Taso the Greek’s “Bumpin’ Heads 2008″

BJW Death Match wars #57
————————————————
1) Katsumasa Inoue/Hiroyuki Kondo vs. MIYAWAKI/Hyuma
JIP- Um, thanks for showin’ up. You come back now real soon, ya hear? *
2) Kintaro Kanemura/Badboy Hido/Tetsuhiro Kuroda/Saburo Inematsu vs. Madman Pondo/Mad Dog/Jason Ray/Masada
MWAH! MWAH! YAAAGH! YAAAGH! Clusterfuck nutmonkey blowjob insanity. **
3) Takashi Sasaki vs Naoki Numazawa (Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match)
The “bunkhouse” was a steel cage in the corner of the ring, about 15′ high, with stuff inside. SO much they could have done here to make this better psychology-wise. The fight for the key to the bunkhouse, using the key to stab an eye out, stuff like that. There was a simple quick approach to just opening the thing and getting to the garbage inside. Some cool spots off the top of the cage like a rana and a suplex, but could have been so much more. sasaki is a good wrestler, that seems obvious watching this he sorta doesn’t belong. **1/4
4) Mens Teoh/Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shadow WX/Mammoth Sasaki
Blah match. Teoh dissapeared somewhere for a long time in the match. And he has the weakest rolling elbow ever. *
5) Ryuji Ito vs. Abby Jr. Kobayashi (Big Japan Death Match Title - Scaffold Death Match)
I watched, I gawked, I stared, nothing I haven’t seen before but talk about a serious bloodbath. Abby Jr. does little simple moves but I like them. Ito is the man with an awesome frogsplash. Bloody fresh goodness. Super heat for the match too. ***

1) JBL vs. Williams Regal (US Championship)
Great start to the match with mucho heat. It gets all WWE-style towards the middle and then, wow. Regal attemtping to get away from JBL with the kicks was great as was the reversal of the Clothesline From Hell into a snazzy suplex. And how we get from an STF by Regal (a little sloppy, I blame JBL) to an eye poke (the transition move of 2006) to a pretty awesome CFH, I dunno. I did like this match though, wish it had been a bit better. **1/4
2) MNM & Gregory Helms vs. Paul London, Brian Kendricks, & Super Crazy
I smell a Crazy/Helms feud somewhere, and also a Psychosis release after ONS II. Match wasn’t given even half the time it needed and Super Crazy gets no time at all in the ring? Silly sorta feud here that MNM can’t beat London/Kendricks. It’s fine but unless you follow the “B” shows, you wouldn’t know who they were until this feud started. And how many suicide dives must be executed before we try, say, a twist, or an asai moonsault? Sting can do a suicide dive, man. The cruisers have been neutered by WWE. Crap booking. *
3) Mark Henry vs. Bobby Lashley (KOTR qualifier)
I’m a Lashley detractor but his short promo before the match was perfectly fine. The match was really well done. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Lashley was on point with all the big man moves and the brawling, he looked real impressive. Hell, nice bumping from both men, especially Henry on a Lashley clothesline. I like the idea of this turning into a feud down the line. **
4) Gunner Scott vs. Finlay
Sleeper match of the night? Nice and stiff. Loved the Bookman on commentary and with the interference. More WWE storytelling but certainly I like the idea of benoit and Scott together vs. Booker T and Finlay. Wish the match had more time. **
5) Rey Mysterio © vs. Kurt Angle (World Heavyweight Championship)
Kurt is awesome when he busts out the ankle lock and his opponent goes for the reversals, etc etc. Rey shouldn’t be going for punches in the corner :30 seconds into a match. Good chemistry but Angle’s matches with HBK always seem much better because their is one single purpose to them, break the ankle. Why they don’t hone in on this move all the time, I don’t know. Throw in a few suplexes and Kurt is fine. Rey on the other hand needs to fly more, use the ropes more. Maybe it’s just become too formulaic, as formulaic as the word formulaic has become. It was still a hot little match even with the henry interference and subsequent DQ. I can’t sling stars on this one, cuz they won’t stick. The intesnity of the players, mainly Rey, just wasn’t there for me. **3/4

1. Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda beat Tamon Honda & Yoshinori Ota (11:17) when Ikeda used the Dai-Chan Bomber on Ota.
2. Minoru Suzuki & SUWA beat Akira Taue & Atsushi Aoki (11:41) when SUWA used the FFF on Aoki.
3. Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio beat Scorpio & Keith Walker (12:18) when Morishima used a lariat on Walker.
4. GHC Heavyweight Title Shot Tournament - Round One: Masao Inoue beat Shuhei Taniguchi (16:40) with an Argentine backbreaker.
5. GHC Heavyweight Title Shot Tournament - Round One: Takuma Sano beat Junji Izumida (16:54) with a Northern Light Bomb.
6. Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin beat Doug Williams, Nigel McGuinness & Eddie Edwards (17:26) when Marvin used a modified Death Valley Bomb on Edwards.
7. Jun Akiyama, Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Akitoshi Saito, Takashi Sugiura & Kishin Kawabata (17:57) when Shiga used a cradle on Kawabata.
8. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji beat Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (27:16) when KENTA used the Busaiku Knee Kick on Kikuchi.

The results of the two round one matches mean that Takuma Sano will face Masao Inoue in the first semi final of the GHC Heavyweight Title shot tournament on 4/7 at Zepp Nagoya.

This match here deserves about *** (6. Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs. Doug Williams, Nigel McGuinness & Eddie Edwards) Nigel and Ricky Marvin really looking good. Ogawa and Nigel did some good stuff I usually don’t see from Ogawa, who surprised me a bit.

1. Rob Van Dam/Carlito/Charlie Haas vs. Matt Stryker/Shelton Benjamin/Chris Masters
I got this “best 6 man tag of year” feeling right when this kicked off. I need to turn that “best of” switch off for every match that gives me a quick boner. Nonetheless, pretty fucking cool match in spots. When the chaos insued as all six men got involved it went to shit. And why is RVD pinning Shelton when Matt Stryker is out there, I will never know. **
2. Shawn Micheals vs. Shane McMahon
Doesn’t even come close to the SNME match. And Shane gets to do what? Top rope moves through a table? Back breaker into a neck breaker? And the rest of the WWE gets to kick and punch? I’ll give VKM the credit at the end there with the spotlight and the high angle shot. But that’s about it. **1/2
3. Umaga vs. Steve Lewington
This match was OK for a squash. Flair vs. Umaga should be interesting. Flair’s gotta go over for his supposed one last shot, IMO.
4. John Cena/Edge/Triple H vs. The Spirit Squad
Could be one of the worst matches I have seen all year. This is not acceptable for a global level promotion, on TV, as the final selling point before a PPV. HHH and Cena rolling around on the mat? Ridiculous. 1/2*

1) Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels(c) - X-Division Championship
Great opening to the show, went to commercial early though. Great match, best TV match from TNA I have seen. Joe’s offense was pretty awesome, believable, and he bumps like a fucker. Daniels less so. I don’t know how I feel about Joe winning the title back. I think it ends up being forgotten but essentially a sloppy move IMO. ***
2)AMW vs. Team 3D - Street Fight (Non-Tile)
A strong match considering the stips and the teams. It didn’t get as hardcore as it should have, what with one garbage can and a table, so the Street Fight moniker didn’t hold up. And TNA is supposed to give me something more, something different and this wasn’t any better then a WWE tv match. The big surprise was Brother Runt’s debut, and that is something sorely lacking from WWE matches, the element of suprise. A known name wrestler making a run-in, which used to keep me glued to my TV but now never really happens anymore since wrestling became a monopoly. Enjoyable match FWIW. **
3) Sting vs “Showtime” Eric Young
By mistake or not (probably the former) this match has a great build up. Young is definitely a popular wrestler and he’s gonna turn face at some point. Should be interesting to watch him in the next year. Alex Shelley and Young git hit with a pescado and Sting is on the loose, but then Scott D’Amore gets involved and now Sting starts to take a beating from Young.Hot little beginning, fun, then formulaic. Short. Sting sells a little, then wipes the floor with everyone, scorpion deathdrop on Young. Could have been more fun. You can’t take Sting seriously as a monster heel, so you have to have fun with him. He’s too cartoonish. So is Jarrett. This match in the end is fine but not as good as hyped as a first match back in 5 years for Sting. **

