Post by PdW2kX on Aug 19, 2007 0:49:53 GMT -5
Notez: After about a month off, I'm back to the reviewin'. Pretty simple, too: I review, you rate and give feedback. Be harsh if you must, because any type of feedback is always appreciated. I know must of us are saying "Who is Markus Riot?", but let's have the review speak for itself. Two final notes: I hope to get an interview up with Markus before long, and after this I'm going to be reviewing a bunch (eight shows) of mid-90's AJPW stuff. Should be fun. Again, any and all comments/questions/etc. are appreciated.
Art Over Life Studios Presents "The Best of Markus Riot"
Assorted Dates and Events
Team EPIC (Bo Cooper and Tony Kozina)(With Gary Yap and Ms. EPIC) vs. Scorpio Sky and Markus Riot
Scorpio and Bo Cooper stalemate each other until Bo nails a massive sidewalk slam. Bo Cooper completely plows through Markus, to the point where he hits a clothesline so hard you can actually hear his arm snapping off of Riot. Kozina does much of the same, at least until Markus hits a beauty of an Ace Crusher after long minutes of getting his ass handed to him. One hat tag and cluster-**** later, Kozina de-masks Scorpio (which leaves him face-down for the remainder of the match) while Bo Cooper ends up giving a Death Valley Driver to Markus, through a table. Gary Yap comes in and pins Markus in a very heelish maneuver.
Analysis: A pretty good match, but Markus was basically in the "newcomer gets his ass seriously handed to him" role. I've always loved Scorpio Sky, as well as Bo Cooper, and both of them did their thing well: Sky had some great agility but brought a lot of credibility to his striking, especially for a man his size. Bo lived up to his nickname "Brawlin", but was an effective brawler. I'm not much of a fan of Tony Kozina, but he had a few things on his side as well. Markus still felt a bit green, but he had flashes of something more, every now and then. All together it forms a good tag team match and not a bad opener. **¾
Markus Riot vs. Jack Evans
After a small period of feeling each other out, Markus badly, badly, badly, badly ****s up a Huracanrana-to-the-outside spot when his knees buckle. As a personal friend of Markus, it's downright painful to watch. Markus attempts to save himself and the match with a vicious powerbomb onto a chair, sending them both to the floor where both stay down. While it's an effective thing to do in-character, you can practically feel Markus lying on the floor in shame and kicking himself in the head mentally for botching something so badly. Back inside the ring, Markus nails a nice Inverted Suplex and a Leaping Leg Lariat on his long road to redemption for that match-killing botch. After a huge lariat that gets 2¾, Markus is spiked on his head with a Dragon Suplex. Jack gets aerial, and spices things up with impressive flips as he continues to drop Markus on his head. After a bit of a back-and-forth struggle to come out the winner, Jack hits a picture-perfect 630° Splash to pick up the victory.
Analysis: It's unfortunate that the most-notable thing about this match is a huge match-killing botch, and that's said both as a friend and a reviewer. Markus had to find his flow (which involved getting comfortable in the ring with Jack, who he considers his mentor) before he can really cut loose. When Markus stopped holding back, though, he mixed really well with Jack. Markus seemed a bit unsure of himself in the early-goings, especially after the horrible botch, but he rapidly picked up the pace and his game improves because of it. Then again, I suppose someone dropping you on your head numerous times is an effective way to say "Stop holding back". Did the match save itself from certain doom? Yes. Did it completely cover up and/or make amends for a botch that (to me) is almost as cringe-inducing as the "Shooting-Self Press"? No. But, in the end, did I like the match? Yes. All told, yes I did. **¾
Markus Riot vs. Junior
Junior out-quicks Markus in a quickness exchange…until Markus just throws him into a corner. Junior stiffs Markus Riot for a bit, but Markus hits a massive Spinebuster. Junior tries one of those "Rebound Off the Ropes Flip Attack" spots, but Markus catches him and nails a gigantic Release German Suplex. Junior responds with an Inverted Huracanrana that completely spikes Markus's head, and follows it up with an incredibly fluid Yoshi Tonic for 2½. After an exchange of offense, Junior hits a Fireman's Carry into an Ace Crusher for an even-closer 2¾. Markus counters another Fireman's-Carry-to-Ace-Crusher into his finisher, the L.A. Riot, which is a Inverted DDT lift into an Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. It gets the win.
