No preamble this go, around, just On to the Real…
Note on dates: Review dates refer to my local timezone in the Philippines, match dates are based on the timezone each match occurred in.
The Queen of Villains
Reviewed: September 24, 2024
This take on Dump Matsumoto’s rise to prominence in the vaunted 1980s joshi scene deosn’t shy away from exaggeration. There are scenes of big bumps falling through concrete walls (non-wresting related), screwjobs get conjured from nowhere, and the mandatory AJW retirement age gets ignored entirely to be written off as wrestlers’ motivation instead. The character of Dump Matsumoto herself gets born in a torrential downpour as she runs in on a Crush Gals match in an unscripted attack.
All biopics participate in mythmaking, to one degree or another, and The Queen of Villains leans a little harder on it than most. But by committing itself to the melodrama and grander themes of pro wrestling–friendship, betrayal, all conveyed through violence–it does the best job of any wrestling media of actually getting across the appeal of the artform itself. Beyond just having some of the most impressive wrestling action by non-wrestlers for a piece like this, the show also gets across how important these matches are as narrative devices of their own. That may be what I love about The Queen of Villains most, is that it doesn’t trivialize the pro wrestling match, but rather makes it both means and ends of the narrative.
In few places does this shine most than the famed 1/4/83 Korakuen bout between Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka. In it, Kaoru reflects on the idea that stars in wrestling simply begin to shine, and the show depicts that wonderfully through Chigusa’s more hard-hitting approach to the match bringing Korakuen to its feet. Again, a little ahistorical (it’s a great match but the Korakuen crowd isn’t quite as pitched in the footage we have), but it captures the soul of the moment, and of pro wrestling as a whole so well.
The whole thing lives and dies off the backs of Yurian Retriever’s performance as Dump. She’s a wonder in the role, sweet and aspirational to start and really throwing herself into the more deranged and menacing aspect of the Dump Matsumoto gimmick. The show treats Dump and Kaoru as two sides of the same coin here, with the former being indicative of Kaoru’s own innate insecurities and struggles within the industry. It’s perhaps a hamfisted choice, but it gives us such fun moments as Dump forcefully shaving off half of Keiko Nakano’s hair to give her that first really iconic Bull Nakano look.
Perhaps its best contribution overall though has been the renewed interest in 80s joshi in general. Anything that sparks an interest in historical wrestling, especially a period in time as important as this, should be seen as an absolute win for the industry and culture as a whole. For those only now discovering that era, I can’t recommend Kadaveri’s 80s joshi set enough, and there’s a whole lot of footage beyond that just waiting to be enjoyed. Don’t stop at the gates, friend, walk through, we’ve kept them open for you.
Jun Akiyama vs. Makoto Oishi (DDT Dramatic Infinity Tour in Osaka – Takeshi Masada Homecoming 9/7/24)
Reviewed: September 17, 2024
What a neat little thing this turned out to be. These two had a great singles match back in 2020, and this feels really in spirit with that. Specifically, it’s about Oishi, this undersized DDT midcarder, trying to topple puro legend Jun Akiyama. Akiyama feels a little less mobile than he did even in 2020, and this is lower stakes than even that bout, but they produce something incredibly organic feeling as it develops. Oishi’s game is about trying to take out Akiyama’s legs, and while he’s really only nothing more than a bug buzzing at the big man’s ear, it’s still a solid enough strategy that he returns to over and over. Oishi also endures a lot more than one might expect, eating those big knees from Akiyama and even a couple of exploders before finally going down in the end. A perfectly enjoyable midcard bout.
Rating: ***¾
Volador Jr, Mascara Dorada, & Neon vs. Rocky Romero, Barbaro Cavernario, & Zandokan Jr (CMLL Martes de Arena Mexico 9/17/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
As much as I’ve praised CMLL and its reliance on the trios match, there’s a few problems that can arise from that booking pattern. The main one is how uneven the talent level can be in certain established trios combinations. A big victim of this would be Barbaro Cavernario, someone who does get utilized in the regular upper midcard rotation of the company, but’s always saddled with someone like Terrible who I just have no interest in watching at all. That’s what makes matches like this Tuesday main event such a breath of fresh air, it’s CMLL getting out of its own way and just throwing together six of their better talents into the proven formula.
It rules, shock of shocks. Neon and Cav are an especially fun combo here in the early goings of the bout, but there’s a lot of history to enjoy here too with Volador Jr and Dorada’s respective histories with Rocky Romero. It’s just a breezy display of what happens when capable talent is just given the room to ply their craft.
