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]