Analysis: After the first two matches showed more of Markus's hidden potential than his actual skill, it's great to see him really let loose and go full-tilt. This was a really good match-up, and produced an entertaining couple of minutes. Both men really showed some promise: while Junior came off as too much of an AJ Styles character for my taste, he's a good Luchador that was very crisp and executed everything with style. Markus can really shine if he has it in him to go balls-out from the get go, and in this match he was an interesting mix of an American-influenced quasi-Luchador as well as a Strong Style-influenced indy wrestler. It was definitely a fine match. ***
Markus Riot vs. Super Dragon
Riot completely goes off on Super Dragon with all kinds of nasty stiffness, hoping to cut him off before Dragon can bring about all that "death and destruction" we all love him so much for. Super Dragon responds by working the legs and stretching Markus… and stiffing him unmercifully of course. But that's a given. To his credit, Markus is able to hit some highspots, including a Suicide Somersault Senton to the floor. Super Dragon responds with a powerbomb onto the bleachers, and from then on Super Dragon is in complete control, until Markus nails a desperation Huracanrana, sending Super Dragon into the turnbuckles. Markus has just a small bit of trouble setting it up, but he hits a fantastic Wheelbarrow-into-Springboard-Tornado-DDT for 2½. Markus follows it up with a beautiful 180° Peach 'Rana for 2½, but gets a back full of knees when he tries a Somersault Senton. Super Dragon nearly beheads Markus with a lariat before delivering an ultra-sick Psycho Driver to get the win.
Analysis: Markus really stepped it up in this match. It was a great match that had a story all its own: Markus was basically scared of Super Dragon because…well…Markus was a rookie, and it's ****ing Super Dragon. But once Dragon began to show signs of weakness, Markus gave it his all, hoping against hope that he could do the unthinkable and pull out a win over SoCal's favorite son. Super Dragon proves why he is the reigning King of SoCal with moves so cringe-inducing that it's almost impossible to believe he's able to tie a fantastic match with solid storytelling around all that pain and viciousness. Markus proved he can hang with the stars of the SoCal scene, given the chance. I liked the stiffness, loved the story, liked the back-and-forth drama, and overall, I was pretty impressed. ***¼
"The Rocky Balboa Challenge": "The Modern Day Warrior" Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot
Basically, it's a #1 Contender's match, with whoever wins getting a title shot at the next show. The two competitors do a lot of ground grappling to begin with, and then Riot hits a suicide dive- with emphasis on the "suicide". There's some contact, but basically, Charles Mercury ducks (and I'm not joking, he even covers his head with his hands) and Riot goes flying past him, crashing into the guardrail nearly spine-first. I get some sick, morbid fun from a little girl getting ushered to get out of the way- after her brother just got clipped by Riot- and opting to grab her purse first. I mean… you're just a little kid, and there's a large man flying upside-down at you, and then you notice your brother's been hit…and what do you do? Instead of getting the **** out of there, you grab your purse and casually walk away. But I digress, and the match soon continues, with Riot even managing to come back from his suicide attempt with numerous harsh moves like Double Stomps and plenty of stiff shots. Even so, Mercury drills Riot with a <B>nasty</b> suplex to the outside floor, but Markus is able to hit a (admittedly not good) Standing Shooting Star Press for 2½. In an admittedly fine-ass moment of wrestling, Riot reverses a sidewalk slam, counters into an Ace Crusher, holds on, rolls over, lifts back up into a Dragon Sleeper position, then picks up Mercury for the L.A. Riot, an Inverted Suplex, into a murdering, neck-cracking Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. Both men then get a bunch of near-falls on each other, but it's Charles Mercury that gets the win in the end, following three swinging backdrops that all plant Riot right square on his neck.