Rating: ***¾
Mark Briscoe vs. Bryan Keith (AEW Rampage 9/20/24)
Reviewed: September 21, 2024
I will gladly admit that my enjoyment of this comes from a little projection narrative-wise, but I think it holds when we see what these two put out. It is a real shame that Bryan Keith has been caught with Chris Jericho, but that little wrinkle of where BK is and where he could be shines even here. For one, I really enjoy BK’s cheating tactics early on. The transition into his heat is especially nasty, not only delivering the bad vibes interruption of Chicken’s chair launch pad tope but then following up with a real vicious low blow. BK’s great about making the control feel vicious too, thrashing Mark around the ringside area while also consistently doing underhanded things like going to the eyes.
It’s in the comeback and finishing stretch that this develops into something incredibly strong for me. Where the first half is something of a classic American TV bout, the latter half taps into the BK we know a little better. Briscoe’s own heavy handed striking and chops really awakens the more fiery side of Bryan Keith. Their exchanges here are really crackling, and while the stand and trade doesn’t suit the cheating heel BK was, it does suit who we wish BK could be away from Jericho. Even taking that little narrative away from it, it’s also still just a vicious beating these two start to lay in with some real believable false finishes peppered in as well such as BK’s Emerald Tiger Driver not going through and instead turning into his second flash knee strike. Great match from one of America’s best television workers in Mark and someone we hope for better things with in BK.
Rating: ****
Templario, Atlantis Jr, & Titan vs. Gran Guerrero, Ultimo Guerrero, & Stuka Jr (CMLL Super Viernes 9/20/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
Another entry in the “great CMLL trios” catalogue. At this point, I’ve written enough about these things for the obvious things to remain true. Rudos cheat and apply their heat, tecnicos come back with their dazzling high flying. In this case, there’s a few neat details that stand out for this specific bout. First is the use of Kemalito for heat. Ultimo Guerrero’s great for this, not only immediately antagonizing Kemalito in the primera, but then following up with that gorgeous dropkick to Kemalito on the apron in the segunda. Also worth noting is just how great the tecnico comeback and finishing stretch is in this. They really push the pace here in a way that stands out even against other similar CMLL trios. Perhaps the biggest driving force on that end is Atlantis Jr who has a truly spectacular run in the tercera dodging and thrashing the rudos all leading up to that signature series of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. Lovely stuff.
Rating: ****
Mistico vs. Averno (CMLL Super Viernes 9/20/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
Been a rough week for Mistico. Getting sidelined at Aniversario for a Jericho/Cassidy angle while also turning out a poorly received match in the main event means that when Mistico returned to the arena on Monday night, he actually got boos when paired against presumed successor Mascara Dorada. This match acts as something of a reset then. Mistico against a well-established rudo who he has proven chemistry with. It all works, this is about as template a Mistico singles match as can be, but Averno has always slotted into that template especially well. For one, Averno’s viciousness always makes for a strong heat segment. Here we get some nastiness like tossing Mistico into the barricades and real insistent mask tearing as well. But then he also slips so well into the basing any Mistico opponent needs to do, making all those big comebacks feel smooth as butter.
Rating: ***¾
Hechicero, Barbaro Cavernario, & Valiente vs. Euforia, Soberano Jr, & Esfinge (CMLL Super Viernes 9/20/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
What the Aniversario apuesta wrrestlers have really achieved in the last month or so has been this real combustible sense of chaos about them that doesn’t always happen in modern CMLL. It’s not quite the gang warfare of turn of the century CMLL, but it’s the closest we’ve gotten in a little while. There’s almost no structure to be spoken of here as this feels much more like an all out brawl and fight than anything we’ve seen from CMLL this year. It’s all over the place but in a way I think suits it rather than detracts. There’s a real sense of animosity here. It all centers around Hechicero and Euforia, of course, but even the bit players have their chemistry like the continued rivalry between Esfinge and Valiente. Cav and Soberano Jr are such great additions to the mix too with the former being charming enough to be on the somewhat heroic side while the latter is a well-practiced rudo at this point. Messy, yes, but in the best way possible.
Rating: ***¾
Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara vs. Mike Bennett & Matt Taven (AEW Collision 9/21/24)
Reviewed: September 24, 2024
The perfect use of everyone’s talents. For Sammy Guevara, it’s about hitting all his crazy bumps and stunts. That big ladder bump to the floor, the climactic Swanton, he’s never given anything he can’t handle in this situation and it works wonderfully. As for Taven and Bennett, they’ve both been really good TV tag stooges in the past year (especially in their work alongside Roderick Strong) and that’s all they need to do here too. There’s hardly any extended heel heat, in fact, thye get almost nothing in here. It’s a great example of what a stipulation blow off like this should feel like: placed on an even playing field, the villains discover that they’re so truly out of their depth. They bump, they bleed, and the brief advantages they get always feel stolen.
