We span most of the summer, actually June to right before SummerSlam with a smattering of matches around the spectrum of feds and brands. ROH, ECW, Chikara, DGUSA and Smackdown are represented here. Let's take a look.
And as always, if you don't see something on here that you think should be on here, speak up, because I may not have seen it. I'm always up for a recommendation or two!
6/19, at a ROH on HDNet television taping
Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black
I've made no secret of my disdain for Tyler Black, but I have to call it like I see it sometimes. This was a wonderful match, I'm guessing because Black and Nigel had such great chemistry together. Nigel worked with the stiffness, as always, and Black did some impressive indieriffic head-dropping. All in all a pretty good cap to an eventful round of tapings, which I'll remember most for unsuccessfully trying to get a "MISAWA! MISAWA!" chant going after anyone hit an elbow or a Tiger Driver.
7/25, from Dragon Gate USA's Open the Historic Gate
The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) vs. CIMA and Susumu Yokosuka
If I were pressed to name a match of the year, I'd probably go with this one. Just a masterful match from beginning to end, mind-blowing aerial moves, CIMA going balls to the wall with all his classic moves, the spot of the year with one of the Bucks almost getting split in two on a guard-rail assist double stomp from the DG imports... this match epitomized the card and set the tone that DGUSA was going to be the company to provide premium wrestling to American fans.
8/4, ECW Championship Hardcore Match from ECW on Sci-Fi
Christian (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer
This was shortly after Christian regained the ECW Championship from Dreamer, and the Innovator of Violence got his rematch in a hardcore affair. The weaponry didn't get in the way of the action, but acted as enhancement for the story being told in the ring. The last visual with Christian pinning Dreamer underneath a car door was amazing. Even though Dreamer is leaving active competition to be a road agent in TNA, he showed that even at the end, he could still go with the best of them.
8/16, Golden Dream Triangle Trios Match from Chikara's Young Lions Cup VII Night 3
Fire Ant, Hallowicked and Arik Cannon vs. Jigsaw, Equinox and Helios vs. Chuck Taylor, STIGMA and Vin Gerard
Trios wrestling is one of Chikara's specialities, but even I was a bit skeptical at the nine-man three-way trios match that was about to unfold at YLC VII. I was very pleasantly surprised. The match was most notable for Fire Ant nearly destroying his body on a tope to the outside where he bent the guard rail, for the massively awesome chain spots and for a series of bodyslams that ended with referee extraordinaire and Nobel Peace Prize candidate Bryce Remsburg bodyslamming Chuck Taylor. Fun, fun match.
8/21 (airdate), from Smackdown
Rey Mysterio, Shad Gaspard and JTG vs. Chris Jericho, the Big Show and Dolph Ziggler
Back before Smackdown became a festering shithole of suck dominated by a boring dead Champion, Scrooge McPoyle uglying up the midcard and the ugliest woman on the Divas roster making fun of the most talented one for being fat, Smackdown had some really, really good wrestling. In the go-home show for SummerSlam, they had a trios match of their own, teasing tensions for both the Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championship matches. Even by free TV standards, it was pretty intense, a lot of great near falls, a lot of wow moments and a finish that included maybe Big Show's best KTFO punch ever on Rey Mysterio. I may have missed a bulk of the Jericho/Mysterio series from earlier in the summer, but this helped to ease that disappointment.
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