Analysis: I have to admit, this one really grew on me. In my own unique way of brutal honesty, I'll be blunt: both men exhausted themselves in the opening minutes of the match, or seemed like it, but still managed to tough it out. Some parts stalled for a while, most of them stemming from Riot's out-of-ring accident, but some were just due to bad time management. Sometimes, though, these two had a great flow with one another and knew exactly the next thing they should do in order to help get each other over. There was some occasional botching and miscommunication, but both men showed a lot of heart. I honestly feel the match is going to hit-or-miss depending on how harshly you view it. Here's what I think: it had its problems, but it also had this "indy-small-time-but-still-excellent" appeal. Consequently, if you're looking for detractors, you'll get some stalling, blown spots, occasional "what do we do now?" moments of confusion, and you may even be bored at times. But on the positive side, the match had an incredible aura of unpredictability at the end, with a "do or die" atmosphere that nothing else on the card would top. For the last five minutes, maybe more, I knew that virtually anything could end the match, with every near-fall and false-finish adding to the importance of the match. Bottom line, both men wanted to win so badly that they pushed themselves far past their limits, and in Riot's case, he basically almost killed himself and kept going. Charles Mercury ending the match with a middle-finger to the crowd while he was scoring the pinfall also sent a clear, concrete message that he was a serious contender. Whether you personally end up liking the match or not, I believe it became increasingly better with time, and all told, would win Match of the Night honors. ***¼
"Colors Bars" Bonus Match: Markus Riot vs. Sexy Chino
A staple of Art Over Life Studios DVD's, the "Color Bars" are hidden extra's included in the DVD's, available after fast-forwarding through…you guessed it…color bars. Markus is decidedly heel in this match, with chokes and the "attempted handshake leads to a sucker punch" spot and such. Chino makes an inevitable comeback, including hitting an Ore Ga Taue that both surprised and interested me, but Markus soon whips him down with a harsh Spinebuster. Markus nails the L.A. Riot, but clips the referee. After Markus tries some interference only to have it backfire, Chino hits a Sheer Drop DDT for the win.
Analysis: It was a nice little match, with bits of comedy here and there. It's not a huge extra, but it does display a different side of Markus that he does manage to pull off well: the cheesy, over-confident, smart-mouthed heel. Since he's wrestling for a Hispanic kid-friendly crowd, especially against someone called "Sexy Chino", it works. It was a laid-back, less-serious heel Markus Riot, but still a Markus Riot that I enjoyed seeing. **¾
Final Thoughts: As a personal friend of Markus Riot- and I'm not saying that to brag, but to be honest so people can understand where I'm coming from- it's tough to point out all the flaws of someone who was obviously at the start of their career when this "Best Of" was compiled. Does Markus Riot impress? At the end of the compilation, my feeling is a big, positive yes. Does this compilation show, somewhat unfortunately, the evolution of an ultra-green rookie to someone that can really go places in the next few years? It's a double-edged sword, but that's a "yes" as well.
What I mean is thus: if you can forgive a rookie for making rookie mistakes, you're in for some good matches detailing the early start of a SoCal wrestler who you'll hopefully see going places in the next few years. Markus will no doubt agree with me in saying that he hasn't made a huge name for himself yet, but he's only 19 and already has some great matches under his belt. So, who knows what the future holds? I, personally, wish him all the best. If you can get through a seriously painful botch in the match with Jack Evans, from then on the compilation really picks up steam with good-to-pretty-good matches with Junior, Charles Mercury, and the one-and-only Super Dragon. The initial two matches aren't that bad, either, but you're able to easily point out some rookie mistakes.
All told, I'm glad I bought this. Having recently been faced with eight huge DVD's of Japanese wrestling for an upcoming ultra-set of reviews that I'll be doing as a column on the MVZone, it was refreshing, exciting, and even cathartic to review a DVD of a friend before I plunge head-first into hours upon hours of classic, brain-explodinginly-awesome 90's All Japan footage. Markus has his strengths and weaknesses, but in the end the boy's all class and most of the matches here will entertain you.
