Keith Lee vs. Justin Sysum (3CW 1/27/18)
Last year I sang the praises of Sysum’s match against Matt Riddle. Sysum is this athletic marvel. Keith is impressive athletically because he’s a large fella with some heft in the mid-section, where Sysum can do things you would expect from a prime NFL linebacker. That isn’t his largest asset even but it certainly helps to shock and awe every time I peep one of his matches.
The biggest thing going for Sysum though is that when going against name indie talent, he works a structurally complex match that subverts the expectations of what you expect from GREAT MATCH WRESTLING. The entire beginning portion of this match is Sysum attempting to crack Keith Lee. Sysum has a lot going for him but Lee’s size and strength make every attempt of gaining the advantage futile. For nearly ten minutes, Lee imposes his will on Sysum. Throws, meaty forearms, and basking in his own glory, Keith Lee embarrasses him. For a brief moment, Sysum looks to have found a crack, throwing his weight into running forearms. As quick as it came, it went. Lee smashes Sysum back down to earth, looking like a god who had been struck by a mere mortal, how dare he.
In a moment of genius, Sysum retreats, frankly, it looks like he has quit. Nothing Sysum did, no matter how much of himself he put in his offense it meant nothing. Lee always had an answer. Who could blame him for walking to the back? Live to fight another day. Then looking like he is running a 4.5 40-yard dash, Sysum hits a running spear through the ropes, taking Lee down and then hitting a 450 splash (called a Thor Fifty by the announcers but that’s bad and shouldn’t be allowed). The pickle jar is open folks. We transition to a more traditional indie bombfest but there was a journey there that you don’t usually get. That’s what makes the match click, it gives you a full on multi-course meal. We got a little mozzarella sticks action, a good burger, and finishing it off with some strong peanut butter pie. Oh, the bombfest portion delivers in a huge way to the point that people probably would have praised it without a beautiful opening that actually sets the stage for it. Maybe goes a little long but they earned it as this point.
In a significantly less dominate way, Lee has the advantage for large swaths of the back portion of the bout. This time though Lee isn’t all smiles. Not only has Sysum showed he can bring Lee down to the mat, but he won’t stay down for Lee’s biggest weapons. Sysum takes all of Lee’s offense in ridiculous fashion, bouncing five feet off the mat off a spirit bomb and taking a spinebuster from the rafters. Remarkable stuff. Doesn’t finish Sysum off. Will is too strong. It all works because of that proper build and the CONTENT being brutal. Big bumps and mean mugs. You get it.
They also throw in a rope running trip spot towards the end which elicited a roaring applause from my household on first watch AND rewatch. Like, you barely see that sort of thing and they toss in there for fun without missing a beat. The finish is art by the way.
Spandex Are Still Cool 