Featured image by @Namjunkzone
This review was commissioned by Hippoboy281 over on my Ko-fi account.
This is all mostly good.
I like Takeda a bunch but Janela really doesn’t do anything for me these days. In this match too, there’s an oddly measured quality to his performance. I can almost see the good intentions behind it–wanting to make everything feel purposeful and meaningful–but the reality of it here is that it just feels like it’s slowing things down. Janela ends up playing a more methodical foil to Takeda’s more energetic babyface, and it’s not the worst thing in the world but I really would rather they both just go crazy.
It doesn’t help that mechanically, Janela’s all over the place. A big spot early on is built around these two trading pretty middle of the road worked punches, but then later on Janela starts throwing more elbows to mixed effect (some bleh, others decently crunchy). Then there’s the really bad lulls both men have when it comes to setting up the plunder. Janela’s guilty of the worst one, leaving Takeda just waiting up on the ladder in the corner while he adds more crap onto a chair contraption in the center of the ring. There’s a lot I’m willing to let go of in deathmatch settings, but that much stood out as real shoddy.
There’s also the problem too that this is structured as a bit of a dream match without any of the follow through. Big bumps on the apron with no follow through, a bunch of big kick outs at the finish that do pop the crowd but don’t feel quite so earned on my end. It’s issues that pop in a lot of stuff and is easier to forgive when the emotion is there, but for something as cold as this (especially on my end), it’s all just way more annoying than usual. It also hurts that they’ve burned through all the best bits all before entering an extended finishing stretch that’s mostly just moves trading on the shattered glass. It’s all just a real mixed bag.
I will say that all the plunder shit does land nicely. Even here in a more muted setting, Takeda’s charisma carries a lot of this through, and Janela’s still willing and capable to eat his share of shit to make stuff look good. Really, that’s the least you could ask of them, but they do deliver that much. Most of this review comes off negative, but it really is pretty inoffensive as far as these go. Even as someone that didn’t love it, I can’t sit here and say it was the worst thing in the world. A little hollow, I guess, but not devoid of some mindless fun along the way.
Rating: ***