Final Rating for "The Best of Markus Riot": ***
Art Over Life Studios Presents "The Best of Markus Riot"
Assorted Dates and Events
Team EPIC (Bo Cooper and Tony Kozina)(With Gary Yap and Ms. EPIC) vs. Scorpio Sky and Markus Riot
Scorpio and Bo Cooper stalemate each other until Bo nails a massive sidewalk slam. Bo Cooper completely plows through Markus, to the point where he hits a clothesline so hard you can actually hear his arm snapping off of Riot. Kozina does much of the same, at least until Markus hits a beauty of an Ace Crusher after long minutes of getting his ass handed to him. One hat tag and cluster-**** later, Kozina de-masks Scorpio (which leaves him face-down for the remainder of the match) while Bo Cooper ends up giving a Death Valley Driver to Markus, through a table. Gary Yap comes in and pins Markus in a very heelish maneuver.
Analysis: A pretty good match, but Markus was basically in the "newcomer gets his ass seriously handed to him" role. I've always loved Scorpio Sky, as well as Bo Cooper, and both of them did their thing well: Sky had some great agility but brought a lot of credibility to his striking, especially for a man his size. Bo lived up to his nickname "Brawlin", but was an effective brawler. I'm not much of a fan of Tony Kozina, but he had a few things on his side as well. Markus still felt a bit green, but he had flashes of something more, every now and then. All together it forms a good tag team match and not a bad opener. **¾
Markus Riot vs. Jack Evans
After a small period of feeling each other out, Markus badly, badly, badly, badly ****s up a Huracanrana-to-the-outside spot when his knees buckle. As a personal friend of Markus, it's downright painful to watch. Markus attempts to save himself and the match with a vicious powerbomb onto a chair, sending them both to the floor where both stay down. While it's an effective thing to do in-character, you can practically feel Markus lying on the floor in shame and kicking himself in the head mentally for botching something so badly. Back inside the ring, Markus nails a nice Inverted Suplex and a Leaping Leg Lariat on his long road to redemption for that match-killing botch. After a huge lariat that gets 2¾, Markus is spiked on his head with a Dragon Suplex. Jack gets aerial, and spices things up with impressive flips as he continues to drop Markus on his head. After a bit of a back-and-forth struggle to come out the winner, Jack hits a picture-perfect 630° Splash to pick up the victory.
Analysis: It's unfortunate that the most-notable thing about this match is a huge match-killing botch, and that's said both as a friend and a reviewer. Markus had to find his flow (which involved getting comfortable in the ring with Jack, who he considers his mentor) before he can really cut loose. When Markus stopped holding back, though, he mixed really well with Jack. Markus seemed a bit unsure of himself in the early-goings, especially after the horrible botch, but he rapidly picked up the pace and his game improves because of it. Then again, I suppose someone dropping you on your head numerous times is an effective way to say "Stop holding back". Did the match save itself from certain doom? Yes. Did it completely cover up and/or make amends for a botch that (to me) is almost as cringe-inducing as the "Shooting-Self Press"? No. But, in the end, did I like the match? Yes. All told, yes I did. **¾
Markus Riot vs. Junior
Junior out-quicks Markus in a quickness exchange…until Markus just throws him into a corner. Junior stiffs Markus Riot for a bit, but Markus hits a massive Spinebuster. Junior tries one of those "Rebound Off the Ropes Flip Attack" spots, but Markus catches him and nails a gigantic Release German Suplex. Junior responds with an Inverted Huracanrana that completely spikes Markus's head, and follows it up with an incredibly fluid Yoshi Tonic for 2½. After an exchange of offense, Junior hits a Fireman's Carry into an Ace Crusher for an even-closer 2¾. Markus counters another Fireman's-Carry-to-Ace-Crusher into his finisher, the L.A. Riot, which is a Inverted DDT lift into an Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. It gets the win.
