The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! (Part 17) - Daniel Makabe vs James Diesel vs Cole Crazy [1/23/16]

In wrestling there are times where a match tells a story with a lot of depth and symbolism that can make you really think or appreciate the level of craft that goes into it. And then there are times where you and two of your old buddies from your former life (lives) as a backyard wrestler go out there and have a real "dudes rule" kind of 3 way match to kick off a show in front of a hot crowd who are game for that sort of thing; and this week's match is 100% the latter of these. My second title defense of the still recently (enough) acquired 3-2-1 Battle! Pacific Middleweight championship was the opening contest of 3-2-1's "The Four Way" show on Saturday, January 23rd against to this point, my two most consistent, non-Canadian opponents in Cole Crazy and James Diesel; someone I'd already wrestled in a 3 Way match a few months months prior.

One detail that probably didn't catch your eye in that previous paragraph was the fact that this was the first time that 3-2-1 had run a show on a Saturday, as opposed to the usual Friday night timeslots; or the one time they decided to run on a random Wednesday which thankfully never became a regular thing. This was of course because a "rival" promotion had decided to run their own wrestling/variety show in Seattle at the not so far away El Corazon, a well establish dive-y concert venue (formerly known as The Graceland) that I've seen countless shows at over the years; including legendary NYHC band Gorilla Biscuits just a few weeks ago as of when I'm writing this in the spring of 2026. Run by a stalwart of the local PNW wrestling community Ethan HD, whom I was lucky enough to get to wrestle multiple time years later, but never in 3-2-1 so I don't know how often his name will come up, "Project 43" was a series of shows that from all accounts were a lot of fun using a bevy of local Washington/Oregon based wrestlers whom likely would not have been caught dead at a 3-2-1 show during this particular tenure of the promotion. In hindsight it's all very silly but in the moment, the power's that be in charge of the "Battle Palace" (and by that, I mostly mean one guy) felt threatened by this and decided the best course of action was to stray from our typical Friday evening slot and run head to head on this particular evening. There's likely a joke along the lines of a current meme about "some men becoming indie wrestling promoters instead of going to therapy" that could be made here, but let's move on.

Back to the match at hand though; a classic no nonsense (or all nonsense if you really think about it) battle between three pals with no history of any real significance to build upon or any direction coming out of it. I do not recognize whom was handling the ring announcing duties on this particular evening but his delivery and cadence were certainly lacking, really making you appreciate how good we had it with someone as consistent in tone as 3-2-1's resident announcer Led Lawless. The referee that evening however was someone who was around until the bitter end of the promotion, looking after plenty of my biggest and best matches in that timespan as well as training the vast majority of all future regular referees that would come out of the school; that being Chris Samuels.

Things get started quickly with a fun blend of comedy and chain wrestling, as a series of vignettes unfold centered around Cole taking issue with both James and I, finding himself on the receiving end of a series of Superkicks; first from James, second from myself and finally a pair of them from both of us. I honestly do not remember ever throwing superkick at any other point during my wrestling career and both of the ones I hit here look pretty darn good if I do say so myself; maybe I have a career renaissance ahead of me as a Young Bucks tribute act... or maybe not. With Cole out the way, I do my best to take charge with a series of strikes and a nice sequence off the ropes on James, coming out on the short end of things however as he hits his signature calf kick that I awkwardly bump on, rolling over him in the process and straight out onto the floor.

The triangular nature of these matches continues with all 3 of us taking charge at points, even within the same sequences; case in point James' attempt at diving out onto Cole is cut off by a hard forearm, which is answered in form by a hard forearm of my own to Mr. Crazy; allowing me enough time to place him seated in a folding chair in the front row to hit a familiar signature high risk maneuver of mine for the fist time in months. However, as I'm heading down the apron towards him my trailing foot is held onto by James which I mitigate by utilizing leverage created from holding onto the top rope and literally dragging him under the bottom rope to the floor in a heap with my foot. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone recreate this sort of scenario before or since then. With both opponents now stunned enough for me to seat them next to one another in adjacent folding chairs, I'm able to successfully hit the diving dropkick onto them; something that I first hit close to a year prior in what is still likely at this point my best match in the promotion; the Seattle Streetfight Tag Match from "Battlemania 2015."

Capitalizing on that devastating maneuver and the ensuing roar of the crowd chanting "Holy Shit" that followed it, I take control of Cole back inside the ring. In what feels like what I've come to describe as "Proto-Wrestling Genius," I execute a very cool looking and novel suplex using nothing more than a knuckle lock and a firm grip on his left triceps, floating over immediately afterwards and neutralizing his aforementioned arm using a leg scissors. It's short lived however as Cole uses his own free legs to kick me multiple times in the back, sending me crashing face first to the mat where he floats over himself and locks on a half boston crab which I have no other choice but to get to the ropes in order to break. Honestly, I could watch an entire match of this sort of work between the two of us and while I think there's a more interesting framework to be explored in this moment, it is clearly not the direction of this match and merely there to continue the rising action while James is off selling on the floor. Nonetheless after breaking free of his hold and selling into a nearby corner I'm hit by a huge strike combination of his in the form of an impactful running European Uppercut and snugly hit jumping Enzigiri kick; sending me crashing out to the floor myself.

As things have progressed we're clearly utilizing the tried and true format when formulating a 3 way match, keep one man on the outside while the other two work; occasionally interjecting for some type of larger sequence or moment involving all three participants. As I find myself stunned on the floor, James returns to the ring and attempts to hit one of his patented moves, the TKO; or Hawaiian Smasher for any potential Maunakea Mossman marks who are possibly reading this. Cole valiantly tries to take control again with a series of hard chops but finds himself stunned once more by a single legged (shinned?) Codebreaker by James. What ensues is one of the more absurd moments I've likely written about in this blog up until this point with Diesel and I exchanging a series of rear waist lock reversals with me finally taking control by essentially performing the Heimlich Maneuver on him with his corresponding exhalation of all the oxygen in his lungs coming in contact with the still dazed Cole; sending him flying into the corner with a big "John Woo" esque bump in a moment that feels like it has more shared DNA with a Looney Tunes cartoon than a Judo Suwa vs Dragon Kid match.

After allowing the moment to register with the somewhat dumbfounded audience, I send Diesel careening to the canvas with a release German Suplex that on video sure seemed like I was doing more of the work on than he was; ie "he went up kinda heavy, brother." Having shown how adapt I am at both wrestling and first aid, I attempt to add home decor to that list by setting up an honest to god proper folding table that had been previously hidden underneath the ring, perpendicular to the ring apron in front of the very receptive crowd. I could not tell you how or why we had access to a table for this somewhat random, one off match but we set out to take advantage of it and create a moment that no one would forget. Laying out James on the table but being completely oblivious to the fact that Cole had used this moment to climb up onto a large beam that normally was used to suspend a boxing heavy bag from (in Evolv Fitness' day to day operation as a martial arts gym); a struggle ensues between James and I leading to Crazy diving off with a well timed Somersault Senton onto both of us, sending us crashing through the table to the sounds of another gigantic pop and ensuing "Holy Shit" chant.  

