by Exodus » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:39 am
I actually wrote a review of this match recently on another wrestling board. I called it the best Iron Man match of all-time:
I recently got a chance to see the PWG show 'Use Your Illusion 4', which was headlined by an hour-long Iron Man match between Super Dragon and Joey Ryan. Naturally, I had my doubts. Most 60 minute matches consist of nothing but restholds, or both wrestlers stalling a lot to waste time. Heck, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels had an hour-long match in PWG and it wasn't that great. Sometimes it's best just to do a very good normal match instead of giving a boring 60 minute match as a way to "prove yourself".
So I watch the match. I was expecting it to be pretty dull, but I was strill trying to keep an open-mind.
69 minutes later (they went into over-time because they were both tied at 3 falls apiece), and I'm completely floored. This was everything an Iron Man match should be. This should be the measuring stick when comparing all other Iron Man matches (sadly, this seems to be the match that gets the least coverage when comparing long matches).
Very little restholds were used, most of which were done in the first 5 minutes (kinda weird when you think about it). Even then, this was more of a feeling out process instead of a "we're tired and need to use a boring resthold" type of deal.
Psychology was used. Mid-way through the match, Ryan had just started working on Dragon's leg. Dragon fought back and gained the upper-hand. Finally, when Joey got the advantage again 10 minutes later, he remembered to go right back to the leg. He worked on that leg and put Dragon in a Figure Four, forcing him to submit. Then after SD submitted, Joey went back to the leg and put him in another Figure Four. That's smart wrestling there.
It told a great story. About 40 minutes in, Dragon was up 3 falls to none. Things looked bad for Joey Ryan. But Ryan played the underdog part to perfection and was able to fight back, finally tieing the score with only 5 minutes left.
- On an unrelated note, the commentary was hilarious. Apparently, Joey Ryan is a huge Christian, Dragon is an Atheist, and the referee is a Pagan who enjoys burning down churches in his spare time. Hahaha...
This match single-handedly made Joey Ryan a main eventer in my eyes. Before this, he was mainly a tag team wrestler, but this match made him look so good. I am now a fan of Joey Ryan.
Best of all, the match was entertaining. Yeah it had psychology, almost no restholds, told a good story, and elevated someone into the main event, but the entertainment value only adds to this awesome match. It may have been 69 minutes, but the time seemed to fly by.
So that is why I find this to be the best Iron Man match of all-time. If you ever get the chance, see this match.