Analysis: After the first two matches showed more of Markus's hidden potential than his actual skill, it's great to see him really let loose and go full-tilt. This was a really good match-up, and produced an entertaining couple of minutes. Both men really showed some promise: while Junior came off as too much of an AJ Styles character for my taste, he's a good Luchador that was very crisp and executed everything with style. Markus can really shine if he has it in him to go balls-out from the get go, and in this match he was an interesting mix of an American-influenced quasi-Luchador as well as a Strong Style-influenced indy wrestler. It was definitely a fine match. ***
Markus Riot vs. Super Dragon
Riot completely goes off on Super Dragon with all kinds of nasty stiffness, hoping to cut him off before Dragon can bring about all that "death and destruction" we all love him so much for. Super Dragon responds by working the legs and stretching Markus… and stiffing him unmercifully of course. But that's a given. To his credit, Markus is able to hit some highspots, including a Suicide Somersault Senton to the floor. Super Dragon responds with a powerbomb onto the bleachers, and from then on Super Dragon is in complete control, until Markus nails a desperation Huracanrana, sending Super Dragon into the turnbuckles. Markus has just a small bit of trouble setting it up, but he hits a fantastic Wheelbarrow-into-Springboard-Tornado-DDT for 2½. Markus follows it up with a beautiful 180° Peach 'Rana for 2½, but gets a back full of knees when he tries a Somersault Senton. Super Dragon nearly beheads Markus with a lariat before delivering an ultra-sick Psycho Driver to get the win.
Analysis: Markus really stepped it up in this match. It was a great match that had a story all its own: Markus was basically scared of Super Dragon because…well…Markus was a rookie, and it's ****ing Super Dragon. But once Dragon began to show signs of weakness, Markus gave it his all, hoping against hope that he could do the unthinkable and pull out a win over SoCal's favorite son. Super Dragon proves why he is the reigning King of SoCal with moves so cringe-inducing that it's almost impossible to believe he's able to tie a fantastic match with solid storytelling around all that pain and viciousness. Markus proved he can hang with the stars of the SoCal scene, given the chance. I liked the stiffness, loved the story, liked the back-and-forth drama, and overall, I was pretty impressed. ***¼
"The Rocky Balboa Challenge": "The Modern Day Warrior" Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot
Basically, it's a #1 Contender's match, with whoever wins getting a title shot at the next show. The two competitors do a lot of ground grappling to begin with, and then Riot hits a suicide dive- with emphasis on the "suicide". There's some contact, but basically, Charles Mercury ducks (and I'm not joking, he even covers his head with his hands) and Riot goes flying past him, crashing into the guardrail nearly spine-first. I get some sick, morbid fun from a little girl getting ushered to get out of the way- after her brother just got clipped by Riot- and opting to grab her purse first. I mean… you're just a little kid, and there's a large man flying upside-down at you, and then you notice your brother's been hit…and what do you do? Instead of getting the **** out of there, you grab your purse and casually walk away. But I digress, and the match soon continues, with Riot even managing to come back from his suicide attempt with numerous harsh moves like Double Stomps and plenty of stiff shots. Even so, Mercury drills Riot with a <B>nasty</b> suplex to the outside floor, but Markus is able to hit a (admittedly not good) Standing Shooting Star Press for 2½. In an admittedly fine-ass moment of wrestling, Riot reverses a sidewalk slam, counters into an Ace Crusher, holds on, rolls over, lifts back up into a Dragon Sleeper position, then picks up Mercury for the L.A. Riot, an Inverted Suplex, into a murdering, neck-cracking Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. Both men then get a bunch of near-falls on each other, but it's Charles Mercury that gets the win in the end, following three swinging backdrops that all plant Riot right square on his neck.