"TABLE! TABLE! TABLE!"
"And 3-2-1 Battalion, what is that Table made of?!"
"SOLID STEEL!!"
"It's actually made out of Wood guys... Wood."

Back inside the ring with Cole clearly out ahead and looking to pin one of us, he chooses to neutralize James with me recovering quickly enough to break it up. A kind of awkward and stereotypical "both guys attempt a series of pins, while continually pulling one another off to prevent it" sequence ensues, fleshed out with some added strike exchanges between the two of us between each stab at a pinfall. With Cole and I's attention turned towards one another, Diesel is able to recover enough and finally hit his previously attempted TKO; with the ensuing pinfall attempted nonchalantly broken up by myself by dragging him off and straight into the now well established Jim Breaks Armbreaker submission finish. A kind of neat little back and forth struggle unfolds between that hold and James shoulder rolling out into his own modified Texas Cloverleaf, with the only other person I've ever seen utilize the same variant being the Battlarts legend himself, Alexander Otsuka; I have to imagine this is the first and only time those two wrestlers have or ever will be compared to one another.

As the old adage goes, the only things in life that are guaranteed are death, taxes and Cole Crazy breaking up a move of mine in a multi-person match by hitting a top rope 450 onto me out of nowhere. Call it tropey or not, sometimes the hits never go out of style for a reason and the crowd goes absolutely crazy for the well timed moment, even with it not being the cleanest version of this spot we would hit together. At this point James and I feed off to opposite corners in order for Cole to "Go Crazy" ("don't mind if I do"), with his patented series of running European Uppercuts. I'm up and ready on the far side while James appears to be a mess, struggling to sit up and clinging to the bottom turnbuckle pad for life. Finally able to reverse my fortunes, I avoid a charging Cole by leap frogging out of the corner and over him; colloquially known in most indie wrestling locker rooms as "the TJP," although I try to credit Masato Yoshino whenever I can as the first person I ever saw execute it.

I use this opening to set both him and a now worse for wear James up onto the same opposing turnbuckles, hitting a Superplex on Cole before my second attempt on James is cut off by a move made famous (albeit a very long time ago) by Phil Brooks himself, the top rope pedigree otherwise known as the "Pepsi Plunge" which I believe James would jokingly refer to his bootleg version of as the "Safeway Select," a nod to anyone who grew up working class, drinking store brand sodas like the 3 of us in this match likely did. Following this however, James disappears from the ring and is no longer seen in this match; something I reached out to fellow participant Cole Crazy whom helped jog my memory as to what exactly went down in this moment...

"(James) was having stomach issues before the match started so he took an Imodium tablet. At that last corner spot he told me that he was going to puke, so I relayed the message to you in the opposite corner. Your verbatim reply to him was 'I don't care how you're feeling (James), you're hitting the fucking spot and then you can leave'; LOL."

I'm not sure he'll ever see this but with a decade of hindsight behind me, I can sincerely say I'm sorry James; although to be fair, this looked pretty rad and got another gigantic pop. With Diesel no longer a factor we're left with Cole and I to battle it out in one of the more baffling closing stretches I've encountered in this rewatch project so far with no real semblance of selling or logic to be found. Case in point, immediately after being driven face first into the canvas from the top rope I'm able to reverse Cole with very little effort and hit one of our classic sequences that we would almost always throw in because of how well rehearsed and executed it was. A hard forearm in the corner, followed up with a release German Suplex and a John Woo style "Shotgun Dropkick" with an absolutely gross landing to cap it all off. This style of dropkick was something that I had done years prior during my backyard days and really wasn't using much at all in this era, preferring the more Bryan Danielson coded corner dropkick instead but without fail (and for years to come after this, for that matter), Cole would always ask me to include it whenever we shared a ring with one another because of how particularly brutal it would look. Now, if you're just joining me now, let me reiterate to you the following take aways from this week's blog entry:

-"Dudes Rule"
-"The hits never go out of style."

Trying to capitalize on that quick turn of events, I attempt to finish off Cole with my sometimes utilized Armtrap German Suplex; which to be fair was the finish of our most recent singles encounter from the previous summer and I guess should count as some form of psychology/built upon moment(s) within the match itself. Alas, it's not successful with Cole hitting a go behind into his own gross looking release Half Nelson Suplex landing me directly on my head. The only fitting response for a match of this nature at this current stage in my development as a pro wrestler is a half assed fire up and no-sell of something that could have been used so much more effectively. A series of hard back and forth strikes follow with some seriously lackadaisical waist lock reversals afterwards ending in a Johnny Saint inspired moment of me feeding my leg between his legs to set a trap; as he reached down with both hands in an attempt to take advantage, I instead grab them and flip him over for the first of many European Clutch pins in my career, for the incredibly satisfying 3 count victory. While the build up itself lacked any of the energy or struggle characteristic of "the master of escapology," the execution on the pin itself was pretty flawless with both of my feet planted perfectly on Cole's arms as I gripped firmly onto his wrists to properly execute what I would come to win many matches over the years with. It became such a signature that I ended up giving it my own signature name "the Pattullo Bridge" after the recently closed, nearly 100 year old crossing that connects the only two cities I've ever lived in over the last 40+ years: Surrey and New Westminster, British Columbia.

This match flows reasonable well with each vignette transitioning relatively seamlessly from one to the next; and simply put, it's a total blast to watch. While it was not completely devoid of any real connective tissue, I will continue to hammer home how much it lacked polish in some of the sequences and transitions, with the long term selling or lack there of at times in particular coming across as very "indie." Any pro wrestler will tell you that 3 Way matches are never the easiest thing to plan and sometimes the lowest common denominator is a completely reasonable goal i.e. hit a bunch of cool, well-executed moves in something resembling a match structure with none of the participants getting hurt along the way. To that I say we were mostly successful in accomplishing our primary objectives on that fateful Saturday evening in Seattle; that is of course if you can overlook the likelihood of James vomiting everywhere at the conclusion of this match, which I can not confirm one way or the other. If that was in fact the case then I suppose this spotfest of a 3 Way hot opener was an abject failure and should be avoided at all costs; but maybe I'm just over thinking things to begin with and the dudes do in fact rule after all. 

