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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Best Matches of 2009

2009 is almost coming to a close so I thought I would reflect back and think about the best matches I had this year. I had an excellent opportunity to travel the world once again this year that I am very grateful for. I must say I had a really good year of quality matches but 5 really stick out as ones I am very proud of and will always remember. I really hope I have more to write about in 2010! Here are my favorite matches of 2009, in no particular order.

The Metal Master vs Alex Shelley part 1 in Omaha Nebraska
This match was at an outdoor Water park in Omaha, with probably about 500 in attendance. I hadn't wrestled Alex Shelly since 2003 when he first started and wow had he improved. This was the first match in years that my memory and conditioning was truly challenged. Alex has wrestled epic matches for TNA week after week for the past several years including matches in Japan at the Tokyo Dome and this one was no different. This night we went about 20 minutes with some classic technical British style wrestling at the beginning and some Japanese style nearfalls at the end. It had been years that I wrestled a more Japanese style match and I was quite proud of my performance and our result. Metal Master wins with the jackhammer!

The Metal Master vs Alex Shelley part 2 in Warrington, Iowa
This match was at Warrington High School and was a fundraiser for High School buses. Alex and I had a much different match tonight. The crowd was very hot and we had a very sound psychological match. More excellent mat wrestling at the beginning as you would expect out of me and Alex. What surprised me the most is how good I felt in these matches with Alex considering I hadn't been tested like this in a long time. This match was very psychologically sound with a slow build until a climactic finish and the fans were very appreciative and receptive for everything we did. We brought alot of emotion with back and forth chops, forearms, and kicks with many close nearfalls at the end but Alex won this one with the frog splash.

The Metal Master vs Bruiser Bradley (Aylesbury, England)
This match took place in Aylesbury, England and was the first time Bruiser and I had been in the ring since 1997 when he and Dean Malenko trained me in Tampa Florida. I hadn't even seen Bruiser since training let alone have a match together. We finally met up here and we picked up right where we left off. I felt totally comfortable in the ring with him and performed in a way in this match that I normally don't do in others due to trust issues. Crowd was "shit hot" for the entire match that included him whipping me with his bullrope, and me hitting a top rope moonsault onto him which I rarely do. No typical cheerleading in this match that you see in alot of British shows these days. Just good psychological hard fought back and forth pro wrestling. Finish saw Bradley hit me with the cowbell for the 1-2-3.

The Metal Master vs Mike Mondo (Louisville, KY, USA)
This match took place in the quarterfinals of the OVW TV title tournament. Mike and I had been looking forward to getting in the ring with each other for weeks and it really paid off. Danny Davis, the owner of OVW, told both of us after the match it was the best OVW match in the last 5 years. What a compliment considering all the great WWE talent that have been through the OVW territory!! We went 22 minutes in this match where I caught Mike in several Alloy Crossfaces but the final one made him tap out with only 30 seconds remaining in the TV match!!

The Metal Master vs Apoc (Frankfort, KY, USA)
It's too bad my matches with the talented Apoc were not in front of larger audiences because we really tore it up when we got in the ring together. Apoc is a very smart wrestler and is experienced in all forms of pro wrestling. This particular match took place at the Frankfort Civic Center in front of oh, about 65 people! We did alot of old school style wrestling at the beginning of the match that the fans in attendence really appreciated and probably hadn't seen in 20 years! I made a very hot comeback and pinned Apoc with the brainbuster.











Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Metal Master vs JT Starr

Here is a match between myself as Metal Master vs the talented JT Starr from this summer's HWA TV taping in Peoria, Illinois. The production quality of this match is outstanding and I have no idea if HWA is still doing TV. Enjoy the match and let me know what you think!