1. Sonjay Dutt, B-Boy & Adam Flash vs. Messiah, Sexxxy Eddy & Nate Webb
This was a really strong match. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot. They all hit their signature spots, and even though it might seem pedantic to some, it was really super fun. Good to see Messiah in CZW again, as well as B-Boy. Best Sexxxy Eddy match I have seen. *** of spotfest fun.
2. Hallowicked vs. Andy Sumner vs. Jigsaw vs. Larry Sweeney
Wow, what a match. Sumner showed me something after a terrible first impression. His selling sucks but he didn’t screw anything up and hit a nice triple crippler crossface, Chikara style. Larry Sweeney was on point and busted out some good suplexes on Sumner. The double and triple teaming were great and the speed reminded me of Toryumon. Hallowicked wins with a fisherman’s powerbomb on Jigsaw, great run all the way through. ***
3. Justice Pain vs. El Generico
Quite a strange math-up. H8 club is calling out Canadians, hence the storyline for this match. Great opening sequence of both work and psychology and the announcers (Garagiulo & Bentley) put over the match and Justice pain’s return as important. This match is put over as important for both men. Pain is cocky and does a great job with portraying that in this match. Tapers a bit and then Pain kicks Generico’s ass around the arena, garbage style. Generico took a couple of nasty bumps onto chairs here. These gjys work together well, Generico’s offense goes off well, they use a chair here and there and it’s just right. Very cool finish. ***
4. Panes Of Glass - Nick Gage vs. Danny Havoc vs. DJ Hyde
Nick gage is a sick mother f’er. DJ Hyde got over his big man gimmick. And Danny Havoc took an ass beating of a lifetime. I thought he did the best job of all three selling like a fiend and taking some crazy bumps. ***
5. Super Dragon vs. Kevin Steen
The angles and promos before and after this match are great, adding to the ROH vs. CZW feud. The matcjh itself had a bunch of awesome spots as one would expect from a Super Dragon match, but it wasn’t paced well, very slow and lots of stalling from Steen. **1/2
6. Ladder Match - Sabian vs. Heretic vs. Cheech vs. Cloudy vs. Niles Young vs. Derek Frazier
I hated the start of this match because it simply wasn’t planned, and that’s where you wanna grab the attention and hold it. The rest of the match was fine if not sloppy and spotty. The finish was worked to give the winner the time he needed to get to the title and so I appreciated that but overall this was a mess. And my dislike for Young and Cloudy don’t help either. *1/2
7. Ruckus, Eddie Kingston & Necro Butcher vs. Matt Sydal, Roderick Strong & Austin Aries
Good heat going in. Great flippy exchange between Sydal and Ruckus, and then good psychology with Rod and Kingston. When Necro comes out the place explodes. The brawling is average. Ruckus overshoots an SSP on the outside and Kingston takes too long on a set-up, then makes a little mistake when he begs off from Sydal (CZW being the faces), not something you would notice unless you watch this at home. Ruckus has always been a fav and he does a good job but his offense isn’t that believable. Gen Next seemed to be holding back something. Necro makes the hot tag for some great headbutts, but damn, the guy can’t seem to take a wrestling move half the time. He sure hits one hell of a tigerbomb on Sydal, fo sho. I liked the finishing sequence but not the set-up, liked the post match angle. ***