Watch:
Daniel Makabe vs James Diesel vs Cole Crazy [1/23/16]

The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! (Part 16) - Daniel Makabe vs Mighty Mo Knuckles III [1/8/16]

I'm miraculously back for a third consecutive week and we've magically transported back to early January 2016 for the first defense of my newly won 3-2-1 Battle! Pacific Middleweight Title against one of the more obscure wrestlers that I will discuss in this blog - "Mighty" Mo Knuckles III. If memory serves me right, this was his first match period after serving the role of bodyguard for the previous few months as part of "Romantic" Romeo Ramirez's entourage in 3-2-1 and his only singles match ever. A cursory search of Cagematch only has one other result for him a few weeks later, a tag match that also included such Battle Palace luminaries as Mighty Mac, The Fruit Bat and Bat Boy; the last of whom we will actually discuss in the next month or two but let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

MMK3 was someone who had been helping out with the shows for the last year or so all the while training at Evolv Fitness at whatever semblance of a wrestling school 3-2-1 ran at the time. While he only had a handful of matches in this era, he did end up contributing a great deal to the greater aesthetic of 3-2-1 down the line. A skilled guitar player/musician who plays in multiple local Seattle metal/hardcore bands - he would end up writing & recording multiple entrance themes for a handful of characters down the line including parodies of Danzig's "Mother" and Michael Hayes' classic Fabulous Freebird entrance song, "Badstreet USA." I'll be sure to circle back to these themes and his contributions to them when discussing those specific opponents in the future but for now we must carry on.

Mo is out first and I have zero recollection of who exactly this is accompanying him to the ring for this match; although listening to Cody Von Whistler's commentary leads me to believe he's apparently a lawyer who helped him barter a deal to receive a title match in his debut which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I'm out next and this is a bit of a new look for me, starting with my "Wrestle Daniel Wrestle" shirt (something old), which was a parody of a Kevin Steen design that I had come up with a few years prior, thinking it was so much more clever than it likely was. Additionally this is the first time I'm wearing a newly acquired pair of black/gold CM Punk inspired tights (something new) that were absolutely purchased from eLucha, not unlike the pink ones that were so prominently on display a few months prior. I don't recall the exact reason why but these never became a part of my regular rotation and in fact this may have been the only time I wore them at all, although they're still taking up space in a drawer with all of my old wrestling gear. 

The look (if you can call it that) is completed with my sweet varsity jacket that would become central to my entrances and overall character for the better part of the next year; however it was a gift from my ex girlfriend (something borrowed) and it has subsequently been donated to Value Village. Alas, the days of wearing whatever random American Apparel or band hoodie (BANE, Old Man Gloom) I had worn to the venue on that day were past me as I had always wanted a regular entrance specific jacket to wear, harkening back to the days of Japanese wrestlers who wore their matching company track jackets to the ring which is just such a vibe that I've always loved; now if it had only been blue. The one unfortunate setback to an entrance jacket as opposed to something I would wear for warmth when leaving the building was my then propensity to forget it at the venue which lead to a series of photos/memes involving my opponent on that night that have haunted me for years...

The match itself has it's highlights but overall is fairly rudimentary with some obvious seams apparent to anyone watching in the building that evening or now with 10 years of hindsight on YouTube. Mo is clearly a "Big Bubba Rogers" analog and I do my best right off the get-go to sell big for him and establish his size and power advantage including being tossed backwards out of a tie up, taking a big bump on his shoulder tackle, and successfully working to a top wrist lock out of a test of strength only for him to grab a hold of the lock with his other good arm and send me flying. The rest of my early shine is all about movement, hitting him as hard and fast as I can beginning with a series of big chops in the corner and a huge missile dropkick off the top with me landing and rising to my feet with my back to him; unaware that the impactful blow while able to knock him off his feet, didn't do any real damage as he too regained his footing simultaneously.

This is where the match takes a bit of a dip and I obviously can't blame someone as green as he is for struggling to work a dynamic control segment in his first match ever. The heat as it were is a little slow and plodding, utilizing some basic "big man" offense including him choking me over the top rope, utilizing a classic bodyslam (literally my least favourite bump ever) and multiple back breakers. All of it lacks a little oomph, pinfalls look labored and there are times where I'm clearly directly him and doing my best (yet failing at) calling his spots for him which leads to a couple awkward deer in headlights moments sprinkled throughout.

There are a couple of hope spots sprinkled throughout which whenever I was working from underneath I would do my best to make as dynamic as possible while still working towards advancing whatever the story of the match was. Here we have a second rope twisting crossbody (which Mo catches and counters to a rib breaker) and a series of European Uppercuts to create an opening where I shot a go behind and made my first attempt at a German Suplex on the much larger man. However it is thwarted when he uses his much larger frame to back me into the corner with force; although it only stuns me momentarily and I quickly scale Mr. Knuckles with a great looking piggyback rear naked choke (see above) with him quickly shutting down my efforts by falling backwards with even more force to the mat. This is a pretty legendary spot from the Vader/Cactus Jack series of matches from WCW in 1993 and was the first time I ever did it when working with a larger opponent. Much to my own detriment, it would become a regular go-to spot I would utilize whenever I found myself in this scenario and realistically there's no good way to work that spot, making it look adequately impactful and it *not* outright sucking to be on the receiving end of; plain and simple it's not fun to take and that just is what it is.

For all of my complaints of the execution at times, I do love the structure of this match in how basic and concise it is; whenever I'm not attempting to launch my comebacks by flinging my body at him, I'm attempting to out technique him and bring him down to the mat where I clearly hold the advantage skill wise. Yet another attempt along these lines with me digging the point of my elbow into his shoulder is countered with a Snake Eyes, another classic big man move (dare I say bodyguard move specifically; thanks Kevin Nash) which is probably his best looking offense all match. Following in with a series of splashes in the corner, I was able to roll underneath a second one, narrowly avoiding it and finally hitting a big release German Suplex to take the big man off of his feet. Following that are two big Bryan Danielson inspired dropkicks in the corner, complete with clearly apparent thigh slaps and now I find myself clearly in the driver's seat. Laying prone on all fours I methodically twist his arm, digging his uncomfortably bent wrist into the mat and leaping into the air to stomp his shoulder; sending all that force careening through his upper body and leaving him susceptible to my patented Jim Breaks Armbar for the tap out victory.

While mechanically this match is clunky at points, there is nonetheless a decent logic and story through line from the start to finish of a relatively short 7 minute run time. The selling lacks a little nuance and polish at times from both of us but as far as first matches go, I think Mo did a relatively good job all around. I think injuries may have derailed his wrestling career but he's a super nice guy whom I always enjoy running into whenever I have over the years in Seattle. It is nice to see how relatively over I was at that particularly moment and the people are clearly getting behind me during the heat with semblances of "Wrestle Daniel Wrestle!" chants scattered throughout the crowd. My on again, off again tag partner stemming from our debut as a team nearly two years prior Drew Sarian is out after the fact to congratulate me with an initially awkward hug (and kiss from him; something he began doing on a semi regular basis to catch me off guard) before I appear to accept the situation. This was right near the beginning of our own version of the kind of relationship Sting & Lex Luger demonstrated in early 1996 WCW where despite being at opposite ends of the broad Heel/Face dynamic spectrum, we managed to maintain our prior friendship with one another... for now.