Analysis: I have to admit, this one really grew on me. In my own unique way of brutal honesty, I'll be blunt: both men exhausted themselves in the opening minutes of the match, or seemed like it, but still managed to tough it out. Some parts stalled for a while, most of them stemming from Riot's out-of-ring accident, but some were just due to bad time management. Sometimes, though, these two had a great flow with one another and knew exactly the next thing they should do in order to help get each other over. There was some occasional botching and miscommunication, but both men showed a lot of heart. I honestly feel the match is going to hit-or-miss depending on how harshly you view it. Here's what I think: it had its problems, but it also had this "indy-small-time-but-still-excellent" appeal. Consequently, if you're looking for detractors, you'll get some stalling, blown spots, occasional "what do we do now?" moments of confusion, and you may even be bored at times. But on the positive side, the match had an incredible aura of unpredictability at the end, with a "do or die" atmosphere that nothing else on the card would top. For the last five minutes, maybe more, I knew that virtually anything could end the match, with every near-fall and false-finish adding to the importance of the match. Bottom line, both men wanted to win so badly that they pushed themselves far past their limits, and in Riot's case, he basically almost killed himself and kept going. Charles Mercury ending the match with a middle-finger to the crowd while he was scoring the pinfall also sent a clear, concrete message that he was a serious contender. Whether you personally end up liking the match or not, I believe it became increasingly better with time, and all told, would win Match of the Night honors. ***¼
"Colors Bars" Bonus Match: Markus Riot vs. Sexy Chino
A staple of Art Over Life Studios DVD's, the "Color Bars" are hidden extra's included in the DVD's, available after fast-forwarding through…you guessed it…color bars. Markus is decidedly heel in this match, with chokes and the "attempted handshake leads to a sucker punch" spot and such. Chino makes an inevitable comeback, including hitting an Ore Ga Taue that both surprised and interested me, but Markus soon whips him down with a harsh Spinebuster. Markus nails the L.A. Riot, but clips the referee. After Markus tries some interference only to have it backfire, Chino hits a Sheer Drop DDT for the win.
Analysis: It was a nice little match, with bits of comedy here and there. It's not a huge extra, but it does display a different side of Markus that he does manage to pull off well: the cheesy, over-confident, smart-mouthed heel. Since he's wrestling for a Hispanic kid-friendly crowd, especially against someone called "Sexy Chino", it works. It was a laid-back, less-serious heel Markus Riot, but still a Markus Riot that I enjoyed seeing. **¾
Final Thoughts: As a personal friend of Markus Riot- and I'm not saying that to brag, but to be honest so people can understand where I'm coming from- it's tough to point out all the flaws of someone who was obviously at the start of their career when this "Best Of" was compiled. Does Markus Riot impress? At the end of the compilation, my feeling is a big, positive yes. Does this compilation show, somewhat unfortunately, the evolution of an ultra-green rookie to someone that can really go places in the next few years? It's a double-edged sword, but that's a "yes" as well.
What I mean is thus: if you can forgive a rookie for making rookie mistakes, you're in for some good matches detailing the early start of a SoCal wrestler who you'll hopefully see going places in the next few years. Markus will no doubt agree with me in saying that he hasn't made a huge name for himself yet, but he's only 19 and already has some great matches under his belt. So, who knows what the future holds? I, personally, wish him all the best. If you can get through a seriously painful botch in the match with Jack Evans, from then on the compilation really picks up steam with good-to-pretty-good matches with Junior, Charles Mercury, and the one-and-only Super Dragon. The initial two matches aren't that bad, either, but you're able to easily point out some rookie mistakes.
All told, I'm glad I bought this. Having recently been faced with eight huge DVD's of Japanese wrestling for an upcoming ultra-set of reviews that I'll be doing as a column on the MVZone, it was refreshing, exciting, and even cathartic to review a DVD of a friend before I plunge head-first into hours upon hours of classic, brain-explodinginly-awesome 90's All Japan footage. Markus has his strengths and weaknesses, but in the end the boy's all class and most of the matches here will entertain you.
Final Rating for "The Best of Markus Riot": ***