Ah then, Dustin Rhodes. The Natural still putting on great matches after all this time. He’s a delight here. He’s the one bringing a lot of that old school spirit to this with his offense. He throws such beautiful punches, bleeds so wonderfully, orchestrates the emotion of the crowd with little touches like posing with his father’s belt or riling them up before the barbed wire Shattered Dreams in the corner. So great to have one of the all-timers still rocking with us in 2024 and bringing everyone around him up to his level.
Rating: ****
Jake Something vs. Mad Dog Connelly (DPW Carolina Classic 2024 9/22/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
Not quite your full Mad Dog special as he has to accomplish a couple of things here. The first is to make a debut, get himself over with the DPW crowd. The second, perhaps more importantly in this case, is to get Jake Something over as he’s on the path to winning the titular tournament here. He does a really admirable job accomplishing both here. On the first point, we get a lot of the hard hits one wants from a Mad Dog bout and he also brings that roughness around the edges taht make his matches feel so much more violent than his other contemporaries. That said, he balances it well with always using those moments to only emphasize Something’s own best qualities.
Mad Dog tests Something here, applying the stiff strikes to give the guy something to overcome. And yet, some of the best moments come from how Mad Dog conveys how difficult it is to get anything in on Something at all. Among my favorite moments include how Mad Dog had to work to disrupt Something’s rope running sequence. I love how Mad Dog does it in stages, trying to catch Something by hitting the ropes himself, then the attempted drop down, then finally that big powerslam. More of a utility performance from Mad Dog than the showcase we might want, but proof of how well he can achieve even that.
Rating: ***¾
Timothy Thatcher vs. LaBron Kozone (DPW Carolina Classic 2024 9/22/24)
Reviewed: September 23, 2024
Thatcher becoming more of a rarity on the US indies means that he’s primed for the role he plays here. Much like Mad Dog in the opener, Thatcher feels like an outsider, which means he works in service of the home talent here, but also he’s so experienced and talented that there’s a real level of gravitas to him as a big challenge. Even moreso than Mad Dog, Thatcher feels like a big test for the DPW homeboy, and he really makes Kozone work for everything here without ever necessarily outshining him.
Thatcher makes it look easy to control Kozone on the match using his catch stylings. It’s what we expect from him, even as he audibly antagonizes the crowd in attendance and Kozone himself. That’s what makes it feel so good when Kozone’s able to outdo Thatcher, never quite surpass him but always hold his own and finding his way out of Thatcher’s clutches. He uses a combination of power and fundamental technique to survive Thatcher on the mat, and that much proficiency shakes Thatcher’s confidence. Thatch regularly retreats to the floor, constantly restrategizing how to go after Kozone here.
And my god, Thatcher really does so much to make this match sing. Outside of the borderline stooging, there’s just a million tiny touches on the mat that work so well. Whether it’s locking up with Kozone so tight that one can hear it land like a strike, or those vicious elbows down on the mat when he he escapes Kozone, or even the way Thatcher avoids Kozone trying to pick his leg, Thatcher feels so comfortably in his own league without ever stealing too much of Kozone’s shine.
Structurally too, what a delight this is. It’s genius in that they very naturally build to a finish: Kozone hitting that first Ball Game after surviving Thatcher on the mat and flustering the veteran. But then they’re clever enough to add a little twist that just progresses the match even further. Much as he did against Adam Priest with the errant 450, Kozone injures his own body nailing a move so hard, this time the arm. Thatcher latches onto the injured body and attacks it with his trademark ferocity.
Shoutout Kozone here though, his selling makes this back half work so well. Incredibly mindful and dedicated all throughout. His only strike to interrupt Thatcher’s control comes with his good arm, and the bad arm looks practically useless for the entire finishing stretch. It’s only with that miraculous final Ball Game that he nails full force that he gets out with the big win. I love that they don’t extend it much further than that, Kozone sacrifices himself to get the big blow in and that’s all it took. Thatcher overcommitted to the arm, but Kozone created distance, hit his shot and moved on.
Fantastic stuff, so beautifully airtight and well-executed by both men. Kozone’s development and rise through the company continues to move at exactly the right paise, always rising to the occasion of the opportunities given him. And Thatcher, once again, makes crafting something this great look almost effortless. One of the best in the world helping pave a path for those next in line.
Rating: ****¼