Watch:
Daniel Makabe vs Mighty Mo Knuckles III [1/8/16]

The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! (Part 74) - Daniel Makabe vs Negro Navarro [8/24/18]

 

How about this for a bit of a loaded surprise; not only am I writing my second blog entry in as many weeks (after being dormant for over half a year) but I'm discussing a match from 2+ years later in the chronology of my tenure in 3-2-1 Battle! that I assumed would not be discussed for quite some time.  And to be honest with you, while I had batted around the idea of jumping around in the timeline to discuss some bigger and better matches from later on, that's absolutely not what I had decided I was going to do after posting last week's entry. I currently have more time and energy to put towards my various creative endeavors and I fully intended on writing about my first match as the newly crowned and defending 3-2-1 Battle! Pacific Middleweight champion from all the way back in early January 2016; but that's just going to have to wait another week. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men, i.e. one of the best technical wrestlers of all time whom you were lucky enough to have two matches with back in 2021-2022 and in a strange bit of happenstance has not only become a bit of a mentor to you but also a friend, makes a very specific request and you just have to answer the call...

Funny enough, this story actually does begin back in the spring of 2016 when the Seattle based promotion "Lucha Libre Volcanica" announced that they were bringing in legendary llave master Negro Navarro for a seminar to be held at Evolv Fitness i.e. "The Battle Palace," a venue that they also rented out to host their weekly training sessions and monthly shows, albeit with a very different demographic. I was absolutely floored at this announcement and had every intention of registering when it dawned on me that the date conflicted with that of my cousin's wedding here in Greater Vancouver, which in itself conflicted with a reunion show of 90s CanCon alternative rockers 'The Age of Electric' whom were playing the legendary Commodore Ballroom downtown, a venue that I subsequently wrestled in a handful of times years later. As things went that day, I was not in Seattle to learn from one of my absolute idols, my cousin's wedding went off without a hitch save for some wild behavior from her mother in law to be and I did end up dipping out of there earlier than scheduled in order to catch one of 10 year old Daniel's favourite bands play such hits as "Ugly", "I Don't Mind" and "Remote Control." This was of course while unbeknownst to me, I was parked illegally which lead to my car getting towed which I wasn't able to retrieve until the wee hours of the morning; so even without sitting under the learning tree of Profe Navarro, it was already an eventful enough day as is.

The Age of Electric "Ugly" (1993) music video which got a decent amount of airplay on Muchmusic and certainly captured my attention even if I didn't really understand what was going on during most of it; other than the fact that I thought "these guys rock."

Fast forward to a little over a year later: in the last 12+ months I've subsequently lost the 3-2-1 Pacific Middleweight Title (act surprised when I write about it in a few months time) breaking my left foot in the process and subsequently missed out on the entire summer's worth of bookings all the while having to wear a walking boot. But in the spring of 2017, things are back in full swing at 3-2-1 and I'm even starting to branch out a bit more into some other local independent companies in Washington and Oregon. Most importantly Lucha Libre Volcanica has announced another seminar with Negro Navarro to take place in June of that year, which won't conflict with any other family member's weddings this time but sadly will fall on the same weekend that my band TAXA will be driving to Calgary to play in the annual Sled Island music festival, which was a fest I had dreamed of attending for years let alone getting to actually take part in it. In addition to playing an afternoon show at Tubby Dog on SW 17th Ave (RIP), I ended up doing merch for my friends in BLACK PILLS who were playing on a bill that evening with the legendary hardcore band Converge who as always, absolutely annihilated. The other fun thing that came of that was slinging t-shirts afterwards next to their singer Jacob Bannon whom I knew was a big Pro Wrestling/MMA fan and practically having to be kicked out of the venue while our mutual bandmates patiently waited at the front door as we gabbed about all things combat sports like a couple of old buddies.

Another year passes and even more has happened since then; the first battle with Timothy Thatcher, the birth of "The Wrestling Genius" and subsequently winning the 3-2-1 Battle! Solid Steel championship. I'm continuing to grow as a performer as well as branch out to even more companies around the region, with my first booking ever in the Southeast for Nashville's SUP (Southern Underground Pro) which in itself would have significant influence on where my wrestling career would take me, just a few months away. Yet again, Lucha Libre Volcanica announced another seminar with Negro Navarro but this time out it's in August and there will be multiple sessions stretched out over two consecutive weekends. There are no more excuses or scheduling conflicts that will get in the way of me getting to learn first hand from the maestro himself and I make plans to attend the session on Saturday August 25th, the day after that Friday evening's 3-2-1 Battle Show which I am already booked on. Navarro arrives in Seattle with no issue the weekend beforehand and teaches his first seminar as scheduled which a few of my peers attended including Sonico, whom I wrestled in more singles matches in 3-2-1! Battle than any other opponent over the course of my tenure there; buckle up for 5 separate blog entries about him in the future. He informed me that Navarro was free the following Friday evening and seemed open to the idea of working, putting the bug in my ear to pitch a single's match with him to the powers that be in the 3-2-1 office who agreed it was a great idea.

Which finally brings us to the match itself - announced on social media on 5 days notice with those following along closely to my slow rise on the indies being completely caught off guard by this seemingly inexplicable "Dream Match" somehow materializing. Although I assure you, no one was nearly as surprised as I was, doing my best to remain calm and arrive prepared on the day itself. The timing of it all in actuality wasn't great as I had suffered a mild injury in a match two weeks prior at 3-2-1 against a familiar foe in Cole Crazy when I landed awkwardly on my head and neck whilst attempting a Sunset Flip out of a Powerbomb otherwise known as the 'Manami Roll', a move made famous by legendary Joshi wrestler Manami Toyota. I did end up missing a booking in Oregon later on that same weekend but thankfully was in good enough shape that it wasn't an issue for this one a fortnight later; not that I would have missed this match for the world.

Putting together this match is maybe my favourite story that I have from all of my years of wrestling and one that I've told plenty of my peers in locker rooms or shared car rides to shows. Navarro showed up that evening and it was immediately apparent how gracious he was for the opportunity to work in front of different crowd with a different crew. Despite his tenure or status in this industry, he went out of his way to approach every single person on the show that night and shake their hand to say hello. I approached him fairly early in this process while he found himself surrounded by a handful of the other wrestlers and let him know that we would be working together that evening which lead to him asking me if I spoke Spanish (I don't), which I returned the favour by asking him if he spoke English (he doesn't). Finding ourselves at a standstill, I made the off the cuff remark that "... but both of us speak Wrestling" which he smiled and agreed with me "Si, Si! We do!" Later that evening I had multiple people present for this moment inform me that it was one of the coolest things they had ever been witness to and I assured them that the feeling was mutual.