1. Big Show & Kane (c) vs. Chris Masters & Carlito
World Tag Team Championships
A decent match, in fact, a fun little match. But that was it and I expected a title switch. I don’t agree with either direction of all four men in many ways. And does this mean Kane isn’t gonna become World Champion, as was/has been hinted by many? **
2. Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Ric Flair vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Shelton Benjamin- Money In The Bank Match
One of the most intrigueing matches on the show on many levels. Has the WWE hit upon a new annual match like this that can garner such interest? So many possibilities. Hard to say whether it lived up to expectations. I enjoyed the shit out of it. Give them 5-10 more mintes and it could have been awesome. ***
3.Chris Benoit (c) vs. JBL
US Title Match
Benoit’s aggression is so awesome to watch. It matches Samoa Joe, makes their matches seem so real. JBL does a good job, but I didn’t like the flash ending. They should have not made Benoit’s finisher so easy to swerve. he should have slapped it on at least three times followed by rope breaks before nJBL pulled that stunt with the ropes and proving that he couldn’t get out of the Crossface witout alot of effort. Jillian Hall looked hot in her cowboy hat, but WWE is doing something to me I never thought possible. They are putting me off of big boobs. I also didn’t care for JBL’s antics regarding Eddie Guerrero. It’s getting old and JBL was one of the first to admit how muh he liked and respected Eddie, so why go there again. Cheap heat. **1/2
4. Edge w/Lita vs. Mick Foley-
Hardcore Match
Great performance by Mick Foley in this match. Lots of good emotions. Throwing in the flaming table was a plus. Tight little match. Awesome ending. That’s how you put people over. Nice going, Mick. *** 1/2
5. Booker T & Sharmell vs. The Boogeyman-
Handicap Match
I liked the wormy smooch, but that was about it for this shitfest. *
6. Trish Stratus (c) vs. Mickie James-
Women’s World Title
Wow, what a great match with some great psychology and a psycho, purely schizophrenic crowd on hand to cheer for MICKIE! But damn, what a screwed up finish. It doesn’t take away from Mickie doing the oral sex “V” sign after grabbing a feel of Trish’s muff, one of my favorite Wrestlemania moments. *1/2
7.The Undertaker vs. Mark henry-
Casket Match
Cena and Trish are getting boo’ed, when the hell is the WWE fanbase gonna turn on the Deadman is what I wanna know. A lame match with just a few bright spots but overall a waste of time. Really went nowhere as a match or as a feud.
8. Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon
Grudge match
Vince basically got his ass beat by HBK, and that might have been fun to watch a few years ago, but it was pretty much color-by-numbers. The DX crotch shots was about the most entertaining moment here. The rest was typical garbage wrestling which sometimes makes me scratch my head. WWE being a proponent of hating on the garbage wrestling but then bust out the tin garbage cans and the tables for the Big Daddy of PPV’s seems illogical and hypocritical. **1/2
9. Kurt Angle (c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Triple Threat World Heavyweight Title Match
Wow, now this was not expected but certainly not impossible to understand. rey Mysterio getting boo’ed? I didn’t think that was possible, but the way he was booked for this match I see why in some small part, although maybe it had nothing at all to do with it. Was a solid match all around with just the missed post 619 by Rey, but he finished it strong with the springboard ranna roll-up. Angle was intense and Randy as arrogant and they did some good business in there but it was too short and three ways are so hard to work.***
10. Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle
Playboy Pillow Fight
Nobody gave a crap about this match. No surprise, but what about a “Chloe” chant? That dog is gonna bite someone one day. Poodles are crazy. They must be tranquing this dog for the stinkface spot. Much like the crwod was doped up for this abortion. 1/2*
11. John Cena (c) vs. Triple H
WWE Heavyweight Championship
At least it had heat. What more can you want from a vanilla flavored RAW style match that went without a hitch bad had no wrestling qualities whatsoever. Trips couldn’t pull a good match out of Cena and that is no surprise, as the last match I enjoyed from Cena was against Jericho. The crowd made this match. It really wasn’t special in any way, sadly. The entrance3s of King Conan Levesque will be remembered longer. **3/4

1 Keith Jardine vs. Mike Whitehead
2 Jeff Monson vs. Branden Lee Hinkle
3 Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Aldana
4 Alessio Sakara vs. Elvis Sinosic
5 Joe Riggs vs. Nick Diaz
6 Renato Sobral vs. Mike Van Arsdale
7 Marcio Cruz vs. Frank Mir
8 Brandon Vera vs. Justin Eilers
9 Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

*** A great card even though there weren’t any BLOW AWAY matches. Babalu was strong. The main event was emotional but sorta predictable.

1. Tom Murphy vs. Icho Larenas
2 Jason Lambert vs. Rob MacDonald
3 Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher
——————————————–
4 Mark Hominick vs. Yves Edwards
5 Nathan Marquardt vs. Joe Doerksen
6 Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn Decision
7 Mike Swick vs. Steve Vigneault
8 Rich Franklin vs. David Loiseau

*** I really thought BJ Penn won his match, but most people felt otherwise. I went to see this at Hooters with a friend somewhere in New Jersey. Fun times but certainly not a great card. Loiseau vs. Franklin was interesting but expected much more.

Alex Shelley defeated Jay Lethal;
Lance Hoyt defeated Matt Bentley w/Tracy Brooks;
Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) b The Naturals;
James Gang (Bob & BG & Kip) b Konnan/Homicide/Machete;
Chris Sabin b Sonjay Dutt and Petey Williams and Puma;
Jeff Jarrett/AMW/Abyss b Team 3-D/Rhino/Ron Killings;
Chris Daniels beat Samoa Joe and AJ Styles -Ultimate X-;
Christian Cage defeated Monty Brown -NWA World Title-;
Steve Bordon & Scott Steiner made shocking appearances!

*** The four way had a chance to be really really good but I guess it wasn’t meant to be, stll a very fun match. Christian’s seemingly boring title run so far and mediocre match with Monty Brown take away from what at first could have been a Wrestler of the Year run.