Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 30, 2022. 6 minute read
On Wrestling Criticism Part 3: Structure
As with most storytelling in the Western world, we begin with the three-act structure. This ties into our most basic and essential understanding of stories — they should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Bare as it may seem as a framework, it’s still useful in understanding and…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 26, 2022. 5 minute read
El Lindaman and Shigehiro Irie Had the Japanese Match of the Year
Some matches just cut straight through the noise. I don’t think it’s any big secret that I watch a decent amount of wrestling in my daily life from a wide variety of promotions and time periods. It’s a lot of material — a lot of it pretty good, and some…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 16, 2022. 5 minute read
Interview: Jun Akiyama’s Career Speaks for Itself
When I was approached about interviewing a member of the DDT roster of my choice, one name stood out above the others. That’s not a knock on the other wrestlers at DDT, it’s one of the most stacked and talented collections of talent in any promotion in the world. But…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 15, 2022. 12 minute read
On Wrestling Criticism Part 2: Wrestling Mechanics
Note: The intro to this series can be read here. It’s important to begin with the mechanics of pro wrestling, the actual physical movement involved with the performance. I wanted to start with this particular element of wrestling simply because it’s the first thing any viewer is immediately confronted by.…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Aug 2, 2022. 5 minute read
How Does One Write About Professional Wrestling?
It’s not easy to write about pro wrestling. Despite being the artform itself being around as a popular form of entertainment for over a century, it feels like the actual practice of writing criticism about pro wrestling is only in its infancy. A large factor in this is how pro…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jul 29, 2022. 6 minute read
Wheeler YUTA and Daniel Garcia Take the ROH Pure Title Into the Future
ROH has had a love-hate relationship with the Pure division. The division made its debut in the early 2000s, introducing a new championship to the promotion which was contested under an entirely unique ruleset. Because of this, the belt could be conceivably presented as of equal importance to the World…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jul 16, 2022. 7 minute read
The Joy of Kazusada Higuchi’s KO-D Openweight Championship Win
I haven’t loved DDT this year. Despite easily being my favorite Japanese promotion of the 2020s, the back half of 2021 and the start of this year exposed several issues with the company’s booking. The back-to-back KO-D Openweight Championship reigns of both Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo failed to produce…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jul 13, 2022. 5 minute read
Mox vs. Deppen for the GCW Title: Fanfyte’s Best of June 2022, Part 2
Quick editor’s note. Yesterday, Joseph Montecillo showcased five of the best matches of June. Whether you’re a fan of dazzling acrobatics, bloody death matches, or sturdy tag bouts, it’s all there for you, the discerning professional wrestling fan. What’s in store today? Lucha! Joshi! Indies! A GCW Title defense! I’m…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jul 12, 2022. 5 minute read
Konosuke Takeshita’s Amazing American Run Continues: Fanfyte’s Best of June 2022, Part 1
June was a busy month in professional wrestling. The marquee event of the month, of course, was AEW and NJPW’s Forbidden Door, but elsewhere, on the indies, in Japan, and in Mexico, there were so many great matches that we had to split Joseph’s monthly best of column in two.…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jul 1, 2022. 5 minute read
WrestleWar 1992 Is Still the Bar for WarGames Matches
WarGames is a simple match. When you get past the stumbling block of explaining the rules to everyone, it’s really one of the easiest stipulations in the world to get right. The template and structure for every successful WarGames match was set from day one. It all boils down to…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jun 21, 2022. 12 minute read
For Vince McMahon, “Life Sucks and Then You Die” Is a Campaign Slogan
So I voted for the first time this year. The Philippine national elections felt much more high stakes than usual. I’m sure a lot of that is just a matter of age. It’s the first election I’m experiencing as an (alleged) adult in my 20s, which means I’m seeing the…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jun 9, 2022. 6 minute read
Mike Bailey Keeps Dropping Bangers: Fanfyte’s Best of the Month, May 2022
Looking back at May, there’s a lot of great wrestling that I really enjoyed beyond the mainstream American companies. While I like to use this monthly feature to highlight matches from lesser-known promotions, it felt much easier to put a shine on those matches this year when I found myself…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Jun 3, 2022. 6 minute read
In Wrestling, Endings Don’t Get Better Than MJF vs. Wardlow
Think about your favorite pro wrestling rivalry. There are a lot of truly beloved ones in wrestling history. Just pick one, keep it in your mind and follow it as far as you can down the timeline to when it ends. I don’t just mean the climax of the feud…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo May 31, 2022. 5 minute read
Anarchy in the Arena Succeeded on the Strength of All-Time Greats
If “Wild Thing” played over the whole thing, it’s probably a perfect match. I couldn’t tell you how serious I am about that statement, but I can tell you that the Anarchy in the Arena ten-man tag between The Jericho Appreciation Society and Eddie Kingston’s cohorts absolutely rocked. It’s one…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo May 20, 2022. 8 minute read
Press A+B Together: The Art of Stealing a Finisher
For a lot of reasons, theft has been on my mind in recent weeks. External events of the world aside, AEW Dynamite was rife with it on May 11th. The first two matches on the card—Dax Harwood vs. Adam Cole, and John Silver vs. CM Punk—both featured finishes that saw…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo May 9, 2022. 7 minute read
70 Years Ago, Verne Gagne and Hans Schmidt Had a Timeless Classic
So you clicked, that’s a good start. I get it. Seeking out a 70-year-old match is far from a top priority for most pro wrestling fans. Given the enormous backlog of the most popular eras of televised wrestling — roughly the 70s onwards — and the relentless cavalcade of content…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo May 3, 2022. 7 minute read
Imperfect, Broken Down, Occasionally Wonderful: Fanfyte’s Best of the Month, April 2022
While WrestleMania and the surrounding independent shows dominate April discussion most years, plenty of strong stuff comes out in the weeks that follow it. Anyone reading this has likely heard of all the usual suspects from this time — FTR vs. The Young Bucks, Minoru Suzuki vs. Samoa Joe, or…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Apr 19, 2022. 6 minute read
Jon Moxley and Wheeler YUTA Reveled in the Ecstasy of Combat
The first Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler YUTA match was a slaughter. The bell rang and Mox cut the kid’s head off with a massive lariat. He never loses the advantage from there. It’s less than a minute before Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift and gets the pinfall victory. As far…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Apr 15, 2022. 7 minute read
In a Tale of Two Dream Matches, FTR Took On the Briscoes and the Bucks
When The Revival left the WWE, there was one match everyone wanted from more than anything else. After years of online debate among fans and dozen of potshots taken online, even becoming a running gag on a popular YouTube show, everyone wanted to see The Revival take on The Young…
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WRESTLING
Joseph Anthony Montecillo Apr 11, 2022. 7 minute read
Zack Sabre Jr. Should Have Been IWGP World Heavyweight Champion By Now
It’s almost easy to forget just how good Zack Sabre Jr. is. There’s a few reasons for that. The primary reason, of course, is that New Japan Pro Wrestling isn’t the hot company that it once was. Zack’s devoted pretty much his entire decade so far to wrestling for New…
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WRESTLING