Thankfully for me there was exactly one wrestler on the show that evening who was fluent in both languages which was my friend Jose otherwise known as River Strife, one half of the 3-2-1 Battle tag team champions The Legion of Gloom and I would be leaning heavily on him to help me with communication. Barring the language barrier that made an interpreter necessary, I can probably count on one hand the amount of opponents I've had an easier time putting a match together with. The legend himself laid it out very simply, when it came to how he wanted things to go. First we would begin with "whatever happens, happens" which was his hyper literal way of saying we would wrestle on the fly. Then he wanted to run a mid-match sequence that was very inspired by 70s British Wrestling that I had likely seen him do in one of his recent matches I had studied on YouTube in preparation, which he was willing to practice with me *exactly* twice; once as we were planning in that moment and once again right before the match began. Then, you guessed it: more of "whatever happens, happens" before he finally asked me what I had in mind for a finish. I told him I would like to hit him with one big punch out of nowhere aka "The Big Unit", my homage to legendary Seattle Mariners' pitcher Randy Johnson and while he lay there stunned, catch him off guard with La Casita for the surprise pinfall victory. He agreed that would be suitable and we went our separate ways until the match itself began.

The match was refereed by Gearl Hebner, more widely known as AEW's Aubrey Edwards whom I still to this day consider a friend and someone I'm thankful I got to work with as much as I did and couldn't be more proud of. In hindsight it's pretty neat that she got to referee this match and would subsequently go on to referee matches with some of the best technical wrestlers on Earth including Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr in Seattle, as well as main events at the most famous Lucha Libre venue there is, Arena Mexico. While I did my best to prepare for every trick this 60 year old man could possibly throw at me including a private training session the week beforehand with my buddy Artemis Spencer, who did his best to mimic a veteran luchador and put me through my paces, I had no idea of exactly what to expect at any given moment; even as the match began and he immediately turned the tides on me as I went to shake his hand and he manipulated it into a wrist lock variant that I was not at all familiar with.

From that point onwards - "whatever happens, happened" and I did my best to sell and feed for him appropriately while also interjecting my trademark logic and struggle. I personally love the 'catch and release' style of llave that Navarro has become famous for especially in his older days but at times it can look somewhat forced and really require a particularly strong suspension of disbelief to enjoy. I'm someone who's made his career on being a fan of various styles from all over the world and throwing them into my own "technical wrestling blender" while being sure to have it all make sense; "Wrestling Genius" wasn't just a cool sounding nickname that I gave myself for the hell of it. I re-watched this match earlier today for the first time in probably 5 years and found that the first half of it absolutely breezed by with very little break in the action; with each hold being applied with a little extra emphasis and whomever found themselves on the defensive in that moment (which ended up being me for the good majority of the match), struggling to find their way out and counter with their own hold in response. 

At this point I should bring up the elephant in the room which is the 3-2-1 Battalion themselves, whom absolutely are responsible for this match going as well as it did. We were well aware how great our regular crowds who packed the Battle Palace every other Friday night were but on paper this felt like it was going to be particularly challenging; keeping them engaged in a match that would be stylistically like nothing they had ever seen before on these shows. We ended up psyching ourselves out a little too much and deciding it would be best to put this on as the semi-main event that evening, leaving a more comedic match to close out the show- a 3-Way match between 3-2-1 regular Kaden Talbain, Northeast Independent Wrestler (and fellow backyard alumni) Johnny Cockstrong and legendary Japanese Comedy Wrestler Kikutaro; whom was particular despondent over the idea of having to follow a Negro Navarro match... we probably should have listened to him. Luckily for Navarro & I the crowd were electric, showing so much appreciation for the back and forth nature of the match and loudly cheering each and every time I found myself on the receiving end of an escalating excruciating submission as the maestro himself grinned ecstatically.

Kaden Talbain vs Johnny Cockstrong vs Kikutaro which headlined the show that evening. If memory serves me right these three had a really fun match that was sadly met by an exhausted crowd whom didn't show it the kind of love that it deserved. Not only that, but one of the regular fans emailed the 3-2-1 office the next day to complain about Kikutaro being culturally insensitive/appropriation - I wish I was making any of that up.

The exhibition of submissions continued to escalate with Navarro using the legendary Sugar Hold otherwise known as a stockade for any catch wrestling nerds out there, before I was finally able to transition to the Cattle Mutilation aka the Makabe Lock which I don't know if the man had ever been on the received end of as I struggled to get him to sell all the way down to his belly appropriately. He did however manage to escape it and in turn lock on an armbar which lead to the first and only rope break of the match which is a lesson I still impart to young wrestlers today in regards to structure and how to make seemingly inconsequential moments carry more meaning and act as story telling devices. This nicely segued to the aforementioned mid-match sequence which begins with me awkwardly applying a right handed headlock at Navarro's insistence, something I likely never did before or afterwards in my entire wrestling career. Despite it not being executed as cleanly or quickly as I would have liked, the fans came alive after this moment which I think was more a byproduct of what they had seen in the prior 7 or 8 minutes that lead us there rather than the highspot itself.

While I think the first half of this match really shines with us working together incredibly well, things do start to unravel a little bit in the second half with some of the transitions being a little too loose and lacking the same logic and struggle of what we had done prior. Despite this, we still managed to execute the biggest moment of the entire match with Navarro methodically and systematically locking me into a hanging scorpion hold which I had major trepidations about how good it could possibly look on someone as big as I am. This is just another example of the overarching theme of this match though; a series of unexpected events unfolding just about as well as they possibly could in a struggle between an aging lucha legend and a 30 something year old white kid from Western Canada with no formal training in the niche art form he was attempting to excel in.

Which brings us to the conclusion of the match which was definitely slightly awkward. I recall pitching that he should be more in control to help escalate my sense of frustration of not being able to compete in a pure battle of holds with him which would lead to me creating some separation and throwing the aforementioned lone punch to stun him. Unfortunately for me, it was far from the best one that I've ever thrown (it looked fine, didn't sound great) although 3-2-1's resident play by play man Cody Von Whistler did point out for everyone that it was the first strike of the match which I would wager was a specific plot point that I brought to his attention to emphasize beforehand as I was certainly known to do. Laying prone on all fours immediately afterwards, I snatched his arm and grapevined it, turning him over onto his shoulders with Negro Casas' famed pinning hold La Casita... sort of.

