away from their next match would be great. The reason? Even this eight man shows that any time they are in the ring together it is gold. Yet, the deciding fall in this one is not between Tanahashi and Okada, but rather involves Honma.

This bout took place roughly two months before Honma was released from his contact and boy does he take a beating in it! Still, this is not until a fairly good portion into the match. First, Tanahashi and Okada start off with some mat wrestling before the pace suddenly quickens. Tanahashi even manages to mock Okada’s trademark pose twice and throws in a moonsault from the second rope in between! Honma and Yoshi-Hashi then get tagged in and this is when Honma initially gets brutalized. Honma manages to dish some punishment out as well though when he and Yoshi-Hase engage in a dueling chopfest.

Adding some flavor to this bout is the one non-Japanese wrestler in it, Rocky Romero. He forces Taguchi in by shouting “I want you, you son of a bitch!” Those sure are fighting words and The Funky Weapon immediately accepts the challenge. This results in the first time that the match spills outside and Romero executes a running attack from the apron to the outside. Romero peppers in some more comedy by later getting Taguchi in a corner and cartoonishly running into him with repeated clotheslines until Taguchi hits one of his own. Finally, Goto and Takahashi come in legally and bring a little more strong style action to the festivities.

In addition to Romero yapping, the Japanese wrestlers in this match sound like they are spouting some odd English of their own. For instance, at around 14:40 of the clip I could swear Okada yells, “Old McDonald” before kicking Honma in the face. Oh yeah, also this is the point where Honma really gets destroyed! He misses a diving headbutt from up top before finally laying down for the three count following Okada’s rainmaker.

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Dec 02 2012
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Wrestling Clips

Intergender Six Man from Japan

by Daniel Johnson

Makoto, BUSHI and Ultimo Dragon vs. Cheerleader Melissa, MAZADA and Dark Dragon

The women start this one off as Cheerleader Melissa mostly dominates the smaller Makoto. This doesn’t last long and soon Ultimo Dragon and Dark Dragon come in. In this match Ultimo Dragon plays a role that could be described as closer to a saint than a face. Any time one of the heels does anything remotely underhanded to Ultimo the crowd nearly boos him or her out of the building. Despite this Ultimo is perhaps the least active participant. Until he busts out some moves in the final minutes the most impressive showing he gives is a headscissors take down!

The workers of the bout are BUSHI and MAZADA. They alternate between high flying moves and stiffing the heck out of each other. They even engage in a brief chopfest battle. The highlight of their work together comes at the fight’s conclusion when BUSHI jumps over the top rope to the outside and gives MAZADA a hurricanrana. Of course Ultimo has to close it out and it is showtime for the saint. He stops Dark Dragon in his tracks and kicks him in the gut with a spin kick. Dragon then delivers the Asai DDT and earns the victory. It is also worth mentioning that just prior to this Ultimo locked on a pretty nifty submission.

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