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[2000-02-17-MAW] Ian Rotten vs Corporal Robinson (Taipei Death)


soup23

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I liked this but it is a tough match to judge. First it is really long if you include the pre match and post match stuff. I do think there is some good moments like Ian getting upset at the ring announcer for what he has to say about Corporal but it may not have justified the length of pre match festivities. Once the match starts proper, the weapons and glass are used in excess. A lot of punches and cutting with the glass. The thing that I liked best about this match was the build to the big spots in the ring into the big puddle of glass in the middle of the ring. Each move was built up so that it gained a strong reaction from the crowd whether it was a powerbomb or the final DDT Corp gave to Ian onto the glass. The finish was neat too as Ian locks on a Fujiwara armbar that they teased in the pre match promo and Corp has to tap. They set up a match for the next month and I am looking forward to it. This is still fat Ian so his mobility isn’t there or mixing in any chain wrestling, but this match did do an effective enough job in showing a variety to the Tanaka vs. Awesome and crowd brawling matches happening in ECW at this point. ***

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I opted to tune out the pre-match angle because it just didn't interest me at all. Who really gives a shit who the most extreme wrestler is in the indies? I did the same for the post-match angle. It did set up a rematch, so it was noteworthy, but both of those things just took too damn long.

 

I'm a little split on this. At first, I hated it, but about halfway through it became pretty great. I had high hopes at first when they started circling the glass and both had their fists up. I thought that was a pretty cool visual. But then there was no build to the blood. They just took turns slicing each other while the slicee just passively accepted it. I started feeling like I was watching camcorder footage of someone getting a tattoo because everyone was just sitting still. There wasn't much in the way of brawling or teasing bumps on the glass. Imagine a ladder match contested entirely on the ladder with absolutely nothing but climbing and that's sort of what the first half of the match seemed like to me.

 

The two big spots, as soup mentioned, were Ian's powerbomb and Robinson's DDT, and both of those were set up well and delivered well. This went from something pretty one-note and gore for the sake of it to a tribute to Black Friday fights in Wal-Mart parking lots gone horribly wrong when Corporal started leveling Ian outside the ring with his glass-covered fist. Robinson has great punches and wrestles with a lot of conviction, which made that look pretty awesome, even shot from a distance like this was. That's kind of his last hurrah, as once the match spills back in the ring, Ian takes control, hitting Robinson with a great lariat and a very strategically placed Russian legsweep, resulting in two big bumps right on the glass. I absolutely loved when the referee tried checking in and the blood-soaked Corporal gave him the bird and told him to fuck off. I also liked the Fujiwara armbar finish in the center of the glass. Somehow that seemed fitting and strangely credible.

 

This was half amazing brawl and half just mindless gore. I think if the first half had been the last half, and the last the first, I probably would be going ****+, because it makes sense you'd gig someone after you have them weakened with some big moves. But it wasn't to be, so I don't think overall, this rose above good. There were some moments that were truly awesome though, more than a star rating meant to capture the overall experience can fully articulate. ***

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don't know what to think of this match. It was pretty brutal with all the glass and blood. I liked the crowds reaction that ranged from being disgusted to bored to laughing. However, this was just way too long. Lots of the guys gigging with glass and laying on the mat. Ian is usually good in these types of matches but here he just looks so slow. If this was 15 minutes instead of 20+, I might have liked it more.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

This is one of the worst pieces of crap I've ever seen. Forgetting the insanely numbing and long pre and post match segments, the stip sucks. There was absolutely no struggle to fight off "hey you cut my forehead and then I'll cut your forehead, ..." wash, rinse, repeat. I'm not opposed to hardcore wrestling. As a matter of fact I live about 2 blocks from the infamous "barn" in Charlestown, Indiana where a lot of their early 2000 stuff took place. I had never seen a more boring hardcore match in my life and am thankful this happened in MAW so I didn't have to see it live.

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For the MAW Heavyweight title and Rotten, who is the challenger, is already being called the ‘King of the Death Matches’, while Corp is accompanied by his manager Carmine Desperito and his apprentice, Dave Prazak. Shortish promo from Corp where he tells an audience member to “shut the f*ck up you cocksucking asshole!”, before claiming Ian tried to break his arm in a previous match in IWA-MS because he knew he was scheduled to face him again here. Both men have their taped fists (which are covered in glue) dipped into a box of broken glass so the shards stick to them, then what’s left is emptied into the middle of the ring and an additional box full is added to the pile. After twelve minutes already, the bell rings to get this one underway. Both start out in Boxing stances throwing tentative jabs at each other. Ian ducks a swinging right and responds with one to the bread basket. They then make their way around each corner of the ring taking it in turns to cut each others foreheads with the glass and making sure the audience gets a good view. Ian with a powerbomb onto the pile of glass and they’re back to slicing foreheads. Corp suplexes Ian into the glass which is no mean feat considering how huge he looks here. Headbutt to the groin as the crowd try to rally behind Rotten. Nice legdrop off the middle onto the apron as Ian is draped over the bottom rope. They start fighting on the floor but there’s only one hard camera so we miss a lot of this. Vicious chair shot to the head from Ian. Dragon sleeper by Corp followed by a reverse DDT into the glass. Ian with a short jab to the stomach and a swinging neckbreaker into the glass. The ‘your turn/my turn’ continues as Corp DDT’s Ian into the glass, before Ian gives him a spinebuster onto it. They’re back on the outside and Corp unloads with right after right until he finally drops his opponent. More terrible camera work means we don’t see what’s happening, but Corp with a receipt for the chair shot he received earlier. ‘Shooter’ Rotten with some sort of choke on the floor. He uses Corp’s own ‘Boot Camp’ finisher into the glass against him, but doesn’t cover him so not sure if it is his finisher at this point. ‘Crippler crossface’ in the glass, Corp taps and Ian is the new Heavyweight champion. Post-match Corp claims if he wasn’t hurt Ian would never have beaten him, and challenges him to a ‘last man standing match’ next month. Rotten accepts, but instead of a ten count you will have to knock your opponent down for a twenty count, while Dave Prazak and Carmine Desperito will be handcuffed to two fans chosen on the night.

 

Forty minutes in total this went. Forty minutes of my life that I will never get back. Excuse the pun, but I was bored rotten by it all. I’ll cut you, you cut me, I’ll throw you into the pile of glass, you throw me into the pile of glass, you get the idea. A bit of commentary may have helped, ditto more than one camera where you can actually follow and see all the action, but the first thing I’ve watched where I would actively encourage someone not to bother. Can hardly say I’m looking forward to the ‘last man standing match’ next month.

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  • 5 months later...

This did nothing for me. I remember the famous Taipei Death Match from 1990's ECW between Ian and Axl that made one of the VHS and DVD commercial releases and I wasn't too fond of that match either. The first half of this wasn't as bad as that Ian and Pondo fiasco from the previous month in CZW, but it was still pretty pointless and pretty much ended my interest in the match from there.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-02-17-MAW] Ian Rotten vs Corporal Robinson (Taipei Death)

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