At the time I was gunning to hopefully get a match with another incredibly talented technical wrestler who was tearing up the independents and ROH, Jonathan Gresham. It was at that point he had recently started finishing off opponents with his own version of La Casita (aka La Magistral Cradle) with the added flourish of floating his far leg over, ending up in a standing position and finishing off the hold with a bridge to put added pressure onto his opponents' shoulders. While I told Navarro that I was going to finish him with *the* most legendary pinning combination in all of Lucha Libre, I was secretly planning on incorporating that same signature addition to the hold as "The Octopus" in hopes of further setting the table for a big match up with him down the line. I'm very lucky in that the eventual match with Gresham did finally occur the following April in one of the biggest of my career; however I'm incredibly unlucky that as I was attempting to float over Navarro to execute the variation on the classic maneuver, our legs collided and completely shifted our positions altogether. I did the best I could to adapt on the fly, hooking his leg and keeping his shoulders down for Gearl's 3 count but it looked decidedly clunky.

That unfortunate circumstance aside, realistically I don't know that this match could have gone any better. I essentially broke my character of the smug, over-confident and appropriately hated Solid Steel Champion to let everyone in the room know just how much of a dream match what had preceded before them was and how much I appreciated the opportunity; letting the man himself know in my less than stellar Spanish, how much of a legend he is. I left the room to allow him the opportunity to soak in the adulation from the room, only for him to cut a promo of his own through an interpreter, He thanked everyone there for being so passionate about Lucha Libre and as I would soon come to realize was a classic Lucha trope, grandstanded (grandstood?) for a rematch with me in the future; which sadly never materialized. I can vividly remember standing backstage during his promo and having someone encourage me to go back out to the ring to be in Navarro's presence for it all; together as peers. Watching it now with 7+ years of hindsight as well as nearly 2 years since I've officially retired from pro wrestling itself, I can clearly see myself fighting back tears on the screen as I sat on my couch fighting back tears in the present moment.

After the show itself was over, I found myself at my merch table talking to fans about what had unfolded that evening as well as pushing whatever my latest limited release shirt was when I was approached by a middle aged Mexican woman who asked me if she could take a photo of me and her brother together. I of course was happy to oblige and followed her over to another table set up adjacent to mine where she lead me next to a smiling Negro Navarro (as much as he's seemingly capable of smiling at least) and the two of us posed for a photo that I still to this day have never seen. Suddenly all of these annual trips to Seattle that Negro Navarro was making to teach seminars made sense; he was actually going to visit his family, only sharing his wisdom on the side. It's certainly not the best match that I ever had in a 3-2-1 Battle! ring (or any ring for that matter) but I don't know if another match or moment in my life, meant half as much to me as this one did.

Watch:
Daniel Makabe vs Negro Navarro [8/24/18]

The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! (Part 15) - Daniel Makabe vs Mr. Fitness [321 Pacific Middleweight Title - 12/18/15]

Something I've struggled with for the better part of my adult life is writer's block, in a variety of forms when it comes to creative endeavors that I set out to accomplish. There was a stretch of 3 months or so when I initially started this blog where I truly thought that this was finally going to be the project that I was going to be able to stay on top of consistently as it offered a bit of personal catharsis as well as putting a focus on some previously unseen (or 'underseen') matches from the earliest parts of my career. For anyone following along at home, you're probably already well aware that this was not the case as this is the first entry I've published in nearly 8 months and the first time I've logged into this account in about 7.

I don't really want to dwell on or make excuses for what's in the past nor do I really want to commit to what lies in front of me in the future when it comes to regularly updating this. I've contemplated taking this blog in a different direction, rather than discussing matches chronologically, just bouncing around the 5 year time period to discuss whatever match I feel like in the moment. I've also considered putting this particular series on hold to discuss the 16 matches I had in the year 2024 as part of my retirement tour, otherwise known as "2024: The Year Daniel Makabe Broke" which is something I figured I would get around to once these 100+ entries were all spoken for. I still haven't made up my mind, but for the time being I wanted to knock out my final match from 2015, the first full calendar year of regular 3-2-1 Battle! shows before deciding one way or another.

I've previously watched and taken notes on this match twice albeit many months ago and to be honest, I don't really feel like doing it a third time, nor do my previous notes bring back a ton of vivid memories. This was a rematch against Mr. Fitness stemming from our previous encounter just a month prior which had an inconclusive finish on the account of outside interference from "Romantic" Romeo Ramirez and his entourage. In the interim, Romeo had sustained an injury and was forced to vacate the 3-2-1 Battle! Pacific Middleweight championship and thus, my second (and final) one on one encounter with Mr. Fitness would serve as the main event of the final show of the year and would determine the new holder of the vacant title. You think such an occasion would warrant one of the many talented local photographers to document it but unfortunately that was not the case on this evening so you're going to have to use your imagination for a lot of this or y'know, just watch the match linked below at the bottom of this post.

Memory is a funny thing - especially when you're a pro wrestler with your fair share of head trauma trying to recall matches from literally a decade ago and comparing/contrasting them with one another. If you had asked me which of my two matches with Mr. Fitness was superior, I absolutely would have told you the second one was better than the first in pretty much every single facet. And don't get me wrong, this thing starts off incredibly hot with a ton of action and big moves; multiple dropkicks, hard strikes, a German Suplex and even some Shinjiro Ohtani inspired bootscrapes - all of which amounts to a kick out at ONE (!?) from Fitness. After a brief moment of struggle, Fitness is able to fire back with two consecutive Muscle Confusions (release Cobra Clutch Suplexes) that I bump HUGE for, including another homage to Adrian Adonis with how I sell them through the ropes and out to the floor. Hitting these big moves so early in a match like this served two purposes: front loading it with a lot of action to garner the crowd's attention a la late 90s AJPW but also, after the previous month's debacle where Fitness completely forgot what we had planned and shoot suplexed me within the opening moments of the match I figured it was a way to prevent our story from going so far off the rails again.

And simply put, that was my prevailing memory of these series of matches; the clever way in which I ensured I didn't have to reconcile having a match that didn't go exactly as planned and in a roundabout way tricking my opponent into doing so accordingly. What I didn't remember was the rest of this match is fairly pedestrian and for the most part fails to captivate the crowd that are in the building on that particular evening. The ensuing control segment and my selling within it lacks urgency and any real narrative direction besides Fitness working me over with his trademark suplexes and holds with one neat hopespot thrown in where I snatch his arm out of nowhere for a judo takedown into an arm stomp attempt that just sort of awkwardly resolves with him avoiding it while continuing to maintain control.

The back half of the match is not without its highlights - an out of control looking tope suicida by yours truly, followed up by an apron to floor diving leg lariat ("Rough Rider") from Fitness. Back inside finds us exchanging dueling bridging suplexes for pinfall attempts; his patented Fisherman's and my poorly executed German that saw his momentum carry him over too far, with me having to abandon the bridge and float over for the nearfall. The other big moment I always remembered from this match was for the first (only?) time in my career, catching his top rope legdrop and working my way around his body as seamlessly as I could muster (ie not very) between an STF, Fujiwara Armbar and the eventual Arm Stomp that I used regularly to set up my finish during this era.

The finish as I recall was a collaborative effort as after he did a great job of selling his arm being bent in every which way, shape and direction, I forced him back down to the mat to lock in the Jim Breaks Armbreaker submission. A big struggle ensues with me eventually losing grip of his far arm with my hands and instead using the instep of my far leg tucked behind his elbow to neutralize that arm and turn my focus with both of my free hands towards his near arm to add extra pressure onto it, now essentially in a hammerlock of sorts. Fitness eventually wriggled free of that attempt which lead me to change the focus of my now free foot to the back of his head in the form of numerous stomps, eventually forcing him to vigorously tap out. It was a creative finish that I probably would have executed much better a few years later with more submission experience under my belt as well as the obsessive nature in which I prioritized realistic struggle during the later years of my career but unfortunately we're still a ways away from that.

Immediately afterwards the ring is littered with Pink Streamers from the Seattle faithful to show their support and help celebrate my victory alongside a handful of 3-2-1 regulars including then champion and top babyface (but not yet outted as a not great human being) El Chango Blanco as well as my on again, off again tag team partner Drew Sarian and the man I had just defeated, Mr. Fitness himself. Also; Mighty Mac & Weekend Warrior who feel a little shoehorned in are there but what are you gonna do? Not included in the video that I uploaded to my YouTube channel but another prevailing memory that I have of this post match celebration was the promo that I cut where I recalled going to see local Seattle thrash metal band Black Breath play a show alongside one of my best friends Tim. The show in particular (Friday January 22nd, 2010) took place at a venue called the Black Lab which was conveniently located directly above 'The Battle Palace' (it still is to this day) with the story continuing on with how Tim used to always proclaim to anyone that would listen that Seattle was "Daniel Makabe's Town" in an attempt to further win favour from the local onlookers. I failed to maintain whatever good will or sentiment I had garnered with that anecdote when in an ill advised moment of bravado, I capped off my promo by proclaiming myself "the best wrestler in that locker room" which proceeded to turn a good half of a the room against me with subtle boos creeping up. You win some you lose some I suppose although the joke's on them as I wouldn't fully turn heel and usher in the era of "The Wrestling Genius" for nearly another 2 years.

-------

Now that I've made it through the first full year of my matches from 3-2-1! Battle, I wanted to put together a bit of a running ranking of all of the matches discussed. These are obviously how I see them and rate the quality of them with a decade+ of hindsight but will serve as an easy reference guide for anyone who may have not followed this blog since its inception or missed an entry or two. I'm planning on publicly sharing updated versions of this list after every 6 months worth of matches or so; that is of course if I continue to update this blog in any way shape or form whatsoever... so, we'll see.


The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! Canonical Rankings MASTER LIST

1) Daniel Makabe/Drew Sarian vs Scott Henson/Kaden Talbain (Seattle Streetfight - 4/18/15)
2) Daniel Makabe vs Scott Henson vs Kaden Talbain vs Cole Crazy (10/30/15)
3) Daniel Makabe vs Kaden Talbain (3/20/15)
4) Daniel Makabe vs Scott Henson (12/6/14)
5) Daniel Makabe vs Cole Crazy (8/21/15)
6) Daniel Makabe vs Chango Blanco (c) (321 Solid Steel Title - 7/17/15)
7) Daniel Makabe/Drew Sarian vs Scott Henson/Kaden Talbain (2/1/14)
8) Daniel Makabe vs Zeus Mcfly (1/16/15)
9) Daniel Makabe vs Tommy vs James Diesel (9/25/15)
10) Daniel Makabe vs Mr Fitness (11/13/15)
11) Daniel Makabe vs Mr Fitness (12/18/15)
12) Daniel Makabe vs Romantic Romeo Ramirez (5/22/15)
13) Daniel Makabe vs Asis Nowarranty (10/14/15)
14) Daniel Makabe/Drew Sarian vs Scott Henson/Kaden Talbain (2/11/15)
15) Daniel Makabe vs James Diesel vs Weekend Warrior vs Mighty Mac (11/27/15)

Watch:
Daniel Makabe vs Mr. Fitness [321 Pacific Middleweight Title - 12/18/15]

The Complete and Accurate Daniel Makabe in 3-2-1 Battle! (Part 14) - Daniel Makabe vs James Diesel vs Weekend Warrior vs Mighty Mac [11/27/15]

I'm somehow back after taking the last few weeks off from writing in this blog and I have to admit that it's been harder than I'd like it to be for me to get back on the horse and carry on with this project for a variety of reasons. First and foremost was getting derailed from my usual schedule by the 1 year anniversary of my longtime friend "Big Cat" Scott Henson's death, which I wrote a few words about how I was feeling on the day of. Secondly, the last few weeks I've been incredibly busy with other commitments in my everyday life between work, getting ready to play the Sled Island music festival in Calgary (4 practices in just as many days) and then actually having a really nice week away in Calgary seeing friends, some truly amazing bands, etc. Finally, the last big deterrent that's kept me away from this is the perceived lack of interest from the greater viewing public which I know shouldn't affect me as this is something I truly want to accomplish for myself but it certainly helps knowing that there's actually an audience for ones' creative output and I'm not just typing these words into a void. But alas...

This is the first instance that I could find of a graphic being made
 for a bi-weekly 3-2-1 Battle! Show itself. 

The other thing that probably hasn't helped matters is that this is probably (definitely) the worst match that I've had up until this point in 3-2-1 Battle! and I really don't have a whole heck of a lot to write about it. A match that was initially advertised as a 3 Way Match that on the spur of the moment becomes a 4 Way Match with no real stakes or history between myself or any of the other competitors; in fact it's the only time that I ever interacted with 2 of the 3 opponents in the match in all of my years wrestling in the Battle Palace. With that all said, I don't think this is actually a bad match per se; it's just not very interesting or dynamic or polished, although it does have somewhat of a complex finish for the level of "indie wrestling" going on in ring that we managed to execute fairly flawlessly, albeit to a somewhat tepid reaction.

This is the first appearance in this blog of another one of 3-2-1's signature referees, Rohn Cena whom didn't have as long of a tenure as some of the other ones that I've already discussed (or some of the more famous ones still to come), but he plays an important role in this match itself. By the point you're familiar with James Diesel, whom I had a fun 3 way match with a few months back and would interact with some more in the near future. This is technically the first mention of "Mighty Mac" Josh McFarlane in this blog although it's technically not his "first appearance" as he was one of many folks in that era of 3-2-1 who donned a mask to play an alternative character elsewhere on the show, with him taking on the charge as the Butler for one "Romantic" Romeo Ramirez, responsible for supplying the bouquet of roses that I had found myself on the receiving end of a handful of times already by this point. 

The other new character not only in this match but in a 3-2-1 ring in general, with this serving as his debut match for the promotion was the Weekend Warrior; someone whom I had known for a few years dating back to our backyard wrestling days in Western WA. Ironically enough, he cut a pre-match promo complaining about people begging and pleading for things they hadn't necessarily earned, and then just interjected himself into the match itself in a bit of a non-sequitur. He's someone who was over with the 3-2-1 crowd pretty much from the get go as he had a very funny and relatable gimmick, catchy theme music in the form of Vancouver's own Loverboy with their 1981 hit "Working For the Weekend" as well as some eye catching aerobatic maneuvers performer in a variety of throwback jerseys; in this instance a classic Seattle Supersonics' Detlef Schrempf jersey.

Things progress in this 4 way through a handful of set pieces that aren't too original in this kind of setting; beginning with a series of individual tie ups that amount to nothing before segueing into a 4 person knuckle lock spot that ends up in a sequence of 4 back to back to back to back bridges with Weekend Warrior's easily being the nicest, showing off his crazy flexibility for a man his size. Avoiding a repeat of the initial convergence of small joints being manipulated, a 3 person knuckle lock (with yours truly being the odd man out) convenes, where I instead found myself chain wrestling my way from body to body in a counter clockwise direction around the circle before the Warrior lifts me off the mat with a waist lock takedown attempt allowing me to kick both Diesel and Josh in their chests and send them to the mat. It's the kind of thing that's cute in principle but doesn't necessarily age well with nearly 10 years of hindsight. 

After a quick albeit aimless exchange of holds between Weekend Warrior and myself, we found ourselves brawling out to the floor where we find ourselves in another familiar trope of these sort of matches in the form of a dive sequence. Mighty Mac is the first to join us with a tope suicida although he definitely does not get enough speed or momentum and find himself barely squeezing through the adjacent top and middle ropes with us thankfully catching the majority of his body with the less forgiving ring apron catching his shins on the way down. James Diesel follows up with a fairly pedestrian top rope cross body, something I would likely not point out in such condescending terms if not for the fact that he's immediately followed by Weekend Warrior hitting an even crazier version of the same move from the same corner post with major ups and full horizontal extension.

What follows is a pattern that I would typically follow in these multi man matches when needing to insert a moment of control for myself; a series of submissions on all of my opponents which each successive opponent breaking it up only for me to reverse their attempts into a submission on them, repeated until I've made my rounds through everyone. Beginning with a Butterfly Suplex into a Romero Special on Mighty Mac which I was unable to get full extension on; with whomever is filming (I'm pretty sure it's Drew) chuckling audibly on camera at my gaff. James Diesel breaks it up however with his attempt at capitalizing with a Superkick being blocked initially into a Standing STF that I subsequently transitioned into a Gory Special. The Standing STF was definitely an unique move and I don't recall whom I lifted it from (I sincerely doubt I came up with it myself; it may have been a Chris Hero original) but I had mixed feelings about how it looked so I don't think I ever used it again beyond this match.

Mike Reno's favourite wrestler is there to interject himself back into the match with some wonky looking punches that I sell in a fashion befitting them but also demonstrating that I still had some growing to do when it came to selling strikes properly. They're all for not regardless as in typical Daniel Makabe circa 2015 fashion, I bring him down to the mat with another one of my consistently nice looking top wrist lock stomps to the exposed triceps. However my attempts to follow up with the other en vogue and oft discussed in this blog finger break spot is narrowly avoided with Weekend Warrior pushing me forcefully off of his chest into the unsuspecting Rohn Cena and we officially have our first (and maybe only?) ref bump in my 3-2-1 Battle! tenure.

With the ref out of the way, all four of us take turns missing consecutive moves from the corner; Mighty Mac's Vader Bomb, James Diesel's Second Rope Elbow Drop, My own Top Rope Senton and Weekend Warrior's Corkscrew Moonsault. It's a pretty common spot in this kind of match, one that I recall first seeing in a pretty decent Ultimo Dragon/Rey Misterio Jr vs Psichosis/Heavy Metal tag match from the Wrestling Peace Festival in 1996 but definitely isn't executed with the kind of speed or precision required for it to be particularly effective. A new ref joins the fray just in time to begin a quadruple 10 count on all 4 of us although don't ask me to explain the logic behind it or what exactly would have happened if none of us had been able to answer his count.

A quick series of false finishes follows, serving as the climax for the match itself; A Pump Handle Sit Out Facebuster by Weekend Warrior, my Enzi Lariat followed by a Saito Suplex which is quickly dismissed by Mighty Mac hitting a somewhat awkward combination of an STO onto his knee into a good old fashioned god damn it pal, Stone Cold Stunner which I attempted to sell in an as over the top as I possibly could fashion. James is there to break it up with a grounded Superkick from an awkward angle that doesn't really land as well as one would like. His follow up by setting up Mac for a TKOis thwarted by myself, with me attempting to recreate a familiar set piece from the Horror Business 4 Way Match from just a few short weeks prior as I set up all 3 opponents on opposite turnbuckles with the goal of Superplexing all of them, one after the other.

The Weekend Warrior however had other ideas, stopping me dead in my tracks and attempting to hit another one of his Pump Handle Sit Out Facebusters that I narrowly avoided by landing on my feet (sort of) before transitioning him onto his stomach and locking in the Jim Breaks Armbreaker in the middle of the ring. Within these moments, Diesel is also able to free himself from the turnbuckle and finally hit Mighty Mac with the TKO as he had initially intended. Conveniently regaining consciousness at this very moment, original referee Rohn Cena finds himself attending to and eventually signaling to the time keeper for my submission on the Warrior, right at the same moment that secondary referee Chris Samuels found himself hitting the mat for a 3rd time as Diesel had pinned Mac's shoulders to the mat.

 

Probably the most shocking revelation to me upon rewatching this match was how well we executed this sort of finish with so many moving parts, utilizing a bunch of green performers no less. That being said, the crowd was definitely confused initially and then outright upset when it's revealed that James and I were co-winners of the match. This one never had any real resolution and I don't specifically recall what the initial plan between James and I going forward even was as there was no follow up besides an unrelated 3 Way Match involving both of us in the relatively near future; but we're a few weeks away from writing about that one or I suppose at the rate that I'm going, a few months. This one is truly for the diehards who were kind enough to inquire when the blog was making its return as I don't really have a ton of nostalgia for this match or my performance in it.

Watch:
Daniel Makabe vs James Diesel vs Weekend Warrior vs Mighty Mac [11/27/15